NAMM 2008 - Any rumors or exspectations?

[dodger916]

1) This is NOT a NAMM news thread. How many times do I have to say that?

And yet there's NAMM news here, so relax...you're starting to sound like my crazy Brooklyn Italian Mother. :roll: After the initial warning, she would get our Father's belt or the wooden spoon (whichever was closer) and really "vent" on our butts!

2) Hijacking is taking a thread to a completely irrelavent place.

I think I just highjacked my first thread!

3) It's morally presumptuous of you to condemn the collective actions of two or more people on a public forum. In other words, f%&# off.

C'mon...no need to get vulgar. It's just a bloody board thread! It's really not that important. People will review it if there are new posts.

Don't worry, be happy 8)

 

[Random Hero]

Yes you have to get more amps to attain these advantages but I think there is not a sound that the MKIV is the best at anymore. They are a flat/lifeless amp that make new strings on your guitar sound old. Time to retire the Mark series.

Wow. Just, wow.

 

[Bill11]

Hi,

I just saw this post, and since it is new, it may or may not prove to be of interest:

http://www.youtube.com/theNAMMShowchannel

But the poster does claim he will post nightly.

 

[visualrocker69]

Don't worry, be happy 8)

lollllllllllllllllll

fair enough. I didn't mean **** off in a vulgar way btw, i was just being facetious! I swear! :lol:

peace

 

[srf399]

Ok... first of all... I enjoyed my morning coffee while ranting...

Second... I stated "in my opinion" multiple times throughout the second half of the rant as well as at the bottom. Stated as fact?... only if you choose not to be fair to me and selectively quote what I said while not including the entire post.

I agree with you Visual Rocker... The there are some really great amps that aren't Boogies.... and that the MKIV lead isn't the be all end all.... it is a subjective issue... But when I rant and say this or that regarding a subjective issue I reminded the reader at the end of the post that it is only my opinion so as to avoid writing that point over and over throughout the post...

The Lonestar Classic was the Lonestar I was referring to. The Special isn't the original blackface Fender sound.... In my opinion

My rant was really to point out the advantages the internet gives players looking for the right gear and how back before the internet it was very hard to get any information on gear... users... settings...etc.

My opinion of the MKIV was based on the wide body combo that I had for 2 years... I did love the MKIV sound for a year or so until I got out to try some of the other newer Mesa amps. It was a fairly flat & sterile sounding amp even with a tube change. This was not only my opinion but that of other guitarist friends of mine who played through it.

I do appreciate that sound is subjective... and I do respect others opinions and know that they are just that... personal preferences. And there are many here who would disagree with much of what I said and think about these different amps and that is fine....

As far as spirited viewpoints... that's okay too. We're all passionate about music... the guitar... and our amps... and this morning I felt like digging that out a bit... just my personality during my first cup of coffee in the morning...

Visual.... I respect you and I also know that you were once a MKIV fanboy as well.... you know where I'm coming from... Hope you find your tone

I do wish I could see that 4 channel amp though! LOL

 

[visualrocker69]

Yes I was and am no longer. Like you, I had a widebody combo. I realize that this might play a big role in our opinion, however. Open back tends to be good for nice, full clean songs, but shitty for high gain. The sound is all unfocused the more you turn it up, and you lose a fuckload of low end response.

Before you and I write the Mark IV off as whatever, I think we should try short heads through 4x12 traditional rectos, or even a 1x12 thiele with an EVM12L. Then we might get a diff perspective on the Mark IV. I'm really eager to have a chance to do this, actually.

But yeah, overall, I'm kinda dissillusioned with Boogie. I idolized Boogie before I even played one because of what I read on the board and what I heard from famous recordings.

In the end, it comes down to the player, not the gear. (Yes, I am critizing myself as a guitarist *gasp*)

 

[twostring]

I have to join a couple of you in saying that the Mark is kind of weak sauce these days. There is so much more going for Boogie now. Think about all of the amazing amps that have come out in just the last few years. The Lonestar Special, the Stiletto and the Roadster are all top notch and very niche (well, maybe not the Roadster). I think this is where Boogie is heading.

Maybe we can see the return of concepts like the Blue Angel.

