Recovering Mesa Addict looking for What's Next

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BesaMoogie said:
I‘m very nicely set up with my Mesas too. The 6505+ brings a nice addition to them. Lately I went the Marshall route and a 2203 kit is waiting to be soldered together.

So maybe a 2203 boosted or with a hot mod would do the trick for you? Other high-gainers you haven’t mentioned are Diezel and Engl.
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A 2203/4 boosted or with the right mods was one of the first ideas that came to me too

Engl’s imho just have sounded too artificial and cheap for a lack of a better word and the Diezel’s also lean more on that side of the spectrum (not organic sounding), although their ‘90’s amps (pre-silverface) were amazing
 
braintheory said:
Engl’s imho just have sounded too artificial and cheap for a lack of a better word and the Diezel’s also lean more on that side of the spectrum (not organic sounding), although their ‘90’s amps (pre-silverface) were amazing
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Ditto... I couldn't agree more. Maybe a VHT / Fryette would suit your needs - Lovely amps - REALLY LOUD - aggressive / punchy / organic / raw + they will eventually make you a better player. Laugh as you may want - only people who have owned one will agree. These things are unforgiving/ I prefer the Deliverance series to the 3 CL / UL amps that I had
 
CrystalSky said:
Todays seems to be the day of uncovering undercover NADs lol

Congrats! How do you like it? Any dofference to others you had?
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Thanks!
I really like it!
The 2007 one, that I bought new, is still the tightest, and most suited for metal of them all.
This 93 one is the smoothest sounding of them all. Still more bite than most all the other ones I've heard and owned... just not harsh at all!
That difference could be because of parts tolerance, different tubes, aging of components, or all of them.
But yeah, this thing is amazing!!!
 
His problem with upper mid voiced amps may stem from playing them exclusively through V30 loaded cabs.
Those are the last speakers I’d pick for a Marshall type amp. He needs to get off the V30 teat!!! Hahahaaaa
 
SBlue said:
Thanks!
I really like it!
The 2007 one, that I bought new, is still the tightest, and most suited for metal of them all.
This 93 one is the smoothest sounding of them all. Still more bite than most all the other ones I've heard and owned... just not harsh at all!
That difference could be because of parts tolerance, different tubes, aging of components, or all of them.
But yeah, this thing is amazing!!!
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Glad to hear you loving your new aquisition!

Rock on 🤘🏻
 
braintheory said:
A 2203/4 boosted or with the right mods was one of the first ideas that came to me too

Engl’s imho just have sounded too artificial and cheap for a lack of a better word and the Diezel’s also lean more on that side of the spectrum (not organic sounding), although their ‘90’s amps (pre-silverface) were amazing
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Ok. Just recently @Bad.Seed was posting about one Engl that set himself apart of the typical Engl line and he really liked it. Don’t know, which one it was.
 
BesaMoogie said:
Ok. Just recently @Bad.Seed was posting about one Engl that set himself apart of the typical Engl line and he really liked it. Don’t know, which one it was.
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Yes he liked a lot the Fireball 100 as well as the Inferno. I’ve tried almost the entire Engl line-up. I liked most the Inferno, SE EL34 and Artist (as did Kyle). They have some good things about them that I guess can distinguish them from other Engl’s, but ultimately when I compare them to amps I think are firmly in the great category I just didn’t think they held up as well and still to me sounded artificial and somehow cheap. Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t consider any of their amps top tier and the OP has experienced some top tier amps, so I just expect that to be the standard, but I understand he also needs practicality/functionality as a factor too and I don’t like thinking about that lol
 
Beyond Black said:
His problem with upper mid voiced amps may stem from playing them exclusively through V30 loaded cabs.
Those are the last speakers I’d pick for a Marshall type amp. He needs to get off the V30 teat!!! Hahahaaaa
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Yep. He needs to branch out for 1 more cab, with greenies or similar and try another Marshall or modded Marshall.
IMO.
 
glpg80 said:
Engl has reliability issues and no customer support for the non famous. Stay away unless you can fix them yourself IMO. I don’t even want one because of reliability and parts/customer service concerns.
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Yep, I actually liked the fireball and artist se, but holy shit if you have ever opened one up, it makes me very nervous

Especially for a multiple thousands of dollars amp investment, ideally it would be something a competent tech or the owner could actually work on if something went tits up

I've seen a whole bunch of engl horror stories on Facebook, complete with pictures and screenshots of their "customer service"

Those thin pcbs next to hot power tubes are a disaster waiting to happen, and it's unconscionable for the price
 
Can’t believe I’d ever be saying this but, Krank. Scored a R1+ and once I put new tubes in it (Kt88’s), it is an ass kicker. Something totally different from my Marshall’s and Mesa’s. Sounds great with V30’s as well.
 
