Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100 Head

Aesthetically, the Royal Atlantic is gorgeous. Black on black with a silver faceplate. The amp has a very "next generation" look to it. I've noticed this of all the newer boogie amps. Everything is space age and clean. The front panel gives you separate eq for the clean and gain sides of the amp as well as indepent master controls for the LO and HI modes. The power soak on the back allows for attenuation up to 16db (5 w) and the attenuation is independent for each channel. Also on the back panel: Bias select for EL34 and 6L6, Reverb control and bypass switch as well as a mode defeat switch. You also have a loop and control over the amp's fan speed. Having a global bypass switch for the power soak on the front panel is a great touch.


UTILIZATION

I know a lot of people (including myself) have been dismissing the RA, thinking of it as just a re-voiced electra dyne with an attenuator and a new head case--but it is much much more than that. I'll go ahead and get it out of the way: This has just has much useable gain as a Rectifier or Mark series amp but it's feel is in a league above that of a Rectifier and it has it's own character distinct of the Mk series.


SOUNDS

Played through a Gibson Traditional Pro Explorer. 4x12 Mesa cab. No Pedals.

The clean mode was pristine and when the powersoak was engaged I could get a variety of breakup sounds between the master and gain controls. Using the coil tap I could get some real 3d sounding spank out of it. The RA maintains a very percussive quality throughout all three channels-- You absolutely feel it when you dig in to the strings. I would compare the clean to the MkV save the fact that the RA is much more punchy and I feel its much easier to dial in useable tones.

The LO mode was god in an amp. If you play raunchy blues or country-- this is all you. double stops blossomed with overtones. It sounded like sonic halos enveloping the notes. I don't mean that in a flowery poetic sense, I really just do not know how else to explain the phenomena that came out of the speakers. Very complex gain sounds. The amp sounds extremely thick and percussive yet completely articulate. Dialing back the gain to about noon with the attenuation can get you into plexi sounds pretty easily while throwing the gain past noon can get you more fluid gain.

The Hi mode can cover a lot of ground. It cleans up with ease and can be pushed through pretty much the spectrum of the entire amp up to some very mean high gain tones. When attenuated this reminds me a lot of the mkiic+ mode on the mkV. Bypassing the power soak on this mode is night and day. The power section opens up and sounds fierce. When you push the gain it wholly reminds me of my old triple rectifier just without the stale, lackluster feel.


OVERALL OPINION

It's hard to find a 3 channel amp with this sort of excitement factor-- especially at a price point below 2 grand. The RA-100 fills a gap between the fluid feel of the mark series amps and the sheer punchiness of the rectifier series. I owned both to balance each other out but the RA can stand on it's own and doesn't leave me longing for anything. I feel that the strongest competitor to this amp in the current market is the Bogner Goldfinger 45. Although the Royal Atlantic has much more available gain, I feel that both amps were designed with the same player demographic in mind and both are strong offerings.

Color: Black Taurus w/black grille
Class A/B
Custom designed and handcrafted in Petaluma, California
All-tube amplifier - 4 x EL-34 (or 6L6s), 7x12AX7
Proprietary Multi-Soak channel-assignable power attenuator (3 watts to 100 watts)
Multi-Soak includes 5-position power attenuation switch (-16dB, -12dB, -8dB, -4dB, and 0dB)
Bias Select switch (6L6/EL34)
Fixed bias for consistent, maintenance-free performance
2 channels, 3 footswitchable modes
Each mode with Independent Channel Master & Multi-Soak Power Controls (Multi-Soak Controls on back panel)
Channel 1 (Clean) features: Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Master, and Multi-Soak (on back panel)
Channel 2 (footswitchable Vintage Lo-Gain and Vintage Hi-Gain modes) features: Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Master-Lo, Master-Hi, Multi-Soak Lo & Multi-Soak Hi (on back panel)

UTILIZATION

Obviously this is bound to be an ugly duckling amp for mesa, a company who is not known for its EL34 amps. But lately they have been bursting out of the boutique market and taking their designs to a more public audience I suppose. The Royal Atlantic is supposedly their take on the marshall 2 channel design. These have not really caught on yet as far as I can tell. Nobody I know had played one before I decided to give one a shot. On paper it looks like a pretty good amp...and it is. The attenuation feature is great. Saves me a lot of trouble and money. One thing I can say about mesa is that their build quality has not gone downhill as they have grown up. Fortunately their stuff is still made to be bullet proof.

