A place to sit, have a drink, and talk about guitars. Get thoughts, opinions, and insights about vintage and modern guitars, amps, and recording equipment. Check out my extensive guitar and amp collection and learn from the mistakes I've made along the way.
@El Dorado are 100% correct. This is a *very good* analysis. I'm your newest sub as a result woo-hoo!! - Randy Smith was no doubt a big thorn in Gibson's side. NO DOUBT. A bad apple constantly poisoning the well... a grouchy old man complaining about everything Gibson was up to (I don't blame him BTW). - Randy Smith no doubt had a 3-yr contract with Gibson to get them through the transition. - Also... if he split early, he probably would have forfeited some (large) portion of his pay-out from the sale. Nobody is thinking about that. Well he stuck it out... he's done... he gets the balance of his deal and rides off into the sunset to either start another venture (doubtful at age 80, but maybe...) or spend the next 15 years enjoying the fruits of his labor. THINK "LEO FENDER" - YES Gibson will almost certainly re-issue all the early Mesa-Boogies, and if they're true to their past I might even buy one because I coiuld not afford one in 1975 . That is what Gibson does... if they could make money re-issuing Orville's tenor and bass mandolins and banjo-lins from 1800-whatever you can bet your arse they'd be on it in a heartbeat... Murphy-labbed and all. I deal with M&A backlash on former company owners all the time in a different industry. This is very very standard stuff in the world of M&A and 100% predictable. Everyone wants the money - nobody wants the corporation. But if you take the money.... Cheers folks.
A much as I loved my old 50 Cal + combo I will not buy a reissue out of respect to Randall Smith. I would rather buy a new amp from a new design from the brilliant mind of Randall Smith.
2 channel recto. sure. 2C+ impossible. the old transformers that make it what it is dont pass new standards. but i get it. make the amps people want. go back to the input gains and remove all the "set in" controls the new amps have. i can see them making a 2c++ as well. may as well bring back the Mark III and IV as well. i know i have been saying for years just make a 1 channel amp that sounds as close to a mark 2c+ as possible.
We can expect now that Messa will be made in China but you'll pay the same price for them then they will disappear, Gibson kills everything it touches.
In case everyone is wondering, AJ has his blueface circuit updated to 2010 spec. A resistor added to the preamp for more punch/attack. After he blew some caps in 96, it was updated anyway. He never tracked with the 1st version blueface spec ever.
Randall marketed his Mark V (all versions) as a trip through Mesa's past Marks. The Fillmores are Deluxes, the Tweeds, the Rectos, nothing innovative there. The Bass 400 to Big Blocks to Carbines to.... the same neutered Class D air ousher everbody else puts out. Yawn. Randall's Mesa catalog of the last 5 years has been a retread of the past, so spare us this modern player crap with your trembling voice and margarita mix. Where are the Nomads, the Heartbreakers, the Mavericks, the Walkabouts? The cool weirdo stuff went away before Gibson. So the idea that an 80 year old guy with nothing in the tank left the company he sild, which is how business works, seems most plausible.
@zenlandzipline I haven't played a Gjika either, but they certainly sound like unicorns from what I've heard. I have played and do own a Bludotone. If you're serious about a custom built amp that'll be your desert island/never sell amp, go look up em up. Brandon Montgomery is the builder and he's trusted by guys like Larry Carlton, Eric Johnson, and Robben Ford to name a few. Its a two year wait list and you'll be plunking down 50% up front, but I guarantee you'll stop looking at Gjika's once its delivered and you're plugged in. The bonus part is Brandon will talk story with you over the time you're waiting for the build, and he will be taking notes about that sound in your head throughout the duration. Its an evolving conversation over two years. I started out thinking one way, and after half a dozen great conversations about tone/sound, I wound up getting MY perfect amp. Its PERFECT. $6,000 - $9,000 for YOUR customized amp. This is something only available to top players and totally worth committing to if you know EXACTLY what you want in your dream amplifier.
