One (low-watt) Amp to Do-It-All ....

[László]

I do fully admit that I think I've bought my last new Boogie, though. My very recent dealings with them have a decidedly less customer-centric feeling than it was before the buy-out. I wish them the best, but think the Mesa/Boogie I know is now a thing of the past, even if the amps never changed. The corporate stiffness is palpable.

It was predictable, really. But the good news is that it gives other, small, quality manufacturers a shot at greater success as more and more people draw the conclusion you have.

On a personal note, I'd buy another Mesa without thinking twice. I'd buy it from Jack Gretz, who sells a lot of Mesas (I think he's one of their largest resellers in that part of the country).

If there's a problem with something Jack sells, he handles it personally. The customer doesn't have to.

That's one of the many advantages of dealing with a guy like Jack, who owns the shop, instead of a random employee. Jack's why I keep buying from him instead of anyone else.

For me it's about getting both the right piece of gear, and the personal service. Guitars and amps are more finicky and likely to have issues here or there than, say, a computer interface or a mic preamp. So I deal only with Jack for guitars/amps.

I honestly don't know what I'd do if he closed up shop! I'd be very glum, that's for sure.

 

[RickP]

It was predictable, really. But the good news is that it gives other, small, quality manufacturers a shot at greater success as more and more people draw the conclusion you have.

On a personal note, I'd buy another Mesa without thinking twice. I'd buy it from Jack Gretz, who sells a lot of Mesas (I think he's one of their largest resellers in that part of the country).

If there's a problem with something Jack sells, he handles it personally. The customer doesn't have to.

That's one of the many advantages of dealing with a guy like Jack, who owns the shop, instead of a random employee. Jack's why I keep buying from him instead of anyone else.

For me it's about getting both the right piece of gear, and the personal service. Guitars and amps are more finicky and likely to have issues here or there than, say, a computer interface or a mic preamp. So I deal only with Jack for guitars/amps.

I honestly don't know what I'd do if he closed up shop! I'd be very glum, that's for sure.

Wish I had a shop like that locally! I’m 50 miles out of the nearest large city, and the stores here are good people but they sell the bargain brands. Most of their income is school band rentals and such, and that’s where their focus has to be. I get it, though I do miss the couple of real guitar shops we had back in the 70s.

Yeah, I can’t say the amps are good or bad. Haven’t played a new one since the California Tweed came out. So it would be unfair for me to judge. I don’t see myself buying many more amps, period, as I really ought to be on the selling end. But we know how that’s gone. Lol

 

[László]

Wish I had a shop like that locally! I’m 50 miles out of the nearest large city, and the stores here are good people but they sell the bargain brands. Most of their income is school band rentals and such, and that’s where their focus has to be. I get it, though I do miss the couple of real guitar shops we had back in the 70s.

Yeah, I can’t say the amps are good or bad. Haven’t played a new one since the California Tweed came out. So it would be unfair for me to judge. I don’t see myself buying many more amps, period, as I really ought to be on the selling end. But we know how that’s gone. Lol

I don't live near Jack's shop. He's in PA, I'm in MI. We've done business for 23 years by long distance!

 

[John F]

My criteria:

Under $2k
Tube
Good to great clean channel
Front panel controls
12” speaker
Combo format preferred

So, PRS Sonzera - Fender Princeton or Deluxe Reverb - Mesa/Boogie 2:20 - REVV D5 - used Dr Z -

I’ve ruled out 5150 - Black star - Marshall - Vox
They are not the clean sound I’m after. I prefer the 6L6 / 6V6 power tubes.

I had a ‘64 Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue, absolutely loved it. Clean platform, worked well with pedals, excellent spring reverb tank and vibrato. There is a ‘68 silver face version that is a little better for pedals so they say, but I prefer the ‘64. A handwired version ‘65 is available for a higher price. I sold mine to get a Magnatone Panoramic Stereo with pitch shifting vibrato. Priced much higher with higher output wattage but worth every penny. Check them out!

 

[Em7]

My advice for anyone who still has to have a tube amo at this point is to purchase a simple, well-made amp that can take pedals because that is an amp that can go through the seasons. I have guitarist friends I have known since high school. We have all gone through a ton of gear, but the amps that were kept have been the "practice" amps that were begrudgingly purchased by parents. I placed the word practice in quotes becsuse no one gigged with a SF Deluxe or Princeton back in the 70s. They all wanted a heavy as hades Twin. I went off the deep end and purchased Super Twin in 1980. The amp had six 6L6s and was barely usable at non-ear splitting volumes. Some guys had Marshall's, but Marshall amps were still hard to come by in the U.S. and if they weree available, they usually shipped with 6550s per Rose-Morris. Marshall's were notoriously unreliable compared to the eyelet board-based Fender amps in large part due to the fragility of the EL34. Installing 6550s allowed the amps to get through the warranty period.

 

[gush]

Thanks for all the Mesa-Boogie replies …. As I noted earlier here, my first choice was MB because of their Fender connection. The first negative I heard about MB was from a tech who hated working on them for the way they were put together…. Later upon layer upon layer… and if something on the bottom layer goes south, it’s a nightmare to get to. He added that in his market (Oregon) there were as many MB’s on the used market as Fender’s… according to him, that’s indicative of reliability issues given that Fender sells more product.

I’d forgotten about Peavey’s Classic 30 so thanks for that info. I liked the one I had about 20 years ago. That was my backup amp and a student decided he wanted it more than I.

