Amplifier impasse

[pelliott]

Will definitely keep my eyes peeled for that. Also Avatar Contemporarys. But I was at a store yesterday where the owner (a really laid back guy, not pushy at all) was pointed out some Mesa 4x12s loaded with V30s that he was trying to sell for $300 and said "hey man, give me an offer on one... I need more space in the store"

Who used/uses Mesa cabs in here?

[odontophobia]

Will definitely keep my eyes peeled for that. Also Avatar Contemporarys. But I was at a store yesterday where the owner (a really laid back guy, not pushy at all) was pointed out some Mesa 4x12s loaded with V30s that he was trying to sell for $300 and said "hey man, give me an offer on one... I need more space in the store"

Who used/uses Mesa cabs in here?

For $300 or less I'd snatch it up -- it's still a cab with vintage 30s and it's not a cheap MDF piece of shit as far as I'm aware.

[pelliott]

HRMMMMMMMM

[whiskey_face]

A G-Flex? No not usually all that cheap, 300 ish for either the 4x12 or the 2x12 is about as low as they go, with the 4x12 usually about 400 ish.

The speakers sound great in the cab, i dont know what they would sound like outside of it though. The porting could be the thing that i like better than anything

I robbed a pawn shop of my flex 412 for 140 OTD. . . .

its loaded with green backs now. the emis actually sound great in the 1960 marshall I have them in. nice a wooly

[misterstomach]

Mesa cabs are very well made. $300 is a steal. They're all 3/4 marine grade birch ply. Solidly built. Basically is the same materials and construction methods as an orange or whatever other whoop de doo cabs people are excited about. And certainly a step up from modern Marshalls and such. That's a lot less than I usually see those priced at used. Hell, you'd be hard pressed to find a set of vintage 30's for that. I'd be all over that. I'd offer 500 for both and feel like I stole them. You could probably easily resell one for 400 at least. Or just have two cabs, which is basically a necessity anyway.

[D.o.S.]

Yeah dude are you fucking joking buy that cab immediately. Mesa makes awesome shit that no one seems to be jocking for whatever reason these days.

[pelliott]

All I know about Mesa is how awesome Ryan Waste sounds

[D.o.S.]

They make super awesome amps that seem to have zero resale value owing to the residual nu-metal stink they've held for the last ten years or so. Different from Sovtek/RedBear/etc. in the early '00s, because the build quality is top-notch, so they're usually not quite so cheap, but I just saw an F-100 2x12 go for $450 on the guitar center used site. That's absurd - for a ~$2,000 made in the US amp?

[celticelk]

They make super awesome amps that seem to have zero resale value owing to the residual nu-metal stink they've held for the last ten years or so. Different from Sovtek/RedBear/etc. in the early '00s, because the build quality is top-notch, so they're usually not quite so cheap, but I just saw an F-100 2x12 go for $450 on the guitar center used site. That's absurd - for a ~$2,000 made in the US amp?

What model(s) would you recommend for guys who would otherwise be looking at Marshall/Laney/VTM-type amps?

[pelliott]

Duel Rectumfires

[D.o.S.]

They make super awesome amps that seem to have zero resale value owing to the residual nu-metal stink they've held for the last ten years or so. Different from Sovtek/RedBear/etc. in the early '00s, because the build quality is top-notch, so they're usually not quite so cheap, but I just saw an F-100 2x12 go for $450 on the guitar center used site. That's absurd - for a ~$2,000 made in the US amp?

What model(s) would you recommend for guys who would otherwise be looking at Marshall/Laney/VTM-type amps?

I assume that means you're looking for a relatively clean platform that takes pedals well? That's kind of tricky, since on the face of it Mesa's are popular because of their jacked input gain - they started as modded Fenders for higher gain. You might be able to get away with a Dual Recto, or even a Triple, but I think looking at some of their more off-brand stuff might suit you better. For example, Aaron Turner ran a Les Paul into their Formula preamp to get his Oceanic Tones, and that's a variation of this amp:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mesa-Boogie-/12 ... 1c3d3ff8cf

Which is a member of their "Mark" family of amps, I believe.

