I might be leaving?

[ursinus]

Well, I love Mesa amps and have been using them since 78', but I think I might be switching and I'm already feeling guilty....... I love my MKIV and my Ace, but The Fuchs TDS100 has been sending the proverbial siren call to me for a while. I went to the LA Amp show this last weekend and went back and forth between the Mesa room and the Fuchs room and have decided that for my style at this point in my playing life, the Fuchs suits me better. There was another amp I loved the tone of (Red Iron T-Rex) but it is not versatile enough for what I play to justify buying it. So, I am about to put all my Mesa's on the block, but I am feeling much guilt......
Anyone else go through this? I am going to give myself another week before I start the process just to make sure it is what I really want. Any advice would be certainly appreciated......

 

[SixVeeSix]

If you have a serious conservative idea of the value of your present rigs, maybe buy the Fuchs w/ a credit card before you sell the others. That way you can try it out in your world and make sure you truly love it before you ditch the equipment that has served you so well up to now. If the Fuchs is the one, sell the Mesa stuff and pay off the credit card. If the Fuchs is a disappointment, reverse the charges and take it back. No harm done. Ask the dealer if they will let you demo it first though, could save a lot of jumping through hoops. Good luck!

 

[visualrocker69]

Me too. Well, I'm going through something a bit different. I bought a Mark IV combo earlier last summer. Now have a Triaxis, 2:90, 4x12, and a growing suspicion that the Mesa sound isn't really "me".

I'll... elaborate on that in my own post.

 

[Rampage]

DON'T DO IT, don't leave something you are happy with!

I did the exact same **** thing. I had the Mark IV/Thiele setup and loved it the second I got it. Oozing liquid lead tone galore. However like many people, I was not happy with something that in reality was the best setup I have owned. I decided to go to an Engl Powerball instead and after two weeks I KNEW that wasn't my sound. So I went back to the 5150 which I definitely don't mind, but I know the Mesa blows it away. The funny thing is that I left Mesa because I really didn't think it was "me" however it was the setup that was the most me. Now that I sold off my precious rig I feel sick to my stomach every time I look at the picture of my old rig and see how perfect the condition was and think about how great the sound was, but in a move of passion I left my Mesa and left the best tone I have ever known (hey that rhymed!).

Don't do something that you will live to regret like I did. Just think; once your Mesa setup is gone, it is probably gone for good.

Look at my previous rig and bask in the pain I must every single day of my life! (I guess I am going after that Christmas Carol message where you shouldn't forge the same chains I have, yadda yadda yadda, perhaps three other boardies will visit you during the night and show you the right path, and you'll buy a big *** turkey...).

 

[visualrocker69]

Don't do something that you will live to regret like I did. Just think; once your Mesa setup is gone, it is probably gone for good.

Overdramatic much? I mean, I went from the Mark IV combo to a Triaxis/2:90/4x12 fairly easily, I don't see why going back to Mesa from something else would be that much harder?

 

[Rampage]

Don't do something that you will live to regret like I did. Just think; once your Mesa setup is gone, it is probably gone for good.

Overdramatic much? I mean, I went from the Mark IV combo to a Triaxis/2:90/4x12 fairly easily, I don't see why going back to Mesa from something else would be that much harder?

Here's my thing: I had a Mark IV and Thiele in absolutely perfect condition, that matched perfectly, that sounded great, and I got them for affordable prices. Sure at the time I sold them I honestly didn't care in the least bit. But as time has gone on I am just kicking myself in the *** for selling it. Its not like I lay awake at night silently sobbing about how I sold off my Mesa gear, its just that I am pissed that I foolishly sold off the best setup I have yet to own. I know that it was a great learning experience, but what I meant by "it will probably be gone forever" is that no matter how close you get to the original setup, it won't be quite the same as the mojo that the first setup had.

I don't know, I've owned a lot of amps and guitars in the past couple of years and I didn't feel as close to any other amp than my Mark IV. I guess its all the the eye of the beholder, but I honestly think the rig I had should have been one to keep for a lot longer than a few months.

 

[visualrocker69]

Hmmmmm... Sounds like a psychological thing to me.

 

[Rampage]

Hmmmmm... Sounds like a psychological thing to me.

In all honesty with me I think it is partially psychological and partially about tone. I love the tone of the Mark IV quite a bit, but I am very particular when it comes to guitar gear so I loved the fact that it was very clean and neat. Oh well, enough about me, this is about the ursinus!

 

[Silverwulf]

So, I am about to put all my Mesa's on the block, but I am feeling much guilt......Anyone else go through this? I am going to give myself another week before I start the process just to make sure it is what I really want. Any advice would be certainly appreciated......

I went through the same thing. I recently sold off all of my Mesa gear, and it was difficult because it was the "safe" thing for me to keep. I did love the tone, and I had the same primary rig for over 4 years, so that '94 Recto I had was pretty much synonymous with "my sound". But, my taste gradually changed, and I finally moved on to try something different after using Mesa's almost exclusively for about 5 years.

