babow2
Well-known member
On Monday, I spent 14 hours at Mesa Boogie working with Frank, their photographer/videographer. We had the chance to use the new TA-30 head through a 1x12 cabinet for some video production work. Jim Aschow was nice enough to let us take a TA-30 Combo for more video shooting on Tuesday. I promised to have it back on Wednesday.
So, I had a little time to spend with the amp. I thought I might share my first, limited impressions of the amp. I do admit to being a little “prepped” by Doug West in conversation, about the amp. In short, I fear for the Stiletto series, with the new TA and RA amps!
The TA-30’s clean channel is chimey. Using an Anderson Classic (strat) in the 5 watt/Clean setting, it is bright and light up to about 12:00 on the gain; as you push the gain to 2:00 it starts to get a nice little bit of hair and edge to the notes. At 40 watts, it responds similarly. The difference in the power setting isn’t so much a big jump in volume as it is richness. The 5 watt setting is plenty loud, but as you switch to 30 or 40 watts, everything opens up and blossoms. Top Boost mode is where Channel 1 comes alive. At 40 watts, the amp is Vox-y chimey at 10:00. The bass is rich and full, everything just rings. At 11:00 on the gain, it is amazingly touch responsive. Clean and brilliant with light picking, but if you dig in, it responds quickly with just a tiny bit of edge or grit. Very “Americana”. It is very percussive. The bass is rich and full and you can feel it in the room. (and this is the 1x12 combo!). With humbuckers (Anderson Hollow Cobra S) in this setting, you can feel it thump in your chest. Palm muted low end chicken’ picken’ is massive. I couldn’t believe how BIG this amp sounds. I was rattling stuff around the room, not because it was so loud per se, but the power of the notes, as opposed to sheer volume was what impressed me.
The lead channel has this same tight, responsive percussive feel. Tweed mode has a great R&B feel to it, without as much dynamic range. You could play old blues all night in 5 watt/tweed mode. Switching to Higain 1 or 2 shifts into overdrive. The amp is a monster of rich, complex gain. Again, what is most noticeable about this amp is how percussive the low end is. This is chest thumping powerful power chords. Sustained notes actually just get louder and louder instead of rolling into harmonic feedback. The amp doesn’t have the icepick brightness of the Stiletto or Ace. It has all the tight, responsive attack, but you get the deep rich chest thumping power. It was hard to believe it was a 1x12 combo. It is very much an English type of power behind the Channel 2 Gain modes. I closed my eyes and could see the stack….. but alas, it is a small, light 1x12 pounding my chest.
The amp makes your guitar feel like you are playing a Mark series. You get that easy-to-play, sort of elastic feeling under your fingers. However, you get a tight, percussive attack coming out of the amp. I have a Mark III, Mark V and a Heartbreaker set up as a JCM800. This amp is tighter and more percussive. I have used a Stiletto Ace. This amp is richer, more complex, rounder, but just as responsive. I totally dug the tones in the short time I played it, and felt like it was a very different, and complementary, amp to my amps. It was totally awesome to feel the percussion and tight bass response in Top Boost and in the HiGain sections at bedroom volumes. I am trying to figure out how not to return it to the factory!
So, I had a little time to spend with the amp. I thought I might share my first, limited impressions of the amp. I do admit to being a little “prepped” by Doug West in conversation, about the amp. In short, I fear for the Stiletto series, with the new TA and RA amps!
The TA-30’s clean channel is chimey. Using an Anderson Classic (strat) in the 5 watt/Clean setting, it is bright and light up to about 12:00 on the gain; as you push the gain to 2:00 it starts to get a nice little bit of hair and edge to the notes. At 40 watts, it responds similarly. The difference in the power setting isn’t so much a big jump in volume as it is richness. The 5 watt setting is plenty loud, but as you switch to 30 or 40 watts, everything opens up and blossoms. Top Boost mode is where Channel 1 comes alive. At 40 watts, the amp is Vox-y chimey at 10:00. The bass is rich and full, everything just rings. At 11:00 on the gain, it is amazingly touch responsive. Clean and brilliant with light picking, but if you dig in, it responds quickly with just a tiny bit of edge or grit. Very “Americana”. It is very percussive. The bass is rich and full and you can feel it in the room. (and this is the 1x12 combo!). With humbuckers (Anderson Hollow Cobra S) in this setting, you can feel it thump in your chest. Palm muted low end chicken’ picken’ is massive. I couldn’t believe how BIG this amp sounds. I was rattling stuff around the room, not because it was so loud per se, but the power of the notes, as opposed to sheer volume was what impressed me.
The lead channel has this same tight, responsive percussive feel. Tweed mode has a great R&B feel to it, without as much dynamic range. You could play old blues all night in 5 watt/tweed mode. Switching to Higain 1 or 2 shifts into overdrive. The amp is a monster of rich, complex gain. Again, what is most noticeable about this amp is how percussive the low end is. This is chest thumping powerful power chords. Sustained notes actually just get louder and louder instead of rolling into harmonic feedback. The amp doesn’t have the icepick brightness of the Stiletto or Ace. It has all the tight, responsive attack, but you get the deep rich chest thumping power. It was hard to believe it was a 1x12 combo. It is very much an English type of power behind the Channel 2 Gain modes. I closed my eyes and could see the stack….. but alas, it is a small, light 1x12 pounding my chest.
The amp makes your guitar feel like you are playing a Mark series. You get that easy-to-play, sort of elastic feeling under your fingers. However, you get a tight, percussive attack coming out of the amp. I have a Mark III, Mark V and a Heartbreaker set up as a JCM800. This amp is tighter and more percussive. I have used a Stiletto Ace. This amp is richer, more complex, rounder, but just as responsive. I totally dug the tones in the short time I played it, and felt like it was a very different, and complementary, amp to my amps. It was totally awesome to feel the percussion and tight bass response in Top Boost and in the HiGain sections at bedroom volumes. I am trying to figure out how not to return it to the factory!