Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB

1982 Boogie combo 1x12. Wood cab with cane grill looks legedary.
The output is 85 watts of simulclass power with four 6l6 tubes.
Compliment of 12AX7 pre tubes.
Tube driven reverb that is fantastic beyond words. Much better than the surf type reverb in fender amps.
The speaker is an Altec and delivers big tone with crisp definition.
Heaps of power if required with all the tone you could want, both clean and overdiven.
Good for almost all styles.

Big and fat with tone that alot of other amp cannot deliver.
I like the MK1 reissue alot, but lack of channel switching makes the MK1 alot less versatile.
The reverb in all the early Boogie MK amps is superior to most in my opinion.
Built like a tank with big transformers and point to point hand wired circuit.

In 14 years of regular gigging this MK2B hasn`t missed a beat.
Always delivers.

Have never needed support from Mesa.

One of the all time best amps out there.
Tone to burn and a big woody clean tone delivers for fat blues or jazz styles.
The overdrive is also very versatile and can dialed for traditional warm toned blues, or you can crank the overdrive to achieve a singing sustaining sound that is truley awesome.

1981 MK2B Boogie Combo 1x12 blackshadow speaker.
Wood cab with wicker cane grill.
Simul-class, which allows for class A/B & A running together, putting out around 75-85 watts, or you can switch to class A option for aprrox 20 watts.
Tube driven spring reverb sounds really good and quite Fenderish, but tends to sit behind the mix instead of up front like Fenders design.
I think this is an advantage as Fender reverb tends to consume the whole signal and can turn almost everything close to "surfville".
Clean channel and overdrive channel that are foot switchable.
Cleans are big, warm, smooth and fat..! What more could you ask for.
A little more mids in the the Boogie cleans than the typical blackface Fenders., makes for very nice tone too.
The overdrive is very usable and can be dialed in from a smooth blues type tone right up to the typical Santana singing lead sound.
Over all a very versatile amp with alot of adjustment available in the tone department making this great for jazz or blues, rock or latin and pop.
The internels are well made too and beautifully hand wired.
It also has the nice touch of a fan in the back to keep the tubes cool.

Gets many tones and styles down.
I could do a jazz gig one night and something completely different the next.
I`ve played Fenders most of my life and usually Twin Reverbs which are great amps, but i think this Boogie has something over the Fender.
The reverb is in my opinion alot nicer than the Fender.The reverb on the Boogie isn`t in your face and sits beautifully behind the mix.
I love the big, smooth cleans that are versatile and the lead channel is great for many stuyles too, but not gruge death metal type styles with hyper-gain required. That Mesa Recto territory anyway.
All in all the nicest smoothest amp i`ve played in 25yrs and ive tried some amps including a very nice Dumble clone that was truly great, but this old Boogie really holds its own to anything.
In class A mode, you will get somethiung like 15-20 watts of thick tones and surprisingly loud too.
I tend to runn in simulclass purely for the big fat cleans, but if you required a guttsy toned blues machine or studio lead tone, then class A mode is great for that.
If you like classic, quality tube amp tones then the MK2B delivers.
I also like the MK1 reissue, but not channel switching with that model. And the MK3 just doesn`t cut it with me. Sound too thin and sterile to my ears, where the MK2B is very tube like warm in tone and delivers for both clean and overdrive tones.
I do think this amp prefers hunbuckers to single coils, but you can dial in a very nice tone with a Tele or Strat.

Is built like a brick Sh%t-house and made to last. I haven`t had a problem in the last 5 yrs of performing live with this amp.
Just change the tubes as required and you`re reagy to go.

Not required.

Tone to die for!
A 10 out of 10 for versatility, quality of tone and build quality.
My ES175 sounds perfect for low volume jazz gigs.
The PRS kicks butt for blues, rock and most anything else.
I`m a humbucker player, but have tried both Tele and Strat through this and the results are pretty darn good too.
The reverb is outstanding and sits beautifully behind the mix and doesn`t swallow your tone like Fenders can.
Santana and Al Dimeola tones...? No worries at all.
Big fat smoldering blues tones..? there all here.
Smooth and warm jazz tones..? Yep, this is one versatile amplifier.
This amp is a keeper, that`s if you can find one.
The simulclass models have a very sweet and responsvie tone that is a bit unique, but the 100/60watt class A/B models are awesome amps too.
If i found one of those I`d snap it up as these MK2B Boogies are becoming quite collectable.

