Mesa/Boogie Studio .22

My amp was made in the late 80's, no graphic eq section but 3 is enough for me anyway.
The amp is indeed very versatile, playing in several bands from indie to metalcore, it can cover them all.
It is a 2 channel amp with no switch on the face of the amp to switch, only footswitchable. It's O.K. though because you can plug ion a lead and short the lead and it will switch channel. Not too good of an idea but hey it's called the STUDIO .22 for a reason.
Mad features at the back, 4 and 8 ohm outs, effect loop and even a direct out which lets you plug the amp tone straight into a recording device if you wish. Very handy bonus. The plate holding the valves is a sweet deal also. (5 x 12AX7 & 2 x EL84)
The amp is used mainly by me for bedroom rocking, but has seen the light of a few band practices at a gig venue in the town. Suprisingly loud for 22 watts of el84 power, it can keep up with my metalcore band without having to turn all the knobs to 10, and realistically the amp would be miked in larger venues anyway.

The amp is extremely versatile, like I said before it can cover anything I throw at it and my music tastes are quite varied. Been playing a bit of soft blues on it i.e. Stevie Ray stuff, Little Wing, John Mayer. Then goes indie stuff like Kings of Leon or The Strokes. Leading from that is some Metallica sorta era stuff and finally is the August Burns Red - Parkway Drive stuff. Nails all em perfectly except the metalcore, still a completely decent sound but put a lil overdrive boost from a pedal and it becomes perfect.
The clean starts to break up at about 6 and it sounds killer on the higher numbers, perfect for Little Wing style stuff. The disto starts where the clean left off, with Gary Moore kinda sounds going up to Metallica and finally finsishing off with the Parkway Drive.
Its not as high gain as the modern Mesa amps but still does the job well. A good tip is to keep the master volume knob at least 1.5 or higher on the disto channel. It'll sound like you actually jsut pulled a blanket off the face of the amp!
I have plentiful guitars to try it with, Les Pauls to Strats, EMGs, DiMarzio, Duncan, Lawrence. It's all good. The amp seems to have a great deal of response to the output of pickups as most valve amps should do. There is actually a noticable gain increase with the higher output pickups which I love because I can just out a metal guitar i.e. an ESP with EMGs and it has the edge for metal. Then I can get my Lace Sensor Strat and nail the softer stuff.
The noise on the amp is not nearly as bad as most of the other reviewers have said, although I do shield my guitars well. Don't plug crap effects into it or share a socket with a T.V. and the SNR shall be fine. The Clean practically has no noise even on the single positions on my single coil gats.

I would depend on it with my life. If I tried running it over it would probably snap my suspension.
Nothing wrong whatsoever. Holds very well for its age.

Never.

Been playing quite a while. Almost double digits.
Have to say this amp just owns. Period.
Why not a 10? Because like some poeple, I don't believe anyhting is perfect.
Don;t see how I could lose it but if stolen I may move to a Mark IV coz I guess they are an upgraded version of this. For the price it's completely decent though. Rather have this than pay 4k for a Mark IV 1x12 combo.
I bought it because I needed the grunt of a Mesa for my new foud interest in heavier styles of music but also wanted to keep my slower styles such as jazz or country happy and Mesa just did it for me.
If it came in a 2x12 version with 6l6 or 6v6 valves i'd be in heaven, but thats no fault of the amp, it is perfect at what it does.

This is an amp from the eighties, but has it's roots in the seventies. It's sound should cover just about everything from those periods, thanks to the graphic EQ. The five-bands (60-240-750-2220-6600HZ) cover areas of sound that the tone controls (T/M/B/P) do not. These frequency bands are very cleverly choosen to manage sensitive areas of a guitar's tone. And the tone controls are already VERY effective at managing the sound.

This amp is designed to have 2 channels, but I think of it more like a one-channel amp with an AWESOME GAIN BOOST, since it doesn't have separate controls for clean and high-gain channels. The volume when switching channels is surprisingly consistent. The EQ can have a tremendous effect on apparent volume, particularly the middle-band (750HZ). So it is recommended to set it to AUTO, which really just assigns it exclusively to the high-gain channel. You can also assign the EQ to both channels, or bypass altogether.

The lack of an on-board channel switch is worrysome since a footswitch is easily broken or lost. But I don't use the high-gain channel often, so I don't really miss it. Also, having the footswitch jack is confusing for me sometimes, and I sometimes plug my guitar into it.

Since I use it at home mostly, I'd rather have a headphone jack with an independent volume control, instead of the Direct Output which I never use. As the name implies, it seems that it was designed to be plugged into a mixer before headphones.

It's actually a little to powerful for my apartment, but just perfect for a rehearsal studio with a band. In larger venues with bigger ensembles, it will need some help from the PA, though.

At home when my wife takes the baby out, it's great.

With a jazz-organ trio, this amp is perfect.

In a rehearsal with a 6-piece funk/R&B combo, it's perfect.

However in a band with a drummer, two percussionists, two-Powerbooks, a trumpet with effects, vocalist, keyboard, bass, and trap-drummer who's contraption included an aluminum trashcan, it gets a little stressed-out. We once played at a place that held about 100-150 people with low ceilings, and a 16-channel board. Since I also had an acoustic, there was no sound-reinforcement for the amp, so I pushed it nearly all the way up, and the clean channel broke up. In a recording of that gig, I could barely hear myself, and sometimes not at all. But my high-gain solos were very clear and rich.

That's why this amp deserves to be classified as a "musical instrument" rather than simply an "electronic device." The voicing is very complex and focused, because the EL-84s tend to deliver most of their power in the mid-range. So you have a lot of tone there that you can sculpt with the EQ and tone controls. People regularly compliment me on the sound of this amp. A sound engineer described this amp as having "a proper guitar sound."

The attack is very punchy, and decay is very smooth. The sustain is pure ecstacy. The sound is smooth, not grungy, but not without some claws and teeth. It has a very sweet, singing sound that almost never fails to make me think of Santana, even when I'm using my '93 G&L Legacy w/Duncan Vintage PUs. The quack of the single-coil pickups is there without being too harsh. It's great for 80s rock and metal, too. Even with these medium output pickups, this amp has more gain than I ever need.

Despite the strengths and gifts in high-gain mode, I mostly use the clean channel for my Tacoma archtop with and active EMG-91. The sound is very rich, and the pickup hears everything. This is what makes the EQ a necessity, rather than just a extra for me. Without it, the guitar's superior acoustic properties would sound boomy and harsh through this amp. But by cutting 240HZ and 2200HZ, and boosting the other bands, I can get a warm, clear, and aggressive jazz tone ala George Benson, Grant Green, or Mark Whitfield (who uses a Mesa/Boogie Mk.III combo for jazz.) Compared with my Polytone Mini-Brute IV, the sound is much hotter and dynamic.

