Mesa boogie amps

Larry Schubert · Post by **Larry Schubert** » 30 Aug 2005 7:26 am

Hey Guys I was looking at geting a boogie for my steel. I was looking at the maverics, nomads, f 30 and f 50's IT would be for smaler venues my church threw a pa and coffee shops. I play an extened e9. So I Was wondering how will the el84 tubes sound sence I am not pusshing the bass of a c6 neck. I curently play a twin but it its just to big for what I need nd really hevay.
Thanks.

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 30 Aug 2005 8:15 am

The newer boogie combo amps don't have the graphic eq that made them 'interesting' for steel guitar application.

Check out their older Mark series (eg. IIc, III) combos. Lots of perfect condition ones still circulating through music stores.

I own both the Formula and Studio Pre boogie preamps, but these are now dedicated to my six string - as they were intended.

My Peavey Vegas 400 with mod is a 'better' machine overall. Check out the Peavey N112 for your needs.

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » 7 Sep 2005 3:49 pm

Larry,
I own three Boogie amps, a Mark II, a Mark I reissue, and a Mark II 1-15. The 1-15 is best for steel, but the 1-12's sound good as well. The problem is they are as heavy as a Fender twin. The smaller Peaveys, or Fender solid atate may be what you are looking for in sound vs. portability.
Sorry I don't hsve experience with the EL84 versions (a little lighter weight).
good luck.
Lefty

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 8 Sep 2005 1:37 pm

My main steel amp is a Mesa Maverick prototype. I've been playing it for over 10 years now, and I'm still as happy as when I first bought it.

The best sound I get from it is with 2 12" alnico Tone Tubbie speakers. Real sweet.

The amp puts out about 40 watts through 4 EL84 tubes.

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee (a.k.a. b0b) - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Williams D-12 E9, C6add9, Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop S-8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6 or A6)

Paul Honeycutt · Post by **Paul Honeycutt** » 9 Sep 2005 10:08 am

I use a Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ with an Altec Speaker for lap steel. Replace the speaker with something like an EV, JBL or Weber California and you'd be good to go with an EL-84 amp.

Bob Egan with the Canadian band Blue Rodeo uses a Vox AC-30 with his pedal steel and an M/B Studio .22+ for slide. [This message was edited by Paul Honeycutt on 09 September 2005 at 11:08 AM.]

Larry Schubert · Post by **Larry Schubert** » 14 Sep 2005 4:19 pm

Thanks for the info guys I am going to go to the L.A. Messa shop and try some of there various heads with my Steel and my speaker cab that has a jbl k120. I like the ugh hate to say it... class a sound. I like th sparkerl you can get out of the higer end and get the tone a bit grainer. I play a exted e9 and play rock. So I perfer just a little grit to my tone.
[This message was edited by Larry Schubert on 14 September 2005 at 05:23 PM.]

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 14 Sep 2005 8:27 pm

If it matters - the MESA BOOGIE tones I get out of my ADA MP2 Preamp are superior to the original MB tones that the MP2 clones in their circuit.

Too bad ADA is out of biz. They had equipment that made all the big names sound amateur by comparison. Funny I haven't tried the MP2 with my steel yet...hmmmm.[This message was edited by Tom Gorr on 14 September 2005 at 09:29 PM.]

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 15 Sep 2005 10:15 am

I don't think that emulators capture the component of the Mesa/Boogie sound that steel players like. I've used Pod 2.0, Digitech Gemini 3 and Pod XT. Their Mesa/Boogie emulations are of the distortion channel. They don't even come close to the edgy clean channel sounds.

If you want the Boogie sound, get a Boogie!

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee (a.k.a. b0b) - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Williams D-12 E9, C6add9, Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop S-8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6 or A6)

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 15 Sep 2005 12:10 pm

Hey b0b:

I don't like digital emulators, and thankfully, the ADA MP2 is not a digital emulator.

I have 2 Boogie Preamps (Formula and Studio Pre). I believe the Formula has one of the best clean sounds ever into an OD tube power amp. I have played (and passed up) many Boogies from Mark to Rectifiers over the years.

The ADA MP2 is a tube preamp that has a "MIDI brain" that controls an ALL-ANALOG signal path, including tone filters and tube gain, etc. (using myriads of voltage controlled resistors, I think) depending on which "voice" you select.

The MP2 is from the "pre-digital" world - when "MIDI over Tube" flexibility was the big thing. By contrast, other tube preamps from the era - such as Peavey's Tube Fex have AD/DA (digital conversion), which isn't as authentic as the all-analog MP2.

I swear (and quite loudly so) - that the ADA voices beat both Marshall and MESA at their own game. I suspect it is because of the active circuitry that keeps variable frequency phase shifting and 'harmonic separation' to a minimum. Thats just what I hear - not a technical evaluation.

The tone, when clean, is comparable to original boogie / fender blackface clean - but for overdriven or all-out gain tones the ADA is superior to the original manufacturers.

The ADA is clearer and more responsive, yet captures the "essence" of the signature tones to a tee.

So I suggest - if you want the Boogie sound (in all of its glory) get an ADA !

[This message was edited by Tom Gorr on 15 September 2005 at 02:59 PM.]

Michael Holland · Post by **Michael Holland** » 17 Sep 2005 8:57 am

I'm selling my Maverick Prototype, the same amp that Bobby uses. I'll take $900 for it unloaded. Here are a couple of pics.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/michael2222/mavproto1.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a265/michael2222/mavproto2.jpg [This message was edited by Michael Holland on 17 September 2005 at 09:58 AM.]

Larry Schubert · Post by **Larry Schubert** » 27 Sep 2005 10:08 am

Thanks Michael but i am just looking for a head and I would like to try out sevral amps first.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 28 Sep 2005 10:02 am

I don't think that all of the Maverick Prototypes are the same circuitry, Michael. That's why they're called "prototypes", and why they're numbered. Mine doesn't say "Class A Power" on the back like yours.

When they finally went to production on the Maverick, they used a wider cabinet. These prototype models have a tighter sound because of the small cabinet. The production models are probably better on stage and worse in the studio due to the open sound of the wide box.

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b2005.gif" width="78 height="78">Bobby Lee (a.k.a. b0b) - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Williams D-12 E9, C6add9, Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop S-8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6 or A6) My Blog

Michael Holland · Post by **Michael Holland** » 28 Sep 2005 12:21 pm

Right, Bobby. I suppose they go through various changes in the design process. It is curious that the prototypes were sold to the public (if indeed they were). Anyway, the amp's on ebay now and I just need to get some money out of it. Here's a link to the auction and if the amp is purchased by a Forumite the usual donation will be made. Thanks.

Click here to go to the ebay auction

And this one's not for sale (yet).