Secrets of the Mesa Boogie Mark I - 1974 SERVICE & DEMO (Carlos Santana Amp!)
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- Опубликовано: 24 авг 2024
- One of the first Mesa/Boogie amps ever made! "A" Serial number from 1974. Randall Smith was still working on, building, and inspecting these amps personally at the time this was built. The Mark I "Boogie" amp is famous for being used by Carlos Santana on "Abraxas" and live on tour. He famously played through on of the first ones and declared "man, that thing really boogies", hence the name. In this video, jwe'll change all the electrolytic caps, explore the guts, and do a tone demonstration.
Sold mine in 1995... Still crying.
well i have one for sale based in california if you'd like it again!
Sorry man, but you can Boogie any Bassman/Marshall type circuit without to much difficulty. The Boost is a simple as lifting the ground of the mid pot in most cases. The bright switch I don't recall but this is what I did at the end of the day on my Sovtek mig50. I paralleled the bass and brief channels while lowering the now since input resistor to 34k. Next NO EQ section. EQ is achieved by balancing the two input knobs. Next I added a pull switch to disconnect the NFB or Presence control. I did not add a master volume if any kind but did "soak" it with an 'H'bridge to knock it down from 50 to about 22 watts. I played it through an open back 1-12 loaded with a Vintage 30. It was just about perfect volume for small biker bars. The kind of gig that you only Mic vocals and KiK(just encase).
I'm guessing if you did something similar to that and added a post phase inverter master volume you could get the Boogied part of your sound. Maybe keep the EQ switchable instead of disabling it. I disconnected mine because I like doing my clean dirtyboosts with my guard's knobs. It is how I learned.
I hope you find another Boogie or Boogie an affordable amp yourself. Rock on!
@@therugburnz sure
@@therugburnz
You are a clever guy..who knows the right way
Me and many others just trying to find our tones
Smith's first amps were boosted Princeton Reverb and Deluxe Reverbs, i have one of the original ones from Prune Music. Great sounding.
Talk about a classic amp. That's an amp that changed the world of amplifiers.
They should put this amp out again. Six controls is all you need. Modern Mesa's have too many controls for my taste.
They did. Called it the S O B. I got a 85 wood and wicker full optioned out 1- 60/100, reverb, EV 12L speaker. Owned this for almost 10 yrs and won't never get rid of. Soft and LOUD enough to hang with anything with the limit knob
My old friend once told me Mesa Boogie was the amp with the "most punch for my money" I was toying with the idea of either a fender or a marshall. He was clear about it and did say it wasn't the loudest or the amp with the wildest distortion, by "punch", he meant powerful versatility, and that's what I see here. Thanks for demonstrating all the different capabilities of these amps.
I bought this amp or one earlier back then, I can’t remember, saw a little tiny ad in Guitar Player magazine. It was shipped to a local airport and at the time I couldn’t believe how small it was. He called me a week later and asked how I liked it.
I had an original Mark I from about 1977 and originally they did not have an effect loop, they had a slave amp out with a volume knob on it, also a presence control in the back. Also direct outs. So either that was a special order or it's been modded since. I miss mine. It was the same configuration and color, 60 watts, no reverb or graphic EQ. It came with a JBL 12 and I replaced it with an EV Force (supposed to be like a Celestion). Also, mine had the Fetron where you have the 12ax7 and I never did the mod to put in the tube. They felt the Fetron was quieter for the gain on channel 1.
I had one of these back in the '90s - NEVER should have sold it.
Well I have an original for sale if you would like one again! im, based in southern california!