However, in clean mode at low volumes the noise is very noticeable. As soon as I take a break, I compulsively reach for the STANDY switch.

The reverb on this amp is less of an effect. It feels like an integral part of the tone. Without it, something's missing from the sound, but it would sound gaudy if you turned it up past 3.

This amp was busted when I bought it around Mt. Fuji, but was functioning well enough to play through for a few minutes before making sucking and howling noises as if it were posses by a ghost. The tone impressed me enough that I bought it anyway, and brought it back to Tokyo to have it fixed up. I didn't realize it at the time, but it wasn't made for Japan's 100V outlets.

After getting it fixed up and getting an EH step-up transformer, the demons inside stayed quiet, but sometimes there would be sudden, intermittent and totally unacceptable drops in volume. The night before the gig, I took it back to the repair guy, and he recommended jumping the effects sends with a patch cable. That worked, but the problem is still unresolved. So the patch cable has become a permanent fixture in the back.

It also makes a weird noise like an alien-farting about 3-seconds after switching it off.

A CSR at Mesa/Boogie told me, "We want you to be happy." To this end, he sent me TWO EL-84 tubes to replace a new one that promptly burnt out, even though only one needed to be replaced since according to them, EL-84s don't have to be matched like other tubes.

They could possibly be the coolest company in the world.

After playing 18 years, this was my first experience with a famous brand-name amp, after years of using Crates, a Japanese Boogie copy, headphones-amps, and going direct lots of the time. So what's in a name if a Boogie by any other name would sound as sweet?

Thoughtful design by people who enjoy what they're doing. This amp is nothing like the Dual-Rectifier series, or even the Caliber .50 which was made around the same time. If you want to get a more contemporary alternative or grungy sound, I would only recommend giving it a try and spending some time with it, because it should be sensitive enough to your guitar to get the sound you want, especially with help from the GRAPHIC EQ!!!!!!

I've been daydreaming about buying a Mark III, or F-150, Subway or some other amp by Boogie someday. Though I've also considered getting another one like this, though preferably with a tube-grill, and definitely a GRAPHIC EQ!!!!!!

If you like cats, Carlos Santana, and the eighties then you'll like this amp.

22 Watt all tube head- (which is pretty rare, I've only seen one other studio 22 head, and mine is the only tweed/oxblood one ive ever seen.) Single channel with footswitchable gain. Tube driven reverb and graphic EQ. I prefer single channel amps and the only reason I'm giving it a 9 is because you need a footswitch to access the gain. This is is only thing i'd change about this amp.

Awesome classic Mesa tone and tons of gain at reasonable volumes. That being said, it can roar- dont let 22 watts fool you. I gig with this amp all the time. Its a very dark sounding amp which I like alot. Very hot clean sounds, very intense dirty sounds. On the clean side you can get it to break up very musically by running the gain above 7. The graphic EQ adds a ton of versatility to the dirty side. Anything from classic rock to high gain metal is accessible. "AUTO EQ" setting turns the EQ on only when the amp is dirty, a great feature since the clean side doesnt benefit from the EQ as much IMHO.

The only problem I ever had was when it got knocked off my cab on tour when the crowd got too roudy. I lost output due to a filter cap coming loose from the impact. All things considered, under normal playing, I never had any other problems with it, and I don't really expect a 15 year old amp to survive a 4 foot drop onto a hard surface so I give it an 8. (only because I have seen other amps take serious abuse and keep going)

Meas is AWESOME. I called them up when I bought it about getting a manual and I had one in my mail box 3 days later. That's looking out for your customer, especially since i bought it used.

Overall it gets a 9. Its definately my "Desert Island" amp but it can be picky about certain guitars, especially fenders. I find that it doesn't like low output/bright pickups, especially some single coils. I would definatly buy one again if stolen, Ive owned scores of amps (been playing 10+ years) and this is the first amp that had "my sound." I have 3 cabs that I play it through for different sounds- a mesa 1x12, a peavey classic 4x10, and a home made 2x12 with celestions. It sounds different through each cab, but all combinations are good. I highly reccomend this amp to anybody that is after that "mesa sound" but at an affordable price tag.

Features well explained elsewhere. Very loud for 22 watts. I use it live & sometime mike it, but never have it over halfway. Graphic EQ is very good, lack of lead volume makes it hard to use as a 2 channel amp live [does anyone have details of the lead volume modification mentioned a couple of times in other reviews? If so, please mail me at rogthedodge@orange.net]

Using it with a strat for mixed covers - funk to rock. The clean is tremendous - really warm, but sparkly. I swapped a fender deluxe for it & the clean channel on that was good, but this is better. It's hard to get a good overdrive sound without fiddling with the volume, which is pain when live. I'm not very keen on overdrive pedals as they tend to be noisy and don't sound the same as a distorted amp. Again, does anyone have the details of the lead volume modification mentioned below? If so, please mail me at rogthedodge@orange.net

Built like a tank. When I first had it, the preamp tubes would occasionally dislodge, so I had some spring retainers fitted. Other than that, it's the best build quality I have come across

Haven't tried to call them

If it were stolen, I'd get another, but might try for the .22+ since it has a lead volume. Or even a Mark III if I could afford it

This is a 1984 amp I think. I play classic rock mostly, and this amp is perfect for what I'm looking for. The two channels (rhythm/lead) are perfectly suited for what I'm looking for. However, I would like a headphone joke, and a lead master (only on the 22+ model). The 22 watts of pure tube power is plenty for jamming.

I'm playing into this amp with a strat, which is a little thin sounding through the amp. However, this is the fault of the amp, not the guitar.

The amp is fairly noisy, which is expected in high gain/low voltage tube amps. With the SPAX7 preamp tube, however, it is much quieter. With the treble turned down alot it is also a lot quieter.

If you want an amp with nice cleans, don't buy this amp. The cleans are fine, but barely better than my buddy's 15 watt fender solid state amp. The distortion is what we're looking for here. Very balsy, going from a bluesy grind to an extremely heavy distortion, this amp is perfect for lead guitar (at least for what I play).

The noise and mediocre cleans are what I would critisize about the sounds. However, overall its great.

The reliability so far has been great. I have no warrantee on this, especially since I bought it used and its over 20 years old.

