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Mesa/boogie .22+


Citrus

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My Boogie 5:25 Express was similar (EL84s, lots of knobs) and sounded great but again the complexity bugged me, especially getting dialed in on a quick setup on a new stage with no real sound check.

I'd look at a Vox AC15 too. Not pricey and a great rawk sound and moderate volume.

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My Studio 22+ is ridiculously simple to use, and built like a tank.

I've had it as my main combo amp for over 25 years, and it replaced my '72 Twin.  It may be part of the reason I am still able to stand up straight!

mystudio22.jpg

It competed well with Turdus' 50w VHT and Marshalls (even in an outdoor setting), so it will always get a thumbs up from me. ;)

MOC805FfXcor3.jpg

 

 

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I prefer the original .50 Caliber Boogie.  It took me years to find this fully loaded one in mint condition.  And it came with a road case! 

The EL-84 models are really rare.  Not as much clean headroom as the "+" models (6V6 or 6L6 depending on wattage), but the lead tone is so much better.  Less headroom on that channel too. 

7x1ROgq.jpg

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Mesa Boogie amps are very well designed, but due to this can be harder to dial in than other amps. There are some extreme tone settings that may not really work well at all.  However they have a top notch customer service team, and often will answer questions about amps that have been out of production for decades.

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The old Boogie manuals (free downloads at their website) usually have "instant gratification" settings that will get you in the ballpark of what you are trying to dial in.

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20 hours ago, tbonesullivan said:

Mesa Boogie amps are very well designed, but due to this can be harder to dial in than other amps. There are some extreme tone settings that may not really work well at all.  However they have a top notch customer service team, and often will answer questions about amps that have been out of production for decades.

Very true on the tone settings.  Treble control has huge impact on overall tone.  Not a set-and-forget amp...

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49 minutes ago, SSII x 2 said:

Very true on the tone settings.  Treble control has huge impact on overall tone.  Not a set-and-forget amp...

I was ready to get rid of mine until I went online and started reading about the tone controls.  With the treble all the way up, it was unbearably shrill.

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Yeah, the manual MUST be read, as the tone controls interact, and as treble is the first in line, it'll be dominant unless you set it moderately.  Later Mesa Boogie amplifiers have the "gain boost" mid control, which after a certain point acts more like another volume control. Both my DC-5 and Maverick have that.

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My vote's for a straightforward handwired Marshall 18w combo, or any kit or factory-made Marshall 18w clone amp out there...combo or head style, they're all good!  They usually use two EL84s, though VHT had a handwired 4xEL84 head version out a few years ago, too .  IMO, they're old-school fun, and the VHT 18w/36w heads have a TMB circuit and a master volume instead of the tremolo circuit on those...they were being blown out CHEAP, when they quit making them and discounted them out of inventory about a year or two ago.  They still pop up from time to time at a reasonable price, I paid $200+shipping for a handwired VHT 18 watt head on Reverb a couple of months ago.  B)

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20 hours ago, sixesandsevens said:

Man, there are so many EL84 based amps out there.

If you're not married to the idea of the Mesa, the Budda SD18 might be another alternative for you.  It's really loud, but does high gain at almost any volume.

And the 65Amps SoHo, 20 W of EL84 goodness, with "master voltage" (switchable), and with bump switch and control.

Gabe :)

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Dr. Z Carmen Ghia. EL84's. 18 Watts. Tone and Volume Control. Great amp to plug straight in, crank it and use your vol knob to sort the rest. Works great with pedals too.

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