Some harsh criticism to Mesa Boogie

[SimpleMind]

Also referring to the last thread " Mesa Amp feature comparison chart" i want to criticise Mesa for not having a better presentation of their amps out on the net.
I mean its great to know the specs of an amp but thats clearly not enough to get a good overall-picture over the different amps. By reading about the different amps on Mesas homepage one gets a rough impressionn what the amps do but not how they really compare to each other. For that matter soundclicks would be a great help for the people who can`t check the amps out in a store before they buy. Such soundsclips are as far as i now not existing for Mesa amps (besides from private persons soundclips of varied quality). From the point of a sellers view i can`t understand that. I mean if i had a favourable product i would try to present it from its every aspect to convince people to buy it. As everyone here can surely sign under are the Mesas known for being quite diffcult to dial in. That means a tour to a shop and 15 minutes playing on one of these amps maybe while several other people beside you also test other amps doesn`t make it exactley easey to get to know the amps completely. So why can`t Mesa have a site with soundclips for the different amps where every amp is presented with the kind of music that the amps was made for. Some example how it sounds clean, for rythm, high gain, for shredding ans so on.
Is it because the Mesa guys are arrogant that they do not have to show off their amps in that way?
Another thing is if you ask 10 people about the usability and versatility of lets say the Roadster versus the Stiletto as a amp for lead guitar playing you will get about 50% prefering the Raodster saying the Stiletto isn`t a good amp for that and 50% saying exactley the opposite. So thats useless!
So Mesa people my plea to you. Improve your homepage with some really meaningful soundclips.

 

[Rayder]

i totally agree with what you are saying, but the reality of things is:

soundclips are very limited in showing what an amp can do. you have many tone controls to fiddle with, and (on some amps) switches as well to completely change the sound of the amp. dont forget, some mesa amps are very sensitive to the guitar's characteristics. mic placement, room specs etc all can affect how the amp will sound. of course the easy argument is that they have enough money to do all that, but the best way to see if an amp suits your tastes is to try it out, theres no two ways about it. clips can be helpful in deciding what amp to buy, but they can only give you a limited representation of the amp. theres two sides to the coin here, and make sure you consider both sides before making a decision...

 

[Barry]

The dealers should be well informed on the different types of amps . Its their responsibilty to their customers . Anything less is a short coming to the customer . My wife works in a shop that sells Mesa gear and the rep takes time with the dealer to explain the amps and answer questions . I also agree on one thing with rayder . The room that you play the amp in has a huge impact on the final sound of the amp . Being a gigging player like myself thats something i deal with on a weekly basis . At the end of the day , trust your own ears .

 

[StratRat]

Maybe they could post soundclips based on the settings they provide in each amps manual? I would find that to be a huge help not only in deciding on which amp to purchase but also once I get it home to compare the clips sound against the sound using my own equipment.



Just my .02

Wayne

 

[Glockaxis]

While soundclips are limited, not having any soundclips on their website is even more limiting. All people need is some sort of idea on the amps capabilities and sounds. Most of the places I've looked at need to special order the amp I want. This site is invaluable in getting a smorgasboard of soundclips of Mesa's various amps. Maybe Mesa should just put a link to this site on their homepage if they don't want to put clips up.

 

[Barry]

While soundclips are limited, not having any soundclips on their website is even more limiting. All people need is some sort of idea on the amps capabilities and sounds. Most of the places I've looked at need to special order the amp I want. This site is invaluable in getting a smorgasboard of soundclips of Mesa's various amps. Maybe Mesa should just put a link to this site on their homepage if they don't want to put clips up.

Are you telling me you would order an amp solely on the basis of a sound clip ? Tell Mesa your feeings . I think there used to be a place on their site where you could respond with your thoughts of the their page .

 

[Barry]

I was right . Go to the mesa page and and click on "contact us" at the bottom of the page . It states you can leave criticism or your feelings about the web page . As I stated the dealers are supposed to be knowledgable about the different amps . I think they are required to carry at least one piece of any new amp that comes out so they should be able to answer your questions .