N/A

If you want an amp for blues and hard rock, with a great sounding light to heavy distortion, and under 40 pounds, this is probably the amp for you. Well made, sturdy, and fun to play. Don't buy this amp if your looking for great cleans. This is a great practice amp, but could be giggable with the right mic'ing.

hope this was helpful.

My amp was probably made in 1986, all tube, two channels switchable with a footswitch (it has the original style switch, just "turn on/off"), volume (gain), master (volume), treble, mid, bass, reverb, presence, stand by switch - as described before.

Presence and treble are very important to get the best sounds.

Good things with features:

it has effect loop, and a direct out with a level pot.

22 watts, but very-very loud 22 watts! I use it live two times a week, and I never turned the volume pot over 5. I play gospel music in a big church band with strings, keyb, bass, guitars, drums, singers and I'm between the drummer and an other guitarist who has a 100 watt solid state fender combo, and I hear myself well, so I say it has enough power to use it live.

Bad things:

it's not a big amp, so you have the same eq for the clean and the distorted channel and it's not easy to use both channel.

my amps distorted channel is so much louder than the clean, that you have to lower the guitar's volume pot to 5-6 before you switch to dist channel - if you don't want to shock everybody

I have a Fender Fat Strat, made in usa, w/ stock pickups. In my band I play american style pop/rock, country, blues music (style of: bryan adams, shania twain, some zz top), and a I'm also a member of a church gospel band where we play contemporary gospel music (michael w. smith, hillsongs etc).
It absolutely suits my style, I love the sounds I can make with it and my strat.

Good things:
This little mesa's sounds are simply amazing. You can make authentic country sounds, classic rock sounds, and with the distorted channel killer blues sounds. Perhaps you can use it for metal/hard core, I don't play that kinda music, so I don't know.
Perhaps the dist channel is brutal a bit, very good for zztop like sounds, but if you want just a little overdrive you should use an ibanez ts9, or a red llama...

It has the real tube sound.

Bad things:

it's noisy a bit, but I'm afraid I have to replace the old tubes it has, I think it will be better after the replacement

it has a "dirty" sound, even with the clean channel, so don't except the clean "fender" sounds, it's not for that. Perhaps one day my setup will consist two amps, a mesa for dirty sounds and a fender deluxe/deville for the bright cleans (or only mesa nomad...?)

It's very well built, although it's near twenty years old, there are no signs of problems.
I have it for six months and no problems yet.

I emailed them when I bought it, they replied me in two days with correct informations. You can download the manual in pdf from the official site.

I've been playing more than 10 years used many kind of guitars, amps I'm very satisfied with my current setup (fender strat/mesa amp).

If it were stolen I would buy another one, or perhaps a little newer/bigger mesa which has separate controls (eq) for each channel.

I love it's sound, I hate it's weight ;)

Before I bought it I tried a tech21 trademark 60, some valvestate marshall amps, a fender deluxe, but it was the best of them, the tech21 was very good, but i need the real tube sound for my blues licks.

At the second hand instrument store where I tried and bought it there was many guitarist torturing many kind of amps, this little mesa kicked and beated them... :)

Footswitchable 2 channel, 22 watt amp. Standard (but very sensitive) tone controls. No graphic eq.

With this amp, you can get sparkling, punchy clean sounds to Boogies? patented PRE-nu metal crunch and everything in-between. The amp always very deep and full -- no matter what the settings are.

Although the amp is very loud for 22 watts, I?m not completely confident that it is gigable with a full band ? I only used it once in a rehearsal room and my amp started to fritz out. Other reviewers say they?ve done it so I?ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

As I mentioned, I?ve only used the amp with a live band once ? all other times were at home where I don?t really crank it too loud because of the neighbors ? so I don?t really drive it all that hard. About a year into my ownership, I started experiencing a noticeable, intermittent volume drop while playing and scratchiness while adjusting the tone and volume controls. I brought it to a neighborhood amp tech for maintenance but I experienced the same problem a short time afterwards.

I heard so many good things about the quality of Boogie but I became understandably leery of the workmanship. After getting an amp cover and cleaning the pots the problem seems to have gone away. The problems may have been attributed to some of my own stupidity in caring for the amp and I haven?t had another bit of trouble with it since.

N/A

I bought this amp when Boogie discontinued the model so I got it at ?blow out value? from Sam Ash. Other than my minor problem I experienced, I would say that it?s a fantastic value for the money. I have used it in a recording studio environment and I have to say that I love the tone and sonic versatility of the amp.

If it were stolen, I would definitely buy another one or spend a little more and get a .22 +.

Great features for what i want. You cant switch to distortion easily because the same knobs control the distortion as clean and distortion is always louder, but i dont like the distortion anyway so its not a problem. I wish it has seperate knobs for channel switching. Loud enough, louder than any 60w trannie amp ive heard. I am using it with sovtek tubes.

I only ever use its clean channel...... and it sounds incredible. Turn the amp up to about 5 and its got this fat punchy clean sound (could be due to my guitar). Im using an Ibanez as200 with dual humbuckers. It is perfect for jazz and jazz fusion. It is fairly quiet on the clean channel but distortion is noisy. Turn up the gain for some classic tube distortion. It seems to me like the distortion was intended for rock and metal players because its not round, its harsh and brutal.

Very dependable although ages ago (when i was using the distortion channel) the footswitch circuit blew, and it switched back to clean. No tube problems.

Awesome value, sounds better than amps twice the price. I would buy another one if it got lost. I love the clean channel, but i dont really like the distortion. The shop had trace elliots, tech 21s, peavey classics but I liked the clean of the boogie best.

Approximate 1985/86. S/N SS2500. This is the definative do all amp. EL34 power tubes w/ 5 12AX7s. Clean & overdrive channels that are footswitchable. Effects loop, digital reverb, standard 8 ohm speaker jack for the stock speaker plus a 4 ohm speaker jack (to run to a 2X12 or a 4X10 cabinet?) and a line out that can run to your PA if you happen to be gigging in the Superdome.

I have several strats, teles, PRS, Music Man Silhouette, Rick 370/12. I also have 3 Tweed Deluxes, a '64 Deluxe Reverb, a '64 Super Reverb, a Boogie Mark III, an Acoustasonic, Jr. and an Allen Accomplice Amp I built and modded into a 40W 2X10 Vibrolux setup. Rock & Blues. There's an ever so slight, almost inaudible popping that's probably due to its age and the fact that the caps are original.

I just picked one of these up for my girlfriend's daughter. This one's been sitting in a closet for the last 18 years. Perfect, stone stock condition, and the tubes, which test perfectly OK, are the original tubes...a closet classic.

