Mesa Boogie RA-100

[SonicPulverizer]

Originally posted this in the amp review section but at the request of another member I'm reposting it here.

Foreword

Saw this down at GC in Seattle (westlake) and took it for a spin.
I've been dying to try one of these after seeing some more recent clips. I know a lot of people (including myself) have been dismissing the RA, thinking of it as just another electra dyne with an attenuator and a new head case--but it is much much more than that. I'll go ahead and get it out of the way: This has just has much useable gain as a rectifier or Mark series amp but it FEELS a million times better than a rectifier and has its own character distinct of the Mk series.

Features

Aesthetically, the RA is gorgeous. Black on black with a silver plate. The amp has a very "next generation" look to it. I've noticed this of all the newer boogie amps. Everything is space age and clean. The front panel gives you separate eq for the clean and gain sides of the amp as well as indepent master controls for the LO and HI modes. The power soak on the back allows for attenuation up to 16db (5 w) and the attenuation is independent for each channel. Also on the back panel: Bias select for EL34 and 6L6, Reverb control and bypass switch as well as a mode defeat switch. You also have a loop and control over the amp's fan speed. Having a global bypass switch for the power soak on the front panel is a great touch.

Sounds

Played through a Gibson Traditional Pro Explorer with coiltap. 4x12 Mesa cab. No Pedals.

The clean mode was pristine and when the powersoak was engaged I could get a variety of breakup sounds between the master and gain controls. Using the coil tap I could get some real 3d sounding spank out of it. The RA maintains a very percussive quality throughout all three channels-- You absolutely feel it when you dig in to the strings. I would compare the clean to the MkV save the fact that the RA is much more punchy and I feel its much easier to dial in useable tones.

The LO mode was god in an amp. If you play raunchy blues or country-- this is all you. double stops blossomed with overtones. It sounded like sonic halos enveloping the notes. I don't mean that in a flowery poetic sense, I really just do not know how else to explain the phenomena that came out of the speakers. Very complex gain sounds. The amp sounds extremely thick and percussive yet completely articulate. Dialing back the gain to about noon with the attenuation can get you into plexi sounds pretty easily while throwing the gain past noon can get you more fluid gain.

The Hi mode can cover a lot of ground. It cleans up with ease and can be pushed through pretty much the spectrum of the entire amp up to some very mean high gain tones. When attenuated this reminds me a lot of the mkiic+ mode on the mkV. Bypassing the power soak on this mode is night and day. The power section opens up and sounds fierce. When you push the gain it wholly reminds me of my old triple rectifier just without the stale, lackluster feel. You do not need to crank the power section to get a good gain tone. The preamp is plenty equipped with voodoo juice for prog rock and metal material. You can get modern sounds at bedroom volumes and without the help of the power soak feature.

Lasting Impression

Its hard to find a 3 channel amp with this sort of excitement factor-- especially at a price point below 2 grand.
The RA-100 fills a gap between the fluid feel of the mark series amps and the sheer punchiness of the rectifier series.
I owned both to balance each other out but the RA can stand on it's own and doesn't leave me longing for anything.

One thing to note: I did not fiddle with the mode defeat switch. I'd imagine that defeating any portion of the amp delivers more juice to whatever is still active so I guess its totally possible to get an extra gain stage on the HI mode by doing such. If anyone has tried it-- let me know.

 

[stephen sawall]

I am just south of the airport .... going to see if they have one down by this end. I do not think a lot of people have seen one yet.

Anyone else check it out ??? What did you think ?

 

[Gooseman]

Got mine and I LOVE it!

 

[Gooseman]

The mode defeat switch is just for the reverb. It gives users the option of having no reverb, reverb just for the cleans, reverb for the cleans and blue channel (lo mode), or reverb for the entire amp. Mesa also put a hidden reverb jack inside the amp, for those who want to footswitch their reverb on/off.

 

[Gooseman]

Your review is pretty accurate to what I think of the amp. I've had it for almost two months now, but I was gone on vacation for about 29 days, so I haven't had that much time with the amp yet. Did a small gig and practice though and thought she performed very well. First amp outside a Fender reissue that I thought made my Fender American Deluxe Strat (stock) sound good. With my SG Standard, the amp just rips!

There is also a lot of usable bass in the RA. You can turn it up and get that nice chunk, more in between a Recto and a Mark sounding thump.

 

[Gitfiddler]

great review and feedback from all

does it need a boost for playing leads?

i'd probably have to go with a head, because the mesa combos weigh a TON

 

[Gooseman]

As for boosted lead tones, that is always up to personal opinion and musical style. I know people who even boost Mark V's, while others scoff at the notion! The RA, for what I do, doesn't need to be boosted. I'm talking on either channel, the lo (blue) or hi (red). I like amps that have a great lead tone in them, without having to boost the signal any. If I do boost it, I do it Timmons style, with a BB Preamp and the gain almost off.

