Why was the F series discontinued?
- Thread starter hhcave
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straitouttahell
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hhcave said:
To leave place to the Express, I'm afraid.
Don
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Evolution.
Unlike a huge company like Fender, MESA can't produce a huge line of products (though their line is big).
It's arguable whether the Express series is better than the F series. For some players, like me, it is, for others, it's clearly not.
I chose an Express 5:50 over a nice used F-50 that would've cost me about 40% less.
I would've enjoyed the F-50 almost as much, though.
Unlike a huge company like Fender, MESA can't produce a huge line of products (though their line is big).
It's arguable whether the Express series is better than the F series. For some players, like me, it is, for others, it's clearly not.
I chose an Express 5:50 over a nice used F-50 that would've cost me about 40% less.
I would've enjoyed the F-50 almost as much, though.
LPClassic
Well-known member
I think too it's the company way of thinking on amp evolution, curiously, my favorute amps are discontinued... the Maverick, the Mark IIC, the Mark III, the old rectifiers, the quad and studio pre-amps, the f-series., the DC series... I think that sometimes they just don't know when to stop or something like that... of course there are others that may not be as good... personally never liked the nomad
Newysurfer
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The F-50 has a parrellel loop unfortunately which was a deal breaker for me otherwise I would have bought one.
The Express has a series loop, better clean tones and has the 5/50 power cut switch which makes it much more versatile. But the F-50 has more gain on tap. So for me the Express is definitely better but would have been nice to see Mesa continue making the F-50 also.
The Express has a series loop, better clean tones and has the 5/50 power cut switch which makes it much more versatile. But the F-50 has more gain on tap. So for me the Express is definitely better but would have been nice to see Mesa continue making the F-50 also.
Newysurfer
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sure Woody -
a parrellel loop runs the the two tones (your base tone & your effect tone) in parrellel & slightly out of phase. So you'll hear the amp tone & then the effect which sounds kinda weird and is often unusable for MFX's and time based effects.
A series loop seemlessly mixes the two tones into one and is exactly what you want for using effects.
The good news is you can convert a parrellel loop to a series one quite easily. Can do it yourself or get a tech to do it cheaply.
a parrellel loop runs the the two tones (your base tone & your effect tone) in parrellel & slightly out of phase. So you'll hear the amp tone & then the effect which sounds kinda weird and is often unusable for MFX's and time based effects.
A series loop seemlessly mixes the two tones into one and is exactly what you want for using effects.
The good news is you can convert a parrellel loop to a series one quite easily. Can do it yourself or get a tech to do it cheaply.
Yeah teh express is a fantastic and versatile amp but i think the f series sounded completely different! I would say the F series is more of a metal or fusion type amp whereas the express covers less distorted levels - classic rock? And yeah i suppose the reverb on the F-50 isn;t great! It's good that i don't use many FX pedals now that you've mentioned that parallel loop!
I started my Boogie experience with my F-30, and have had several other Boogies in and out the door, (along with some other amps). My F-30 is going nowhere, staying with me. I don't know why they discontinued the line, the amp, to me, sounds great and very in your face, especially when I add my thiele cab. Like a little mini-stack that just screams. All I know is, years down the road, people will look back fondly at the F series wondering how to find one, especially the F-30, and I'll still be playing mine. It's a keeper, no doubt.
art
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John Vasco
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Perhaps the words of Petronius ring true in the music industry as they did centuries ago: We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation.
Every time something appears to be a success, something new has to be introduced for the sake of progress... Hey, Gibson's self-tuning Les Paul robot guitar is progress, as is Fender's 150 look-alike, sound-alike Strats. My arse!
I'm sticking with my F-50 limited edition and 5:25, thank you.
Every time something appears to be a success, something new has to be introduced for the sake of progress... Hey, Gibson's self-tuning Les Paul robot guitar is progress, as is Fender's 150 look-alike, sound-alike Strats. My arse!
I'm sticking with my F-50 limited edition and 5:25, thank you.
treelifeUK
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er, Vasco, run that past me again!!!???!!!???
John Vasco
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treelifeUK said:
OK, I'll try, as close to words of one syllable.
