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Mesa Boogie
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Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses.
Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a small repair shop which modified Fender combos to give them more gain. Soon the word spread, and with users like Carlos Santana, Boogie became one of the big names in the industry. Other notable Boogie users include: Les Claypool, Jade Puget from AFI, Tom Delonge from blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves, Mark Tremonti from Alter Bridge, Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield, John Petrucci from Dream Theater, Steve Lukather, Buckethead, Metallica, Munky (from Korn), Tim Mahoney (from 311), Prince, Jerry Cantrell, Frank Zappa, Andy Timmons, Cannibal Corpse, Terry Balsamo from Evanescence, Devin Townsend, Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Flea, Rammstein, Emppu Vuorinen of Nightwish, Helmet,Trivium, Dir en grey, Gavin Rossdale and Nigel Pulsford of Bush, Lamb of God, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Foo Fighters
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Randall Smith, the creator of Mesa Boogie began his career at Prune music, a Chinese grocery store turned music shop. Working as a repair tech while his business partner and friend, David Kessner, ran the front, Smith quickly gained a reputation with the local San Francisco Bay Area musicians. Smith, taking great pride in his work was soon seeing business from the likes of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Carlos Santana.
In 1969, Smith, as a joke, modified Barry Melton's (Country Joe and the Fish) Fender Princeton amplifier. He removed the standard 10 inch speaker and modified the chassis to fit the larger transformers that were needed by the 4-10 tweed Bassman, the circuit that he had added into the tiny 12 watt Princeton. Finally, Mounting a 12 inch JBL D-120, a popular speaker of the time, Smith had created what would be the first Boogie.
Randall Smith, needing to test his creation, took the "hot-rodded" Princeton into the front store. Coincidentally, Carlos Santana was present and "wailed through that little amp until people were blocking the sidewalk". Impressed, Santana exclaimed to Smith, "Shit, man. That little thing really Boogies!" It was this statement that brought the Boogie name to fruition.
The MESA name came about through Smith's other job, rebuilding Mercedes engines and repairing houses. He needed an 'official' sounding name through which to buy Mercedes parts and building supplies. The name chosen was MESA Engineering because it was seemingly familiar with a professional air. It was originally capitalized but has been written as Mesa in recent years.
In 1971 Bassist, Patrick Burke addressed Randall in hopes of a custom Bass amp. Smith was persuaded and constructed the Snakeskin Mesa 450 - Smith's first bass amplifier and the first 'official' Mesa/Boogie product.
The real breakthrough came when Smith began his project of building a preamp for Lee Michaels to drive his new Crown DC-300 power amplifiers. Not knowing what signal was required to drive the power amps, Smith added an extra tube gain stage to the preamp to cover his bases, with 3 variable gain controls at different points in the circuit.
When Smith took the construction to Michaels and plugged it in, they were both disappointed, as they could only hear a very faint sound coming out of the speakers. They soon realized that the speakers had been plugged directly into the preamp, and rectified the situation by plugging them in correctly to the power-amp. After plugging everything together correctly, Michaels hit a power chord to test the new setup which "practically blew both of our [Michaels and Smith] bodies through the back wall".
Smith had discovered High Gain, purely by chance. He set about designing a Mesa/Boogie amplifier around the new principle, and in 1972 the Mark I Boogie was released.
He proceeded to evolve the Mark series, with the Mark II released in 1980. The 1980s saw Mesa instigating and leading in the 'Rack Revolution', with popular power amplifiers such as the M180/190 and Strategy series, as well as pre-amps such as the Quad and Studio.
Arguably the most desirable Boogie ever built was designed in 1983, the Mark II-C (and later the II-C+). The Mark series culminated in 1990 with the Mark IV.
In the '90s, Mesa launched the smaller Dual Caliber series and the more powerful Rectifier series.
The new millennium has not seen Mesa slow down, with new models like the 4-channel Road King and perhaps their best clean channel yet, the Lone Star and Lone Star Special.
In the 17 years between 1972 and 1989, there were 7 different Mark series designs, culminating in the Mark IV in 1990. In the 16 years between 1990 and 2006 there have been no new models, and it is widely considered that the Mark series came to its conclusion with the Mark IV.
The Mark IV was one of the most advanced amplifiers of its time. It features 3 almost fully independent channels, a graphic equalizer, master volume and many pre- and power-amp options.
