General question about Mesa Engineering

[tronus]

I have a Mesa Boogie Mark V... Is the amp model a Mark V and the company Mesa Boogie... Or is Mesa Engineering the company and Boogie - Mark V, is the amp?

I always hear people refer to the company as Mesa Boogie. I'm just wondering. Thanks guys!

 

[supergenius365]

I believe it is Mesa Engineering who makes the Boogie Mark V

 

[dmagalhaes]

"Boogie" is the model, Mesa Engineering is the brand.

 

[tronus]

Kick butt, thanks for clearing that up you guys

I've been telling all my guitar friends lately that Boogie is the model... It keeps coming up for some reason and I'm never sure if what I'm telling them is valid.

 

[Tommy_G]

I don't know if its as clear cut as what appears above....

You'll find all kinds of models of amps under the www.mesaboogie.com website.

Mesa Boogie is a brand in and of itself.

 

[SWEENEY]

I remember the old ads that stated...


"All Boogies are Mesa's but not all Mesas are Boogies"

That's all I know.

 

[Singlecutz]

Seems to me like most people refer to the company as "Mesa Boogie" regardless of which amp they are talking about. If Mesa is trying to make some kind of distinction between "Boogie" and non-Boogie amp models, the message is getting lost.

 

[vintage66]

Seems to me like most people refer to the company as "Mesa Boogie" regardless of which amp they are talking about. If Mesa is trying to make some kind of distinction between "Boogie" and non-Boogie amp models, the message is getting lost.

I agree but I usually drop the Boogie now. Some amps used to say Boogie. My 5:50 doesn't. I'd like to know the distinction. The word Boogie doesn't sound very metal so I guess it would look funny on a Rectifier, maybe that's when they decided all Mesas weren't Boogies, not sure.

 

[teemuk]

The company started as Mesa Engineering Inc. but today it's actually Mesa/Boogie Ltd.

Both Mesa Engineering and Mesa Boogie are also their registered trademarks, along with about hundred other different trademarks including common terms like "tweed" or "rectifier".

Randall's dayjob at first was not building amps but renovating car motors and construction work. The business front established for it was Mesa Engineering Inc. The same business later expanded to amplifiers.

Their first amps were basically just modded Fenders and, I believe, their first REAL amp design was the Mesa 450. A the time Mesa was the brand and logo fitted to the amps, 450 was the model designation.

In early 1970's the modded Fender design evolved and was christened "Boogie" following a famous comment of Carlos Santana. The brand silkscreened to amplifiers changed to complete "Mesa Engineering". "Mark I" was the initial model designation but the amplifiers were fitted with "boogie" logo badges. Eventually as more revisions and new versions of the design popped up "Mark" began to mean a whole series of amplifiers, similarly to "Rectifier". In some amplifiers, namely those with graphic EQ, the control panel didn't have enough room for the Mesa Engineering logo so the amps only had the boogie badges.

As Boogie became synonymous with Mesa Engineering they eventually began to use "Mesa/Boogie" brand for various amps. In some other amps they have simply used the "Mesa Engineering" brand. So you already have brands including Mesa, Mesa Engineering, Boogie and Mesa/Boogie.

Confusing, eh?
Well, no one said there would be a simple answer to this.
The lowdown is that they can really just play ball with their ungodly long list of trademarks and use whatever brand they see fitting for their product. Whether its a meaningful choice or just a mere stylistic aspect of what looks better in the faceplate/grill. Everyone still knows who makes them.

 

[vintage66]

They own "tweed"? I don't think they've every made anything tweed.

 

[dmagalhaes]

Seems to me like most people refer to the company as "Mesa Boogie" regardless of which amp they are talking about. If Mesa is trying to make some kind of distinction between "Boogie" and non-Boogie amp models, the message is getting lost.

That's because all they made in the early days was the Boogie line so it stuck. If you look at their line today and in past models, the majority have not been Boogie's and the distinction is pretty clear. LoneStar, Heartbreaker, Maverick, Rectifier series, TA series, Road King, etc and their bass amps were never called Boogies. Same reason that many people call any cola a Coke, It was the first and it stuck.

