Why are Mesa's thumped on all the boards???

[Dutchman]

Heck I love old Boogies, best amps ever. Different then a Marshall plexi or 74's in tone, but still balls to the wall Rock N' Roll.

I think the premier Rock tone of the ages is a shared note between the Mesa Boogie and Marshall.

That's my opinion.

Now if someone can explain why they constantly bashed on board across the Internet.......

My explanation.....They have never owned one....Period....


I'm going go and pass out now............................

 

[phyrexia]

They can't be dialed in like fenders and marshalls. So when Joe Schmoe sits in front of one for three minutes and can't get it to sound good as he pussypicks on the shitty epiphone he's playing, he gives up and plays the Marshall.

 

[user 2126]

They can't be dialed in like fenders and marshalls. So when Joe Schmoe sits in front of one for three minutes and can't get it to sound good as he pussypicks on the sh!t epiphone he's playing, he gives up and plays the Marshall.

Totally agree.

 

[Russ]

They can't be dialed in like fenders and marshalls. So when Joe Schmoe sits in front of one for three minutes and can't get it to sound good as he pussypicks on the sh!t epiphone he's playing, he gives up and plays the Marshall.

Totally agree.

+1

Or they're jealous...

Or they can't handle the power...

Or they're just tonally stuck...

Or they can't afford a real amp...

Or they can't lift a Mesa...

Or they're intimidated by the looks...

There are too many reasons to post. I could be here all night. I am anyway, but that is besides the point. Wait... Who asked you...? No one, I just wanted to say something... Shut up... No, you shut up... *fight ensues*

Ok, so they're right, we are crazy for buying these amps. I'd rather be crazy and have better tone through a better amp than be sane and have sucktacular amps and sound like crap. But that's beside the point... Yeah, what he said... :wink:

 

[ytse_jam]

I sometimes take a look at the marshall forum, and there are a few people really happy with Mesa too (MarkIV seems to be the most appreciated). Then there are a few people who don't like Mesa, and they explain rationally what they think. The problem is that the largest part is just saying "Mesas are ****, worst amps in the world, don't buy!"... just it, without explaining anything... and more than likely they've never tried a Mesa.

 

[Russ]

Or the amp they have is their first and they love it and are just too ignorant to know a good amp. Probably because they never heard or played one.

 

[PRSKILLER]

Mark IV is like a king at HC

 

[6L6C]

They can't be dialed in like fenders and marshalls. So when Joe Schmoe sits in front of one for three minutes and can't get it to sound good as he pussypicks on the sh!t epiphone he's playing, he gives up and plays the Marshall.

I also agree 100% but through the years I have also noticed something else also. The average Boogie the Mark series in particular responds so much to the dynamics of your picking, (especially series I-III) that it seems to freak out people playing them for the first time. They also get to hear all their picking mistakes in full glory. The feel of the amp can be so different from the majority of the amps out there. Allot of amps out there have this compressed sound out of them, it can be a very forgiving sound for sloppy playing. Especially now a days the modelers (pods and so on)are the in thing, they can sound pretty good under the right conditions but do not or shall I say respond very little to the dynamics of your playing. So someone use to playing a modeler and then jumps to a Boogie is usually freaked by the feel.
Even look at rehearsal studios if they do advertise Boogie in their backline you know it’s going to be a rectifier series amp, why? That compressed sound that most people are use to.

 

[JOEY B.]

They can't be dialed in like fenders and marshalls. So when Joe Schmoe sits in front of one for three minutes and can't get it to sound good as he pussypicks on the sh!t epiphone he's playing, he gives up and plays the Marshall.

These amps require a different approach to tone setting, with the Mark series being the most difficult for a Marshall, Peavy, etc. player to understand. All the talk about the MkIV being hard to learn is from people that are not used to setting up a MkI,II or III. When I tried the MkIV, I printed off the manual, read it cover to cover, THEN played the amp. Instant whip-*** lead tone in a matter of seconds. R2 was a bit more tricky. But then again, I have been playing Boogie amps nearly 20 years now. These bashers of the Boogie are just inexperienced and don't care to learn IMO.

 

[jerseydrew]

They don't like them 'cuz they're too many knobs. It's that simple.

 

[Guitarzan]

When I tried the MkIV, I printed off the manual, read it cover to cover, THEN played the amp. Instant whip-*** lead tone in a matter of seconds... These bashers of the Boogie are just inexperienced and don't care to learn IMO.

I completely agree... We see this trend even with the noobs that come here.