 

[clutch71]

I'm pretty unimpressed with Mesa's showing so far but El Pelotero might be interested in the base rig. But hey it's one day right!

This caught my eye as he was one one my favorite players

http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=1959RR

Rip brother.

 

[srf399]

Well my wife gave me **** last night for being grumpy and critical yesterday morning.... the radio woke us up and she said I was bitching about the crappy guitar sound in the song! LMAO Anyway... I am not down on Boogie at all.... I just get tired of hearing how great the older Boogies are and they were and are. But Boogie and others have made huge strides because of the stepping stones laid by the Pioneers who designed these vintage amps. But the newer Boogies to me have a more 3 dimensional sound like the old Fenders and Marshalls had. Maybe it was the MKIV I had but I can't see it leaving Mesa sounding anything other than the other MKIV's. The other thing is maybe it is just me and the guys I know... maybe we suit other amps. The Lonestar and Stiletto are amazing to me and the guys I gig with were blown away by those amps... The Rectifier I played had life as well but wasn't my thing for soloing... I loved it for heavy rhythm & riffs though. I really like the Express series as well. But I love the Bogner stuff... Rivera... and other stuff as well.

 

[visualrocker69]

I'm pretty unimpressed with Mesa's showing so far but El Pelotero might be interested in the base rig. But hey it's one day right!

This caught my eye as he was one one my favorite players

http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=1959RR

Rip brother.

By the way - I've seen a several 80's metal bands using 1959 plexis but I also heard that they don't have nearly enough gain for that kind of music. Are all of these bands using modded ones or pushing them with Tubescreamers or what???

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[JAZZGEAR]

Yes you have to get more amps to attain these advantages but I think there is not a sound that the MKIV is the best at anymore. They are a flat/lifeless amp that make new strings on your guitar sound old. Time to retire the Mark series.

Wow. Just, wow.

+10000 Wows :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[srf399]

I know I know.... Hey it's just how I feel... My MKIV sounded a lot like the old Lab Series L5 Solid State amps they had at GIT when I studied there. It wasn't that the amp was bad... it wasn't.... there was just always a boxy/sterile/flat element to it that I could never dial out or eliminate with tubes or adding cabinets.

Probably a great amp for Jazz, Death Metal, or something... **** you can't even jigsaw a hole in the top of the combo to sit your ashtray! LMAO JUST KIDDING!!!! I don't smoke Besides... it makes much more sense to just screw a cup holder onto the side of it!

 

[clutch71]

By the way - I've seen a several 80's metal bands using 1959 plexis but I also heard that they don't have nearly enough gain for that kind of music. Are all of these bands using modded ones or pushing them with Tubescreamers or what???

Well I don't know as much about the Marshall and who used what like I do Mesa, but EVH used the 1959 100SLP first couple of VH albums. Metallica used one on KEA and RTL. Randy of course. Those are three I know for sure that used an amp of this vintage or similar. Randy's and Metallica's was modded (Randy's by Marshall) and EVH is rumored to have been or not have been. Who knows.

I'd say the sound that is most associated with Marshall and Metal would be the JCM 800. Most of Marshalls current platforms are based off the 1959 SLP and JCM 800. In researching this stuff it get real confusing. Marshall would roll out an amp and use the previous models head shell. There naming convention is goofy too. The 1987x came out in like 74...WTF? Mesa's easy to follow in that respect.

 

[clutch71]

By the way - I've seen a several 80's metal bands using 1959 plexis but I also heard that they don't have nearly enough gain for that kind of music. Are all of these bands using modded ones or pushing them with Tubescreamers or what???

Well I don't know as much about the Marshall and who used what like I do Mesa, but EVH used the 1959 100SLP first couple of VH albums. Metallica used one on KEA and RTL. Randy of course. Those are three I know for sure that used an amp of this vintage or similar. Randy's and Metallica's was modded (Randy's by Marshall) and EVH is rumored to have been or not have been. Who knows.

I'd say the sound that is most associated with Marshall and Metal would be the JCM 800. Most of Marshalls current platforms are based off the 1959 SLP and JCM 800. In researching this stuff it get real confusing. Marshall would roll out an amp and use the previous models head shell. There naming convention is goofy too. The 1987x came out in like 74...WTF? Mesa's easy to follow in that respect.