[theAntihero]

A G-Flex? No not usually all that cheap, 300 ish for either the 4x12 or the 2x12 is about as low as they go, with the 4x12 usually about 400 ish.

The speakers sound great in the cab, i dont know what they would sound like outside of it though. The porting could be the thing that i like better than anything

I robbed a pawn shop of my flex 412 for 140 OTD. . . .

its loaded with green backs now. the emis actually sound great in the 1960 marshall I have them in. nice a wooly

140 is a hell of a deal

[AxAxSxS]

I'm really not familiar with mesa's but don't most have a dedicated clean channel? Therefore good for whatever you like with pedals? I could be totally wrong here.

[Iommic Pope]

A G-Flex? No not usually all that cheap, 300 ish for either the 4x12 or the 2x12 is about as low as they go, with the 4x12 usually about 400 ish.

The speakers sound great in the cab, i dont know what they would sound like outside of it though. The porting could be the thing that i like better than anything

I robbed a pawn shop of my flex 412 for 140 OTD. . . .

its loaded with green backs now. the emis actually sound great in the 1960 marshall I have them in. nice a wooly

That would be cheap if they were that price down here. I was talking about the actual speakers though. From what I understand, some people weren't into em and swapped em out.
Whisk, you are the prince of gear thieves.

Yeah dude are you fucking joking buy that cab immediately. Mesa makes awesome shit that no one seems to be jocking for whatever reason these days.

Duel Rectumfires

These things.^

I'm really not familiar with mesa's but don't most have a dedicated clean channel? Therefore good for whatever you like with pedals? I could be totally wrong here.

It's not too bad, you gotta know how to dial em in. Probably the run it just into hot on the power tubes, JUST into gritty on the pre amp, then punch with pedals is the way to go.
Also, EQ and Noise suppression in the loop.
Volume for days.

[misterstomach]

They make super awesome amps that seem to have zero resale value owing to the residual nu-metal stink they've held for the last ten years or so. Different from Sovtek/RedBear/etc. in the early '00s, because the build quality is top-notch, so they're usually not quite so cheap, but I just saw an F-100 2x12 go for $450 on the guitar center used site. That's absurd - for a ~$2,000 made in the US amp?

What model(s) would you recommend for guys who would otherwise be looking at Marshall/Laney/VTM-type amps?

mark 3 for sure. mark 4's are actually really cool too. i've owned a couple of mesas. DOS is right, they are really good amps, really well made and reliable. mesa also has an amazing reputation for customer service and support that is probably unrivaled by any company of their size. you can buy a used mark 3 from the early 90's and if you have problems or questions you can call them on the phone and there's a good chance you can actually talk to the dude who built that exact amp on the phone and he'll walk you through your issues.

they are different from marshals and voiced differently, but for those with marshally taste, such as myself, you can really get along well with the mark series (mark 5 is excluded from this conversation). they are very heavy on the midrange. it's insane. most people end up dialing down the mids on the dial and on the graphic eq almost completely and you still have a very powerful midrange sound. take everything you know about eq'ing other amps you've owned and throw it out the window. and do not by any means think you're going to plug into your new mark 3 and just dial it right in and go. the eq on these amps is nuts, as with all mesa amps. each control definitely has an effect, sometimes a huge effect, on some other controls. it really takes getting to know the amp and taking some time to figure out how all the different controls interact with each other to really be able to work with it. but once you get to know it, it really opens up some doors. it can be really frustrating at first and probably puts some people off, but it's worth it to figure it out. i was using amp gain when i had my mark 3, so i don't have experience using it for a pedal platform, but i think it would be awesome. i could not dial in a bad clean sound on that amp. it was so awesome. i'm sure it would be good for the pedals. i actually recently started playing music with the dude who bought my mark 3 from me. i never should have sold it. but anyway, it may afford me the opportunity to try it out as a pedal platform and report back.