phil_104
Cheesesteakologist
I use to play Mesa amps extensively before, during the first few years of being in my last band. I love them when we developed out sound and were still playing covers. When we got to a point where we were playing all original music, I felt they didn't give me the sound and vibe I wanted, so I move away from them.
Now that my band is no more, and that I am mostly doing guest spots and session work (until I find a new band), I decided to give them a try again. The lineup from the company has changed since I had bought my stiletto, so I had to play through pretty much everything to get a feel for what was what. Came out with this little dude. Until now, I only have good things to say about it. Actually reminds me of my old Express 5:25 more than I thought it would, with a lot more gain on tap (and tighter gain at that). Headroom is decent on the clean channels at 25 watts if you don't mind a tiny little bit of grit with your crystalline tones. The drive channels are super loud. The speaker cabinet is exactly what I expected it to be ; fun and quirky looking but with a mean bite and some serious projection. Nothing like the 2x12 rect cabs I use to carry around, but very portable and great sounding.
I like to combine it with my PRS. With the 339 and the Les Paul, it sounds a lot more modern that I was expecting, but it seems to react that way to most humbuckers. The p90s, with their glorious overtones and snarl, match up perfectly with the amp and give me the grind I want, with the nastiness and rawness that distance my tone from the super sterile mesa-prs sound we are use to hearing on radio-rock songs. I dig it, because it's very modern and versatile, but still has some character to it, while maintaining more girth than the single coils on my strat.
Overall very happy. I recommend this amp to players who want a portable, versatile, modern sounding amp with a lot of gain on tap... but you didn't need me to tell you that.