 

[guitarrhinoceros]

That's because all they made in the early days was the Boogie line so it stuck. If you look at their line today and in past models, the majority have not been Boogie's and the distinction is pretty clear. LoneStar, Heartbreaker, Maverick, Rectifier series, TA series, Road King, etc and their bass amps were never called Boogies. Same reason that many people call any cola a Coke, It was the first and it stuck.

Um, I'm confused? Is there a specific and tangible detail that makes one of Randall Smith's offering a Mesa versus a Boogie? You named off all these recent amps as not being Boogies - but I thought that most of the newer amps Randall has created had been heavily influenced by his earlier amps that held the Boogie moniker? I'm confused. I thought essentially all of Mesa's amps were Boogies and Mesa's and that the name was interchangeable. I thought the only reason they had the Mesa Engineering title was due to the company first being dubbed that my Randall when he was a repair man. No?

 

[somedude]

Um, I'm confused? Is there a specific and tangible detail that makes one of Randall Smith's offering a Mesa versus a Boogie?

"Boogie" amps are Mark series amps. So far as I know the term has never been applied to a non-Mark amp... although Mesa's had a lot of amps over the years so I could be wrong.

There was a transitional period in the late '80s/early '90s where they fitted some Boogies and their cabs with a Mesa/Boogie name plate... but they reverted back to using Boogie on Boogie amps and the cabs now say Mesa Engineering. To add confusion, Mesa will fit "Boogie" plates on some of their cabs if you request them to.

All other series are typically fitted with a Mesa Engineering logo somewhere on the amp (front and/or back, depending upon space).

Long story short, I don't think Randall woke up one morning with a fully defined plan on how he was going to brand and market his products for the next 40+ years. He's pretty much winged it as he went and made adjustments along the way.

I thought essentially all of Mesa's amps were Boogies and Mesa's and that the name was interchangeable.

All Boogies are Mesas, but not all Mesas are Boogies.

Boogie Mark I, Boogie Mark II, Boogie Mark III, Boogie Mark IV, Boogie Mark V.

Mesa Dual Rectifier, Mesa Lone Star, Mesa Electra Dyne, etc...

 

[John Thigpen]

A search of the California Secretary of State's website reveals the following:

Entity Name:MESA/BOOGIE, LIMITED Entity Number:C0739125 Date Filed:07/01/1975 Status:ACTIVE Jurisdiction:CALIFORNIA Entity Address:1317 ROSS ST Entity City, State, ZipETALUMA CA 94954 Agent for Service of ProcessATRICK J. MCNEIL, A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION Agent Address:55 PROFESSIONAL CENTER PARKWAY, STE A Agent City, State, Zip:SAN RAFAEL CA 94903
There were several hits for Mesa Engineering, but none in Petaluma or established about the right time that are still active.

 

[tronus]

Sheesh... I'm just going to refer to this thread next time it comes up among friends

 

[piby]

"Boogie" amps are Mark series amps. So far as I know the term has never been applied to a non-Mark amp...


All other series are typically fitted with a Mesa Engineering logo somewhere on the amp (front and/or back, depending upon space).


All Boogies are Mesas, but not all Mesas are Boogies.

Boogie Mark I, Boogie Mark II, Boogie Mark III, Boogie Mark IV, Boogie Mark V.

Mesa Dual Rectifier, Mesa Lone Star, Mesa Electra Dyne, etc...

Somedude has given the right explanation.

 

[xjojox]

Yup. The Mark series amps were the first mesas, and it was an early prototype that inspired Carlos to say "Man, that little thing really boogies". In general, the Marks are the boogies.

I always thought of certain mark-derived amps such as the studio .22 as boogies too, but not sure how Mesa feels about that...even my old quad preamp was essentially a boogie...but I just made it complicated again so let's just stay with "mark".