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  • This shit cost as much as big mesa....

  • im buying it just because of the lights.

  • Why would you buy Mesa when you can buy Marshall!

  • @ramoash92 I don't think you understand the difference. There's tons of information on the amps made by Mesa. It's about engineering, sound, and high-end components. These amps are very consistent.

  • @ramoash92 sound is all subjective. Maybe not everyone wants a Marshall.

  • Seems to get all these sounds is a load of pissing round with the knobs!! It's nothing to write home about, I agree a waste of money.

  • with little words it is just for clean = that suck, waste of money

  • @MatKiller1197 that's actually just bullshit. if you're looking for a great overdrive tone this amp can provide that. just bring it to the hi1 or hi2 setting. if that's not enough gain for you then you could add a boost/overdrive pedal in front of the amp. I'm using a suhr shiba drive. it works great if you're looking for something transparent.

    if you're looking for an amp to play only music like pantera, gorgoroth and dimmy borgir there are probably better amps out there for that usage.

  • @MatKiller1197  have you ever owned one? I do, and get nothing but compliments about my tone from other musicians.

  • @Russman069 you don't know what you're talking about.. if you only want an amp to rehearse and practice at home then you can buy a line6 and have fun with that.. if you're looking for any particular tone e.g. ac15, fender, marshall, boogie-esque tones then this is a total steal! built more for a studio-enviroment and for a gigging musician

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  • @Russman069 You are shit is way overpriced? English... do you speak it?

  • @MrJeditaco

    Hah, excellent rebuttal XD

    Seriously, people should stop whining about the price. I'm poor as crap, but I think it's impossible to find a handwired American made all tube amp with such versatility at this price range. Not even Orange, Marshall, or Vox.

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  • @Russman069 On top of the fact that they sound terrible

  • The only problem with the sound is the strat!!!

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  • pricing of a boogie always kept me away & fuzzy thin sounds ,, way too pricey for all the competitive amps on the market! Carvin and Blackstar will stomp all over this for the money

  • It is Made in USA ? Human who guarantee it was drunk or after it changed his identity.

  • looks really nice...

  • play a real guitar with emg 81 not this crap

  • @guardianigor emg 81 sucks.

  • @guardianigor thats your opinion, mine is the 81 pickups are crap crap crap, humbuckers suck eggs, a real man plays single coils he he

  • Screw this. Give me a Carvin V3M for $599 any day.

  • to expensive for a 15w tube amps!

  • Cool amp, seems like it would be worth the paper.

  • In the end, I did not even try the Rebel 30 ,

    after I played the TA15, and the main fact I bought it

    was it was made in the USA !!!

  • I wonder what it costs to replace the blue lights on the inside when they burn out. Should replacing the blue lights be a part of a re-tube job ?

    For $900 you get a lot more out of this amp than from a comparably priced and powered Dr. Z Carmen Ghia , or even the MAZ-18, head. But it ain't hand-wired or had soldered turret board.

  • I bought this head last night. I'm playing through a 4X12 cabinet... this head is incredible the video does not do it's justice. The tone is crazy!! nice job Mesa!

  • @Russman069 Hand built in the USA

  • @Colargolator Well so are peavey amps... doesn't justify the price

  • This is a clean sounding amp even in the OD channels it reminds me of the sound of the thd univalve. Theres no hiss or artifacts between playing chords or notes just the sound when its played or sustained then nothing when nothing is played. The rep should always have a humbucker guitar loaded near by. Hes suppose to reach an audience of potential buyers and it reflects back to the company he represents! I'lll have to try it out in a music store someday.

  • hey man how loud is this thing? Could I do gigs with it?

  • The blue glow reminds me of a bug light. Didn't the Blue Voodoo (Peavey) have a blue glow?And the older 1990's Trace Elliot had a black light glowing panel. I find the glowing light annoying and cheap looking. Mesa - drop the glow!

