What Are Your Favorite Amps To Play?

Speaking of Mesas, I have always wanted a Lonestar (Classic)... I see they are discontinued now...
 
My favourite MkIII of them all.

Was the "squiggly" two letters joined together (MB) by any chance? That would be the signature of the awesome Mike Bendinelli.
 
Sounds like it may well be his quick scrawl: the lazy M is typical, while the upper-case B's top loop is often so small it can look like a lower-case letter b.
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
I spent years, convinced that somewhere between the Mark II and III is the sound I want. But buying multiple versions to see if that was correct is a tough task. The Mark V was close for me. Honestly, I just looked at a wall of amps that hardly got turned on and decided it was time to move them unless I was completely in love with them. It was CLOSE on a million different tones, but none of them blew me away like the Archon did. And the constant tweaking trying get "great" and losing "good" sometimes, the very next day without touching any knobs, made me fall even more for the "here are the knobs. Turn them and get exactly what you want today in 15 seconds" function of the Archon.

But I've heard some awefully good tones from various III's and obviously II's. Which version of the III do you have?
Click to expand...
I had a Mark V, and as you say, it was awfully close on a lot of things I was working on. I still think it's a great amp. I like the Archon, but haven't felt the need to own one - what it does the best doesn't correspond to what I do the best. This isn't a knock on the amp, it's me, it's not you. ;)

This means nothing, of course, because you're a smokin' player, and I'm just playing 'composer guitar'.

Still, even 'composer guitar' requires tone. The Mark V has very good tone. I no longer have one, because I wound up using the channel that was most like the Lone Star, so I simply got a Lone Star. But I have a TON of respect for that amp. Same with the Archon.

It's kind of odd to me...Mesa amps are either underrated or overrated, but I think they're underrated. Most Mesas are very good at what they set out to do.
 
LSchefman said:
I had a Mark V, and as you say, it was awfully close on a lot of things I was working on. I still think it's a great amp. I like the Archon, but haven't felt the need to own one - what it does the best doesn't correspond to what I do the best. This isn't a knock on the amp, it's me, it's not you. ;)

This means nothing, of course, because you're a smokin' player, and I'm just playing 'composer guitar'.

Still, even 'composer guitar' requires tone. The Mark V has very good tone. I no longer have one, because I wound up using the channel that was most like the Lone Star, so I simply got a Lone Star. But I have a TON of respect for that amp. Same with the Archon.

It's kind of odd to me...Mesa amps are either underrated or overrated, but I think they're underrated. Most Mesas are very good at what they set out to do.
Click to expand...

On the first thing: Yes... I spent a couple years, convinced that it was my dream amp, but could never really get the tones "I" wanted out of it. And on those occasions I did love the tone I had, I'd turn it on the next day and the magic was gone. That single aspect is what made me sell it. I suspect, but never verified, that some Mesa amps are extremely sensitive to voltage swings and a small difference can change the tone significantly. Again, unproven, but it's a very common complaint about Mesa amps.

On the second thing: WHAT???? I'm just a guy who taught himself, learned by ear, and plays with a messy pedal board. :D

On the last parts. Again, I agree, I really liked a lot of tones and HOLY CRAP it could do a ton of different tones. TBH, I do regret selling it, especially so cheaply. Even when I felt the Archon was more suited to me and "my" tone, the V was worth more to me than what I ended up selling it for AND, I'd buy it back tomorrow for what I sold it for. Ha, they're going at least $500 more than that now. And yes, some people think Mesa is the holy grail. Heck, I did for a few years. I dreamed of owning one for years and at one time I had 5-6 of them all at once. And, I really wish I still had about 3 of them. They really were good!
 
What I own and love :)
Mesa MK V
PRS H
Fender Vibrolux Custom
I also miss my MKII from time to time
I also love that amps I have gotten to play thru at MaPetes ( to many to list )
Brians house of Marshall and Friedman ( so much fun :) )
 
Rider1260 said:
What I own and love :)
Mesa MK V
PRS H
Fender Vibrolux Custom
I also miss my MKII from time to time
I also love that amps I have gotten to play thru at MaPetes ( to many to list )
Brians house of Marshall and Friedman ( so much fun :) )
Click to expand...
Strictly gain channel- how do you compare the II you have, to the tones in the V?
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
Strictly gain channel- how do you compare the II you have, to the tones in the V?
Click to expand...
On the MK II the gain channel never really worked for me BUT it was a KILLER pedal platform and the clean channel was killer.
ON the MK V I can get my old mesa fix with the MK1 mode but with better gain. Then The MKIV mode does all the rest :)
The only thing I struggle with on the MKV is the volume between the clean and dirty channels , and sometimes the foot switch flakes out, Think I need to replace the cable )
 
Rider1260 said:
On the MK II the gain channel never really worked for me BUT it was a KILLER pedal platform and the clean channel was killer.
ON the MK V I can get my old mesa fix with the MK1 mode but with better gain. Then The MKIV mode does all the rest :)
The only thing I struggle with on the MKV is the volume between the clean and dirty channels , and sometimes the foot switch flakes out, Think I need to replace the cable )
Click to expand...
Clean the cable pins with De-Oxit regularly, and stomp on all the switches regularly. I had a switch stop working (Edit: On my Mark V switch pedal) and stomped it about 50 times and it never did it again, but I learned that from my pedal building days.

As much as Mark IIC+ was "the holy grail" I always preferred the tones I got in Mark IV mode. And. the Mark I was killer if you tamed the massive bass. I turned the bass knob WAY down, but also did an upward tilt curve with the GEQ, so the bottom was pulled down further, and the treble boosted. But the Mark I mode was a totally different thing from 2-4. Very cool, certainly (once you tamed the bass).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DreamTheaterRules said:
Clean the cable pins with De-Oxit regularly, and stomp on all the switches regularly. I had a switch stop working and stomped it about 50 times and it never did it again, but I learned that from my pedal building days.

As much as Mark IIC+ was "the holy grail" I always preferred the tones I got in Mark IV mode. And. the Mark I was killer if you tamed the massive bass. I turned the bass knob WAY down, but also did an upward tilt curve with the GEQ, so the bottom was pulled down further, and the treble boosted. But the Mark I mode was a totally different thing from 2-4. Very cool, certainly (once you tamed the bass).
Click to expand...
The bass is ridiculous in IIC+ mode, and the MkIV mode is “the best” mode for lead stuff in a MkV (says me). That whole amp was amazing except for the lead mode, which is.. kinda why some people buy a Boogie in the first place.

I was a lil’ salty I traded away my MkV until I traded for my MkIV.
 
ruger9 said:
Speaking of Mesas, I have always wanted a Lonestar (Classic)... I see they are discontinued now...
Click to expand...

It's a great amp, and remains one of the few Mesas I've only used, rather than owned. I spent so long trying to convince a mate to sell me his - it sounded amazingly good, plus he hardly ever used it - that I didn't get around to trying others that were also available back then. We both preferred that amp to all my big b/f Fenders.

Now, those Lone Stars are all gone, or aren't available at anything close to the former stupidly cheap prices: so if I need great cleans, I just plug into my main MkIIA, or default to a Two Rock.
 
I've always wanted to play through a Matchless Clubman. Saw a guy at a bar play through one and it still stands out for me.
 
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