Is the TA 15 the must under-rated amp ever?

[Dreamtheaterrules]

I'm not joking. I've have mine two weeks now and another friend got a TA30 at the same time. Both of us are experienced players with good gear. Both of us LOVE these amps!

My contact at GC tried to get me to buy one of these when they came out. He LOVES them and gigs with one. I listened too people say it was really good but "no mids control and no loop is a deal breaker" and I held off on buying it. Fast forward a couple years til now. I get one used and I am just blown away by it. The feature set is incredible. I was looking for a boutique 5 watt or so amp to round out my amp stable. Even if you count the two Vox voices as one, this is still 4 great 5 watt amps in one box. And then....

Well, there's the 3 different styles or output stages which each have their own feel and response. Couple that with the 5 voices, and you have one absolute TON of versatility. Both tonally, and volume range wise.

My friend and I both think this may be the most UNDER rated amp ever. I have played this with various speakers and they all do their thing and it sounds very good with all of them. I know part of the magic I'm hearing is that I mainly use it with a Red Fang Alnico which gives it a whole other thing in all 5 voices. Pretty authentic Vox and Tweed, of course. But Mesa (Hi 2) is very Mark-ish and just sings with smooth sustain. The Marshall does as well.

I can't say enough good things about this amp. I told my buddy with the TA30 the other day "with Mids controls and a loop this thing would rule the world." I'm singing it's praises loudly at The Gear Page. I'm surprised there isn't more hype surrounding these amps, especially here. What a GREAT affordable amp.

If you have one and haven't tried it with a good alnico, make an effort to do so, especially if you use the Vox or Tweed voices a lot. But, wait til you hear the Mesa voice through it!

Last comment: I had a buddy I play with regularly, that I'd been telling about this since I got it. He owns 5 good amps. He finally got to come over a couple days ago to hear it. 15 minutes into my demo, he said "Ok, so far it sounds like I could sell every amp I have and get all their tones and more with that one tiny little amp!" Then he heard the Mesa tone and he doesn't have any Mesa amps. He laughed and said "ok, I have to have one of those." Yeah, pretty much!

 

[shimmilou]

Kind of the same thing here, had a friend that was into MB amps and after hearing my requirements for a head, he recommended the TA-15. I dismissed his suggestion for a long while, I'm just not into the MB sound, until I tried the TA-15. I was, and still am, very impressed with this little tone monster. I've tried a few different speakers, and pretty much settled on V30s in a 2x12. Fantastic amp indeed, and very versatile, really like 15 amps in one (5 modes x 3 power levels). 8)

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

really like 15 amps in one (5 modes x 3 power levels). 8)

I felt the same way. (Said that exact thing at The Gear Page the other day!). With the different feel and response of each power section, it really does make each voice different. So, a guy who wanted a 25 watt gig amp can now have a great amp he can play at home too. A guy who wanted a great 5 watter for home now has an amp he can gig with.

I've been a Marshall fan all of my life. Grew up on Hendrix and Trower and almost EVERYONE I loved using Marshalls. But the Mini Rec and TA15 have me ready to not only sell my other amps, but stop looking for for more as well. In fact, I think the only amp I'd even consider buying now, is a Mark V.

 

[borisson]

i own the TA 30 and i can tell you that its an amazing amp...so is the Mark V...

 

[KasperT]

really like 15 amps in one (5 modes x 3 power levels). 8)

I felt the same way. (Said that exact thing at The Gear Page the other day!). With the different feel and response of each power section, it really does make each voice different. So, a guy who wanted a 25 watt gig amp can now have a great amp he can play at home too. A guy who wanted a great 5 watter for home now has an amp he can gig with.

I've been a Marshall fan all of my life. Grew up on Hendrix and Trower and almost EVERYONE I loved using Marshalls. But the Mini Rec and TA15 have me ready to not only sell my other amps, but stop looking for for more as well. In fact, I think the only amp I'd even consider buying now, is a Mark V.

Hey DTR it's Sparky from TGP. I really feel the same as you regarding this amp. I'm not interested in other amps anymore and I don't see a reason to keep my other amps except for sentimentality purposes, and that's fricken crazy for a gear hound. I never really thought that finding the right amp was even a potential reality, now it's so real I want to sell my other amps, and pack away the one or two that I want to keep besides the Mesa. Unbelievable.

