Amps weights please. Lighter amp needed following an injury.

[Paolo]

Hi All,

I have had and loved a Mark 3 combo for many years but I have recently sustained quite a serious shoulder injury and lifting anything heavy is going to be out the question for a long time to come - maybe permanently.

I am thinking of one the following amps to get me reasonably mobile again but I cannot find any trustworthy information regarding their weights.

Can anyone give me some accurate weights please for the following?:

1. Studio 22+ combo

2. Studio Pre amp

3 F30 1x12 combo

4. F30 Head

Any help would be most appreciated.

I don't need anything like the full power of my Mark 3 and as I use a Digitech FX rack unit for certain sounds I don't need a three channel amp either.

Any comments regarding my choice of amps would also be most welcomed as I only know what I know and I am prepared to listen to any sensible advice.

Many thanks,
Paolo

 

[Don]

My Studio .22+ 1x12 combo weighs 36 pounds. I weighed it to compare it to my DC-3 1x12 combo (45 pounds), Thiele cab with EVM12L (42 pounds) and Marshall DSL401 (42 pounds).

Amp weight is a concern for me as well due to back and wrist injuries. The Studio .22+ is just right. I can carry it in one hand, my pedalboard in the other and a guitar in a gig bag on my shoulder and take it all in one trip (unless I bring beer ).
My Princeton Reverb (30 pounds) and Fender 5E3 Deluxe (25 pounds) are even better. The DC-3 is too heavy. So's the Thiele but the Studio .22+ sounds so good with it!

Good luck with your injury!

 

[Paolo]

Thanks Don,

That is really helpful as I'm going to look at a Studio 22+ tonight.

I have an all original Fender Super Champ blackface with both the original speaker and a 10" EV which is in it at the moment so it is still quite heavy. It is also flight cased so that only adds to the problem I now have . It is a really great little amp but no FX loop and even cranked up it just isn't quite loud enough. I could of course mic it up but to me it still sounds just a little "boxy" to me compared with a 1x12. It is better suited to a practice or recording amp in my mind.

I think I have decided on possibly either a Studio 22+ or the F30 but not having played through either I still have some way to go before making up my mind. it would be useful to know how much the F30 combo and F30 head weigh but I still haven't managed to find that even on the Mesa site. The current "Unboxed weights and Dimensions" chart is dated Feb 2012 and I cannot find a chart covering the F30 series.

Thanks again and I will post when I decide which way I'm going.

 

[Paolo]

Hi Don,

I gave the Studio 22+ a good going over last night and bought it. To be honest at the level I have my Mark III, which is quite low, I could get the 22+ to sound exactly the same. It is surprisingly loud and doesn't sound "boxy" like my Super Champ does when wound up. We DI into the desk anyway so I only really need enough backline level to keep the drummer happy.

The amp is in perfect condition and there isn't a mark or scuff anywhere to be seen - the additional good thing is that it is about 28lbs lighter than my Mark III.

I'll put the F30 search on hold for now but if one comes along I will definitely check it out.

Cheers,
Paolo

 

[Don]

The Studio .22+ is a cool little amp. Mine does not have the GEQ though I wish it did for added versatility.

I installed a "Lead Drive" pot on mine (I moved the Reverb control to the rear of the amp) and a "Treble Shift" switch to defeat the 680pF cap that's added to the tone stack in the lead mode. This allows the amp to sound more like an old Fender cranked up- less fat. I'd love to put that on a push/pull treble pot like an old Mark amp.

 

[Paolo]

Got a chance to try the amp out today at a full electric rehearsal and it performed very well indeed.

Kept its head above the drummer easily and I didn't have to go above 6 on either the pre or post pots. The other guys were well impressed with its performance and even more impressed with the weight. Being the same size as the Mark III means I can use the flight case so yet another added bonus.

Anyone want to buy a prefect Mark III Simulclass?

Cheers.

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

I have an F30 combo and used it for years with a small club band. Great amp master volume never pushed it past a third (9:30) to keep up with the band. Also it has a very nice tone when playing very small jobs at very low volume levels. It has a very consistent tone from low to high volumes. Clean is awesome and the drive channel set about half works very well using the guitar volume with single coil pickups. The drive set at half (12:00 straight up) will go from sparkly clean to over the top with just the guitar volume. Pedals work great and it has a signal mix in the loop. She is heavy in the combo form. The weight fluctuates depending on the time. Setup it's usually not that heavy but about 2am she kicks my a**...

Wheels, wheels, wheels.. get a 4 wheeled dolly that can lay down. I have bread racks that I built frames for with heavy duty wheels. All my equipment has wheels or goes on the racks. We roll the racks into the trailer and tie em down. Pull up to the bar, roll the racks inside unload equipment from the racks. At the end of the night wheel the racks in, load equipment onto the racks and roll em back into the trailer. All the main, sub, monitor speakers and drums go onto racks with wheels. Much less back and forth in and out of the venue loading and unloading.

 

[Paolo]

That's really good info about the F30 thanks.

When it came to needing a lighter amp the F30 was one on my list but you say it is heavy. Do you know how heavy it is?

The weight would really interest me as who knows if I come across one at a sensible price I may be tempted to travel and have a look at it as I seem to only get good reviews of this amp.

If the combo is too heavy for me, bearing in mind my recent shoulder injury (for which I am booked in for surgery on the 5th December, with no guarantee they can fix it!) maybe the head might still be of interest to me.

Cheers,

 

[Don]

I think an F-30 1x12 combo is at least as heavy as my DC-3 1x12 combo. Does it have a Celestion V30 in it? My DC-3 does. The DC-3 weighs 45 pounds. That's 9 more than the Studio .22+. It's a very noticeably 9 pounds!

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

I'll get you the pounds after I get off work.