 

[thiswaythatway]

great review and feedback from all

does it need a boost for playing leads?

i'd probably have to go with a head, because the mesa combos weigh a TON

After my short time of playing it I would say no, it really doesn't need a pedal. I thought it had more gain than say, a 20th Shiva. It probably didn't have as much preamp saturation as the Mark V, but you won't have to tweak the shit out of the RA to get it to sound good.

 

[SonicPulverizer]

great review and feedback from all

does it need a boost for playing leads?

i'd probably have to go with a head, because the mesa combos weigh a TON

After my short time of playing it I would say no, it really doesn't need a pedal. I thought it had more gain than say, a 20th Shiva. It probably didn't have as much preamp saturation as the Mark V, but you won't have to tweak the shit out of the RA to get it to sound good.

^^^ This

I found the amp to be particularly nice for lead playing. The only amps I really enjoyed as much as this were the MkV on the 2c+ mode and the Bogner Goldfinger. They all have a very fluid characteristic when it comes to lead lines though I felt that the mkV lacked in the lowend department. I actually bought my triple rec simply to make up for that. The RA has both the magnificent lead sounds and the punchy bass that you would want when playing heavier material. And as mentioned above you don't have to crack a safe to get those sounds, unlike the mark.

And yes, this amp rips way harder than the 20th shiva.

 

[SonicPulverizer]

The mode defeat switch is just for the reverb. It gives users the option of having no reverb, reverb just for the cleans, reverb for the cleans and blue channel (lo mode), or reverb for the entire amp. Mesa also put a hidden reverb jack inside the amp, for those who want to footswitch their reverb on/off.

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I loved the option to footswitch the reverb on the mark, this just sweetens the deal that much more. I guess the only question is... how do you access said hidden jack?

 

[yngzaklynch]

Do want

 

[stephen sawall]

How does it do with cleaning up with the guitar volume ?

Does it retain the voice of the guitar when switching guitars and using high gain ?

How does anyone feel about comparing this with a modified Marshall voice like .... Cameron, Fortin, Friedman, etc ... does it keep up ?

 

[Gitfiddler]

have some gas..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRt2EBJierU

 

[thiswaythatway]

 

[Gooseman]

The mode defeat switch is just for the reverb. It gives users the option of having no reverb, reverb just for the cleans, reverb for the cleans and blue channel (lo mode), or reverb for the entire amp. Mesa also put a hidden reverb jack inside the amp, for those who want to footswitch their reverb on/off.

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I loved the option to footswitch the reverb on the mark, this just sweetens the deal that much more. I guess the only question is... how do you access said hidden jack?

The reverb jack is connected underneath the chassis. When they say it is hidden, it absolutely is exactly that - hidden! You wouldn't detect the jack by just looking at the back of the amp. On the combo, it is located under the chassis where the slave knob is located. If you put your finger, you'll feel a transformer, the power cord, and a little jack for the optional reverb on/off footswitch control.

The amp kicks major ass. I like the combo I have a lot because Mesa mixed up the speakers as an added custom touch to match my custom tolex. The Vintage 30 and C-90 sound great together. I also had it going through a G12-T75 (Marshall speakers) and didn't like the sound as much. Still sounded great, but the stock speakers handle the low end much better.

 

[Gooseman]

How does it do with cleaning up with the guitar volume ?

Does it retain the voice of the guitar when switching guitars and using high gain ?

How does anyone feel about comparing this with a modified Marshall voice like .... Cameron, Fortin, Friedman, etc ... does it keep up ?

Cleans up very well, like an overdriven Fender. I only use the gain at around noon when the amp is cranked though. There is plenty of gain on tap around noon. The blue channel is more complex sounding, while the red channel is liquid sustain. The amp is very quiet too.

 

[Gooseman]

Check out this video. The RA is only demo'ed at the very beginning of the video, but it sounds great with the LP.

 

[thiswaythatway]

The mode defeat switch is just for the reverb. It gives users the option of having no reverb, reverb just for the cleans, reverb for the cleans and blue channel (lo mode), or reverb for the entire amp. Mesa also put a hidden reverb jack inside the amp, for those who want to footswitch their reverb on/off.

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I loved the option to footswitch the reverb on the mark, this just sweetens the deal that much more. I guess the only question is... how do you access said hidden jack?

The reverb jack is connected underneath the chassis. When they say it is hidden, it absolutely is exactly that - hidden! You wouldn't detect the jack by just looking at the back of the amp. On the combo, it is located under the chassis where the slave knob is located. If you put your finger, you'll feel a transformer, the power cord, and a little jack for the optional reverb on/off footswitch control.

The amp kicks major ass. I like the combo I have a lot because Mesa mixed up the speakers as an added custom touch to match my custom tolex. The Vintage 30 and C-90 sound great together. I also had it going through a G12-T75 (Marshall speakers) and didn't like the sound as much. Still sounded great, but the stock speakers handle the low end much better.