Just did an A/B test with a '54 Wide Panel Deluxe that was rebuilt by Kendrick Amps in Texas. Kendrick is touted as being the "Tweed King". Very subtle differences between the Tweed Deluxe and the Boogie. The Boogie had a little more treble but that could easily be dialed out if you really wanted to. However, as much as I like the Tweed Deluxe tone, the problem with them is that there isn't enough treble to suit me with the exception of the Wide Panel I had rebuilt by Kendrick, which has substantially more treble headroom than the '50 TV front or the '56 Narrow Panel, I own.

Then, I did a clean channel A/B between a '64 Deluxe Reverb loaded with a Weber Chicago Speaker and the Boogie. I'd have to give an ever so slight edge to the '64 for a fuller tone (probably due to the speaker and the larger baffle) and chimy treble but the Boogie .22 was definately playing in the same league. We also have digital reverb competing against Fender long spring reverb, here. I'd really like to try a .22 Plus that has the spring reverb, also, to see if there is really any difference worthy of note.

The long and the short of it is that for three C notes, a Boogie Studio .22 will do 98% of what $5K worth of vintage Fender amps can do and it can do it in one easily carried cabinet. Also, it has more versatility than a Tweed Deluxe because you can play the overdrive channel with more than just a cranked bridge pickup without having the sound turn to mush. My search for a good Boogie .22 Plus with spring reverb begins today. When I find a good one, I'll be selling the others.

I expect this to be as dependable as my Boogie Mark III which has been operating perfectly for almost 20 years, now.

Never had any trouble getting a hold of someone to talk to at Mesa/Boogie.

I've been playing for almost three decades. I'm giving this amp to my girlfrind'ss daughter but if anyone swipes it he'll be hunted down and shot like a dog. Either this or the .22 Plus ARE the holy grail. You can pay more but you can't buy better, only different.

Mid 80's build as best I can tell from the S/N. Two channel with loop. (4) 12AX7 and (2) EL84 tubes. A VERY LOUD 22 watts. Same features as mentioned below. 12" Mesa 90W speaker built by Celestion. Use it at home but would easily work for the gigging musician. BTW, the tube driven reverb on this is to die for. Also, this particular model has the 5 band equalizer. This has a HUGE effect on the sound. Set it correctly and it sounds like a ragging wall of 4X12's.

One word...Amazing. Great clean tones and that awsome Boogie distortion. Watch out because this distortion can get pretty brutal. I also use a Barber Direct Drive for milder distorted tones and it really loves this pedal. I had a Tech21 Trademark 10 before this that really sounded good but this is in another league. It does it all for me..Blues,rock,grunge you name it. I use a G&L Legacy with Lawrence noise free single coils and a Les Paul Standard. With these 2 guitars and this amp I can almost play anything. I get a little hum at higher gain settings but I'm not sure if it's just a bad electrical component. The hum disappears when I get a good ground by stepping on the channel pedal with my bare foot(is this safe??!!) I play this with a closed back Mesa Thiele 1x12 cab and I'm sure if I tried I could break the windows in my den if I turned it to 10. I rarely play it higher then 5 though. Again, the equalizer plays a big role in the tone of this amp.

Bought it used but have had no problems. Built incredibly solid. Can't imagine a better built amp.

Called them once with a question and they were very helpfull. I have no question that they would help in the future if a problem came up.

Been playing almost four years but more as a bedroom hero than a working musician. Lots of my friends play in bands and are better than me so I know good tone when I hear it. For me this is THE tone. Tried a Blues JR., a Peavey Delta Blues and a Tech 21 Trademark 60 before settling on this baby. The Tech 21 was close but nothing else sounds like a driven tube amp turned way up! If you can find one in nice shape, snap it up. I love it.

I like simple amps. To me only volume and tone pots would be enougt.
I don't need features like effects-loop or line-out.
The reverb sounded ok.

The rhythm channel is very good. I don't like these hi-gain amps very much, so if i had one, I would be using the rhythm channel the most of the time. I get tired of these overdrive channels in one hour. And this one was very hissy.
Though this Mesa has a master volume pot, one still has to play loud to get a really really good sound out of it. The Studio 22 I played is not mine. My main amp is an old non-top boost Vox AC-30. Thats something, that doesn't make me tired at all. So I prefer my Vox amp with the normal channel.

I don't know. I've never owned a Mesa.

The thing I really liked about this amp, was that it's so compact. It was relatively easy to carry(I have had a Masrshall stack) and sounded ok. I won't propably ever buy one but it's still ok. It's not the best amp for gigging thought. It think the 22+ is better for that.

very simple>volume acts as gain for clean and lead channel, master is master,bass, mid, treble, presence, reverb and 5 band graphic eq (it can be always on or only active in the lead channel.
effect loop on the rear side. five 12 ax7, two el84>20 watts, one 12 inch speaker. It ain't heavy at all, super to transport.
For studio use it's loaded with enough futures, for live gigging it could use some extra knob for gain and lead volume, maybe footswitchable eq and reverb>but it's a studio amp and it sounds amazing so I give it a 10.

I never liked any Boogie I' ve tried and I actualy don't know why. Their sound is so much different than Marshall's which I used (still use) in the past. After playing this amp for half an hour I fell in love with it>sustain....even clean sound just....sustains and this was an experiance I never had with any other amp. Although Marshall's sound somehow fatter (I own a great jcm 800 4010 combo), their sound isn't so compact and dynamic. The distortion in a dream come true for all Santana lovers to mad trash metal fans. Some people wrote that the distortion isn't hard enough for metal>listen to Megadeth sound, or Iron Maiden>their sound isn't that much high gain. I dare to record a metal band guitars on this little amp with wolume on 3-4, rest of the controls around 5, accept the mids little down and graphic eq v shape.Metal sound isn't just high gain, it' s amp voicing, eq...high gain kills amp's tone, on this one the distortion sounds the same with gain on 2 or 10, but there is a great difference in how compact, dynamic and transparent it sounds, how it fits in the mix.
...and there is clean>very usable. I love the overdrive tone I can easily get from it (strat with EMG SA and 81, with spc mid presence boost>actually a mid boost).
As I said this is an amazing sounding amp for the studio, add an extension cab and you'll be in tone heaven. It is a Mesa Boogie and it sounds like one so you have to like it's sound or give it some time to enslave you. That's what it did to me!
It' s 20 watt and you can easily open it to 6-7, it will be just loud enough to play a lead over a loud drummer and the tubes will give you a reward that those in 100 watters on 2 can't.

