Mesa/Boogie Blue Angel 4x10 Combo

This amp has very few features but that's the Idea. It dose on thing very very well...it give you pure class A, power tube tone. It has one: volume,bass,treb,mid,and reverb. Thats it. No channel switching,EQ,presance,push pull pots etc.... If your style is about getting one really good tone for the night, this is a dream set up. It's so nice to be totally into making music on stage rather than looking over my sholder all the time wondering what dial to turn to find the tone for the song. This amp has a switch to select tube type. You can use two 6V6's at 15 watts, 4 EL84's at 33 watts, or all six at 38 watts. Thier is a Fat/bright switch as well. This is nice because in a way the bright just cleans things up a bit which I think of as my ( sort of ) clean channel. Thiers a effects loop and direct out on the back of the amp.

I play in a successful blues band in San Francisco. My style is all over the place including a lot of over the top tones as well as some Wes licks with a fat jazz tone, and everything in between. I've tried this amp with a G&L ASAT tele but my main guitar is a 335 and this review reflects the sounds I get from humbuckers. I think this is the best amp for my needs. I love putting it on 2 6V6's at 15 watts and turing the volume up almost all the way. It's just pure power amp drive.You get that magic feeling of playing the whole amp at a volume that fills up big clubs and yet keeps the sound man off my back. Set at 33 watts you get a bit cleaner at high volume. This is the most responsive amp, Dig in harder and it gets louder. It also responds well to the guitars volume pot, allowing you to have a great deal of control from the guitar. This amp will not stay clean at higher volumes but some it still sound big and warm enough for jazz even though it's a bit dirty. I founf that using the Tele kept things cleaner longer than the 335 due to the difference in pick up output. I don't use much reverb but have to say this is the best reverb I've ever heard on any combo including my 65' Twin. Clearly this amp is not for every one, but if your playing blues this thing is king.

So far so good. I always have extra tube and fuses. Plus, I take a back up amp to very gig.

I'm going to get a few more down the road in different sizes. For what I do this thing is just the best. When turned way up it gets the best drive. Plenty of sustain but not a hint of LA-hair-band-tone. I sold a new Fender Hot Rod Diville to get this. The Fender was a great amp but at 60 watts I could'nt get the volume over 4 even in big clubs with out the sound man coming down on me , so I was stuck with pre-amp fuzz. It would be great if it had tremolo. I got a great deal on this from a guy that didn't seem to use it at all. I know they go for about $1100 new and I would gladly have paid that had I not run across this one.

This isn't a multi-purpose amp. It does one thing, and does it incredibly well. That one thing is a killer, "bluesy" singing tone. One channel, no master volume. Variable effects loop. Line out tapped from the speaker jack, so you get the power tube distortion in the line out sound. Footswitch jack for reverb. Volume, Treble, Mid (more later), Bass knobs. Selector knob for 2x6V6 (about 18W), 4xEL84 (33W), and Simul-link, i.e. both power stages for 33W. Bright/Fat switch. I give it a high versatility rating because it does have quite a few features for what it is, which is a plug and play kind of amp.

I fell in love with the sound of this amp. (It's very quiet, btw.) It has that great Class A, responsive, brilliant sound. Doesn't stay clean at middle-high volumes, but breaks up in the most delicious way. Has quite a lot of gain on tap, actually. The best sounds are in the middle to mid-high of the volume range. Very sensitive, dynamic amp. The mid control acts as a conventional mid control up to about 10 o'clock. From 10 to about 12, it boosts the lower-mids. From 12 on, the midrange gain gets boosted. This is a very useful control, giving quite a range of sounds. The sounds available from the different power settings are also very cool, and quite different in their break-up characteristics and harmonic content of the distortion. I use the amp with a THD Hot Plate power attenuator. Otherwise, it's quite loud for home use. It will do fine as a club amp, but won't stay clean at those volumes. But the distortion is so good, you won't want it to stay clean. :-) The reverb is also very, very good. Much better than any combo amp I've tried.
I compared it to Matchless 15W amps before buying it. Less money, more flexibility and power, and the sound is every bit as good.
The Guitar Player review actually does a very accurate job. I recommend reading it. (Sep '94).
Imp: It comes as a head and three types of combos. There's a 1x12 which I never tried. I tried a 4x10 with Celsetions, and a 4x10 with Alnico speakers. I liked the Alnicos better. The top end is sweeter, and the distortion is smoother, I felt.

I've never taken it out of the home, but Mesa does have a reputation for reliability. It looks very solidly built, plenty of hand-wiring, etc. It's well put together. You might want to change the thin strap holding the reverb tank if you're planning on gigging with it, though.

I called them when I was trying to decide, and they seemed very helpful and willing to answer all questions with patience. I can't really rate this, though.

I would buy it again in a second! The sound is so incredibly sweet, and the response and 'feel' are so springy and dynamic, that it practically becomes an extension of your guitar. I just wish it also had tremolo. As mentioned above, I compared it to some Matchless 15W amps, and some other Mesa, like the Subway Blues and the Maverick. Buy it if you don't need a lot of sounds from one amp, and if you love that 'just breaking up' sound. It does have a lot of gain on tap, but you need to crank it for that, or use a power attenuator like I do. It's expensive, but still much cheaper than most of it's competition. If you're in the $1000 ballpark, check it out.