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Game Changers

Mesa Boogie Shrinks Their Massive Mojo Down to 12 Pounds

They may not revolutionize society as a whole, like the telephone and the personal computer, but these new products by Mesa Boogie offer the potential to significantly and permanently alter the life of traveling and recording musicians.

The Mesa Boogie TA-15 TransAtlantic and the Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier amps are now both in stock at World Music Nashville. I decided to spend some lengthy quality time with these amps to see what all the buzz was about. I also dragged every other lunchbox-size amp in the store into the same room to see what would get me excited. While I am no world class guitar expert, I do have ears that spent many years behind a massive recording console trying to elicit inspiring guitar sounds for eager paying clients. As a reference to what guitar sounds I might find acceptable, let me state that my musical tastes are wide and varied. There is no way to give a concise overview of where my preferences lie, but safe to say they span through classic crooners, and Texas swing, past the Beatles, through hard rock and metal. Fill in twenty other genres of music between, before and after the above mentioned categories and you get a rough idea of the inclusive nature of my love for music. Yet there is no question, I am a rock guy.

The Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five and the Mesa Boogie TransAtlantic TA-15 measure just a hair over twelve and a half inches wide and weigh only twelve pounds. Sitting one atop a full size guitar head emphasizes how very small they are. Their compact size might lead one to believe they are significantly scaled down cousins of Mesa's pro amps. A careful look at the amp specs and a good listen with my ears showed that notion could not be further from the truth. These amps are full-scale wonders in tone, features, versatility, and raw performance power.

I spent the better part of a day playing all our lunchbox-size heads through 1x12 cabinets, and on a second day we were lucky enough to have a visitor stop by who I asked to try both Boogie heads. I won't mention a name, but this bona fide rock star and friend of World Music Nashville tested the Mini Rectifier and the TransAtlantic. He played through a 1x12 cabinet and we also cranked them both through a 4x12 cab. Man did these amps sound like hell on wheels. His great playing combined with the tone of these amps made me want to go back to my youth to try to be a rock star. While these Boogies are small multiwatt heads that are switchable down to as little as 5 watts, at full power settings you could easily wail away over a loud full band situation. These things crank! Our visiting rock star friend was amazed by the tone of the amps and actually said this might be his next touring amp. He said he could see putting two of these amps into a carry-on bag to put in a plane''s overhead compartment. He commented on how great these amps sounded without any need for a slew of pedals. Just plug in and rock.

There are four points that I believe make these Boogie heads real game changers. 1) size/portability, 2) feature rich versatility, 3) multiwatt power, and 4) a variety of terrific tones to top it all off. Having all 4 in one head is what changes the game. Leave one facet out, and the amp is just another nice amp. It is amazing that now you can have a heavy-duty road constructed head, multi-tubed up and tricked out, enabling you to practice or record at low wattage or blow a drummer off his stool, while giving you a fistful of great amp sounds in a package that you can carry with one single finger. Hallelujah!

Let's talk a little bit more about the tone factor. There are a variety of mini-guitar heads on the market. I have found a number of them appealing and would be excited to have access to the tone they produce. Their drawback is they are somewhat limited in not producing much more than that tone. If you are a guy who is set on one great sound when they find it, any number of lunchbox size amps might be your favorite. What set the Boogies apart is the flexibility of their controls, which in turn produce a broad spectrum of sounds at low and high volume. These amps are two channels with a selection of gain, tone, mode, and wattage controls on each channel. As an example, on the TransAtlantic I set the clean channel to its top boost setting, added a little gain and there it was. I was a Beatle listening to myself play a rich Vox amp. My heart danced a little in excitement. That clean channel can also play much cleaner, or you can really crank up some heavy gain. Channel 2 on the amp can give you a tasty dirty Tweed sound up through several stages of British Marshall and Boogie gain. Listing the variety of tones would take too long, but you start to get the idea what the TransAtlantic name is all about. The amp will give you a wonderful palette of American and British sounds. And those sounds are not emulations, they are from real tubes!

I know at some point you are going to be curious which little Mesa Boogie I liked better. I have to admit, I was having a tough time with that. Even after I had played them both a few times, I later plugged them in again and swapped them back and forth on the same cabinet. I like them both a lot. For studio recording I'd like one of each. The major difference for modern heavy rock guys would be the extra gain available on the Mini Rectifier 25. Not to say the TransAtlantic doesn''t have heaps of rock gain. When the aforementioned rock star was playing it I was in classic-rock/metal heaven, but the overdrive on the Mini Rec goes to 11. Both amps can be sparkling clean, or rudely aggressive, and they produce the sounds of a superior professional amp regardless of their deceptive size. Picking a favorite is purely up to you guys out there. I know which one I want first for my purposes.