SOUNDS

First of all, the clean channel sounds very good for an el34 amp. The only thing I could compare it to is the clean channel on those old el34 bogner shivas. It's very pleasant and not harsh at all. Breaks up really well.

The gain channel has a surprising amount of fire. I expected this to be more of a classic rock channel but it can get into hard rock territory very quick. I'm not entirely sure how british it sounds though. I played this next to a Splawn Quickrod and an old JCM800 and they pretty much killed the RA in terms of having that marshall sound. I realize that this isn't supposed to sound exactly like a marshall and all that, but to be honest the RA lead channel sounds like someone just stuck 34's in a dual rectifier, which isn't a bad thing...but for that reason I think this amp is mis marketed.

OVERALL OPINION

My favorite part about this amp is hands down the clean channel. The attenuator works nicely too, so that's a real plus. At the end of the day, this is basically a dual rectifier with el34's and a good clean channel. It's a better value too. I think Mesa is onto something with this multi soak attenuation stuff. It seems to be better than the attenuators every other amp maker is using. I can see this being a great amp for a certain kind of player, but not me and not many other guys. I think that's why these have not totally caught on.

One fat sounding amp to go with the new product line from Mesa Boogie. This is the Britiish flavored amp series from Mesa which is their take on the tones from the inspiration of many popular guitar tones.

This the big brother of the TA-15 and TA-30 series amps. This one dos have a bit more bit and grind than the other amps do. You get a 100 watt British flavored amp that comes standard with El34's or the option of 6L6 power tubes.

This amp is a nice addition to the Mesa Boogie family. The have about an amp for any style and any guitar player out there. This one has a bit of the familiar Mesa Boogie tone but just a direction pointed across the Atlantic Ocean.


Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100 Two-channel Amplifier Head Features:

* Color: Black Taurus w/black grille
* Class A/B
* Custom designed and handcrafted in Petaluma, California
* All-tube amplifier - 4 x EL-34 (or 6L6s), 7x12AX7
* Proprietary Multi-Soak channel-assignable power attenuator (3 watts to 100 watts)
* Multi-Soak includes 5-position power attenuation switch (-16dB, -12dB, -8dB, -4dB, and 0dB)
* Bias Select switch (6L6/EL34)
* Fixed bias for consistent, maintenance-free performance
* 2 channels, 3 footswitchable modes
* Each mode with Independent Channel Master & Multi-Soak Power Controls (Multi-Soak Controls on back panel)
* Channel 1 (Clean) features: Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Master, and Multi-Soak (on back panel)
* Channel 2 (footswitchable Vintage Lo-Gain and Vintage Hi-Gain modes) features: Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Master-Lo, Master-Hi, Multi-Soak Lo & Multi-Soak Hi (on back panel)
* All-tube, long-spring reverb with auto reverb defeat switch
* Reverb Hard-Bypass switch removes entire reverb circuit from amp (all modes)
* Fully buffered effects loop w/Automatic Hard-Bypass (which completely removes itself when not in use)
* Slave Out w/level control
* External switching jacks for Vintage Low/Hi (Clean is default)
* 22" aluminum chassis
* 2-button footswitch (Clean, Vintage Low/Hi)
* Slip cover

UTILIZATION

Details
Type Tube
Number of Channels 2
Power 100W Class AB
No Effects
Reverb
EQ Ch 1 & 2: Bass, Middle, Treble; Master: Hi, Lo
No Amp Modeling
Number of Tubes 11
Preamp Tubes 7 x 12AX7
Power Tubes 4 x EL-34
Inputs 1 x Instrument
Outputs 2 x Speaker, 1 x Slave
Footswitch I/O
Effects Loop

SOUNDS

This amp sound great with just about any guitar you throw at it. I personally like the the distortion when coupled with a nice Gibson Les Paul. The British tone and from a Mesa Boogie with a good Gibson Les Paul is a match made in heaven. They compliment each other very well.