I hear ya on that one! I had a boogie Cal .22 combo 1x12 and a DC-5 through a Marshall and Laney 4x12’s Greenbacks and Vintage 30’s respectively. Between those two amps and my 72 Bandmaster I could play anything from rockabilly all the way to sludge metal and everything inbetween. I Traded the .22 for a 72 acoustic370 with matching 301 cabs stack. Which I still have. I still have my bandmaster but I sold the DC-5 to help pay for my Roy Blankenship tweed 3x10 combo which is a whole crazy story in of itself but part of me wishes I still had that Boogie DC5. It was a tone machine and super reliable!! Only thing I had “upgraded” was put in NOS RCA power and pre amp tubes, buttery!!!!! Anyway I’ll stop drooling and regretting my Boogie losses haha! Great freaking amps. All of the MB short heads are!!
Before he started Mesa, R. Smith got started in the business by gutting Fender Princeton amps and putting a Twin reverb with a 12 inch speaker in the cabinet! The story says guys like Santana and Jerry Garcia needed more volume on stage, so they would have him rebuild them. He ran out of amps to power up so he started his own company. Great video, Brad.Thankz
I knew about the Princeton lore. Probably should have mentioned that in the vid, but I see you and another fellow have done that in the comments. Thanks!
The Guitologist Brad, you know more than you will ever tell and that's OK. Even if someone didn't know about the "Princeton story", you can look at the size and layout of this amp and see the similarities. All your videos are very helpful and interesting and I think your subscribers comment not to try and out do you, but just be a part of what you are laying down. Thank you for sharing and we all look forward to your next post! Thankz
I appreciate all your comments. Keep 'em coming.
Audio Tech Labs Yup...my Boogie MKIV amp cover fits my Silverface Princeton almost perfectly.
It was actually a Bassman circuit.
Great video/ demo. Instant Santana/ Dream Theater sound, even with and amp that small. I love that tone.
I believe Santana's Boogie had an Altec-Lansing 417-8H speaker in it. Consequently, exact same speaker Randy Rhoads used. When Altec-Lansing folded, several employees went on to form Great Plains Audio. You can still get the 417-8H made by them. It's expensive, though. About $300 for one speaker.
The speaker makes a world of a difference. Excellent information!
I still have my Boogie that I bought new on 1976. Its serial number is just about 60 later than yours, so they're close siblings. It needs some TLC and has been sitting unused for several years, but your video has me planning to get it back in shape.
I would have loved to hear a before and after clip to see if the replacement of the capacitors changed the sound in any way.
Sat here and jammed with you, we sounded good. Its a pleasure. Building amps myself, not on your level, have a Webcor reel to reel amp changed caps, one of the old ones read 0, works but has a problem, too much gain, its a little 3 tube probably 3 watts. GOD BLESS!!!
You're a helluva guitar player for being the repair guy! Ha! Great playing. Always like watching you work through the amps. I would hate to have to give that one back too. There's still a lot of mileage left on it.
Such a modern sound for an amp made in the 70's!
he is testing the stuff . testing is not playing .make vidios . play and repair stuff ,and post it , just what you see in this post out does billions of people alive today . respect from me
The "low" gain channel is pure gold on these amps
Mark 1 and 11 probably the most desirable of their combo amps.
Is it only me, but I think tube amps are so cool inside. Kind of steampunk like.
Mark Knopfler used these in the early 1980s. You can hear his Schecter Strats and Teles via Boogies on the 'Alchemy Live' stuff. Nice fat sound.
For 1974 that is an amazing amp...
For today its still an amazing amp soundwise , that is .
I love the thick creamy sound like no other amp ive heard
And so basic too yet that was the beginning of a whole new era of amps to come. If anything a decade or two ahead of its time!
Ahh one of the suckiest things about doing repairs....getting an amp in like this and knowing it had to be sent back to someone else when you are done. For me when I was doing repairs professionally, it was a '63 Vox AC30 (non top-boost, original silver alnico speakers)...it was 15 years ago, and I've yet to play an amp that had the magic that amp had!
Class A?
When you are playing thru a mesa you automatically start playing metal riffs...it just happens....glad to see you playing some exotic stuff... I have a early 90s triple rec and it is amazing, no issues thankfully...love the channel
Hi there!
