tbonesullivan 83 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 This was hanging around the Cherry Hill Sam Ash. Apparently long enough for the price to drop from $1495 to $995. Originally the plan was to trade in my Marshall TSL122, but that plan went up in smoke, almost literally. Changed the tubes on that, checked the bias, and 3 days later it red plated on me. So anyway, got to try out this bad boy, and it was love at first AC/DC riff. Like the beginning of Shoot to Thrill. Just that magical crunch and then fade into a harmonic. THAT is the sound I need from an amp. ANY amp. I need an organic overdrive that isn't just in your face gain. This one looks to have come with a factory mix of the Vintage 30 and Mesa Black Shadow Custom 90. It is a really nice combo honestly. Almost makes me want to take my Maverick 2x12 and Tremoverb 2x12 and swap some speakers, but I'm on the fence. For this combo, it rocks. It's a really nice setup, and just a great sound. The per -channel power soak really lets you dial in some raunchy sounds, even on the clean channel. REverb is great, 50/100 watts. etc. Only issue is some tears in the vinyl, which will be glued, and some rust on the transformers. Mesa used bright steel trannies on these, not the usual black oxide coating, so they've got a bit of that going on. I've got some Mar-Hyde on the way to help keep that from ever spreading. I haven't gotten a chance to look at the tubes in it, but I would guess the stock Mesa tubes. It has the footswitch, and there is a pouch inside the cabinet, but for the life of me there is no way to get it in there easily. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
tulk1 150 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Really dig the Mesa Atlantics. Used this guys baby brother (TA15) for years!! Like the mix of the speakers you got in this one, too. Nice score. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
tbonesullivan 83 Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 1 minute ago, tulk1 said: Really dig the Mesa Atlantics. Used this guys baby brother (TA15) for years!! Like the mix of the speakers you got in this one, too. Nice score. I love that I can get a great KRRAAANNNG out of it without exploding the neighborhood. Now I've gotta have a shootout with my Stiletto Combo. Link to post Share on other sites
JeffB 290 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Nice! An Authentic pre Gibbons Mesa. Cool amp, enjoy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
tbonesullivan 83 Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, JeffB said: Nice! An Authentic pre Gibbons Mesa. Cool amp, enjoy. HAH! That joke is still great. Time will tell whether it stays a joke or not. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
kennyv4 60 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Congratulations on a nice amp purchase, enjoy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Gitfiddler 645 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Great amp!! Enjoy that bad boy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
rockabilly69 468 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 That looks like a proper noise maker:) I really like the Black Shadow speakers! Nice score. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ElNumero 89 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Did you ever receive that Mark V that you ordered from Sweetwater back in November? Link to post Share on other sites
tbonesullivan 83 Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 8 hours ago, rockabilly69 said: That looks like a proper noise maker:) I really like the Black Shadow speakers! Nice score. I REALLY like the mix of the Black Shadow and the Vintage 30. They complement eachother nicely, and it keeps it from getting to high mid heavy. I am in general a BIG fan of the Black Shadow C90s. I have them in my DC-5 Combo and my Maverick. With the Vin30 it keeps it from getting too boomy. 10 minutes ago, ElNumero said: Did you ever receive that Mark V that you ordered from Sweetwater back in November? Still on order. Probably going to arrive in late February or March. My Sweetwater Rep has been on top of it. Though at this rate I'll get the Flying V before the Mark V. I've also still got a few guitars to sell off. Link to post Share on other sites
rockabilly69 468 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 5 hours ago, tbonesullivan said: I REALLY like the mix of the Black Shadow and the Vintage 30. They complement eachother nicely, and it keeps it from getting to high mid heavy. I am in general a BIG fan of the Black Shadow C90s. I have them in my DC-5 Combo and my Maverick. With the Vin30 it keeps it from getting too boomy. My favorite club for many years was Studio Caliber 22+ with a Black Shadow. I lived on the clean channel of the amp and I loved the Black Shadow in it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
y2kc 80 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I use that speaker combo in a 2-12 bottom. It is awesome. Your amp is a killer for sure. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
tbonesullivan 83 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 (edited) 16 hours ago, y2kc said: I use that speaker combo in a 2-12 bottom. It is awesome. Your amp is a killer for sure. Man this is really tempting me. My Tremoverb combo has two Vintage 30s. My Maverick has two Black Shadow C90s. I'll have to patch both in to the RA speakers to see what it sounds like. In the end, the giant PITA swapping speakers in a combo would be will probably prevent anything from happening. Edited January 14 by tbonesullivan Link to post Share on other sites
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