Mesa/Boogie Subway Blues

Just to add a note to my previous review.
If you don't have the owner's manual you may not know that the Mid control acts as a GAIN control when you get past midway. With that in mind be careful how you set it. It's probably the most important dial on the amp.

Bought this amp new in 1994. I am continually impressed with it as are all others who hear it. It does everything I want it to do. With it's low wattage, very minor tweaks in the controls can create huge differences in tone--from exceptional clean tones to great warm overdrive. I like the simplicity of it--volume, treble, mid, bass, and reverb. Since there is no master volume, I use a stereo volume pedal wired through the effects loop with acheives the same effect. Produces a VERY loud 20 watts--enough for any small club. If I need to cut through the mix better I have a 12 inch EV in a Thiele cabinet for an extension speaker. This setup is awesome and really shows what the amp can do. Unlike several of the reviews here, I have never experienced the noise that is mentioned.

I play mostly blues and blues oriented rock with humbuckers. It sounds incredible also for Telecaster and Strats.

Never had a problem yet except preamp tube replacement which is to be expected with any amp. It seems indestructable.

Never had to use company support.

If I lost this amp, I would have to find another just like it.

I have a '94 version of this amp (single input and microswitch for single coil/humbucker). The amp is for purists really (or old blues-men), which was OK former, but I haf the hum problem. Mesa knows about this, and there is a simple cure involving swapping a 103k '9434'resistor, and that sorts it.

However, the amp has now come into its own as I've discovered the Omnisonic Tube Amp Volume Box (see E-Bay), which you simply plug into the effects send/return, and hey-presto you can crank the amp right up and get a nice compressed tone that sings - and all for about ??10!

I use it with a '57 and a '62 strat (yes, the real thing), and I love the sound. If I was going for 'one amp', though, this amp wouldn't be it without the Omnisonic, since without master-volume it isn;t versatile in low-power settings.

I use it for a bluesy-boogie style. Overall the sound is pretty clean up to about volume 6. There is no harsh distortion or crunch.

It has been reliable apart from the buzz, which my amp-tech Theo Argiriadis, sorted inexpensively.

I have the original 15 year old tubes in it, which seem OK. I've tried Harma Vintage output tubes, but to no obvious advanatge so I swapped back.

Mesa sound very touchy-feely, but try getting an e-mail or fax through to someone. They were aware of the buzz problem, and ought to have made the solution more obvious. There is a circuit diagram available on thier site that refers to it, but you have to be looking for it. As it is I wasted ??50 swapping tubes around thinking I had a tube problem.

I've been playing 40+ years. I have a Mesa Boogie Mark III just for the hell of it. If the amp was stilen I think I'd look at the fender Blues Deluxe, or maybe an 'oldie'. I'm a bit of a retro-man.

It's a plug and play amp, and the beauty is in its simplicity. It's plenty loud enough for all sorts of situations, and without the Omnisonic box too loud for the bedroom.

I purchased it new in 1999 and still have it. It's not what I would call a versatile amp, but it works for me. I originally was going to get a Fender Blues Junior but the reverb on them was inferior to the Mesa (!)and just seemed to lack quality of build and sound so I shelled out some more and got the Subway Blues. I just wish it came with a 12 inch speaker but that is my particular taste and would probably defeat the purpose of a small carry-on type tube amp. I did convert mine to a head and play through a 1x12 cab. The folks at Mesa were great in helping me on this. I even came out about even in selling the cab!

The overall sound is what sold me on this amp. Unlike some earlier models mine has never had any problems with noise or hum. It is remarkably quiet and always has been. Really comes alive cranked up about 2 o'clock and loves humbuckers and especially single coils. Just a real good, quality sound that is somewhat unique. I have read it described as somewhere between a Vox and a Fender. That seems about right.

8 years in and no problems. I have replace the output tubes but the o.e. ones really weren't shot.

The best I have encountered by a good sized manufacturer. By far.

I have been playing off and on since the 60's. Have owned a bunch of Fenders, Peavey, and a Marshall. I wasn't looking for a Mesa Boogie when I got it as I had just started playing after a 10 year layoff and wanted something in my comfort zone (a Fender). Right now it's the only amp I have and I don't see myself ever selling it. Great value and great sound.
If I ever start playing out again I might get something bigger, louder but until then I'm quite content. I hate giving so many 10's but after 8 years I have to call it as I see it.

Simplest mesa ever, feels like fresh air...
13 kgs, not mesa-like at all again...
Lots of hum and unbearable noise level, very mesa in fact.
Fairly well constructed thing, seems to be quality components, excellent loudspeaker (but too soft for this amp, a tighter EV I had at hand was the perfect match here), and the loop works well.
Nothing, except the hum, one could ask more for.
Five points for the noise, and I am kind.

