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Mesa Boogie Subway Series... opinions?


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Posted

Anyone or play these?

I was offered one in trade, but Mesa Boogie always strikes me as small but very heavy.  

Plus I know there are some amps they’ve made that are dogs.

is a trade for my Jet City worth it?

Posted

A friend has a Subway Rocket. 20w.

Its definitely a Mesa. I borrowed it for a couple of gigs about 6yrs ago. It could get angrier than I thought it would, which was okay in the context I was using it in. I like the Express's more. Can you play it before you trade?

 

Posted

A bit of history behind the Mesa Subway amps...

They were named after a small, quirky music shop in Berkeley California, called “Subway Music”.  They’re still open, and still run by the even more quirky Fat Dawg.  Great place to find oddball guitars of all kinds.  Be prepared to spend hours sampling stuff, and chatting with Mr. Dawg and his staff.

 

Posted

I like the little Subway Rockets, and they definately react well to speaker changes. When you back up the mids they sound blackface fenderesque and as you turn them up in the mids they get a nice lead voice (a little thicker)

Posted

I wouldn't let reverb pricing determine the trade. When I bought my 1964 J45 they totally got the price wrong, which ended up in my favor since I used that to negotiate.  Look at Reverb's wild rises and falls in valuation on the J45....

https://reverb.com/price-guide/guide/179-gibson-j-45-1964-cherry-sunburst

Besides that the Jet City, is a Chinese made amp with a high history of repair problems vs a USA made Mesa amp with a pretty good track record of reliability. Let tone be  your guide!

Posted

I would trade it for a Jet City amp in a heartbeat. Those Subways are some great amps.

Posted

That's a great grab'n'go Boogie. Mesa's don't need to be big to kick it out. I'd at least try it out. 

Posted

They can also be used for jazz...

16730443_1325449100811955_34071549621788

(That's Nigel Price, an excellent British jazzer.)

 

Posted
1 hour ago, DetroitBlues said:

It is tempting, but I really was looking for something like a 70's Fender Princeton or something like that.

A Princeton for your Jet? I'd trade for that Mesa and run. And if you end up not liking it, it'll probably be worth more in a trade towards a Princeton. IMO.

Posted
1 minute ago, tulk1 said:

A Princeton for your Jet? I'd trade for that Mesa and run. And if you end up not liking it, it'll probably be worth more in a trade towards a Princeton. IMO.

I was looking at the used prices of Princetons and I'm way out of the ballpark for a trade on one of those.

Posted

I think I said that wrong, Josh. Maybe the intent was there. I'd take the Mesa for the Jet. Then when you get the funds for the Princeton, the Mesa will be worth more in a trade. The Jet's are good. But they don't have that wide of an appeal as the Mesa. 

Posted
16 minutes ago, tulk1 said:

I think I said that wrong, Josh. Maybe the intent was there. I'd take the Mesa for the Jet. Then when you get the funds for the Princeton, the Mesa will be worth more in a trade. The Jet's are good. But they don't have that wide of an appeal as the Mesa. 

I understood.  I think you are right.  Just sent a message to the guy.  I will see about making the deal.  The hard part is making sure the amps work.

 

46 minutes ago, bobmeyrick said:

They can also be used for jazz...

16730443_1325449100811955_34071549621788

(That's Nigel Price, an excellent British jazzer.)

 

I was looking for more Fender like tones.  I love my Quilter, but sometimes there is a need for something just a little different to play with.

Posted

If you really want a Princeton, then only a Princeton will do. However, the Mesa will have decent cleans, more headroom, plus some great OD and points between. It would be more versatile. My Mesa 2:25 Express puts out some big sound through a 10" speaker. I would never trade it for a Princeton.

Posted

I'm not that big a fan of the Princeton, myself. A bit under powered (yeah I know, 12w); breaks too soon; and for me it's not that pleasant of a breakup; too flabby in the lows; and if it's a '68 PRRI, it'll be darker than the original; if it's a '65 PRRI it'll be just the opposite; and if it's an original PR you'll pay out the wazzoo for it. My take, anyway. Unless it's the weight driving the want, I'd go for a DRRI. Which only weighs about 10lbs more.  

Posted

Keep in mind that early Mesa’s (I know, only the Mark series) were based on Princetons.  

Fenders have the cache (i.e. higher resale), but Mesa’s have the boogie!  :)

Posted

The Mesa ill likely end up being more versatile in application than a Princeton will.  It will respond well to tube and speaker rolling.  Since price point is always a consideration, the Mesa should not be a high stress item.  Relatively easy come easy go.  That era of Mesa Amps are easier to work on than the new low watt ones tend to be.  I think that the versatility and quality of tones avaiable between the options will be worth a lot in the decision.  

The Princeton circuits are simple as well as great sounding, if a bit one trick pony-ish, but a great trick...  I'd get a builder to do one up with top quality iron and parts on a fresh fiberglass eyelet board for about what it would take or less than to buy a demand driven overpriced vintage real one having had potential issues accrue over time.  Always best to personalize your new amp anyway.  

Posted
3 hours ago, DetroitBlues said:

Ok, I'll go for it.  You guys have convinced me enough

I wouldn't own anything made my Jet City, even if I were planning to use it as a bass boat anchor. But I dig most Mesa products.

Posted
On 4/23/2018 at 2:47 PM, DetroitBlues said:

Ok, I'll go for it.  You guys have convinced me enough

HA! Hope it happens. Another boogie convert. 

In my experience, Mesa's take the same commitment you gave your Quilter (if I'm recalling correctly) to find exactly what you want. It's in there.

Hope it works out. 

Posted

Nigel Price...diggin' it.

Apparently there is something in the Boogie ethos that works for him. In this vid with his trio, he's using a Boogie that looks to be either an F30 or something from the Dual Caliber series.

I see this same rig (Guitar and amp) in a few vids

 

 

Posted

I'm wrong. Turns out he's playing a Rocket 44, which is a bigger combo from the Subway series. Definitely something in that circuit hits his sweet spot. 

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