I have a 1982 Mesa Boogie Mark 2 B model amplifier. I have been playing blues, classic rock, southern rock, and country for about 13 years, and I have found that the amp is surprisingly versatile. It goes from a fenderesque shimmering tone in the clean channel (with a little bit of mesa bassy flavor) all the way to an almost metal kind of drive in the dirty channel that can be dialed down to a nice rock or blues overdrive as well. It has an effects loop and a slave out feature--neither of which I have used. It also has push pull pots that allow you to shift the midrange down for a bigger hotter tone, Gain boost for the lead channel which is nice but can make the tone kind of muddy, reverb and presence controls located on the rear panel (I wish they were on the front, though), Push pull pots for added brightness. This amp is also has the class A/ simul class switch in the rear that allows you to select the power tube arrangement that gets used. Again, I wish that little bugger was on the front instead of the back so i wouldn't have to fumble around to reach it. This model also has the built in cooling fan, which makes a little bit of noise and might be rather superficial. The thing has TONS OF POWER. It pushes a single 12 inch EV black shadow speaker with something like 85 watts in the simul class mode. I tried to play it in a coffee shop last night, and it was just too powerful; I had to turn the volume down so far that I lost a lot of the tone. It works great in larger bars, and places where people don't mind a little more noise. The amp is also in a nice blond tolex covering, and it has a footswitch included for "on the fly" channel switching.

Overall, I am quite happy with the sound quality of this amp. I owned one almost just like it about 5 years ago when I really didn't know a ton about amps. I have been playing for about 12 years, but I am only 22 and couldn't afford a real amp until about five years back. Looking back, I think I got rid of my first one because these things are so HARD TO DIAL IN. If you don't have the lead drive knob dialed in correlation to the volume 1 knob just right, then you get this really ugly flabby distortion that is nearly useless. The same goes for the clean channel--if you don't dial it in perfectly, then you don't get that nice fenderish sparkle, but either a tinny thin sound or a really dull toneless sound. I had to tinker with the amp for a few hours before I finally figured out how to get the sounds I like out of it. I use mainly single coil guitars--1962 reissue strat with kinman pickups and a USA custom Tele style guitar are my two favorites right now. Like I mentioned before, I do a lot of blues, country, southern rock, classic rock, and related genres, and I have found that this amp works really well for all of them. I haven't had the lead drive knob past 6 on stage yet, and that is a lot of distortion. The amp will go from a nice warm break up all the way to a brutal kind of Metallica distortion. Unfortunately, I have had a few problems with a humming that gets really bad when I touch one of my pickups in the stratocaster. The ground switch doesn't seem to fix this. Maybe that is just the guitar or the lighting in my house, but that is the only real problem I have had with it in terms of making noise. One slightly annoying thing that the amp does as well is make a popping noise when you switch channels with the footswitch. . . not a big deal, but it's definitely there.
To sum up, the Mesa is a lot like a Fender Bassman on steroids. It is an instrument in and of itself that requires a lot of tinkering with push/pull pots, knobs, and rear panel switches if you want to get a really good sound out of it. I have owned a lot of amps: Soldano Atomic 16, Bad Cat Mini cat, Mesa Boogie Trem-o-verb, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Marshall 1974 combo, 1966 Fender Bassman, and lots of others. I would be willing to say that this is probably the most versatile out of all of them, and it captures that big fat fender tone incredibly well. If you are looking to sound like Angus young, Jimi Hendrix, or anyone who has a really bright nasty tone, then this is not the amp for you. It will cover just about anything else, and it will do it very very well.

This thing is built like a freakin' tank. It weighs about two tons, and it has a really thick cabinet. Everything inside of it is big and covered with metal. You can't hurt these things. I have played it incredibly loud for long periods of time, and I have banged it around without letting it cool down. I have played it at high volumes without letting it warm up, I've played it outside in the rain, I've tossed it into trunks of cars face down and face up, I've sat on it, stood on it, you name it. I have never had a single problem with this amp or the other Mark 2 B I owned.

I've never had to deal with the company before for this amplifier, however, when I had my Mesa Trem-o-Verb (biggest piece of garbage on the planet), they were pretty cool about sending me parts when it broke down three times in the one month I owned it. The old Mesa stuff is built really well--I WOULD NEVER OWN A NEW MESA BOOGIE.

