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British vs. American
- Thread starter EdHunter
- Start date
Dude, my main gigging amp as a working guitarist for over 10 years was a '70 Super Lead - there's not alot you can tell me about them, to be honest... You can cop a Marshall tone out of a Mesa head, but a Mesa head can do so much more than that - and Mesa's guitar cabs are of FAR higher quality than Marshall's...
Regarding Lemmy - have you ever listened to him??? - my statement is pretty accurate... No disrespect intended, but there isn't alot of actual bass in Lemmy's bass playing...
Lastly, you would NEED 4 15s of Marshall amplification to compete with my Mesa 810 rig, and even then it wouldn't be much of a mismatch... A Marshall 810 against my Mesa 810 - absolutely no contest whatsoever... Granted, those are a couple of nice heads you mentioned - but by and large, Marshall's offerings for bass are extremely lame - especially when compared to Mesa's... Frankly, I'm amazed than anyone could think otherwise...
Part of my posts on this thread are somewhat "tongue in cheek", but I haven't posted anything I haven't directly experienced, FWIW...
- georgestrings
Fair enough. I haven't personally used a mesa head for guitar, but every time I have heard one being used it's always been as some metal-y, ridiculous post-80s sound, I have yet to hear one dialed in to cop a Marshall sound. Agreed that the Current-production Marshall cabs are nothing to write home about, but I will say that the old ones, the 60s & 70s ones, were excellent, but I have not AB'd them directly with a Mesa Cab.
I won't get into it about Lemmy. To each his own on this one.
The point I was getting at hear is this isn't a thread about volume, but rather a person prefers British amps or American amps. So disregarding the volume differences between the two, I prefer the Marshalls and Hiwatts, for tone and their other characteristics. If you prefer Mesa for its tone, fair enough, I just don't think we should be basing it on how loud one is compared to the other. However, about the Marshall 810, do you mean the Marshall Model 2034 8x10 that they made in the 60s and 70s, or the current VBA 8x10. Because the old ones were guitar cabs, so of course they can't compete, but the newer one I'd bet could hold against the Mesa. I've used it and was quite astounded by the volume it could put out.
I won't get into it about Lemmy. To each his own on this one.
The point I was getting at hear is this isn't a thread about volume, but rather a person prefers British amps or American amps. So disregarding the volume differences between the two, I prefer the Marshalls and Hiwatts, for tone and their other characteristics. If you prefer Mesa for its tone, fair enough, I just don't think we should be basing it on how loud one is compared to the other. However, about the Marshall 810, do you mean the Marshall Model 2034 8x10 that they made in the 60s and 70s, or the current VBA 8x10. Because the old ones were guitar cabs, so of course they can't compete, but the newer one I'd bet could hold against the Mesa. I've used it and was quite astounded by the volume it could put out.
I feel left out.... 
What about New Zealand? Jansen, Gunn, Holden, Alron, Concord, Commodore, Weta......
Speaking of English amps, no-one has mentioned H&H.
What about New Zealand? Jansen, Gunn, Holden, Alron, Concord, Commodore, Weta......
Speaking of English amps, no-one has mentioned H&H.
- May 9, 2008
- 4,081
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- Disclosures
- Proprietor Springvale Studios
I know a bass player from your way called Chris Williamson who had an old WASP running 4 KT88's it was a stonking good sounding valve amp.I feel left out....
What about New Zealand? Jansen, Gunn, Holden, Alron, Concord, Commodore, Weta......
Speaking of English amps, no-one has mentioned H&H.
HH was Class for Tranny stuff ever so well made and rugged.
I came through the Jansen, Gunn , Holden era and at various times owned all of them - I would have to say that they never came close to the sound of my first SVT in the seventies, or the Orange head I owned around that time too. The Holden had the grunt but not the punch. Mind you, in this days I was running into two home made JBL E140 cabs which probably did not help. It is not fair to compare them with current models - I sit on three fences at the moment: British (Orange AD200), American (SVT VR) and Italian (Markbass). Wish I had the same choices back in the day. I haven't voted, can't possibly pick between the Orange and SVT - a good tube head is a good tube head in my book, and the simpler the better too.
I voted British. I play a boutique clone of a 1968 Marshall. It's the best fit I've found for what I do and the volume I do it at.
I voted British as I use an Ashdown ABM 500 for my head.
I used to use an ABM 4x10 until I picked up an Aguilar DB112 which handles the smaller gigs VERY well.
That said, I wouldn't mind getting an Orange rig... or an Aguilar rig... or a Mesa rig... etc, etc....
I used to use an ABM 4x10 until I picked up an Aguilar DB112 which handles the smaller gigs VERY well.
That said, I wouldn't mind getting an Orange rig... or an Aguilar rig... or a Mesa rig... etc, etc....
For me, it wasn't about volume until another Marshall fan brought it up, to be honest... and while I'm being honest, I find the position that "well, the old Marshalls were great" to be standing on pretty shaky ground... After all, Mesa has always put out top quality gear...
Anyways, the thread topic was actually:
"Britain's output has the potential to match (and surpass... ) the Stateside offerings."
...which is pretty laughable, given the many outstanding bass amp companies the US has to offer... Sorry, dude - USA wins again, as the poll numbers indicate...
FWIW, it doesn't matter to me what other people prefer - to each their own - but you're kinda moving the goal posts from the OP's thread topic...
- georgestrings
I guess maybe we read the OP differently. I guess I was talking about the qualities of the amps, regarding tone, not the amount of companies one has compared to the other....
Marshall's made the Superbass, the Major and the VBA400, among other things. Though I prefer my Mesa D-180, those amps are certainly not lame.
Also, for guitar I really prefer Marshall to Mesa. Also, Mesa's guitar cabs are too big. Their current offerings for bass are good, but honestly none would be my first, second, or even third choice.
Talk about getting your patriotic knickers in a twist
Considering the population of TB is primarily American, and a large slab of that won't have had a huge amount of playing time on British built amps, the poll is hardly a defining one
This poll is about patriotism and nothing more. If the poll were about where your current gear is manufactured, China would be higher up than the USA.
Keep in mind that arguably 98% of the TB population is US based. What would you expect the results to indicate?
To suggest a piece of equipment is better because it's built in a particular country is ignorant.
Keep in mind that arguably 98% of the TB population is US based. What would you expect the results to indicate?
To suggest a piece of equipment is better because it's built in a particular country is ignorant.
You're right - those 3 amps aren't lame by any means, but that's literally all Marshall has to offer for good bass amps, whereas Mesa has couple times that many models that are great bass amps...Also, have you ever seen a Marshall guitar cab and Mesa guitar cab side by side??? A 1960 type is almost exactly the same size as a Stiletto or Rec cab - so, I don't knwo where you're getting that from... In fact, there are a couple of each in my band's rehearsal space right now...
- georgestrings
Talk about getting your patriotic knickers in a twist
Considering the population of TB is primarily American, and a large slab of that won't have had a huge amount of playing time on British built amps, the poll is hardly a defining one
Not in a twist at all, bud - to an extent, I'm just playing, but also going along with the actual topic that started the thread...
- georgestrings
