List Mesa gear you've owned + opinions

[Brain Becker]

Mark IV-I bought it new and never could settle in with it. Always had a blanket over the cab sound that couldn't be dialed out and a tube swap didn't fix it. I think something was wrong with it, but Mesa said it was fine.
Mark III red stripe-It's everything I hoped the Mark IV would be. Sounds massive when I run it with either of my 2203's.

 

[Code001]

Mark III - Good clean, weak R2, and aggressive lead. I prefer using this amp for leads.
Rackmount Recto - Once boosted, it sounds amazing for rhythm tones. Vintage can get some decent lead tones, but I prefer the Mark series for that.
Traditional 4x12 Slant - Tight, articulate, and has a nice midrange quality I like.
Recto 2x12 Horizontal - Very tight, a bit thin, but it was a nice 2x12. Still can't beat the sound quality of a 4x12, though.

 

[AssfaceRules]

Studio Preamp - Have owned two, sold my first due to some $ issues, bought the next one I could afford. Yes, I think the lead channel is as good as it gets.

Triple Rectifier - chrome chassis, two channel. Love the vintage mode on channel 1. FX loop is garbage though, must get it modded for series instead of parallel.

Lonestar 1x12 Classic Combo 50/100 6L6 version - Great cleans, nice smooth drive that can be set up to get fairly nasty in a rock context. After the tube rectifier blew and took out a bunch of shit with it, Mesa covered the repair for free - I was not the original owner either, that is pretty good!!

2x12 Vertical Recto Speaker cab w /V30's. Use it with my triple recto and it sounds pretty dang good. Also have plugged in some Marshall gear with it and that sounds good too, but this is a Mesa thread so I will shut up know.

Blue Angel 4x10 - great cleans, smoky blues, pushed with a boost was good for rock. And I am dumb as a rock for selling it.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

2x12 Recto Cab Pretty cool...good smooth tones. Like it some days/some amps.

Played numerous times:
Mesa Studio Good preamp. Worth the money. Cleans are great..lead is a bit compressed, but good for rack stuff.
Mesa 50/50 Same as above.
Mesa 3 channel recto Great in vintage mode...modern mode sounds harsh as hell to me.

 

[Slaytallica]

3 Channel Dual Rec - Really liked the versatility of the amp. Did great with classic rock and blues tone. The bottom end and power behind it was off the charts. But like all good things something else comes and since I got my Engl SE the mesa never really gets much play unless I have friends over and they use it while jamming with me.

But now that I've talked about her I'm headed downstairs to the studio to crank her up for old times sake.

 

[PeteLaramee]

Me?

Mesa Triaxis - Badass preamp. wish I still had it. Of course, it had its minuses too, just like any complex piece of gear. would consider owning another some day.
Mesa Thiele 1x12 w/EVM12L - still, to this day, one of the only things I truly regret selling.
Mesa Quad - FUCKING badass preamp. wish I still had it. However, no midi, too big, too heavy, only a couple good sounds in it. (great sounds actually)
Mesa 2:fifty - weak. scooped, light, small. I don't miss it at all.
Mesa Blue Angel - super-cool. mojo for weeks. just make sure your guitar rocks and you have nice speakers. I still have my burgundy 2x10
Mesa oversize 4x12 - stiffer than I expected, but super high quality. nice cab. currently loaded with WGS BR80's.

I had the first version of the 50/50 watt power amp and I agree with your findings. It really turned me off from all Mesa gear until I tried Tony/Mctallica1's mark III a few years ago.

 

[BULLSEYE !!!]

Mesa Mark III blue stripe FULL STACK !!!

MEAN, LOUDER than comprehension , RUDE AS HELL ..thanks to the MC-90's and EV's in both cabs .

Just not for me anymore ... keeping the cabs and JVM will be its replacement soon .

Z

 

[Random Hero]

3 ch Dual Rectifier - OK cleans, nice orange channel, not bad Red channel. Sounded good boosted.

2 ch Blackface Dual Rectifier - Pretty horrendous cleans, very nice gains. Again, with a boost for leads, very nice. Stomped the 3ch into the ground.

Mark IV - Good cleans, Rhy 2 I never really used or got along with, great lead channel. I feel it's very versatile but at the same time, quite one dimensional. I do love it though.

