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Mesa "Boogie" Fillmore series


JeffB

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10 minutes ago, tulk1 said:

Stripped down repackaged Lone Star?

Reading the owners manual

here : http://mesaboogie.com/media/User Manuals/fillmore50-WEB.pdf

I think a black face tweedy Marshall Mesa sort of thing. So yeah, from my perspective a Lonestar and a Electra Dyne mashed together with more emphasis on the vintag'y aspect that sells everyone wants. I could be just projecting my own wants and lusts there though.

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Look, its handsome, its got a Boggie badge on it. Im sold and I know nothing about it.

In 2months theyll get here and I will try it out, buy it and beat myself up over why I did that when I hardly even play anymore, join a band to justify the purchase, cry myself to sleep because I hate the music I play, try to write so I can justify playing in a cover band and all the while spend countless hours tweaking the two channels and three modes while strumming an open G chord and thinking its the best thing I ever bought. Then I will plug into my fender and wonder why I ever turned my back on it, rediscover jazz, take lessons, leave the band, sell the mesa and go camping and fishing. Then Mesa will bring out another amp. Ive been down this path before I know where its headed. Might pre order one tomorrow and just lock in the next two years.

 

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That must have come out like 10 minutes ago or something. Holy cow!

Well, initial reaction... if they were trying to make an amp which sounded like a Marshall when they came out with the Triple Crown, then it ought to be no surprise that they would also try to come out with an amp which sounds like a Fender amp. My local Mesa dealer (who is also a Marshall dealer) and I this weekend agreed that if you want to buy an amp that sounds like a Marshall, then buy a Marshall. So for me, that rules out the Mesa Triple Crown.

But as far as this new Fillmore amp goes, I suppose I will just have to settle for being branded a hypocrite because instead of buying a Fender amp (which sounds like a Fender) I bought instead a PRS Dallas which masterfully reproduces the Fender Blackface Deluxe Reverb thing but it is not made by Fender.  But in my own defense, PRS doesn't include the Dallas amp in their standard line anymore and Fender amps are butt ugly and I'd avoid buying one on that point alone. So, as much of a brand whore that I am to PRS and Mesa amplifiers, I don't expect I will be buying this new Fillmore if it is just a play for the Fender loyalists.

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18 hours ago, gpuma said:

Interesting choice about the "Boogie" badge. It was historically reserved for the Mark Series, if I am not mistaken

Per the writeup, this design was in the works before the MkI. They finally got a chance to make it I guess.

Interesting design. Two identical channels with full EQ and reverb. No overall master, though you don't really need one with an amp like this.

I wonder what price point they are going for.

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11 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said:

Per the writeup, this design was in the works before the MkI. They finally got a chance to make it I guess.

Interesting design. Two identical channels with full EQ and reverb. No overall master, though you don't really need one with an amp like this.

I wonder what price point they are going for.

$1499us for the head, $1699us for the combo

'bout $9773au

I also like that they put the reverb control on the front, thats worth 200 bucks.

More I read about it, price etc and that mesa discontinued the Express series Im starting to think its an Express replacement but more spendy. :icon_scratch:

 

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I'm just glad I already have a DC5 and 5:25 Express for portability.

For all practical purposes, my Champ II gets more jam time. With the WGS speaker upgrade, it's close to a Princeton/Deluxe Reverb hybrid.

For those who must, I say Boogie on!

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I love my little DC2 Boogie with the ext cab, it's a great amp setup capable of copping some cool tones for a light weight live gigging setup, and the tones range from semi-clean to ridiculous dirty when needed. But when it's time to record, I never use it, it just doesn't do the vintage tone thing that I like, and frankly, I've never heard ANY Boogie that does, and I've owned a fair share of them that they advertised as doing just that. I've never heard one that gets the type of Fender clean tone that my 1964 Deluxe Reverb does. They are about 90% there sometimes but to me there's always a little bit of congestion in the tone that keeps it from getting that Fender 3D clean. And when it comes to gainer Marshall tones the Boogies always seem to be too middy. And believe me I've spent plenty of time twisting Boogie knobs to find the elusive tones. But like JeffB I'm intrigued by the claims Mesa is making about this amp:)

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18 minutes ago, rockabilly69 said:

 And when it comes to gainer Marshall tones the Boogies always seem to be too middy. And believe me I've spent plenty of time twisting Boogie knobs to find the elusive tones.

