Trying to decide on a newer Mesa amp, need some help!?!

[Monsta-Tone]

Of course the GAS Demons are at it again. :twisted:


Here are the 3 amps that I'm looking at based on my budget and availability to me:

1. Heartbreaker 2x12 combo: New Old Stock, it's been sitting in a store for 6 years and had very little play, $1,100 + tax.

2. Nomad 100 2x12 combo: New Old Stock, same story as the Heartbreaker, footswitch is very scratched up though, but the amp looks brand new, $1,100 + tax.

3. Tremoverb 2x12 combo off of Ebay or the for sale section on this forum, about the same price as the other 2 amps, but history unknown.




Here are my questions:
1. Which amp has better Reverb, I'm thinking it's going to be the Hearbreaker?

2. Which amp is more sturdy? I don't tour, and don't even gig anymore, but these suckers are heavy and I don't want it to break the 1st time it falls over, even though I have an amp repair shop.

3. Which amp has better Clean tones?



In the last few years, I've primarily become a Strat player, although I still own a few guitars with humbuckers.

I have a few Vintage Fenders and have been spoiled by that sweetness that can't be found anywhere else. I'm basically looking for something close to the tone of my Pro Reverb, that also has channel switching, and a few other features.

I'm a recovering Metal Head that likes playing Classic Rock - ZZ Top, Alman Brothers, Robin Trower, etc. But I also like to rock the house now and then witn something heavy.

I have a Soldano, so I'm not worried about the Gain channel. I am more worried about the Cleans.



Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I haven't made it to the store yet to play the Heartbreaker and the Nomad.

The Heartbreaker looks very sweet, but the Nomad has so many knobs, whats a guy to do?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I should also mention that I bought a Nomad 55 1x12 combo from this store years ago and it was one of the ones that had channel switching problems. The LED's on the switch freaked out, and then nothing, the amp wouldn't switch channels.



I should also mention that I am a huge fan of the DC amps and still own a DC-3 and DC-5.

I like the idea of the Nomad being a souped up DC, but I don't really like the Solid State Reverb. I would probably end up putting another tube in the amp and building the DC Reverb circuit in it. That might be the best of both worlds. Like I need another project.

 

[dylan7620]

i think the heart breaker will give you great cleans and reverb. and the tremoverb has great cleans (probaly the best out of the recto series, minus RKs) the nomad is right smack dab in the middle. i own a 45 head (keep in mind power tubes are el-84, not 6L6s/el-34 like the 55/100s) but i can atest to the great cleans out of this amp. everything from glassy to stright up SRV (best cleans i've heard since my blue angel) the other channels are great great for a smooth and/or refined lead tone all the way up to competing with your soldano.
in the time my otherguitarist has had two 5150s (head and combo) soldano avenger (with upgraded tranny) and a madison divinity... all while i've been keepin on with my nomad :wink:

nomads can be very tricky (and i've heard of VERY FEW going bad, the soldano blew up twice BTW) but if you know how to use it you can go from glassy cleans to anything this side of recto gain, but with more 'sing'

 

[Cheez]

I am more worried about the Cleans.

FWIW, I spent about a half hour trying to dial in a nice clean tone on a Nomad when amp hunting, and could not find what I wanted. "Glassy" is probably a good description - flat, hard & inflexible.

I spent 2 minutes on a LoneStar Classic & nearly wet myself. With the gain rolled back, nice tight spanky clean rhythm. Gain turned up yielded gorgeous warm fat pushed sound.

 

[musicbox]

hey, everyone has different taste. i personally found the lonestars clean quite boring when i played one a 1x12. good solid headroom, but pretty uninspiring compared to the blue angel. very flat and unresponsive. my vote goes to the heartbreaker. you can run ANY tubes in in really...el34, 6l6, 6v6, or el84's if you get some yellowjackets. 2 or 4 of them at a time. that means anything from 100 - under 20 watts. i believe you can probably do the same with a tremoverb as well...only way to really find out is to head to the store and play the **** things!

 

[Dersu Uzala]

I should also mention that I bought a Nomad 55 1x12 combo from this store years ago and it was one of the ones that had channel switching problems. The LED's on the switch freaked out, and then nothing, the amp wouldn't switch channels.

I have the same problem with my Nomad 55 1x12 as of late but it's pretty apparent to me it's a footswitch cable that causes it. Or am I delusional? I should mention that I hear a 'crackling' noise from the amp when this happens. When I shake the cable or reposition it a bit, after hitting it accidentally on the floor, troubles go away and I switch normally, no crackling, nothing. I don't think it's the switching circuit or the footswitch itself (although there's a slight chance it's a connector on the footswitch side rather than cable).

I'll be paying a visit to Hollywood Boogie store one of these days and let them figure it out.

 

[tele_jas]

Man, if I had $1000 to $1200 to spend on a Boogie I would get the Lonestar Classic and a tubescreamer. With that combination you could play anything from clean Jazz and country to classic rock to metal. Without the tubescreamer you couldn't do the metal or hard rock but could pull off some classic rock stuff easily.

If I needed a good rock distortion as much as I needed a good clean I'd go with the Tremoverb.... Great cleans and distortion, but the cleans aren't as versatile as a lonestar.

As far as build, I'd say that most Boogies are built like tanks!! I had a Tremoverb combo and it was extremely solid as was my Rectoverb and my Road King combos. Boogie makes excellent cabinets for their amps that are far superrior to most other amps. They're made much better and more solid than a Soldano or Fender.

 

[Guitar55]

Man, if I had $1000 to $1200 to spend on a Boogie I would get the Lonestar Classic and a tubescreamer. .....

