Valve amp convert

nick79

I remember years ago going from a Marshall MG100 ( i bought it because i was young, skint and it said Marshall on it...) to a DSL401 and the difference was night and day. Ok the DSL wasn't the best out there but it was good enough for me at the time. I'm now running a Mesa F50 and cranked up at gig levels it immense, especially the clean channel. Did a gig last night and the depth and dynamics just keep flooring me everytime, i would never get that with a solid state or modeler i don't think.

Dream rig is the JP2C in @RaymondLin 's post above. Got a fair bit saving for that though..

thomasross20

I'd expect the JP2C to be better given the cost! Not really home friendly, though? 

thomasross20

Mesa are unfortunately also massively overpriced in the UK

nick79

They are yes, but used they make more sense. My F50 cost me less than the price of a (new) ID260 (i nearly bought one the day the Mesa popped up on ebay), the 260 is a great amp i'm sure you will agree but 50w of 6l6 power is awesome when it's cranked up. 

RaymondLin

thomasross20 said:

I'd expect the JP2C to be better given the cost! Not really home friendly, though? 

My friend lives in a mid terrace in the heart of Bristol, he seems to be okay 

timmysoft

I don't think Mesa are overpriced here in the uk, the build quality is up there with the best and they deliver fantastic tones. Infact, Marshall and Blackstar price increases over the last 10 years are much more, percentage wise,  than Mesa and the quality shits over those two brands. 

relic245

@Thomasross20. You're right that I no longer have the ht5. I also had a black star a30 that I was gigging with but got to be a pain to take to rehearsals so I traded the ht5 up to get a laney 30 watt thing that was use able at home but also powerful enough for

thomasross20

What Laney?

I tried a mark V:25 in the shop and it was hair trigger on the lowest setting - real loud.

Agree on mesa quality but the mark-up is pretty high, sort of like buying Levi in the UK.

pintspiller

I had a Laney AOR30. Great wee amp, couldn't compete with my friend's JCM900 2x12 combo. The AOR series was like JCM800 on steroids. I had hoped to find a 50w or 100w AOR recently, but bought a MKIi MV instead. 

Danny1969

Mesa quality is great but there's nothing wrong with the BS quality ... PCB is superb, so is the soldering. Pots and chassis are great. I've gigg'ed the fuck out of mine, 100 + gigs a year just chucked in the back of the van, no cover or case. Badge fell off but amp is rock solid. 

ICBM

timmysoft said:

I don't think Mesa are overpriced here in the uk, the build quality is up there with the best and they deliver fantastic tones. Infact, Marshall and Blackstar price increases over the last 10 years are much more, percentage wise,  than Mesa and the quality shits over those two brands. 

Mesa are definitely overpriced in the UK. Compare their US prices and their UK prices, and then do the same for any other big US brand, eg Fender.

Yes, they're well-made and offer unmatched feature sets on many models, but that's not the point - it's just that they could easily be cheaper if they weren't overcharging here. It's even worse in Australia by all accounts.

Actually having checked some, they are in fact less overpriced compared to equivalent Fenders than they were, now that Fender have put their prices up - but they're still more heavily marked up.

nick79

I'm pretty sure that over the pond Marshall's cost a fair bit more than they do here, i think probably more than Mesa's do. Wish it was the other way round.. There does seem to be a huge mark up added on to Mesa's here though, i know the importer needs to make a buck and stuff but it does seem steep. 
Luckily for me i'm gassing now for a Tremoverb, so i've no choice but to buy used, and they seem good value at current prices. 

thomasross20

@Danny1969 what Mesa is it you've got? 
I always thought Mesa's never did a great crunch - always sounded more deep and saturated. Maybe I'm talking garbage.

Danny1969

thomasross20 said:

@Danny1969 what Mesa is it you've got? 
I always thought Mesa's never did a great crunch - always sounded more deep and saturated. Maybe I'm talking garbage.

Lol I don't own a Mesa mate, I don't spend any money on gear if I can help it ..... I wouldn't spend a grand on an amp when a £150 one will do the same job

ICBM

Danny1969 said:

I don't spend any money on gear if I can help it ..... I wouldn't spend a grand on an amp when a £150 one will do the same job

Spoken like a true working musician .

Most of the real working professional musos I know use mid-priced gear that just works, rather than anything posh and expensive. Reliability is king, versatility second, and 'tone' third at best.

thomasross20

Danny1969 said:

thomasross20 said:

@Danny1969 what Mesa is it you've got? 
I always thought Mesa's never did a great crunch - always sounded more deep and saturated. Maybe I'm talking garbage.

Lol I don't own a Mesa mate, I don't spend any money on gear if I can help it ..... I wouldn't spend a grand on an amp when a £150 one will do the same job

Oh, what about your quote at the end of page 1? I'm confused

Danny1969

thomasross20 said:

Danny1969 said:

thomasross20 said:

@Danny1969 what Mesa is it you've got? 
I always thought Mesa's never did a great crunch - always sounded more deep and saturated. Maybe I'm talking garbage.

Lol I don't own a Mesa mate, I don't spend any money on gear if I can help it ..... I wouldn't spend a grand on an amp when a £150 one will do the same job

Oh, what about your quote at the end of page 1? I'm confused

I said : Mesa quality is great but there's nothing wrong with the BS quality 

BS = Blackstar

thomasross20

D'oh, gotcha  

timmysoft

Danny1969 said:

Mesa quality is great but there's nothing wrong with the BS quality ... PCB is superb, so is the soldering. Pots and chassis are great. I've gigg'ed the fuck out of mine, 100 + gigs a year just chucked in the back of the van, no cover or case. Badge fell off but amp is rock solid. 

Not my experience at all. 3 out of 4 went down in one tour, bent chassis, dry joints and loose pots! Finished the tour on hiwatts, now that's saying something about reliability! 

ThePrettyDamned

I don't really follow the "valve amps are better than solid state, more expensive valve amps are better than cheaper ones" way of thinking. 

Just judge each amp on its own merits. Then come on here and find out how reliable you can expect your favourite ones to be. Ignore everything (literally) that everyone says about the sound, because you've already decided you like it. That puts you ahead of a lot of folk. 

And by that, I mean try it - don't look at it online or on YouTube.