Considering a Boogie, advice please

[mysteron09]

Greetings all, and sorry about the perpetually asked question.

My current amp is an older Vox AC-30 (unfortunately not one of the JMI models) that I have some reliability concerns with. Great tone, but occasionally I will get swamped in stage volume. Since I play small gigs occasionally, a stack is overkill for most of my shows, but I have used a couple of Boogies over the years, either borrowed or as part of a provided backline. I did find them to be a bit tough to dial in, but I attributed that only to my inexperience with the amps and their gain structure. Recently I've played a couple of Stilettos, but I've always liked the tone of the Mark series that I've heard.

My band plays the usual classic rock cover stuff, Stones, Beatles, Who, Zep with some Santana and Wishbone Ash as well. Primarily, I play a Les Paul or SG, alternating with a Strat, and a Les Paul Faded doublecut for the open G "Keef" stuff.

Although there are several dealers nearby where there are plenty of the rectifier series, F-30 and F-50, as well as the odd Stiletto and Lonestar, I haven't found a dealer that actually has a Mark I or IV reissue in stock here in the NYC area (short of going into Manhattan, which I'd prefer not to for a number of reasons).

I'd assume that a Mark I or Mark IV reissue would probably be the choice for me (I will admit to considering an Orange Rockerverb 50 as well), but I'd prefer to try it out first. Are these ever stocked at dealers, or must they be ordered (and would there be a long wait?). Would you recommend a Lonestar or Stiletto instead, or even one of the rectifier models?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[dancullinane]

I would say the Lonestar would be my choice for what you play in the modern amps. A Mark IIB - IV would also get you there in the older style amps. I have several Mark amps (lonestar is next to get). I find the IIB IIC and III to covr enough ground w.o being too complicated. The Mark IV is a very complicated beast, the tones are there but require a lot of tweaking. But it has the mosrt versatility and a great footswitch for live playing. You really have to try them and decide for yourself.

The F-series are pretty nice as well and cover alot of ground

 

[chedgeco]

I've been playing a Mark III since the 80's. It was my main rig up until early 2002 when I started aquiring the Mesa stuff that you see in my sig, one of which was another Mark III. My most recent love is the Lonestar.

If money's an issue then a used Mark III will serve up all the goods you're looking for and will keep delivering for years. It will cost you around $800.00 fully loaded with Simul, EQ, and Verb and maybe even some wood. Be careful getting wood though, because once you've been there you will never want tolex again.

If your budget is in the medium range, then a new to new-ish Mark IV or Lonestar will serve it up well. I'm playing a Lonestar right now in a cover's band that is doing the exact same stuff you mentioned.

If your budget will allow it then get a Mark IV or Lonestar in wood, you will never be sad that you did:

Chris... 8)

 

[Russ]

Nothing beats going out and shopping your amp with your guitar and your speakers fi you intend to use them. Sometimes it is hard to get a good feel for an amp without playing it first. You'll need a good idea of the amp's abilities before you decide. Something to consider... A Mark IV is one hell of an amp. It takes a while to figure it out though. It took me months to get it to sound how I wanted it to for anything that I was throwing at it. The sensitivity of the knobs and the amount of change you get per slight movement are better than any other amp I have ever played. I played Marshalls for years and amps that were based on Marshalls where you really had to dime stuff but could easily slip a knob a little in a hurry and not have to be too accurate and still get a useable sound. Again, the Mark IV is an amp for those that like to really dial in a sound. It gets nice cleans (almost Fendery) all the way through brutal gain. In fact, on the lead channel it is possible to go a little overboard on the gain if you are not careful. It stays tight and is nearly impossible to flub. It doesn't quite get as deep as a Recto but can hang with one and is a good complimentary sound if you play along with someone that has one. For leads I think the Mark IV sounds much better than the Recto. So for that I think a Recto is better for Rhythms. For versatility reasons I would consider the Mark IV over any other Mark. For simplicity you may want to go with a simpler Mark amp (I, II, III, or any variant of). Take your time with your decision and be sure to give everything a fair shot and consider your needs and whatever else you may decide to do with it. Also check out the Stiletto. Platypus put up some nice clips...

 

[eliot323]

I'd echo the support for the Lonestar Classic - it would cover most of your bases and you can swap the power tubes/valves from 6L6s to EL34s.

If you wanted to stick with EL84s and Class A you could also consider the Lonestar Special, which has a few additional features compared to the Lonestar Classic, such as switchable power for each channel from 5 to 30 watts.