O.P.
I can relate some, as Ive owned almost all the mesa's at one point too but not as many as you have tho!
I know you're into the heavier side of what an amp can do,I like that too,but I live a lot in the range of middle to lower gain sounds too.So these may or may not be possibles for u.
.vht clx or ultralead-i love my clx and it will get heavy,ultralead is heavier I've heard
. Elmwood M90- killer mid gain tones but many a death metal band used to use them
.diezel herbert- depending on what tube type.
.Bogner uber rev.green or new ultra..I love my green.Its often dubbed as " the recto killer" whether that's true is another story tho.
Mezzabarba- but i think u had one of these and thats way over 2500
.if you could find an original or early Cameron ccv.but that's way over 25 too.
.others: splawns,friedmans,black star,jvm410,etc..but these get over 25 too.
I recently got a 79/80 jmp 2203 with a few mods and really like it.I could see with the right boost pedal that amp could land into mosh territory.
...
 
For new and under $2,500 I'd say a KSR Ares with an NFB knob, and maybe ask Kyle about the extra bright switches.

It'll be a different sound than the Mesa's, but still familiar.
 
Why not a Badlander? I just picked one of these up and it's fantastic. Way more Marshall tone than Mesa IMO.

This way you don't have to compromise. :thumbsup:

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Blake did a great Marshall comparison. These are killer amps.

 
The KSR’s like others said can maybe be a good middle ground between something like a stealth or 6505 and the top notch level amps you’ve had. For my taste they’re still artificial sounding/feeling vs what I think of as the top tier amps, but better imo than amps like the stealth and most Engl’s and I’d bet with functionality in a mix would probably also be a good middle ground in that way (can’t say from experience though, just a guess) and they do have a good throaty growl to them that as a Recto fan can be easy to appreciate. Still feels uncomfortable to think about things practically like that lol, but it can make some sense maybe
 
Texhex said:
Why not a Badlander? I just picked one of these up and it's fantastic. Way more Marshall tone than Mesa IMO.

This way you don't have to compromise. :thumbsup:

QzKb18S.jpg

Blake did a great Marshall comparison. These are killer amps.

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Agreed, worth a try. I got a Badlander 25 on trade a couple months ago and I'm really digging it.

Also there was a Monomyth Origin 50 in the classifieds for a good price, really killer amps.

Btw where did you get those knobs? They look great!
 
Texhex said:
Why not a Badlander? I just picked one of these up and it's fantastic. Way more Marshall tone than Mesa IMO.

This way you don't have to compromise. :thumbsup:

QzKb18S.jpg


3LuaWCy.jpg



P8FLqGy.jpg



2qT0ax2.jpg


qkkSwM0.jpg



QtAlJfg.jpg





Blake did a great Marshall comparison. These are killer amps.

Click to expand...

I had a Badlander 100 for a while. The amp actually sat pretty darn well in the live mix, I just struggled with a complete lack of ass. If it had a resonance knob I think it could be a really solid metal amp. As it sat I saw it as a great rock amp. Sold it to a rock player friend & he's been very happy with it.

 
GJgo said:
I had a Badlander 100 for a while. The amp actually sat pretty darn well in the live mix, I just struggled with a complete lack of ass. If it had a resonance knob I think it could be a really solid metal amp. As it sat I saw it as a great rock amp. Sold it to a rock player friend & he's been very happy with it.

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Yeah, now that you mention it I can see the Resonance thing being an issue.

I’ve also got an OG 50W 5150III… Blue channel with a boost is brutal. 100W Stealth could be the way to go bro.


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