thabassplayer Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 Hello everyone, I'm over here from the bass board(gasp!!). I was just wondering about Mesa Boogie amps. My guitarist is really considering one of them. The problem is, there is no place around our neck of the woods(central MO) that has them. Neither of us know what the prices are on these bad boys, so we'd like to have some idea about that. He's looking at a Triple Rec with 4x12 cab. Are they reliable? I'm just wondering if anyone here has any experience with this. Any comments are appreciated. Also, has anyone had any experience with the Carvin Legacy setup? He's looking at that setup also. I use a Carvin Redline 1000, 4x10t cab, and 1x15 cab and have had really awesome luck with it so he's looking into that also. Just in case you need to know, we play hard rock/heavy metal. Thanks in advance. Don't ask me, I'm just the bass player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velvetoceansound Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 unless things have changed in a year's time, expect to pay top dollar for the triple recto and don't count on any sales for them either. Mesa fixes the price on all their products. The rectos are very versitile amps. The modern gain channel is probebly one of the heaviest guitar tones out there without totally turning to mush. Do you really need 150W? Make no mistake, the dual rectos are VERY load amps. With the added power of the triple, it makes it that much harder to push the power tubes into a their sweet-spot without making your ears bleed. The tremo-verb has the added features of a "blues" channel plus reverb and tremelo. The tremo is my favorite mesa. Respectable clean tones, nice, clear moderate gain sounds, and blow-your-head-off saturation. I have heard better clean channels before (i.e. old fender twins and the like) but you can't have everything unless you find a Groove Tube solo-o 150 (good luck). I used a Carvin MS3200 (I think, the one with the white face plate) for a few years and really liked it. I can't imagine the Lagacy would be much different. The Carvins will cost a fraction of the Mesas but will still yield great sound. The gain circuit is great. Very warm to very heavy. I don't think you would go wrong with either amp, but you will pay MUCH less for the Carvin rig. Do yourself a favor...look into Marshall. They are very popular for a reason. They may not sound as "heavy" or as "thick" as a recto, but they mix with the rest of the band SO much better in a live situation then just about any amp out there. Marshalls don't get buried under the bass and drums like alot of other amps the sound "wicked" when play by themselves. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 Are they reliable? Mesa's are some of the most reliable gear I've ever owned, just carry spare tubes. I think they blend way better with a band than anything else (okay, Marshalls are great for some things IF you get a Plexi and a power brake). I just don't understand the need for such extreme power. Are you playing 18,000 seat arenas where it's hard to hear each other on such a huge stage?I've got a big Boogie (Mark IV customized for 50/100 watts) but my 25 watt Boogie Studio Caliber with one 12" Celestion is WAY louder than any drum kit I've ever heard. Why would the guitar ever need to be louder than the drums on any style of music unless your stage is so big that drums are in the monitors? Tell your guitarist a 25 watt Boogie will easily keep up with your bass rig and then he can afford it and won't get one of those nasty Carvins. Sorry, I got one and sent it back. They're good on bass but no balls for guitar IMO. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMan Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Understand you boys over on the bass forum ain't allowed to cuss. What a pity! http://www.mp3.com/TheBottomFeeders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Mesa Boogies are starting to get a reputation for being unreliable. I was at Guitar Center last week and was playing through a Mark IV head. It stopped working after 5 minutes. I've been seeing a lot of bad stuff about them on other guitar forums too. Maybe they're having production problems now that they're a lot more popular. The Triple Rectifier is overkill for sure. You basically can't get power tube saturation with it which is where the tone comes from (might as well get a solid state power amp and a tube preamp). It also has a whole bunch of tubes (10+) which is expensive and further makes the amp vulnerable to problems. Carvins are supposedly very reliable and are an excellent value. Marshalls have a well deserved reputation for unreliability. The new AVT models sound like shit too. Older JCM800s are better made and are great metal amps (Zakk Wylde's choice). The Peavy 5150 is a very affordable alternative to a Mesa Dual or Triple Recto. Costs about $500 used and has the same huge bottom end. Fairly reliable too. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 Originally posted by Gabriel E.: Mesa Boogies are starting to get a reputation for being unreliable. Wow, that's the first I've heard of that. The last one I bought was in the early 90's so I'm not saying it isn't so, I just can't imagine them changing their company policies so that could happen. Are you sure it wasn't a tube thing with the head at the store? I HAVE heard that they (Boogie) are having a hard time getting reliable tube batches. The Peavy 5150 is a very affordable alternative to a Mesa Dual or Triple Recto. Costs about $500 used and has the same huge bottom end. Fairly reliable too. This is the very first time I've ever heard Peavey and reliable used in the same sentence. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted October 25, 2001 Share Posted October 25, 2001 "Are you sure it wasn't a tube thing with the head at the store? I HAVE heard that they (Boogie) are having a hard time getting reliable tube batches." Sure it could be a tube problem but brand new amps shouldn't have tube problems. Mesa hasn't heard of tube testing or burning tubes in? And I'm not saying that they're ALL poorly built or unreliable, just that they are GAINING A REPUTATION for being unreliable. My personal experience with the Mark IV didn't inspire any additional confidence.. Also, while not particularly elegant or sophisticated, Peavys do have a reputation for reliability. They're just a bitch to service if they DO break. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougP Posted October 25, 2001 Share Posted October 25, 2001 I'm not a guitarist, but I've played in a couple different bands with guitarists who have used Mesa/Boogie amps. First of all, they're LOUD. In the band where I played bass through an Ampeg B2 (350W SS) -> 4x8 + 4x10, the guitarist would have the master volume on his Mesa DC-5 (50W tube) at about "2" for proper balance. They definitely have a great sound for most hard rock genres (metal, punk, etc.), but be prepared to spend A LOT of time getting the right sound. Their tonal range is pretty broad (Fender-ish cleans to Marshall-ish crunch, but a whole lot more, both outside and between those sounds), and the gain/volume/tone controls are VERY interactive. The problem is that a lot of the possible sounds are bad, or may be useless for *your* application. A setting that works for a humbucker-equipped guitar might sound like crap with a strat. The great sounds are there, but it takes a lot of work to find them. Very different from most classic guitar amps (be it blackface Fender, Marshall Plexi, AC30, Magnatones, etc.) which have pretty much one sound that's really great, but it's impossible to get much of a different sound out of one. None of the guitarists I know who have had 'em (including ones that I've toured with) have had any sort of reliability issues with their Mesa/Boogie's except for power tube replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted October 25, 2001 Share Posted October 25, 2001 Originally posted by Gabriel E.: Sure it could be a tube problem but brand new amps shouldn't have tube problems. Mesa hasn't heard of tube testing or burning tubes in? Boogie preamps run a lot of gain. They had problems with initial batches of preamp tubes in the early Nomad series. Tubes are fragile. Things happen. And I'm not saying that they're ALL poorly built or unreliable, just that they are GAINING A REPUTATION for being unreliable. Where exactly would this be occuring........? My personal experience with the Mark IV didn't inspire any additional confidence.. Just watched a friend play through a MK IV 2 nights ago that has fallen out of a truck before, many years old, and works perfect. Saw another that fell off a stage and broke most of the knobs off: still worked. Also, while not particularly elegant or sophisticated, Peavys do have a reputation for reliability. On my planet they're known as being a good deal for the money, but are cheaply made with iffy parts and tend to eventually develope problems. Not in the same class as Boogie. Curious. ------------------ New and Improved Music Soon: http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Smith Posted October 30, 2001 Share Posted October 30, 2001 Where in central MO? I am in KC, and have a 4x12 mesa cab for sale... Also, I have never had an ouncwe of trouble with my Dual, and although they are loud, they are very versatile... E-mail me if you want some contacts for purchasing Mesa's in MO.( I am not a reg in this forum, I spend most my time at the recording end) Cheers ' Steve Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farrantaaol.com Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 I run a rack which starts with a Triaxis and ends with a SimulClass 290 power amp through two 4x12s, a Heartbreaker combo and a Marshall stack depending on what I'm doing. The advice above is all very good, Boogies are way way louder than you think and are reliable as anything running valves. The valves go, not the Boogies ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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