Why I Love Mesa!

[sarge117]

A while ago a poster made a thread about why they disliked Mesa.

This thread is NOT a dig on that poster. That poster happens to be one of the most helpfull posters on this board. I just wanted to share my thoughts and experience on Mesa.

I own two Mesa amps. A Road King and a Mark IV. Both bought second hand.

I purchased the Mark IV within the last month. I got a real good deal on it and after a couple days of playing a started to figure out why.

I was getting a real loud Popping crackling noise when I had the amp set to simulclass and I would go from Standby to On (yes, I'm Primal on the Boogie Board). I also had a loud hum.

I called Mesa and was on the phone with a tech within 30 seconds.

This guy was as nice and helpfull as could be. He started going over with me all the different things I tried and some other ideas. I tried some things with him on the phone.

I told him I bought the amp second hand a couple weeks earlier and he still sat there with me trying to troubleshoot the problem on a ten year old second hand amp. When we couldn't figure it out he personally looked up the local authorized Mesa repair stations in my area and gave me there phone numbers.

In the end I replaced the power tubes and paid 90$ for a tech to perform a mod my amp was suppose to get but never did.

I rarely get that kind of service on brand new under warranty products.

In the past I have called Mesa for a variety of issues. One time it was to price a head cab, another time for tolex and grill advice, another time about tube layout diagrams.

On the few ocasions I get sent to voice mail they ALWAYS return my call. The longest a call back ever took was the next day, and that only happened once.

These people take pride in standing behind there product!

And of course, there is also the fact that I just love that Mesa tone.

[Tadpui]

Its so rare to find that kind of customer service in any area, much less from a very popular brand of amplifier. Its good to hear of this level of service!

[pezking]

Nice story, I have had a similar experience with Marshall. I had a 30 yr old amp, and wanted information on repairing the power stage. They sent me schematics in the mail. Once I had figured out what I needed to replace - they second guessed me and told me what I needed!! They then sold me all the replacement transistors and caps for the power stage, at a cost of £20!

I work in support and I personally do anything I can to help the customer, even if it doesn't result in a direct sale for the company I work for. It's just polite, and if you think about it, may create a return customer in the future.

Sadly I don't think it's always necessarily the company that controls the level of service received, but quite often the person you happen to speak to on any given day.

[Light]

Originally Posted by sarge117

I called Mesa and was on the phone with a tech within 30 seconds.

This guy was as nice and helpfull as could be. He started going over with me all the different things I tried and some other ideas. I tried some things with him on the phone.

I told him I bought the amp second hand a couple weeks earlier and he still sat there with me trying to troubleshoot the problem on a ten year old second hand amp. When we couldn't figure it out he personally looked up the local authorized Mesa repair stations in my area and gave me there phone numbers.

O.K., that's pretty impressive, but I'm afraid I'm still not wild about their products. It's kind of like Taylor; love the company, hate the guitars. Well, I'm not wild about the guitars.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[stevieb]

Truly great that Mesa gives excellent customer support.

And I feel I gotta, just GOTTA say... Peavey does, too. Yeah, yeah, I know, lots of folks (many who are either posers, or just parroting what someone else said) like to diss Peavey, but, damn, EVERY time I have needed support from them, I got it- even on Christmas eve morning just last year!

Plus, Peavey makes some darn good amps, too. Only reason I sold the Classic 30 was 'cause I made a sweet deal on a Delta Blues 210 (I am just fruit for tremolo) and the only reason I sold the DB210 was 'cause the Fender Deluxe Reverb had BETTER tremolo. The Bravo112 I scored at an embarrasingly low price a few months ago talked me out of spending the big bux on a Matchless Clone (both have EL-84's) and Peavey makes some good SS amps, too, like the Bandit 112- a workhorse if every there was one.

[sarge117]

Originally Posted by Light

O.K., that's pretty impressive, but I'm afraid I'm still not wild about their products. It's kind of like Taylor; love the company, hate the guitars. Well, I'm not wild about the guitars.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

Fair enough.

Mesa's aren't for everybody. They can be more difficult then other amps to dial in, especially the rectifier series.

And if the tone is not for you, all the customer service in the world won't make a difference.

The first time I ever played a Mesa, I initially hated it. I really wanted to try one out because I had heard that was what Akira Takisaki played and I loved his tone (I think in the end he played Mesa and modified Marshal's).

I plugged into what I think at this point was a Mark 2(b or c). This was mid 80's, I used to think it may have been a Mark 1, but now I doubt a mark 1 would have had so much gain. I fiddled with it and thought it sounded awful.I had it at bedroom level. The owner of the store came buy and cranked it. I was blown away.

Sure I think there are a lot of other great sounding amps out there. And some of the critisms atleast of the Rectifier series are warranted. They can be fizzy, but that is mainly only at low volumes. They can be loose. But I think that is mainly due to the overwhelming low end in the recto series. By simply dropping the bass and or adding a boost, it tightens right up and you will get some killer tone.

But in the end it is much more difficult to dial in then most other amps. But for me, the tone you get is worth the time put in.

And the Mark series is simple to dial in. Just turn it on!

[mikemorgan]

I like wicker.

[dementedchord]

as a tech i can tell you that boogies can be a bitch to work on... but if i were a guitarist instead of a pianist i think i'ld have to buy one... the most impressive thing to me is the consistency of the product... uncrate three fenders or marshalls and you'll have three totally different amps... do the same with boogies and they're pretty well identicle...

[Daveg62]

I gotta agree that Boogies aren't for everyone. I've gone through periods where I just couldn't seem to get a good sound out of my Mark III no matter what I tried. But after finding the right set of tubes, and the right boost pedal in front, this amp sounds awesome! Just bought a Bogner Shiva which is also a great sounding amp, thinking I would probably sell the Mark III. Guess what? They both aren't going anywhere