Jump to content
Heritage Owners Club

Mesa Transatlantic 15 head.


Recommended Posts

Has anyone here owned or played one of these?

 

I'm looking at getting another small wattage amp to replace my Rivera Chubster 40 combo. (which I'll be selling soon) I've watched the demos and this amp seems promising. Only downfall I see right now is it doesnt have reverb or an effects send-return.

 

Opinions?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I owned one! It was a nice amp. Pretty loud! It's actually 25 watts, not 15.

 

I ended up switching it out for an Orange Dual Terror, because I wanted just a little more gain available on hand. The dual terror also does not have reverb or an effects-loop. If you use pedals for dirt or even a tubescreamer you'll probably be fine though.

 

I'm not sure I should've made the swap and am normally more of a mesa guy.

 

I bought and sold mine for about $500. I actually bought it from a professional musician who used it for recording, but would also play some massive stages and just mic-it.

 

Definitely check it out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I owned one! It was a nice amp. Pretty loud! It's actually 25 watts, not 15.

 

I ended up switching it out for an Orange Dual Terror, because I wanted just a little more gain available on hand. The dual terror also does not have reverb or an effects-loop. If you use pedals for dirt or even a tubescreamer you'll probably be fine though.

 

I'm not sure I should've made the swap and am normally more of a mesa guy.

 

I bought and sold mine for about $500. I actually bought it from a professional musician who used it for recording, but would also play some massive stages and just mic-it.

 

Definitely check it out!

Sounded to me like the amp already had enough gain for anything that I would need. Also it seems a lot more versatile then my Ibanez TS-15. I love my Riveras but the Chubster just isnt getting used. Plus I have other Riveras that cover the same ground. I've never been a Mesa guy but this one caught my attention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeppers! The TA15 has been my gigging amp for 5 - 6 years. Never bothered me that it doesn't have on-board 'verb or fx loop. It has power amp settings for 5/15/25 on all channels. 5w is almost too low and overdrivey, the 25w is had to tell from the 15w, except I think it's not quite as expressive, less sag or something. Left side of the amp = "Vox", even has a push for the Vox Top Boost and does an amazing job sounding like one. I have an AC30 in my practice room, the TA15 can nail the tone. Right side has a decent "Tweed" setting. The other two bits on that side are for the Recto and Dual Rec. They are ... okay. But I spend 99.999999+++% of the time on the AC15 Top Boost side. Love it!! And it's light weight - 10lbs maybe? Probably less. Oh, and vol has never been an issue. I play it on about 10:00 - 10:30 and never had issues keeping up with the band.

 

Can't say how it'd compare to the Chubster. That's supposed to be a dandy amp in itself. But The TA will certainly be lighter and easier to carry around. Even with an x-cab underneath it. And like most Mesa's, it's built for the road.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeppers! The TA15 has been my gigging amp for 5 - 6 years. Never bothered me that it doesn't have on-board 'verb or fx loop. It has power amp settings for 5/15/25 on all channels. 5w is almost too low and overdrivey, the 25w is had to tell from the 15w, except I think it's not quite as expressive, less sag or something. Left side of the amp = "Vox", even has a push for the Vox Top Boost and does an amazing job sounding like one. I have an AC30 in my practice room, the TA15 can nail the tone. Right side has a decent "Tweed" setting. The other two bits on that side are for the Recto and Dual Rec. They are ... okay. But I spend 99.999999+++% of the time on the AC15 Top Boost side. Love it!! And it's light weight - 10lbs maybe? Probably less. Oh, and vol has never been an issue. I play it on about 10:00 - 10:30 and never had issues keeping up with the band.

 

Can't say how it'd compare to the Chubster. That's supposed to be a dandy amp in itself. But The TA will certainly be lighter and easier to carry around. Even with an x-cab underneath it. And like most Mesa's, it's built for the road.

 

This is well said! The amp is super sturdy and super portable! It can't be beat in that regard.

 

I did like the tweed and vox settings a bunch with some light overdrive. I think part of the reason I moved on is I'm generally not a vox guy and the "MESA" option wasn't close enough to emulate my Recto-verb. Generally, a great little amp though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you

 

Yeppers! The TA15 has been my gigging amp for 5 - 6 years. Never bothered me that it doesn't have on-board 'verb or fx loop. It has power amp settings for 5/15/25 on all channels. 5w is almost too low and overdrivey, the 25w is had to tell from the 15w, except I think it's not quite as expressive, less sag or something. Left side of the amp = "Vox", even has a push for the Vox Top Boost and does an amazing job sounding like one. I have an AC30 in my practice room, the TA15 can nail the tone. Right side has a decent "Tweed" setting. The other two bits on that side are for the Recto and Dual Rec. They are ... okay. But I spend 99.999999+++% of the time on the AC15 Top Boost side. Love it!! And it's light weight - 10lbs maybe? Probably less. Oh, and vol has never been an issue. I play it on about 10:00 - 10:30 and never had issues keeping up with the band.

 

Can't say how it'd compare to the Chubster. That's supposed to be a dandy amp in itself. But The TA will certainly be lighter and easier to carry around. Even with an x-cab underneath it. And like most Mesa's, it's built for the road.