I wristles a little when it's very loud, but only with internal speaker (no problems with extension).I guess it has something to do with resonance the box produces>not such a problem since it occurs only when it's on 10 (yes, I tortured it a few times).

LOOOOVE IT.

22 Watt All tube Combo with 12 inch speaker. Two channels with Shared EQ. It's rather simple to operate...no guesswork required.

I use the Amp primarily with a '74 Les Paul retrofitted with Seymour Duncan JB (Bridge) and Jazz (Neck) pickups, and a Strat copy made from
Spare parts and Fender Lace Sensors.

First the good news: the Rhythm channel is very versatile. You can get some really good clean sounds along with slighty dirty, vintage blues/Rolling Stones type tones. If you raise the Master slightly higher than the Volume (Gain), then you can control the amount of drive with your guitar's volume knob. The Lead channel is powerful and over the top. I haven't found a distortion pedal that can come close to the power. Tons of sustain, crunch, feedback...it's there. Again, raising the Master higher than the gain will allow you to control even the most dirtiest tone with your guitar's volume knob.

Now, the bad news: The HISS this amp produces, even in the rhythm channel, is astounding. New tubes and better shielded internal cable within the amp helped somewhat, but my repair guy explained to me that, for whatever sick reason, Boogies are made for the absolute highest gain possible with no attention paid to the resulting noise floor. Although the audience at a gig will probably not notice it much, it does drive me nuts anyway. I have to knock off two points for that.

Very dependable. I hear stories all the time of Boogies dropping out of the backs of vans and still working for that night's gig. Jsut be sure to service and change the tubes every 1-2 years, and you'll be fine.

Never had to deal with them directly, although i do find their website to be very helpful - this model was dicontinued, but they still had the manual available for download.

Pretty good value for the money. while it does contain a ludicrous amount of hiss, the sounds available - and its reliability - make it useful. If you want absolutely quiet performance, the only way around the hiss is one of those expensive Bradshaw custom racks, which I personally can't afford. Until then, this Boogie it is.

well, pretty simple:2 channels rythym and lead with a footswitch, send and return loop, direct,...it is rated 22 watts but it is incredible how powerful is the sound!!!mine have the EQ wich had a big punch on the sound when in!

I am using a american strat with fralin blues special a voodoo lab micro vibe, a blues driver and a vox wha for blues gig(SRv, jimi,ccr,p.chubby,...)I just bought this amps 2 month ago and well...fuck...the sound is great really bluesy if you want with a good compression.The lead channel is not really fiting my taste as it is to much overdrive.the best way is to push the volume to get this incredible breakup and crunch sound.My lead channel is way to overdrive and the output volume is to powerful when you footswitch.but it is a studio amp so not really for gig.It as enough power for giging if you play blues rock or funk.The sounds can be radicaly differents if you play with the eq but are almost the same in the clean range.the distortion is quite overdrive may be to much for my taste.I owned a fender deluxe before but this one is way better for clean sound and crunch sound.The lead channel is quite buzzing but seems to be normal.If you have devices like some floor pedal it is sometimes better to plug them in the send return.My microvibe is way much quiet and seems to work better on the send return loop and then you kan keep your guitar straight to the amp without any effect between the amp and the guitar.

seems ok for giging may need to change the tubes.

no problem at the moment

It is my second amp, I sold the first one caused I needed money and for 3 year I was not able to afford an amp but when I saw this one...love at first sight!!I played for 13 years now and was looking for that SRV tone, I am pretty close to it now and will experiment with tubes to change the tone(12ax7,au7,EL84...).If it were stolen I would like to buy a new one but they seem pretty difficult to find now in france!I love everything in this amps and the sound of course and the 22 powerful watt wich allow you to push it to get this perfect tubes crunch.

This ended up being a very long review, but in short I love it, it is very versatile, has GREAT sounds, but takes time to learn to tweak. I also think it has the right amount of power.

I have played guitar for five years, and I play a very wide variety of styles, Jazz as well as rock sounding both hard and soft and retro (LoFi), from cake to Kravitz, and '50s surfmusic inspired stuff. This amp produces any sound I want, with it's own touch of course, and I am extremely happy with this versatility. I have played Boogie nearly all the time I have played guitar, since I found a cheap studio preamp quite early, and I haven't been happy with the sound all the time, they are hard to tweak, but experience have shown that these amps have more versatility and better sound than anything I have tried, and over time I have learned to use them and now I have a sound (any sound) I am extremely happy with.

It may be nice to precise the differences between the "+" and the "no plus", basically the plus is a later version, it has a lead volume pot instead of the fixed lead volume this has (originally at least - it is a simple mod...) and I would guess it also has some changes to the circuits, but I'm not certain of this.

So, you know the basics from the other reviews, A class 22 watt all tube yada yada, mine has the graphic eq, and it is also modified to have the lead volume resistor replaced with a pot, put in the "footswitch" hole on the front (the footswitch jack is on the back). This is a very simple mod actually, and I guess it is valuable (I haven't tried it without it) but only a very small spectrum is needed, which makes me think the amp works quite well without it as well. I'm planning to add eq and reverb footswitching, inspired by my Studio preamp, it appears to be an extremely simple mod (two cables into a stereo jack) since the circuits are very alike the studio (which has this) and thus ready for the mod, and it will increase the footswitchable range of sounds tremendously.

I'm very happy with the features of this amp, it can produce a very wide spectrum of sounds of top notch quality, and given the mods mentioned above, it has everything I need. Before I found this I used a Studio preamp (with a 1x12 solid state combo), and i was looking for quite awhile for an amp and I simply coudn't find anything which matched the tone and versatility this has. Imho, a Marshall for example sounds nice, but it only has one sound. I haven't found another amp that has enough versatility for me. Those old Boogies really rock the house! I would give it a nine if it had those mods from the start, but it is still a very versatile amp.

I still have the Studio pre, and planned to A/B them into the .22s power amp to basically double the tone setting possibilities, but actually I don't do this, which shows quite well how much switchable variety this amp (with my L-P) has, combined with being very transportable.

I haven't used this live or even rehersing, since I haven't had a band for quite some time, but my experience from my Studio pre tells tale of cutting through in a way that's hard to describe, and I'm sure this amp has sufficient power for most situations, if not micing or changing to a more efficient speaker or more powerful EL-84 tubes should solve this.

Another projekt still lingering is to use a MIDI switching device, and loop the few effects I use and all funktions of my two preamps to get the absolutely most wide array of gorgeous sounds imaginable...