The 3 channels are labeled Rhythm 1, Rhythm 2 and Lead. Rhythm 1 and 2 include shared bass and middle controls, but other than this the channels are fully independent, with volume, gain and presence controls for each. The graphic EQ is footswitchable. The Mark III was used most notably by Brad Gillis on the Ozzy Osbourne album "speak of the devil". The Mark IV was used by both James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica on the 'Black' Album as well as many subsequent albums. Recently, Willie Adler and Mark Morton of Lamb of God have gained acclaim while using these amplifiers. John Petrucci is also a long time user.
It has the ability to footswitch between Simul-class and Class-A. It should be noted that the two outside power tubes can be substituted for EL34 valves, and all 4 tubes can be substituted for 6V6 valves.
The Mark I re-issue amplifier is a reproduction of the most popular Hun/Ree (100w with reverb) format of Mark I amplifier. It features a Celestion C90 speaker in its combo format, but is also available as a head.
The Rectifier series, commonly called "Recto" by modeling amplifiers, was instrumental to the success of D tuned 7-string nu- and heavy-metal in the 90's.
There are 3 variants: Single, Dual and Triple Rectifier.
The Single Rectifier amplifiers are rated at 50 watts and use a silicon diode rectifier, as opposed to tube rectification. Currently in production are the Single Rectifier Solo Head 50, the Rect-o-Verb 50 head, and the Rect-o-Verb 50 combo, which is fitted with a single 12" Celestion Black Shadow speaker. The Rect-o-Verb line features the same circuitry as the Single Rectifier Solo Head 50, but incorporates reverb. All Single Rectifier amplifiers feature a pair of 6L6 power tubes as well as five 12AX7 pre-amp tubes. A bias select switch, which allows the user to swap out the stock 6L6s for EL34s, was added in the "Series 2" versions of all amplifiers in the lineup. Also, the Reverb control knob was moved from the back to the front on the Rect-o-Verb models. The Single Rectifer amplifiers feature two fully independent channels.
The Dual Rectifier Solo Head is the most popular model of the Rectifier series. The name comes from the use of 2 rectifier tubes, which are switchable between silicone diodes. Equipped with a quartet of 6L6 power tubes, the Dual Rectifier will produce depending on options chosen 70-100 watts. For a looser sound, Dual Rectifier amplifiers allow users to utilize tube rectification rather than the common silicone diode rectification at the flip of a switch. Like in the Single Rectifier series, a bias select switch is standard. The Dual and Triple Rectifier amplifiers, which also feature 5 12AX7 pre-amp tubes, were originally designed with 2 channels(though not true parallel channel circuits), but recently were redesigned to incorporate a third channel. However, many people consider the older 2 channel models to have a superior sound.
Additionally, the first 500 Dual Rectifiers are also considered to be the "holy grail" of the rectifier line. These Pre-500 rectifiers are said to have superior tone due to specific transformers that were only used on these early models. In addition these first 500 also feature a unique circuit board that was changed toward the end of 1992. You can distinguish the Pre-500 dual rectifiers by their serial number found on the back of the amp and should fall between # R-0001 to R-0500.
The first 503 not only used the 100 watt output transformers from the MK III, made by Schumacher. There is usually a two year difference in the year of production of the power transformer usually 1992 and the output transformer, usually dated late 1990. The first production circuit revision is the RF-1C and is in amps up to around 280. From 280 to 503 Mesa changed the circuit design to the RF-1D. In essence, Mesa had used two slightly different circuit designs between the first models produced in February, 1992 to the end of the 500 around August, 1992. As of late August/September 1992, the amp was again revised to the RF-1E, and then again shortly after to the RF-1F. The RF-1E seemed to be missing many connections on the bottom trace which led to point to point connections to resistors and LDR's. This poses the question of whether these amps are unique in tone due specifically to the transformers, but also the circuit design. The most notable association with the transformer theory is directly linked to George Lynch. It has also been written that George looked at the circuit boards for a distinguishable mark that was used to identify these amps. It can be assumed that he was looking for the circuit board revision. Mr. Lynch, like many other famous guitar players may have stated that it was the transformers that made the Dual Rectifier so different, when in reality he was providing useless information to throw other players off the source of his tone. As many seasoned players know, this is not an uncommon tactic. (Edward P. Morgan 9/7/2007)
Other than the Dual Rectifier Solo Head, there is the flagship Boogie model (replacing the Mark IV as the company's most advanced amplifier), the Dual Rectifier Road King. The Road King is well known for its vast number of options. It has an unprecedented 4 channels, each with the option of two different speaker outputs, two effects loops and Progressive Linkage, which allows five different power tube configurations (2x6L6, 2xEL34, 2x6L6+2xEL34, 4x6L6, 4x6L6+2xEL34), which are signaled by different LED lights on the front of the amplifier. The amp also features Recto-Tracking, which automatically selects the appropriate rectification (single or dual 5U4s or silicon diode) depending on the power tube configuration.
