Mesa Boogie Transatlantic TA-15

[koula901]

I went to GC the other night and lo and behold, this tiny little wisp of an amp head weighs only 12 lbs, and it's a 25 watter!!

EL 84's. Has anyone gotten it and do you like the sound? The only drawback is the price, $879 new.

[GuitArtMan]

I keep resisting plugging into one because I know I'll want it - that and the Lonestar Special.

[Thundersteel]

I've got the Lonestar Special--love it!

 

I also tried the TransAtlantic. It's nice, but no reverb. For about half the price of the Mesa, and if you don't mind if it's made in China, the Vox Night Train sounds really good!

[koula901]

I've got the Lonestar Special--love it!

 

I also tried the TransAtlantic. It's nice, but no reverb. For about half the price of the Mesa, and if you don't mind if it's made in China, the Vox Night Train sounds really good!

 

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to start compiling a list of all the amps I want to try. I noticed you recently bought a Carr, and I really want to try that out - will have to find a store that sells them, in New England.

[smurph1]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to start compiling a list of all the amps I want to try. I noticed you recently bought a Carr, and I really want to try that out - will have to find a store that sells them, in New England.

you might want to check out the Juke Coda..there's a thread on it just below this thread..It's pricey, but OMG!!

[erictheweasel]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to start compiling a list of all the amps I want to try. I noticed you recently bought a Carr, and I really want to try that out - will have to find a store that sells them, in New England.

 

 

I would second the Nighttrain. I don't own one, but I've spent quite a bit of time playing one at a local store. It's a very nice sounding, very flexible little amp.

[H]

I've got the Lonestar Special--love it!

 

I also tried the TransAtlantic. It's nice, but no reverb. For about half the price of the Mesa, and if you don't mind if it's made in China, the Vox Night Train sounds really good!

 

+1 on the Night Train, it's superb as long as you get over the (1) no effects loop and (2) no footswitch to get you from clean to dirty. My experience - go through a 2x12, it sounds much better than the 1x12 cab it's supposed to be paired with. Sounds pretty good through my old 2x10 cab too

 

I would LOVE the Mesa though...

[rjsanders]

I've got the Lonestar Special--love it!

 

I also tried the TransAtlantic. It's nice, but no reverb. For about half the price of the Mesa, and if you don't mind if it's made in China, the Vox Night Train sounds really good!

 

 

at our weekly jam/rehearsal here there are usually 3 of us. the best of us, Tim Volpicella, usually brings his LS Special + a cab or two. great amp. helps to have a truly great player in front of it. (he has the LS Classic, too, + a Swart AST, which he usually keeps at the studio he manages).

[rjsanders]

you might want to check out the Juke Coda..there's a thread on it just below this thread..It's pricey, but OMG!!

 

 

gotta agree. if i lived in New England, i'd give Gary a call and maybe stop by, if he'd go for it. it's one heckuva amp, perfect for me. he sometimes has a demo in his area at a music store (Keene-Troy, NH).

 

to me, pricey is >$2000 , so almost all Dr. Zs and Jukes and such are reasonable & good deals, esp. given they're designed & handwired in the good ol' U.S. of A. and will last a lifetime. EMMV, of course.

[koula901]

gotta agree. if i lived in New England, i'd give Gary a call and maybe stop by, if he'd go for it. it's one heckuva amp, perfect for me. he sometimes has a demo in his area at a music store (Keene-Troy, NH).

 

to me, pricey is >$2000 , so almost all Dr. Zs and Jukes and such are reasonable & good deals, esp. given they're designed & handwired in the good ol' U.S. of A. and will last a lifetime. EMMV, of course.

 

Thanks, rjsanders. I finally got to hear the sound clips last night and now I see what all the fuss is about. It can sound dark/thick, or bright and crisp. Light weight - that's good. The only thing I can't figure out is what the triode/pentode things are all about.

[rjsanders]

Thanks, rjsanders. I finally got to hear the sound clips last night and now I see what all the fuss is about. It can sound dark/thick, or bright and crisp. Light weight - that's good. The only thing I can't figure out is what the triode/pentode things are all about.

 

 

there's a toggle switch that selects the two modes. unlike me, there's a couple others here who really understand the diffs technically. i has to do with the power tubes - basically running an amp like this does two things in triode mode: reduces the output power and changes the tone.

 

the Coda in triode mode (i have triode-pentode switch option) and cathode bias (i have cathode-fixed bias switch option) runs at about 6 watts. it breaks up *really* early (responding to picking hand) and has really nice old-Fender-Tweed-about-to-explode kind of sound when fully cranked. looser or less bass & somewhat reduced highs. still has really nice cleans when you roll off the volume knob on your Heritage (or any of my others). what surprised me was how much i liked it. i use it a lot.

 

the Coda in pentode+fixed bias mode is about 30 watts and you wouldn't want to stand in front of for too long when cranked. tighter lows, chimey-er highs, richer harmonics and overall just a great great sound. plays well with other speakers, too, i've found out. this is my usual setting for playing out.

[koula901]

rjsanders - thanks for the explanation! I will definitely check it out, along with others.

[yoslate]

The Princeton re-ish I just tagged (as new, $600) went to its first gig last night. I switched the factory Jensen for a Weber F-10 150, and put my pedal board in front of it. On the board: a little analog delay, a modded TS-808, and Fulltone Full Drive. I used the Tele and the Holy Grail 150. Have Mercy! We're not overly loud, despite the other guitar player using a Mesa 50 Caliber, and tone is more important. But we're not shy, either. Granted the pedals gave a bit of a boost, but I didn't have the amp above 4. And I may have been a bit too loud. A friend sat in for a couple of numbers. He had a '71 Les Paul Custom, and he's a pretty heavy saturation guy. I sat in the room and listened. More than enough volume, presence, and punch! And the amp is not a handful. Just a great package!