In 1991 AC/DC Malcolm and Angus used Mesa Boogie Studio preamps and Mesa 295 power amps

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harddriver
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All these years I never even heard of such a thing but it appears as though it was true. :shocked::yes:

How long did they use Mesa Boogies or was it a one time thing for the live Donnington 1991 album? I know I posted this over in the Malcolm thread but I felt it was worthy of it's own thread for discussion.

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...e-at-donington-1991-sound-with-axe-fx.199104/

ince 30 years I work on the my favorite AC/DC Angus Young sound based on plexis. I always prefered the Live at Donington 1991 sound and learned from this forum / japanese magazine article
https://www.acdcfans.net/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=9446&page=1#Comment_574591
that Angus and Malcom used a Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp and Mesa Boogie Simul 295 Stereo power amp for the live album (see the input cable and switch position of the amps). 1996 again plexis like today. A member of this thread was so kind and gave me the original article picture in much better quality:

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I wish I was at that concert. I wonder how loud it was onstage? I have a Studio Preamp. I prefer using it with my 50/50 power amp instead of my Strategy 400. It sounds really good through 2 Halfback 2x12 cabs.
 
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c+addict said:
I wish I was at that concert. I wonder how loud it was onstage? I have a Studio Preamp. I prefer using it with my 50/50 power amp instead of my Strategy 400. It sounds really good through 2 Halfback 2x12 cabs.
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I’d guess loud, they are one of the few bands the back line is actually real and cranking
 
Alright for comparison sake here is another proshot concert 2009 with Marshalls or maybe Wizards...........................

 
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harddriver said:
Alright for comparison sake here is another proshot concert with Marshalls or maybe Wizards...........................

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nah. its just kind of lacking to me after listening to ac/dc live all day cause of this thread, the mesas sound fuller and bigger and that mark kind of fluidy thing makes angus sound his greasiest. I always thought that live album was their best tones of any of their albums
 
I thought the Donnington tone was still a good tone but you can hear it isn't as raw treblely sounding with that Marshall clank but I would have never questioned it being a Boogie setup unless I had not saw those Boogie guitar cabinets.

I still prefer their Marshall tones though, for me anyway.......:yes:

I found this old post on HC about the Mesa stuff at Donnington, this guy says Malcolm used his Marshall amps and Angus used the Mesa Boogie rack.
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You saw them on Live at Donnington (sp??). Angus amd Malcolm both used mesa cabs on that tour. Angus used his rack, Malcolm used his Marshall heads.



While Angus' association with the classic JTM45/100 head, he's used lota of amps throuh the years, even rackmmoumt equipment. The JTM was mostly on the first several albums and the last few. By back and black he had move to a more aggressive amp, perhaps a Plexi or metal-panrl JMP. By the early '90's and The Razors Edge, he uses preamps like the JMP-1, ADA MP1, and a Mesa Studio Preamp. By Ball Breaker it was DSLs and Wizards (Wizard, which was a boutique hot-rodded Plexi apparently was a fav of his from The Razor's Edge on, especially for the Studio. Then he went back to doing most of his work with the JTM.



Malcolm has used primary a JTM 45/100 and a Plexi Superbass, but I think he used a Wizard some for recording as well.
 
JTM and Mark IIC+ are pretty much the same thing. I doubt most people could tell the difference in a blind test.
 
I'm wondering if they used that gear on the 1992 live album . That album was recorded at something like 5 diffenerent shows in 1991 , Donnignton being one of them .
 
This is cool to know. I'm going to hang on to my Quad and Stereo Rectifier. I have a feeling they'll be worth a lot of money in about 20 years from now.

That's irrelevant though, it's a sick rig and if the live video is anything to go by, it can do awesome crunch sounds besides Metallica and DT tones.
 
hammered said:
I'm wondering if they used that gear on the 1992 live album . That album was recorded at something like 5 diffenerent shows in 1991 , Donnignton being one of them .
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Yes they did. You'll notice how much 'gainier' and thicker Angus sounded on the Live album (I referenced the NEC Birmingham version of "Shoot to thrill" where Danny boy was still convinced it was a Marshall setup for him, in the other thread), than his typical Marshall based tones.
 
RaceU4her said:
yup and it was their best tones
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I like the Mesa tone but I do miss the Marshall clankiness but you can definitely hear the Mesa tone is thicker and gainier yet is still unmistakeably AC/DC tone.:2thumbsup:

I'm guessing since Angus and Malcolm could play anything they wanted they must have preferred the Marshall tones after a couple of years playing the Mesa setups.......:dunno:

I can't believe I had never heard of them using Mesa's until 2024.........WTF... how'd I miss that one..........:LOL:o_O
 
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