While these myriad options provide ample tweaking opportunity and ultimate customization of tone, they are also the one drawback of the Road King - it's just too complex for some. In response, Mesa announced the release of the Dual Rectifier Roadster, a scaled down and less expensive version of the Road King with fewer options for the power amp and speakers, but retaining 4 independent channels.
The Triple Rectifier utilizes 6 6L6 power tubes for 150 watts output power, with 3 5U4 Rectifier tubes. It was designed with the tag line "When excess is barely enough", and used by bands such as Metallica, Limp Bizkit and KoЯn.
The Lone Star amplifier was released in 2004 with the tag "Tone as big as Texas", and now comes in two variants, Classic and Special. In very generic terms, the Classic can be compared to vintage Fender amps, while the Special would be more in the range of an old VOX AC-30. However, since no two models of amp really sound alike or even operate the same, this is just to have some idea of an amp with the same type tubes as each of these.
Mesa/Boogie's description of the Classic is riddled with connotations to the sound of Texas blues, a style exemplified by Stevie Ray Vaughan, and this is the sound that the amplifier was designed to recreate. However, while its blues tones are widely reported as some of the best around, the success of the Lone Star has been its clean channel, widely regarded as one of, if not the best clean sound Boogie have ever produced. A measure of the quality of the sound is reflected in Carlos Santana's current amplifier rig - 3 70's Mark series Boogies, 2 Dumble Overdrive Special amplifiers and a 2004 Lone Star classic. The Lonestar features two channels, both capable of switching between 50 watt (tube or solidstate rectifier) and 100 watt (solid state rectifier). In 2007 Mesa added a 10 watt option to the Lone Star. Both channels are now capable of 10, 50, or 100 watt operation. The 10 watt option is true Class A amplification.
The Lone Star Special was released in 2005, having been previewed first at a NAMM show. The differences are mainly in the power amp section, primarily the use of EL84 tubes rather than 6L6, giving a different sound than the "Classic" Lonestar. It also comes with 3 different wattage settings - 30, 15, and 5 watts. The 30 watt selection uses a solid state (diode) rectifier for a cleaner tone. The 15 and 5 watt settings use a tube (valve) rectifier for a warmer, "grittier", sound. The 5 watt setting uses one power tube producing singled-ended Class A amplification, whereas the other two settings produce push/pull Class A amplification [1]. Not only does this lower the wattage but also enables the tube to be saturated for an overdriven sound at much lower volume. In addition, the 2nd harmonic (an octave above) is not cancelled out, resulting in a richer overtone.
The Stiletto "Stage I" was released in 2004, and is designed as a British-flavored variant of the Rectifier series. This was in response to musicians using Marshall amplifiers combined with Mesa/Boogie amplifiers. Two models were released; the Deuce, and the Trident. Both come standard with EL34 tubes.
The Deuce is a 100w dual 5U4 rectified quad EL34 powered head. The Trident is the highest output wattage of the Stiletto line, with a switchable 50w/150w power rating. It has six EL34 power tubes and three 5U4 rectifiers.
As of the 2006 model year, all previous models are generally referred to as "Stage I" versions, and have been replaced by the new "Stage II" versions. The Ace is the first of the "Stage II" series. It is a 50-watt amp that is available in different formats.
The "Stage II" models have several features that were not available in the first series. This features are RE-voiced modes, two new clean modes named Fat and Tite, a Fluid-Drive mode and faster power supply. The retail price is a little bit more expensive than the Rectifier series.
