What's the story with Mesa?

[MichaelE]

I've never owned one of these amps in the past, but I hear nothing about them, even here. I know a lot of musicians use them, but is there anything inherently wrong with this brand?

Do they have a high failure rate or a history of problems? Is the sound fairly generic for a tube amp or are they so narrow in their color that they only do certain types of music?

Why aren't these amps seemingly as popular as the other amps like Marshall, Fender, and VOX?

I've been thinking about a Dual Rectifier lately, but I see very little on the internet and I know no one who owns one. Makes me hesitant to make a purchase. They say no news is good news, and I'd like to believe that, but I'd like to know a little more first.

Sort of the same thing with Hughes & Kettner. No one talks about them. I almost bought a Switchblade a few years ago, but the store ran out and I needed an amp right then.

[MAXIFUNK]

I have not played one nor owned one but I have work tour security for some of the biggest names in modern music history who have used them.

My ears tell me they are great amps.

But that's just my 2 cents...................

[deeaa]

Well, I understand they are generally pretty expensive. Plus, at least here, their pricing would not allow for any discounts. When I was selling amps, we'd get maybe like 15-20% overhead on most amps, but with Mesa, we had to sell them with under 5% overhead, which hardly was worth it.

But nothing wrong with the amps, certainly. I have a neighbor that owns like 20 mesas, he sort of collects and trades them (and Charvel/Jackson guitars) for a hobby it seems. Always selling one or two of those at any given time, always seems to amass more of them anyway.

[hubberjub]

I play a Mesa. I have a Mesa/Boogie Maverick. It's been a great amp and has seen me through the last few years of pretty heavy gigging. Very much a pro quality amp. (Though I am not a pro quality guitarist.)

[MichaelE]

Thanks for the replies so far. They don't seem to be much more than a JCM Marshall head. At least on the used market.

I understand they don't make the Dual Rectifier head any longer.

I was just sort of wondering why I don't hear more about these amps on the various guitar forums.

[Tig]

I understand they don't make the Dual Rectifier head any longer.


I see 2 dual rectifier heads and 1 combo listed at Sweetwater right now:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/manufacturer/Mesa_Boogie
If I were to get one of their high power amp's, I'd go with the new Mark V (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Mark5HD/), since it has all their best "Mark" series amps in one head.

I'd love an Express 5:25 1x12 for my needs. I've heard very few complaints about Mesa's quality or durability.

[MichaelE]

My source of info is wrong then. Maybe he was talking about the DR two channel model. ???

[Plank_Spanker]

I've played a few Mesa amps, and know some guys that work with them. Mesa builds high quality amps - period. Lots of pros tour with them.

Just choose the sound (amp) you want...........

[Bilsdragon]

I want this one.


http://www.premierguitar.com/Video/20100201/913/NAMM_10_Mesa_Boogie_TransAtlantic_TA_15_Demo.aspx

[sunvalleylaw]

Bonnie Raitt was rocking a Mesa Boogie the last time I saw her a couple years ago. Her band has nice stuff, and that amph sounded great!

[MAXIFUNK]

I want this one.


http://www.premierguitar.com/Video/20100201/913/NAMM_10_Mesa_Boogie_TransAtlantic_TA_15_Demo.aspx


I WANT THAT ONE TOO!

[Plank_Spanker]

Looks like a very cool amp! :dude

[Darren James]

I have owned two mesas in my life time. The first was a Mark IV and the second one is a dual rec. (this is my current one I am using now)

The Mark IV sounded great for about two months then all of a sudden it started to loose it tone and warmth. I had the tubes checked and everything else and they couldn't find anything wrong, Thats when I traded it in and got the rectifier. I play mostly metal and must say I am disappointed with it. I just can't seem to get the tone I thought it should have. Now that being said it's still a nice sounding amp but just to loose of a distortion for me, I guess I'm looking for something thats a bit tighter sounding. ( I am now looking at Krank and Randall and maybe Diamond)

I haven't been playing out much lately so I haven't been moving to quickly on getting something new but I have recently started jamming again so I guess the time is now.

All in all from my experience they are decent amps that are somewhat reliable (just my experience) and if your looking for something loud then there are no worry's in that department. I personally think that it's one of those products that the name plays a big part in the popularity department.

I hope this somewhat helps,

Darren

[tunghaichuan]

Boogies definitely have their own sound. The Mark series is the evolution of high gain tone from a Fender-style amp. (i.e., 6L6 based power amp, high gain preamp). The Dual Rec is Boogie's take on the Soldano SLO, which is the evolution of a high gain Marshall style amp (i.e., EL34 based power amp, high gain preamp). And the classic Marshall amp is based on a Fender amp (tweed Bassman) which in turn was based on a Western Electric circuit.

Also how the amp is designed in terms of where the tone controls are placed in the preamp contributes to the sound. Here is a classic article that explains it:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/guitar-amp-evolution.html

Boogies are well-made, but have lots of circuity packed into a small area, at least the newer ones have. They are also expensive, but not overly so. They also seem to keep a tight reign over their dealers so they are not as widely available as some amps.

[mainestratman]

There's been an influx of Mesa Boogies for sale on CL in Maine... including a super old one that I would buy for the "vintage" more than anything.

[Darren James]

Boogies definitely have their own sound. The Mark series is the evolution of high gain tone from a Fender-style amp. (i.e., 6L6 based power amp, high gain preamp). The Dual Rec is Boogie's take on the Soldano SLO, which is the evolution of a high gain Marshall style amp (i.e., EL34 based power amp, high gain preamp). And the classic Marshall amp is based on a Fender amp (tweed Bassman) which in turn was based on a Western Electric circuit.

Also how the amp is designed in terms of where the tone controls are placed in the preamp contributes to the sound. Here is a classic article that explains it:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/guitar-amp-evolution.html

Boogies are well-made, but have lots of circuity packed into a small area, at least the newer ones have. They are also expensive, but not overly so. They also seem to keep a tight reign over their dealers so they are not as widely available as some amps.

Very interesting and valuable information, thanks

Darren