I owned these Mesa amps in the past: Mark II-B, Quad Pre, 50. Cal, 50 Cal+, Mark III , Dual Rec, Stiletto and V-Twin rack. Sold all of them and kept the 50. Cal (EL-84 version), which's similar to the Studio 22., according to someone at Mesa. He also said that the Studio 22. and the 50 Cals are a simplified version of the Mark IIC+. Almost the same sound, but you've got to spend more time on dialing it in. He also said that the Studio 22. and 50 Cal cirquits are the EXACT same preamp cirquits that have been used in their rackmounted Studio Preamp. I didn't know about that, until he told me! Anyway, the 50. Cal's MY sound, so to say and unless I HAVE to, for some reason, I'll never get rid of it. :D ps. Believe it or not, but IK Multimedia's Mesa Boogie plugins are GREAT as well! Not quite there, but really good! ;)
Got my 1st Boogie 10 yrs ago. A wood and wicker S O B. Fully optioned out. 60/100 ,12L speaker , reverb, no EQ. Mesa guessed a 85 build date. So many don't like the limit knob on these but I love it. Most popular comment I read is "regret selling that amp". I would never sell this amp. I don't know, just knew when I got this I would always want this. Same thought on my 94 deluxe plus Strat. Once I owned it and played it every day knew I always would want this. 2 forever keepers. And they sound like heaven to me.
What a nice surprise to see this review this morning! I have a Mesa Studio Series amp that looks much like yours! I bought it in the mid 80's and I used it at two gigs last week because both my regular tube amps I use are in the shop. Talk about forward thinking......it has a direct out on it and I have used it effectively as a way to run into PA systems for 30 years! You are right about the weak reverb, the only thing I've never liked about it, but it has been a reliable rehearsal room and back up amp for so many years!! BTW, I really enjoyed your reviews on those really nice Gretsch guitars (6120 and 5420) and hope you will use them more in your videos. Thanks for this video on the Boogie!
Really nice demo. This amp is really a forgotten gem.I have a Studio .22 with imbuia/wicker cabinet and EVM12L speaker from early 1986. This thing is heavy as hell in this configuration. I really love this amp. It sounds fantastic and it looks beautiful. I have a lot of stuff but if my house catches fire and I could only rescue one amp then it would be this one.
Yeah man, I have a pair of these. I never use the dirty channel on them though. They sound so much better clean, with just a distortion pedal. The dirty channel just takes some of the chunk/bass out of it. A good distortion pedal on the clean channel is going to sound a hell of a lot better than just the dirty channel on these amps. And if you have an EQ pedal on your board, like a GE-7, you sure as hell don't need a tiny five band graphics EQ on the amp. So, don't even worry about finding one with the built in EQ.
Man, I just played it in a rehersal today, had no clue about it, but it might be my favourite amp, it sounds flawless. Listening back to the recording sounds great under a mic too, and takes pedals amazingly well. I'm really blown away.
I accidentally (as in I didn’t know what I was doing but was being advised by someone else who did) bought one of these about fifteen years ago. It was the + model with the five band EQ but they are basically the same amp. I loved it so much I thought I’d sell it and get an even better Mesa Boogie, so I traded it for a Loan Star Special. Big regret. Never got on with it, apart from the 5W class A thing it does. So my old, sold Studio 22 became the only amp I’d ever regretted parting with. During the first year of the pandemic I started getting pangs and longings for that old sound, and I found another one about a year ago, another + with the EQ (which I seldom use), which had been bought new by its one owner back in ‘86 and never gigged, so it was in great condition (actually it turned out it did need a bit of work, someone had red plated it, and be warned they are tricky for amp techs, but Main Drag Music in Williamsburg, Brooklyn reset the rectifiers and got it back to peak performance in no time, and for not too many $). So mine owes me a little over $1k. But I was just playing my (also 86’) 335 through it before this video came up in my feed. So I did enjoy this video! What can I tell you? Its a honey of an amplifier. So good you can plug your guitar straight in and forget about pedals, especially with what happens when you switch to the lead channel (yes it is a bit louder than the rhythm channel but you’ve got to hear it, or better still play it to believe it). But today I was in the rhythm channel, where I usually am, and feeling a little compression and delay. Seriously, for the sound I like to dial in the combination is kind of perfect. My other good amp is a boutique tweed deluxe knock off, a Lazy J 20, which is acknowledged as a top drawer amp. Truly gorgeous and yes I love it. But just lately I think the Boogie has been spending more time with the lights on than the Lazy J! At a third of the price.
Great amp, thanks for making this video. Most people don’t know, but there is a rare, early production Studio .22 that actually says “Studio Series” on the front panel. The PCB says “Studio .22” so it would appear that they had a few front panels screen printed as “Studio Series” before deciding on the name change, and they used up the old panels instead of scrapping them. The PCB was already revised for at least some (if not all) of them. I’ve only seen inside a Studio Series with a serial number in the 200s so I don’t know what PCB was used from 001 up to the 200s. Also, I believe the serial numbers started over at 001 when they changed to the new “Studio .22” front panel. Same amp, but treated as a different product.
I had a setup with a studio 22 going into a vht 1x12 cab and a jcm 900 2x12 combo slaved to its preamp. Found some beautiful tones in that package. Alternately it served as a nice preamp with the power section turned off. Tube preamp with a reverb tank, worked great.
I still have and use a studio pre-amp version of the 22. It's the perfect vaguely "Fenderish" pre-amp that sounds great with a "Marshall" style tube power amp. Takes all my effects in the loop and blends them into the power amp with even some onboard spring reverb.It still sounds good with single coils and humbuckers.