If you're amp shopping, or you are tired of lugging around your tusted brute, come down to the store and give these little monsters a test drive. Stock on these is limited, so my suggestion is to give them a spin while we still have both in stock. Whether your amp preference runs to the cleaner side and the 2x12 combo family, or you love 4x12 stacks raining down the wrath of the rock gods, you will have a great time checking out these amps. In the last few days chins have been dropping around here when new customers hear them. I''m fairly sure yours will too.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: davejohnson@wmn.com

David Andrew Johnson

* The photo above and the ''12-Pound Linebacker'' photo are not from Mesa Boogie. After I finished my tests,
I was inspired to shoot extra photos of the amps (and my hand) here at World Music Nashville. D.A.J.

Purchase the Mini Rectifier or the TransAtlantic through our online store.

Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier Twenty Five Specs:

More Photos of the Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier Twenty-Five

The top channel, Channel 1 (Green), focuses on rhythm sounds, both clean and overdriven. The CLEAN Mode delivers sparkling, big headroom rhythm sounds that breathe with rich, warm air on the bottom end. When driven to clip and combined with the 10 watt Power setting, this Mode misbehaves with real attitude and shines for urgent, yet soulful, Blues solo sounds and furry Rock rhythm. PUSHED aptly describes what to do with the second Mode in Channel one and here you''ll find the next region of gain. With a more stripped EQ and just enough added drive, PUSHED invites aggressive Rock rhythm and Crunch styles to the party and even taunts your mid-gain solo work, especially in the 10 Watt Power setting.

Channel 2 (Red) features the iconic Recto high gain sounds - the iconic liquid wall of VINTAGE and the aggressive fury of MODERN. VINTAGE excels at thick, high gain chording and single note soloing with an elastic feel and a broad harmonic spread. It has a looser, more organic sound and the overdrive drapes itself around the notes creating a huge, three-dimensional image. VINTAGE solo work is further enhanced by the 10 Watt Power position. Here, the attack envelope changes and becomes rounder and more voice-like, while upper harmonics recede slightly to create single note sounds of true beauty. VINTAGE and 10 Watt compliment each other in ways that will open new doors for the Recto that were previously open only to more well behaved or "cultured" amps. It may also open wide the eyes of current big-power Recto owners who experience for the first time - what this power range/wiring style does for a sound they had typecast. This is a new and exciting face of Recto and it will surely expand its stylistic footprint.

MODERN is the opposite in every way. This aggressive Mode comes right at you - maybe even for you - with stunning attack and a hi-mid bump that keeps things percussive and tracking with hyper-accuracy. It''s hard to believe that this amount of gain can be infused and yet still deliver - especially in bass frequencies - with this much speed and definition. But this is pure Recto and MODERN contributes an equal part to achieving its status as the other most recorded sound in Rock. Needless to say, MODERN is all about all things Heavy and Metal. And while this sound is best demonstrated using the 25 Watt Power setting, be sure not to typecast MODERN too quickly. Using the 10 Watt Power setting to sweeten the mids and soften the attack here, shows another side to MODERN as well that''s more forgiving and vocal, creating a great alternate solo voice with a little more punch and dynamic content.

CUSTOM DESIGNED AND HANDCRAFTED IN PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA

The TA-15 packs all the footswitchable performance, including our patented Multi-Watt, Channel Assignable Power, found in our high-end full-size models and offers the most classic British and American sounds.

Two channels feature 5 Modes that cross the Atlantic with ultimate finesse and flexibility, creating the most portable all-tube gig companion ever. Choose a preamp style in each channel and then select the perfect power for it from 3 super expressive output choices; 5 Watts Single-Ended CLASS A, 15 Watts CLASS A or 25 Watts of patented Dyna-Watt power.

The Channel Modes start off with lower gain NORMAL and higher gain classic versions of the iconic TOP BOOST sound in Channel 1, which includes an ingenious Pull MASTER on the CUT control that can be Hard Bypassed for purists. Channel 2 houses three Modes; a gorgeous TWEED clean, a British high gain in HI 1 and a classic Boogie Lead in HI 2.

All this Tone and performance comes to you travel-ready in its sturdy padded gig bag that holds both Power Cable and Footswitch and allows easy access of the Retractable Amp Handle.

CUSTOM DESIGNED AND HANDCRAFTED IN PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA

Dave Johnson