Very warm sounding thing, clean about to eleven o'clock after the farting begins.
Fingerstyle playing comes out exceptionnally, class A...
I can't stand single channel amps when they are not clean, matter of taste, so I am no judge for the natural overdrive of the subway blues (a loud fart with no finesse... or definition, of course).
Clean sound very good, eq is effective but natural, reverb vg also.

But the hum is so loud I can't use the damned thing more than 45 minutes at best! And on a small unsensitive speaker, sort of natural noise gate .
On a normal speaker, or worse a stack, there is no possibility to play at all, too much hum.

It is reliable, for the good it does.
I absolutely can't rely on it, for the noise it makes.
No tube swap helped, it is clearly a lousy design.
I had another subway blues eleven years ago, same thing.
On the f30 page there may be some leads about this problem (too small caps on the power section), I ll check it out when I have some time to lose.
Mesa doesn't install bias adjustment pots, no wonder all of their amps are the noisiest in the business.
Poor engineering, no customer listening, they may all be deaf after all...

Outside the USA it's up to your import company, and here they could as well sell ties... In clear absolutely useless.

For me the best mesa I encountered, useless because of the noise.
I'll post if I find a cure, which I highly doubt.
The speaker is way good, I use it in a Vox VR30 with fantastic results.
The hum is even there in the output recording jack, nonsense.

Read other reviews for details of features. Works great for me - nice and simple. I'm not into multiple channels with push/pull, eq, contour, etc. that many Boogies contain.

This amp sounds truly fantastic. It really gets that tubey, warm sound I love. I play a fender tele plus and my style is bluesy/rock/jazz. Turning the mid up on this amp really adds depth to the sound. It also makes the sound fatter. The clean channel sounds great and I use a TS9 for overdrive. The fat channel give a nice, pure old school overdriven sound when you crank the amp, but this amp is loud!! So, unless you want to go deaf or wear earplugs, the fat channel is out for me. The TS9 has always been the best overdrive/distortion box in front of any amp. I owned a Mark II which had really nice distortion, but I prefer the TS9 in front of the Subway. Anyway, back to the amp. I do have the later model so the hum found on earlier models is not that noticable, but it is there. However, I hardly notice once I start playing. I play mostly at home, so the volume is low. This amp sounds really full at this low volume. However, if I turn the volume knob up just slightly, this thing gets sooo loud! Wish the volume knob was more subtle. Overall, the sound is what counts with any amp, and this ranks up there with the greatest amps I've owned and played. The reverb is sweet! I like it more on this model than the Mark II I used to own. I have owned a Mark II, Fender Twin Reverb Reissue, Fender Champ (70's), and currently own a Fender 75 (Rivera Era). The Subway sounds better than the Twin. The Mark II, the Champ and 75 are right up there with the Subway. Of course, each has their own unique sound and are used for different purposes. The Champ is obviously just a practice amp, where as the Subway is both a practice amp, and an amp I would play a gig with. The Fender 75 is a great amp, but is too damn heavy to lug around! The Mark II was also so heavy, had a fan in it, and would make a loud popping sound whenever I switched the channels. The Subway is perfect for my needs.

I feel very comfortable knowing the Boogie is reliable. The Mark II I owned for many years never had a problem. Also, the Boogie factory is not that far from where I live, so if there were a problem, I'd drive up to the factory. My friends have done so and said the guys at the factory are really nice and enthusiastic about their products. I hear they give a great tour and are very helpful with any problems or questions about your amp.

Been playing for over 20 years. If this were stolen or lost I'd search for another. Again, this amp suits my needs for a practice/recording/gigging amp. No need to search for another.

1994 or 1995, purchased in Toronto. The Subway Blues I purchased was not extremely versatile but great for blues/classic rock. Decent reverb for such a small tank and very loud little amp, ~ but mine was also very loud as in HUM!

The sound quality was good if you could play it loud enough to overcome the hum. Fine for band practice/small gigs but sucked at lower volumes because of the noise issues.