Mark IIC+ (Fully loaded) - Very nice cleans, excellent dirt tones. Gnarlier yet smoother, bigger and better sounding than the Mark IV, but I don't think enough to justify the price hike. The IV can get close enough, although there is a difference. The IV feels a little easier to play, but the IIC+ is a little more rewarding. Same deal with the versatility/one dimension thing though. In that I mean that it they offer a lot with the EQ, push/pulls etc, and the IV with it's various switches, but to my ears they either do Metallica'ish or Petrucci'ish depending on how you use it. They just have that flavour. I did love the IIC+ too though.

Mesa Rectifier 4x12 slant - Good cab, very good build quality. A little boomy and perhaps a tad metallic sounding in the highs with a Recto, but it sounds good. Huge sounding, but with a dipped midrange. Works well with the Marks. I sold this when I got my Bogner cab.

Mesa Rectifier 2x12 horizontal - I found this cab very disappointing. I tried to like it so bad, but it sounded pretty boxy, very directional, and super compressed. Sounded almost like a weird filter over the speakers. Very recessed midrange too. It sounds very fat due to the amount of bass it puts out but the rest lets it down for me.

 

[JTyson]

MK 3 x 3, good hi gain, not much else unless you could switch pups with vol. turned down, I used them with JC-120's for cleans- MK 4, my personal fav, got some killer cleans and hi gain tones- 2 ch. dual rec, eh, it was good for some things that were high gain- 3 ch. dual rec, I'm getting some monster high gain tones after switching to EL-34's and tweaking it for A YEAR I have not given up on this thing, some of the tones work well in conjunction with some of my Marshalls, but I wasen't impressed with it at first. Triaxis- used with Marshall pwr amp, worked real well live, but not really my fav. tones. They were Good tones, though.

 

[orangekick]

Mesa DC-10 2x12 combo - Fantastic cleans, really smooth gain channel.

Dual Rectifier 2 channel (x2) - Mediocre cleans, great gain sounds. I usually ran the tube rectifier and the orange channel to clean with the red to vintage.

Mark IV - Fantastic cleans again, I actually liked channel 2 for mid gain sounds, the gain channel was fantastic for liquid leads, but I just never dug it for rhythms.

.50 Caliber - I bought this on a whim for cheap. It was an interesting sounding amp, but the shared controls didn't do it for me and everything sorta sounded like COC through it.

DC-5 head - Fantastic cleans, better gain channel than the DC-10.

Nomad 100 head - The cleans were god, but flat, the second channel was a great mid gain crunch sound, but the high gain channel just didn't do anything for me.

Lonestar Classic head - Amazing cleans, excellent gain sound for leads, this may be my favorite amp for leads, ever.

 

[trey85stang]

just a mark 3 blue stripe, havent had it too long.. but its not a plug and play and go amp all. which I was not used to... after the initial fight with it we are on good terms now

 

[CaseyCor]

Mesa DC-10 2x12 combo - Fantastic cleans, really smooth gain channel.



Lonestar Classic head - Amazing cleans, excellent gain sound for leads, this may be my favorite amp for leads, ever.

Lonestar FTW

 

[JTyson]

Mesa DC-10 2x12 combo - Fantastic cleans, really smooth gain channel.



Lonestar Classic head - Amazing cleans, excellent gain sound for leads, this may be my favorite amp for leads, ever.

Lonestar FTW

I have serious gas for one of those

 

[JTyson]

2 channel Dual Recto - Awesome amp, gives me a smile from ear to ear everytime I fire it up.
Triaxis - Awesome preamp. Great tones with great versatility. Some people seem to get confused by it but if you get the handle of it it's simply great.
4x12 standard recto cab - Great cab, perfect match for the dual recto. Not so good with my SLO or 2203.
2:90 power amp - One of the best 2U power amp available. Far better than the competition, mainly VHT, IMHO. Sound is huge, smooth, chewy, alive.
Abacus midi pedal - no nonsense midi pedalboard. Only PC, no CC but I only work with preset, no instant access, so it suits me. Super road worthy, almost unbreakable.

Thats me in your avatar, how did you get that picture when your in Paris?