If it's true about metal riffs and Mesa..
Then this amp is not for blues stuff?
@@dimitrisaivaliotis5616 on the clean channel you can
@@williamyanosko4010 👍
Personally I own a 1988 .50 Caliber+ Mesa Boogie amplifier. I've been modifying it for years until today and I must say those old amps have been built like tanks. I made few dangerous mistakes and experiments, but it's still alive and sounds really well.
hi from England. I have the king snake which is supposed to replicate this amp. I love the sound of it.
I have a 1979 Mark 1 with a 15 inch ev. Caps have been replaced and some tubes.It's almost like new. I bought in 1980 for $500 from a country picker who was a Peavy lover exclusively. He hated the that overdrive crap he would say. His loss was my gain. I play small and large rooms and have have never needed another amp. I will be buried with my Boogie
Well not exactly sure how I got here but glad I came here ,You 're having too much fun .I wish I had your brain and you had your brain too,. Id be happy and you'd do all the work . lol Bought a Boogie back in 82-83 in Atlanta thinking Id instantly have Larry Carlton"s tone if nothing else..... ,that didnt happen either , I still sounded like me and thank the heavens Larry still sounded like him.
I fought that little monster in every hotel gig I used it on. Try as I may I could never get the tones you just played on that 74 , not even close and volumn issues in tight confined gigs were abut the only consistent thing for me with a Boogie ,then GK came on with those little 250ml digital stereo amps bought two of those just in case one fried which they never diid .Did an outdoor gig at a festival one fell from the top of an SVT rig , hit concrete , broke all the knobs pff but it still played with no issues .,But they didn't say Boogie on the grilll . In my shallow years I wanted that ....thanks for your wisdom Im prescribed .
I own an amp just like this one. My go to amp.
It sounds SO much better than their modern day buzz-boxes.
The sound on that little amp is enormous.
I think that this is an awesome amp
I agree. For classic rock overdrive tone, this is one way to get there, and it's just an interesting little piece of rock and roll history. Mesa catches a lot of flak from today's amp tech community, but they were pioneers in the high gain boutique amplifier market. This cannot be denied. I'd be proud to own this one if it was mine.
me too
Love the little nod to Iron Maiden.
You should’ve played some Santana on the amp that was made famous by Santana
Another cool amp Brad! Thanks for sharing it with us - I always enjoy your playing to demo the sound too. I think that really sets apart your channel from others that are similar.
Wow. That's the sweetest sounding box I have ever heard. I want one.
+Tony Duncan I have another vid of a later head version too.
Nice. I shall seek it out. I dearly wish for something like this. Thanks for responding. :)
I owned an original MK I A276. Wish I never sold it. I replaced the Altec with an EV12-L and it was great! Didn't sound like Santana, but really a great tone. I ran both volumes on 10 and it was really clean with the guitar turned down. For solos I kicked in an original MXR Dyna Comp. This was in the mid 70s. The speaker made a huge difference keeping it clean enough.
m
The first ever Mesa Boogie, was made as a prank for Barry the fish Melton, the fantastic guitar player from Country Joe and the Fish
These early boogies are quite lightweight compared to later boogies. I own a 1976 boogie mk1, love it!
Wow, you must be a lot stronger than me. I have one from around this time and, to me, it weighs a ton. Mine has an Altec speaker though which has a huge magnet. What speaker do you have?
He only plays the best sounding amps.the best ones!
Awesomeness once again. I'm intrigued by these adventures. I love the Bandmaster one I just saw. I don't need to mention how much I love old tube Fender amps. I love Mesa Boogie amps. I just cant afford em. I remember walking into the store in Sunset in Hollywood down the street from Guitar Centers 1st location. Back when Kramer ruled the Guitar market. I thought it would be like Guitar Center where you just walk in & plug into everything in the store? Boy was I ever wrong. The main guy comes out after 5 minuets like I'm totally bugging him & asks me if ge can help me? I said wow these are Awesome looking amps. He was like yes I know I'm kinda bussy in the back working. I said so what's the going rate for these amps? He said baisicly we have nothing much under a thousand bucks & it goes up from there. Needless to say I can't afford one. So my Fender Super Champ X2 will have to doo? But I love watching what you doo. Thank you. Big fan. Love your dog also.
