Randall Smith Gone From Mesa Boogie/Gibson?

[The-Kid]

I don’t trust anyone who likes a 7 1/2” radius.

I like them....... but I raise the action and stuff but not too much......



And I like 12-16 compound radius or flatter stuff like on a LP too.......




Can't we all just get along

 

[la szum]

Not opinionated either which way on this as I find my Mesa Mark III just as toneful as my 5e3 or 1959 head, but I think there’s a notion amongst some that tonal purity requires the shortest possible signal path, highest quality transformers, and that flexibility is the enemy of purity.

Same. I just don't bother comparing a 60s Bassman to a 90s or 2010s Mesa Mark.

Different species of a similar genus. No need to collapse differences into some kind
of artificial absolute as we humans are so want to do, it seems.

 

[TubeStack]

The irony is that Randall seemed to kind of agree with that notion when designing the Mark VII.
Pretty sure he is on record as saying it was a discovery for him and preserving a cleaner signal
path resulted in what, to him, was a superior tone.

Not agreeing or disagreeing. Just saying.

In the interview I read, he said getting rid of the solo and global output section made the VII more immediate/raw/punchy, or something along those lines. (Or maybe it was Doug, can't remember.) Could be PRS-style spin, who knows. :) But I'd say the VII does have a more raw, old-school feel and punch to it?

 

[la szum]

In the interview I read, he said getting rid of the solo and global output section made the VII more immediate/raw/punchy, or something along those lines. (Or maybe it was Doug, can't remember.) Could be PRS-style spin, who knows. :) But I'd say the VII does have a more raw, old-school feel and punch to it?

I don't doubt it, TS. He doesn't seem like a spin artist (like you know who!), and I doubt anyone
on the Planet knows the Mark similarities and differences better than Randall.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I’ll take a VII over a IIC+ RI any day. Differences are splitting hairs, and what you’re giving up for the same fucking price is nuts. I’ve ABX’d both and ran analysis scans, and I can’t tell a huge difference.

 

[laxu]

In the interview I read, he said getting rid of the solo and global output section made the VII more immediate/raw/punchy, or something along those lines. (Or maybe it was Doug, can't remember.) Could be PRS-style spin, who knows. :) But I'd say the VII does have a more raw, old-school feel and punch to it?

Which just means that the issue is more with their circuit design. There are tons of amps out there with switchable fx loops where turning the loop off doesn't really do anything to the tone.

You can tell on the Mark V that turning the fx loop on does do something, but it's hard to compare when there's a volume difference.

 

[EOengineer]

Which just means that the issue is more with their circuit design. There are tons of amps out there with switchable fx loops where turning the loop off doesn't really do anything to the tone.

You can tell on the Mark V that turning the fx loop on does do something, but it's hard to compare when there's a volume difference.

TBH I don’t think I’ve loved any Mesa FX loop design. The one on my III seems lossy to me but I rarely use it. The recto parallel loops also weren’t great.

On the flip side my Ceriatone 2204 has the bypassable buffered loop and it’s the best loop I’ve ever used. Even with long cable runs I can’t hear it impacting anything.

 

[laxu]

TBH I don’t think I’ve loved any Mesa FX loop design. The one on my III seems lossy to me but I rarely use it. The recto parallel loops also weren’t great.

On the flip side my Ceriatone 2204 has the bypassable buffered loop and it’s the best loop I’ve ever used. Even with long cable runs I can’t hear it impacting anything.

Yeah by comparison the fx loop in my BluGuitar never gives me any grief, neither did the Victory VC35's. The Bogner Goldfinger's loop did require matching levels but once you do that it also worked without issue.

At least the Mark V is a straightforward serial loop. With my Strymon Flint V2 and El Cap V2 it seems to work without any issues.

 

[Deadpan]

The irony is that Randall seemed to kind of agree with that notion when designing the Mark VII.
Pretty sure he is on record as saying it was a discovery for him and preserving a cleaner signal
path resulted in what, to him, was a superior tone.

Not agreeing or disagreeing. Just saying.

In one of Randall's videos he says it is interesting how the circuit on one side of the board effects the other. He takes this into account when designing the amps.

It seems that he could limit the effects of added options with circuit design.

 

[la szum]

Which just means that the issue is more with their circuit design. There are tons of amps out there with switchable fx loops where turning the loop off doesn't really do anything to the tone.

You can tell on the Mark V that turning the fx loop on does do something, but it's hard to compare when there's a volume difference.

Aren't a lot/most of Mesa FX Loops Tube Driven? That makes a difference. Not sure
you can use a Tube stage and not have some kind of change in tone. TA-30 does the same
for me when engaging/disengaging the Loop.

I don't mind a slight change. Either leave it on all the time, or use it to our advantage by
engaging/disengaging as a boost, or bringing in some delay for a section or solo.

 

[JiveTurkey]

The loops are good. My only real "beef" with them was the level differences there seemed to be between channels/modes. At least on the VII.

 

[laxu]

Aren't a lot/most of Mesa FX Loops Tube Driven? That makes a difference. Not sure
you can use a Tube stage and not have some kind of change in tone. TA-30 does the same
for me when engaging/disengaging the Loop.

I don't mind a slight change. Either leave it on all the time, or use it to our advantage by
engaging/disengaging as a boost, or bringing in some delay for a section or solo.

It's not like you can't design a tube stage to be pretty much "hifi" where it doesn't alter the signal.

 

[Desertdweller]

The loops are good. My only real "beef" with them was the level differences there seemed to be between channels/modes. At least on the VII.

I don’t notice any issues like this on mine.