Also, a good Fender Stratocaster sounds excellent on the bluesy channels or clean channel. You get a good singing sustain that feels rich in tone and warmth.

The amp is very easy to dial in and Mesa Boogie has several videos demonstrating the EQ settings and how to dial in a specific tone. The master high and low is a unique feature and makes this amp really stand out. It allows you to tweak you tone even more to your liking or guitar's sound

OVERALL OPINION

Overall this is a great amp for someone who needs a solid build British flavored amp. Marshall has been failing to do so in recent years and Hiwatt is outrageously expensive. You can always buy a Reeves amp for half the price of a Hiwatt if that tone is your thing. Or you can pick this amp relatively cheap.

At new these amps come in at around $1899. I know that might not be cheap for some people but given the custom hand made quality of this amp and you are getting a great deal comparatively to a JVM or a Hiwatt

This the big brother of the TA-15 and TA-30 series amps. This one dos have a bit more bit and grind than the other amps do. You get a 100 watt British flavored amp that comes standard with El34's or the option of 6L6 power tubes.

This amp is a nice addition to the Mesa Boogie family. The have about an amp for any style and any guitar player out there. This one has a bit of the familiar Mesa Boogie tone but just a direction pointed across the Atlantic Ocean.


Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100 Two-channel Amplifier Head Features:

* Color: Black Taurus w/black grille
* Class A/B
* Custom designed and handcrafted in Petaluma, California
* All-tube amplifier - 4 x EL-34 (or 6L6s), 7x12AX7
* Proprietary Multi-Soak channel-assignable power attenuator (3 watts to 100 watts)
* Multi-Soak includes 5-position power attenuation switch (-16dB, -12dB, -8dB, -4dB, and 0dB)
* Bias Select switch (6L6/EL34)
* Fixed bias for consistent, maintenance-free performance
* 2 channels, 3 footswitchable modes
* Each mode with Independent Channel Master & Multi-Soak Power Controls (Multi-Soak Controls on back panel)
* Channel 1 (Clean) features: Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Master, and Multi-Soak (on back panel)
* Channel 2 (footswitchable Vintage Lo-Gain and Vintage Hi-Gain modes) features: Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Master-Lo, Master-Hi, Multi-Soak Lo & Multi-Soak Hi (on back panel)
* All-tube, long-spring reverb with auto reverb defeat switch
* Reverb Hard-Bypass switch removes entire reverb circuit from amp (all modes)
* Fully buffered effects loop w/Automatic Hard-Bypass (which completely removes itself when not in use)
* Slave Out w/level control
* External switching jacks for Vintage Low/Hi (Clean is default)
* 22" aluminum chassis
* 2-button footswitch (Clean, Vintage Low/Hi)
* Slip cover

UTILIZATION

Details
Type Tube
Number of Channels 2
Power 100W Class AB
No Effects
Reverb
EQ Ch 1 & 2: Bass, Middle, Treble; Master: Hi, Lo
No Amp Modeling
Number of Tubes 11
Preamp Tubes 7 x 12AX7
Power Tubes 4 x EL-34
Inputs 1 x Instrument
Outputs 2 x Speaker, 1 x Slave
Footswitch I/O
Effects Loop

SOUNDS

This amp sound great with just about any guitar you throw at it. I personally like the the distortion when coupled with a nice Gibson Les Paul. The British tone and from a Mesa Boogie with a good Gibson Les Paul is a match made in heaven. They compliment each other very well.

Also, a good Fender Stratocaster sounds excellent on the bluesy channels or clean channel. You get a good singing sustain that feels rich in tone and warmth.

The amp is very easy to dial in and Mesa Boogie has several videos demonstrating the EQ settings and how to dial in a specific tone. The master high and low is a unique feature and makes this amp really stand out. It allows you to tweak you tone even more to your liking or guitar's sound

OVERALL OPINION

Overall this is a great amp for someone who needs a solid build British flavored amp. Marshall has been failing to do so in recent years and Hiwatt is outrageously expensive. You can always buy a Reeves amp for half the price of a Hiwatt if that tone is your thing. Or you can pick this amp relatively cheap.

At new these amps come in at around $1899. I know that might not be cheap for some people but given the custom hand made quality of this amp and you are getting a great deal comparatively to a JVM or a Hiwatt