I could not depend on mine. It was a little noisy when I first purchased it. After a couple jams sessions it was unbearable. After calling Mesa in regards to the noise they told me mine was an early production model and that the switch on the front panel needed to be replaced and the circuit adjusted??? After footing the bill to ship it to Mesa I received my amp back and they had replaced the heavy duty style switch (like a solid metal Les Paul pick up selector switch) with a tiny little switch that looked like the small type used for coil splitters on Strats. They used a washer to cover the now too large hole and install the new switch! I had expected much more in 1994 for what was a $500 Canadian (about $350 American at the time) amp. The hum was still there but it was slightly quieter, but still not quite bearable playing at low volumes. After about ten hours of playing the hum came back in spades. Worse than the first time. In frustration I put it in the closet and hauled it around for about six years and a few moves before pulling it out again because my amp tech said he'd look at it and new tubes may help. This is same guy who restored my '68 Champ that I still use for practice (nice amp) and did tube replacements and maintenance on my HD65 210 Music Man that I used (and still use with no problems, thank you very much!) for gigs. He informed me that the plate voltages were off and way too hot. His best guess was the board was bad and that whatever Mesa did when they "fixed" it was BS. Because of the board construction/epoxy my tech said the only fix for it was a new board or if he were to fix it, basically a complete rebuild. He said it would probably be cheaper to find a good used one. I called Mesa back after being informed of this and was instantly told it was out of warranty and a discontinued model that they would not fix. I really would like to have been able to use it as it sounded great when it wasn't humming uncontrollably...

See above...

Good tone if it's working well... I would not consider buying one sight unseen, especially at the prices they've been bringing lately. Buyers beware.

I play blues and rock. This amp covers all. For blues it's a genie. Must be in the name... Features are suberb for me. 1 channel with volume, high/mid/low and reverb. What else does a guitarist want? I use effects a lot. For this amp I would use a TS9 tube screamer (Ibanez) and maybe a MT-2 Metal Zone (Boss). You don't need any effects at all if you own a good guitar (I have a '89 USA Strat which likes the amp al lot) and you know how to pick the strings and play with the pickups, volume and tone pots. The amp is loud enough for a small gig and allmost most practice situations. For a live audience of over 100 people/a larger establishment/outdoor performance I would mice the amp into the P.A. The amp has a line out as well if you fancy that more.

I've owned almost every amp in my 40 years of life now. For my stuff this amp is great. I have a Music Man 130 top + 2x12" cabinet as well and an original Fender '67 Super Reverb (4x10") blackface. The 3 can cover everything I ever wanna do. The Subway Blues I would use for practice, home, and a small gig probably (never did this up 'till now because I can't let the Super Reverb alone). The 3 tone pots are a miracle. Look at the Mesa site for the manual of this amp how it works. Tweaking the 3 knobs can give you almost every sound which includes genious ones. For blues this amps really sings all-right. It's really an amp that gives you back what you tell the strings. It's very fast (10") and sensitive about how you touch the string. Great actually! I would never give an amp a 10 because this would mean I could never buy another. Holy amp grails don't exist (I would give my Super Reverb a 9 though and the Music man another 8). This amp is perfect though for what I use it for. A must have! Just buy it!

I had Mesa Boogies before. The Mark IV and the Blue Angel. I like this amp more than the both of them. The Mark IV has like 60 controls (what for?) and the Blue Angel is way worse as it comes to price versus sound. Oh yes, the reliability. Never a Mesa Boogie has let me down. And the only thing I hear is that they send in a army of help if it does. I would gig wany Boogie without backup (actually, our leadsinger is my backup, if my amp stops, he will sing more and I will play a bit more but on his amp). Trust the Boogies I would say.

Never needed them.

I'v been playing for 25 years. I had every amp. The 3 I have now cover everything. The Subway Blues is one of them. Unmissable. I would buy another one (if I could find one for a reasonable price) if it was lost ore stolen. I love the sound and the 3 tone controls which give you a book full of sounds. I like the weight as well (I believe it's about 15 kilo's). Amp left, guitar right and a small bag with cables and a few effects, backup strings and other stuff on my back. Up the stairs one time instead of 2 or 3. It's fun to try an amp like this. You buy it for 400, you will certainly sell it for 400 or more...

Pretty much as simple as it gets. Has a so-called half power speaker input on the back. Fat switch on the front. Reverb and Tone controls. 10 inch Black Shadow by Mesa.

Using a G&L ASAT Classic. Tone is pretty good with the combo but still sounds "boxy", so to open it up I bought the companion Mesa Boogie extension cabinet with 12 inch speaker. Much better tone now. I still run some pedals with it, primarily Analogman's modded Boss pedals (BD,DS,SD) and an old Ibanez chorus. At one point it would all of a sudden sound like a transitor radio, very tinny. I would have to switch the stand-by switch off and on to get it back to full tone. Then I pulled the chassis to see if there was something obvious..burned chip, loose wire. Did not see anything, so I put it back together and it has not done it since. ???