Great, interesting and informative video! 2 years ago “given” 1989 Studio 22+ by an 81 year old neighbor who wanted his garage cleaned out! Clean tone through a Clapton Strat blew me away. Overdrive wasn’t working. Sent the amp to Mesa and 206 bucks later it was sent back to me like new, and I have played it at home and on gigs. One gig was an outdoor event and it did great! Lightest Mesa in history! I feel like I have betrayed my revered 2003 Mark I Reissue!😊 I’ve gotten very interested in the older Mesas since I latched on to the Studio 22+. Electra Dyne ($810), DC3($600), Heartbreaker ($700) and a beautiful Nomad 55 head($550!!!!!). All great amps and I’m totally captivated with eras, the sounds, the technology! Noticed the prices on the Studio 22s have skyrocketed. So have the other old Mesa treasures! Grab em’ while they are still financially in reach! The Nomad is another gem. Thanks for the Mesa reviews. Keep on doing them! You are the best I’ve seen out of all of Mesa gurus!
I have the Mesa Express 5:50 plus with the graphic eq. It’s an amazing amp. Two channels, four modes, amazingly versatile. Heavy, fifty pounds plus. You can switch between three different wattages, 5,20,and 50 . Each power level reconfigures the output section. Really cool features.
I have an F-50, great amp that they only made for a few years. A friend of mine had a Studio 22 they he loved for years. I’m a fan of the clean channel myself, and use a pedal to drive it past the “sweet spot”.
Just picked up an f-50 combo at GC for $899. Bumbed about the "pre gibson" price bump, but sounds great. So glad you're diving into these underappreciated mesas, Not enough people are. I love high gain and cleans, but am maturing enough to appreciate low/mid gain tones, and I've always felt that so many mesas can do blues/jazz/country/rock/metal: all very well. Thank you.
Great video man! I got a studio 22 with the graphic for 700 bucks last year and am blown away...absolutely dime it thru a load box and some 4x12 Mesa and Friedman IR's....amazing. I find the 1x12 boxy by nature, its fine on its own but through a 2x12 or bigger it balances out and sounds/feels so good. I've owned a 5:50 and currently also have a California tweed, honestly the most stoked on this old weird one and am checking out all of the other old forgotten ones!
Used to live in Petaluma, CA. and used to visit Mesa to check out what was new. Randall pioneered the cascading gain. Just serious kit no ifs and or buts.😎👍 They had something no one else at the time was doing. I agree with your concerns... My Hope's are that Mesa Boogie has a bright future. Great folks and gear😎👍❤🖖
@@JackFossettI'm located in Singapore at south east Asia so I can't be like visiting and knocking at their doors and all although I love to.... But they do promptly respond to all email inquiries on my Mark II maintenances or my V Twin pedal tune configurations etc etc etc... I you need name it... You got something you always wanna ask about Mesa Boogie products but too embarrassed or shy....? Just ask and they will response and keep you anonymous. These people stand by their merchandise even after they leave thier doorsteps. Not saying this out of owner's pride or as an endorsee but these folks means business. My Mesa Boogie gears, my previous studio caliber. 22, Mark IIB, a V twin preamp pedal and Full Throttle pedal products are all locked and loaded and ready for any female talents, camera and lighting crew on standby no pluffers or Viagra required.
@@ericchng6102 I agree so much with Mesa standing behind what's already sold. When I wanted to get my S O B, I called them a couple different times a looked up about the info they told me on the phone. Had my amp 10 yrs and will never s sell it. Only problem with this amp is the weight. Also it's in a road case so more weight added. But it's locked down tight with a cover that if this was the sheet on my bed I would never get out of bed. Some kind of super soft satin covering. Then the wood case top with foam inside.
Hi Jack, another great video. So yeah I have had a few Mesa's MKiv, Stiletto, F-30, TA-15. I actually got to do a tour of Mesa when my MKiv was being built, they tracked it down for me and I saw it on the bench. Like a fool after 15 years I sold it, dumb. The Stiletto was cool, got it real cheap cause nobody dug them, moved it on. Now the F-30, thats the one I wish I would have kept. I think it was the next generation of their small package amp idea. Maybe you could do a series of reviews on the F series, I think they are the sleeper value out there now. TA-15 was nice but it was kind of similar to other low wattage amps I had at the time (Fargen MicroPlex) and I let it go. Now my buddy has both a MKIIB and a studio 22. Its the Studio that he gigs most of the time. I grew up in So Cal in the 70's 80's and I had a friend who actually had a Fender Princeton that Randall Smith had modded in the early days. ( we laughed at him, yeah right a boogie) The only thing I can say is that some of these 80;s 90's mesa are getting a bit tired. If you open them up and look inside they are a repairman's nightmare. Randall had his own way of doing things, they are not point to point wiring, but a circuit board layout. Avery sturdy circuit board but still very complicated. When my friend got his studio 22 we decided to ship it to Petaluma for an overhaul, in my opinion the smartist thing you can do with an aging Mesa. I have a Fender Princeton II, Its a 83 when Paul Rivera was at Fender. It is a Fender made Boogie, channel switching high gain. Its a very ,very well made amp, and is a direct result of how Mesa changed the market place in the 80's. Bur Jack , isn't it funny how most all amps seem to have their place in history. If an amp is not appreciated now all you have to do is wait, sooner or later some comes along and says " hey, pretty cool amp" I thing there are a bunch of 80's solid state amps that dont get the love they deserve Lab Series, Jim Kelly, Roland, Yamaha , Randall come to mind
I'm here because I think that there are quite a lot of forgotten gems that can be found for nothing on the used market. here in italy, you can buy a brunetti xl series amp for less than 400 euros. those were the amps i saw the professional use when i was growing up, 3 channels 120w beast with tons of flexibility ( big wattage not for a lot of volume, but for consistency at any volume, you're not going to get poweramp saturation with 120w)... if you're able to make a good research, you can get yourself incredibile stuff! At the moment, a simple hot rod deluxe is up for crazy money...😊
I had it for years... lovely amp, loud, just don't do metal. Sold it for a small profit as I prefer bigger power tube tubes than EL84. I'm with a 60 Watts 1982 Mark IIB now, and does everything it's told without issues. Real loud if I want it to and it has 6L6...Praised be for big power tubes.
