The-Kid
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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
Randall Smith Gone From Mesa Boogie/Gibson?
- Thread starter TSJMajesty
- Start date
And I like 12-16 compound radius or flatter stuff like on a LP too.......
Can't we all just get along
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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
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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?
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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
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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
Rock Star
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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.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?
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
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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
Rock Star
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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.
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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.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.
It seems that he could limit the effects of added options with circuit design.
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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
Goatlord
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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
Rock Star
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It's not like you can't design a tube stage to be pretty much "hifi" where it doesn't alter the signal.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.
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Desertdweller
Shredder
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I don’t notice any issues like this on mine.
MirrorProfiles
Rock Star
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Some interesting comments from RS in his youtube comments recently….
EOengineer
Rock Star
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Didn’t realize he was still active with these additional videos. I’d seen the first dozen or so and enjoyed them.
I’m seeing confirmation from him that Gibson basically deceived them, said they wouldn’t interfere with operations and apparently that was a lie. Seeing he’s also discussed getting back into boutique building but doesn’t want to deal with sourcing and supply chain stuff.
What a sad situation. The dude really is the heart of the brand and clearly feels wronged.
KingsXJJ
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Companies don’t write checks because they’re nice. It’s too bad he didn’t know better. I’m not saying it’s his fault. At worst, I’m saying it was naive. A trait plenty of visionaries have that is taken advantage of unfortunately.
And before anybody accuses me of being a dick, I used to be just like RS. Until an almost Amazon level company bought the 60 year old company that I had poured my heart in to for over 20 years. Checks were written and the company promptly ruined. Cyndi Lauper had one thing right… Money changes Everything.
Mikael Dez
Shredder
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If I built something like Mesa, poured my whole life into it, I’d want to sell it before I died so that I at least had some sort of control over that. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his thought in the first place “where will Mesa go when I’m gone” and somehow or another Gibson had the right offer and made him feel good about it. Hindsight is 20/20 but I doubt he was naive, probably hopeful. All speculation on my part though.
deadpool_25
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Those videos are pretty interesting.
EOengineer
Rock Star
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To his credit, Randall doesn’t seem to be wallowing in it. He speaks of it like it’s something he accepts and has learned from, but just acknowledges that it’s also unfortunate. I doubt he’d make that mistake twice.
deathbyguitar
Roadie
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- 263
Yeah he seems to be getting great joy from reading and responding to people's comments and seeing what him and his work really means to people. That's a silver lining if I ever saw one. Also he's most likely still rich as hell and knows that things could have been infinitely worse.