See comments above about sound issue. Other than that no issues.

No had to deal with them. I have heard they are not as helpful or as knowledgeable as before.

Overall I am very pleased. Very loud for a 20 watter, especially with the extension cabinet. Would probably sound great with a Marshall slant cabinet. Very good for roots style players, particularly the blues (I guess, hence the name Subway Blues)

Subway Blues Oak Hardwood Cabinet

There are many reviews out there for the Subway Blues. I agree with the ones that assign all ratings a 10. I love the sound and feel and simplicity of the SB. It can go from a great cranked "violin like" output tube distortion to a nice bight clean twang with a lighter touch or less guitar volume. The Fat/bright switch is most useful as I play both humbuckers and single coils, and a Weber 10" speaker replaced the Boogie original which sounded fine, just different, I happen to like Webers.

But this review is not about this amp in particular, but about this amp and how it sounds in the new solid hardwood cab.

Doug Stalters at Vintone Circuits ( www.vintone.com ) builds heavy duty "boutique" amplifiers of his own design to order, along with gorgeous hardwood amp cabinets, also to order. I requested a solid wood cab out of American red oak built to original SB dimensions, and requested installation of my existing amp chassis, along with the Weber speaker and all the original SB hardware -- chassis mounts, handle, feet, reverb pan, etc. Mr. Stalters produced a furniture quality cabinet with flawless half-blind dovetailed corner joints, evenly stained finish and cane grille tight as a drum, perfectly aligned. A picture speaks a thousand words, so you might take a look at this cab at the following URL:

http://www.vintone.com/rc_boogie_blues_o

The natural finish hardwood cabinet definitely is more resonant than the original vinyl clad cab; one can ???hear the wood???. Tolex or other vinyl coverings have to mute the natural wood resonance, no? They don???t tolex the tops of acoustic guitars. Vinyl adds to long term durability though, I suppose. I ramble.

The finish is beginning to take on a deeper, richer appearance than the website photo reveals. That picture does not do justice now, though it did when it was taken. Its an heirloom quality cabinet! It can be seen and heard at some of the finest garages, basements and open mic nights in south central PA.

The price paid listed below is what I paid used for the amp in its original (acoustically mute) tolex cab.

One might contact Vintone Circuits c/o Doug Stalters for current pricing and design info for custom amps and cabs.

Doug Shaw

not incredibly versitile, but people don't buy these little buggers for the versitility. if you've read the other reviews you know what to expect.

*the model i'm using is the ealier single input with the bright/fat switch.

*surprisingly powerful for a 20 watt 1x10 combo. much more bottom end and projection than my fender pro junior (w/blue alnico 10") and silvertone 1482 (1x12 combo).

*the reverb is a nice touch. not too overpowering, blends in well.

*the halfpower output is cool if you wanna rock out by yourself at a more reasonable volume, but i almost never use it.

*i really dig the tone of the 50watt black shadow speaker. i tried some other 10s in it and the blackshadow is the best suited for this amp. more projection and body.

*there is a little noise (bare in mind this amp is cranked) but it varies a lot depending on tube selection. i've tried a variety of pre-amp tubes and trust me, it's worth experimenting!

*i recently started coupling this amp with a mesa widebody 1x12 (3/4 back) cab and ...wow! i liked the sound before, now I LOVE IT! i highly recommend running this little guy through a bigger cab to at least see what kinda results you can get.

*wonderful "crazyhorse" style tone when cranked with my les paul. drive the front end with a good overdrive and it sounds like it's about to explode!

i've experienced a few issues with this amp. the reverb tank had a nasty acoustic rattle. a small amount of foam insulating tape on the top of the tank fixed that. some microphonic issues. this seems to be mainly to do with the close proximity of the speaker to the preamp tubes. different tubes react differently. now that i'm running the subway blues through an external extension cab this isn't an issue. the stock speaker developed a bad rattle but i've since replaced it. who's to say if these problems were my fault of defective construction?

all of my issues with this amp i have been able to handle at home, myself with little effort. i'm used to working on stuff so it doesn't really phase me.

all in all i wouldn't say this thing is built like a tank.

*when the stock 10 crapped out on me i called mesa a couple times to find out about speaker options. the customer service guy was helpful but not very well informed on discontinued items.

*been playing about 15 years
*current live rig also includes - 70s tele with rio grande pickups, '56 reissue les paul gold top (p90s), boss tuner, mxr distortion +, analog man modded boss trem, vintage ibanez ad-9
*if this amp were stolen or lost i'd definitely consider another subway blues or maybe investigate the blue angel or maverick models.
*love the tone (especially now with the 1x12 widebody cab). sounds great with both my tele and my les paul.