The TA-15 is perfect for playing with a band and for playing at home late night in an apt! It gets down to the 5 watts but the master volume on it is very very good, so I don't wake up neighbors or family. I've never connected with an amp like this- this is not butterflies it's true love!

First post btw.

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Sparky! What's up man? Welcome to the Boogie Board.

I've done a lot more testing lately with it and just continue to be blown away by this little amp. I would post more about it here, but I'm not getting a lot of response so I haven't posted most of the newer stuff.

Good to have you here!

 

[phil harmony]

Dear ta-15 friends,

this is a very quiet forum, because all ta-15 user spend their time with making music instead sitting in the net. Other forums are much busier because they share their problems.

I gig my ta-15 for 2 years now and only use the tweed mode with a bunch of pedals blowing a closed back 2x12 celestion cab and a open back 2x12 Jensen cab together. Best I had ever!
(Had Marshall JVM, JCM800, Vox AC30, Acoustic GT100 bevor)

Keep on rocking the ta-15's

phil harmony

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Phil, I was beginning to get a complex! Seriously, I figured either it was that the TA was "old news" here, or that I was a new guy, or both. :mrgreen:

Seriously though, I noticed how much slower this forum is than I expected. I joined here and the PRS forum around the same time. I ask one question there about pickups on a model I'm interested in, I get 15 replies in two days, and a day later it's two pages deep in the guitars forum.

The good thing is, I'm so excited about my Mini and TA that I just can't help it. I have to tell everyone. If I'm the only one listening, I'm ok with that. LMAO

(Tongue firmly in cheek)

 

[dodger916]

Phil, I was beginning to get a complex! Seriously, I figured either it was that the TA was "old news" here, or that I was a new guy, or both. :mrgreen:

Seriously though, I noticed how much slower this forum is than I expected. I joined here and the PRS forum around the same time. I ask one question there about pickups on a model I'm interested in, I get 15 replies in two days, and a day later it's two pages deep in the guitars forum.

The good thing is, I'm so excited about my Mini and TA that I just can't help it. I have to tell everyone. If I'm the only one listening, I'm ok with that. LMAO

(Tongue firmly in cheek)

I have to agree with you. This Board was much much more active when I joined in 2007. And the long-time members were extremely active, knowledgeable and technical, and their advice came from an intimate understanding of the amps. Most of the activity involved the older Marks (See the "C+ Guide For Dummies"). They could tell you cap and resistor values, and how to tweak the various circuits for personal preference. Wanna know how to install the "bright reduction mod" on a C+, it's here. If you had a technical problem, this place could not be beat! As Boogies became more complex/less tweakable (Mark V), I think many of the older guys who made this place very active did not really take to them and did not delve into the guts of the amps, so what made this Board really valuable faded. IMO, the threads have become less involved. You won't find the old stalwarts responding to a thread like this one, for instance.

The good news is the Board remains a repository for a wealth of Boogie info, especially for the older units. It also contains many valuable links to other info. You just need to do some searching to find them.

 

[KasperT]

Thanks bud! It's actually great to be here, but yeah it seems I avoided the rush eh? I'm surprised there isn't more talk about this amplifier also considering how much excitement it stirs in myself and others. I was never one to gravitate toward "the Mesa tone" but Mesa has always had a variety of amps for a variety of players. Over the years I've come close to buying an F50, a 5:25 and a Blue Angel but didn't pull the trigger on any of them in the end. It feels great to be a Mesa owner with the TA-15 though for several reasons. I always admired the devotion Mesa inspired in players and I wanted to be part of that, also the build quality and warranties were very enticing.

So I've been horsing around with speakers. Not long ago I bought a used Celestion Gold with the plan of buying an open back 1x12 for it. At the time I only had a little closed back 1x12 so I put it in there just to be able to use it, despite it not being under the best of circumstances IMO. I also have a 2x12 and I wanted to change up the speakers that are in it so I bought a used Scumback M75 65w and when I recently bought that open back 1x12 (a new Avatar Vintage 1x12) I ordered a Celestion G12H-75 Creamback with it planning to remove it and install it with the Scumback in the 2x12, but I read in the TA-15 owner's manual that the amp can handle a bit of an impedance mismatch (the new Creamback is 16 ohms, as well as the Scumback) so I've been playing the new cab with just the Creamback H mag and I just love it. I knew I loved H mag speakers but this one is probably my favorite so far. I was planning on putting my Gold or Black Shadow in the new Avatar cab, and I still will try them out for a long enough period to judge them well, but now I just might buy another G12H-75 Creamback in 8 ohms this time for it! That speaker is great for cleans and dirt, it makes the most out of the Voxy side and the Marshall voicing especially!