The Express line of guitar amplifiers was released in 2007, and has essentially replaced the F-Series in the Mesa Boogie line up. Although not directly descended from the F-Series, these two lines do have some features in common, some of which have been expanded upon in the Express line. This amp does not have solid state rectification like the F series, while still having plenty of gain it has it's own unique sound that is thick, chunky and a little furry on the crunch setting. Adjusting the contour setting will help you dial this in.
The Express line offers a new amplification technology developed by Mesa Boogie called “Duo-Class”. This technology offers the ability to run the power section of the amplifier in either true “class A” (single-ended) mode, or true “class AB” (push-pull) mode. This allows the operator to choose between running the amplifier at a reduced power output of 5 Watts (class A), or full power (class AB). When ran in 5 Watt (Class A) mode, the power section is operating on only one vacuum tube.
There are two different models offered in the Express line; the 5:25, which has a maximum power output of 25 Watts, and the 5:50 which has a maximum power output of 50 Watts. Curiously absent is a 100 Watt output model.
The 5:25 operates on two EL-84 tubes in the power section, and produces a maximum rated power output of 25 Watts. It is available as either a Short Chassis Head (Width 19in), or a 1x10 (Open Back) Combo unit containing one E50 Speaker, and comes with casters included.
The 5:50 operates on two 6L6 tubes in the power section, and produces a maximum rated power output of 50 Watts. It is available as a Medium Head (Width 22-7/8in), a Long Head (Width 26-1/4in), a 1x12 (Open Back) Combo unit containing one C90 Speaker, or a 2x12 (Open Back) Combo unit containing two C90 Speakers. Both Combo units come with casters included.
Common features among the models in the Express line are as follows:
- Fixed bias current.
- Five 12AX7 tubes.
- Two fully independent channels with four style modes (channel 1 = Clean or Crunch, channel 2 = Blues or Burn).
- Independent gain, treble, mid, bass, reverb, master and contour controls per channel.
- Footswitchable Variable Contour Control on each channel, which Mesa Boogie says provides the power of their traditional 5-band graphic EQ from one rotary control.
- All tube, long spring reverb.
- All tube FX Loop external switching Jacks for channel 1/2, contour 1, contour 2, reverb.
- Three button footswitch (Channel 1/2, reverb & contour).
In the late 80's Mesa Boogie introduced the 2 space rack mounted Studio Pre guitar preamp to be used in conjunction with a guitar power amp and speaker cabinet combination or as a tool for direct recording of electric guitar. The preamp was originally marketed as being based off the Mark IIC design but there is evidence that it is closer to a IIC+ in its circuitry and tone than a IIC. Most notably its gain levels are more similar to that of a IIC+. In any event the controls of the Studio Preamp are similar to the IIC/C+ design. There are two channels, Rhythm and Lead that share a Volume, Bass, Mid, and Treble tone shaping control. The Lead Channel has a Drive and Master Volume control. The Studio Preamp also utilizes the Mark II era EQ and a few other switches to further shape the tone. Other features include an effects loop and reverb.
The sales life of the Studio Preamp did not last long probably to make way for their flagship preamp, the Triaxis. But, as rumor would have it among Mesa fanatics, the real reason Mesa discontinued the Studio Preamp was that it was such a great sounding and popular preamp it stole sales from their regular amp line and was bad for business. There are those who claim the Studio Pre was the best sounding preamp section of any amp Mesa Boogie ever made. Of course this is subjective. The most recognized users of the Studio Pre were Pete Townsend of The Who and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.
A five-tube preamp built to package all of the "Mark" series amps into one package. The Triaxis will give you the impeccable cleans of the Mark IV and the scooped crunch of the Mark IIc series. This amp has come under fire since the new millennium for being just a preamp and in need of being in a rack with a power amp to run with it, however to rack users, the Triaxis still remains the number one preamp of choice for a wide pallette of crystal cleans and Mark series tones. John Petrucci used this preamp to record overdriven tracks on "Images and Words", as well as the side project cd "Liquid Tension Experiment 1". While lacking the tone of the Rectifier series, it is widely accepted that the Triaxis and the Studio Preamp are the closest you can get to the Mark IIC+ in preamp form.
The MESA Boogie Rectifier Recording™ PreAmp is basically a Rectifier, designed for silent recording. It can also be used as the front end of a rack mounted Rectifier guitar setup.