Mine is an older one, no 1/2 power switch, no fat switch.

One channel is all you Need!

With Humbuckers this Amp rules. P90's also great.
It sounds best when plugged into a 2x12 cabinet.
The stock 10" sounds OK, but the low-end clips a bit when
the Amp is cranked (& it's always cranked)!

I use this Amp as a Head, straight into my 1x12 or 2x12 cabinet.

It is as close to Pure Tone as you'll ever find. Why Mesa hasn't
started making these again is beyond me. I guess they're too busy
making Multi-Channel amps to be bothered with the best sounding amp
they've ever produced.

It's a solid little Amp with Huge Tone.

It's rehearsal/studio amp. Or a Small club.

Mesa does return phone calls & do try to please their customers.

Always searching for tone. I can't wait to record with this little monster. It's very hard to describe how killer these amps sound. I'm not a huge Mesa Boogie fan, I dislike their multi-channel amps & hate anything that has push/pull knobs on it. That leaves only a few models left that I dig.
This is the Best Amp ever to come out of the Mesa plant! It has the Mesa Gain, plus the transparent tone that most Mesa's lack.
It is one of my Favorite Amps of all time. If they had the same preamp section & 10 more watts I can't imagine how many thousands of these they would have sold.

That being said, it still is one of the Best Tube Amps on the planet
even at 20 watts. Simple is better!

The 10" speaker may not deliver the goods all the time. If not, plug it into a 2x12 cabinet & you won't believe your ears.

Hey Mesa, try & keep it simple - you might just end up pleasing some people!

Not sure, but it is the later version with the 1/2 power jack on the back. One channel,very minimal, but extremly usable in that you can keep it cranked up in either power range with some killer overdrive. Just basic killer tone, Perfect for blues or rock!!

This amp has enough crunch to sound awsome with single coils, but it really cruises with humbuckers, not very noisy considering it's almost always on ten. Not alot of variety, smooth blues distortion, killer tone!!!

Very reliable, Have not called about this amp, but in my experiance they have been extremeley helpful and generous in their support way after the sale.

These guys are the best, extremely accessable, just a phone call away, too reliable to need a repair.

Off and on, 35 years, loads of equipment, I love this amp!! This is definitley the last amp I would sell if I were forced to sell my equipment.

I bought the amp from mesa/boogie in Hollywood, probably sometime around 1993 or 1994. I needed a small amp to take along with me to the gigs at small places and for blues jams. At first I bought the Subway Rocket, and it didn't work for me so I took it back to Boogie, and they told me try the Subway Blues. And I thought this is it!!! Payed the difference or they gave me back difference (I forgot)and took home the Subway Blues. Controls are simple, fat sw, vol, treb, mid, bass, did it have presence?, and reverb. Had an effects loop, recording out too. 1-10inch speaker. And a special gig bag, which comes in handy when you need to carry it with you. Never used the recording out but records well when mic'd. Has great lead overdrive when the volume knob is at 3or4o'clock. Usually used it around 12 or 1o'clock.

Used it with both strat and lespaul. It's great blues amp. Great sustain and reverb is also pretty good. If your style is jazz, blues it does its job really well. when I need volume or play rock, fusion, I used an splitter and ran another combo (most of the time some peavey) together with the Subway Blues amp. I needed another amp to take of the lack of head room problem with the SubBlues amp. Peaveys were set pretty clean so I would get great tube overdriven sound and crunch sound from the Blues amp and peaveys would keep the articulations when the volume is needed. Never used it in a big venue but at most of the small, medium sized venue, I never had problems. I used the amp most of time with volume at around 12'o'clock, and it gave me great clean/crunch tones to overdriven tone with the guitar volume and your picking. Past 3or4o'clock this amp can't stay clean. Overall, it has a nice warm tube sound and this sound feels great to play, and big point is that it has a tone that's friendly to anyones ear. I love 22watts deluxes too but I bet this one won't make harsh sounds to your ears. It doesn't mean it can't scream. Goes well with drive pedals, and the parallel loop is pretty good too when you record. Remenber, this is a 20watt amp, so don't expect volume and headroom of a 50or100Wtube amplifier. But, try it with a 4X10 or 2x12, you should be able to get a little more volume. Speakers and spk configurations makes a big difference. Or try the Blue Angel if you need similar sound but bigger. Blue Angel(quad of EL84) can go louder but seems a little less forgiving(faster) amp compared to the subway blues.