I play the Hi1 (Marshall) setting quite a lot. It's a beautiful tone that comes from that mode, and notes bloom and allow themselves to be beautifully manipulated with technique. I prefer this mode to my Marshall actually, and as a result sometimes it can be difficult to get away from it (even in 5w setting choked back with the master!), but then I find that to be true with all of the modes! I don't see much written about the Normal mode but I actually really like that one. It reminds me sort of a JTM45 because of the cleans and sweet overdrive, and it cleans up well with guitar volume. I like to use that mode by itself just for fun in the manner I mentioned, but I also like to set it for clean as a clean channel for the Marshall or Hi2 modes. The Top Boost mode is of course remarkable. The touch sensitivity of that mode is loads of fun. I like to get a Strat going on that mode and pick lightly for cleaner tones and heavy when I want some dirt, and what dirt! I wanted something like a TopHat Club Royale, a Matchless Lightning, or Badcat Cub type amp and the TA-15 really covers this territory perfectly. It's so good I don't want any other amp of this type, similar to how the TA-15 satisfies my need for a lower wattage Marshall type- I no longer desire another amp for that purpose. I might be repeating myself here but I think it's important to note just how well it nails those sounds. It's not just reminiscent of those tones, and it doesn't come close, it really nails those tones! Not just the sound but the vibe, feel etc.- every facet of the character.

Here's the TA-15 with the new cab, Hamer Daytona on the left.

I like to play my Telecasters through the TA-15 but it also loves my Strat, SG, 355 etc. It doesn't discriminate, loves them all. Because this amp is such a perfect match for me I don't have any issue buying the Badcat Unleash for it. I'm not in a big hurry to buy it but that addition would have me prepared for any situation. There now you don't have to feel so bad about rambling on DTR!

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Long post AND a picture.... Way to have my back, man! :lol:

I played mine with a Emi's version of the Greenback, the Private Jack, for a couple nights and yeah it really sounded good especially with the two Vox voices and the Marshall voice. That's part of what blows me away about this amp. I'm probably just like a lot of other guys in that I would love to have a Fender, a Vox, a Marshall and a Mesa amp, etc., and I'd like to have one that can sound good at lower volumes at home, all the way up to gig volume. I was not prepared for how well it did Vox(2)/Fender/Marshall/Mesa all in one small box. And at how great it sounds with just B/T controls on each. Or, how I could leave it in 5 watt modes for days at a time and get great tones of all those types at levels that would never bother the wife too much, or I can open it up a bit and get two other choices of output stage with each voice... I'm not looking at anything Vox, Marshall of Fender anymore. The TA covers that very well for my needs.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. With a well voiced Mids control on each channel, and an effects loop, this amp could rule the free world and parts of Russia!

 

[dodger916]

I said it before, and I'll say it again. With a well voiced Mids control on each channel, and an effects loop, this amp could rule the free world and parts of Russia!

I agree about the mids control. I demo'd a TA-30 for 30 days, and just could not get used to the mids. They were actually hurting my ears. A graphic in the loop might have helped, but I fell in love with a DC-3 and that was it!

Glad to hear you're really digging the 15!

 

[KasperT]

I had a Private Jack in my closed back 1x12 right before I swapped it for the Gold. I've been using that speaker for many years. I began to realize I prefer H magnet speakers like Scumbacks offerings, the new Creamback G12H-75, the Emi Wizard etc. Someday I'll have a speaker sell off after I figure out what is staying and what is going.

I wouldn't say no to a mid knob but I'm pleased to find that the absence of one isn't hurting the amp in my eyes, or ears. I've never been one to mess with the mids much anyway, and as long as they aren't out of control (and they aren't to my ear) yet they still cut (and they do) then I'm a happy guy. I would like a loop but if it isn't a great one then forget it. I like how my pedals (tremolo, delay and maybe some OD) sound going through the front of the amp, but eventually I'll get the Unleash and that'll put an end to that.

I notice many TA-15 owners like to use pedals through the tweed setting, and they seem mighty happy. I love the different modes myself but I have to think that eventually I might follow suit so I don't plan to sell off my OD pedals just yet, unlike some haha (btw I'm interested in that Dirty Bomb of yours DTR). Though I have to admit the TA-15 has thus far eliminated my use of OD pedals. My name is close to the top for an Analogman KOT so I'll be prepared if I make the change.

