Bad.Seed
Well-known member
I bought this amp without really knowing much about it. Being a habitual gear flipper and finding a good price on it, I figured, why the hell not?
From what I had read, the Mezza stuff is very SLO inspired. I can't vouch for that, as I've never played a true SLO, but owning an Avenger 100 and the Synergy SLO Module, I can say that the Mezza sounds very much in line with both of these.
BUT - The Mezza has an absolutely nasty, raw midrange grind that the other two do not. It also has a top end clarity and note separation like I've never heard before. Once you start pushing the amp a little, it just screams. Truthfully, I like my tones bright, and this thing was very easy to make overly bright if you weren't careful, but once I understood how the presence and treble knobs interacted, I easily found a nice balance.
I'm super impressed with this amp. It sounds huge in the room. The green channel is just as much fun as the red channel, and this amp has a ton of flexibility built into 2 channels if you dial it in right. On the red channel, it just sounds saturated, and pissed, but tons of clarity and punchy low end. When I dropped the guitar down to D for a single riff, I liked it even more.
The Skill may replace the EVH Stealth in my live rig. It's that good.
From what I had read, the Mezza stuff is very SLO inspired. I can't vouch for that, as I've never played a true SLO, but owning an Avenger 100 and the Synergy SLO Module, I can say that the Mezza sounds very much in line with both of these.
BUT - The Mezza has an absolutely nasty, raw midrange grind that the other two do not. It also has a top end clarity and note separation like I've never heard before. Once you start pushing the amp a little, it just screams. Truthfully, I like my tones bright, and this thing was very easy to make overly bright if you weren't careful, but once I understood how the presence and treble knobs interacted, I easily found a nice balance.
I'm super impressed with this amp. It sounds huge in the room. The green channel is just as much fun as the red channel, and this amp has a ton of flexibility built into 2 channels if you dial it in right. On the red channel, it just sounds saturated, and pissed, but tons of clarity and punchy low end. When I dropped the guitar down to D for a single riff, I liked it even more.
The Skill may replace the EVH Stealth in my live rig. It's that good.