I've dropped it few times, but nothing goes wrong. owned it for about 3years, and changed the pair of EL84 power tubes just once. never had a problem with it. The guys at mesa/boogie are just great. They really care about your satisfaction. They seem to have pride there too, not just there amps sounds. My friend even got one for himself since he loved the tone from it. Just mike it well and get monitored when you need more vol.

They're great! Only dealt with them twice. First time was when I didn't like the Subway Rocket. They took back the rocket and told me try the Subway. I loved it and took it home. The second time, I went there and told them that I love the tone, but need more vol, and they showed me the Blue Angel. Took that home too.

I actually don't have it with me now because I had to trade it for new gears. But I kind of regret it now. I don't have any boogies left. I used to own the subway blues, blue angel, and a re-issue Mark1withJBL12inch. They are all great!!! Just have to get used to their interacting preamp tone section. If you need tips, I bet the guys at boogie will help you out( at least they'll probably send you some sample settings to start you off.). Although subway Blues is an EL84amp, I think it's closer to a fender. And boogie made history with fender based small combos, they really know what they're doing.

Ihave this amp for six years.Although there are only five knobs what else do you need if you have a good effects set?It sounds really amazing and i think there s no better sound for a 20watts amp.
The half power plug allows you to crunch with lower volumes for small places.I ve already done few recordins and it sounds really great.
I also use it in several small and medium places gigs,i think its really better to amplify this combo than uses some jcm 900 and stuff like that.

I use a Fender Stratocaster with a noiseless pick up on it and i ve never heard a better clean sound!
Its a crunch sound if you want something heavier you will need a distortion effect and it also has few of completely clean volume cause its a saturatin amp, but i guees people who buy this amp knows exactly what is looking for,or should cause its a Mesa!
Perfect for blues soun like Stevie Ray Vaughan stuff specially when added by a TS-9 pedal.And awesome for alternative stuff when you want the power of distortion with the clean brightness.
Actually its good for almost any kind of sound.

It's really a tank! I use it for a long time and i've made the first tubes change few months ago(in this six years i ve probably made about a 2 gigs per month medium)It s also started some pots hum after 4 years.

When i had this pots problems the answered my mails on the next day with the pots informatio...till now they were great!

If it were stolen or lost i would look for another one.To me Mesa and Vox are simply the best tube amps with no doubt.If you have the chance dont let it pass by...buy it!

The features are basically non-existent. It is simply put, a 20 watt tone machine. Simple, efficient....awesome

The sound is simply incredible, I plug in a strat and get lost. the sound is pristine. Lower volumes are scary good and when turned up, the gain increases and sounds are very articulate. my only reservation is the 10" speaker. I can't wait to plug this baby into a cabinet!

It's a Boogie.....Probably the best made amps ever....I have had everyhting and this is on par with the best regarding build quality. I am a huge fender , Vox and rivera fan and this is right there!

My only experience was to call them regarding an F-50 and they were very accomodating...probably second to none

I have played and owned everything. this is a great little amp. The speaker causes some reservation, but it's a "small" amp. The ebst practice or small club amp i have every heard. i don't gig with it much because I play large venues, but it is the best sounding amp I have....

Don't know when made. I play it through a Marshall Power Brake and it kicks ass! You can really get lost in the sound of it and it has nice bottom too.

A Stratostien that I built. A Carvin Bolt with a lot of changed out parts over the years. Fender Custom Shop Texas Special pickups that I use with the Bright setting - they wail nice. I have a Moses graphite neck with thick frets also.

It's a tank.

Easy to get tubes through them. No biasing required too.

They don't make them anymore - so buy one if you see one. They are a great recording amp and have nice gain. I use mine to drive half of a half stack (8 ohms) and it sounds nice [Behringer 412H 100 watt 4 ohmers].

First of all, there are 5 knobs, not 25. This is a simple amp that sounds killer with any setting... What people should say is with featuring 5 knobs what can this amp do.... It can do more with 5 knobs than most with 10 or more knobs. Remember sometimes LESS IS MORE.

This is probably the best sounding amp for it's price in the world as far as I'm concernced. Use a couple of your favorite stomp boxes, tube screamer and maybe a little delay, you will loose your mind.

so far so good, no probs. this thing has head room for days for 20 watts. You won't play a large venue with this but for what it is it's great.