@@rogerdat7807 yeah man…I have some pretty high end gear now. A Bogner Fish preamp and a VHT Classic power amp, plus Synergy and numerous other preamps, Lex PCM 81 Tc 1210 Eclipse and Kingsley tube pedals and an embarrassing amount of more gear. I’m not buying a Gjika or a Bludotone or a Kelley or even a Joyo frickin pedal. I just love the sound I hear from Gjikas amps. For sure, they are 1 trick ponys but they do that 1 trick better than anything I’ve heard. I love Shawn Lanes playing and sound, and he played an amp made by Bob for a while. I also love EJs tone, and I have a Germino Lead 50 head and all of the other gooodies to get his sound, too. But I’m done. I’ve known about Bludo for a few years. But I’m done. Done. Undee-Dundee Finished Complete Broke.
@@zenlandzipline 🤣😂🤣... I hear ya, and fully agree!! I've sold off more than I've bought with my tastes getting more expensive. Love that PCM81!! Had one in my rig on loan for a season, but had to return it. Got a sceaming deal on a 70, but it turned into a lemon. I saved my shekels and splurged on a Bricasti figuring I'd never have a breadown with it and yes, it sounds more natural than your best fart in a marble bathroom.
I am thankful I got my MESA bass heads before the Gibson buyout. Gibson was/is planning to moving MESA production to China and Randall would not have been on board with that...
Finally, someone else other than myself is saying that these Gibson guitars are the kings new clothes - people saying how wonderful they are because they dare not say the real truth about them.
Seems that Randy was on his way out over a year ago, as in Guitar Player article published in June of last year, “Smith has hinted it’s the last Mark amp he’ll design, and while it’s anyone’s guess if that actually turns out to be the case, the Mark VII is a stunning achievement…”(Art Thompson)
I understood from an article interview with Randall how important the Output Transformer is to the sound and tone of the Tube Amplifier. I have 25 solid years of Tube Amp repair, restoration and hand-made. Unfortunately Mesa-Boogie is yet another victim of Shareholder Capitalism. No good company is immune from a buy-out. Gibson obviously has other priorities, than making great products these days. A sad but predictable ending to the legacy of a brilliant Designer, Company, Products. The value of “real” Mesa amps has just increased.
cant someone just ask Randall. And if he doesnt answer, its probably because he can't legally say anything. If Randall still wants to make amps, im sure he can find people to help him, if he even needs it.
Why the Heck anybody would pay 3.5-4k USD for a new two channel recto reissue is beyond me. It makes no sense to do that. You can literally buy an original two channel recto for half that. Even the rarest rev f and D models or whatever sell for less than that. I bought my original Rev G two Channel for 1k last year. It’s similar to the JCM 800 reissue and 900. Why buy a reissue when the originals literally sell for less. It’s a joke if you buy that.
I live in Petaluma, a couple miles from Mesa's headquarters. Gibson was bought by a private equity group and then subsequently bought Mesa, so Mesa is now owned by PE also. I believe the guilty party is KKR and Co. Everything they touch they poison. Typically they saddle a company with huge debt and then when they've extracted all the value they walk away and the company crashes and burns. This Bu11sh!t started with Leon Black after the Drexel Burnham Lambert scandel sent Michael Milkin to jail. They'll start using cheap parts and thin boards that have heat problems, and nobody should waste their money on that crap. Like you say there are tons of used amps that are made well. I got mine used in Cotati, a nearby town (made in the early '80s), and have had it serviced at Mesa. Like you say Mike is a cool guy... You should interview him and find out how the culture is there now that they're owned by PE.
I would say the diezel , that’s like saying which one of your children do you love least. The Mark 3+ is an absolute must keep in my opinion, but then again I am a die hard boogie player.
The day the music died! If you got a Mesa pre Gibson you all better hold on to it. Maybe Randy has something up his sleeve, lets hope so. It takes a team to do what Randy has done and I would hope that the team is still out there looking to the future with something all together new. I'll never part with any of my Mesa amps, I'll take them to the grave with me.
I was worried that you were going to make a generic video regarding Mesa but I love the turn you took making declarations and issuing responsibility where it is due, and that is to the POS company that Gibson has become. This is the first video of yours I’ve seen, automatically subscribed.
Randall Smith got canned because Gibson got tired of him showing up to work totally nude carrying a soldering iron and a spool of rosin core solder...😇😈👹👺☠️☠️💀💀👻👻
VHT can go. Here my rank for best sound: 1. VH4 2. Mesa 3.Bogner I would keep vh4 even that you have VH2. VH2 is very different, has lots of bottom end. Different sounding amp