Then all you would need is another $400!

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Thanks guys.

I thought about the Lonestar, but I really like good distortion too, plus I don't have that much cash. I'm going to have to go play the Heartbreaker.

The Nomad looks really great too, but I can see ribbon cables in the back of the chassis when I look through the vents. This just brings back all the horrid Marshall TSL 122 memories. I've had 3 of them and they have all imploded, plus they were so hard to work on, that I just sold them.



I think that I'm leaning toward the Heartbreaker. I have some really nice pedals if the distortion is not quite there. :twisted: Or, I could always hot-rod the hell out of it.

 

[musicbox]

very under-rated boogie. don't really know anyone that owns one, there might be one or two on this board somwhere.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I was hoping that a Heartbreaker user would chime in.

I know that some of the Mesa Tech Support guys use these exclusively.

I might have to go play it on Sunday.

 

[dylan7620]

I am more worried about the Cleans.

FWIW, I spent about a half hour trying to dial in a nice clean tone on a Nomad when amp hunting, and could not find what I wanted. "Glassy" is probably a good description - flat, hard & inflexible.

I spent 2 minutes on a LoneStar Classic & nearly wet myself. With the gain rolled back, nice tight spanky clean rhythm. Gain turned up yielded gorgeous warm fat pushed sound.

funny, i had the oposite reaction when i tried a loan star! :lol: i noticed the nomad has to be cranked to get it to a gritty territory... BTW what version did you try? combo or head? i noticed my 45 head was a lot sweeter and warmer than a 55 4x10. but it was at a guitar center so god only knows how well THATS been treated

 

[Cheez]

I tried out the Nomad 55 combo. Three channels really seemed like what I needed, so I drove 5 hours to the only place I could find that still had one in stock. I'm glad the LSC was there. Two channels of just what I want are way better than three of "not quite"... especially at that price point.

The Heartbreaker and LSC are pretty well in the same (Mark I) family. I tried to find one of them to play too, to no avail But, hey, I'm more than happy with my LSC.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Tele,

How do the Cleans compare between the Tremoverb and the Rectoverb?

I had a Rectoverb for a while, and loved the tones I could get out of it, but hated the Reverb. I have a Blackfaced Pro Reverb and have been very spoiled.



I have a Fender Blues DeVille now that I took in trade, but it has 2 channels of "Almost what I'm looking for." Plus the Reverb is Solid State, and does not sound like Fender Reverb at all.


I should probably try the LSC, but I won't. If it doesn't fit in my budget, then I don't want to start looking around for something else to sell.



Thanks again guys for all of the input.

 

[nomadlover]

I'm going to have to go play the Heartbreaker.


I think that I'm leaning toward the Heartbreaker. I have some really nice pedals if the distortion is not quite there. :twisted: Or, I could always hot-rod the hell out of it.

+1000000000000000000000000.9
i honestly think you won't need to hot rod it, there are a few amps where you touch the eq or the volume and nothing much happens. on the heartbreaker you put the master down low and the seperate volume higher you get the best distortion i've ever heard. the eq has a substantial affect on the sound, the distortion is so liquid and the gains are not heavy gain but just distorted enough. the cleans are absolutely beautiful. you can't go wrong man, you just can't at least not with the heartbreaker! :wink:

edit: i tried out the lonestar and just wasn't my cup O' tea, i've tried twice, once at GC and once locally, i just wasn't impressed at all. they aren't in the same league in my mind, besides why pay $600 more for something that doesn't sound as good as $600 less? :wink:

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I just pulled the trigger on a Heartbreaker combo.

I found it on Ebay. It was in an auction for $799 + $100 shipping, but I missed it. The guy relisted it in his Ebay Store for $899 + $85 shipping. He was kind enough to give it to me for the original price. I practically pleaded with him since I had a hard time coming up with the extra $85. He gets positive feedback for sure.


I'm having it shipped to my house in New Mexico. We'll be there in a few weeks and shipping a 100+ pound amp to Hawaii would cost a fortune.


Wish me luck.


Thanks for all of the advice. The guy at the local store is really hard to deal with and we have had some personality conflicts in the past. He actually got another guy fired for giving me a good price on a Nomad 55 a few years ago. Pretty ironic since he was trying to give me $600 off of list on a Heartbreaker. I wonder if I can get him fired. :twisted:

 

[Sardocasm]

Congratulations. We're in the same boat. I recently purchased a Heartbreaker head on Ebay for $970 including tax.

 

[nomadlover]

i'm envious but happy for you, both of you, congratz!
i've been gassing for a heartbreaker a lot quite recently, come the end of the quarter i get one! 8) i tried it with 6l6s in it, it sounded pretty awesome. thinking back it will take about 2 mins or so to get in that heavenly tone. it even made my squier affinity strat sound good. just turn the master down and put the regular volume on 3 or 4 o'clock and rock out. make sure you have it on the gain. screw around with the eq, you'd be suprised. keep us updated. i should change my name to heartbreakerlover. probably a little long-winded.
congratz!
edit: clips?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

i should change my name to heartbreakerlover. probably a little long-winded.

I wondered why you didn't tell me that the Nomad was better.


I can't wait. I get a check tomorrow and will pay for it then. I'm moving, so I won't get to check it out for a few weeks though. At least I'll have something really great to look forward to when I get there. I'll have a DC-5 and a Heartbreaker to play while I'm waiting for my other gear to arrive (3-4 weeks).

 

[nomadlover]

i've never played a dc-5, what do they sound like. what else are you getting? i was gonna get a nomad but then i played them side by side and the heartbreaker blew my pants off!