Love these amps, great vid Jack! I have a DC5 combo which I bought in 1994 which sounds great & its all original and still going strong with loads of gigs under it’s belt!👍👍👍🎶🎶
I have this combo amp and love how simple and low key it is. I made a fail YT review because I did not turn it up LOL. Mine was a house amp for a club for years, before I got it for like 175 and it all needed were tubes and new cables for the reverb. It was definitely abused. Besides this, I have the Mark IV, blue angel head, bass 400 , 2 bass cabs and 1 boogie cab. And their rare stereo hifi amp. I should probably sell. Only the 22 gets jam and gig action. I do play them monthly as part of the upkeep, Lately for guitar tracking in my little home studio, I started using the Blue Angel again
Have a Studio 22 originally in the rare head version and the big brother Caliber .50+ originally in a combo version. Had a tech swap cases btw them some time ago, so nowI have a Studio 22 combo and Caliber 50+ head. Like them both, but really love the Studio 22 clean sound. It can be very juicy and breaks up nicely. Can get surprisingly loud. The Caliber clean is a tad less warm, maybe that´s due to the power amp differences. The Studio now runs with a Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker which sounds fat, but is rather lightweight, which makes a very nice grab and go amp. The Caliber head I use with Eminence Swamp Thang cabs, that sound huge, but more polished than the C Rex. The issue I have with both amps is the FX loop, which does not work well with time based effects. If you turn up delay or reverb to high they start going into some weird HF feedback. This for me is the only real drawback.
Hi Jack, back in the day i had a Calibre 22 but it wasnt loud enough for my band. In 2014 i found a Rocket 44 it blew me away, if you get the chance try one dont pass it up these are defo a sleeper as you say a lot are. The problem is i no longer have the band oh well! cheers from the UK. Steve.
@@JackFossett I ended up putting a neo creamback into it. I was a little worried how it would turn out, but it ended fitting perfectly. I also put a mod reverb tank in it and that made a huge difference and fixed the weak reverb it originally had.
8:25 you should look out for a Studio 22+! That amp has the "Lead Master mod" already bulid in to ballance Lead & Rythm Channel. Both version where available with and wihtout the Graphic EQ. I would only hunt for a "Plus"-version with the EQ implemented. I love my 22+ because I can get some of the greatest amp tone out of it. The typical Mesa tones (incl. heavy stuff ála Metallica and Dream Theater-ish) but also some kind of Fender clean/crunch tones. Due to the EL84, I think, I can also hear some kind of "british" voicing that reminds me of some kind of Voxy or Mashall. I love it! For more power, you could also go for a Caliber .50. Some goes fot the Plus und EQ-versions. But this Model was available with either 4xEL84 or 2x6L6 Power tubes! I had almost all versions, but prefer a 22+ /w EQ. It was my fisrt amp I´ve ever owned and won´t ever sell that one!
2 года назад+5
Jack, you brought out the sounds out of that Mesa Boggie!! Yes!! Question: what year is that Gibson ES you started the video out with?
Nice honest review and vid Jack. Almost pulled the trigger buying a MB Fillmore a few months ago! I did not trust the seller so backed off the purchase. Stay safe.
I had one of these for a few years. Tube seats burn the board to a point where it can't be repaired. It is a noisy amp and all the eq is interactive so a small adjustment can ruin your sound. I was certainly glad to get rid of mine from the reliability point of view. I loved how it sounded though 🙂
So I haven’t had any trouble with this one, but I have definitely had trouble with other mesas. Sadly techs hate to work on them too because they’re so complex inside.
@@JackFossett yeah the newer ones are. The Studio is not too complicated just not designed well. Faults aside, it is still a nice little combo that pack a punch. Great tone and loud 🙂
I like my 22+ a great deal, and i totally with you agree with you on this. Tubes underneath the board can't be a good idea... I've tried pointing a fan in the back, I've tried extracting the heat by pointing the fan away, but the board still gets cooked.
@@robotgoose225 it's a shame it has this major flaw as it does sound great from twangy country to hard rock..... It does almost everything. I would like to build a point to point version. Solve the issues and make it reliable. I might get around to doing one in the future
@@JackFossett trying to decide whether to part with a 2002 fender super reverb for one or the other. I do have a modded JMP 2204 I mainly play through. But I always miss having both boogie and Marshall tones at hand.
..thanks for showing some start points to treat the knobs ... coming from a Marshall JMP it seems to be just another world how they work ;) . I recently traded a Twin 135W, which I never used (though a nice amp, but so heavy I always believed someone had fixed it to the ground when I tried to move it), for a white 22 ... especially with a strat it gives much more range for variation than I was used to :) ... will have to check the fx loop and find out more about the rhythm/lead balance ... to be honest I really don't understand the conceptional idea behind it right now ...
ah, forgot about that: thanks for the video, I have to confess I never manage to listen to long vids with lot of talk normally, yours is interesting enough to stay :D
When Kurt got his advance to record Nevermind, he was still really used to being frugal about his gear. So he allegedly didn’t buy much stuff with it - some cheap lefty Fenders and the following amp setup: I believe it was a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp (not a .22 Plus) running into a Crown Power Base 2 800 watt power amplifier. At some point he replace the Crown with a Crest 4801 power amp, which he said he preferred with the Mesa/Boogie. He also stated that he’d always max out the mids on the Mesa/Boogie .22 Preamp - I’ve never played through one so don’t know if there’s a particularly scoop to their tone or if they have a really nice sounding midrange or if Kurt regularly cranked the mids on his amps up, or what… I think he also used Marshall cabs during this period, but I think might’ve incorporated Hiwatt cabs into his rig as well, but that might’ve been later on. A Fender Bassman and Vox AC-30 were also used in a lot of Nevermind, however, I get the impression that this was more at Butch Vig’s insistence, as he’s openly stated that he prefers amp distortion - whereas Kurt considered his DS-1 distortion pedal to be an integral part of his sound - and would do stuff like lie to Kurt about a prior take having some technical issue, then suggest Kurt try a Bassman this time instead, and then Vig layered them all over each other in production.