 

[visualrocker69]

I'd say the sound that is most associated with Marshall and Metal would be the JCM 800.

I'm well aware of this and of the impact that amp had in the 80's. However, there are several prime examples of heavy metal guitarists using 1959 SLP's (or SOMETHING in that headshell?)

So I guess the question is... are the mods necessary for that amount of gain? I heard someone say "...Yeahhh good luck getting that kind of gain with a stock plexi ;p"

Also, do the mods change the base tone or just increase the potential amount of useable gain? Because if the quality of sound is essentially the same, I don't see why the mods are necessary...? Couldn't the gain be achieved just as effectively, with an OD pedal in front of the amp?

In researching this stuff it get real confusing. Marshall would roll out an amp and use the previous models head shell. There naming convention is goofy too. The 1987x came out in like 74...WTF? Mesa's easy to follow in that respect.

Absolutely. The 1959SLP was introduced in what... 1966? Right?

 

[Shep]

this is all i have to say

Too me mesa is one of the Best made,sounding and looking amps in the world.. i have had everything from fenders deluxs twins and blackfaces to marshalls jcm800's 100 and 50 watts or oranges ad 30's thunderverb and laneys Gh100 even used nearly every rivera amp out...

And all i can say is that mesa works for me better than anything else on the market.... wonderful cleans to the most focused lead channel you can get..

to me the recto is the weakest link .. there good if you want flubby bottom heavy buzz, but clean/lead/ anything tighter than a swimming pool it dies on.. ANd Really dies to... so don;t be saying the mk Amps are the weakest point becasue they have more going for them tone wise than any recto..

Tom

 

[dodger916]

We're all trying to fill our ears with the sounds in our head...this brings us joy. Long live ALL Boogies!! To quote Monty Python: "Let's not bicker and argue over who killed who. This is supposed to be a happy occasion!"


I'll state the obvious: The purpose of these "instruments" is self expression through music. These instruments have both the flexibility to adapt to changing musical trends and the ability to drive this change. This is what I appreciate most about Mesa: they have high quality products that maintain a link to the past while pushing the envelope of change.

Think about this: if this board were in existence in 1969, I'd wager people would have been talking about how the Deluxe Reverbs, Ampegs, etc., were dinosaurs compared to the raging Mark Is. But yet, these old amps are now heralded because great tone will endure. The "kids" who swear by Rectos today may some day be floored when they "discover" a Mark or a Lonestar. The ear is constantly seeking something new; a new alley or sidestreet where nuance can spur creativity. This is plainly evident in the general disappointment that Mesa hasn't unveiled a new guitar amplifier at NAMM...we're all on the lookout for a new avenue of expression, and we've come to rely on Mesa to deliver it!

 

[clutch71]

Also, do the mods change the base tone or just increase the potential amount of useable gain? Because if the quality of sound is essentially the same, I don't see why the mods are necessary...? Couldn't the gain be achieved just as effectively, with an OD pedal in front of the amp?

Kenchan, I really don't know the answer to that question yet. I just added a Mecury Magnetics out put transformer. The amount of usable gain was increased as well as the EQ tonality. So I don't believe more gain was added but what's there now is more usable. Make sense. Maybe these old amps were like that. I'm not advanced enough in electronics to tell you how more gain is actually added to the circuit. I personally like an OD out front and have read lots of players stand by this, Kirk Hammett being one of them. Check out the Splawn amp Nitro. Looks like Scott Splawn Modifiied the old SLP's similar to EVH's stuff. Talk about gain and bass response!

We're all trying to fill our ears with the sounds in our head

Well put Sir! I agree.

 

[JOEY B.]

The "kids" who swear by Rectos today may some day be floored when they "discover" a Mark or a Lonestar. The ear is constantly seeking something new; a new alley or sidestreet where nuance can spur creativity. This is plainly evident in the general disappointment that Mesa hasn't unveiled a new guitar amplifier at NAMM...we're all on the lookout for a new avenue of expression, and we've come to rely on Mesa to deliver it!

I was amazed at the MkII sound 20+ years ago when I heard it for the first time. I tried the Recto thing, but it just wasn't for me. I've come full circle back to the tone that blew me away many moons ago. 8)