 

[Glockaxis]

I wouldn't buy just from a soundclip, but while narrowing down amps and amp manufacturers it does generally help. Are you saying soundclips serve no purpose at all? If all other mfg. had absolutely no soundclips it would be better? I personally don't think so. It's just one more thing that assists someone researching amp info. It does not replace testing one in person like I was able to do w/ my friends.

 

[MasterTrax]

Mesa doesn't sell direct on the net, nor do they have any online distributors. The only way one could even buy one without being forced to see it in person first is to buy a used one on ebay (which I would never do without being familiar with the model I'm buying already). I'm sure this is one reason that their webpage doesn't have any clips....it means go down to the store and hear what they sound like for real.

Further, there are a jillion clips here on this board of all kinds of boogitude. Most are done quite well, thx to modern recording gear. In addition to this, yoiu can hear your favorite boogie amp sounds by listening to commercial tunes as well. They're literally everywhere you look, and frankly I would rather trust the sounds I hear on commercial recordings than clips on the net (which in my eyes is no way to judge an amp in the first place).

Me, I'm happy with Mesa's site the way it is....it's extremely informative and if something on their site interests me I will run downtown to my local music store and fire one up to see if it's as cool as they say it is.

 

[ur86d]

The only way one could even buy one without being forced to see it in person first is to buy a used one on ebay (which I would never do without being familiar with the model I'm buying already). I'm sure this is one reason that their webpage doesn't have any clips....it means go down to the store and hear what they sound like for real.

That's statement is not completely true, at least not from my experience. I ordered a brand new bubinga and wicker lonestar in february from guitar center over the phone, and had it shipped to me. I never had to set foot in the store at all. It's true that mesa won't ship directly to the customer, but you can have it shipped to your dealer (in this case guitar center) and the dealer then ships it to you.

 

[SimpleMind]

I have to disagree with some of you stating that soundclips don`t belong on the Mesa site.
Thats why i think soundclips contribute to make up ones mind:
1. As said its not a 5 minute affair to dial in some good Mesa sounds. That could make it difficult especially if you have a non supportive salesguy who can`t or won`t help you with dialing at a store. So it may but it must not be a problem to test the amp in the store.
2. A soundclip can give imho a very good impression of what the amp is capable of or not. If someones saying listen to the players who use the amp thats clealy an argument. But as we all know the pros often have a lot more then just one amp + havded a tendency to use the one or other effect, but clearly i am with you on that that gives a good idea what an amp does. But a lot of us are interested in what other sounds that amp can do. Lets say i love the Andy Timmons sound but play some Malmsteen and SRV and other Blues stuff so i want to know how does that amp do that kind of music.
3. If you say soundclips don`t give that much of an impression of the sound of an amp i would disagree quite a lot. What other than soundclips are the music we are listening to on CD? I have been at quite a lot concerts and all i can say is that i got without exception a very! good idea of that musicians tone by listening to their "soundclips". Someone pointed out that amps sound different depended in which location you play them. Thats clearly right. So carried that argumentation to the extremes you could say trying out an amp at a store doesn`t give that of an impression either because it will maybe sound totally different on other locations with a different acoustic.

 

[SimpleMind]

By the way tried to find an e-mail address on the Mesa site to send this complaint but didn`t find one there?

 

[Barry]

By the way tried to find an e-mail address on the Mesa site to send this complaint but didn`t find one there?

I stand corrected , I suppose you have to call . Why not give them a call ?

We are open 9:00am-5:00 pm Pacific Time,
Monday through Thursday.

Phone: 707-778-6565
Fax: 707-765-1503

Mesa/Boogie,
1317 Ross St.
Petaluma, California
94954 USA
Our objective is to make the Mesa/Boogie® Web site useful for Boogie® owners and prospective owners.


Any constructive criticism, suggestions, bug reports about this site will be noted and appreciated, but we can't promise a reply.

 

[clutch71]

Simplemind -

Sorry for my ignorance but I believe from previous post that you are in Europe; somewhere in Scandinavia I believe. You are not a delicate and unique snowflake in your quest to try out Mesa gear. Here in the states with several Guitar stores that carry Mesa, I still have not been able to sit down with a Roadster or Mark IV. I've been looking for 6 months. I'll also apologize now for the dissertation below but here goes...

