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iamqman « Anahiem Angels! »
Published on 06/23/11 at 16:26You really can't dial in a bad tone from this amp. Like most Mesa Boogies these amps are made with high quality standards and are built like tanks. This amp is tailored towards the Fender side of musical guitar amps. The tone is still Mesa Boogie and you can hear and feel that, but this is no Rectifier at all. The distortion is pretty mild in comparison to a Dual Recto. You get get some singing lead line as you would a nice Recto amp, but the smooth character of this amp is certainly geared towards the Fender blues side of rock music.
UTILIZATION
FEATURES
Handbuilt in the USA
Progressive Linkage™ power section allows you to switch between or combine 2x6V6 & 4xEL84 for 15, 33, or 38 Watts, of Pure Class A Power / 5x12AX7, 1x5AR4
Two Inputs (1=Normal, 2=Low)
Bright/Fat Switch
Spring Reverb
Parallel FX Loop
w/Mix Level Control
Slave Out w/Level Control
Fan Cooled
Slip Cover
1x12 Combo • Celestion Custom 90 Speakers
SOUNDS
I really cannot get over the amazing tone this amp has. I am a Mesa Boogie fanboy, but this really is a spectacular amp. I find actually that I lean towards a Gibson Les Paul with all or most Mesa Boogie amps, but on this amp I go for the Fender Stratocaster. The tone from a single coil just matches perfectly with the voicing of this amp.
Don't get me wrong a Gibson Les Paul or SG will sound amazing as well, but there is just something that clicks when you bust out the Strat with this amp. I know that is what Mesa Boogie was going for when designing this amp and they couldn't have done it any better. They have a tendency to do that with their R&D. They over design the amp to fit everything you could want or even dream of needing.
OVERALL OPINION
Mesa Boogie should have kept the amp in production since this was a great sounding unit. I know they have been pushing other classic Fender style amps lately, but this was a winner in my book.
You cannot buy these new anymore so the used market is the only way to go in my opinion. I have seen these amps go for anywhere in between %500 and %700 depending on the shape and desperation of the seller. You would have no problem picking up this great amp if you tried for around $550 in the classifieds section somewhere or another forum.
UTILIZATION
FEATURES
Handbuilt in the USA
Progressive Linkage™ power section allows you to switch between or combine 2x6V6 & 4xEL84 for 15, 33, or 38 Watts, of Pure Class A Power / 5x12AX7, 1x5AR4
Two Inputs (1=Normal, 2=Low)
Bright/Fat Switch
Spring Reverb
Parallel FX Loop
w/Mix Level Control
Slave Out w/Level Control
Fan Cooled
Slip Cover
1x12 Combo • Celestion Custom 90 Speakers
SOUNDS
I really cannot get over the amazing tone this amp has. I am a Mesa Boogie fanboy, but this really is a spectacular amp. I find actually that I lean towards a Gibson Les Paul with all or most Mesa Boogie amps, but on this amp I go for the Fender Stratocaster. The tone from a single coil just matches perfectly with the voicing of this amp.
Don't get me wrong a Gibson Les Paul or SG will sound amazing as well, but there is just something that clicks when you bust out the Strat with this amp. I know that is what Mesa Boogie was going for when designing this amp and they couldn't have done it any better. They have a tendency to do that with their R&D. They over design the amp to fit everything you could want or even dream of needing.
OVERALL OPINION
Mesa Boogie should have kept the amp in production since this was a great sounding unit. I know they have been pushing other classic Fender style amps lately, but this was a winner in my book.
You cannot buy these new anymore so the used market is the only way to go in my opinion. I have seen these amps go for anywhere in between %500 and %700 depending on the shape and desperation of the seller. You would have no problem picking up this great amp if you tried for around $550 in the classifieds section somewhere or another forum.