tulk1 Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 Anyone played one of these? Have one? Clips on Mesa's sight sounds good. (but, don't they all?!!). Someone in the area is wanting to trade one for a Dr. Z. Was thinking of offering up the Carmen Ghia for sale, anyway. So I wouldn't be out much, if any.
JeffB Posted June 9, 2011 Posted June 9, 2011 Ive messed about with the TA15 and TA30. I like the TA15 even with out the loop and reverb. Its not my sort of amp though. It does some very nice cleans and low gain stuff. Trouble for me with it is that the two modes I would most likely use are both on the same channel. It has a nice presence and warmth about it. I want to use the word purity in the description somewhere but the acoustic strummer wont let me on any occasion. Really worth hunting down one to try out.
tulk1 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Posted June 10, 2011 Well, I'm making the trade tonite. May kick myself later for doing so. But the Ghia doesn't get used and the TA has peaked my interest. Can't afford to buy one, so trading it is. Getting the TA-15 + a Mesa Wide-Body 1x12 for the Ghia.
JeffB Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 Well, I'm making the trade tonite. May kick myself later for doing so. But the Ghia doesn't get used and the TA has peaked my interest. Can't afford to buy one, so trading it is. Getting the TA-15 + a Mesa Wide-Body 1x12 for the Ghia. I havnt tried a Ghia so I dont know how they would compare. I played through the TA 3 different times today doing a shoot out between it and the TA30 and once with a 90's Matchless Clubman. I liked the TA15 at each step though I liked the Matchless also. Different amps. The TA30's clean and reverb are very nice but the TA15 seemed to do better at the low gain and crunch sounds. The little TA is a cool act. I think you will have fun with it.
DetroitBlues Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 The local GC has one and I love it, but I hate the near $1k price tag a low wattage amp carries. Looks really cool though. Also like the new combo verision but again, Mesa is way over priced. Worse than Marshall or Orange and their imported!
JeffB Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 The local GC has one and I love it, but I hate the near $1k price tag a low wattage amp carries. Looks really cool though. Also like the new combo verision but again, Mesa is way over priced. Worse than Marshall or Orange and their imported! Depends on your perspective. My Mesa is the amp I paid the most for. I have a couple of anps I paid very little for. If I was to weigh it up in relative terms I would say the cheaper amps, as cool as they are etc, were a waste of my money. I dont like them as much. I use them less. They dont have a quality of sound and feel that inspires me. Always leave me feeling ripped off that the sound I want out of it is only an almost nearly, not really attempt. So even at the very cheap price I paid, for me they were/are over priced. Where as the Mesa is a long term keeper and a great source of enjoyment and satisfaction. Value for dollar spent my Mesa is very cheap. Just a different opinion and not trying to dismiss your experience with them.
fxdx99 Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 Nice - it's a cool looking amp, too. Sounds like a decent trade for you.
GuitArtMan Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 I owned the TA15 briefly back around Christmas time. I also own a Carmen Ghia - my main amp for about 10 years now and I will always own one. I bought the TA15 somewhat on an impulse, but somewhat premeditated as well as I was very curious about it and I love el84s. The right cabinet can make a HUGE difference with the TA15. I really didn't care for it that much through a single 12" speaker (Alnico Blue or the Mesa cab at the local shop) but through my THD 2x12 (Weber Blue Dog/Silver Bell) it sounded very, very nice! I bought mine used (they were regularly selling used in the $700-750 range at the time) to save a few bucks. Very light weight (12 lbs), very well laid out and some decent tones/voicing options, and the carrying bag. I'd probably still have it if it were a combo, but I just don't want to lug a head/cabinet around. Also, I must be dense but I just don't like 2 band eqs. I can never get the mids where I want them. Single band, no problem. 3 band, yep. Two band, drives me nuts. I sold the TA15 when I bought the Fryette Memphis 30 - as frankly the Fryette destroyed it. The cleans and distortions are much better on the Frette imho. You could play an entire gig on the clean channel alone just riding the volume knob on your guitar. It has 3 voicing options per channel. Runs at 18 or 30 watts, all the other bells and whistles you could want (reverb, loop, etc.), and it's a combo.
DetroitBlues Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 I've played a couple mesa's. Great amps if you have the ability to let them breathe. The volume is too much for me to play at any usable level.
tulk1 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Posted June 10, 2011 I've played a couple mesa's. Great amps if you have the ability to let them breathe. The volume is too much for me to play at any usable level. Det, not all Mesa's are the same. Somehow they've gotten lumped in as the Recto amp builders, and yeah, those amps needed to "breathe" to find the sweet spot. No doubt. However, my Lonestar is a great amp at either 100w or 50w. And the newer ones even go down to 25w. Mesa Lonestar Lites (hehe) go down to 15w. And they sound good at any volume. The reason I don't gig my LS is it's just too friggin' heavy for me. I will agree, however, that they really shine when cranked. But then, what amp doesn't?
