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Which mesa boogie guitar amp should i buy?

Posted by unknown on Saturday, June 7th 2008

7
Jun

Help Me Rhondas asked:

Hey guys,
in a bit of a pickle not knowing what guitar amp to buy. I’ll be playing lead electric guitar for a band that also includes an acoustic guitar, bass and drums. we are in the process of finding our sound so i cant tell you we sound like __________. If i had to id say a kind of coldplay sound meets u2.
this being said we have 3 running gigs at various bars and restaruants so no death metal obviously. we do covers ranging from the beatles, u2, to marvin gaye.
im looking at a combo (pref 2×12) and have my eye on a used tremoverb or heartbreaker. out those which do you think is better suited or a better amp. if you have any other suggestions a a mesa or other tube amp id love that info as well.
thanks for the help

Mesa Boogie

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3 Comments Already

Sweet Slim Guy 36 Said,

June 8th, 2008 @3:17 pm

Man, have you checked out the new Line 6 Pod XT? It has everything as a processor, effects pedal. You can either plug straight into the PA or just connect it to a combo (I have a Marshall two 12, Valvestate.)

mooliemonkeyboy Said,

June 11th, 2008 @4:37 am

Not sure what your budget is but if you have your heart set on a tube combo, it will cost you. I know someone who has a Carvin Legacy 100 watt combo and it’s nuts man. IMO, it sounds better than anything else in it’s price range. You can check it out at. You may wish to check out some of the solid state ones as well. It used to be that there was a massive difference in the sound of a solid state amp vs. a tube amp. Not anymore though. Companies like Behringer, Line 6, and Tech 21 have gotten this “amp modeling” down. I personally own and recently purchased a Behringer GMX212. It’s a 120 watt, stereo, LOUD 2×12 combo with built in digital effects. The thing I like about it is that it’s versitile enough to play anything. Country, Classic Rock, Metal, Alt or Jazz. I’ve owned Fender and Marshall Tube amps in the past and I can get the sounds of any of them with the amp and it only cost me $259.99 on. The LIne 6 stuff does the same thing but they’re more money. At least give the Berhinger and/or Line 6 stuff a try before spending $500 to $2000 on a tube combo. Good luck.

Karl Withakay

CrAzy b0B Said,

June 12th, 2008 @11:53 pm

I have played in cover bands before and it can be tough. Why? Because you have to emulate so many different guitar sounds. What you may be looking for is a good multi effects processor. I use a Roland GP-100 but also own a Line Pod 6. I really like the Roland it sounds great through a PA (in stereo).

I would go conservative on a combo amp since you are playing covers. I assume you are miking the amp through a PA. I also own a Carvin (MTS3200)and found them to have good tone and are EXTREMELY durable for gigging. Once it rolled off a truck when we were unloading and it didn’t even phase it. TOUGH! I also like the Fender Blues De ville. If you purchase a Mesa be prepared to shell out the cash, plus I think the quality of their amps has declined a little over the last few years.

For what you are doing I would suggest a tube 2×12 combo. Why tube? Better tone and power. Use the money you save to buy a good multi effects processor.

Good luck and play on!