    Next - I know there are a lot of Strat (style) guitar players out there, maybe it's the biggest market. But why do most demos neglect humbucker players? I prefer a Gibson because I was never attracted to the "nasal" quality of a strat. Satisfy us so we can buy product

  • Fucking push pull knobs. It's annoying but I understand them being on guitars, but why can't an amp just have one more knob?

  • well this thing is one of the more expensive low wattage tube amps. but, it sounds fantastic!

  • this is a great review, finally a guy who knows how to play a guitar and how to play the differennt modes and sounds right. I'm so tired of all these reviews where the person dosen't know how to use the equippment or how to extract the right sounds out of it. This review I think really feels like it's representing and do the amp justice. Peace!

  • ...... buy a 5 watt Blackstar !! It'll blow you away !!

  • @nigelstrat Untill it blows up.

  • For that 900 bucks, I could just buy a used Dual Rectifier.

  • Sounds great. Lots of features. I have a THD Univalve that I love. The Orange Tiny Terror just didn't work for me. This sounds interesting. I'm a big fan of low wattage tube amps.

  • it's just different compression ratios .....one for the rich kids ....with more money than sense ......

  • bEAUTIFUL sOUND!

  • No FX Loop

  • what a pos

  • Same it's more expensive than a custom hand made in UK 70w twin channel.

  • Dear TTK, can you do me a favor and get a hold of one of these amps and show this tool how to review an amp like a man! This guy blows.  you show off amps alot better. What i got out of this video is that is i play blues or anything clean this an amp for me......i dont play either. Hook us up TTK!!

  • @siannuccilli

    I can understand your frustration but here is the deal with an amp that has this kind of clarity: You can get amazing distorted tone with the addition of a decent distortion pedal. As long as your underlying signal is clear you can shape to exactly what you need. If you play metal however...you may need something with a little more wattage...however...with todays sound reinforcement capability...that really isn't an issue.

  • I am a gear whore and own numerous amps including the Blackstar HT-5, Blackheart BH5H, Marshall JCM 800 2204, Peavey Triple XXX as well as others. Just picked up the new Mesa Trans Atlantic and although a good and versatile little amp it doesn't stand up to the Blackstar HT-5 out of the box. Both my other lunchbox amps have a much bigger sound but I've never been a fan of Mesa power or pre-amp tubes. Can't wait to void my warranty and swap tubes. There has to be more to this amp!

  • @19army56 Do they really say your warranty is voided if you swap tube? For an eight-fucking-hundred dollar amp, THAT is outrageous! Who the hell KEEPS the stock Mesa-branded chinese tubes when they get a boogie? It's like buying a guitar and changing the strings, not everyone who plays a strat wants "bullet" .009s! Tube-swapping is a MANDATORY part of playing through tube amps! Just save the stock tubes and claim you never swapped if it comes down to it. The burden of proof is on them.

  • @punkeratheart I agree. I got a chuckle out of it when my local dealership told me not to touch the tubes, it would void warrantee because you can't bias the power tubes. That's not reality. I have a pile of 12ax7's on hand and swapped the pre-amp tubes already. Found that big sound using a Sovtec in V1 and Electro Harmonics in V2, V3 and V4. Going to have to order a set of EL34's because I have none on the shelf. Anyone have any suggestions!

  • @19army56 The damn power section is cathode biased, you don't even have to do anything! The Mesa power tubes are crap, but they are EL84s, not EL34s in this amp...that said, I think the best in the "bang for buck":category would be JJ's, but if you can afford it, try Genalex Gold Lions. They are amazing in everything I have tried them in. They sound almost exactly like NOS Bugle Boys. A pair is about 60 bucks though, but they last a long time.

  • Sounds awful ! 

  • The Normal mode sounds amazingly compressed. Maybe just the recorder/mic?

  • Way too much talkin ? who cares where your at? Just give us the info on the amp

  • Seen Creedence Clearwater Revisited a few nights ago, they were running a TA-15 through a Marshall cab & it sounded amazing. Never expected to hear CCR through this thing.

