I'll just leave this here and walk away...

[Steve DeRosa]

2024:

"Dude, it sounds just like a real tube amp - because it is..."

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

2024:

"Dude, it sounds just like a real tube amp - because it is..."

A few things come to mind.

The people too daft to realize Gibson's advertising doesn't say they are making a traditional hand wired to turrets amps.

The dimwits who say they won't own a modern car daft to how many decades they've already been driving with electronic controls. The even dumber ones who talk about computer spying forgetting their flip phones do it too.

I'm equally in love with guitar electronics I soldered together myself, my Mesa amp with same construction all of a sudden no good, and the modern electronics and apps.

The only things wrong with my Mesa amp are the size and weight for how I've been playing the guitar. Getting over the bad taste recent decades of Gibson left, the Falcon amps look decent and competitive.

[Bob Womack]

I live in two worlds. Be sure to look at the front left.


And for Steve.


Bob

[Puddleglum]

Funny meme. A friend and I were just talking about the old Line6 POD the other day. It seems to me the world wasn't quite ready for it back when it came out 25 years ago or so. I had a nice little tube amp back then and couldn't understand how a little red "pod" could do what it was doing. (I've never been accused of being too sharp when it comes to technology, though.) Line6 was way ahead of things back then.

I recently got a Positive Grid Spark and am loving it. I don't gig but just sit around and play riffs with headphones on. The Spark is perfect for that. Any of those fancy tube rigs pictured above would be completely wasted on me for what I do. But I'm sure they'd be a lot of fun to crank up and mess around with.

[perttime]

I don't really care if there's tubes, transistors, or microcirquits in it, as long as I like the sound. I do have a psychological aversion against modelers, though.

[CASD57]

On the Gibson amps (new)
If they think I'm paying that much money and it's not Hand Wired..They are crazy and if they are, they are just trying to set the standard for the years to come...$1800 for a PCB-tube mounted amp will become the norm.
JUST SAY NO....

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by CASD57

On the Gibson amps (new)
If they think I'm paying that much money and it's not Hand Wired..They are crazy and if they are, they are just trying to set the standard for the years to come...$1800 for a PCB-tube mounted amp will become the norm.
JUST SAY NO....

More of that. I would have kept their pre-Gibson slogan on the amps. The rest of things people are complaining about seems really off base if you look at the build methods and pricing for what is out there.

Fender and boutique brands that have the high labor and wired to turrets construction all cost considerably more. Mesa has made amps that way for decades. The Fender reissues made similarly have a great track record.

I'm sorry I'm misunderstanding you but these Gibson Mesas are close in price to some of the competition and a fraction of what several boutique makers and Fender's more old school build amps are.

If one compared the Falcon 5 to a Laney 5 watt also with spring reverb and that power range someone could say it is more expensive however not if you consider the Falcon as a different badge Mesa. I'm also missing how they are setting any sort of new standards except for less expensive Mesa amps. Mesa have been made that way for a seriously long time and always priced as higher tier products.

[ghostnote]

There are plenty of things in this world to be irate about. Overpriced musical equipment is not one of the things that flips my switch - it’s been like that forever. I can remember whining to my friends in 1970 about “why does that Les Paul cost so much?” There have always been things that seemingly cost more than they should. It’s business, nothing more. It’ll either succeed or it won’t. I can shake my head at it and think it’s ridiculous, but that’s the extent of my emotional involvement. For the record, I like pretty much all types of guitar amplification, and I use tubes, SS, modelers, headphone amps - I still have a Pignose.

[GCWaters]

Originally Posted by ghostnote

There are plenty of things in this world to be irate about. Overpriced musical equipment is not one of the things that flips my switch - it’s been like that forever. I can remember whining to my friends in 1970 about “why does that Les Paul cost so much?” There have always been things that seemingly cost more than they should. It’s business, nothing more. It’ll either succeed or it won’t. I can shake my head at it and think it’s ridiculous, but that’s the extent of my emotional involvement. For the record, I like pretty much all types of guitar amplification, and I use tubes, SS, modelers, headphone amps - I still have a Pignose.

I was in high school in the 70s and desperately wanted a Les Paul…the $489 was just too much, but I was able to save $300 for a new Strat….i really wish I’d bought the SG I was offered by a guy I worked with, but $250 for a used guitar seemed outrageous…

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by CASD57

On the Gibson amps (new)
If they think I'm paying that much money and it's not Hand Wired..They are crazy and if they are, they are just trying to set the standard for the years to come...$1800 for a PCB-tube mounted amp will become the norm.
JUST SAY NO....

