ratter
New member
I'm on the hunt for a low-volume home amp. Something that can whisper without sucking. Hit GC today and tried a few...
Mesa Express 5:25. Tons of great features - 2 channels with 2 modes each, switchable power, loop, reverb. The master volume worked really well. Overall a "nice" amp. But one of those amps that's almost too nice. If it was a car it would be a Prius. Smart, sensible, unexciting. At $1149 or whatever it is, it's a decent value for a US made amp.
Egnater Tweaker. I had no idea how tiny these were. Pretty soon all amps will be the size of a pack of cigs. Then a matchbook. Then they will just disappear altogether! Or maybe they will be worn on a necklace. Anyway...the "tweaking" had me scratching my head a bit. Most of the switches were so subtle that my tin ears could barely tell a difference. I think if they took them all off but the "Hot/Clean" switch it would be just as well. The clean-clean and high gain sounds left me a bit flat. The gain was a bit warm and spongy, which is nice when you want that but I couldn't really tighten/brighten it up no matter how I set the controls. But there was one surprise. On UK/clean with the gain cranked it did a surprisingly good mini plexi imitation. Overall seems a very good value for the price for at least one really good tone and a handful of other decent tones. If it were a car it'd be a base model Civic.
Tiny Terror. A little more edge and attitude and gain than the Tweaker. Didn't do the plexi sound that the Tweaker could but was more edgy and fun for high gain lead sounds. I thought all the best tones lived with the Tone control down pretty low but that might have been the cab (1x12 Orange) talking. Fun amp. Seems a bit overpriced at $599 when sitting next to the $399 Tweaker. But if you want that tone that it does, the Tweaker won't help you. One really cool trick, which makes it kind of a pricey trick. It's not even a car. It's a dirt bike.
Mesa TA-15. Second time I've played this one. Great cleans and Voxy mid-gain tones but ironically, despite it's size, it's the one that really needs some volume behind it to shine. The tweed clean and top boost mid-gain are worth the price of admission. But there's nothing to satisfy a high-gain craving. It's a Mini Cooper. Seems really fun to drive and very cool at first. Then after the shine wears off, you realize you're driving a gumball with a sunroof.
Mini Rectifier. I didn't expect to love this one but it was my favorite of the bunch. More versatile than the Tweaker, better clean tones than the rest. Great cleans, actually and a very nice bluesy/country tone from Pushed Clean. Nice gain tones with plenty of gain on tap from the lead channel. Kinda goofy looking. I'm really tired of the metal cage look. And the tiny silver knobs made it impossible to tell where they were set unless you put your face 8" from the front panel. But I was digging the tone. The only stop-and-stares I got the whole time I was in the store was during Pushed Clean time. Of course, it might have been more of a dirty look than a stare...hard to tell sometimes. Does it sound hundreds of dollars better than the Orange and Tweaker? Hmm...tough call. Maybe. But the "No Slave Labor" angle makes the price seem pretty reasonable to me. Better tone-per-$ than the Express, for sure. It's a Jeep Wrangler. Utilitarian, capable, but pricier than the competition.
The Mini Rec was sitting on the little 1x12 slant novelty cab. The Orange on a 1x12. The Tweaker on an Egnater 2x12. The Express, a 1x12. I think they would all benefit from a bigger cab. Probably benefit a LOT.
Mesa Express 5:25. Tons of great features - 2 channels with 2 modes each, switchable power, loop, reverb. The master volume worked really well. Overall a "nice" amp. But one of those amps that's almost too nice. If it was a car it would be a Prius. Smart, sensible, unexciting. At $1149 or whatever it is, it's a decent value for a US made amp.
Egnater Tweaker. I had no idea how tiny these were. Pretty soon all amps will be the size of a pack of cigs. Then a matchbook. Then they will just disappear altogether! Or maybe they will be worn on a necklace. Anyway...the "tweaking" had me scratching my head a bit. Most of the switches were so subtle that my tin ears could barely tell a difference. I think if they took them all off but the "Hot/Clean" switch it would be just as well. The clean-clean and high gain sounds left me a bit flat. The gain was a bit warm and spongy, which is nice when you want that but I couldn't really tighten/brighten it up no matter how I set the controls. But there was one surprise. On UK/clean with the gain cranked it did a surprisingly good mini plexi imitation. Overall seems a very good value for the price for at least one really good tone and a handful of other decent tones. If it were a car it'd be a base model Civic.
Tiny Terror. A little more edge and attitude and gain than the Tweaker. Didn't do the plexi sound that the Tweaker could but was more edgy and fun for high gain lead sounds. I thought all the best tones lived with the Tone control down pretty low but that might have been the cab (1x12 Orange) talking. Fun amp. Seems a bit overpriced at $599 when sitting next to the $399 Tweaker. But if you want that tone that it does, the Tweaker won't help you. One really cool trick, which makes it kind of a pricey trick. It's not even a car. It's a dirt bike.
Mesa TA-15. Second time I've played this one. Great cleans and Voxy mid-gain tones but ironically, despite it's size, it's the one that really needs some volume behind it to shine. The tweed clean and top boost mid-gain are worth the price of admission. But there's nothing to satisfy a high-gain craving. It's a Mini Cooper. Seems really fun to drive and very cool at first. Then after the shine wears off, you realize you're driving a gumball with a sunroof.
Mini Rectifier. I didn't expect to love this one but it was my favorite of the bunch. More versatile than the Tweaker, better clean tones than the rest. Great cleans, actually and a very nice bluesy/country tone from Pushed Clean. Nice gain tones with plenty of gain on tap from the lead channel. Kinda goofy looking. I'm really tired of the metal cage look. And the tiny silver knobs made it impossible to tell where they were set unless you put your face 8" from the front panel. But I was digging the tone. The only stop-and-stares I got the whole time I was in the store was during Pushed Clean time. Of course, it might have been more of a dirty look than a stare...hard to tell sometimes. Does it sound hundreds of dollars better than the Orange and Tweaker? Hmm...tough call. Maybe. But the "No Slave Labor" angle makes the price seem pretty reasonable to me. Better tone-per-$ than the Express, for sure. It's a Jeep Wrangler. Utilitarian, capable, but pricier than the competition.
The Mini Rec was sitting on the little 1x12 slant novelty cab. The Orange on a 1x12. The Tweaker on an Egnater 2x12. The Express, a 1x12. I think they would all benefit from a bigger cab. Probably benefit a LOT.