Supposedly, he didn’t. It was a Studio Preamp, which is a different circuit. As well as an AC30 and a Bassman, as been noted, and relayed by Butch Vig.
10:00 Ah... SEE!!! That's what I mean! ;) I even use my POD 2.0 Pro for some particular sounds still. Yes, it's outdated and yes, it sounds horrible on some settings, but it's VERY usuable still. :D
I nominate "pre-Fossett" era as the new arbitrary point of division. I mean, why not? Great amp. Actually affordable on the used market here in Australia - if you are lucky enough find one. Last I saw was one in great condition for $1.4K.
As a New Zealander, You have my Axe!! Moria! Erebor! Never forget! .. Elves are alright I suppose, don't want seem.. er... prejudice.. oh look some gold gtg.. " 😅
The problem with Mesa is how hard they are to repair. Similar to the newer Fender bassbreaker series, really some great tones but practically impossible to fix. You have to learn to fix your own amplifier. I wouldn’t fix a fender bassbreaker for a customer or a complex Mesa
Funny I was just writing something similar in a response to someone else - I’m lucky in that a local store with an amp tech is a Mesa dealer, and he’s been working on them forever and is good at it. But otherwise that’s definitely something to consider, as they’re not the most reliable amps ever
@@JackFossett I have fun working on my own stuff. But if you rely on an amp technician, like your amp tech, you need someone with 30+ years experience working on mostly just those amps who has developed a 6th sense and a work flow to actually make working on them profitable. I have seen RUclipsrs chase issues when the circuit boards have gone conductive, then it’s basically trash or a complete gut job and custom hand wired amp in its place.
Hi there...i bought this amp after a lifetime of dreaming a Mesa 😅...this was the only one i could afford...i like it a lot❤...but few days ago i saw a video from a amp techinician, of a Mesa studio22 repair...he said a lot of very bad thinghs on this amp, like, it's a mess to repair, is really bad made, very low quality and so on...and people who commented totally agreed with him..😮 one even wrote that this amp was pure crap, very dangerous, and ready to catch fire !!!😮 OMG...are we studio 22 lovers all idiots?😅 Where's the Truth? Wasn't Mesa boogies solid as a rock? I'm so disappointed and a bit scared too😅😢...what do you think?😊
There is literally nothing that has changed at Mesa since Gibson bought the company, with regard to the design and manufacture of their amplifiers. There is no difference at all in the amps since Gibson came in. Anybody who says there is a difference is full of shit. Gibson has so far done no harm to Mesa, and it's been two years plus.
My grandpa gave me his Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+. I use it everyday. He gave me his guitars also.
That's awesome of him. Rock on!
I’m a very happy owner of 1985 MesaBoogie Studio 22+ with eq. Highly recommend! 😊
Had this amp for like 30 years. Bought it used and played it. I love it. Tried to find something better, but just found something different😊😊
Absolutely love the sparkling cleans on this amp and it takes pedals very well. I wish they still produced these.
I owned these Mesa amps in the past: Mark II-B, Quad Pre, 50. Cal, 50 Cal+, Mark III , Dual Rec, Stiletto and V-Twin rack. Sold all of them and kept the 50. Cal (EL-84 version), which's similar to the Studio 22., according to someone at Mesa. He also said that the Studio 22. and the 50 Cals are a simplified version of the Mark IIC+. Almost the same sound, but you've got to spend more time on dialing it in. He also said that the Studio 22. and 50 Cal cirquits are the EXACT same preamp cirquits that have been used in their rackmounted Studio Preamp. I didn't know about that, until he told me! Anyway, the 50. Cal's MY sound, so to say and unless I HAVE to, for some reason, I'll never get rid of it. :D
ps. Believe it or not, but IK Multimedia's Mesa Boogie plugins are GREAT as well! Not quite there, but really good! ;)
Got my 1st Boogie 10 yrs ago. A wood and wicker S O B. Fully optioned out. 60/100 ,12L speaker , reverb, no EQ. Mesa guessed a 85 build date. So many don't like the limit knob on these but I love it. Most popular comment I read is "regret selling that amp". I would never sell this amp. I don't know, just knew when I got this I would always want this. Same thought on my 94 deluxe plus Strat. Once I owned it and played it every day knew I always would want this. 2 forever keepers. And they sound like heaven to me.
The Subway Blues, Subway Rocket, and Rocket 44 were brutally loud little combos as well.
What a nice surprise to see this review this morning! I have a Mesa Studio Series amp that looks much like yours! I bought it in the mid 80's and I used it at two gigs last week because both my regular tube amps I use are in the shop. Talk about forward thinking......it has a direct out on it and I have used it effectively as a way to run into PA systems for 30 years! You are right about the weak reverb, the only thing I've never liked about it, but it has been a reliable rehearsal room and back up amp for so many years!! BTW, I really enjoyed your reviews on those really nice Gretsch guitars (6120 and 5420) and hope you will use them more in your videos. Thanks for this video on the Boogie!
