Re: Opinions on the Mesa Boogie Mk I RI
I have several Mesa amps; I've been using them for 20 years now. Late last year I bought a new Mark V combo and 112 Cab, and I'm just lovin' it. I have three Mark IIIs, a Mark IV, a DC-3 and a Maverick 212.
I like the tones of the Mark I, but is not a dedicated channel switching amp, so using it for live performance in a single amp rig can be difficult. But, you can get some beautiful tones from this amp. The Mesa site has a lot of information, and there was an excellent article with Randy Smith and Carlos about the new amp in a recent issue of Guitar Player Magazine. The differences between the original Boogie, the Mark I Re-issue, and the new Kingsnake are interesting. The Kingsnake has some switching options that were not available in the original or the Re-issues; some of the original design flaws were corrected, and it benefits from Randy's 30 years experience of amp design. The Kingsnake is a formidable amp and they've nailed the tone that Carlos made famous--and that's the tone that made Carlos famous, as well.
If you're looking for a little more versatility, the Mark II and Mark III share tone controls but have individual GAIN and MASTER for each channel (but not for R2 in the Mark III), making it a lot easier. The IV has separate tone and gain controls for the RHYTHM channel and the LEAD channel for more control, but the R2 is still somewhat compromised. The Mark V gives each channel the same G-M-P-T-Mid-B-R controls, and further offers three separate modes in each channel. I found great usable tones on all three channels in about five minutes and could have easily gigged the amp right then and there. Basically I set the Mark IIIs and Mark IV right in Mesa's "sweet spots" and do very little adjustment to get great tone. My first Mesa, a Mark III 200-watt head and 412 Half-Back cab really did make me a better player.
I really like the Electra-Dyne, and nearly bought one, but decided to go "all in" for the Mark V since the Mark V would do many of the tones I liked in the ED. These have pretty simple controls for a Mesa, LOL, but they still have a lot of versatility. The newer amps, like the Lonestars, the ED, and the Mark V have really great clean tones, and they all get that singing lead voice that Mesa is famous for.
The Kingsnake is definitely worth checking out; but if you want a little cheaper option, you can still get great tones from the Mark II, III and IV. And some of Mesa's newer options, like the ED or Lonestar can be found on the used market at very reasonable prices.
Good luck!
Bill