I’m going to throw all this info on the wall and see what sticks…. The Chinese build on the Sonzera is a detrimental thing for me as well. I saw the aftermath of a Chinese steel car lift failure…. And I can’t tell you how many failed car components I’ve seen returned that were Chinese manufactured. If you buy the cheap stuff you get the cheap stuff.

I’ve also had my eyes opened to the used market from a few online retailers and higher end Seattle retailers…. The search goes on…

The mt15 has a very nice clean channel. I enjoy the clean channel but the OD channel is definitely not my thing.

And.....its for sale!

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

And.....its for sale!

hmmm

 

[JonDee]

Saw a great demo last night on YouTube where a guy did an item on recording in home studio using a 5 watt amp.

The amp in question is the Gibson Flacon 5. It sounds epic. Tube driven too. Cons? Light on bells and whistles. But miced up it sounded like a 100 watt stack - yet it was sounding at speaking volume in the room. Very late night and neighbour friendly.

Talking epic - the price is kinda epic too. Weight=s $1500 plus (US) and £1600 plus (UK).

But that said... I want one. Hassle free and easy as pie.

 

[DougGuitar]

Mesa/Brothers.

??? Please explain

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

Saw a great demo last night on YouTube where a guy did an item on recording in home studio using a 5 watt amp.

The amp in question is the Gibson Flacon 5. It sounds epic. Tube driven too. Cons? Light on bells and whistles. But miced up it sounded like a 100 watt stack - yet it was sounding at speaking volume in the room. Very late night and neighbour friendly.

Talking epic - the price is kinda epic too. Weight=s $1500 plus (US) and £1600 plus (UK).

But that said... I want one. Hassle free and easy as pie.

As someone who built and modded 5 watt SE amps for about 10 years, take my word for this please. No 5 watt amp has "full tube driven sound" at speaking volume, UNLESS you have a very inefficient 8" speaker. Plug a 5 watt amp into a 2x or even a 1x 12 and the gain channel will be too loud for most people to use at home if it's even half way up on the master.

If you run an inefficient 8" speaker, you can tame it ALOT... at the expense of fuller more open, bigger sound. That said, after multiple attempts in the past, I've been looking at Dr. Z Mini Z's again recently. 5 watts, and power scaling to help tame the 5 watts at home. Like everything else, they are 50% more than a couple years ago. I'd just get a nice 1x10 cab and use the ATMA in 5 watt mode, but again, all speaker cabs are way more than a couple years ago so it's not worth (IMO) what they cost now when I have good 1x12's already.

 

[JonDee]

Not up on the tech to be honest but the guy was using it in a home recoding set-up and he's a tube devotee himself. He was pretty impressed by it.

I guess it won't move much air, though, and nothing beats tubes really giving it some really serious oomph..

I was a bit taken aback by the cost for such a niche thing. But if money were no object I'd likely get one

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

Not up on the tech to be honest but the guy was using it in a home recoding set-up and he's a tube devotee himself. He was pretty impressed by it.

I guess it won't move much air, though, and nothing beats tubes really giving it some really serious oomph..

I was a bit taken aback by the cost for such a niche thing. But if money were no object I'd likely get one

well, if you've looked in on the "other" thread about amps, it is being addressed there, but it's not that 5 watts can't get loud. It can get pretty loud. What it can't do is have tight percussive rhythm tones, or carry much bottom end. But the saggy smooth SE vibe is the charm of these amps under most circumstances.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

??? Please explain

Because I have one as well -

 

[kdlp]

As a follow-up.... it appears that I'm going to end up with access to 2 new amps out of all this. Not long after the early posts in this thread I found an online retailer that appeared to be clearing out their M/B Fillmore 50's. I was able to get one for just under $2K new. That does NOT include freight. Meanwhile, a buddy of mine decided the $1K price of the PRS Sonzera was more to his liking and since he leaves his stuff in my studio...

I/We don't have either amp yet.... more on sounds, etc. when we do,

 

[DougGuitar]

I assume the M/B has a built in attenuator? How low a setting in Watts does it get? Thanks.

 

[kdlp]

I assume the M/B has a built in attenuator? How low a setting in Watts does it get? Thanks.

Yes, it has a front panel switch that drops it to 25 watts. I suppose the 50 watts might come in handy when you want to stay clean and need the extra headroom. I also saw a review that suggested that on the high gain mode it didn't seem as loud as a 40 watt Pro Reverb. Regardless, I should have plenty of umph for what I'm trying to do.

 

[DougGuitar]

25 WATTS is still WAY too high if you plan on using it for a bedroom amp.

 

[kdlp]

I suppose that depends on the bedroom... but yes, I understand what you're saying. This will be used in a small studio setting (the primary room is just over 400 sq. feet) and 99% of this amps use will be clean. Yes, the Fillmore 25 would have done the job but it was $100 more expensive than the Fillmore 50. Go figure!

 

[DougGuitar]

Good luck with the amp!

 

[Mystic38]

You mentioned concern over clean sounds and I am with you 100%.. There are hundreds of ways to get a dirt sound you like, but if the simple clean tone does not float your boat then its the wrong amp.

You simply can't go wrong with the DRRI. its a GREAT pedal platform, and the clean tone is simply perfect. It is priced right and its a simple and massively reliable design. Of everything I have it would be the last amp out the door... unless it was to buy a twin.