And its always the wrong mids!! Its like Mesa go out of their way to not include the right mids or include a blanket of other mids you cant dial out while keeping the right mids.

But you stand back and listen to the amp while you are playing and its like, "oh, this sounds great! hope the drummer gets the bridge fill right"

 

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6 hours ago, JeffB said:

$1499us for the head, $1699us for the combo

'bout $9773au

I also like that they put the reverb control on the front, thats worth 200 bucks.

More I read about it, price etc and that mesa discontinued the Express series Im starting to think its an Express replacement but more spendy. :icon_scratch:

 

The two channels are identical, right? So I could see them easily putting out a 25 watt single channel version, or maybe one with a shared EQ. 50 Watts is a nice "safe" starting wattage. Then they can make smaller and bigger ones if it catches on.

I will say I have always been happy that mesa almost always has individual reverb controls on each channel. It really does help, even though on a DC-5 the reverb is almost non existent on the Lead channel, even if you crank it.  Lotta other amps just have one reverb control for everything, and often no way to turn it off.

Of course, I see that Mesa Boogie has once again decided that the channel select F/S should have a jack on the front, and the reverb on the back. So you need two cables if you want to be able to turn off the reverb on one channel.

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12 hours ago, JeffB said:

More I read about it, price etc and that mesa discontinued the Express series Im starting to think its an Express replacement but more spendy. :icon_scratch:

 

Naaaa, never seen this kind of marketing from them before 

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Curious to see how this will be.  I've had a ton of Mesa amps over the years.  Currently, I have a Tremoverb 2x12 combo and that will be staying for a while, mainly because out of hte Dual Rectifiers the Tremoverb is my favorite, and this one is the best sounding one I've had yet.  Plus it sounds massive in stereo alongside my Metroplex.  

But yeah, as a whole I generally like Mesa amps.  Would love to have another Mark IV some day.  

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there are vids online from sweetwaters and others now. Sounds good. I cant tell much from demos though, I always have to sit with something for a short while to get any real idea.

Mesa, PRS, HD and a some others have a very specific method of advertising. I find it very cringe worthy. I try not to let it influence me negatively when they release new products. If anything their literature is good for a bit of a laugh, even if it is a slightly sardonic laugh.

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Watched the sweetwater vid, and it's definitely a nice clean to classic rock amp,  at least from what I hear in their demos. Sweetwater is usually pretty good about the demos they put out.  I'm not sure why he mentioned "channel cloning" in the video though, as that isn't a feature this amp has. I mean, the two channels are identical, with identical modes. The "channel cloning" feature is one from some of the two channel rectifier series of amps, that allowed you to turn one channel into a clone of the other channel, so that you could get any of the four modes  on any channel, not just the channel they were originally assigned to.

I guess it's the same idea though. Modes are definitely nice, and really do give more versatility to amplifiers, moreso than bright switches and mid notch controls.

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14 hours ago, JeffB said:

heir literature is good for a bit of a laugh, even if it is a slightly sardonic laugh.

Got to get your laughs any way you can these days.

Yep - sounds like a Boogie.  Sounds good - but it sounds just like a Boogie.

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On 7/26/2018 at 12:17 PM, JeffB said:

And its always the wrong mids!! Its like Mesa go out of their way to not include the right mids or include a blanket of other mids you cant dial out while keeping the right mids.

But you stand back and listen to the amp while you are playing and its like, "oh, this sounds great! hope the drummer gets the bridge fill right"

 

yeah it's always the blanket of wrong mids:)

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Here is Mesa's official vid.

Sounds like a Mesa.  As much as I love Mesa, Im not feeling it.  I would rather the ED.

Theres a NOS ED I found for 1/3 less than the new Fillmore. Trying to figure out if I care enough to go and pick it up.

I played for a short while today through my own gear and its pretty good sounding stuff, a bit GAS stifling.

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