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Poll: Marshall or Mesa Boogie?


Scottcrud

Which amp is better  

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I have heard some people with Boogies that did not impress me. They either spent too much time tweaking all 26 knobs without listening to their overall sound, or they had no clue what an amp is supposed to sound like.

Any idiot can get a decent sound out of a Marshall, except for the new ones that have as many knobs as a Boogie.

Personally, I like the sounds of both. Different, but good.

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I played through a MKIIC+ combo for about 5-6 years. I was CONSTANTLY fiddling with the knobs to get a sound that I was happy with. The Boogie would emulate the sound of a lot of different amps, but I could never find a tone where I went "Wow - that's it!".

I had never played a Marshall back when I was using my Boogie. I went to my first rehearsal with a new band who told me that I didn't need to bring an amp because they would have one there for me to use. I plugged my cord directly into a JCM800-2203 half stack (which I now own) hit an open E chord, and thought to myself "So that's where that sound comes from!".

I met Jim Marshall at a guitar show a few years ago and told him this story. He got a big grin on his face and said "Yeah, and I bet you wasted a lot of time and money over the years, didn't you?".

One thing that I've noticed about my Marshall is that moving the control knobs don't really change the sound all that much. The amp does one thing and does it well.

Nowadays I don't like lugging around the Marshall, so I got myself a Fender SFDR, converted it to a BF, and I love it just as much as the Marshall.

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Boogie cause they don't break, I've had really bad luck w/ Marshall heads on the road, amps going down on a van tourĀ  is a giant pain in the butt

My Boogie broke on tour - it was even in an Anvil case. We dropped it off in Albuquerque to have it repaired and had to go back to get it. Luckily our other guitar player was using a two amp rig so I just used one of his maps.

My opinion is that amps with printed circuit boards can't tolerate the vibrations of the road as well as point-to-point wired amps. Then again - I've never toured with a Marshall - don't the JCM800's have PCBs?

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Guest pirateflynn

I have owned both a MK111 and a MK 1V and never really liked the tone. I much prefer a simple circuit such as my Blockhead Firstborn 18, a Marshall clone. A couple stompboxes and you're all set.

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Well....I've owned them all and both have there strong points as well as weak but...if given the choice It would be a Marshall because...even if you don't like the tone they accept any outboard tone enhancing gear you may have and just rip!!..where with the boogies you have to be very selective with what you feed them the finicky bastards.... :lol:

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I've actually never plugged into a Mesa amp of any sort. So I guess it's Marshalls for me. Nothing delivers the rock onstage like a Marshall. My Artist 3203 head has been through hell with me since 1989 and has never failed to power up and rip.

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Rarely have I ever heard a Boogie tone that I've liked. Kevin Ubanks on Leno uses a Blue Angel and he sounds great. Santana's tone is cool. I don't think I'd play with those tones myself, but they make them sound good.

I like Marshall tones WAY better. I've owned a numer of boogies and Marshall clones and there is no comparison in my opinion. But that's just me. I still have the various marshall style amps. No boogies.

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I own both- a 'series I' Single Recto & a PPI/MV modded '73 Super Bass. Love 'em both.

The Recto is loaded w/'80's Chinese grey plate 12AX7s & Phillips 7581As. It ROARS! I only use the 'vintage' mode & a somewhat dark, mid heavy eq & easy on the gain. Cops a nice vintage-esque tone w/way more gain, which I love. Will easily do all the 'nu-metal', stereotypical 'Recto' stuff, as well, which can be fun.

The Super Bass is just loaded w/'generic' GT tubes (came that way). Couple of resistors in the pre have been swapped to get closer to SL specs, but not all the way. RICH mod MV works killer. Deffo THE Marshall sound I hear in my head. BIG, thumping, crunching, knocking-shit-offa-the-shelves badness. AC-DC thru Accept & British Steel era 'Priest are all available.

Y'know what I really LUST after? An Engle Powerball. Now that sumbitch is M-E-A-N!

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Hey gearheads,

I own a blue '92 Marshall 30th Anniversary 6101 combo amp that I absolutely love. I also own an '89 Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 tube stereo power amp and 20/20 Dynawatt stereo tube power amp. I use 2 ADA 3TM modded MP-1 preamps with the Mesa Boogie power amps in 2 seperate guitar rack systems. I definetly lean towards the Marshall amps as I have played a Mark IIC+ combo and the Quad preamp (both belong to my good friend). I can get a good tone from the Mark II C+ combo, but I couldn't dial in the Quad preamp the way I want it. Sort of frustrating concerning the Quad preamp, but the power amps give me the sound I need for my guitar rack systems so I'm happy with those.

Guitar George

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I had a Marshall 50 watt combo as a kid in the early eighties. However I sold it to

buy a new, Boogie MKIIB combo with a 15" EV of which I still have but don't use much other than for nostalgia because it is SO loud and I don't play out anymore. My main amp for the past 10 years has been a Mesa/Boogie Subway Blues - 20 watts, 2 EL84's and 10" speaker. This little amp is a 5 knob tone machine ( Vol. Treb. Mid. Bass. Rev.) and is more than loud enough for what I am into now. So... I guess I'd have to vote for Boogie.

The variety of tones I can get out of my Newport/Bigsby w/Pcats direct through this 5 knob Boogie

to me are incredible.

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One Boogie was enough for me, I'll stick with Marshall'esque amps. I like a lot of the tones other people get with Mesa amps but, it's never right for me. I hate the way the tone controls interact with each other on the Boogies I've played. I will say that I do like the clean tone on most of them I've played but, not the gain.

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I can never get Boogie tones from my Marshalls, but the Boggies can cop a Marshall vibeĀ  and then some so the choice for me is usually a Mesa-Boogie.

(this month) :lol:

Z

Having had several Messy Boogies, including a MK IIC, MK III and a Rocket 44, I call bullshit. Messy Boogies dont do Marshall....period.

As well I feel the tone is two dimensional. I just dont hear the complex harmonics in the Boogies. They are brutal grindcore wall of sound dont get me wrong but the mids are all wrong for woman tone and brown sound.

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I can never get Boogie tones from my Marshalls, but the Boggies can cop a Marshall vibeĀ  and then some so the choice for me is usually a Mesa-Boogie.

Which Boogie are you playing that can get a Marshall tone? I've played them all and none of them come close.

MARSHALL FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!

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