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41K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  Cory Bottone 
#1 ·
 Which, in your opinion, is better? I've heard the Mesa takes it in features(and also in price), but does it beat  Marshall's crunch machine? I'm in the market for a good pre-amp, and I have about $1050 to spend. I am pretty sure this would cover a used TriAxis and definetly a JMP, but I can't try them out. You guys have never let me down before- opinions please.
 
#2 ·
How many channels do you need?  Other options would be Soldano, the Hafler Triple Giant (if you can find one used), CAE (don't know what they cost), Egnater, Engl, ...  

Just thought I'd throw out some more options.  I'm partial to the 'Marshall' sound over the 'Mesa' sound but I haven't tried either preamp.  I know you can pick up the Marshalls for around half of what you want to spend then you could have enough left for a good effects unit too.  

$0.02,
Roger
 
#3 ·
One clean and at least 2 dirty. I like the "set and forget" type thinking as I don't like to tweak my amp for different lead, rythym,blues,etc. sounds. This has me leaning towards the TriAxis, but a Marshall with a good effects is a good idea. I am totally into analog stompboxes, so maybe a good eq and a channel selector would be wiser than an effects. I'll check Harmony Central and take a look at the others mentioned, thanks for the input.
 
#4 ·
Sorry, but you had to ask with me around, Triaxis, HANDS DOWN ! You get the tone of any boogie made to date. Its just a monster box ! The JMP's I heard were a bit thin comparatively. I am a HUGE boogie fam. and I like to think I'm open minded enough to be able to select othe good preamps. My fav is definately the Tri. I would try out as many as you can get your hands on. That is the best way to really see what works for you.
Bamm

(Edited by bammbamm at 12:59 am on Jan. 10, 2001)
 
#5 ·
I am worried that the TriAxis may not re-create all of the Boogie sounds. I have been playing Mesa all of my life from DC-2s, 3s, 5s, Trem-o-verbs, Marks I,IIb,IV ....... and have settled on the versital Nomad 45 2x12. I LOVE Mesa, but soooooo many people, even pro's, use the JMP-1 by choice and not for value. If the TriAxis is all that, without a doubt it's no.1. I have a Strategy 500 being shipped as we speak for a power amp, so now I need to make a decision. So far it's all Mesa, any Marshall fans out there?
 
#6 ·
Ok... The triaxis is "the" pre-amp in my opinion. You can play clean, crunch, distortion, hi-gain... whatever, it's all there and at a superb quality IMO. I don't have a Triaxis, cause I cannot afford it. I had a JMP-1 and was in love with its overdrive and distortion sounds. Crunch and clean are not the strengths of that amp IMO. Now I own a VooduValve and use from time to time Marshall Guv'nor 2 and H&K Tubeman infront of it. I get the fraction of Marshall sounds that I need/like in that way. If I were you, in which I mean having played Mesa amps since ever, then I would go with the Triaxis. Lateron, if I still would miss a certain Marshall sound then I would check a used JMP-1 or the pedals. Good luck!
 
#7 ·
Mike, I would definately go with the Mesa.  Having said that (shooting myself in the foot) if you do decide to get a TriAxis, I've got a bid on one for ebay right now ending tomorrow.  I'm hoping I dont have to butt heads with someone in the last few minutes and REALLY jack the price up.  There's another TriAxis coming up shortly after that one.........so......hint hint nudge nudge...... I guess Im just saying I dont wanna duke it out with someone on this forum.  The market is soaked with TriAxis', so dont worry about not finding one.
I know this sounds selfish, Im very aware of that.  Nothing personal.
 
#8 ·
Mike, I have just researched the crap out of all of this. I have traveled from state to state to hear just about all preamps. My conclusions and, of course, they are just my opinion...

