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Recommendations-Mesa

RussTbirD

Guest
Aug 29, 2014
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Recently started searching for a new head/cab setup. What is the best bang for your buck in terms of Mesa heads. Not looking to break the bank here, or go deaf. A decent setup that's easy to move and good for large clubs.
 
Are you wanting to buy new or used gear? When you say break the bank what kind of money are we talking spending for the amp and cab? My idea of money for an idea to spend on an amp and cab may be way different than yours.
 
There are no cheap/budget new Mesa amps. As far as which ones would work best, it's a matter of tonal preferences- M-Pulse line for thick/warm, Carbine line for more punchy/aggressive/modern/bright, Prodigy or Strategy for all-tube mix of both voices. They also are not known for light cabinets, though the larger ones are easy to move by rolling. The single 15" cabs are also easy to move around.

If you don't need a ton of clean output, the Mesa Walkabout is one of my favorite all-time heads and can be found in the $500 range used sometimes. You can also look for a Mesa Scout 15" combo that'll give you decent volume and the head is removable to use with more/other cabs.
 
To not go deaf you must use hearing protection.

Best value is relative.

There is a D180 in the classifieds for $725, that is a total bargain. Not overly heavy for a grunty all tube head, has a master volume that gets power distortion at lower volume. Transformer DI
 
Any Mesa rig is great IMO. All of the heads rock super hard and same with the cabs. Cabs are all basically back breakers aside from the PH 112 and PH 212.

I've ocassionally seen M-Pulse 600's go for pretty cheap as far as Mesa heads go ($450-600). I owned one for a while and really liked it. Sweet vintage-style voice, tons of low end booty, crazy parametric controls, badass onboard compressor (which I believe is footswitchable). The compressor was probably my favorite part.
 
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