 

[reo73]

I find that when people say they "Hate" Mesa or "Mesa Sucks!" usually they are refering to a specific product line of Mesa amps and a lot of time that tends to be the rectifier which is a different beast from most Marshalls and Marshall clones. The only complaint I usually hear about the Mark IV is too many knobs. The Tremoverb on the other hand always gets lots of love on other boards as does the Lonestar Special and a lot of times the F series.

I am a huge Mark series fan but I must be honest and say that I owned and did not like the rectifier to the point where I thought is "Sucked". The Lead channel on Modern mode was great for huge modern metal sounds but I did not like any of the other channels at all. Also, the lonestar is way too dark of amp for my tastes and I have heard this complaint from others as well (not the special). So, for others to make a blanket stetment that "mesa sucks" is just foolish when they have so many different lines of amps but I certainly understands someones dislike over some of those lines.

 

[Pinweaver]

The only complaint I usually hear about the Mark IV is too many knobs.

Which is rather funny, since if you ask most Mark 4 owners what they would like to see changed, they'd ask for even more knobs. Separate bass and mid for ch1 and 2, classA - classA/B - simul switch. etc...

 

[rvschulz]

They can't be dialed in like fenders and marshalls. So when Joe Schmoe sits in front of one for three minutes and can't get it to sound good as he pussypicks on the sh!t epiphone he's playing, he gives up and plays the Marshall.

I also agree 100% but through the years I have also noticed something else also. The average Boogie the Mark series in particular responds so much to the dynamics of your picking, (especially series I-III) that it seems to freak out people playing them for the first time. They also get to hear all their picking mistakes in full glory. The feel of the amp can be so different from the majority of the amps out there. Allot of amps out there have this compressed sound out of them, it can be a very forgiving sound for sloppy playing. Especially now a days the modelers (pods and so on)are the in thing, they can sound pretty good under the right conditions but do not or shall I say respond very little to the dynamics of your playing. So someone use to playing a modeler and then jumps to a Boogie is usually freaked by the feel.
Even look at rehearsal studios if they do advertise Boogie in their backline you know it’s going to be a rectifier series amp, why? That compressed sound that most people are use to.

boy they picking dynamics quote here is so true - don't screw up because there is no hiding with these little shits. LOL

 

[Zoner]

They can't be dialed in like fenders and marshalls. So when Joe Schmoe sits in front of one for three minutes and can't get it to sound good as he pussypicks on the sh!t epiphone he's playing, he gives up and plays the Marshall.

I also agree 100% but through the years I have also noticed something else also. The average Boogie the Mark series in particular responds so much to the dynamics of your picking, (especially series I-III) that it seems to freak out people playing them for the first time. They also get to hear all their picking mistakes in full glory. The feel of the amp can be so different from the majority of the amps out there. Allot of amps out there have this compressed sound out of them, it can be a very forgiving sound for sloppy playing. Especially now a days the modelers (pods and so on)are the in thing, they can sound pretty good under the right conditions but do not or shall I say respond very little to the dynamics of your playing. So someone use to playing a modeler and then jumps to a Boogie is usually freaked by the feel.
Even look at rehearsal studios if they do advertise Boogie in their backline you know it’s going to be a rectifier series amp, why? That compressed sound that most people are use to.

Exactly - well said. Most of the Boogies will expose sloppy playing like nothing else. It is also pretty easy to get yourself into "sucky" tone land if you do the typical "crank the bass and treble, drop the mids" drill popular with the kiddies these days. I also think the Forums are filled to the brim with people who like to simply bash - it has become some sort of national pastime to get on the net and rip on gear/people/belief systems, whatever.
Hey, if you can't say something nice! Z

 

[Monsta-Tone]

They don't like them 'cuz they're too many knobs. It's that simple.

:lol: Sad but true in most cases.



Here is my take on it:

Marshall & Fender guys don't like them because they have too many knobs. Most of the Marshall & Fender guys just set their amps and leave them, and let the pedals do all of the work.

Marshall & Fender techs are afraid of them because they are fairly complicated when you look under the hood. That is not to say that the Marshall TSL's are not complicated, even more so!

What gets me about the techs talking **** is that the average Mesa (Studio 22's aside) have double sided solder pads and the components are on the tops of the boards so that they are super easy to fix or modify.





In The Ultimate Tone, which seems to be the bible for most techs, but is over written and severely opinionated, Kevin O'Connor states that Mesa and Soldano are the worst built amps for modifications and repairs.

This is not true. In fact, they are the easiest of any newer amplifier to modify or repair. He is reffering to the fact that Vintage Fenders & most other amps in the 60's and early 70's are Point to Point and any moron with a soldering iron can fix them. I've spoken to this guy personally, he was very nice but seemed lonely over the phone. He just wanted to keep talking and I just wanted to order a Loop kit, which sucked *** anyway and I ended up stealing the design from a THD amp for my Loop.