Ive been trying to get one of these for the longest while but the prices are just to much for me.
Played Wasted Years in the demo! :) Thanks for the amp tour.
:) Up the Irons!
Very pretty distortion, putting in fresh components benefits a lot!
Nice demo. Holds sustain well for a combo.
I have a Mark IIb coming up in another video. Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already.
Cool! I had this amp for a month, was freaking way too loud!! Rattled the house. Crazy power
You're sitting on a harley
This 1 only 60 watts. HA. My S O B is 60/100 watts , 12 L speaker . But it's still not as LOUD as my Fender pro tube Twin. I use that 1 for knocking down walls when I'm doing building demo. Got that at 60/100 like the Boogie instead of 25/100 watts.
i have mesa mkI with 15 inch altec , and while im not so found of its sound in real life , recordings are amazing , just cant get it , its like its not the same amp on recordings ...
Buying one tomorrow
thats the most badass charvel i ever seen! holy smokes
That amp absolutely screams !!! Wow...you have 2 Vox guitars !!! Sweet !!!
They are Japanese copies from the 60s. Still super cool guitars. they'll get an overhaul someday and I'll do videos on them.
Loved the demo, thanks! I have a 1979 MkII which sounds a lot like this clean, also a JMP 50 from around 1970 and a hand built Matchless Spitfire 15W. What I love is how the different tubes sound and how they break up :) Keep up the great videos!
you are a great guitar player brad....would love to see you jam with a drummer ,bass player or both
Sounds better than any dumble I've heard
Awesome!!! I have one just like it!!!
Fantastic, it’s still got it; that feedback🤯🤯🤯!! 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
I love that Charvel very cool color & figured top. Cool Brad Gillis whammy stuff i love that sound. Enjoyed the playing.
Sweet, Brad! Thanks for sharing!
I had an original A276 that I bought from a friend who was the original owner. It came with an Altec speaker that I replaced with an EVM 12L. Biggest mistake I ever made was selling it. That was so awesome! Seeing this brings back memories of the fun I had back in the '70s.
hey 'ologist, like ur site here. it was barry melton of 'the fish' who said that really boogies! and it was a fender princton amp that randall had heavely modded. you do fine work,thanks. tom b
I SAID, "THAT REALLY BOOGIES!", and I have the PATENTS AND COPYRIGHTS TO PROVE IT! ...along with an old silent super 8 film reel where you can easily read my lips! ...and a note from my dead mom that I did NOT forge! ...or was that the movie where I ate a booger at my brother's birthday party...? DAMMIT, MA! You scarred us for LIFE!
Jerry Garcia used a Mesa amp for a short period of time in late 79 and 80 with JGB. Not sure why he went back to the Twin. Id love to know the answer to that.
I had a '77 Mesa MK I, it was similar to this only with 2 more knobs on the back, a presence control and a slave amp out with a volume control. No EFX loop. To switch it, it came with an A/B switch. You could not run them both at the same time. You'd connect the 2 cables out of the footswitch into the inputs. There would be a huge pop when you went into channel 1 which was actually the 2nd gain stage. And of course a huge volume bump. Channel 1 came with a FET-TRON in it, a solid state gain stage. They used it to avoid the microphonics of a tube with that much gain. There was a mod to change that to a 12AX7 but I kept mine with the Fet-tron. The patch on the inside would've been a stuck on holder for a spare Fet-tron (which the amp came with) as they had a nasty habit of blowing. I mostly ran it without the AB switch and used pedals into channel 2. They really do have a nice clean sound, you just need the right speaker. They also like Sylvania 6L6s, vintage from back in the day.
