Explain This Guitar Amp Rhetoric To Me

[coniferouspine]

Please explain this to me. I want to understand, honestly. I just don't know a lot of the jargon used to describe guitar amps. I just want to know, what does this amp sorta sound like? (Back story: There is a Mesa Stiletto amp head for sale on this gear website I browse, I have to admit it looks cool as f*ck and costs over a grand, but on the other hand I don't know what the heck they are talking about when they describe the amp like this):

Stiletto? marks Mesa?s dedication to the legendary power behind heavy rock?s British ancestry. Razor sharp and finely honed, the Stiletto is mean enough to slice right through any mix with a trademark new sound. From sparkling cleans to classic Brit crunch to a menacing new realm of high gain, our goal was to re-define the EL-34 sound and elevate it beyond the limits of previous boundaries. Just like the Rectos did to 6L6s!


The Stiletto? also incorporates our patented Bold-Spongy power feature that works like a built-in Variac for an even browner vibe. Our Solo feature (Pat. pend. 6,724,897) allows you to step out with a footswitchable volume boost when it?s your turn in the spotlight to wield this menacing tone.


So if your musical world relies on the classic El-34 Brit sounds we all love, but you need to greatly expand the range of performance while retaining the essence of character, check out the new STAGE II Stiletto?. You won?t believe where 34?s can take you now.

OK, obviously EL-34s are the tubes, I get that. But what is the sound? What's the "classic Brit sound" that we all know and love, except for me who has no idea what they're talking about? What is the "legendary power behind British rock's history"? Cite examples, or tell me what it means, because I dunno. Do they mean like, Judas Priest, "You Gotta Nother Thing Comin,' that kinda guitar sound? That Def Leppard Pyromania '80s sound? Back In Black? An old Motorhead record? Some band written about in Kerrang! that I've never heard of? Or what?


The "Brown sound" is the other one used a lot that I never get -- still don't get it. That's like Eddie Van Halen "Eruption" or something, right? Is that the "brown sound"? But I still don't get it. Why brown?

[thethingwiththestuff]

there's nothing wrong with you. that is a terrible product description. it tells you nothing all while making you feel you're not in on something special, and that if you buy it, you will be "in the know."

the classic brit sound to me means brian may/stones vox kinda thing. tight, trebly....but of course, it means all those things you listed too. useless.

the brown sound....yes, eddie van halen's tone. he used a variac to cut the amount of power fed to the amp (i'm not a guitar tech, this is the basic idea...) making the amp push a little harder, taking a bit of an edge off. in other words, the opposite of the british bright vox tone. useless bullshit. i guess it's "brown" like a slight dip in power in your house is a "brown out."

maybe this amp is awesome, but i cant tell from this buzz word filled ass smoke.

[ToddP]

"Classic British Sound" refers to the sound of a Marshall amp. They can't use the word "Marshall" in their lit because of trademark law.

"Brown Sound" was coined by EVH, as far as I can tell, to describe his tone.

[???????]

I personally would recommend steering clear of Mesa amps. This is because IN GENERAL they are voiced to be light on the midrange... more of a "modern" sound I guess.

[drumsound]

Masa amps started as modded "hot-rodded" Fender type amps. They branched out into high-gain crunch monsters and they are now tring to maks an amp that sounds like a vintage (i.e still good) Marshall.

[Harry]

I will chime in and say Mesa amps kick absolute ass!!

I'm not the kind of person who buys an amp and takes it apart to make a different amp,but I can tell you the one I own sounds great anywhere it's played with it's stock tubes after about ten years of heavy playing.

That being said......I would have to play something like that before I bought it. All that promo crap is silly...(((( people get paid to write that stuff???)))

Harry

[oobedoob]

"classic EL-34 Brit sounds" = 50w JMP plexi* with 4x12 greenbacks. (i.e. AC/DC)

*sometimes this means a 45w JTM plexi which doesn't even have EL34's in it's normal form

as opposed to something like 'classic british blues tone' which equals a very specific model of Marshall combo. (i.e. the Bluesbreakers' Beano album)

as opposed to something like 'classic british chime' which would equal Vox AC-15/30/50 (i.e. Beetles/Stones/etc)

as opposed to something like 'classic british metal sounds' which could equal Orange/Hiwatt but more likely sounds like Sound City (i.e. Sabbath)

as opposed to something like 'classic british power' which would allude to Hiwatt or 200w Marshalls (i.e. the Who live)

Others mentioned are usually derivative of one of these in one or more of the following ways:
- more gain/distortion from more preamp tubes
- more gain/distortion from a pedal
- more volume from more power tubes

But it's all marketing BS.

Historically Mesa amps don't really sound like any of these. Aside from the early ones they really sound like their own thing.

And I agree with 1.5cents of brad347's 2cents of comments about the line in general though I don't have experience with that particular model....

YMMV and who cares if it sounds good and the roadie can't break it....

[???????]