  • omg. that sounds so good. I have a mesa triple rec and love it. but this does provide something different. mesa does it again. in one year they introduced the mark v, this amp and a new retuned dual rec. these guys are the best.

  • search for cicognani brutus" 11W italian custom made.....sounds great!

  • Nice

  • Can anyone tell me if this amp is loud enough to practice in band. And also will I get same volume compared to my 75 solid state

  • @bethuese33

    I suspect this would be loud enough to practice in a band with. In fact, if you were to use an efficient spseaker such as an EVM 12L or even better a15L, it would blow your socks off!

    Amongst my amps I have a little Laney 15watter. It's loud enough to practce but not gig. I did experiment with a 12L and it was bloody loud. So much depends on the efficiency of the speaker and I would prefer 25 watts of a good mesa amp against 75 of a tranny amp anyday.

  • I've just bought a mark 4a and I didn't like the demos I heard of the mark 5, but I do like the sound of this amp!

  • wowowo 2:.20

  • Hey guys dose anyone know if this amp is loud enough to gig. Right now I'm runing threw spider 3 75

  • what cabinet is used in this video?

  • could i play some hardcore metal on this?

  • the blue light is gimmicky at best, tacky at worst. the amp sounds awesome. if i had a grand i'd get it. 'course, if i had two grand, i'd get a dr.z. looks like MESA is finally on the lo-watt train to profit town. if i find out it's not made in USA, i'll start a moratorium against all MESA products and buy what i can afford, like a nice blackheart...

  • Wow, Mesa needs to get someone who can play a guitar to demo their amps. This crap is painful to listen to

  • @sgmarshall3

    It's funny you should say what you said about the guy demonstrating the amp because I was going to say how much better I preferred his demonstration of this amp to the dreadful mark 5 demo. I think he's a nice guitarist but at the end of the day it's a matter of taste.

  • @kevinjohnmorris So true, Kevin.

  • i must have one

  • Just finished demo today. Clean Top Boost is a Two Rock in a box. Totally unbelievable. I didn't have the chance to put a tubescreamer in front but I can just imagine...

    heaven...

  • I just bought the night train lol. oh my I'll have to forget about this for a while till I can scrape up some more cash.

  • I'm in the market now for one of these "lunchbox tube head" amps. If this Mesa has an effects loop, I'd gladly fork over a grand.

  • @penguinrock

    Just found out it doesn't have an effects loop. *sigh* My search continues...

  • @penguinrock I feel your pain, dude. But I had a chance to ask someone from Orange a while back why the Tiny Terror didn't have an effects loop and the guy told me that it's a matter of tone. These little lunchboxes just won't sound right if they toss a effects loop in there. That news made me very sad.

  • This looks badass.

  • played one of these with my Rockbox boiling point, and they work perfectly in conjunction with eachother

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  • Meh.

  • The night train kicks ass and it's like 300 bucks cheaper

  • please tune.thanks.

  • Egnater Tweaker is much cheaper and sounds better.

  • I find it odd there is no mention of TUBES in the info for this amp. Are there actually any tubes in it or is it hybrid or all solid state??

  • @SDPickups all tube.. look it up dude

  • Man, I wish Mesa would come in at the same ballpark price-range that Soldano did with his Jet City, Vox's Night Train, Marshall's model, etc. When you get upwards of $800 you're not really competing in the market anymore. I bet if Boogie did a no-nonsense, 5-knob, no-frills 20-watter it would kick serious ass and still be around $3-400. Christ, I can get an original 1980's 100-watt Marshall JCM800 for Mesa's starting price on this thing at $899. Come on guys!!!!

  • @groovebrew you could get a jcm800 and a full stack with the money you'de spend on a mesa

    anyways orange, peavey and krank are the best

  • They did at one time and it was called The Subway and you can still find them on the used market for about five bills.

  • not to mention we're hearing this through a single coil strat guitar

  • I had the MB Express and could never warm up to it. Have a feeling it would be the same with this one from what I'm hearing. It's a shame as MB has the best build quality of anyone hands down. But in the end you have to be happy with the tone.

