Mesa Maverick/The Poor man's Dumble

[matte]

I've had the opportunity to play through and record with a number of Dumbles over the years. There's a give/squishiness in their response that works for a number of well respected players. It's no secret that the early Boogies were fashioned after the brilliant HAD's work. It's no surprise to me that my favourite Boogie, which is totally slept on would bear a more than cursory resemblance (as regards feel and voicing) to HAD's amps.

I have no doubt that there are several amp designers on this forum (who have a much better grasp of amp design) who will either negate or affirm my perspective based on the circuit. That being said, it's remarkable how similar this amp feels to me, regardless of the power tubes.

 

[big mike]

Maverick 4x10 is stellar. never tried the 12's much. Been threatening to get one. At some point a deal will present itself.

 

[Robertito]

I have always understood that Randall Smith came up with the idea for the Boogie long before HAD's amps were popular. He patented the Mk II, for example. I could be wrong...

 

[wsaraceni]

Originally posted by Robertito
I have always understood that Randall Smith came up with the idea for the Boogie long before HAD's amps were popular. He patented the Mk II, for example. I could be wrong...

i was under the same assumption. either way, there are some really nice boogies out there!!!!

 

[mude]

Agreed on the feel in some ways. The "clean" channel (which dirties up nicely) is one of my favorites.

Absolutely one of the used bargains that can be found IMO.

Evan.

 

[big mike]

I think HAD was first. SRV got a couple boogies when he was working with Bowie because "they sound a lot like a dumble"

 

[johnspeck]

Originally posted by Matte
It's no secret that the early Boogies were fashioned after the brilliant HAD's work.

Funny you mention that, because I was recently tweaking an early Boogie and totally nailed that cool kinda Frisell/Carlton/Scofield touch-sensitive clean light/dirty hard pick attack without even touching the volumes, and messing with the volumes/tone pots just gets even more cool tones.

 

[Fuchsaudio]

D*mble did it in the late 60's, a few years before Randy. Randy was just got better known as a result of being more business oriented. More than a few people speculated that parts of the original Mesa design were inspired by Dumbles.
Gil Ayan once ran the whole thing down on a thread, but I forget the ending. Gil ?

 

[Srini]

Originally posted by johnspeck
Funny you mention that, because I was recently tweaking an early Boogie and totally nailed that cool kinda Frisell/Carlton/Scofield touch-sensitive clean light/dirty hard pick attack without even touching the volumes, and messing with the volumes/tone pots just gets even more cool tones.

Well, Carlton was a Boogie user before he got Dumbled.

Srini

 

[hw2nw]

I loved my Maverick head! It was such a great piece of gear. I loved flipping the bright switch and cranking channel one...GORGEOUS.


oh man oh man. I miss it.

 

[908SSP]

I have been saying for a while now that untill I get my Dumble my MKIIC+ will have to do. Oh don't feel bad for me.

 

[matte]

Originally posted by 908SSP
I have been saying for a while now that untill I get my Dumble my MKIIC+ will have to do. Oh don't feel bad for me.

My heart's pumping piss for you. Only the most sought after Boogie to console you.

 

[Steve Snider]

Yep! Just ask Terry Hyatt.

 

[matte]

Originally posted by Steve Snider
Yep! Just ask Terry Hyatt.

Hey Steve! Gimme a shout over the weekend if you get a minute. You gotta hear this thing. Perfect blend of sing and string on the gain channel.

 

[Steve Snider]

Originally posted by Matte
Hey Steve! Gimme a shout over the weekend if you get a minute. You gotta hear this thing. Perfect blend of sing and string on the gain channel.

Matte,

I have had three Mav's. Two 1X12 combos and a head. I have been tempted by the 2X12 and 4X10 combos. The best Mesa made IMHO. Great amp indeed. I want another. For $600 you can't do much better. My Uber arrives Monday BTW. Carvin By Friday.

Re: The Maverick vs my Current Two Rock- No Comparison. My Two Rock kills it in every way, but it costs a bunch more too.

 

[Mike]

I was in a band w/ a guy who ran a Maverick head thru a Matchless 4x10 cab. Ran a P90 Les Paul with it -- sounded great.

Also saw a guy here in town doing jazz with a Guild Artist Award thru a Maverick 2x12 combo, and got to play it. Gorgeous, as I remember it.

Last year a guy I was jamming with asked what I thought of Mavericks and I said I thought they were stellar for the dough, so he bought a 1x12 combo and brought it over.

It was a little noisy, but flat sounding as compared to the other amps I have around here, including older Two-Rocks. Like lots of things, it wasn't how I'd remembered it....

Could have been the 1x12 combo, but I don't think so.

Mike

 

[rwe333]

Interesting thread, Matte.
This is now out-of-production, right?

 

[duffyguitarman]

I have a Mav. head and the clean channel is pretty darn good, but needs more head room. Thinking of messing around with an 12AT7 in the V1 to see if that helps. I don't care for the gain channel but I did end up using it for slide on this record I am producing and playing on. I just could not find what I was looking for in other amps and tried it for the heck of it. Man, it kills for slide. I am going to post some of those tracks soon.
The clean channel sounds really good with my Maxon 808. Not even remotely a match for my Two Rock, but I carry the head often for a spare, it's small and really light.

Peace,
Duffy

 

[dzeitlin]

I've had a Mav 1X12 and 2X12, and now have a LSS. I think the LSS nails all the tones of the Mav, and then some. You might want ot check one out. Definately not as good a bargain as a used Mav.

 

[TubeAmpNut]

Architectually, the Maverick is nothing like a Dumble. The closest Mesa is a Mark II. The neat thing about the Mav is the 'fat' switch, which changes one stage (before the tone stack) to a cathode follower.

Isn't it interesting that people rever Dumble so much they are afraid to write his name? It did't happen so much in this thread, but too frequently I see D*mble, Humble, Rumbel, etc. It reminds me of Monty Python's "The Life of Brian" where you get stoned if you say "Jehoveh"!


Jehoveh, Jehoveh...! er, Dumble, Dumble, Dumble!



BK