I have been playing for 12 years, and I own lots of really nice gear that I can't afford. I have owned many amps and guitars over the years, and only now am I starting to feel like the gear I have is pretty much irreplaceable. If I someone stole my Mesa, I would probably get a group of guys to help me beat up the perpetrator, because I imagine it would take that many to beat up someone who was strong enough to run with the thing. I love the clean tones and the big fat warm overdrive that this amp produces. I wish it weren't so damn loud and heavy sometimes, though. The only thing I would change about this amp would be to stick those presence, reverb, and simul/Class A controls in the front where they belong. I compared this amp to a Rivera Jake recording combo, a Diezel Einstein Head, and a Dr. Z maz 18. This one took the cake for its awesome tone, veratility, reliability, and character.

This is a IIB with a rack kit. 60 watt dual 6L6 model. Channel switching, reverb, effects loop, line out, reverb switch. I give it a 5 because as stated in other posts the amp has a shared e.q. section making one or the other channels useless when it is properly e.q.'d for the particular channel you want.

The clean is o.k. in my opinion, not great but really very good. I prefer a rack reverb to the onboard spring, that's a question of personal taste. The drive on the clean is minimal depending on the type of guitar used, strat/tele guitars barely get it to grind without a clean boost or overdrive. I would prefer more grunt from the first channel. A bit high-endy as well, can still sound nice if you tweak it enough. The drive side is absolute nonsense, what people see in this is beyond me. I am NOT a fan of Carlos Santana, he is a wonderful person and has a very admirable spiritual edge to his music but to my ears that overdrive sound of his is just mush. I prefer the drive of a Marshall Super lead to this any day. I must respectfully disagree with some of the other submissions, the articulation on the lead channel is NOT there!! Just absolute mush and it is the furthest thing from an inspiring tone in my opinion. No offense but I have and have played just about every amp out there with the exception of some really high end ones, this is a one-trick pony if the truth be known. Try a Studio .22, now that is a hot little amp with the EL84 thing going. Can't clean it up though, but that's a whole different game.

Typical Mesa build, like a tank and weighs in like one. Tubes are about the only thing that will go on this thing.

Mesa are decent people, but you have to contact them in person to get any help. Hope you get free long distance on your cel package.

It's up to you, you can get some decent sounds and this amp takes pedals MUCH better than some of their other amps(on the clean channel). The front end is not nearly as sensitive as other Mesa amps I've played so if you want a Fender like clean sound and a line of pedals this is a decent choice. Sound is VERY similar to my old Silver face Fender Princeton amp with a lot more volume(ALOT MORE!!!). You could play this amp anywhere, any situation and it will drive two 4X12's if you want it to. It is a nice example of the first wave of channel switching amps that Mesa patented and started a revolution with.

My amp was ordered and build in Dec 1982, I received it in Jan 1983. It is the 60 watt version in black tolex. It has a number of nice features including a line out, EV 12" speaker, EQ, reverb, preamp in and out, a footswitch for Reverb and, in my case, EQ (gain boost is more common), and foot switcable lead/rhythm channels. The reverb is nice but not very deep, no surf playing. It also drops to a much lower level when using the lead channel. The EQ is very usable and pretty much a must have option. 60 Watts tube power is equivalent to about 90+ watts solid state, more than enough for most situations. This is a very heavy amp, probably in the 65-70 lbs range. This particular amp has one "feature" not found on many: about a half dozen "Merry Chrismas, Happy New Year" greeting from the workers at Mesa.

I found this amp to be a one trick pony. The cleans are OK but not as nice as a Fender. The OD/lead channel is muddy and inarticulate. It is very heavy in the mids with almost no top end. It is impossible to get a slightly distorted sound, one where the signal is just starting to breakup. It's an all or nothing deal. Driving the clean channel into distortion gives a rather unpleasant sound. Brighter than the lead channnel but buzzy and very square wave sounding. I play a blues/jazz oriented style with some classic rock. The Mark IIB just doesn't cut it for me with either single coils or humbuckers. I spent a lot of time trying to dial this amp in, I could never get a sound I was happy with.

Built like a tank. Reliable beyond belief. You could drop this amp from a 3 story window and it would still work (after replacing the borken tubes). It is entirely road worthy.

