blackout68 said:
dennq45 said:
What artists do you admire? Do you want really nice cleans? Are you playing live or at home in a bedroom. (Some people use a halfstack in their bedrooms.) What type of music do you like? How much do you want to spend? New or used? Give us more info. so that we can help you.
Dont worry about tubes. They are easily changed. The Rectos use either 6L6's and EL-34's.
I've always liked my sound to be somewhere around the realm of a disturbed/godsmack/metallica. I rarely use the clean channel on my marshall right now, but it would be nice to have nice cleans just in case. It will be use both live and in my music room at home. Im probably looking for a used rig because of my tight budget and although i'm not sure if possible would like to keep the whole rig around $1500. thanks.
here's a bit of a breakdown:
mesa boogie has two flagship models: the mark series of amps, which are what mesa boogie was made famous with (used by santana, metallica, dream theater, chevelle, lamb of god, etc) and the rectifiers, which became famous in the early 90's (used by many modern bands such as linkin park, godsmack, nickelback, incubus, etc). the other models of amps mesa boogie has made have not been as revolutionary, even though they are still great amps compared to most things manufacturers put out.
the mark amps tone:
-very tight (ie metallica speed metal riffing)
-great fenderish cleans
-very smooth lead tone (carlos santana)
-lot of gain
the rectifiers are famous for:
-deep thick chunky growl (godsmack)
-lots of gain
-not as tight (not good for fast riffs)
-average cleans (although recent rectifiers feature outstanding cleans)
-average lead tone (however, the very old models are very smooth)
Since you mentioned both metallica and disturbed/godsmack, you may have to do a bit of picking and choosing. If you are very picky about getting an uber tight tone (metallica style) and shredding, you have to get your hands on a mark4. however, if you can withstand bypassing some of the very tight riffage and can live with an OK lead tone, get the rectifier.
a rectifier after lots of tweaking can sound close to a mark, but a mark can not get as deep as a rectifier. i think the deepest a mark4 will go is the tone by Chevelle, as he uses mark4's.
So, let's say you choose to get a rectifier. My suggestion, especially since you're on a budget, wold be to get your hands on an old 2channel dual rectifier. Anyone on this board who has played one will tell you that the tone is very rich, organic and smooth (these are the rectos to get if you want smooth lead tones). By old, i mean around 1992-1995. the 3channel rectifiers sold today have more features, but the tone is not as rich. the leads come off very stiff and the high gain channels have lots of beehive fizz that is nearly impossible to dial out. A lot of people get upset at these statements, but I own 3 rectifiers so I think I can make a credible suggestion. As for single vs. dual vs. triple rectifier: single = 50 watts and only diode rectification (tighter sound but not as smooth); dual = 100 watts, you can drop it to 50 and has tube and diode rectification (tubes give it a creamier tone); triple = 150 watts, you can not drop the wattage, and it has tube and diode.
Should you choose to get a mark4, just get one. a mark4 is a mark4. the older models had a slightly different circuit, but many people prefer the stock mark4's sold today.