Really nice demo. This amp is really a forgotten gem.I have a Studio .22 with imbuia/wicker cabinet and EVM12L speaker from early 1986. This thing is heavy as hell in this configuration. I really love this amp. It sounds fantastic and it looks beautiful. I have a lot of stuff but if my house catches fire and I could only rescue one amp then it would be this one.
Yeah man, I have a pair of these. I never use the dirty channel on them though. They sound so much better clean, with just a distortion pedal. The dirty channel just takes some of the chunk/bass out of it. A good distortion pedal on the clean channel is going to sound a hell of a lot better than just the dirty channel on these amps.
And if you have an EQ pedal on your board, like a GE-7, you sure as hell don't need a tiny five band graphics EQ on the amp. So, don't even worry about finding one with the built in EQ.
Man, I just played it in a rehersal today, had no clue about it, but it might be my favourite amp, it sounds flawless. Listening back to the recording sounds great under a mic too, and takes pedals amazingly well. I'm really blown away.
Yeah man I'd trade my Bassbreaker15 and AC15 for one of these! It does it all.
I accidentally (as in I didn’t know what I was doing but was being advised by someone else who did) bought one of these about fifteen years ago. It was the + model with the five band EQ but they are basically the same amp. I loved it so much I thought I’d sell it and get an even better Mesa Boogie, so I traded it for a Loan Star Special. Big regret. Never got on with it, apart from the 5W class A thing it does. So my old, sold Studio 22 became the only amp I’d ever regretted parting with. During the first year of the pandemic I started getting pangs and longings for that old sound, and I found another one about a year ago, another + with the EQ (which I seldom use), which had been bought new by its one owner back in ‘86 and never gigged, so it was in great condition (actually it turned out it did need a bit of work, someone had red plated it, and be warned they are tricky for amp techs, but Main Drag Music in Williamsburg, Brooklyn reset the rectifiers and got it back to peak performance in no time, and for not too many $). So mine owes me a little over $1k. But I was just playing my (also 86’) 335 through it before this video came up in my feed. So I did enjoy this video!
What can I tell you? Its a honey of an amplifier. So good you can plug your guitar straight in and forget about pedals, especially with what happens when you switch to the lead channel (yes it is a bit louder than the rhythm channel but you’ve got to hear it, or better still play it to believe it). But today I was in the rhythm channel, where I usually am, and feeling a little compression and delay. Seriously, for the sound I like to dial in the combination is kind of perfect. My other good amp is a boutique tweed deluxe knock off, a Lazy J 20, which is acknowledged as a top drawer amp. Truly gorgeous and yes I love it. But just lately I think the Boogie has been spending more time with the lights on than the Lazy J! At a third of the price.
Great amp, thanks for making this video. Most people don’t know, but there is a rare, early production Studio .22 that actually says “Studio Series” on the front panel. The PCB says “Studio .22” so it would appear that they had a few front panels screen printed as “Studio Series” before deciding on the name change, and they used up the old panels instead of scrapping them. The PCB was already revised for at least some (if not all) of them. I’ve only seen inside a Studio Series with a serial number in the 200s so I don’t know what PCB was used from 001 up to the 200s. Also, I believe the serial numbers started over at 001 when they changed to the new “Studio .22” front panel. Same amp, but treated as a different product.
I didn't know this, but I actually have one of those saying "Studio Series" 🙂
I have a Mark III from ‘89. I love it. One of my favourites. I also have an Electra Dyne 90 watt head from ‘09. It’s a great sounding amp as well.
I had a setup with a studio 22 going into a vht 1x12 cab and a jcm 900 2x12 combo slaved to its preamp. Found some beautiful tones in that package. Alternately it served as a nice preamp with the power section turned off. Tube preamp with a reverb tank, worked great.
Wonderful Boogie tone 😍
Greets from Italy!
mine died after 26 yrs - still missed and remembered. haven;t found another like her yet but they say time heals...
I still have and use a studio pre-amp version of the 22. It's the perfect vaguely "Fenderish" pre-amp that sounds great with a "Marshall" style tube power amp. Takes all my effects in the loop and blends them into the power amp with even some onboard spring reverb.It still sounds good with single coils and humbuckers.
Great, interesting and informative video! 2 years ago “given” 1989 Studio 22+ by an 81 year old neighbor who wanted his garage cleaned out! Clean tone through a Clapton Strat blew me away. Overdrive wasn’t working. Sent the amp to Mesa and 206 bucks later it was sent back to me like new, and I have played it at home and on gigs. One gig was an outdoor event and it did great! Lightest Mesa in history! I feel like I have betrayed my revered 2003 Mark I Reissue!😊 I’ve gotten very interested in the older Mesas since I latched on to the Studio 22+. Electra Dyne ($810), DC3($600), Heartbreaker ($700) and a beautiful Nomad 55 head($550!!!!!). All great amps and I’m totally captivated with eras, the sounds, the technology! Noticed the prices on the Studio 22s have skyrocketed. So have the other old Mesa treasures! Grab em’ while they are still financially in reach! The Nomad is another gem. Thanks for the Mesa reviews. Keep on doing them! You are the best I’ve seen out of all of Mesa gurus!
The Studio 22s have doubled in price
I have the Mesa Express 5:50 plus with the graphic eq. It’s an amazing amp. Two channels, four modes, amazingly versatile. Heavy, fifty pounds plus. You can switch between three different wattages, 5,20,and 50 . Each power level reconfigures the output section. Really cool features.
I have an F-50, great amp that they only made for a few years. A friend of mine had a Studio 22 they he loved for years. I’m a fan of the clean channel myself, and use a pedal to drive it past the “sweet spot”.
Just picked up an f-50 combo at GC for $899. Bumbed about the "pre gibson" price bump, but sounds great. So glad you're diving into these underappreciated mesas, Not enough people are. I love high gain and cleans, but am maturing enough to appreciate low/mid gain tones, and I've always felt that so many mesas can do blues/jazz/country/rock/metal: all very well. Thank you.
