What's the deal with the Shock mount chassis?

[Dr. Tweedbucket]

Some amps have it, some don't..... was it an extra cost option? :?:

 

[ramalam]

The earlier Mark I amps didn't have it until they found out how hard 100 watts would throttle the amp, its connections and tubes. After a lot of breakdowns, they decided the amp would be a lot more reliable if it wasn't vibrated as violently. Heavier amps or ones lower wattage are not as susceptible to damage bit most combo amps will benefit from some type of shock isolation.

When Blues Saraceno was still in his middle teens, he had a 100 watt Mark I, which he played at very high volume for hours at a time and had problems with it all the time. He finally switched from Boogies and went next to 100 watt Laney, head/cab amps and obviously on to a string of other amps.

 

[edward]

I've got a similar question: why is it that earli-ish amps (like the DCs and some Marks) had the Sus-4 shock system, but later amps (like some MKIVs heads) did not? Did Mesa find it was not effective? More trouble than worth? Or maybe as simple as cost prohibitive?

It "seems" like a good idea to this layman, anyway, but I am always curious as to why a company would revert to solid mounting when a suspension already exists at their disposal.

Edward

 

[MrMarkIII]

Some amps have it, some don't..... was it an extra cost option? :?:

It was an option, then they stopped offering it. Probably a cost consideration, like the accessory outlet.

 

[Buddy]

The San Andreas fault is about 20 miles away from Petaluma .
It's just R.S way of quake proofing certain Boogies .

 

[Boogie Woogie Man]

Some amps have it, some don't..... was it an extra cost option? :?:

It was an option, then they stopped offering it. Probably a cost consideration, like the accessory outlet.

I remember the amps being advertised with the SUS-4 system as standard. I don't ever recall it being an option.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Some amps have it, some don't..... was it an extra cost option? :?:

It was an option, then they stopped offering it. Probably a cost consideration, like the accessory outlet.

I remember the amps being advertised with the SUS-4 system as standard. I don't ever recall it being an option.

My 1984 catalog shows amps, heads and combos, with SUS-4 and without.

 

[dancullinane]

I don't think many of the heads had the sus4 system bc the vibration problem is form the amp being too close to the speaker. Boogies are especially prone to problems from this bc of the very compact size. i have a mark II head and a mark III head which does not have it an most of my combos have it (Mark II-IV)

 

[Monsta-Tone]

It may be a blessing in disguise that they only used it for a short period of time.

I called Mesa about 8 months ago for replacement parts for the SUS 4 system. The response I got was, 'Wow, you really do have an old amp!'


They do not even have part numbers for this setup, which is odd. They have just about every part you can imagine. I would love to just stand in their Parts Dept. for an hour and drool.

I ended up finding a way to make it work.

I have 1 of the 1st Blue Angels and it has the SUS 4, but most that I have seen did not.