Excellent. I've not had any issues but have dealt with Mesa on several occassions. They respond quickly and spend the time needed with you.

This is a very dependable and completely road worthy amp. For the right person it is one of the best you can get. I've been playing since 1968 and have played a number of amps and guitars. I currently have this Mesa, a '71 Fender Vibrolux Reverb (partly BF'ed), an Eiphone Valve Jr., and a Music Man H15 (130 watte), I recently sold a Roland JC80. Guitars are a cuwstom build Strat with graphite neck and active electronics, a '62 Hagstrom II, a '62 Gretsch solid body Corvette (highly modded), an Aria Pro II PE60 (LP copy), and a Moonstone Eclipse. All are very playable guitars.

If it was stolen I'd miss the money I could have got selling it.

I think my Mesa Mk2b was made between 79 and 81
It is very versatile and you play almost everything on it but overall
Santana if you like.
Unfortunally mine hasn't reverb so I buyed the Boss digital reverb: it isn't the same, too much fake and I think I'll sell it and buy an Accutronics true spring reverb.
It is very loud even it is the 60w version and believe me: you can gig everywhere with this little (but heavy) baby.

My guitars are Gibsons Les Paul, ES 335, Fender Strat and the unbelivable Yamaha SG 2000 original from the seventies. With this guitar, my Mesa and a Vox wha you can play Santana with his SAME TONE, believe me. I mean the best Santana tone that is only that from the seventies and especially in the "Moonflower" album. This amp is a little noisy but not too much

Yes you can depend on it if you gig sometimes but if you are a professional with 187 gigs in a year you know very well that you cannot depend on ANY amp. Mine never broken

I am playing electric guitar since 1979 and I have tried a lot of amps: this is the best I have heard.
If it were stolen I would probably buy an other one.

1981 Mesa Boogie Mark IIB head.
I love this amp, even though it doesn't have the extra features (reverb, graphic EQ, etc).
Two channels (?), lead (distorted) and rhythm (clean).
I use most of the features, even thought it seems that the treble shift doesn't change the sound at all?! It has an effects loop, but it sounds terrible.
Oh, and this amp is LOUD, it should be loud enough for medium size gigs.

I am using a stock mexican Fender Strat, or a stock Gibson Les Paul special with this amp. It sounds amazing, the clean is like a Fender bassman, and the distortion is pure Boogie. (Santana, Weezer blue album, etc.)
It isn't really noisy, but it has feedback if you dial in alot of gain at high volumes.
I use alot of different settings, but usually volume 1 around 7, treble around 3, bass around 4, mid around 7, master 1 around 3, lead drive around 7, lead master around 5, presence around 2.
I can't tell if it distorts at high volumes, I've never turned it past 6 ;)

I probably would depend on it, it's built like a tank. (It's as heavy as one also!!) The amp hasn't broken down, but the output transformer gets pretty hot. (It only did that after I changed the tubes, I should get it checked)

I've used it lots of times after that, and it seems to be working just fine.

Overall, it seems like it will outlive me.

never dealt with them about this amp, but they were very helpful with another mesa I had.

I've been playing for three years, and I'd defenetly buy another one if it were stolen. I love everything about this amp.

Made in Jun'81.
Mk II-b 100/60w with reverb and EV-12S speaker.
Not necessarily loaded with features but does what I want it to.

When I got this amp (on Ebay), it was the dirtiest amp youve ever seen. It was shipped in what had to be the original roadcase and the foam inside was de-composing and had gotten all inside the amp. Something had been spilled inside the case and the amp was stuck to the bottom of the roadcase. I completely disassembled the amp and cleaned every piece of it, sucked and blew out the chassis, sprayed a little tuner cleaner on the pots and jacks and switches. Took the reverb tank out and cleaned it and put it all back together with some fresh tubes WORKS LIKE A CHARM! Everything works and works perfectly.

Thats a testament to the build quality of these MK- series amps.

I love 'em.

This thing weighs a TON. I'm serious. I bet it weighs over 70 pounds.

Sounds great.
The EV is not my favorite speaker though. It's just WAYY too stiff and clean for my taste. I do really like the Black Shadow speaker. I'll be changing that soon.

As I mentioned above- it was the dirtiest - and apparently neglected amp ive ever seen. A couple hours of elbow grease, a vacuum and an air hose and some fresh tubes and GOOD AS NEW.