I also have an F-50, great amp, especially the clean channel 👍
The best Mesas: Studio 22 with eq, Mesa Tremoverb combo, mark 2c+, Mesa Rectoverb Combo!!!!! And the real gem: the Heartbreaker 2x12 combo!!!!
great demo Jack
Great video man! I got a studio 22 with the graphic for 700 bucks last year and am blown away...absolutely dime it thru a load box and some 4x12 Mesa and Friedman IR's....amazing. I find the 1x12 boxy by nature, its fine on its own but through a 2x12 or bigger it balances out and sounds/feels so good. I've owned a 5:50 and currently also have a California tweed, honestly the most stoked on this old weird one and am checking out all of the other old forgotten ones!
Never played a Mesa Boogie, but they sound really good. Cheers Jack
They’re fun amps! They have a surprisingly good and somewhat unique clean tone, given that they’ve always been known for gain
Great review! Thinking about buying one
I am so lucky to buy one last friday from my guitar teacher for a resonable price. It absloltely rocks . It's the one with an equalizer.
Came for the tones, stayed for the t-shirt. ;)
I don’t usually sing my own praises, but I will say that it takes gumption to do a Mesa Boogie video wearing a Beach Boys t shirt.
Love the classic Mesa twangy clean
Same here! Known for gain but their cleans are something special
im getting one soon ! wooden cab ! can't wait thats going to be my first tube amp
Not forgotten to me. I remember the 1st add , like it was last month.
Got this same amp. Love it! Can’t really get it very clean though.
Used to live in Petaluma, CA. and used to visit Mesa to check out what was new. Randall pioneered the cascading gain. Just serious kit no ifs and or buts.😎👍
They had something no one else at the time was doing.
I agree with your concerns...
My Hope's are that Mesa Boogie has a bright future. Great folks and gear😎👍❤🖖
Very cool! I’ve seen the Mesa building but never been in.
@@JackFossett
Seems everyone there has a chopstick in their hand tapping tubes🤣😎👍
A geek's heaven 😎👍
😎👍❤🖖
@@JackFossettI'm located in Singapore at south east Asia so I can't be like visiting and knocking at their doors and all although I love to....
But they do promptly respond to all email inquiries on my Mark II maintenances or my V Twin pedal tune configurations etc etc etc... I you need name it...
You got something you always wanna ask about Mesa Boogie products but too embarrassed or shy....? Just ask and they will response and keep you anonymous.
These people stand by their merchandise even after they leave thier doorsteps. Not saying this out of owner's pride or as an endorsee but these folks means business. My Mesa Boogie gears, my previous studio caliber. 22, Mark IIB, a V twin preamp pedal and Full Throttle pedal products are all locked and loaded and ready for any female talents, camera and lighting crew on standby no pluffers or Viagra required.
@@ericchng6102 I agree so much with Mesa standing behind what's already sold. When I wanted to get my S O B, I called them a couple different times a looked up about the info they told me on the phone. Had my amp 10 yrs and will never s sell it. Only problem with this amp is the weight. Also it's in a road case so more weight added. But it's locked down tight with a cover that if this was the sheet on my bed I would never get out of bed. Some kind of super soft satin covering. Then the wood case top with foam inside.
Hi Jack, another great video. So yeah I have had a few Mesa's MKiv, Stiletto, F-30, TA-15. I actually got to do a tour of Mesa when my MKiv was being built, they tracked it down for me and I saw it on the bench. Like a fool after 15 years I sold it, dumb. The Stiletto was cool, got it real cheap cause nobody dug them, moved it on. Now the F-30, thats the one I wish I would have kept. I think it was the next generation of their small package amp idea. Maybe you could do a series of reviews on the F series, I think they are the sleeper value out there now. TA-15 was nice but it was kind of similar to other low wattage amps I had at the time (Fargen MicroPlex) and I let it go. Now my buddy has both a MKIIB and a studio 22. Its the Studio that he gigs most of the time. I grew up in So Cal in the 70's 80's and I had a friend who actually had a Fender Princeton that Randall Smith had modded in the early days. ( we laughed at him, yeah right a boogie) The only thing I can say is that some of these 80;s 90's mesa are getting a bit tired. If you open them up and look inside they are a repairman's nightmare. Randall had his own way of doing things, they are not point to point wiring, but a circuit board layout. Avery sturdy circuit board but still very complicated. When my friend got his studio 22 we decided to ship it to Petaluma for an overhaul, in my opinion the smartist thing you can do with an aging Mesa. I have a Fender Princeton II, Its a 83 when Paul Rivera was at Fender. It is a Fender made Boogie, channel switching high gain. Its a very ,very well made amp, and is a direct result of how Mesa changed the market place in the 80's. Bur Jack , isn't it funny how most all amps seem to have their place in history. If an amp is not appreciated now all you have to do is wait, sooner or later some comes along and says " hey, pretty cool amp" I thing there are a bunch of 80's solid state amps that dont get the love they deserve Lab Series, Jim Kelly, Roland, Yamaha , Randall come to mind
I'm here because I think that there are quite a lot of forgotten gems that can be found for nothing on the used market. here in italy, you can buy a brunetti xl series amp for less than 400 euros. those were the amps i saw the professional use when i was growing up, 3 channels 120w beast with tons of flexibility ( big wattage not for a lot of volume, but for consistency at any volume, you're not going to get poweramp saturation with 120w)... if you're able to make a good research, you can get yourself incredibile stuff! At the moment, a simple hot rod deluxe is up for crazy money...😊
I had it for years... lovely amp, loud, just don't do metal. Sold it for a small profit as I prefer bigger power tube tubes than EL84. I'm with a 60 Watts 1982 Mark IIB now, and does everything it's told without issues. Real loud if I want it to and it has 6L6...Praised be for big power tubes.