Will I ever get the urge and want to grab a Recto or Mark IV again? Probably some day, just not at the moment. As for now, I've moved on to a Splawn Quickrod into a Splawn 4X12 loaded with an X-Pattern of Big Blocks and Small Block 65's. In about 3 weeks, I'll also have a Splawn Nitro...

 

[siggy14]

You will be back, you are slightly behind me, i sold off all my mesa only to come back.

I guess it will probaly be when you can afford to own more then one like i am doing right now. In the end I will be perfectly happy with a Mark IV, recto rackmount, stiletto duece II and I am getting another Bogner Uber that I am gonna play around with. I might keep the tremverb as well.

So, I am about to put all my Mesa's on the block, but I am feeling much guilt......Anyone else go through this? I am going to give myself another week before I start the process just to make sure it is what I really want. Any advice would be certainly appreciated......

I went through the same thing. I recently sold off all of my Mesa gear, and it was difficult because it was the "safe" thing for me to keep. I did love the tone, and I had the same primary rig for over 4 years, so that '94 Recto I had was pretty much synonymous with "my sound". But, my taste gradually changed, and I finally moved on to try something different after using Mesa's almost exclusively for about 5 years.

Will I ever get the urge and want to grab a Recto or Mark IV again? Probably some day, just not at the moment. As for now, I've moved on to a Splawn Quickrod into a Splawn 4X12 loaded with an X-Pattern of Big Blocks and Small Block 65's. In about 3 weeks, I'll also have a Splawn Nitro...

 

[Silverwulf]

You will be back, you are slightly behind me, i sold off all my mesa only to come back.

I guess it will probaly be when you can afford to own more then one like i am doing right now. In the end I will be perfectly happy with a Mark IV, recto rackmount, stiletto duece II and I am getting another Bogner Uber that I am gonna play around with. I might keep the tremverb as well.

Haha...maybe so. A couple head units and a couple cabs is the extent of what I can (safely) afford at the moment. Well, I could afford more if I felt like sleeping on the couch for a week...:lol: I think the wife and I are talking about $1K each for X-Mas, so I'll probably toss some extra with it and pick up a third head unit.

I think after 5 years of the Mesa sound, I just need to hear something different, and the Splawn is a refreshing change that's doing exactly what I want it to at the moment.

 

[sam adams]

Roll with it. It's not like you're never going to be able to find another MK IV or ACE.

 

[ursinus]

Roll with it. It's not like you're never going to be able to find another MK IV or ACE.

That is true. I'm hoping that if they do upgrades to the MKIV and make it a MKV, that will make the used MKIV prices drop. I think I am going to keep the Ace for a while though.

My TDS100 should be home by next wed. or thurs. and I will a/b extensively before I start selling anything.

 

[Rocky]

I bounce back and forth between amp companies like a tennis ball at the Australian Open, Mesa, Koch, Harry Joyce, Matchless, Marshall...I always sound like me. Maker really doesn't matter as long as it is reliable and clear sounding.

Personally I favor a Marshall type of tone, which is why the Mesa amps I like are made for EL34 or EL84 valves.

I can easily see myself dumping Mesa for another maker.

They are tools to me.

 

[Silverwulf]

Ha...I know what you mean. Seems like I've tried just about everything coming and going - Mesa, Marshall, Splawn, Peavey, Soldano, Hughes & Kettner, etc...but this is the first time I've been without a Mesa in about 5 years. Give it time and I'm sure I'll pick up another sometime in the future. Curious to see what new products they release in 2008.

 

[Silverwulf]

Personally I favor a Marshall type of tone, which is why the Mesa amps I like are made for EL34 or EL84 valves.

I would recommend checking out Splawn if you haven't already since you like that Marshall sort of sound. The Quickrod is the amp Marshall should have made 10 years ago.

 

[ursinus]

Personally I favor a Marshall type of tone, which is why the Mesa amps I like are made for EL34 or EL84 valves.

I would recommend checking out Splawn if you haven't already since you like that Marshall sort of sound. The Quickrod is the amp Marshall should have made 10 years ago.

Splawn does make a great amp, but I have been getting into building my own Marshal clones and modifying others amps. My latest project is almost done. It is modding a Mojave Peacemaker so that it has the preamp section of a JCM800 with some tone stack mods, but with the power amp specs of a plexi with really low filtering to give it a looser feel. What is nice about the Mojave as a base is that everthing in it is top notch and the transformers are slightly differnt than the stock Marshall's in a good way. Also I have added a post phase inverter master volume. When it is done, I'll post some pics. Interestingly, I still prefer the Ace's tone for my style.

 

[guitarmaster]

:!:

 

[visualrocker69]

wait for the mark v bro.

Might as well wait for Godot.

“Yes, there will probably be a Mark V… but not for a long time. And it will probably sound just like the Mark IV but with a simpler control layout. It’s not next on my palette because the Mark IV is still going strong after 12 or 13 years. But who knows? By the time that bad boy comes around, anything could happen!”

 

[ursinus]

Well, I am leaving partially. The MKIV head and the Ace head are going as well as one of my 2x12's, but my Theile cabs and my 395 power amp are staying. Mesa is a company I will never forsake, but for now, the Fuchs TDS100 is wonderful and suits my playing more. See the classifieds for all the stuff I'll be selling.