Mesa Boogie TransAtlantic TA-30 Head

This is basically the exact same amp as the combo but without a speaker. So you will need to hook this up to your existing speaker cabinet. All the same features and tone are available in this amp as you would find in the combo.

What will Mesa Boogie think of next? These amps started out as great lunch box amps for the on the go musician. They have been so popular that now they are offering them in a high watt version and in a combo version as well. The tone of this amp is remarkable. With the ability to go from cleans on one side of the amp and kick it over to channel two with the option to have another clean or crunch and even high gain mode is fantastic.


Mesa/Boogie TA-30 TransAtlantic Rackmountable Guitar Amplifier Head Features at a Glance:

2-channel all-tube head
4 x EL84 power tubes
6 x 12AX7 preamp tubes
Multi-Watt channel assignable power amp with Duo-Class and Dyna-Watt technologies provides independent, channel-assignable 15/30/40-watt output
Select from 2 power tubes operating in Class A mode (15W), 4 power tubes operating in Class A mode (30W), or 4 power tubes operating in Dyna-Watt Class A/B (40W)
2 fully independent channels with 5 Style Modes
Channel 1 features: Normal (Brit Clean) or Top Boost (Brit Overdrive) modes with Multi-Watt power switch, FX loop and reverb assignment switch, as well as gain, treble, bass, and Reverb & Cut with Pull Master controls
Channel 2 features: Tweed (American Clean), Hi 1 (Brit Gain), and Hi 2 (Boogie Gain) modes with Multi-Watt power switch, as well as FX loop and reverb assignment switch, Gain with pull boost, treble, bass, reverb, and master controls
Fixed bias for consistent, maintenance-free performance
Channel-assignable, all-tube, long spring reverb with independent channel controls
Channel-assignable, fully buffered FX loop
Channel-independent true bypass switches fully removes FX loop from signal path
Optional second footswitch toggles reverb
2 x 4-ohm and 1 x 8-ohm outputs
Fan cooled
All-aluminum chassis

UTILIZATION

Details
Type Tube
Number of Channels 2
Power 15W Class A / 30W Class A / 40W Class AB
No Effects
Reverb
EQ Treble, Bass
No Amp Modeling
Number of Tubes 10
Preamp Tubes 6 x 12AX7
Power Tubes 4 x EL-84
Inputs 1 x Instrument
Footswitch I/O Yes
Effects Loop Yes
Width 17.25"

SOUNDS

The first channel is primarily the clean channel but if you give it a little juice you can get a nice Fender breakup and then take it even further for a sweet Vox Ac30 type tone.

The second channle has a Tweed, High gain 1, and High gain two. It also has a boost function on the gain. You can turn this on an off on any mode. The tweed is a Fender type tone and the high gain 1 is a British type voicing. The final mode high gain 2 is more of the Mesa style lead and rhythm tones.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no mids for EQing. So you need to be happy dialing in your tone with only a Treble and Bass.

OVERALL OPINION

These are great little amps for the money. They aren't cheap but will give you an array of tonal options. At new these amps come in at around $1500. This might be a little on the high side for this amp but still a decent price for what it was.

I would recommend this amp to anyone who needs a good gigging amp that will not be a failure on stage. This is a also a good amp for recording some various tones. The distortion is not going to be anything like a Dual Recto so if you think you'll get that tone then save your money. I recommend trying this amp out first because it is a bit different then the standard Mesa tones you have come to know. Plus the lacking of mids is a breaker for me on this amp. For the price Mesa has many other options that would be king over this amp.