  • @univibe23

    Hi!

    Same thing here. Like I read somewhere... you could get almost any tone out of that thing - just not the one I really wanted ;) Turned out I just needed a single channel out school amp with no tricks and no features at all ;)

  • That's a good way to put it! I agree--ended up with a Vox Night Train--very simple single channel--but it just has great clean and distortion tones-- to my ears anyway.

  • i think this amp just tries to hard.... it comes across as confusing and dare i say a bit like a line 6.... gimmicky versatility.

  • @danablett yeh only you can always find kickass tones with line 6 (deending what model you get)

  • Great demo thanks man

  • oh, okay troll ... I'm on it. Thanks!

  • @lmsjr i thought the dialogue was great =]

  • @lmsjr Do what you want! That's your style and what you're known for.

  • I don't think it was the demo dude ... I think this is how the amp sounds. It's just a little too bassy, a little too much low-end. Not enough brightness and headroom on the clean settings. Needs a reverb too.

  • a well produced review

  • Little, but there still just as spendy ! Wheres the deal ?

  • Oh my god - this guy sucks!!! I really wanted to like this amp until I heard this demo :( Orange Tiny Terror and Blackstar HT Dual it is then......!!

  • Why did the guy use a single coil only guitar? If he's DEMO-ING the amp, and 2 of the 3 second channel modes sound much better with a humbucker...WTF?? Great preparation buddy. This was a HORRIBLE representation of this amp. It probably sounds much better but the guy has NO playing versatility, nor correct gear selection to bring this amp alive..FAIL

  • The Tiny Terror and Night Train will be crushed by this thing

  • I don't know the tiny terror but the night train won't be crushed by it. I have the night train and yes this amp does the vox crunch but it doesn't sound like it gets all the vox tones I can coax out of the nt from the chimey clean on up to the nice gritty dirt. However the Transatlantic does other tones that the night train can't. In the end it comes down to the tones you want. For the Vox range I will keep the Night train but I do plan on adding the Transatlantic.

  • I am a amp nut though. TX half stack, TX super forty mini stack 1 x 15 ext cab, Night train on lopo 2 x 12 with weber silver bell and blue dog ceramic 15 watt speakers, jsx mini, and the old standby pignose 7-100. I love amps and each has it's own flavor. I do think it is a bit expensive for the Mesa and I doubt it is any better built then my night train, however I like the fact it isn't outsourced somewhere else, that fact alone will make it worth the money for me.

  • I would rather have a recto than my tiny terror anyday (obviously) but my tiny terror sounds alot better than this amp :/ I have always wanted a mesa too

  • @BriteWingz I'll doubt that. For the price this little mfucker costs, I'd rather buy something else. I like MESA, but they are way overpriced imo.

  • @BriteWingz but it's the double of the price..

  • @BriteWingz will the Blackstar HT-5 and the Marshall Class 5 be crushed by the Transatlantic as well?

  • @BriteWingz I don't agree. This is a different type amp. The only thing small with this amp is its size. They're aiming at a different buyers than the orange and the vox amps I think.

  • @BriteWingz yeah, and also by its price...

  • @BriteWingz Not priceways, unfortunately...

  • @BriteWingz i bought it yesterday....it´s killer!!

  • @BriteWingz u nuts? first compare the prices and second, vox and orange are have their own sounds, mesa has its sound too, so its up to you to choose the sound u like mesa cant sound like orange or vox..

  • @BriteWingz Except the price...

  • @BriteWingz I've played most all of the big name lunch-box style amps. This definitely stomps those 2 aforementioned amps. The next best lunch-box style amp I've played is the Egnater "tweaker" . he's only like 400 bucks, and doesn't have as many little combinations and such, but its a great plug n play amp.

  • @BriteWingz hum.. and the Egnater Tweaker will also?

  • MESA do not make crap to be outsourced to other people. When you buy this quality you get the BEST ! as for making Solid State or Digital Modelling....Go elseware..This company do not jump on any bandwagon unlike some other Manufacturers going to the Middle East......no comprimises...if you want the best....you have got to pay for it !, simple as

  • i dont think the best is mesa i cant get my tone from them.