Triaxis, nice gain, but typical boogie low end muddiness.
Egnater, GREAT clean and mid distortion. High gain is way too compressed
Marshall, with some mods (tubes) a good preamp but just not as much gain as some others.
Bogner - Fish is one hell of a preamp. Almost bought it but just way too expensive, even used
Hafler - Triple giant. Loved this preamp. If I can find one used I WILL buy it.

Soldano. X99r. IMO the pre-amp to own. Just saw one sell for 1200 used. Full midi. You can control the gain with a foot controller. It is totally over the top. You have to be a Soldano fan to appreciate this amp. I have seen x88s go for around a grand. Find a Rockman Midi octopus to control the switching and you are in. And for real fun I through a Budda Zenmaster in front of the x99 as a line driver. GOOD GOD, THATS THE TONE!!!!

These are all my opinion and my preference in sound. Just through some Telefunkens in my old Hafler T3 and it sounds incredible. The tubes cost $100 for the pair but well worth the price... still want the soldano though...

Let the flaming begin...

Dave
 
#9 ·
UVmanMike,

I went through this same thing.  If you really just like to set and forget it, then do NOT even consider the Triaxis.  It is a great preamp, but it is not easy to get a great sound.  There is a lot of work involved.  I actually had both Triaxis and the JMP-1 at the same time.  I liked both a lot, but got rid of the Triaxis.  Not only is it overly complicated, it is gigantic.  It is the only preamp that I have ever seen that is actually 18-19" deep.  That is too big in my opinion.  The Marshall is about 3-4" in comparision.  I agree with some of the other guys, in that if you like to set and forget it I would consider a CAE preamp, or a Soldano or at least something similiar.  I have a line on a CAE and a Triaxis if you want either of those.  You might also want to look at the Yamaha DG 1000.  It is quite simply the best sounding preamp I ever heard and it even has motorized knobs.  The most important thing about it is that it is cheap.  I just picked one up for $185.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, it seems that people are so swarming to the Line 6 line (great amps) that they never checked out the Yamaha and thus the prices have dropped.  The preamp is super cheap (although not as cheap as I got it--there is a story about that) because it does not have any effects, etc..  The heads and combos have the effects....  The preamp has one thing only---TONE.  I swear that if you come across one, you have to try it.  A lot of top name guys: Ty Tabor, Richie Kotzen, Alan Holdsworth, Doyle Bramhill II, etc..... use it.  That is where I heard it first.  Doyle Bramhill II whose dad played and wrote with SRV has very much a SRV sound.  He used a lot of vintage amps.  I caught him playing on tv and thought that he sounded great.   That is when I realized that his entire backline was made up of the Yamaha DG line.
 
#13 ·
There is a reason that you will find one in almost every pro rack.  It is simply an awesome preamp.  You can not go wrong with one.  A CAE preamp into a VHT power amp has been somewhat of an industry standard.  Another good thing about the CAE which also goes for any high end preamp (Bogner, Soldano, etc...) is that it will hold its value, should you decide to sell it.  I would have to rate it up there with the Soldano and Bogner in sound.  If you like those you will probably like this as well.  They are all excellent.  If you are interested in one, I know of one for sale and might be able to get you a deal.  
 
#14 ·
I agree with the guys who have said that if you want set it and forget it, the Triaxis and the JMP are probably overkill programming-wise.  I used to have MIDI controlled gear with space to store 100s of patches and found out that I only used 3 or 4 basic preamp sounds and changed some of the effects.  Often I would get "option anxiety" programming sounds, "if I tweak this parameter, then this one, oops back to this one, now add this, that's cool save it, now if I do this..."  and decided I was doing too much programming and not enough playing.  

So, I went back to a head, it's a stereo head with 2 60W TUBE power sections and the preamp has alot of tonal options so I have a setup that really works for me.  It's basically the same as a 2-3 channel preamp and tube power amp in the same box.  I've thought about going back to rack stuff, but if I did it would have the same results, I would probably use a CAE, Soldano or Triple Giant pre (if I could find one) and a tube power amp with an effects unit in between.  I would probably look for a Rocktron Multi-Valve or Replifex for effects 'cause you can program them to do you channel switching with patch changes.  I would still use my pedals in front too, can't live without a real wah, DS-1 or SD-1, volume pedal and the occassional dash of Phase 100.  