DetroitBlues Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 Det, not all Mesa's are the same. Somehow they've gotten lumped in as the Recto amp builders, and yeah, those amps needed to "breathe" to find the sweet spot. No doubt. However, my Lonestar is a great amp at either 100w or 50w. And the newer ones even go down to 25w. Mesa Lonestar Lites (hehe) go down to 15w. And they sound good at any volume. The reason I don't gig my LS is it's just too friggin' heavy for me. I will agree, however, that they really shine when cranked. But then, what amp doesn't? The amp I used besides the transatlantic was a Nomad 100. 5 band eq, three channels, with boost and reverb. Killer amp if you can let the tubes really breathe.
JeffB Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 The amp I used besides the transatlantic was a Nomad 100. 5 band eq, three channels, with boost and reverb. Killer amp if you can let the tubes really breathe. I had the Mesa Nomad55 and yes that had a sweet spot that was about the same db as a drummer aiming at the floor while hitting the snare. I hated that amp. No I didnt I liked it a lot. It frustrated me. I wanted to burn it. Wish I still had it. Glad I dont.
Guest HRB853370 Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 Anyone played one of these? Have one? Clips on Mesa's sight sounds good. (but, don't they all?!!). Someone in the area is wanting to trade one for a Dr. Z. Was thinking of offering up the Carmen Ghia for sale, anyway. So I wouldn't be out much, if any.
GuitArtMan Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 Det, not all Mesa's are the same. Somehow they've gotten lumped in as the Recto amp builders, and yeah, those amps needed to "breathe" to find the sweet spot... Man my original Dual Recto was the best Mesa amp I've owned (Original Super Sixty aka Mark I, Dual Recto, Trem-O-Verb, Blue Angel, Transatlantic, those are the ones I remember). The Dual Recto gets lumped in the with knuckle dragging dropped tuned neanderthal speed metal string benders - there are some great vintage tones to be found in the original Dual Recto.
tulk1 Posted June 11, 2011 Author Posted June 11, 2011 Drove the hour down and back to trade for the TA-15 last night. Aside from the absolutely Beautiful!! drive down MO 71Hwy, the guy with the TA was quite nice; very genuine. The TA is in excellent condition, along with the Mesa widebody 1x12. They even smell new. Little bit of time I had last night with it, it gets very very scary close to my Tweed Super on that setting. The AC30 side is decent, altho' I'm not too convinced on it being an AC30 sound. Right now I've got it set up for cleans on the Tweed side, near clone sounding on the Voxxy side with some dirt. Should be interesting to try it like that for a while. Not tonite, but at rehearsal and probably next weekend. That's all I've got on it, for now.
DetroitBlues Posted June 15, 2011 Posted June 15, 2011 Drove the hour down and back to trade for the TA-15 last night. Aside from the absolutely Beautiful!! drive down MO 71Hwy, the guy with the TA was quite nice; very genuine. The TA is in excellent condition, along with the Mesa widebody 1x12. They even smell new. Little bit of time I had last night with it, it gets very very scary close to my Tweed Super on that setting. The AC30 side is decent, altho' I'm not too convinced on it being an AC30 sound. Right now I've got it set up for cleans on the Tweed side, near clone sounding on the Voxxy side with some dirt. Should be interesting to try it like that for a while. Not tonite, but at rehearsal and probably next weekend. That's all I've got on it, for now. I've played a new AC30 and it didn't sound quite as nice as older one I played at Stieners. There is something about the newer amps that just doesn't have the same mojo as an amp that has a little dust and grim on it...
tulk1 Posted June 19, 2011 Author Posted June 19, 2011 Used the TA-15 last night. Pretty good sized club. I took the Tweed Super and just jacked the TA into that speaker. On the Voxxy side, not Top Boost - it was very articulate, lots of note definition. Sounded good clean, crunchy and OD'd for leads. I'm impressed. Tracy even commented that she liked "the sound of your tiny new amp". I didn't get into the channel switching, but I think with a little more setup I could get a couple of tones that would be extremely useful with our variety of music. Think I'll keep it and use it for a while.
JeffB Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 Used the TA-15 last night. Pretty good sized club. I took the Tweed Super and just jacked the TA into that speaker. On the Voxxy side, not Top Boost - it was very articulate, lots of note definition. Sounded good clean, crunchy and OD'd for leads. I'm impressed. Tracy even commented that she liked "the sound of your tiny new amp". I didn't get into the channel switching, but I think with a little more setup I could get a couple of tones that would be extremely useful with our variety of music. Think I'll keep it and use it for a while. Good stuff. I like the TA-15 better than the TA-30. Seems more open, nicer sounding.
squawken Posted June 19, 2011 Posted June 19, 2011 Used the TA-15 last night. Pretty good sized club. I took the Tweed Super and just jacked the TA into that speaker. On the Voxxy side, not Top Boost - it was very articulate, lots of note definition. Sounded good clean, crunchy and OD'd for leads. I'm impressed. Tracy even commented that she liked "the sound of your tiny new amp". I didn't get into the channel switching, but I think with a little more setup I could get a couple of tones that would be extremely useful with our variety of music. Think I'll keep it and use it for a while. Keep us posted. I have had some interest in hearing one of these. You have peaked my curiousity sir.
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