Good smaller Mesa Boogie combo amps.....

Denverdave

Denverdave

Resident Ragamuffin
My DRRI looks like it will sell this weekend. So I am in the market for a new amp - probably a used one actually to get the best bang for the buck. I have always liked Boogie combos, but there are so many different ones on the used market - anyone know which of the reasonably priced ones are good (ie. Subway Rocket, Mark II-V, F-Series, Express, Nomad, etc). The Transatlantic TA-15 looks very interesting, but I really want a combo, not a head and cab.
 
i would sell you my Subway Rocket if we could work out a deal for shipping. I have never shipped an amp before, but I know how to ship an amp, so it's just a matter of how much it costs and getting the boxes and packing materials.

The Subway Rocket is loud as fucking fuck. it's definitely not an apartment amp, which is why i don't use it anymore. but it sounds amazing at house, practice, and club levels. it does not like distortion pedals, but loves boost pedals. so your LPB-1 works wonders either out front or in the loop. your tubescreamer, not so much. the Subway Rocket has a serious amount of gain on tap. it loves humbuckers, kinda marginalizes single coils, and makes everything sound decidedly MESA. but if that's the sound you want, it's a great fucking sound that responds really well to volume and tone knobs.

If I was in the market for a new Mesa, i'd get the Express 5:50. it's the culmination of all the amps since the DC series (which my Subway Rocket was also based on) and they've done a great job with them. The Transatlantic seems almost too simple and I'd want the control features on the Express' second channel.
 
I have an F 50. The dirty channel is too loose. The clean channel is very nice. The reverb sucks. I'd buy a mkIII in a heartbeat. The subways are nice too.
 
I tried an Express 5:25 (I think) that belongs to MikeT this week. It's a great sounding amp although it's not really my thing. I was actually happiest when it was on the cleaner settings and the gain was dialed back. definitely loud enough for any gig.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
i would sell you my Subway Rocket if we could work out a deal for shipping. I have never shipped an amp before, but I know how to ship an amp, so it's just a matter of how much it costs and getting the boxes and packing materials.

The Subway Rocket is loud as fucking fuck. it's definitely not an apartment amp, which is why i don't use it anymore. but it sounds amazing at house, practice, and club levels. it does not like distortion pedals, but loves boost pedals. so your LPB-1 works wonders either out front or in the loop. your tubescreamer, not so much. the Subway Rocket has a serious amount of gain on tap. it loves humbuckers, kinda marginalizes single coils, and makes everything sound decidedly MESA. but if that's the sound you want, it's a great fucking sound that responds really well to volume and tone knobs.

If I was in the market for a new Mesa, i'd get the Express 5:50. it's the culmination of all the amps since the DC series (which my Subway Rocket was also based on) and they've done a great job with them. The Transatlantic seems almost too simple and I'd want the control features on the Express' second channel.
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I think I need to try one first. In theory I should like them - but I really need to play through one.

There are a lot of amps to look at right now - Peavey Classic 30, Vox AC15, Bugera V22 (though I am loath to buy any Behringer product - but they get rave reviews), VHT Special 12/20, Egnator Rebel/Tweaker, etc).
 
A new AC15C1 shipped from north coast music is well under your max. It's a glorious sounding amp but not what you want if you need clean headroom.
 
telecaster911 said:
I have an F 50. The dirty channel is too loose. The clean channel is very nice. The reverb sucks. I'd buy a mkIII in a heartbeat. The subways are nice too.
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I read another comment on the F-50 that stated pretty exactly what you just said. Which is good because there is a used F-50 at a GC close to here.

I'd like a Mark II as well - but they usually go for some significant cash....
 
I love the DC series..I have a DC5 half stack, but tried the combo and also the 30w DC3..excellent clean channel and fantastic drive.
 
Denverdave said:
I will be checking one of those out tomorrow most likely...
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Take your guitar(s) if you can. I think the key to this amp is using the tailoring the config to each guitar you play through it; top boost input vs normal input and how you adjust the tone cut. You can also blend the channels with a a/b/y box or y cable. Some people say it's pretty finicky with pedals but I haven't really found that to be the case with what I've played through it so far. I suspect that many people just use the top boost channel for everything and that's really the problem.... (Much like Mesa products, operator error can really impact your take on the amp)

Tony Bruno really knocked this out of the park. A buddy has a vintage AC15 and JMI AC30, plus has a AC30HW for a while; he was suspect of a green back in an AC but after playing it, agreed it's got tone in spades.
 
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Another great amp that no one talks about is the Marshall Artist from the late 80s. 30 watts of EL34 with a solid state front end. The model is 4203 for the combo. Very very nice sounding amps. I had one for about 15 years that gigged every weekend with absolutely no problems. I really wish I hadn't sold it. I'd buy another one in a second. Just fantastic sounding.
 
telecaster911 said:
Another great amp that no one talks about is the Marshall Artist from the late 80s. 30 watts of EL34 with a solid state front end. The model is 4203 for the combo. Very very nice sounding amps. I had one for about 15 years that gigged every weekend with absolutely no problems. I really wish I hadn't sold it. I'd buy another one in a second. Just fantastic sounding.
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Thanks for the heads up.....:thu:
 
I have a DC3, and I really love the little thing. Plenty loud enough for playing gigs at 35 watts. Excellent fender clean channel with a nice tube reverb, and a wicked distortion channel. It has the cool foot switchable EQ, so you can get four sounds from the two channels via the footswitch. It also has a speaker kill with a load, and a headphone jack, so you can practice through the preamp without making any noise at all. The fx loop is also really good and it has a mix knob so you can control how wet the return signal is. Overall, a really perfect little package.
 
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