Good C/S. Although the last guy I talked to about the SUS-4 mount system was a little short with me...

I like the MK-series amps. I always wanted one as a teenager and couldnt afford it. Now I have 6 different ones!
MK-1 RI, MK-2 60w no reverb, MK-2 100watt w/reverb, MK-3 SimulClass w/Graphic, DC-3, and an SOB. (the MK-3 seems to be my favorite.)

1981 Mark IIB - 60 watt - Reverb - No EQ or Simul-Class - Effects Loop - Cream Tolex Combo

I play this out at various gigs from country, jazz, rock, r&b and progressive. It has served me well for several years.

Great features in an amp back in 1981.

'79 Anniversary Strat - '84 Gibson Les Paul Standard Studio - Custom built strat-type.

It works great for just about everything I do. I recommend getting the low noise kit from Torres Engineering. The amp is dead quiet now.

I prefer to look at this amp like, 'it is what it is'. I've never played a IIC+, but have owned a Mark I, Mark III and a Mark IV, and I think that both channels on this are better than all mentioned. I was looking for a raw, gritty gain channel, and a slightly beefy clean and this has them. Others have mentioned that it's hard to get both channels to sound good at the same time, but I disagree. Especially when I use the gain channel for rhythm, and use my Fulltone Fulldrive 2 for leads does this thing come alive! I use a dynacomp and a modded Tubescreamer for other overdrive sounds along with my Carl Martin Clean Boost. These 4 pedals along with the channel switching on the amp give me all possible sounds I could need!

It's over 20 years old, and still works strong. I've never had a problem with it.

I needed them for my Mark III, and they were great!

I've had Marshall, Fender, Ampeg, Silvertone, Vox and Roland. This is my favorite amp of all.

I bought this used from a retailer, date under the the chassis is written 6/82 with marker. Initials MB (Mike Bendinelli?)are written in marker next to the power cord on rear of amp. This is a head version covered in black tolex with reverb and simulclass power for options.
It has 4 6L6 power tubes, the simulclass option switches two of them off when in class A mode giving about 15 watts. With all 4 tubes on in simulclass mode this is the combined class A/class AB setup giving about 75-80 watts.
This thing is loud in either mode, jsut a difference in dynamics. The class A sound is spongier, a little darker. I really like this in the clean channel for dark smokey blues or jazz stuff.
When you need clean headroom just flip the switch to class A-AB. Becomes more focused and brighter in this setting.
This is number 7 for Boogies I've owned and is the best yet.
They have all been Mark series with the exception of a Maverick 112 combo.
The pull pots on the front panel knobs are pretty good for tailoring the sound. I use the pull boost on the master knob sometimes when playing at low volumes to fatten things up. Same with the brights on the rhythm and lead channels. I seldom use the pull shift for the lead mode although I like this setting for slide.
This is a great amp for live gigs, that's what it was built for!
On a recent gig I accidently left my pedalboard behind so had just my guitar, this amp, and a cable. The band covered standards, classic rock, R&B, and some blues. Got through just using the footswitch to cycle from clean to lead. What a great amp!

I use a 90's Gibson 335 dot neck reissue with 57 classic pick ups.
For pedals it's Boss Compressor, Fulldrive II, Barber DD (or Pedalworx Texas 2 Step) TCE Chorus, Boss DD5.
The amp takes pedals well as long as volume 1 is set below 7.
For me the clean tone of an amp is where it all begins, it's the footprint for how everything else will sound. This amp has a Fender like clean but a little gutsier. Reacts well to the volume changes from my 335 which is real important in my book.

It's a Boogie, what can I say? Over engineered, solid, no problems.
As a matter of fact, I've never had any reliability issues with any of the Boogies I've owned. The only issue is that it's hard on power tubes but that's a trade off for increased gain and high performance.

Never had to call them except once to get a replacement knob. They were very helpful.

I would look for a replacement if it were lost/stolen. These are getting pricey because people are finding out how great the clean channel is in this model. Eveybody seeks out the MK IIC+. IMHO I don't think the IIC, C+ sound much different from the IIB.
Besides this I have a 65 bf Champ and a Seymour Duncan 100 watt Convertible.
If you find a IIB or most any Mark series Boogie you will get your money's worth.