Boogie really is great with support

I have been playing for a long time and have had many amps. If you need power get a powerful amp, For a practice amp this exceeds anythig that I could imagine. You could play a small club with this. If it were stolen I would look for another... Just out of curiosity I have looked but I can't find another one anywhere. The sound from this amp will fill the room. I will never get rid of this amp unless someone offers me something rediculously stupid for it.

you know the features......5 knobs indepentdent to each other.
A relationship like no other......All knobs from one fat mother.......
reverb is lush....run for cover. EL84.......wiill never smother......your face....
and speaking of face let's talk about the solid face plate. Mesa Boogie logo.....
Pin it on the front with pride, take it off that's a no-no.
Little amp wonder what shall i deed you...electricity runs through your tubes and stings you 12Ax7....seventh heaven...on the WB......wait and see....take your ticket...let's ride the subway....and never get off.

Lipstick single coils......ring with antiquity...seymore made them for me...custom bridge and texas hot.....put the butter in the pot..and cook with it....
it's better than corn oil......Humbuckers spoil........who says two coils are better than one. Let's have fun and BREATH DAMN IT. I can't sleep with a plastic bag over my head. Noise is nota factor in the quietzone. I can't hear the 60 cycle hum...dum-ditty-dum....politics run through the air in this trying time of "election".....Once chanel is all I need.....keeping me healthy and clean. Washing
my private. Spear me and I'll screem...pintch me and i'll thank you for days. Distortion will be king when the rulers of the anti-christ take over the sceen....until then I'll stay with grit grime and pushed tubes....."STEP DOWN PRE_AMP! DAMN IT. " I'll wait for you outside...CLASS A is GOD HERE....and HERECULES IS DEAD!!!. Sounds like silk is being woven in my basement.........standard smooth.....you sound like a tube amp.....are you "why yes master I....I am....please don't hurt me....please make me safe" You did a bad thing today" (I did a bad thing last week to...but you never found out) Just don't hit me...I...I...I don't desever it......

YES

mesaboogie.com

The features on this amp are subtle.
The guy who reccommends turning the tone controls fown to start gets a big kiss!
I really love small amps . This one is very refined.

A great sound. Almost a cross between vox and fender.
It sounds especially good with my Tele-Sonic guitar w/ DeArmond pickups.
It made a noise and I had tthe board replaced. It still makes some noises so I live with it.
The first preamp tube is hard to get the right one.
Great recording output .

This is an amp you can carry with two fingers into a gig and be just fine.
Use a tube pedal.(when you need it)
Again It hummed badly and needed the board replaced because of the epoxied circuits. Pain in the butt.

They gave me a break on buying the board. I had it done by a graet guy locally. But Mesa was not "up front" about the problem.

played 40 years. Always wanted some small amps. This one =was a good choice.

This amp is pretty much basic no frills. However it has a silent recording jack feature that is real cool for recording and two other external speaker jacks. This baby will push the heck out of a Marshall 412 cabinet, I could not beleive my ears from 20 watts! It sure sings as you turn the volume up... 20 watts into 10" mesa black shadow speaker. One channel, with a fat switch and reverb. Controls volume, treble, bass, mid, reverb.

Great tone! I like it much better than the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe I was using before, for the type of tone I want. Great for blues, rock, and country type styles. I play a strat and an LP through it with good results from both. Amp stays pretty clean up until about 12:00 o'clock on the volume then starts pushing into overdrive. I use a TS-9. I get a beautiful, smooth tone out of it. Single coils sound beautiful through it too. The mesa reverb sounds as good or better than the best old Fender you ever heard. If you've never heard an old Fender's reverb you've got to check one out to see what you're missing. My HR Deluxe had decent reverb but it still had that tendency to sound like the speaker was disappearing further inside the cabinet as you turned it up, which I hated. I can crank up the reverb on the mesa and it still sounds very musical. The amp will push any speaker combo you want to hook it up to. It will be loud enough for a small club gig, anything else would need to miced anyway no mater how many watts you have. This is the best amp I have yet to own and I will NEVER get rid of it.

No problems so far and it is old enough to have crashed if it wasn't well made.

They actually return phone calls and really try to help. I called with some questions about the extra speaker jacks and silent recording jacks. They actually called me back and answered my questions. Try that with Fender.

Iv'e been playing for 30 plus years professionally and semi pro. I wish I had this amp when I started instead of playing, buying, and trading at least 10 other amps that didn't do it for me. My advise to all you people just starting is don't waste your money with cheap stuff. Get as high a quality guitar as you can afford, and one of these amps and your in business.

All I have to say in this categorie is that it has very few features that I use. All I wanted in this amp was killer tone at decent volume and I got it. I would have to say that tone is the only important feature here.

