The most British sounding of them all - Which Mesa?

[Achilles]

Hi my fellow musicians

I have a Mark V and a Recto Reborn and I want to be done with the British sound as well.
What I'm really interested in is:
1) an EL34 glassy clean sound, reminiscent of Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary".
2) a modded plexi distortion, reminiscent of Dokken's - "Unchain the night".
3) a modded JCM 800 distortion reminiscent of Zakk Wylde's rythm sound.

If I wanted a Mesa amp for these sounds, which one will get the job done in sound & feel?

1) TC-100
2) Stiletto Deuce stage II
3) Electradine
4) Royal Atlantic

I'm very much interested in a detailed and informative opinion from those who have played these amps.

..or some other manufacturer maybe ?
I'm not interested in a Marshall JVM because i want quality.
From the other hand, I wouldn't like to pay a fortune for a Friedman or Bogner if it isn't necessary.

Thanks in advance,
Chris.

 

[napalmdeath]

Stiletto Deuce is a beast.
Very british, with that familiar Mesa punch. Love that amp, owned it twice. It's a loud monster.

 

[messenger]

I’ve got The Stiletto Ace and it is very British IMO. Just like all Mesa’s your settings wont “look” like a Marshall

 

[Racerxrated]

Finally played a Stiletto Ace. It's OK, something in the tone rubbed me the wrong way but I didn't have that much time with it. I have spent more time with a dual, and owned a triple rectifier. Those older 2 channel versions were very British sounding if you dial them it brighter and through Greenies or 65s. I was amazed as how Un-NuMetal they really were...in fact I had a hard time dialing in scooped tones at all! The Triple was easier to get the metal BUT it was also tighter with no boost needed. It was pretty easy to make the Triple remind me of any of the SLOs I owned. Those older rectos get my vote. Don't have any experience with the Reborn but I hear they are great.

 

[Ratou]

I would recommend a Mesa Mark III or Mark IV (or a Mark IIC/C+, which is a lot more expensive). In my experience, they sound more natural and raw than newer Mesas (in a very good way) and the lead channels are extremely tweakable, you can get a range of great high gain tones. It will of course not be exactly the same as a Marshall but you can get definitely get great tones that are close to a modded Marshall. They do a lot more than the scooped Metallica style sound (which they are also great at doing)

Clean channels on these are also really good (especially the Mark III) and can be tweaked heavily. If you have a simul-class model, you can run power section on EL34's only (in class ~A), which you could experiment with.

IMO these older Mesa's would sound closer to a Marshall style amp than the newer models.

 

[Bad.Seed]

My vote goes to the stiletto stage II. Very Marshall-Esque with that Mesa flavor to it. Very bright, very tight on the fluid drive settings. Lots of tonal variations. I currently own a few Modded Marshall type amps, and I'd say it's closest to the splawn, but brighter, not as dry/defined, and with that signature Mesa character.

 

[motorboy1]

I would recommend a Mesa Mark III or Mark IV (or a Mark IIC/C+, which is a lot more expensive). In my experience, they sound more natural and raw than newer Mesas (in a very good way) and the lead channels are extremely tweakable, you can get a range of great high gain tones. It will of course not be exactly the same as a Marshall but you can get definitely get great tones that are close to a modded Marshall. They do a lot more than the scooped Metallica style sound (which they are also great at doing)

Clean channels on these are also really good (especially the Mark III) and can be tweaked heavily. If you have a simul-class model, you can run power section on EL34's only (in class ~A), which you could experiment with.

IMO these older Mesa's would sound closer to a Marshall style amp than the newer models.

True dat....My vote for a Mark IV. Gets very marshally with the built in EQ...

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I never understand these threads:

" I want this/these Marshall sound(s), so which amp other than well.....a Marshall will get me there". Not trying to sound like douche or insult the OP....but if you're after those particular Marshall sounds why are you looking at Mesa

 

[stephen sawall]

2 and 4
Stiletto version 1 sounds more Marshall than version 2.

 

[sleewell2]

i'd love to try the tc 100

 

[D-Rock]

Marshall JVM for sure...

 

[Ventura]

I never understand these threads:

" I want this/these Marshall sound(s), so which amp other than well.....a Marshall will get me there". Not trying to sound like douche or insult the OP....but if you're after those particular Marshall sounds why are you looking at Mesa

True enough, a JCM800 ain't expensive. And it's a Marshall.

2 and 4
Stiletto version 1 sounds more Marshall than version 2.

I'd trust this guy's opinion too

 

[311boogieman]

Gear 1 = 1) an EL34 glassy clean sound, reminiscent of Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary".
Gear 2 = 2) a modded plexi distortion, reminiscent of Dokken's - "Unchain the night".
Gear 3 = 3) a modded JCM 800 distortion reminiscent of Zakk Wylde's rythm sound.

Splawn Quick Rod

But yeah, I can cop some decent marshally stuff out of my Mesa Rectoverb running EL34s and right settings on the vintage switch

 

[Achilles]

Hello to everyone!
Thanks a lot for the suggestions so far! Keep it coming

 

[Achilles]

I never understand these threads:

" I want this/these Marshall sound(s), so which amp other than well.....a Marshall will get me there". Not trying to sound like douche or insult the OP....but if you're after those particular Marshall sounds why are you looking at Mesa

Hi there,
No offense taken
Let me explain,

First of, I don't get why anyone would have a problem with these kind of posts. It comes down to a question an individual has regarding Tone. Isn't that why music forums like that exist?
Also, if it was like that, then 90% of today's amp manufacturers would be out of business
So I'll speak for myself:
Having the mark v and recto, I really appreciate mesa's built and sound quality, a quality that you can't easily find in today's Marshalls amps.
I'm not interested in having one amp for one sound. I would like something very marshally and different from what I already have but at the same time not completely far away from the ballpark (i.e. the mesa sound) when I'm changing between sounds in my rig.
That's why I thought of mesa again.
Hope I made myself understood.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Emg77]

I've been seriously eye-balling the TC line. From what I understand the crunch channel or channel 2 is very British in nature.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I never understand these threads:

" I want this/these Marshall sound(s), so which amp other than well.....a Marshall will get me there". Not trying to sound like douche or insult the OP....but if you're after those particular Marshall sounds why are you looking at Mesa

Hi there,
No offense taken
Let me explain,

First of, I don't get why anyone would have a problem with these kind of posts. It comes down to a question an individual has regarding Tone. Isn't that why music forums like that exist?
Also, if it was like that, then 90% of today's amp manufacturers would be out of business
So I'll speak for myself:
Having the mark v and recto, I really appreciate mesa's built and sound quality, a quality that you can't easily find in today's Marshalls amps.
I'm not interested in having one amp for one sound. I would like something very marshally and different from what I already have but at the same time not completely far away from the ballpark (i.e. the mesa sound) when I'm changing between sounds in my rig.
That's why I thought of mesa again.
Hope I made myself understood.

Regards,
Chris

Cool...fair enough.

 

[CEG85]

I never understand these threads:

" I want this/these Marshall sound(s), so which amp other than well.....a Marshall will get me there". Not trying to sound like douche or insult the OP....but if you're after those particular Marshall sounds why are you looking at Mesa

+1