 

Have you had a problem with a loud pop while switching channels? I've read that a few times in online reviews.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you

 

 

Have you had a problem with a loud pop while switching channels? I've read that a few times in online reviews.

I haven't. But the only time I really switched channels live was with the acoustic stuff (mando, fiddle, banjo) plugged into the Tweed side. I don't however, recall a pop. I do know that true bypass devices can build up a load on the switch (or is it the innards?) and can produce a distinct and very audible pop when turning on/off. Not sure that applies to the channel switching, tho'. :dontknow:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check out Son of Yeti or OTS Mini from Ceriatone. Best iron and board stuffing of all the lunchboxes available, fully built combo or head. They have a simple serial effects loop and also produce a solid state fx loop buffer than can be installed. The OTS mini is the one for the jazz fusion Dumble-y tones, Fender-ish cleans and distortion that can either sing like an angel or peel paint. The Son of Yeti is the culmination of the coolest sounding and recognized mods for Marshall amps in the preamp. These two amps of theirs have their own cult followings of very happy customers who know what the Orange Terrors and Mesa minis are and sound like and instead chose and are gigging with their Ceriatones for their relatively simple, intuitive feature sets and out of this world tones.

 

Recently, Ceriatone also came out with a very tight copy clone of a particular sample of a Klon Centaur. It is being very favorably reviewed in a/b comparisons with the originals. Not all of the original Klons have the exact same guts inside...Not all Ceriatone clones have the same graphics on the outside. They also can be ordered with a blank graphic. Recently, They did a run of 500 with a Dickbutt graphic on the top in place of the original mascot. It completely sold out in 2 weeks as instantly collectible. Ceriatone has garnered a large following for good reason. They have a huge amp product line of classic favorite circuits delivering tone, built by hand by a small group of very enthusiastic builders from a part of the world with low living costs. They are a value at more than their chosen prices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Have you

 

 

Have you had a problem with a loud pop while switching channels? I've read that a few times in online reviews.

I have a Mesa express and it does not pop when switching channels, but does pop when changing wattages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Well I finally sold enough stuff to afford this Amp. All I can say is wow, where have you been all my life! The tones you can dial in with this are amazing. I'm digging the Vox side and dialed in a good Marshall tone on the other. I've mostly had it on the 5 Watt setting. For the music room thats more then enough. I did try it on the 15 and 25 Watt settings. THat will give me enough power to play almost any gig with it. I guess I'll find out at my gig on Friday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm running it with a 1x12 Avatar cab (closed back) with a Celestion G-12 ? ( cant remember what model)

I have a 2x12 cab that I can use with it also same speakers.

 

I've been using it on the 5 watt setting. I know things change with the different wattage and the way they utilize the tubes. Cant wait to spend some more time with it. (tonight!!)

 

I'm amazed that they can fit all of what this amp can do into such a small size.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DuhVoodooman had one, may still own it.

 

Well, better late than never, I guess....

 

Yes, I did indeed have one for awhile. I pretty much agree with all the positive things said about the Transatlantic 15 in this thread--a fine sounding amp, well built and tonally very flexible. But ultimately, the lack of an effects loop and no on-board reverb became too big of a limitation for me. The problem is (1) I like to use the higher gain ranges form time to time, and (2) I also like some reverb to add space to the sound. While I have a couple of excellent sounding reverb pedals, without an effects loop to run them through, that's a bad combination. The preamp gain tends to make a real sonic mess of the reverb, even at modest depth levels. So I sold the Transatlantic and bought a Mesa Express 5:25 combo (used, excellent condition) and had that for almost 4 years. No complaints, a fine sounding amp, also very flexible, and it had the reverb and effects loop I wanted.

 

But then Mesa came out with the Mark Five 25 head, and the Express and a couple of other things were quickly sold to pay for that. AMAZING little amp. Even more flexible than the Express or Transatlantic, with the ability to go from gorgeous Fender-y cleans to face-melting Mesa uber-gain. Check out THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO with John Petrucci if you have the time and the inclination. And it also has an XLR/DI output, so I can run it through our church's PA system when our praise band plays.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The lack of a effects loop is kind of a bummer. I also like reverb and have TC electronics pedal that I use. At high gain setting it does get ugly but I've been using the reverb very sparingly so I can still get a good sound out of it even on the gain channels.

 

I'm curious to see what this will sound like at gig volume... I'll find out Friday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The lack of a effects loop is kind of a bummer. I also like reverb and have TC electronics pedal that I use. At high gain setting it does get ugly but I've been using the reverb very sparingly so I can still get a good sound out of it even on the gain channels.

 

I'm curious to see what this will sound like at gig volume... I'll find out Friday!

 

I think you need a Jet City 20HV. Effects loop, lots of bottom end... muahahaha!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I currently have 5 amps with an effects loop. I think I'll get by... lol ;)

 

I rarely use them. But the rest of my amps have reverb.

 

BTW I'm selling my Ibanez TS-15 and my Rivera Chubster...

 

Dont have it posted here, trying to keep it local..

 

Did I mention how awesome the prospect and the Trans Atlantic sound?.... (tone to die for)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...