Umm, it already is. Most tube amps these days are PCB- based, especially anything under $2500. Done right, there are no shortcomings. Problem is a lot of companies do it wrong (*cough* Fender). Hand Wired is only as good as the circuit design and the hands doing the build.

Brian Gerhard at Top Hat is building me an amp right now - that’ll fill my current empty tube amp slot. But I’m really interested to see where Dave Friedman takes his Vintage series. His PCB tube amps are fantastic but have tended to lean more high gain. I had a Little Sister that was very nice, but I wanted to go a different direction and form factor.

[HCarlH]

I bought the POD when it came out and neither I nor any others I read on the forums thought it sounded just like an amp. it was close. I now have been using the Kemper for 12 years and it DOES sound/feel like an amp. The other options sound iike modelers.

[KevWind]

I got back into electrics 7 years ago having last played one in 1969

And tried a bunch of amps both Tube and Solid State many with modeling and eventually decided I like tube.

I see Steve showed a REVV D40 and interestingly I have A REVV hybrid D20 which is a 20 watt tube head BUT it has Embedded Two Notes Reactive Load and Virtual Cabinets I do use the Reactive Load feature for silent practice thru head phones.. But I don't use any of the Cab models as I use a Port City Amps 2 X12 vertical speaker cab
And honestly I am seriously thinking of selling the Revv and getting a Port City Merino straight 20 watt Tube Head because I guess I am just an old fashioned tube guy at heart

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by imwjl

More of that. I would have kept their pre-Gibson slogan on the amps. The rest of things people are complaining about seems really off base if you look at the build methods and pricing for what is out there.

Fender and boutique brands that have the high labor and wired to turrets construction all cost considerably more. Mesa has made amps that way for decades. The Fender reissues made similarly have a great track record.

I'm sorry I'm misunderstanding you but these Gibson Mesas are close in price to some of the competition and a fraction of what several boutique makers and Fender's more old school build amps are.

If one compared the Falcon 5 to a Laney 5 watt also with spring reverb and that power range someone could say it is more expensive however not if you consider the Falcon as a different badge Mesa. I'm also missing how they are setting any sort of new standards except for less expensive Mesa amps. Mesa have been made that way for a seriously long time and always priced as higher tier products.

I'm a big Mesa fan, my absolute favorite amp tone wise that I own (of many top tier boutique brands like Clark, Tophat, Victoria, etc), is my Mesa Fillmore 50. And in rehearsing my new band I've been using a Mesa DC2 combo that sounds particularly good, but the Falcon amps have gone a bit in the wrong direction construction wise. All 4 preamp tubes are mounted on the circuit board inside of the chassis, with no real ventilation on them, with critical components right next to them on the board. It's a shame because I really like the sound of the amp, I auditioned one last week for an extended period.
But that construction has me worried so I may steer from that amp.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I'm a big Mesa fan, my absolute favorite amp tone wise that I own (of many top tier boutique brands like Clark, Tophat, Victoria, etc), is my Mesa Fillmore 50. And in rehearsing my new band I've been using a Mesa DC2 combo that sounds particularly good, but the Falcon amps have gone a bit in the wrong direction construction wise. All 4 preamp tubes are mounted on the circuit board inside of the chassis, with no real ventilation on them, with critical components right next to them on the board. It's a shame because I really like the sound of the amp, I auditioned one last week for an extended period.
But that construction has me worried so I may steer from that amp.

From serious consideration of selling or trading that particular Mesa (my photo) and a fair amount of shopping I remain lost on most complaints about the new Falcon amps.

Maybe what I see would stand out or be more obvious if people made a table, spreadsheet or did some simple math. I'm not finding turret style, US made, has reverb tank or power switching (could be attenuator), or absolute highest standards build without spending 50% to 135% more than these new models.

These new models also have a considerable dealer and service network which is important for sales and post-sale matters. The dialog with sellers of the Supro and Laney you could consider competitors and also their more premium brands all got me answers where they don't do repairs. It also got answers where some of the boutique options have really poor service.

I'm not sure what I'll do or buy but so far I'm getting over the bad taste Gibson left in my mouth, and these look like reasonable contenders for the niche they are in.

[redir]

Ok what's the joke I don't get it.