Love these amps, great vid Jack! I have a DC5 combo which I bought in 1994 which sounds great & its all original and still going strong with loads of gigs under it’s belt!👍👍👍🎶🎶
I have this combo amp and love how simple and low key it is. I made a fail YT review because I did not turn it up LOL. Mine was a house amp for a club for years, before I got it for like 175 and it all needed were tubes and new cables for the reverb. It was definitely abused. Besides this, I have the Mark IV, blue angel head, bass 400 , 2 bass cabs and 1 boogie cab. And their rare stereo hifi amp. I should probably sell. Only the 22 gets jam and gig action. I do play them monthly as part of the upkeep, Lately for guitar tracking in my little home studio, I started using the Blue Angel again
Have a Studio 22 originally in the rare head version and the big brother Caliber .50+ originally in a combo version. Had a tech swap cases btw them some time ago, so nowI have a Studio 22 combo and Caliber 50+ head. Like them both, but really love the Studio 22 clean sound. It can be very juicy and breaks up nicely. Can get surprisingly loud. The Caliber clean is a tad less warm, maybe that´s due to the power amp differences. The Studio now runs with a Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker which sounds fat, but is rather lightweight, which makes a very nice grab and go amp. The Caliber head I use with Eminence Swamp Thang cabs, that sound huge, but more polished than the C Rex.
The issue I have with both amps is the FX loop, which does not work well with time based effects. If you turn up delay or reverb to high they start going into some weird HF feedback. This for me is the only real drawback.
I believe these were made in the (relatively) early days of FX loops even existing - I wonder if there were some kinks to work out.
Check out the dc/duel caliber models. Hidden jems!
Hi Jack, back in the day i had a Calibre 22 but it wasnt loud enough for my band. In 2014 i found a Rocket 44 it blew me away, if you get the chance try one dont pass it up these are defo a sleeper as you say a lot are. The problem is i no longer have the band oh well! cheers from the UK. Steve.
Awesome! I’ve never tried the Rocket. I would love to get one of the new Cali Tweeds or Fillmores
I remember these when they came out. Sounds great! What model is that tele? Wow
I've got a studio .22 and I love it. I've had it for 13 years. The speaker died today, time to find a good replacement speaker.
Check out Weber - they make great speakers and loads of options
@@JackFossett I ended up putting a neo creamback into it. I was a little worried how it would turn out, but it ended fitting perfectly. I also put a mod reverb tank in it and that made a huge difference and fixed the weak reverb it originally had.
8:25 you should look out for a Studio 22+! That amp has the "Lead Master mod" already bulid in to ballance Lead & Rythm Channel. Both version where available with and wihtout the Graphic EQ. I would only hunt for a "Plus"-version with the EQ implemented. I love my 22+ because I can get some of the greatest amp tone out of it. The typical Mesa tones (incl. heavy stuff ála Metallica and Dream Theater-ish) but also some kind of Fender clean/crunch tones. Due to the EL84, I think, I can also hear some kind of "british" voicing that reminds me of some kind of Voxy or Mashall. I love it!
For more power, you could also go for a Caliber .50. Some goes fot the Plus und EQ-versions. But this Model was available with either 4xEL84 or 2x6L6 Power tubes! I had almost all versions, but prefer a 22+ /w EQ. It was my fisrt amp I´ve ever owned and won´t ever sell that one!
Jack, you brought out the sounds out of that Mesa Boggie!! Yes!! Question: what year is that Gibson ES you started the video out with?
Thank you! 2010 or 2011, I can’t quite remember. But around then.
@@JackFossett looks real nice!
Caliber 50+ is a Great Amp!
So fat and warm!
Nice honest review and vid Jack. Almost pulled the trigger buying a MB Fillmore a few months ago! I did not trust the seller so backed off the purchase. Stay safe.
Oh I get that -- there are some sketchy sellers out there. I'd love a Fillmore someday, thats one on my short list. Great amps!
@@JackFossett and by the way I received my Studio Daydream OD Gold. It is a keeper!
@@texasbootlegger3752 Awesome! Yeah I agree. I love the extra controls.
I had one of these for a few years. Tube seats burn the board to a point where it can't be repaired. It is a noisy amp and all the eq is interactive so a small adjustment can ruin your sound. I was certainly glad to get rid of mine from the reliability point of view. I loved how it sounded though 🙂
So I haven’t had any trouble with this one, but I have definitely had trouble with other mesas. Sadly techs hate to work on them too because they’re so complex inside.
@@JackFossett yeah the newer ones are. The Studio is not too complicated just not designed well. Faults aside, it is still a nice little combo that pack a punch. Great tone and loud 🙂
I like my 22+ a great deal, and i totally with you agree with you on this. Tubes underneath the board can't be a good idea... I've tried pointing a fan in the back, I've tried extracting the heat by pointing the fan away, but the board still gets cooked.
@@robotgoose225 it's a shame it has this major flaw as it does sound great from twangy country to hard rock..... It does almost everything. I would like to build a point to point version. Solve the issues and make it reliable. I might get around to doing one in the future
@@rgbplumbinghilton Great Idea. Have the tubes sat outside on an external unit...🤔🤷♂️👍
Trying to decide between a studio 22 plus or a nomad 45 212. Thoughts? Mostly hard rock/metal. But also dig jamming classic rock styles.
I think the Nomad would cover more territory if you're into heavier genres too.
@@JackFossett trying to decide whether to part with a 2002 fender super reverb for one or the other. I do have a modded JMP 2204 I mainly play through. But I always miss having both boogie and Marshall tones at hand.