 

['63-Strat]

Heartbreaker 2X12 combo: sounded great for jazz and classic rock/blues (but only in a Mesa vein) so long as I used humbuckers. Really wasn't a fan of how it dealt with single coils which is why I got rid of it. It was a nice amp overall, maybe a little dark (and I like Bogner, lol) but since I like Fender and Gibson type guitars fairly equally wasn't a good match as a main amp. I would be happy to mess with one again, and I'm sure now would be a good time to buy one online, but the XTC can easily cover the same ground and more. And for me, does it a lot better.

 

[CaseyCor]

Mesa DC-10 2x12 combo - Fantastic cleans, really smooth gain channel.



Lonestar Classic head - Amazing cleans, excellent gain sound for leads, this may be my favorite amp for leads, ever.

Lonestar FTW

I have serious gas for one of those

I'd have one if I could justify the price. Such sweet amps. I'd love a 1x12 combo. These amps just SING!

 

[Greazygeo]

Mark II C+......dont see what the big deal was/ is with them.....good for Santana I guess.

 

[jski59]

1. Mark IV Widebody combo...I hated the combo, but loved it through my 4x12. I added a homemade widebody Thiele and that was tons better, but it was a heavy SOB.
So I sold it and bought my current rig which is...

2. Mark IV short head with a Thiele (Delta Pro 12a) and an open back (EVM)...this is perfect for me. It kills my DSL 50/avatar 2x12 rig, but that's just imho. I use to be so-so on R2, but after install Suhr Aldrich pickups in my McCarty, R2 has come alive. Add a BB preamp and R2 rules! Also, I believe the open back cab really compliments R2 in crunch mode.

Part of me wants to try a Mark III and a C+, but I think the IV suits me fine.

Possible 3. I'm dying to try a Lonestar Classic...damn those Andy Timmons youtube videos.

 

[Rayneman]

Dual Rec: First foray into big mesa amps, used it at home with a recto 4x12. Didn't know what I was doing.

Recto 4x12 Traditional Cab: first mesa cab, still have it, work-horse live cab, love it, beat the shit out of it...I use it with all my amps live...Bogner, Mesa, VHT, Diezel

Mark IV Rackmount: OK, laser-beam sounding amp, crispy, never really loved it

T-Verb combo: yuck

T-Verb Head: very nice, best distortion tone at low volumes in any mesa amp I've had. Weak trem, didn't like channel
cloning and didn't think cleans were all that. I really wanted the vintage and modern tones available all the time, which lead me to...

Triple Rec: awesome, love it, still have it, use it for hours LOUD every week all year at rehearsal and some gigs. Tube changes and that's it. Not fond of serial loop, but my Xpression works ok. I wouldn't really use it at home though, it only sounds great loud and in a band mix...like all recto amps.

Triaxis: yuck, maybe I used the wrong power amp, but I thought my ADA MP1 was better for high gain tones. Maybe if I didn't know what a real recto or Mark amp sounded like...?

2:50 (or 50:50? yuck, but maybe wrong application with the triaxis

Recto 2x12 cab: fun little cab, huge tone, still heavy as fuck

Half-back boogie cab with 65 watters. REALLY nice, weighs 25 tons. Will likely stay in my basement unless it usurps my recto 4x12

oh

V Twin pedal/preamp: WEAK

All this, IMO of course!!!!!

 

[daver101]

Mesa Mark III head (can't remember the stripe) - great amp, a little hard to dial in for me; probably should not have sold this head....

Mesa Triaxis - tons of versatility, would have liked to try it with something other than my Mesa 50:50 power amp

Mesa Mark I head - never dug it

Mesa Stiletto Deuce (version 1) - liked it alot. Warm and thick, with lots of options between the different modes. Liked it enough to seek out another one years later!

Mesa Lonestar 2x12 combo - loved the clean and medium gain tones, anything higher out of the amp seemed flubby

Mesa Express 5:25 combo - again, loved the clean and medium gain tones, higher gain not so much. I think this is an excellent bang for your buck amp, and would like to revisit it in head form and try different pedals with it.

Mesa Rocket 44 combo - all I remember was it was loud and harsh. I will say I was pretty inexperienced with dialing in tube amps at the time, so I don't know how valid my assessment on this one is....