Might be getting Mesa Blue Angel head- looking for opinions.

[octatonic]

Hi people,

Been thinking of getting a Blue Angel head.
I can get one here in the UK for around £400 (230v model).

I was originally looking for a Bad Cat, 65 Amps or Matchless but they are hellishly expensive.
Is a BA in the same sort of territory, tonally?

I have a Marshall 2x12 with V30's that I was going to pair with it.

Have to drive 2 hours to take a look at it- I've never used a BA before so looking for opinions either way.

Many thanks,

Jim

 

[phyrexia]

I have never played the amps you are comparing the Angel to, but I can say I really like my Blue Angel head.

Are you looking for more overdrive or more clean?

Is that marshall cab open or closed back?

 

[octatonic]

I have never played the amps you are comparing the Angel to, but I can say I really like my Blue Angel head.

Are you looking for more overdrive or more clean?

Is that marshall cab open or closed back?

A bit of both really.
I have a Dual Recto and Prosonic- they are both really high gain amps of course- so nothing like that.

Looking for something to go from on the edge smoky cleans to a crunchy overdrive.
I play a lot of slide- mostly on a P90 loaded tele.

I use a Durham Sex Drive pedal in front of my '62 Bassman to push it into clip and it works great.
The problem is it is waaaay too loud in most situations. Hoping the various progressive linkage options in the BA will give me the option to run at a lower lever from time to time and still get 'the tone'.

Marshall is closed back, but can be easily converted to open back if needed.

Jim

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Man, I have a Prosonic and a Blue Angel also. Both combos.

The Blue Angel (1;12) is my favorite amp to date. I'm less and less into gain anymore and the Blue Angel just has that special quality sound. The Prosonic's (2;10's) clean channel actually breaks up quicker than my Blue Angel, even with 6L6's, and more power.

What I love about the Blue Angel is the ability to drop it to the 2 6V6's in a bar, (I gig almost every weekend) 15 watts, and crank it almost wide open, and get that tube distortion without killing people. I only do it a few times a night, the rest of the time it's on the 4;EL84's. Tube Screamer if I need it.

Bulletproof reliable, quiet, the best amp I've ever owned for Blues, Classic Rock, Country, and Motown.

Best of luck.

Murph.

 

[octatonic]

Man, I have a Prosonic and a Blue Angel also. Both combos.

The Blue Angel (1;12) is my favorite amp to date. I'm less and less into gain anymore and the Blue Angel just has that special quality sound. The Prosonic's (2;10's) clean channel actually breaks up quicker than my Blue Angel, even with 6L6's, and more power.

What I love about the Blue Angel is the ability to drop it to the 2 6V6's in a bar, (I gig almost every weekend) 15 watts, and crank it almost wide open, and get that tube distortion without killing people. I only do it a few times a night, the rest of the time it's on the 4;EL84's. Tube Screamer if I need it.

Bulletproof reliable, quiet, the best amp I've ever owned for Blues, Classic Rock, Country, and Motown.

Best of luck.

Murph.

You've sold me!
Awesome Murph- I'll give it a go.

FWIW I have a bunch of mods for the Prosonic.
I have schematics for most of them- but one was done by Dave's Sound Repair in NJ to make the clean channel a bit cleaner.
Let me know if you want the details.

 

[octatonic]

Well, I bought it.

Louder than I thought it was going to be- which isn't a bad thing but I might use a THD hotplate for living room levels.

Very detailed sound- what I like is it makes whatever I plug into it sound like a bigger version of itself.
What I mean is plug in a tele and it sounds like a big tele, a strat like a huge strat, etc.

I've used a Dual Recto for many years and I love it but it does tend to homogenise things a little- you hear the amp more than the guitar.
With the BA you hear the guitar a lot more.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Congrats.

Yea, it's a very loud amp for 15/30/38 watts. And one of the best secrets out there.

I like the head idea, although I bought a flight case for my combo, and it sits on it at gigs.

I'm torn about the Prosonic, I hardly ever use it, outdoor gigs, sometimes, ect. Once I got the Blue Angel, it just sits. I loved it up until then, so I'll probably keep it, it's for sure a limited "future classic".

But your description of the BA is spot on. It's a big sound.

Murph.

 

[Steve73]

Congrats, I rented one for a couple gigs one time and loved it. They are great sounding Boogies, one of my favs for sure. I would have bought one but got an LSS as it was a bit more versatile.

 

[phyrexia]

Looks just like mine, Octa. Hope you enjoy her.