Having said that, the ultimate rack unit to me would be a rackmount Soldano SLO, sure it's mono but the tone (if you are a Soldano kinda guy).

Of course, if you are a total Mesa guy, the Triaxis may be the only one that gives you the most important thing, the sound you are looking for.

$0.02 more,
Roger
 
#16 ·
This is easy...GO WITH THE TRIAXIS!! I love mine. All the versatility in sounds and feature are there. The tones are amazing and doesnt restrict you to the "marshall" tone. Basically you have to know what sound your looking for...if youve played boogies your whole life I dont understand how you could even listen to marshalls distortion...I just can't stand them now! Just my opinion.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for your help guys!! I didn't even know I would get this many replies! Well, it sounds pretty unanamous that a Hafler or Soldano is a great bet. How much does the Hafler go for? Maybe I'll skip the Boogie vs. Marshall test and save up for a different pre-amp. I'm liking that Soldano......Thanks!!!
 
#20 ·
Actually, I just found a Triple Giant for sale for $299.95. Seems kinda fishy that even in the HC reviews they only payed around that much for it, and it was designed by Bogner. Anyone who wants to know where it is for sale at E-mail me, I don't know the rules as to posting links.....
 
#21 ·
The Triple Giant is an affordable version of the Bogner Fish preamp, I don't remember how much those go for but it was like $3K+.  The Triple Giant wasn't a cheap preamp in it's day but when they can be found, they are pretty reasonable now.  You can pick ADA MP-1s for $100 now days and when they first came out it was the HOT item.  

If you have $1050 to spend, money shouldn't be too much of a limiting factor on any of these, especially used.  You can pick up Soldano SP-77s for around $400, not as cool or versatile as the 88s but alot less.  I don't know what the CAEs go for but it wouldn't surprise me if they were pushing the $2K mark.  

I don't know if I would skip the listening test on the Marshall or Boogie either, I was just trying to point out other options when this thread started.
 
#23 ·
CAE's are around 1600 new. You won't find them too discounted, even used. There is one on harmony central that a guy is asking 1600 for. It's not selling. He says it is a one year wait to get one from CAE, the guys at CAE say it is 3 months. I would bet on the one year, LOL.

I have seen x88s go for a 1000-1250 and the x99s around the same ball park, maybe a little more. Full midi capable. So if you get a 88 you are still going to have to buy a switching system that can handle 1/4" jacks. Might as well go with the x99.

It is balls to the wall Soldano sound. If you have heard a SLO you have heard the x99, of course depending on the power amp.

Make sure you test them all out before you buy. What sounds good to me might not to you.

Dave
 
#24 ·
Sounds like I'll be making a trip to Seattle this weekend. I've never left without finding something at a great price there because there is so many music stores. Here, there is only 2- a GC ( I would NEVER let these guys sell me more than a pack of strings) and Portland Music ( only Boogie retailer in Portland, no new stuff at all). Last trip to seattle I landed a custom Boogie based on the Rectifier with a Blue Angel clean, tremolo, reverb, covered in tan leather, and with the bells and whistles of my Nomad all for $1200. I make sure to test a Soldano, because I almost took home a SLO-100 for $1500 from Seattle and I LOVE the distorion channel. I've never heard of CAE but I'll look for one.  THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR GUYS' HELP!!!
 
#25 ·
CAE is Bob Bradshaw's company, Custom Audio Electronics. He's the rack control, switching guru to the stars, he's built racks and/or switching systems for pretty much everyone including, EVH, Vai, David Gilmour, Lukather, etc...

I read a recent interview with him here. Apparently he helped Mike Soldano with the first Soldano preamps, at least with the idea.

Roger
 
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