I got yer Amp Porn - Behold the MOTHER of ALL Boogies!

[Turbozag]

I've been on cloud-9 all weekend after acquiring what for years has been my dream amp I've never had!

It's a Mesa Boogie Mark II a "Big Brother" model with a solid FLAMED KOA hardwood cabinet, and EVERY option available: reverb, 60/100 watt switch, hardwood, EQ, 15-inch! (This thing is HEAVY!) EV speaker, effects loop, etc... According to Mesa Boogie, there were only 37 made, and probably only a couple in Koa. I am a happy camper! I couldn't help but show it off.. The pics are not great. And the wild flame makes it look like there is a scratch or two, or smudges on it, but rest assured it's immaculate! The original owner said he played it a "couple hours" and it's sat under the included cover since then. Made in late 70's. Still has the old GE tubes, and has the original extra 12ax7 in the holder inside the cabinet! Also has original footswitch and all papers! After getting to check her out, the tone is the same sweet sound that I fell in love with back around 1981 or so when a friend let me play his Les Paul through a Mesa Boogie head running a JBL 15-inch cab. The sound is full and even though the bass is full of "punch" it still has crip high end and IT IS LOUD! I like the sound in 100 watt mode better than the 60 watt mode. The pull "Gain Boost" just puts you into "extreme cream" zone.. as in a nice creamy sustain that put Mesa on the map.. I still have my beloved Studio 22+, but I now realize that thing sounds sterile compared to this amp. I've wanted a 15-inch guitar amp ever since I heard that one. Now I remember why. Highly recommended! Mine didn't include a matching guitar, and it was way less than $36,000! :-)

[Old Tele man]

...good idea, that cooling fan for the output power tubes!

[Turbozag]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...good idea, that cooling fan for the output power tubes!

It's quiet too. In the owners manual, it says that if you're recording in a studio and want to quiet it down, you can unplug it.

[Teleplayer]

Did it come with the optional fork lift as well?

[Turbozag]

Originally Posted by Teleplayer

Did it come with the optional fork lift as well?

It's a heavy mofo for sure!

The original owner came to a guitar show carrying a photo of the amp around. When I asked about the amp, he said he left it home, an hour away... He had to do a 2 hour drive to go get it and bring it back..

I see why!

[Pete Galati]

A local guy who's no longer with us had one of those Boogie amps in the '70s. It was the first one I ever saw. I don't think the wood was koa, but it had that cane grill. He had a road case for the thing to keep it from getting beat up, and the band had road crew, so all that weight was no big deal.

He told me that he had to order the thing, and then wait for something like 6 months for it to show up. Mesa amps were a lot harder to get back then.

Pete

[amper]

Strange, but for some reason, I only seem to really dig koa on acoustic guitars. Like, say, that Taylor Susanna Hoffs Signature model, or a nice Goodall...neither of which I can afford.

[Tone Disciple]

Flash back to mid 1980's - My amp stable was this same Mesa 1x15 w/ EV speaker, wood cabinet (not Koa though) with cane grill and a Marshall Artist 30 head and 2x12 vertical cab.

The Mesa's tone and features were stellar - but you got a couple of things right - heavy and loud! Sold mine in divorce for $500 (filed under the "I can't believe I did that" category along with my 1968 Super Reverb, my full curl Les Paul and my mid 60's Epiphone Sheraton)!

I loved the tone but you had to get into the peeling paint volume category to get the tone! The EV really brings more clarity to the table and the 15" can really push some air. Buy some spackle! You may be repairing the walls in your practice room soon!

Beautiful piece - congratulations!

[robbieboyette]

Originally Posted by Pete Galati

He told me that he had to order the thing, and then wait for something like 6 months for it to show up. Mesa amps were a lot harder to get back then.
Pete

That's exactly right. I got one in 1981 while I was in college down in Fla. Of course, no internet...so I mailed them a request for a "catalog" which was basically a hand typed "form" listing prices and options. Then I filled it out and mailed it, along with all my money back to Randall Smith.
About 4 months later I got a notice in the mail and drove up the coast to the West Palm Beach airport and went to the freight area and there was my Mark II in it's anvil road case waiting on me. I had the black tolex one with all the bells and whistles and an EV 12L speaker in it.
Loved that little amp and use to run it with a Marshall 4X12 underneath it. It got stolen along with my entire P.A. and light show in 1985 down in Ft. Lauderdale. Randall Smith was still making 'em by hand back when I got mine, and there were NO dealers for Mesa. Matter of fact, he didn't even build an amp until it was ordered. Of course I wanted one because I wanted to sound like Santana and play that lick on Black Magic Woman! LOL! It's a cool sounding amplifier and embodies that California lead sound. I ended up replacing it after it got stolen with a Seymour Duncan Convertible which was a lot more useful for the heavier stuff we were playing at the time. But I still miss having that Boogie Mark II I probably would have kept that amp all my life, even if it wasn't my main rig. I would have kept it just because of what it was.

I think my favorite part is the the dove tail joints.

[Turbozag]

Thanks for the comments all...

I wasn't getting as lot of "crunch" at low volumes until I decided to pull the "Gain Boost" knob, and WHOA! It all the sudden reminded me of why I fell in love with Boogies way back..

This one was made May 9th, 1979, and it's a 2A. The research I've done seems to suggest that most all Koa cabinets were done on Mark 1s.

BTW, the pics really suck and look kinda washed out because my camera and my monitor (which is like 8 years old and dying) don't agree on the gamma settings.. So I had to lighten the pics up a bunch, which makes some of the shots look weak. The side shots pretty much show the color and detail of the grain. It truely is a thing of beauty IMHO...

And YES, this thing will peel paint from the walls if you can stand to turn it up that loud!

But with the gain boost, you can get surprizingly good gain at lower volumes. I'm still experimenting. There are quite a few pull-knobs to play with...

[Turbozag]

Originally Posted by kfowler11

I think my favorite part is the the dove tail joints.

Not only that, but it almost looks like the 4 sides are made from one board...

Gee, maybe a Koa Thorn is in the future....

[Jon Silberman]

It's a special moment when you acquire something like this that you always dreamed of for your music. Major congrats, enjoy it in good health!

[dewman]

hey- found another one for you Mesa addicts...www.nealsguitars.com, good but small vintage only dealer in suburban Philadelphia...

http://www.gbase.com/Powered/GearDet...d7&Item=859575

[robbieboyette]

Hey turbozag does it have the mid shift pull on the treble knob? That one really changes things up.