I use a black Gibson Les Paul standard from '91, and i have a backup cheap Ibanez (R170 or something, h-s-h with vintage vibrato). I'm using the original speaker, and very cheap tubes. I occasionally use the following stomp boxes: an Ibanez compressor (very useful for some styles), a Danelectro Daddy O, which is a crappy pedal, but it can be used before the overdrive to make it less focused, which can be nice for , and finally a cry baby wah. I want a really good tremolo as well, but I haven't found one yet... Usually I just run a cable from my guitar to the amp, though.

It requires quite a bit of tweaking, and some time to get used to, but when you've got it, you'll never leave Boogie behind. The thing is that it requires different settings from other amps, as it is extremely sensitive. No "dime" here! I mostly use a single setting with different graphic eq settings to get the sound I want, I run the "volume" (gain in other words) constantly at about 1.8 which gives it extreme touch sensivity, for that really metal sound, I push it to perhaps 3. That's how much gain you have... Basically it has a very warm, rich sound if you want. (it can certainly go to extremes!) I also gets up and running without being too loud, which I think is positive (compare with the Mark IV - which in this forum is often claimed to be too loud).

To go into some detail, my basic sounds are the following (using different guitar volume settings): clean with bridge pick up; spanky clean to some dirt, clean w/ neck: WARM jazz tone, or other warm cleans. Lead w/bridge: basic overdrive sound, I like a little less focused varieties, thus the low "volume/ gain" setting, roll off for thin retro. Lead w/neck: fat, useful overdrive (not muddy actually, depending on settings) and creamy lead down to retro lead and rhythm or dirty clean to real clean, sine it cleans up nicely when you roll off your guitar volume. The Les Paul allows me thus to "switch channels" between pickups. And all this with the same settings on the amp.

In my opinion, the graphic eq is a must, as it broadens the amp incredibly, and allows huge variations in feel, sound and structure of the overdrive in particular. I usually avoid the focused boogie sound, and the famous "V" shape, and incredibly cool sounds can be found tweaking here, I like especially alot of mids, high mids. Switch the eq in and out for lead volume boost, or to change sound.

Finally, it certainly has a character of its own, and you should like this to like this amp. However, it can go very far from the "Boogie" sound you expect, but don't expect to find great sounds in the store, it takes some time.

I have very good experience with the 2 Mesas I have, although my studio pre broke down on me once, about a month after I bought it (used) after repairs i has always worked fine though. I don't know what the problem was. Still, I have the impression that these old simple boogies are easily serviced and fixed and very rugged.

Carrying spare tubes and fuses and a spare guitar cord, I would trust this amp to the end of the world.

Mesas support is probably the best in the world, all catagories. I have called a few times and also mailed, and this level of service, given even to people who use 15 year old amps they bought used, is top notch. They certainly know their products inside out. I fear that the increase in size of the factory will eventually degrade this somewhat, but for now, it's great.

I think I've said everything in the other categories, in short I love it, I have compared it to many other amps and not found anything close to the combination of great tone and versatility, combined with good portability and a great price, that this little amp has, both for stage and studio. It's simply perfect for me.

I think it is a small amp with room to grow, I want to find a head cab for this (They're hard to find here in Sweden) or build one myself and start experimenting more with cabs, speakers and different tubes. I am also considering getting a Midi switching device (such as the Midi Octopus) to footswitch channel, eq, reverb (with several settings! easy to fix as well) and my stomp boxes when I want them. But this is quite "superflu" and mostly fun ideas because I am a tech freak. I have to admit nothing of this is needed.

Two channels plus channel switching. Only thing which I hated is that this combo didn't have master for Lead channel. It was fucking, chanels were balanced only when gain of clean channel was in the middle. But-I'm in DIY guitar FX boxes, so I modified my amp too...I found schematic somewhere on the web, found resistor which fixed the Lead volume and replaced them by potentiometer. I found empty hole on back of my amp-on some models there was Ground switch but not on mine- And I mounted that potentiometer to this hole.
Now my amp have masters for Rhythm and Lead channels. I'm satisfied.
I wish it had separate tone stacks for each channels, but for this money is that good.
My model is basic-without EQ, without Ground switch.

I use Epiphone Sheraton II and epiphone Les Paul.
I use several guitar boxes-between guitar and amp and in FX loop.

Amp can make variety of guitar sounds, only in Lead mode are tone controls less sensitive. My models doesn't have that graphic EQ as other models, I would like to have it but...for its money
Distortion is mellow, creamy but aggressive too-depends on the setting, mainly on presence control. I like that sound.

I don't have problem with that.

I don't needed that support, but good news is that: When I was looking for the schematic(because of my modification-read above)-I found them very fast on the web.

I allways wanted to have VOX AC30 combo, but I'm very satisfied with Mesa. If it vere stolen, I would buy it again, If I found them in Second hand again.
I love two channels, and switch. I love option of FX loop-only bad thing is that FX loop is designed only for line levels, so my old ELECTRO HARMONIX effects and my homemeade clones don't work good with that. I must build some external buffering for my FX loop.
Plus-I would like to have external-footswitchable on/off for reverb.
Maybe I will make that mod too, if I will find VACTROL LDR Optocells for that. But-again-for that money...
I'm satisfied with that combo.

MINE BROKE ALREADY!!I'm not sure what year mine was made in but I bought it '94 from Hotlicks when they were in PearlCity Hawaii.It came with the footswitch,the user manual and that little card everyone signs before it leaves the factory.I never even fiddled with the controls on the back.The EQ was great...I miss that amp very much.

I was using a B.C Rich & a Jackson guitar with EMG pickups straight into the amp.I mostly tried to play metal with this amp.Some reviews said this amp did'nt have enough gain to play metal,but it sounded good to me.The only problem was when I tried to use it with a band.The 22 watts could'nt get above the drums,I even maxed all the controls and only got screaming feedback.Worked great in my bedroom but...Mine Broke Already!!

The time I had this amp it always worked and sounded great,even when I accidentally left it on all night a couple of times.Then one day the volume dropped off to almost nothing!Even with the master vol. on 10 it sounded like the amp was being played in a neighbors house.I never called Mesa for service and the guys at Hotlicks said it might be the tubes.So I bought new Boogie tubes and the volume still was'nt normal.Desperate for an amp I sold to a local repair guy for $100.Only to buy a p.o.s. Marshall (MG50CD).I think now I would've been better off getting the Boogie fixed by an authorized repair shop.

I never contacted the service center since the warranty had long since expired.I only went with suggestions from guys who might know something about tube amps.