Most guys that slam Mesa have watched too much TV and seen too many Nu-Metal and Nickelback bands destroying their Rectifier's tone by setting them all the same and sounding like the next guy.


As for hard to dial in, it just takes a bit more intuition than the average guitar player has. How hard is it to put all of the EQ knobs in the middle and then play, slowly adjusting them as needed?

I never saw a Marshall amp with a usable EQ, they are always somewhat ineffective and the amp sounds like it will sound regardless of where you place the knobs.

Fenders are a bit more adjustable, but my Pro Reverbs sound like Vintage Fenders no matter where I set the knobs on them as well. Not that this is a bad thing.




In the end, I think that there is a stigma that Mesa's will only sound like Santana or Metal. It's too bad really, they are by far my favorite amps.

 

[Restless Rocks]

There seems to be certain genetic inferiorities (probably caused by toxic pollutants, pesticides and residual radiation in the environment), leading to substandard brain function and a predominace toward general malaise, laziness, substance abuse, and inability to form thoughts independant of media brainwashing, destroying our youth today. Hell the average cashier at walfart can't subtract 2cents from a dollar without the computerized cash register.
All that really matters is that we're here as the elite few who know a really great guitar amplifier when we see, hear or plug into a mesa. Engaging in the never ending facination of tweaking knobs and flipping switches finding endless varieties of Great Tone. And we shall go forward unafraid of the hoards of crate blasting, epiphone (with blue strings)scratching unfortunates and show them the pity they deserve. It's probably not their fault that each of their parents wereEE DEE DEE

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Harmony Central Review
BY: Jerkweed Suxalot


Mesa amplifiers
Quality: 0
It's too heavy, so it must be made poorly.

Features: 0
Too many knobs, couldn't figure out how to make it turn on. Took me 20 minutes to figure out what the Standby switch does. Go figure!

Sound: 0
Here is the real kicker. I actually liked the amp until I plugged my Cort Douchebag guitar into my POD and then ran into the front of my new Dual Rectifier head, which was feeding my Rogue 4x12 cabinet with Douchebag speakers in it.

I can't believe how bad this amp made my awesome setup sound. I get better tones playing my POD through my boom box. Honestly, $1,500 for an amp that I can't use my favorite $100 FX unit in front of, what a rip!!!

I tried it without my beloved POD and it sounded like absolute crap. All of the sudden, I could hear all of these other notes that I know that I never hit. There was a lot of feedback when I had the guitar turned up, sitting in the stand and I went to do another bong rip. WTF??? My guitar never feedsback through my POD.

It's like I had to learn to play all over again.

Reliabillity: 0
I called the company and complained that their amp made my playing suck and my tone turned to ****. All they could say was, "I'm sorry sir, are you sure that you know what you're doing."

I can't believe that they even answered the phone and spoke english, what an insult.


My name is Jerkweed Von Suxalot and I have been playing EMO & SCREAMO for about a week now. I rawk dood and have no time for an amp that makes my playing suck.

:lol: :lol:

 

[Platypus]

:lol: ^

 

[Guitarzan]

Harmony Central Review
BY: Jerkweed Suxalot


Mesa amplifiers
Quality: 0
It's too heavy, so it must be made poorly.

Features: 0
Too many knobs, couldn't figure out how to make it turn on. Took me 20 minutes to figure out what the Standby switch does. Go figure!

Sound: 0
Here is the real kicker. I actually liked the amp until I plugged my Cort Douchebag guitar into my POD and then ran into the front of my new Dual Rectifier head, which was feeding my Rogue 4x12 cabinet with Douchebag speakers in it.

I can't believe how bad this amp made my awesome setup sound. I get better tones playing my POD through my boom box. Honestly, $1,500 for an amp that I can't use my favorite $100 FX unit in front of, what a rip!!!

I tried it without my beloved POD and it sounded like absolute crap. All of the sudden, I could hear all of these other notes that I know that I never hit. There was a lot of feedback when I had the guitar turned up, sitting in the stand and I went to do another bong rip. WTF??? My guitar never feedsback through my POD.

It's like I had to learn to play all over again.

Reliabillity: 0
I called the company and complained that their amp made my playing suck and my tone turned to sh!t. All they could say was, "I'm sorry sir, are you sure that you know what you're doing."

I can't believe that they even answered the phone and spoke english, what an insult.


My name is Jerkweed Von Suxalot and I have been playing EMO & SCREAMO for about a week now. I rawk dood and have no time for an amp that makes my playing suck.

:lol: :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Nice! Too much Green Chile this morning? hehehe