Mesa also makes Bass amps, although they are less popular than their guitar amps. Still, Mesa's bass amps are used by numerous big names, such as Les Claypool, Sir Paul McCartney, Justin Chancellor, Ben Kenney of Incubus, John Campbell of Lamb of God, John Myung of Dream Theater and Cliff Burton.The current lineup of Bass Amps includes the simul-state Big Block series, M-Pulse, and Walkabout. Mesa's all tube bass amps: the Bass 400+, pushes 500 watts at peak through twelve 6L6 tubes which equals about 350 watts RMS. The earlier Bass 400 had six 6L6 tubes for about 180 watts RMS. The Big block series Are known as "hybrid amps", where the power stage is SS (solid state), and the Pre-amp section is tube. In most cases, The preamp tubes are 2 12ax7 and 1 12au7 splitter tube.
The Quad preamp is divided over two channels, the above one is modelled after a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ and the lower channel is based on a Mark III. The preamp uses 8 NOS Tesla E83CC tubes. These were made in the 70's by Telefunken and are as good as it gets. The whole signalpath of the Quad uses tubes and no opamps like many other preamps such as the Triaxis and the JMP-1 (opamp only used in dynamic voice control of triaxis). So tubes have a huge influence on the tone of the preamp. Mesa/Boogie designer and president Randall Smith: "The Quad (plus the Simul 395 Stereo power amp) is intended primarily for the concert-touring pro. And the idea is to offer a real alternative to the usual assemblage of two or three (or more) separate amps -usually modified- plus a custom switching system." Some sources state that Channel 1 is based upon the IIC, however, according to Mike B. at Mesa Boogie, the IIC and IIC+ circuits are quite different, and the Quad is in fact closest to the IIC+ circuit. Specification: 2 channels, 4 modes (2 rhythm and 2 lead) 8x E83CC NOS Tesla preamp tubes (Telefunken production!) 2 custom made Accutronics spring reverbs Tube driven reverb and stereo fxloop 2x 5 band graphic EQ 5 EQ shift functions per channel to change the sound Hand made in the USA 8 on/off jacks for each function
The Mesa Blue Angel series was an offshoot of the Rectifier series, but sported single channels that thrived with jazzy clean tones, but gave an aggressive sound when turned loud. The amps were available in the form of a head, 1x12, 2x10, and 4x10. The amplifiers featured Mesa's Progressive Linkage technology, enabling the use of two 6V6 power tubes and four EL84 tubes. The amplifiers used a single 5U4 rectifier tube and 5 12AX7's.
Mesa's Nomad series was produced until the early 2000s, and were considered a successor to the Caliber series of the 1990s. They boasted three channels with the option of a graphic equalizer on some models. It was sold in 45, 55, and 100 watt variations, and was phased out with the introduction of the F-series
The Maverick was a Class-A, channel switching amp available in a 4x10 or 2x12 combo format, as well as a 35-watt head. The amp was aimed towards country and classic rock players, and was replaced by the Lone Star.
The Formula was a rackmounted preamp, with MIDI switching. Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci has once used this amplifier in his rig as a clean preamp. The clean channel is arguably second best to the newer lonestar amplifiers, however the gain channels left something to be desired. While putting out a tone reminiscent of the F series (a tone between the rectifiers and mark series) the preamp has been dismissed by many as being too loose and lacking in punch and gain clarity. There are a few home mod plans out there that apparently improve on the circuitry to make the gain channels more usable.
The F-Series debuted in 2002 as the spiritual successors to the early '90s Dual Caliber series. There are 3 sizes, the F30 (30 watts), the F50 (50 watts) and the F100 (100 watts). As of the 2007 model year, the F-Series has essentially been replaced by the Express line of Amplifiers.
The smallest amplifier in the series is the F30. Rather than 6L6 tubes, it is built around two EL84s. It is available in a 'shorthead' version or as a 1x12 combo.
The F50 has been the most critically acclaimed model, featuring two 6L6 tubes in the power amp and using solid state rectification. It is available as a 'mediumhead' version, or a 1x12 'widebody' combo.
The F100 is a similar setup, but with a quartet of 6L6s for 100w output. It is available as a 2x12 combo or in a 'longhead' version.
The F-Series was dropped in 2007 with the introduction of the Express line.