I've been playing since 88' the Studio 22 was the first REAL amp I bought in 94'.In my bedroom I was using it through their armored 4-12 recto cabinet.It sounded very nice.So,if your Boogie ever breaks get it repaired no matter what it costs!!! (never sell it for $100)All in all the studio 22 with the EQ is a great amp and if the price was right I'd definetly buy another one. =D

Purchased around 1987, and have been gigging and recording with this charmed beast ever since, playing classic rock, R&B, Funk , Jazz & pop. 2 Channels, pretty much dedicated to using just the lead channel, which when used with different volume levels on either my Strat or Jackson affords ample head room for gentle as well as smooth tube driven high gain lead lines. Would enjoy having a speaker mute feature to play without the speaker keeping everyone in the neighborhood up (later models have this) Sometimes stereo output calls for that all-around you surround sound when playing in a small trio covering bigger ensemble songs. To do that I bring extra external gear to the output, which works fine for me. Love the direct out for recording. I've played this miked at the Channel in Boston (big old rock venue - dating myself, who cares, it was a major landmark in its day), it puts out. I swapped the original speaker recently for a CElestion vintage 30, and it's been renewed with an even crisper tight crunch sound, with really nice sustain and crunch anthem rock chord sound, like from Bryan Adams lead guitar player. Nice mod for another $100 or so.

I play with Fender Strat Plus using the Lace sensors, and with a Jackson PRO fusion with two singles and a humbucker pickup. Standard fare is classic rock stuff, Cream, Clapton, Santana, & Allman Bros. & the amp fits right in with those styles of playing. It has been serviced over the years for tube replacement mainly. Otherwise it's a workhorse, used for practice and playing out. For rock and blues and depending on the flexibility of your guitar for tonal variation and use of different pickups this amp is fine for jazz fusionfunk type playing, and softer pop stuff if you wanta get sensitive. It's got more range than I have been interested in exploring, since I go for some kindof crank in most things I play.

Built like a tank, it's surprisingly weighty for its size. It has taken major road bumps and knowcks over a decade and a half and still turns heads with it's consistent performance. Only major problems have been with rare high level buzz or hiss usually due to really ugly power source issues when playing out in the open - flat bed band stand using diesel power generators to supply power for the whole band. Switching the ground setting has usually fixed that kind of nasty and rare anomaly. But if you go anywhere and play wherever you may be called stuff happens, and this amp has been there and back.

Old products don't get the same attention as the new stuff, but manuals can be found and given the 2 service jobs over a decade and a half I can't complain. Mesa has a pretty good rep for going the distance to keep things ticking, but after warranty you are into local tech support wherever you may find it. For this I feel the fundamental design specs that enable reliable performance provide overarching assurance that customer support will be only for very unusual needs. In general, just having a MESA product with a company promise to keep things ticking for the long haul is more support than I can use.

Playing for longer than I care to admit, over 30 years probably. Long enough to start recognizing a constant high pitched whine in my left ear from standing next to the cymbals of a masher of a drummer for clearly too long without ear plugs. Guys/Gals protect your ears! If I lost this I'd go after an update of it, probably something like the studio .22 plus with separate EQ for both playing channels, and mute speaker option. The major difference I've perceived between this and similar Marshall high gain sounds has been a difference in two things: added high harmonic distortion like what ZZ Top gets with the Marshall, which has showed up with the Celestion vintage 30 speaker mod; and, the speaker array influence, with 4 x 12 cabinets versus single 12's, and I have gottent closer to that larger wall of sound effect of the larger cabinet with a Johnson station that has competent speaker emulation, when I've wanted that kind of sound. Being able to get high gain sustained lead lines at low volume with this amp has made it a great resource for learning songs and solo practice as well as direct out solo recording. Thease of getting around with just this little thing has made setting up, and breraking down so much more manageable too over the years. Save your back with this kind of gear. When your fingers connect with the expressive potential of tube based smooth distortion like this Studio .22 brings ... I can remember feeling doors open in expanding soloing nuances, melodic embellishment, and a general feeling of self expression open up as a guitarist. I love what I can do with this stuff, and hope you find similar pleasure with your own endeavors.

I think this is a pretty straight ahead tube amp, two EL84s and a pile of 12AX7s. A footswitch changes from clean to distorted, and with out the footswitch you have to ground a cable to get it to switch channels. EQ, Volume, Master, blah blah blah. pretty standard stuff

The clean channel is surprisingly punchy and full, but it starts to break up pretty early. With the preamp above 3 or 4 you will start to break up. Same thing goes with the master above five. Of course its a tube amp so if you back the volume of your guitar off it cleans up nicely. The dirty channel is so out of hand for my playing style, way to much distortion, you can do some 40 second long notes, but to much for my phishy tastes. The dirty channel is noisy as all hell. Both channels are loud enough to jam and play small clubs with relative ease. For larger stuff I guess you could mic it or get out your wallet and buy something louder. I don't think I'll ever play a venue so large I needed that many watts. If its too loud turn it down. My drummer and i get along fine.

yo no se. reverb tank makes funny noises when you drive it around, but i'm not too worried

I think its a nice little amp and sounds great for the money. It fits nicely in my dorm room and is loud enough to play out. The clean channel has plenty of distortion for my tastes, it sounds good, it does everything I want. just a good solid cheap tube amp. what more can you ask for

For a little 1x12 combo it actually has a lot of features. It's a 2-channel amp with standard clean/rhythm (if you turn the gain up it will cease to be clean as it reaches higher levels!) channel and a lead channel. It doesn't have seperate tone controls for the seperate channels, but on top of the standard low/mid/high controls it also has the 5-band EQ which can be switched on/off/auto. On auto it is on for the lead channel and off for the rhythm channel. So using that you could have seperate EQ for each channel!

I'm actually using this with my Marshall JMP-1 preamp and Digitech GSP-21 effects rack. It replaced my power amp and quad, and I think it has a ballsier sound than the quad did. The overdrive itself sounds pretty good, but I love the way it improved the sounds I already had setup on my JMP-1. My main guitar is a custom made Ibanez/Jackson sort of type thing, with DiMarzio Evolution pickups in it. These are high output pickups but through amps like standard Marshalls and things I think the result can often sound week as neither the guitar nor the amp has a lot of mids. Through the JMP-1/studio .22 combination it sounds great! I've never managed to find a Marshall amp that sounds as good as the sounds from the JMP-1!

