General Music Chat

Its the same with Mesa's Jimmy. When I was gigging heavily in the early 90s, I lugged around 2 half stacks, mainly in case one broke. The early Rectifier amps used to break down a lot. These amps saturated the air waves for awhile.

I got a Mesa 2x12 Roadster a couple of years ago, it has a sealed back and its the heaviest amp Ive ever owned. 4 channels is great ot have but most of the time live I just stick to the classic rec sound with a boost for leads. I use that 90% of the time live. One really good amp tone is better than 10 crappy ones.

One thing about Mesa's is they are as finicky tone wise as women. If you change one tone control it just really changes the character of the amp, more than most Marshalls Ive played on. There again I just never could get my hands on a really good sounding JCM 800. But thats the tone I love!

Hey, John Petruci uses Mesa Boogie amps.

And...

Metallica
Doug Ott from Enchant
Mark Tremonti from Alter Bridge & Creed
Carlos Santana
Foo Fighters
Lamb of God
Andy Timmons

more...


The Mesa is the king of tone.

If it's good enough for Carlos I'm sold.

If anyone is looking for a lower priced alternative to Marshall check out B-52s. I bought their 100 watt combo and it rocks.

Hey, John Petruci uses Mesa Boogie amps.

And...

Metallica
Doug Ott from Enchant
Mark Tremonti from Alter Bridge & Creed
Carlos Santana
Foo Fighters
Lamb of God
Andy Timmons

more...


The Mesa is the king of tone.

Wrong. Metallica used marshall power amps, mesa pre-amps.

Mesa is decent quality, but outrageously overpriced.

'Mesa is king of trend, and fanboy nation'

I think Metallica used Marshalls in the earlier years:

KILL 'EM ALL

Guitars
Epiphone Flying V
White with golden hardware, dot inlays, Seymore Duncan pickups
2 volume controls, 1 tone
Can be seen: "Cliff 'Em All" - ("Whiplash")
Last time used live: "Master of Puppets" gigs

Amps
Marshall 100 watt head and 4x12 cabinets - Jose Arrengando modified

Effects
ProCo Rat Distortion

Picks
Dunlop Green Tortex .88 mm

RIDE THE LIGHTNING

Guitars
Gibson Explorer #1
White w/ black headstock, dot inlays, has sported different stickers
496R/500T ceramic magnet humbuckers were replaced by two
EMG 81 humbuckers in 1987
Can be seen: "Cliff 'Em All" - ("Creeping Death")
Last time used live: "Monsters of Rock" tour

Amps
Marshall 100 watt head and 4x12 cabinets

Picks
Dunlop Green Tortex .88 mm


That best sounding Amps I tried where Laney VH100, Soldano and Deizel. I am currently saving up for one of these.

Yes.... Deizel sounds amazing.
I'll never be able to afford one though

check out Splawn amplifiers, they kill as well

Yes.... Deizel sounds amazing.
I'll never be able to afford one though

check out Splawn amplifiers, they kill as well

Cool I checked out their website. I saw that Tony Rombola endorses them and I do like his tone (We both play 7 strings).

Thanks Zip

Santos thanks for the breakdown. I didnt know they used the green picks thats what Ive used for years.

I thought there was a period where Metallica used Mesa's, Mark IVs and Rec's, but I dont follow them enough to really know.

Santos thanks for the breakdown. I didnt know they used the green picks thats what Ive used for years.

I thought there was a period where Metallica used Mesa's, Mark IVs and Rec's, but I dont follow them enough to really know.

J Dub,
with the Black Album they used markIV as some sort of pre-amp like set up into marshall power amps.
sort of a daisy chain type thing I think.

I thought there was a period where Metallica used Mesa's, Mark IVs and Rec's, but I dont follow them enough to really know.

Cool Cool!

I think that many artists take the gear they are endorsed with and have their technicians do modifications on them. As amps are concerned, replacing tubes and then re-biasing, and circuitry for solid states end up sounding like a totally different amp. Just because you buy a signature amp, it may not sound like the artist who's name is embossed in it. There are so many factors: Guitar, effects, speakers etc. and even playing style that can affect tone. I like to tell people who are shopping for amps to try as many as they can and try not to be surprised if the one they end up with is totally different from what they set out for at first.

Santos thanks for the breakdown. I didnt know they used the green picks thats what Ive used for years.

I thought there was a period where Metallica used Mesa's, Mark IVs and Rec's, but I dont follow them enough to really know.

They did. Metallica owns some of the rare Mark IIC+ amps too. They use combinations of all sorts of different amps (watch the Black album tapes). But the base tone comes from Boogies.


And as for them using Marshall power amps: who cares? It's the preamp that counts - that's the tone generation of your amp. The power amp just makes it "loud". But the tone comes from the preamp. That's why Metallica's stuff sounds "heavy" and thick (courtesy of the Boogie preamps), and why Megadeath's stuff sounds thin (lots of distortion, but no meat).

I don't begrudge Marshall fans - millions love the sounds of a Marshall. I just don't; they're not for me. I like tone - big, fat, rounded tone with lots of body and soul. The Mesa's have tone in bunches.

And they're not just for old guys... geez. Tons of new bands use Boogies. Chevelle uses them, Alter Bridge uses them, Nickleback uses them... If you want a big, thick overdriven sound then the Boogie is a great place to start.

Overpriced? You get what you pay for. I was just hanging out at my local shop and he had three Marshall's in there for repair. He was bitching up one side and down the other about how unreliable the Marshall amps are.

I've had my Boogie gear for over a decade. Blew one fuse on my power amp a few months ago - repaired for free because the part was so small. Replaced the tubes on my Triaxis once. That's it. My gear still plays as good as it did when I bought it.

Mesa stuff is built to last and I love that about their gear.



Sorry, don't mean to sound like a Mesa salesman. I just love the gear. I don't understand people who try and cut it down. They make awesome equipment; stuff that not only sounds great, but is built to last. And the Mesas... they're usually so flexible you can tweak the heck out of them until you get YOUR sound (as JW can attest). On top of that, their customer service is outstanding... I love working with those guys...

All right - enough from me.

Mesa people always cut Marshall down. For no good reason.
And theyre the ones that always seem to start it.

Sweet, you like your product.
Im not into the mesa dual and triple rectumfires.


And oh ya, it was thee mark IIs that metallica frankensteined.
The IIc's are nice

Colors, you started this thread as a slap at Marshall users, not just the amps. There wouldn't be room on this site to list all of the Marshall users in the world. Yes Marshalls can be little bitches sometimes but I like little bitches, like I said just keep two around.

Mesa rules, Never breaks , tells you when you gotta change tubes, Stilleto ,Road king, Roadster ,some awsome amps. You have to learn how to use them and the biggest problem is that you really need to stick with there low powered amps,,,,,, a 100 watt bogie is like a 150 watt amp of something else.

I do like some of the Peavey amps ,but you cant keep your hand on one girl while your reaching for another.

It never ceases to amaze me why some people swear by one brand and swear at another. It is such a personal subjective thing how each of us hears music. What you perceive as an awesome tone might sound like crap to somebody right next to you. I've hosted blues jams before and every person who plays through my bass guitar and amp (Fender Precision special and Peavey TNT 115) sounds different from everybody else. Some people sound awful through my rig and I wonder "do I sound like that?" I have to run up and adjust the tone controls. Everybody has a different attack on their strings. This is one of the most fascinating subjects to me. It's one of the mysteries of music...Kind of like people who love Fords and hate Chevies and vice-versa...