Triaxis used or new?

[Jonelli]

May seem like a dumb question, but seriously, if I'm going to spend more than a grand, I don't want someone else's problems.
I also don't mind supporting the company to stay in business!

But, I also don't want to be stupid and waste a bunch of money. I can buy lots of other cool things for another $1000.

How much are Factory service repair fees if i were to send a used one in?

 

[dbone]

Well there is really nothing wrong with buying a factory new one with warranty and all.
I think they still are about $2000.00 new
You can pick up a used one for about half of that though and there allways seems to be a few around for sale on eBay or Craig's list. Try to find a clean one with V2.0 software and you should be good.
Mesa service prices are very reasonable and they have everything needed if your used one comes with a problem. How much it would be totally depends on what parts and labor are needed to fix whatever is wrong. The good thing is they will diagnose the problem quickly once they have their hands on it and get it fixed right. I live about a hour from the factory and take all my boogie stuff right to them if I have a issue. They are pros.

 

[Jonelli]

I haven't actually tried one yet, but what is the "fat" mod I keep seeing? Should I avoid it?

I plan on going to the Hollywood mesa store to try one soon.
But I think I'll probably end up looking for a used one.

 

[dbone]

The 4 versions listed below are refering to the Lead 1 Red mode which is one of the eight modes that the Triaixs offers. Lead 1 Red has kinda ended up being the "Guest Slot" mode on the preamp since its the only one they have ever changed.
V1 British lead
V2.0 recto nonfat which a mode based loosely on the dual Rectifier Vintage High Gain channel commonly refered to as the Orange channel in Dual Rectifier Land. This was accomplished by adding a board called TX4 to the unit. I would consider it kind of a "Hybrid" Rectifier tone. You set this one different than the others it can take much higher bass settings than the Mark based modes. That difference throws allot of people for a loop initially but if you read the manual online it explains everything pretty clearly. This unit also introduces V2.0 software which allows you to use pedals to actually change settings within a preset while playing, called continous control.
All Triaxis models that come after this also have continous control.
V2.1 recto fat: a modification was made to the TX4 recto board that changed the sound to something more "Fat". Opinions vary on this but allot of people thought it was a bad move. It can however be removed by Boogie or a Tech. Some people like it though.
V2.2 classic boogie lead.

In the end the other 7 modes sound great and cover allot of Boogie territory so don't let the whole Lead 1 red thing dominate your decision on getting one.

The first thing you should do is read the manual

 

[jeff5]

I'm always a fan of used gear. Yes, you do take a chance. However, the value is hard to beat. I think I got mine for about $900 or $1000 but it was a floor model at a Guitar Center in Michigan. (I don't live there but found out about it form a forum bro on another forum) In the end only you can decide, however, the prices are hard to beat.

 

[jeff5]

I'm always a fan of used gear. Yes, you do take a chance. However, the value is hard to beat. I think I got mine for about $900 or $1000 but it was a floor model at a Guitar Center in Michigan. (I don't live there but found out about it form a forum bro on another forum) In the end only you can decide, however, the prices are hard to beat.

 

[Jonelli]

Thanks a bunch for the explanations.
I'm not as experienced as a lot of you guys with gear.
I have been playing through a BK RealTube II for years with midi FX and am exploring more tones as I feel a bit stuck and I don't want a bunch of pedals.
I went from a Quadraverb to a GMajor2 which I'm happy with, but I really want more options for tones.

I've had trouble being able to switch guitars during gigs because I have to mess with the preamp so much so I tend to avoid it. I would love to be able to tweak every part of a song and have patches that work for each guitar. So, my research took me to the triaxis.

Some people have told me to try other pre's but I get the feeling that the JMP-1's and MP-1's are more geared for metal and have been told they sound dated.

I'm going to take my current rig to the Hollywood store in the next few weeks to try the triaxis and see if it's really going to open up my world.
I'll probably just end up buying a used one though, as the more I think about it, $2k is a lot of money if I can get one for $1K instead.

So if anybody has one to sell in a month, let me know.

 

[JMMP]

I am glad to see you found your way way over here Jonelli.
I don't have anything more to contribute to your original topic, but I think if you are patient and scour eBay, this forum, and your local craigslist (especially since it sounds like you are near Los Angeles) I think you will find one at a much better price than 1000. I sold mine for 765 two months ago, and I had it listed on this forum for several months. I bought it last july for about that same price. One sold on eBay last week for 650. Good luck on the search!

 

[Jackie]

Don't know how it is on your side of the pond, but not worth buying new in Europe ever never. 2600€ new. Got my TriAxis+2:90, repair of a relay, rack and retube with SED =C=s for 2200€.

I'd go for used anyway, like jeff5 said the value is hard to beat. Try finding one that you can try out in person that eliminates a lot of the risk factor involved.

 

[TriAxis6]

First off, Mesa has amazing customer service so you will always be taken care of. I have two Tri's and in the many many years I have had them I have only had one issue. If I were to get another Tri, I would get the v.2 with the original recto circuit. I have one with the fat mod also. I favor the v.2 over the fat mod.