What one finds in life is that as soon as things run smoothly and well (or appear to do so), someone (usually in higher authority) decides that it is time for a change. And they sell it as change for the better. So it was the case with Gibson with some of the crap they turned out in recent years, culminating with the 'robot' guitar that has a switch which, because of the way it functions, breaks down quickly (go to the Les Paul forum and type robot guitar in the search function to see what I mean). Ditto for the Strat, which was considered to be the perfect instrument by many (not me, I'm a Gibson guy), but which has been bastardised in so many ways over the years that the recent product is not considered as good as those that have gone before, and it's not just pure nostalgia at work here.
Equally so for the F-series. Absolutely superb amps. I spent a full half day trying them out at the local store before picking up my F-50. The F-30 was a great amp also. So what do Mesa do? In the name of 'progress' they discontinue the line.
Go read my Petronius quote again, and apply it to what I have said above. It is analogous. Whereas progress is inevitable, what one does with progress does not always result in betterment. My 5:25 is a great amp, but it is not better than my F-50, nor the F-30 I tried out. In fact I find the F-50 is a better all-round amp.
xrisj
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I struggled over choosing the F-50 vs. the F-30. I went with the F-30 in the end, and could not be more happy with my selection. I was shocked when I went back to buy a second amp (the f-50 8) ) and heard they were discontinued.
Mesa, like every other company, operates on sales results. If the line is selling well, they'll keep it. If not, they eliminate it to make room for something that will either sell more, or sell the same amount but allow them to produce it for less (income vs. expense). This is a market driven decision.
Just as with any of our music, not everything is a hit. I'd argue that the F-100, for example, wasn't the same hit as the F-30. Sometimes the single stars in a line get cut because the line as a whole doesn't perform up to expectations. This happens all the time in many other areas of life. Unfortunately, as is the case with the f-series, sometimes the greatest hits go un-noticed by the masses.
In the end, this allows them to keep building and trying new amps - that's what got us the F series in the first place. Mesa has been a self-renewing company, which allows them to innovate. The problem is when the innovators stop running the company and the bottom-liners take over (Fender/CBS?)...
Mesa, like every other company, operates on sales results. If the line is selling well, they'll keep it. If not, they eliminate it to make room for something that will either sell more, or sell the same amount but allow them to produce it for less (income vs. expense). This is a market driven decision.
Just as with any of our music, not everything is a hit. I'd argue that the F-100, for example, wasn't the same hit as the F-30. Sometimes the single stars in a line get cut because the line as a whole doesn't perform up to expectations. This happens all the time in many other areas of life. Unfortunately, as is the case with the f-series, sometimes the greatest hits go un-noticed by the masses.
In the end, this allows them to keep building and trying new amps - that's what got us the F series in the first place. Mesa has been a self-renewing company, which allows them to innovate. The problem is when the innovators stop running the company and the bottom-liners take over (Fender/CBS?)...
treelifeUK
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Dear Vasco de garmant, which quote did Petronius actually say in your essay. Which is him and which is you? What wise saw did he actually come up with? Petronius, I mean... Is he available on CD or YOUtube?
John Vasco
Active member
treelifeUK said:
Dear tree(of)lifeuk,
This is it:
"We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation."
Then I spotted that you are from Yorkshire, and you know what the best thing to come out of Yorkshire is? THE ROAD TO LANCASHIRE!
treelifeUK
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Nice one! By the way, which is the, "spare", cathedral you're always singing about? What denomination?
John Vasco
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The C of E cathedral was the first one built in the city. Then in the 1960s, the RC Cathedral 'Paddy's Wigwam' was built, giving the city 2 cathedrals.
Don't take my Yorkshire bashing too seriously. I'm a member of the Richard II Society, the last Yorkist king of England, and the last true king of England, usurped by that Tudor upstart Henry VII. After the passing of Richard III, the monarchy for me was invalid. As for the present crop of the Saxe-Coburn-Gotha line... do me a feckin favour!!! Don't get me started on who Harry Wales looks like...
Don't take my Yorkshire bashing too seriously. I'm a member of the Richard II Society, the last Yorkist king of England, and the last true king of England, usurped by that Tudor upstart Henry VII. After the passing of Richard III, the monarchy for me was invalid. As for the present crop of the Saxe-Coburn-Gotha line... do me a feckin favour!!! Don't get me started on who Harry Wales looks like...
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