 

[jamme61]

I play the same stuff as you and have gone with the MKIV widebody combo. I have used the Lonestar and thought it was real nice but for the same price I got the MKIV and a lot more options. I had the recto's and don't like them for classic rock at all. The MKIV has been a pain to dial in and it is one of the loudest 1x12 combo's you'll ever play. I had to get an attenuator for home and gigs! I use to carry a plexi head and a marshall half stack or marshall 2x12. Now I just take the MKIV widebody combo and am amazed how well it covers and how loud it can get and also how much it can do. My favorite amp of all time will always be my Marshall 1987x plexi, but, for gig and great tone the MKIV is killer.

 

[mysteron09]

Based on playing the Lonestar and the Stiletto already, I'd probably lean more toward the Lonestar if the selection was limited to those two. I really want to check out the Mark I and IV reissues, but I'm surprised that I can't find any at my local dealers, especially in a big metro area like NYC! There's a Guitar Center about 15 minutes from work, which is a possibility (I'll try to take a long lunch and go over there this week), but knowing GC, my hopes aren't high for them having a Mark on the floor to play.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

 

[jamme61]

I talked to the GC's here in NJ and found out that they told mesa they only want to stk the F series and the recto's. Everything else is special order. I found O. DiBella Music 456 S. Washington Ave. Bergenfield NJ 07621 (201) 385-5800 on the mesa site and went there and got to try every Mesa there. I played the stiletto's and they had a MKIV head and widebody and they had the road king and the roadster. They let me play through all the amps for about an hour on two different days. they were great and in the end I didn't buy from them. If there close give them a call, and they should have what you want to try. GC sucks and will just tell you they have to special order it for you.

 

[enigma]

I own Mark I Reissue, Lonstar classic and Stiletto Trident which is up for sale by the way.

I love my Mark I Reissue - it has 100/60 watt switch with Tweed for brown out power as well. For a small package it is a TANK!!! It's so well constructed and heavy.

Mark I Reissue is incredibley versatile with excellent clean tones and when driven with Blues Driver or Distortion it just screams. I'll never sell this one!

Lonestar Classic does almost everything that Mark I Reissue does but with an excellent bottom due to 2x12 and bigger cab size. I just got it so I don't know how much better this amp is compared to Mark I. But if i were to choose one amp to record the cleans LSC would just pass the Mark I by a nudge.

Stiletto is an incredible amp with awesome British crunch and tite tone. And, when you switch to fluid the tone is just incredibley sumptuous and fluid. Overall, the clean is not as "good" as the other two, but when you plug in a single coil guitar the tone is incredibly fat!

I'm only selling the Stiletto b/c I find myself using my combos for practical reasons.

 

[mysteron09]

What's the usual wait time if you have to order a Mark I from the factory?

 

[enigma]

Just give Mesa a call. I was lucky to have found a mint, used one at GC. It came in the morning, and I bought it in the afternoon. I was so surprised that someone let this beauty of an amp go.

 

[SoCalSteve]

Based on playing the Lonestar and the Stiletto already, I'd probably lean more toward the Lonestar if the selection was limited to those two. I really want to check out the Mark I and IV reissues, but I'm surprised that I can't find any at my local dealers, especially in a big metro area like NYC! There's a Guitar Center about 15 minutes from work, which is a possibility (I'll try to take a long lunch and go over there this week), but knowing GC, my hopes aren't high for them having a Mark on the floor to play.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Just as a suggestion, try not to dismiss the Stiletto so quickly. Download the manual from the Mesa site and read how the settings interact (bold/spongy, diode/tube, drive settings) and maybe printout the factory sample settings and bring them along to give the amp a fair shake. You may find exactly what you're looking for - and more!

 

[enigma]

mysteron09,
I am selling my Stiletto Trident w/ 2x12 cab for $1,600. At the same time you can try my Mark I and Lonestar though they are not for sale. I live right outside of George Washington Bridge.

 

[jamme61]

What's the usual wait time if you have to order a Mark I from the factory?

For the MKI try to get it used. You could save a lot of money. I've seen them go for as little as $600. I'm not sayiung they all go that low, but you could get lucky.

 

[enigma]

$600 for a used Mark I Reissue would be nice, but improbable. I bought mine used for $950 in excellenct condition - one of best purchases yet.

 

[GMello]

if you are willing to buy used/discontinued models, look into the DC series or even the Nomads. They are very affordable and sound great for what you do. I have a Nomad 55 head and it is awesome for blues and classic rock tones.