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Dodger,

I simply meant the ability to control the mids level as with a full B/M/T stack.

That said, this amp is not mids heavy... so I'm curious as to how the mids hurt your ears. :?:

 

[dodger916]

Dodger,

I simply meant the ability to control the mids level as with a full B/M/T stack.

That said, this amp is not mids heavy... so I'm curious as to how the mids hurt your ears. :?:

I dunno! It was very strange. I was wondering if maybe the power tubes were going, or maybe there was something with that amp. That amp made my ears ring for days at volumes no greater than what I typically use. I tried several different speakers too.

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Weird. This amp is NOT harsh in any fashion. You need to try one again. Can't say enough good things about this amp, and can't figure out why there aren't a lot more guys on here backing what I'm saying. LOL The few guys I know or have talked too at TGP who have these things, absolutely LOVE them. Seasoned guys, some pro level for sure, with good gear and years of playing.

I'm playing mine with new PRS Custom 24 with 50/09s, new PRS Custom 22 25th Ann. LTD semi hollow with 57/08's, PRS CU22 with HFS/ VB, EBMM JP12, Tokai strats, Wolfgang, Ibanez JS1000, etc... this thing kills with ALL of them!

The C24 with 59/09s is the best sounding guitar and best pickups I've ever heard. Great neck and bridge, really nice tapped, and the mixture settings are great. That one guitar and a TA15 with NO pedals or anything can do so many GREAT tones, and at so many volume levels, it's really hard to believe.

 

[thinkofone0]

So it's not just me.... ha ha....

I have had plenty of amps over the years and at the moment this includes a very high quality hand-wound 1x12 combo, 6L6-based, worth a considerable amount of money... a la $A5000....

But when I'm gigging lately I've been preferentially reaching more for the TA-15 just because I know it is SO consistent, light, loud, versatile etc.

no pedals... who needs 'em?? And I was a self-confessed rack junkie, then a pedal board junkie... all of those things over many years.

At the moment I gig with just a quality Les Paul, nice hand wound pickups, straight into the head, running the AC30 mode and the H2 mode. I'm using Boogie's own little 10" cab - and I love it.

I thought I would miss reverb, delay, modulation, all that stuff.... pffffftttt....

all I've got at the moment is a 10' mogami cable and I've even dropped the polytune out of the chain and I'm using one of those little Korg tuners that you attach to a headstock - I couldn't be happier! [well that's this week - ha ha]

I gig probably 8 times a month or so. And I'm into about the 3rd month of just running this 'no fx allowed' rig... It's been excellent and my local contemporaries are saying nice things about my playing on these gigs.

I've been using a Sennheiser e906 on the cab and occasionally running a tiny bit of signal back thru foldback but that's only been on fairly big stages and gigs - otherwise I'm only getting the amp to around the half way mark on the master. Haven't played with a drummer who's defeated it yet!

What this 'rig' has definitely done for me is make me think a lot harder than ever before in terms of how I want my phrasing / rhythm and solos to come out. It's brutally honest.... There is no 'hiding' behind effects... All you have is guitar, amp and channel changer...

And the surprising thing is that I have been really enjoying that primitive approach...

I never thought I would own another Boogie after years of playing them - this included a Mark 1, Studio 22, SOB, etc etc.. They were just too "harsh". But the TA-15 continues to impress every time I use it...

 

[polaris20]

I love the TA-15, prefer the power and size greatly over the 30, which is nice, but just too expensive for what it offers over the 15. BUT.....as a delay nut, I just can't do without a loop. I hope they come out with a Series II with at least a loop, if not a loop and reverb.

 

[Mesa.22]

I have a used TA-15 coming this week. I'm curious what this amp can do well. I'll have more to report soon. Keep the comments coming.

So haven't one of you geniuses come up with a mod to add an FX loop to the TA-15. This seems like it would solve a lot of concerns (and $ to not have to buy a T-30) about this amp. I know these are PCB, but still there must be a way to mod these.

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

So Sparky, how is it with the Black Shadow, compared to your othe favs? I now have a TA30 also, and am considering adding either a TA or Thiele cab with Black Shadow. Wondered how you (and others who have a TA and Black Shadow) like it compared to other speakers.