Yes, sound clips would be helpful to a point. The bad thing about that is they could control the sound quality of the clip. They decides what sounds "good." Hughes & Kettner has sound clips on their web-site. I have set down with 3 MK II Tri-amps and the sounds from the net were not even close to what I experienced in the store. Different Guitars, different tunings, different settings, different cabs etc. I like the amp but man is it heavy!

Any how I just wanted to encourage you to be patient in your quest. It's good that you have joined this forum and taken the time to research your purchase. I 'll offer this piece of advise; get to know people on this board. If there is anyone on this board that lives close, develop an online discussion, maybe they will invite you try out some of their gear. If nothing else they can help watch for gear if it comes to your area.

Also read the manuals and research the recommended settings for amps you want to try. It will save you in the long run when you do get to try something out. Don't forget about the amp setting DB on this site too.

BTW: Here is the e-mail address for Mesa...

[email protected]

You had to click on the US flag on the contact us page. The web-site is not the greatest :shock: I admit but, the manuals and discontinued product section make up for it.

 

[SimpleMind]

Hei clutch 71,
thx for answering and for the mail. I would say that the aspects you mentioned regarding the problems with soundclips are conquerable.
The companies should make it easy for us the following way. This could also work as kind of a quality assurance for the amps- meaning you have the possibility to check if the amps sounds like it should- i think its a parameter in quality assurance called reproducibility. So this is what they should do to get control over confounders:
Mesa Roadster Blues sound ala SRV or ala Richard Thompson: Setting:...., Guitar...., Cabinet...., eventually effect???..., High Gain ala Metallica, Shred ala Malmsteen, just some examples. That would be a great help for me also with respect to quality assurance: Does the amp really sound like he is supposed to?+ very easy reproducibility. In my opinion that would be a perfecct service from the company.

 

[clutch71]

I will say I've had my ROV for 6 Months now. I'm finding new sounds every day. I've printed off several blank sample setting pages and when I find something I like, I stop and write it down. It's what I love about Mesa. The knobs actually do something.

Not sure where this is at in relationship to you but they are listed for as a Mesa Dealer Norway.

http://www.gemusikk.no/default.asp?fid=1002

Best of luck.

 

[Barry]

Hei clutch 71,
thx for answering and for the mail. I would say that the aspects you mentioned regarding the problems with soundclips are conquerable.
The companies should make it easy for us the following way. This could also work as kind of a quality assurance for the amps- meaning you have the possibility to check if the amps sounds like it should- i think its a parameter in quality assurance called reproducibility. So this is what they should do to get control over confounders:
Mesa Roadster Blues sound ala SRV or ala Richard Thompson: Setting:...., Guitar...., Cabinet...., eventually effect???..., High Gain ala Metallica, Shred ala Malmsteen, just some examples. That would be a great help for me also with respect to quality assurance: Does the amp really sound like he is supposed to?+ very easy reproducibility. In my opinion that would be a perfecct service from the company.

Mesa takes customer relations as important part of their company . Try calling Fender or Gibson and ask them to call you back . Dont think so ! I know some of the people at Mesa personally and they dont want to meet your expectations they want exceed them . I think if you bought the amp and didnt like it they would be fine with you swapping it with another model . Call and ask them !

 

[SimpleMind]

Hei and thanx for the comments. I will write Mesa and let you know what they have answered.

 

[Barry]

Hei and thanx for the comments. I will write Mesa and let you know what they have answered.

Do you have a mesa dealer in Norway ?

 

[SimpleMind]

Hei and thanx for the comments. I will write Mesa and let you know what they have answered.

Do you have a mesa dealer in Norway ?

Yes but far away from were i live which is Tromsø. Besides- i would never buy a Mesa amp here- much too expensive (40% more than if i would order it on the Internett). Possible that we are moving to southern Norway in about 6 month. So i would drive to northern germany to buy it there or order it from the Internet.