I think the amp has good articulation and response, I have very clear computer speakers. Nice playing too.
Oh he'll yeah....he breaks out the Iron Maiden licks!! You sir are badass !!!
I love that band so much. Putting out some of the best music of their careers still, 17 albums in. Just amazing.
A fabulous amp looks like mine is number 13, bought it used in 1977 at San Francisco guitar center under a pile of old amps
theres a story online somewhere where Keith Richards calls Randall Smith personally and says he wants an amp asap....Randall says he can get in line on the waiting list then Keith showed up with a pile of money and strongarmed the next finished amp....Keith is the man haha
I just stumbled on your channel and I have to say, I'm very impressed; 2 videos in and I've already picked up new tricks. Thanks!
As long as you take nothing I say as gospel, you'll do fine. :D
Very simple non-assuming package with excellent sound qualities and a lot of punch. Awesome playing man.
Damn Brad, I thought I was listening to Jeff Beck. Wow. Nice work too !
One corection, it's not used on Abraxas, you can hear the sound being much cleaner. The first time he used in on a record was on Santana III album.
When I was in the Bay Area years ago, I heard that Caravansarai was the first album he used it on.
@@jimdep6542 maybee, but I think Santana himself said that after abraxas he got the boogie and used on the third album (in his autobiography)
@@mladen777 I think I got that info from a BAM magazine that came out in the early 70's. BAM (bay area musician ). One of their staff did an interview with Carlos around the time the Welcome album came out. It might have also been from a Guitar Player magazine around the same time. It always stuck in my mind. One thing I do know for sure is that Carlos has a tendency to "rewrite history" a lot. There is a ton of inconsistencies between interviews he gave back in the 70's and more recent interviews, regarding people , places and especially the time period things happened.
@@jimdep6542 He may had forgot some things but it sure doesnt matter, the music is whats more important
Oh BTW, Cornell Dubiler is right here in my hometown New Bedford Mass. Not certain if it is still active but next time I go by there I will take a look.
Get some video of the old factory and I'll include in a SPF. That would be cool. Maybe you can walk in the front door and talk to someone a couple minutes about their history? That would be amazing. www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x89e4e3d8bfaa9cff%3A0x4d765d0b260fc90b!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO0Zg3GAtldH8qkWwaIGyDlM0pEodJm07CirIg%3Dw99-h176-k-no!5scornell-dubilier%20new%20bedford%20-%20Google%20Search&imagekey=!1e2!2sRqUIGrUC9SZaX_7tANP1mw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiV6bqi4pzeAhWNmlkKHcW0AnwQoiowHnoECBEQCQ
I remember when these came out. I wanted one but couldn't afford it.
Hi Brad, Nice amp, nice repair job. Lots of output for sure. Hope all is good. Happy Spring, C.
i had an SOB for a while. Found if i boosted it with a Bad Monkey and reduced the input bass it would crunch up really well. In general, because it was a Mk type amp, it had a pregain tonestack. So if the bass was zeroed it would crunch up well especially with an 81. But of course you loose all girth. But what the SOB lacked was an FX loop... That Mk1 there has a gain boost and a loop. Should be able to coaz some modern metal out of that without too much difficulty, using a boost, a good tweak and an EQ in the loop. Wouod benefit being plugged into a 4x12 tho....
miss the SOB but my Dual Rec and Ace 1x12 combo serveme well..
the
would really love to sit down with a mk1.... great vid!!!
I still got a S O B and love it. It's wood and wicker and fully optioned out. 12L speaker, reverb, 60/100 wts. Also lucked into a road case for $120 a couple yrs after. Mesa guessed its a 85 based on serial number. They said they didn't pay close attention to numbers on these cause each was custom built. I don't really believe that but that's the info I received. Seeing some of prices today, I do like what this is valued at now. But it's never for sale from me.
