Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp - has anyone tried these?

reguv760 · #1 02-25-2002, 02:28 AM

A friend of mine is gonna sell his Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp to me for $250. With that, i can begin my rack rig. I haven't tried any Mesa products yet but I've been very interested to get 'em. It started with a V-twin Rackmount pedal but those are a much harder find so I'm definitely going for this Studio Preamp. Before I do make the purchase, I just wanted to know your opinions on how well it would sound with a UV.
I also have 2 400W Carvin cabinets. Just wondering what poweramps would match with the Mesa Boogie. I'm kinda on a tight budget as well so any recommendations for a poweramp below $400 (new or used/tube or solid state) would be helpful. My choices for these so far have been the Carvin DCM600 or a Mosvalve 500. I'm sure they are other good/loud poweramps out there but my rack knowledge is somewhat limited.

Thankx
Reg

Gresh · #2 02-25-2002, 12:29 PM

I would stick with a tube power amp to match with your mesa pre. *Budget will be a consideration and also where you intend on using it, i.e., do you play large venues where you can't mike a cabinet? *If you don't play big rooms unmiked, then I highly recommend a Mesa 20/20 power amp. *It is one rack space, built like a tank and loud as all get out, plus it is stereo with volume and presence controls for each side. *New they go for $499, ebay has em now and again for under $400 to around $450. *THey are great little amps that have a sweet tone. *It would be a perfect match for your studio pre. *I really would stay away from solid state, especially after a tube preamp.

Also scan the sites for a used 50/50...same deal as the 20/20 but with 6L6s instead of EL84s. *Its a little boomier in the bass side, and takes up two rack spaces.

I have a 20/20 and love it to death. *I run my 2027 or my UV into a POD Pro through the mesa 20/20 and into a Mesa 2x12 recto cab that I wired in stereo and it can get just bone crushingly loud...it is really quite surprising how loud this little amp can get. *Additionally, if you find a need to go bigger in the future, you can use the 20/20 as a tone generator/slave and then boost the signal downstream with a larger poweramp.

reguv760 · #3 02-25-2002, 05:20 PM

Would the difference between using a solidstate/tube poweramp be largely noticable? I do plan on using the poweramp for practice in a medium sized room as well for playing in a medium-sized venue where I have to mic it up through the PA.

Reg

musicdr · #4 02-26-2002, 02:37 AM

Hi dude,having owned the mos valve,rocktron velocity and a few other non-tube power amps,I say spend a little more and get tube.Huge difference! Besides mesa,sometimes you can find a used marshall power amp reasonable.You will be much happier.After spending huge dough and lots of time buying and discarding lesser poweramps(lost money on every one)because I didn't want to fork over the extra 200.00 or so on a used mesa,I finally wized up and bought a used mesa simul 395 and a mesa triaxis.No more aggravation,just awesome tone.In short go tube!

gkelm · #5 02-26-2002, 09:19 AM

That sounds like a great deal on the Mesa Studio. *IMHO a tube amp makes a BIG difference in tone...I've had both. *Since you're on a budget, look into a PV Classic 50/50...loaded with tubes and great tone for about $250 used.
Greg

Gresh · #6 02-26-2002, 05:00 PM

There is a massive difference between solid state and tube power amps, that's why most pro players use tubes. *At any rate, gkelm is right pointing out the Peavey Classic series amps...my buddy has one it sounds very nice. *He has had some reliability issues with it, but for the money they are really great amps. *Personally, I don't think you can do any better than Mesa . *Spending money on a good power amp is some of the best money you will spend. *Good luck.

reguv760 · #7 02-26-2002, 10:57 PM

Thankx for the recommendation guys. Tone is not really my main concern as I play death metal (which requires a good amount of distortion and gain) but as long it sounds loud and tons of balls, i'll check it into it. I do use clean tones once in a while but I use my Boss GT-3 processor for that...
But so far, I'll definitely check into the Mesa 50/50 and the Peavey 50/50. I've seen a 100W Carvin Tube poweramp before... has anyone tried these?

Reg