Mesa Boogie OMG

[ShredHeadJHJ]

OK first off, I'm not a big gear head; never have been. I have not played a Mesa since I was a young kid, & being young I do not remember having a good time with that amp...

Tonight I went into Discount Music & they have a very impressive line of Mesa's now! Playing through these Mesa's I feel like I really found my voice!!!

I most liked the Single Rectifier Rect-O-Verb, however I did not notice much difference in the Roadster except the fact that the Roadster has a shit ton more features. It has more wattage as well. I'm thinking of getting that Roadster come January. I'm under the impression that the Roadster can do anything that the Rect-O-Vibe can do and more, but the sales guy swears by the 50-watt Rect-O-Vibe. I didn't notice much difference & I like the added features of the Roadster. I could also play the Roadster as a 50-watt or 100-watt head. I think I should get something really nice that will last me forever.

I'll take any constructive criticisms on Mesa from any of you that have more experience with them than me.


On a side note, someone else told me today that Carvin bases their X100B amp off a Mesa head. If that's true what do they base it off??

Also, does anyone have any comments on the Mesa Stilettos or Mark IV's??

 

[ParsonsMatt]

The Stilettos are Mesa's take on the Marshall/British sound. They're good, and layer very well with a Rectifier, but they aren't my thing at all.

The Mark IV is fucking awesome, I totally recommend you try it out. They're a little difficult to tweak a good sound out of, but once you get it they fucking rule. Petrucci uses these, as well as Metallica on the black album.

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

Yeah, I'm looking to try out a Mark IV. I haven't tried the Silhouette yet, but I already know it's their "version" on the "British" (Marshall) sound. The dude at the music store said that I probably wouldn't dig them.

There's only one dealer in Orlando for Mesa Boogie & that is "Discount Music Center". I'm not really sure if they're a big chain or not. They have most Mesa's there in stock & many different cabs, but I don't -think- I saw the Mark IV there... When you look in the amp section it looks like Mesa is damn near all they carry now. Their Mesa's are definitely their main attraction.

BTW This guy I work with told me Carvin's X100B is based off the Mesa Boogie Mark III... Don't know how true that is...

 

[vainamoinen]

I have a MESA BOOGIE Triple Rectifier and it's fucking brilliant... It's perfect, very versatile ect. one thing about getting a roadster... retubing that thing. you will have to pay nearly 500 dollars!!! maybe even more. I got my triple rec in the spring and I've already dished out more than 300 dollars on tubes. Try out the triple rec! OR if you really are looking for all that MESA versatility buy the triaxis! I would LOVE to have one of them. it's probably one of the best things since sliced bread. lol. I spent 3k on my rec rig. a triaxis would cost you a bit more + a power amp but it would be worth it! send me an email mulberrytim "at" yahoo.com if you want to know more about the triple rec. note: "at" = @. I dont want to get spammed

 

[vainamoinen]

yeah... I don't dif the stilettos either... the 6L6's sound way cleaner.

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

I have a MESA BOOGIE Triple Rectifier and it's fucking brilliant... It's perfect, very versatile ect. one thing about getting a roadster... retubing that thing. you will have to pay nearly 500 dollars!!! maybe even more. I got my triple rec in the spring and I've already dished out more than 300 dollars on tubes. Try out the triple rec! OR if you really are looking for all that MESA versatility buy the triaxis! I would LOVE to have one of them. it's probably one of the best things since sliced bread. lol. I spent 3k on my rec rig. a triaxis would cost you a bit more + a power amp but it would be worth it! send me an email mulberrytim "at" yahoo.com if you want to know more about the triple rec. note: "at" = @. I dont want to get spammed

Shit dude, I shouldn't expect to be retubing it that often. I will only be playing local gigs with it. Most of the time I will have it on voulme 2 playing at me house. That thing screams on 2.

 

[vainamoinen]

haha, same... But I play it a lot ... my one is lying dormant right now because I don't have enough money for tubes... the thing with the roadster is that it's pretty much the stiletto and the rectifier combined... I don't like the stiletto so I didn't get the roadster... If I got that I would be waiting even longer to get new tubes.
but when it comes down to it you can't really go wrong with a MESA.

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

Bro, new Mesa's come with 5-year unlimited replacement warranty's on the tubes.

 

[KingVEE]

if you are going to buy a mesa, may i suggest you buy the amp you like,(usually the expensive one) and forget the salesman, otherwise you will be like me and upgrade till you get the one you want(in my case the roadster) and end up paying a lot in trade ins. as for the mark IV, they have been discontinued i believe, and its replacement is forthcoming. i would also suggest playing the roadking, cause you never know when you'll want to play el34's on the fly, but i think the roadster is the shit. have fun.

 

[ShredHeadJHJ]

I didn't play the Road King. Spec wise I don't think it's that much different than the Roadster with the exception of added EL34s that you can play in the clean channels. It's supposed to mimic the Lonestar's cleans. For $1,100 more forget about it, but you are right, I need to play it before I go with the Roadster.

I may try to hold back on the Mesa until sometime around March-April, but it's all good. I want to pull as little as possible out of my savings. I'm also wanting to get an ESP M-II (preferably deluxe) in the next 1-2 years.

 

[steve.h]

I used to own a Mesa Triple Rec, and while I liked it at first, as my playing style progressed, I found the amp was kind of a one-trick pony. No matter what guitar you put through it, it'll sound pretty much the same, which I personally grew to hate. It's sorta like EMG pickups: you either love 'em or you hate 'em. For thrash, they're awesome. For anything dynamic or expressive, they're shit.

I'd play through a triple rec again if I had to, but I'd much rather keep my Rivera. I've heard good things about the Mark IV, if you wanna go Mesa, but play through as many amps as you can, and turn 'em up. It doesn't matter how the amp sounds at non-stage/practice/recording volume!