TGF’s Original White Meat: Badlander thread

I liked the 50W that I had but like all things Mesa, they usually don't stick around very long for me. Had I been able to switch between the modes on it via a foot switch, I probably would have kept it. They just give you enough with that amp but not enough.....
 
Ok…. GEQ in the loop already bigly cancelled :rofl

Spent a bunch more time with the ear down to the speaker and pretty much just ended up with the settings I had been at before lol.

Really I just need to get this amp back to the jam room stat and stop going insane over my settings at home on one of the simplest mesas ever :LOL:
 
It sounds even less like a recto though too imo… I actually have no idea what to compare it to. Definitely a very unique sounding amp. Lots of people say Marshall, I’m willing to believe it, my Marshall experience is fairly limited outside of JVM and a dsl401 that exploded in less than an hour
Over on the Boogie Board there was a thread last year about this. I can’t verify, but someone took the design apart and described it as a Mark preamp section into a Marshall-style power amp.

For me it was very similar to my EVH 5150 III and it caused me to play the EVH quite a bit less. The EVH had substantially more gain, but the Badlander felt better and had a better overall sound. Plus I could swap 6L6s for EL34s without having to bias or buy an entire second amp. The Badlander can work in a recto-ish fashion when boosted and on the Crush channel, but I prefer a true Dual Rectifier for those types of sounds.

I see no similarity between the Badlander and the VII mode on the VII. The VII mode is my least favorite mode right now on the Mark VII. It’s good boosted, but why bother when I have so many other great modes to use?
 
If I were to have it modded; I would have the sort of surgical eq it seems to have baked in up front removed and maybe add another gain stage so crush mode name fit. That's nitpicking and perfect world stuff though. I like it better than the Stealth but obviously; I don't have one currently.
I agree with this 100%.
 
Over on the Boogie Board there was a thread last year about this. I can’t verify, but someone took the design apart and described it as a Mark preamp section into a Marshall-style power amp.

For me it was very similar to my EVH 5150 III and it caused me to play the EVH quite a bit less. The EVH had substantially more gain, but the Badlander felt better and had a better overall sound. Plus I could swap 6L6s for EL34s without having to bias or buy an entire second amp. The Badlander can work in a recto-ish fashion when boosted and on the Crush channel, but I prefer a true Dual Rectifier for those types of sounds.

I see no similarity between the Badlander and the VII mode on the VII. The VII mode is my least favorite mode right now on the Mark VII. It’s good boosted, but why bother when I have so many other great modes to use?


Interesting, I have a 50 watt 6l6 5153 too but It doesn't strike me as all that similar to my badlander. Obviously a lot more gain available on the evh like you mentioned, but I also feel like the mid focus is fairly different
 
Would you just buy a Dual Rectifier already :ROFLMAO:


I do want to bring a Roadster back into the equation at some point, I loved that amp. but I also had other nitpicky things for my weird hyperspecific looping needs with that one too:LOL:

On the BL I feel like I'd be able to maximize my clean tones a bit more with an overall master, because as it stands now I'm required to have both channel masters in the exact same position at all times

But I think I have it sorted... maybe lol. It's coming to band practice tonight, I've only used it with the band one other time so far
 
So second time using the badlander with the band tonight. Performed excellently! Last time I was using it with the thiele and I’m not really sure I like the BL with the EVM. I felt like the c90 widebody sounded better with this amp and miced up easier too.

I guess I’m pretty much over the complaints I had about the post fx loop master volumes. Honestly balanced just fine with matching volumes with the settings I had dialed. Also for whatever reason, I feel like the cleans sound more clear and less gritty with more power/volume behind them… lower volumes at home I swear it sounds more broken up on the cleans. I actually noticed this on my old roadster too, but that was more at -super- low volumes

After accepting that for high gain sounds I need to not judge what the knobs look like, even if the settings might resemble what a a 14 year old just discovering insane mode on a spider III might dial in :LOL:

Crush mode absolutely crushing and this amp sits in a mix incredibly well. That might be another part of the “problems” I’ve had… I feel like wherever the mid focus of the amp sits is definitely made more to play well with others than by itself lol. Did a long chug and doom jam in one of our songs tonight and it was just punishing for that. I know many feel like this amp doesn’t have enough gain on I it’s for the heavies but I didn’t even think to try boosting. Gain on 10 in crush mode at band volumes seemed to performed fine lol

Brought my III back home and think the BL is going to have a tenure for at least a few weeks at my drummers
 
So second time using the badlander with the band tonight. Performed excellently! Last time I was using it with the thiele and I’m not really sure I like the BL with the EVM. I felt like the c90 widebody sounded better with this amp and miced up easier too.

I guess I’m pretty much over the complaints I had about the post fx loop master volumes. Honestly balanced just fine with matching volumes with the settings I had dialed. Also for whatever reason, I feel like the cleans sound more clear and less gritty with more power/volume behind them… lower volumes at home I swear it sounds more broken up on the cleans. I actually noticed this on my old roadster too, but that was more at -super- low volumes

After accepting that for high gain sounds I need to not judge what the knobs look like, even if the settings might resemble what a a 14 year old just discovering insane mode on a spider III might dial in :LOL:

Crush mode absolutely crushing and this amp sits in a mix incredibly well. That might be another part of the “problems” I’ve had… I feel like wherever the mid focus of the amp sits is definitely made more to play well with others than by itself lol. Did a long chug and doom jam in one of our songs tonight and it was just punishing for that. I know many feel like this amp doesn’t have enough gain on I it’s for the heavies but I didn’t even think to try boosting. Gain on 10 in crush mode at band volumes seemed to performed fine lol

Brought my III back home and think the BL is going to have a tenure for at least a few weeks at my drummers
The amp has more gain it feels like as you crank it \m/
 
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