"classic EL-34 Brit sounds" = 50w JMP plexi* with 4x12 greenbacks. (i.e. AC/DC)

*sometimes this means a 45w JTM plexi which doesn't even have EL34's in it's normal form

as opposed to something like 'classic british blues tone' which equals a very specific model of Marshall combo. (i.e. the Bluesbreakers' Beano album)

as opposed to something like 'classic british chime' which would equal Vox AC-15/30/50 (i.e. Beetles/Stones/etc)

as opposed to something like 'classic british metal sounds' which could equal Orange/Hiwatt but more likely sounds like Sound City (i.e. Sabbath)

as opposed to something like 'classic british power' which would allude to Hiwatt or 200w Marshalls (i.e. the Who live)

Others mentioned are usually derivative of one of these in one or more of the following ways:
- more gain/distortion from more preamp tubes
- more gain/distortion from a pedal
- more volume from more power tubes

But it's all marketing BS.

Historically Mesa amps don't really sound like any of these. Aside from the early ones they really sound like their own thing.

And I agree with 1.5cents of brad347's 2cents of comments about the line in general though I don't have experience with that particular model....

YMMV and who cares if it sounds good and the roadie can't break it....

very good description. For my own education, which half a cent don't you agree with? I'm always down to learn if my thinking on something is incorrect...

[oobedoob]

A good friend had a Triple Rectifier that really didn't suck. If you like that sort of thing it could really punch you in the face. Not buzzy or thin in the mids--in fact it sounded huge even through a single 4x12. Plus it's a head so there's less vibration/heat on the PCB. It was definitely powerful in a club setting (200-300)

Also, some of the early mark 1 (?) amps that were still very close to being chopped and modded fenders can sound pretty good (i.e. more open and alive for lack of a better term).

Totally agree on the reliability issues (switches, pcbs, tube sockets, oh my). I'm also not into the somewhat thin/buzzy tone of a hi-gain amp on chinese 12ax7's.

But hey for nu-metal it beats a pv or solid-state marshall, or a pod....

[???????]

A good friend had a Triple Rectifier that really didn't suck. If you like that sort of thing it could really punch you in the face. Not buzzy or thin in the mids--in fact it sounded huge even through a single 4x12. Plus it's a head so there's less vibration/heat on the PCB. It was definitely powerful in a club setting (200-300)

Also, some of the early mark 1 (?) amps that were still very close to being chopped and modded fenders can sound pretty good (i.e. more open and alive for lack of a better term).

Totally agree on the reliability issues (switches, pcbs, tube sockets, oh my). I'm also not into the somewhat thin/buzzy tone of a hi-gain amp on chinese 12ax7's.

But hey for nu-metal it beats a pv or solid-state marshall, or a pod....

Some of the older boogies, Mark IIIs etc I can get down with. I wouldn't choose it for my own rig but i've heard people make 'em sound okay. The thing you said I don't get is there being "less heat on the PCB" with a head. It seems to be that there would be more heat. The voice coils of speakers do have some efficiency loss that translates to some heat but that is negligible. The tubes are still in the head which is a smaller space even than a combo so I don't know what you're talking about. ???

[Jeff White]

I have a Boogie DC-3. 35watt combo with a Celestion Vintage 30. I've never really been able to use the dirty (lead) channel because of microphonics. Seems like no matter what tubes get replaced it always rings. The "clean" channel is nice. It breaks up the more you throw at it, but is a far cry from the Fender clean sound that I've recently fallen in love with. However, I refuse to sell it. My Highway 1 Telecaster sounds amazing through it.

The cool thing about this amp is that it was a foot-switchable 5-band EQ built in. Instant mid boost, which makes it a three channel (if not four channel) amp.

The lead channel, when not microtonal, absolutely kills. Gobbs of great distortion.

Jeff

[oobedoob]

The Mesa amp I was speaking about had the tubes right side up, so the heat rises away from the PCB in these amps. That's all I was talking about.

[???????]

gotcha. That's better but still not the best. If a tube arcs the PCB is still toast.

[covert]

I really do not understand why mesa amps are getting slagged so frequently of late. Sure the numetal chugging thing is pretty tired, but that's the players, more than teh amp itself. Most mesa products are so flexible that players never really get even half the tones they are capable of. Beyond that, the different series are really different. The older mark stuff is in no way the same thing as the rectos etc. As far as construction, the rep in my parts of teh world is rock solid, and if they do go wrong the support network is very good.

[???????]

I really do not understand why mesa amps are getting slagged so frequently of late. Sure the numetal chugging thing is pretty tired, but that's the players, more than teh amp itself. Most mesa products are so flexible that players never really get even half the tones they are capable of. Beyond that, the different series are really different. The older mark stuff is in no way the same thing as the rectos etc. As far as construction, the rep in my parts of teh world is rock solid, and if they do go wrong the support network is very good.

It's interesting how different peoples' opinions can be.