Nice Charvel 750XL, I've been gassing for one of those since they came out! I still have a Fusion Custom from the same range though.
Ya thats a sweet axe for sure , agreed
Sorry I could not keep this amp. Traded it for '59 reissue Gibson LP It was a great amp but really to do it justice, it was best played at volume 6 or 7 when doing outside gigs.
Brad...i love all you video´s ! Great ! Never stop this way ! Hello from Germany Max
Nice one. Did a mark II repair as a first tube amp adventure a few years ago, and it was quite an experience. Simple but pretty great.
haha! That's the first time I've heard you get 'shreddy'. It took me aback for a second. Used to you twangin' on the Tele.
I cut it loose every now and then when I feel the juice. :)
Heh, that's what Boogies are know for.
Thats what I was digging about it..Brad sometimes says that he began as a metal guy, but we rarely see that side...that amp is a winner for sure..
I have a '76 Mk1. I was never able to get a great clean tone. Had the amp re-capped and that helped, but the best thing I ever did was swap out the speaker to an EVM12. Until I did I was never really happy with the tone of the original Eminence speaker. It was always a bit papery sounding and was kinda squishy too. Now the amp breaks up before the speaker and I can get "tele into a twin" clean tone.
I have a 12S it is crystal clear in the Mark I. Altec/Great Plains 417-8H sounds fantastic with Mark Is.
1iriemon I have an 85 S O B that is the 1st remake of this amp and the clean is so good it is the best acoustic amp I ever used I have a cheap 12 string a/ e to push through it Best sound I ever heard Also kills w/ my Strat or Les Paul through it with just a little gain throw in
1iriemon . Did you ever try running it into a 4x12?
niptodstan not a 4. 12. But I do want to try a 4 10 bottom just to hear the sound
Quite a Gem ! ...
That amp has a nice punch reminds me of my old Sunn but with more guts.
What a Dreamboat!! I’d swear to 3 years celibacy to find one of these and pay $2000 towards it. If anyone wants to make that bet just let me know!
I had no idea anyone was making amps way back then that had tubes mounted to PC boards, let alone one this expensive (although I never liked that narrow mid-band sound). We may have to cut Fender some slack. :-)
Mesa Engineering is light years ahead of their time!
I love my Mark IV but I'd truly love to have one of these early ones. They are getting rather pricey.
No need for distortion pedals with an amp like that ❤
ANOTHER GREAT VIDEO!!!
Holy smokes that thing sings! You're the best player of all the techs I've seen too- nice stuff.
You're too kind. Thanks for watching, man.
Dymotape labeling is kewl😈
Hi! I just find your chanel, and find it very interesting and useful. Thanks!
That jumpy edit almost made me fall backwards out of my chair! 11:33
Is that the amp that he designed as a hot rod fender amp?
AND u can through it out there, good job BRAD.
I had the Aidean Mesia Zoom "copy" of this back in the early 1980s. It looked very much like this, had much the same list of features and was well made ... but ... it sounded absolutely nothing like the Boogie; and all to the bad. Mesa really should not have worried about suing as the Zoom was no competition at all.
I ordered this in 1977. They had a strike and delay. They sent me Mark 2 with EVM 15. Still have it.
Awesome tone 🎉🎉🎉
what a sweet sound, just different from what i expected could be the vintage speaker?...more metal amps please! love to see a 5150 and see what the deal is with the relay pop that so many have
The Santana quote is attributed to a Princeton Reverb that R. Smith modded for the Country Joe and the Fish guitarist, not a production amplifier, just to pick a nit.
I love watching you crank up all these great amps. The only thing better would be a decent mic and interface for your "demos" at the end of the videos. Either way, I'm going to keep watching
Luv that Charvel dinky
The boogie sounds Great
Holy Shit, and I mean HS, Look at the guitars in the background wow-a good job Dude.