..thanks for showing some start points to treat the knobs ... coming from a Marshall JMP it seems to be just another world how they work ;) . I recently traded a Twin 135W, which I never used (though a nice amp, but so heavy I always believed someone had fixed it to the ground when I tried to move it), for a white 22 ... especially with a strat it gives much more range for variation than I was used to :) ... will have to check the fx loop and find out more about the rhythm/lead balance ... to be honest I really don't understand the conceptional idea behind it right now ...
ah, forgot about that: thanks for the video, I have to confess I never manage to listen to long vids with lot of talk normally, yours is interesting enough to stay :D
Kurt Cobain tracked all of Nevermind with a Studio .22 and a modded Bassman.
A Vox Ac 30 was used a lot as well.
wow - amazing - is that true ?
Was it a studio .22 + with the graphic EQ?
When Kurt got his advance to record Nevermind, he was still really used to being frugal about his gear. So he allegedly didn’t buy much stuff with it - some cheap lefty Fenders and the following amp setup:
I believe it was a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22 Preamp (not a .22 Plus) running into a Crown Power Base 2 800 watt power amplifier. At some point he replace the Crown with a Crest 4801 power amp, which he said he preferred with the Mesa/Boogie.
He also stated that he’d always max out the mids on the Mesa/Boogie .22 Preamp - I’ve never played through one so don’t know if there’s a particularly scoop to their tone or if they have a really nice sounding midrange or if Kurt regularly cranked the mids on his amps up, or what…
I think he also used Marshall cabs during this period, but I think might’ve incorporated Hiwatt cabs into his rig as well, but that might’ve been later on.
A Fender Bassman and Vox AC-30 were also used in a lot of Nevermind, however, I get the impression that this was more at Butch Vig’s insistence, as he’s openly stated that he prefers amp distortion - whereas Kurt considered his DS-1 distortion pedal to be an integral part of his sound - and would do stuff like lie to Kurt about a prior take having some technical issue, then suggest Kurt try a Bassman this time instead, and then Vig layered them all over each other in production.
Supposedly, he didn’t. It was a Studio Preamp, which is a different circuit. As well as an AC30 and a Bassman, as been noted, and relayed by Butch Vig.
10:00 Ah... SEE!!! That's what I mean! ;) I even use my POD 2.0 Pro for some particular sounds still. Yes, it's outdated and yes, it sounds horrible on some settings, but it's VERY usuable still. :D
I have the bigger brother. The 50 caliber(El 84 class A). Plus a Subway Blues and a Rocket 44. Love them all and not one over $1000.00CDN !!
I nominate "pre-Fossett" era as the new arbitrary point of division.
I mean, why not?
Great amp. Actually affordable on the used market here in Australia - if you are lucky enough find one. Last I saw was one in great condition for $1.4K.
Apparently they do go for below $1k, if you are patient enough.
My ultimate goal is to become a controversial and divisive figure in the guitar world. Its been a humble start but Im slowly making waves.
As a New Zealander, You have my Axe!!
Moria! Erebor! Never forget!
.. Elves are alright I suppose, don't want seem.. er... prejudice.. oh look some gold gtg.. "
😅
I have one, but mine has plastic switches and the footswitch is different.
When were these Calibers made?
I wonder how much this differs from my F50, which is (3) 12ax7's and (2) 6L6
Actually found someone who'd look at my 22+ but he's had it six months, so I'm guessing he's not too keen after all 🤣
does this amp run hot right away. I turn it on and within two minutes it's pretty hot. ty
The problem with Mesa is how hard they are to repair. Similar to the newer Fender bassbreaker series, really some great tones but practically impossible to fix. You have to learn to fix your own amplifier. I wouldn’t fix a fender bassbreaker for a customer or a complex Mesa
Funny I was just writing something similar in a response to someone else - I’m lucky in that a local store with an amp tech is a Mesa dealer, and he’s been working on them forever and is good at it. But otherwise that’s definitely something to consider, as they’re not the most reliable amps ever
@@JackFossett I have fun working on my own stuff. But if you rely on an amp technician, like your amp tech, you need someone with 30+ years experience working on mostly just those amps who has developed a 6th sense and a work flow to actually make working on them profitable. I have seen RUclipsrs chase issues when the circuit boards have gone conductive, then it’s basically trash or a complete gut job and custom hand wired amp in its place.
Plenty of competent techs in the Ny/Nj area for Mesa stuff. Easy
Love the amp but just a bit too heavy for me.
Oh, I actually find it quite light compared to other mesas. It’s lighter than a Blues Jr for sure
Kurt Cobain sometimes used a studio 22
Oh god pre Gibson price hikes 🤦🏽♂️ and yet nothing has changed.
Hi there...i bought this amp after a lifetime of dreaming a Mesa 😅...this was the only one i could afford...i like it a lot❤...but few days ago i saw a video from a amp techinician, of a Mesa studio22 repair...he said a lot of very bad thinghs on this amp, like, it's a mess to repair, is really bad made, very low quality and so on...and people who commented totally agreed with him..😮 one even wrote that this amp was pure crap, very dangerous, and ready to catch fire !!!😮 OMG...are we studio 22 lovers all idiots?😅 Where's the Truth? Wasn't Mesa boogies solid as a rock? I'm so disappointed and a bit scared too😅😢...what do you think?😊
I think it sounds more like a Peavey Classic 30 than a Deluxe
Yeah, that’s a fair comparison - it definitely has shades of Princeton but the Peavey is solid likeness too.
There is literally nothing that has changed at Mesa since Gibson bought the company, with regard to the design and manufacture of their amplifiers. There is no difference at all in the amps since Gibson came in. Anybody who says there is a difference is full of shit.
Gibson has so far done no harm to Mesa, and it's been two years plus.
So you’re unsure about it, then?
Had to keep fast fawarding to much talking