  • @christslayer666

    Well, if you don't even like them, why would you want a solid state version of their amps? Just curious, seriously.

  • i like them for death metal not black metal wich is what i mainly play but i thought it would be cool to use as a practice amp or something

  • @christslayer666

    Are you kidding? A solid state Mesa? Where do you think their tone comes from? That is asinine.

  • i just ment that would be interesting.plus it would be good for ppl that cant afford their amps

  • Thats like asking ferrari to make a four banger hahahaha

  • They did not outsource the production of this, they never have. There is no loop or reverb. Street price is $899

  • Anyone know the street price of these yet?

  • 900, I think

  • Effects Loop?

  • I'm just not impressed with this.  I wanted to be, but no... where's it made anyway? Surely Mesa followed the bandwagon and outsourced the production of this amp.

  • It says on the back that it's hand built in California

  • Seems cool

  • If you want to get something like this, you get an Orange Tiny Terror. Simple...

  • I owned a TT for a couple months .. not nearly as versitile as this amp. Found it to be a 1 trick pony. Granted good at that 1 trick :)

  • Tell me it has a footswitch

  • it has

  • Ok. It has a footswitch.

  • 1 please

  • What's the guitar Doug is playing?

  • Tom Anderson strat

  • I wanna go to this expo... looks like fun. when and where is it held?

  • anahiem california. its trade only though. so unless you work in the industry you cant get in. ive been to 14 of them. its a blast.

  • Also, I love Boogie, but I few weeks ago, I played through a Bugera 6260 (I think) and for like a quarter of the price, this thing was screaming! Have any of you diehard Mark IV/V guys played through it? No graphic eq though.

  • Bugera does have some great tones, but I've heard they have extreme reliability issues.

  • Would rather have heard a PRS thru this, strats and mesa boogie gain settings don't go together.

  • I actually really agree, you need to hear a Super Distortion or Crunch Lab to really appreciate a Boogie. Not hating on Strats or teles though because I love all guitars :)

  • Doug west is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet !!!!! Everyone at mesa is wonderful.

  • Those Vox tones are pretty cool!!!!!

  • Nah, not my thing

  • im sorry but the sound quality sucks(listen to the voice), but thatnks for the uplload anyway

  • it's gonna land on the US market at 899$.At the price in EU will settle at about 800euros.

  • I heard it was going to go for $899 street price

  • I would not make a decision on this demo alone, but I thought this sounded like sub par crap for big money, I hope there not trying to get by on there laurels

  • Blacky 156 are sure that is the price? I understand it does a lot of different things but, personally with a blackstar or jet city with the right pedals you could copy anyone of those sounds easily I am sure and save yoruself a boat load of money in the process.

  • wtf? sounds nothing like a vox, way too thin, too expensive too.

  • Based on this poor sound quality demo or have you heard one in person? Because I'd like to know how close it is to that VOX jangle... if it had it then it would be close to my dream amp.

  • Its wayyyyyy too dry sounding to even come close, it might be the sound quality, but i dont think so.

  • only $2500 bucks! i'll take 2

  • @blacky156 - there's no way this is $2500 - a brand new Dual Rectifier is $1799

  • Incredibly sweet sounding little amp. This amp seems to be more centered around tone than gain which is what some of us look for. I can add a distortion pedal but you can't take away cruddy tone. If it sounds good at moderate gain levels, a good distortion pedal should give it the balls you need and still have good tone.

  • Pretty cool sounding little amp!

  • I liked how Mesa kept this so secretive...definitely a eye opener, this amp is;)

  • yeah my thanks to TTK great job and this mesa sounds awsome

  • TK... Thanks... finally a decent demo of this amp... I too am more interested int the possiblities of this amp in the high gain chugging type sounds ......

    Have to wait for the TK review from the tone lounge....

  • thanks ttk for namm 2010