If I remember correctly this is wrong. Fender did try to save SWR but it was probably too late when they acquired them.
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What happened to Mesa Boogie cabinets?
- Thread starter Thir13teen
- Start date
Mesa is too valuable of a brand to screw up.
The biggest threat would be any attempt to pull a Marshall and just slap the name anywhere and everywhere.
I was a slave to the big and bold equipment of my era. Not because of size but because of sound I was trying for. I also had Peavey gear, two 1820s and two racks of power amps and processing gear for a bi-amp system. My bi-amp system became smaller, down to a Carvin BX 1500 and an Eden CX 110 and an Aguilar GS 112. All trying to get the full-range sound I’m now getting from my WD 800 (not necessarily a sound I was originally going for but enjoy very much) and a SW 115. Its full range sound is what I was chasing only in a very compact formate that a grandpa can maneuver.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,056
- 5
- 221,034
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Yes, this is correct. Fender invested a lot of money into SWR, but the world had already passed them by. The HeadLite and Neo cabinets were good products and reasonably well received, but not well enough to keep dumping money into the brand IME.
It reminds me of tech in general. 6 months in and it’s obsolete. Our bass equipment have longer legs but when something new comes along and it’s viable, the previous is left to the side.
Most of the older stuff that is still in use maybe because of a desire for the sound they transmit but some of it I imagine is due to a cost consideration of replacement.
Most of the older stuff that is still in use maybe because of a desire for the sound they transmit but some of it I imagine is due to a cost consideration of replacement.
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- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,056
- 5
- 221,034
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
It kind of depends. For those who really want the older tech, there’s more than enough available on the used market to satisfy the demand at a fraction of the cost of building it new.
My Nakamichi Cassette deck from the 70's still sounds pretty sweet! Does that count?
I love my old heavy tube amps and big cabs. But I also love my Helix Floor, my Darkglass E500 head, my lightweight Bergantino AE112s. Etc.
For bigger and outdoor shows, I will bring my NV610 and Trace V6.
Its really a "right rig for the job" kinda deal for me. I would have kept the Powerhouse 1000 but I already had a big bad ass cab.
For bigger and outdoor shows, I will bring my NV610 and Trace V6.
Its really a "right rig for the job" kinda deal for me. I would have kept the Powerhouse 1000 but I already had a big bad ass cab.
I’m willing to satisfy that demand by by letting my older tech go at a fraction of the cost.
At this end of my gigging life I don’t need my big guns. If someone wants me on the big stage there be big back line about. No need for me to supply it.
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Was that closer to beginning of the Class D/Neo revolution? For fans of their traditional amps the concept may have been a leap. So, caught in the middle of the transition?
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,056
- 5
- 221,034
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
SWR came to market pretty early, around the beginning of 2010. By comparison, the Shuttle 3.0 was released at the beginning of 2008, followed a few months later by the Shuttle 6.0.
The SWR sound had already begun to fall out of favor, and the Headlite struggled in what was quickly becoming a competitive market with the legacy tone not evolving quickly enough to catch up (while the purists complained that it wasn't as old school as the earlier models).
This led me to threads discussing the history of SWR/Eden/Thunderfunk...what a fascinating industry.
Thank you, I stand corrected. Lots of brands switching manufacturers is nothing new but I can't keep up anymore. Sadowsky has some of their basses built by Warwick apparently? Aguilar was acquired by some other company and I think same with Genz Benz? There's probably a ton more that i have no idea about.
In the 90's our guitar player had (for some reason) a full Crate stack and then another Crate 1/2 stack. I was always trying to convince him to try some other brands like VHT, Bogner etc. but he refused. Then when we went into the studio to record I noticed a Soldono Hot Rod 100+ & 4x12 off to the side in which he never acknowledged & just used his Crate stuff. As we were trying to load out after the session I forced him to plug into it and at least try it & of course it was awesome. About two weeks later he shows up at rehearsal with a Soldano amp & cab & we all loved the way it sounded. But not to long ago I found out that Mike Soldano handed over operations to some other company and they are not hand built in Seattle anymore (and that's where we all lived).
To me it's always a bummer when you stumble on some unique, great sounding piece of gear that comes from a small company but then it gets purchased by one of the big players & then things start to change. I know this happened with Eden as well which was sad to hear & what I play.
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Replacement cost is certainly a big deal! I'd hate to buy an amp more than once every ten to fifteen years. The rapid developments in SS and speaker cabinet design has been huge for bassists, mostly allowing a bass to sound like a bass. Noel Redding said it is mostly due to speaker design, but the availability of sheer power can't be denied. Technological evolution seems to have impacted the sound of bassists more than guitarists, although, man, think about the versatility Mesa/Boogie brought to guitarists. Randall Smith changed the freaking world for those guys.It reminds me of tech in general. 6 months in and it’s obsolete. Our bass equipment have longer legs but when something new comes along and it’s viable, the previous is left to the side.
Most of the older stuff that is still in use maybe because of a desire for the sound they transmit but some of it I imagine is due to a cost consideration of replacement.
Just got this (w/ cover) into the house after a road trip.
....it fits in the backseat of a '17 VW CC no problem.
I recently moved a 9.5/10 PH1000 w/ cover ($290) from A to B for ($600) and it then went to C for ($999).
Phat Bottom Bass makes the world go round...
....it fits in the backseat of a '17 VW CC no problem.I recently moved a 9.5/10 PH1000 w/ cover ($290) from A to B for ($600) and it then went to C for ($999).
Phat Bottom Bass makes the world go round...
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He sounds like a guy who spends hours discerning the value differences between Sears, "good, better and best."
Lol. The best part was is that he was perplexed on how to connect & play through 2 heads & 3 cabs at the same time. So I told him that my friend works at a very massive music store that sells so much stuff from (at the time) St. Louis Music (Ampeg/Crate) that when Metallica came around St. Louis Music provided meet n greet passes for him (which he gave one to my 12 year old brother & after the show at MSG Jason signed BP Magazine which he was on the cover).
Anyway I tell my friend about how he's trying connect everything but is stumped, my friend looks at a hand drawn diagram I made & he was also stumped. So he faxed St. Louis music the question of whats the best way to run this set up & he got a reply from them that said "Who's running this rig & why?" lol. That's when I was like dude, just get the Soldano 1/2 stack please.
True, and it's great stuff. I have both a US made and a Japanese made bass and those German Sadowsky are absolutely flawless!
And it offers way more choices than the previous japanese line.