I use a gibson sg voodoo through a vintage vox cord straight to the amp, like a guitar should be played. If you like blues and classic rock this is the amp! Its only 20 watts so you can crank it and get that natural od/distortion that my solid state computer amp playing friends wish for. remember this is no heavy metal amp! Its just loud enough to be easily heard over a band in a small club unmiked (but I use an extra 2x10 cab for added fullness and volume). cleans sound is chimey and yet buttery smooth and the break up is just incredible, its beautiful. Some people complained about the "hiss" or noise that you can hear when you arent playing and couldnt take it. oh please you polished prissy fools! thats the sound of truth, your fingers and the strings together in some electric union! it sounds real like blues should be. not polished up and edited in some super clean studio guitar sound! you can even get some really nice crunch sounds from her but if your looking for that marshall crunch, this aint it. I am still finding all kinds of different sounds (more like nuances of its one good tone) from this little one trick pony. if you want a thick bluesy sound full of soul and enough guts to get crunchy and distorted for some good ol rock and roll this is it!

I have had this amp for 8 months and have had one power tube change. the amp developed a wierd metallic (aluminum?!)sound when I would hold a note for a long time. it had lost all of its gorgeous sustain power and would quickly fizzle off to a wierd transistor radio type sound and then wait for my next note. I took it to the shop where I bought it and they sent it back to get fixed. 2 months later I get it with a new speaker and some "circuit" work sounds better than ever!! I am not sure what they did but it sounds even better than before! All and all the harder you use things the more likely they are to break down or wear out on you but I only had this baby for 8 months.

I have been playing for 2 years and I love to play blues. I love everything about this amp. It seems to have this mojo that you would expect from some old vintage amp that has been through different players,clubs, pawn shops. it just looks like it has charachter and vibe! If it was lost or stolen I would search the earth for another one just like it, they dont make them anymore so I am hanging on to this one real tight.

This amp is not about feastures its about tone. Howver, have some useful features such as a fat switch, eefects loop and mute switch.

This is where this amp shines. I had a Subway Rocket but sold it when I bought the subway blues. The sound from the blues is warmer and smoother. This amp is not for metal but for my style which is jazz, blues and classic rock it is perfect.

I purchased the amp used and it would develop a loud hum after about an hour. Mesa Boogie said that it is due to an epoxy board and the board would have to be replaced. Since I was not the original owner Mesa Boogie charged me $50 for labor. Since I had the board replaced no problems.

It was very easy to deal with Mesa Boogie. When I had the circuit board replaced they did a little extra work on the inputs and thru in some tube retainers that were missing for free.

I have been playing for about 30 years and have owned many amps. I play mostly blues and classic rock and this amp fits that purposes perfectly.

This amp is basicly Boogies Princeton Reverb, so with that in mind it has a lot of features. The recording out with speaker mute switch and adjustable effects loop are the coolest additions to the usual Princeton-like features of this amp. Also, it has a very effective mid knob not present on it's Fender breathren. I love the fact that it has a full size reverb pan instead of the cheesy little pans found on so many small amps. Yes, you can give it a knock and get that grrrrrrrrang effect like an old Fender!

I am going to start the sounds rating off with the hopes that all Subway Blues Owners will read this. The loud noise that this amp puts out after an hour or so is caused by a epoxy coated tone circuit that heats up after a while and causes the noise. Boogie has acknowledged this and replaced my tone cicuit free of charge. If your amp makes this noise, you should contact Boogie right away. That aside, this amp has one of the coolest blues tones you will ever hear. It sounds great with all guitars and has a tone switch (fat and thin) that accomodates humbuckers and single coils. You can crank it and get a very cool SRV/Robin Ford blues tone.

Built very solid, everything about it is heavy duty/toss it in the trunk worthy. The EL84 tubes have to be replaced about once a year under normal use (3 to 4 nights a week)

I dealt with customer service on the one aforemetioned issue with the tone circuit. They were pleasant and fast.

This amp is my favorite amp hands down and I own quite a few mostly vintage amplifiers. Hey blackface Princeton Owners, you think your amp sounds cool? Crank up one of of these babies!

I owned this subway blues one week before returning it. I liked much its look, simplicity and the rich, full tone. Nice reverb too, and recording out jack, along with dummy load to bypass the loudspeaker.
I couldn't stand the noise, very there and especially when recording through the provided speaker-emulated output(what a nonsense...). In fact it made recording impossible this way, except for dead kennedys stuff...
We tried changing tubes, no way. Since I owned a farfisa all tube amp from the sixties which was very quiet we found the reason for the noise in the Mesa: the transformers. In the farfisa they(input and output) are big and separate while there is only a tiny one in the subway!
So forget about the noisy blues...