I see that Mesa is on to something with these combo boxes as they're using what looks like the exact same combo box as what the Electra Dyne comes in. I used the Electra Dyne combo as a speaker cab for a few heads and it sounded killer, and the ED is one of the few combos that I've liked because it has a lot of low end and doesn't have that boxy mush I normally hear from most every other combo I've played. I'll assume the Royal sounds pretty damm good in combo form, but I played the head on a 4x12 and was diggin it.

 

[Gooseman]

The mode defeat switch is just for the reverb. It gives users the option of having no reverb, reverb just for the cleans, reverb for the cleans and blue channel (lo mode), or reverb for the entire amp. Mesa also put a hidden reverb jack inside the amp, for those who want to footswitch their reverb on/off.

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I loved the option to footswitch the reverb on the mark, this just sweetens the deal that much more. I guess the only question is... how do you access said hidden jack?

The reverb jack is connected underneath the chassis. When they say it is hidden, it absolutely is exactly that - hidden! You wouldn't detect the jack by just looking at the back of the amp. On the combo, it is located under the chassis where the slave knob is located. If you put your finger, you'll feel a transformer, the power cord, and a little jack for the optional reverb on/off footswitch control.

The amp kicks major ass. I like the combo I have a lot because Mesa mixed up the speakers as an added custom touch to match my custom tolex. The Vintage 30 and C-90 sound great together. I also had it going through a G12-T75 (Marshall speakers) and didn't like the sound as much. Still sounded great, but the stock speakers handle the low end much better.

I see that Mesa is on to something with these combo boxes as they're using what looks like the exact same combo box as what the Electra Dyne comes in. I used the Electra Dyne combo as a speaker cab for a few heads and it sounded killer, and the ED is one of the few combos that I've liked because it has a lot of low end and doesn't have that boxy mush I normally hear from most every other combo I've played. I'll assume the Royal sounds pretty damm good in combo form, but I played the head on a 4x12 and was diggin it.

True! I played the RA head through a Mesa 1x12 compact cab, a Mesa Stiletto 1x12, and a Recto 2x12. To my ears, the 212 Recto sounded best. I was going to get a combo though, so I ordered one blind. I haven't A/B'ed the combo versus the Recto 2x12, but if my memory serves me correctly, I think the combo sounds a touch better due to its size and ported back. The low end is still huge and tight, but there is a more "open" quality about the sound now. The RA through a 1x12 was an awful experience. The RA sounded nothing like Mesa's clips. The 2x12 helped get me that sound.

I want to get a matching 2x12 ED cab for my RA so badly!

 

[SonicPulverizer]

The mode defeat switch is just for the reverb. It gives users the option of having no reverb, reverb just for the cleans, reverb for the cleans and blue channel (lo mode), or reverb for the entire amp. Mesa also put a hidden reverb jack inside the amp, for those who want to footswitch their reverb on/off.

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I loved the option to footswitch the reverb on the mark, this just sweetens the deal that much more. I guess the only question is... how do you access said hidden jack?

The reverb jack is connected underneath the chassis. When they say it is hidden, it absolutely is exactly that - hidden! You wouldn't detect the jack by just looking at the back of the amp. On the combo, it is located under the chassis where the slave knob is located. If you put your finger, you'll feel a transformer, the power cord, and a little jack for the optional reverb on/off footswitch control.

The amp kicks major ass. I like the combo I have a lot because Mesa mixed up the speakers as an added custom touch to match my custom tolex. The Vintage 30 and C-90 sound great together. I also had it going through a G12-T75 (Marshall speakers) and didn't like the sound as much. Still sounded great, but the stock speakers handle the low end much better.

I see that Mesa is on to something with these combo boxes as they're using what looks like the exact same combo box as what the Electra Dyne comes in. I used the Electra Dyne combo as a speaker cab for a few heads and it sounded killer, and the ED is one of the few combos that I've liked because it has a lot of low end and doesn't have that boxy mush I normally hear from most every other combo I've played. I'll assume the Royal sounds pretty damm good in combo form, but I played the head on a 4x12 and was diggin it.

True! I played the RA head through a Mesa 1x12 compact cab, a Mesa Stiletto 1x12, and a Recto 2x12. To my ears, the 212 Recto sounded best. I was going to get a combo though, so I ordered one blind. I haven't A/B'ed the combo versus the Recto 2x12, but if my memory serves me correctly, I think the combo sounds a touch better due to its size and ported back. The low end is still huge and tight, but there is a more "open" quality about the sound now. The RA through a 1x12 was an awful experience. The RA sounded nothing like Mesa's clips. The 2x12 helped get me that sound.

I want to get a matching 2x12 ED cab for my RA so badly!

Played it through a standard recto 4x12. Thumped pretty hard.