I haven't had it all that long, but I've not had any problem. Mesa/Boogie make very tough reliable gear. I'd easily use it at a gig without a backup. Since it's an all-valve amp it might be a good idea to take some spare tubes, but I would think that would be all you'd need to be safe. The rest of the amp is basically bulletproof!

Never had to deal with them

I bought this to replace my quad box because that was just overkill, too much to carry around for my main uses, and I replaced the big heavy quad and the 2 rack unit very heavy power amp with this little and relatively light combo. And it sounds better! And it's loud too! It's only rated at 50 watts, but there's something about Boogie gear that they seem to be able to totally outblast anything else in the same wattage and more. I was expecting to not get as good bass from an open back 1x12 combo, but this is better than the quad!

I was initially thinking about a Boogie Mk III or something like that, but this amp is just as good if not better I reackon and much lighter! It's rated as a lower power amp, but has easily enough. It's way too loud for my place at with the master at 2 and the gain at 3! I couldn't see myself ever selling this amp! Nothing else would be an upgrade! And for the price I paid, it's just awesome!

Bought this amp in 1990. It has volume,master,bass,treble mid,prescence,reverb and 5 band EQ. It has two switchable channels but they are not independant. Has EQ switch facility also. Has DI out and facility for extra speaker. Is all valve. I use it for practice and with an EV ext cabinet for gigging.

I use a PRS Custom with GX700 in the loop. Also a Budwah, Tubescreamer and Roger Mayer Voodoo 1. The clean channel is top notch everything from tight funk to warm, mild overdrive. Dirty channel needs a bit of tweaking but most sounds are there. Don't expect Metal.
Power is fine for small/medium gigs. Run a Marshall EL84 from DI out through EV cabinet for larger gigs works great. I did not want a bigger amp as the clean sounds are great and its very portable. The EL84 amplifies the boogie nicely and gives stereo. Its well worth experimenting. This amp is extremely unfussy and easy to get great tones.

Apart from changing tubes no problems. Check that tubes are correctly seated and you can definately rely on it. If they are not properly in you may experience volume drops. Very solid construction. I've done hundreds of gigs without any problems.

Never had to deal with Boogie people. Its been a trouble free amp.

Ive been playing 20 years. I have an old marshall JCM 800, Tokia Strat
Takimine EF261 and my PRS Custom. Its been a fantastic amp.If it were stolen I would try and get one second hand or perhaps get a larger boogie. But I don't like too many bells and knobs. I like fairly small combos so I can actually get them driving and this fits the bill.

A All tube combo with channel switching, one 12 inch speaker and reverb. Not alot of knobs to confuse the average player, which is good. Bass, Treble, master, mid, lead master, presence, reverb. I assume it is 22 watts. pretty loud for home practice, but I have not used it on stage yet.

I play a Yamaha 112 with stock sing/sing/hum combination. I play mostly hard rock, although I like to dabble in blues and classic rock. the amp suits my playing very well. The clean channel gives a big dynamic sound with lots of lower midrange tone. It responds very well with my pick attack.Although it is a class B amp (I assume), I can fake a Class A U2 Edge sound. The lead channel has good crunch, although you cant really get a metallica sound. It is more suited to santana style lead and Who/Stones era lead sounds-good for what I do. It is a bit noisy around with the volume past 6.5, but I can live with it. I play a noisy guitar with microphonic pickups, so I cant really complain too much.

I have not taken it out of my house since I bought it, so I cant really comment. I hear Boogie gear is built like a tank, so I assume it can hold up to stage use. One thing I noticed: On the back panel, there seems to be some sort of cover over the tubes for protection. I understand its purpose, but in a live tube blowout situation, the cover can be a hassle to deal with. I've owned it for about 6 months, so far no tube have had to be changes yet.

I have had no problem-hence no need to contact company.

I like the Studio .22 alot. I use a DOD Tec8 (SUCKS!!!!!!), and the DOD takes away a lot of the tone away. Although it has an FX loop, the amp sound better with only a guitar. I would buy one again if I had to. There is always the danger of tube blowout live, but that is the nature of the beast I guess. Just carry spare tubes.

2 channels, boost fixed not flexible really eq not independently footswitchable

Good for rock and warm cleanish sounds really about 15W, very good for home/studio use good with strat, but far too bright, especially when overdriven I had to get the treble bypass cap cut off the preamp vol pot

very cheap construction, but light very noisy (hissy) though

playing 17 years, got lots of other kit it's expensive for what you get very nasal harsh sound without the mod I had done (far brighter than fender twin)

I own the studio .22 combo amp rated at 25 watts , but it sounds much louder to my ears. It's a two channel amp that's footswitchable between clean and overdrive with the same controls for both channels. It also has spring reverb and an effects loop. All tube design of course with a single 12" cone. There's also a direct out and external speaker output on the back. The EQ section features bass, middle, treble and presence controls. This is passive EQ , but very tweakable. I use it at home mainly but also for jamming with friends, playing rock and blues mainly. Features conclusion: This is an older model, but still has quite a few features. Only thing that it could use is dedicated controls for each channel , but there are lots of other Mesa amps with this now.

Clean channel- sounds great, you can get completely squeeky clean at loud volume with that great tube warmth and touch or push it right to the beginnings of distortion for a real cutting clean sound. (perfect for the solo to "Sultans of Swing"!
Overdrive channel- I call it overdrive because it doesn't distort to the point of "metal" type distortion. It's more of a 70's type crunch or "classic rock". (think Joe Walsh , Funk #49!) The EQ is really effective for getting brighter or darker tones. Personally, I find the basic distortion sound very crisp and clean, almost, but not quite, harsh. Like most tube amps, it's very dynamic, responding to your touch or guitar's volume knob very favorably. I like to footswich between the clean and overdrive channels and then also use a "metal" type pedal in line for the more modern "scooped" sounds. That overdrive channel IS perfect for some alternative bands sounds. (It nails Possum Kingdom by the Toadies!), so that's a reference point.
Overall- very good clean and overdrive channels

Well, this is the achilles heal of the one I own. It had a coupla resistors and a capacitor burn out. I sent it back and they fixed that problem, but now after having it turned on for 10 seconds or so, the bass completely rolls off and then this loud hum eventually takes over completely! Considering how much I like it, I'll probably send it back in for repairs. I DID buy mine used , so I don't know if this is a problem with others.

They seem like a really nice company , and when I sent mine off for repair I got it back fairly quick, although it is acting up again!

I'd buy this model again, but I wouldn't buy the one I've got now, because of the problems mentioned above!
I love the touch response of both channels and the detailed EQ. I hate repair problems I've had with it