Mine is an old version with no EQ and the metal toggle switches for on/off and standby. I would figure early 80's? It is bone stock.
The owners manual has sample settings for pretty much every style of music imaginable.
Mesa Boogie amps seem to all have interactive controls. What this means basically is that if you turn up the bass it limits the treble etc... It is incredible how little bass this amp needs. None of the settings have the bass over 4. The bedroom metal setting is perfect for whisper quiet shred tone. This amp shines at loud volume. It gets everything from country to jazz to vintage and hard rock to fusion. Most of the settings have the gain (volume) at 4 or less. This amp has tons of gain on 4. This is not an amp for nu-metal, death metal etc.. It isn't voiced for it. The heaviest you will get with no outboard processing is early Metallica. It has plenty of gain but gets very noisy at gain settings above 7. This amp doesn't get that sizzle of a Rectifier or a Soldano nor does it sound anything like a Marshall but what it does get is a midrange punch that is instantly recognizable. It is a fantastic amp for "finding" your own tone. It doesn't sound like any other amp that I know of and has its own unique tone. The more you turn it up the better it sounds. I wouldn't suggest it as a bedroom amp only because most of the settings don't sound good at bedroom levels (except for the bedroom metal settings). At a moderate volume it sounds great. At a loud volume it sounds fantastic.
The owners manual has sample settings for pretty much every style of music imaginable.
Mesa Boogie amps seem to all have interactive controls. What this means basically is that if you turn up the bass it limits the treble etc... It is incredible how little bass this amp needs. None of the settings have the bass over 4. The bedroom metal setting is perfect for whisper quiet shred tone. This amp shines at loud volume. It gets everything from country to jazz to vintage and hard rock to fusion. Most of the settings have the gain (volume) at 4 or less. This amp has tons of gain on 4. This is not an amp for nu-metal, death metal etc.. It isn't voiced for it. The heaviest you will get with no outboard processing is early Metallica. It has plenty of gain but gets very noisy at gain settings above 7. This amp doesn't get that sizzle of a Rectifier or a Soldano nor does it sound anything like a Marshall but what it does get is a midrange punch that is instantly recognizable. It is a fantastic amp for "finding" your own tone. It doesn't sound like any other amp that I know of and has its own unique tone. The more you turn it up the better it sounds. I wouldn't suggest it as a bedroom amp only because most of the settings don't sound good at bedroom levels (except for the bedroom metal settings). At a moderate volume it sounds great. At a loud volume it sounds fantastic.
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