The Boogie Board

Frank Zappa, Hot Rats. My first time. It's very interesting, I'll say that!

My tube tester of choice is the B&K Dyna-Jet 707. It's one of the few tube testers that tests pretty nearly every tube ever made and has true dynamic transconductance testing. It can be used for gain matching tubes, which I've found to yield the same results as any other tube matching method. A 707 ...

Who knows? Take this as gospel: The number of people who attempt to modify amps is much larger than the number of people who are competent to mod amps and have them come out well.

Here's a good photo of a pristine example to use as a reference. Anything that is different is suspect. https://i.imgur.com/GaYczMX.jpg Note that this example doesn't have an EQ. That's OK. It just makes it easier to use as a reference for everything other than the EQ. I would seriously suggest that...

It's definitely not in stock form. The presence and reverb have been messed with, some other things are out of place, and of course, with two preamp tubes missing, it doesn't have ANY chance of being fully operational until you at least replace them. I'm betting that the filter caps (big blue ones) ...

Export/worldwide mid to late run Mark IIB. Slightly modified, presence control missing. The existence of a labelled effects loop identifies it as not being an A version. My Mark IIA had serial number 3116. I'd buy it back if I were ever to find it. That'd be, officially, the 116th Mark II off the pr...

This amp is sold. Thanks for looking.

It wasn't until now, 35 years after I began my guitar adventure, that the right deals came along at the right time when I was interested. So, finally, I got my first Marshall. And my second one just a week later. The first one is a JMP 2203 100 watt master volume model made in 1977. Nearly completel...

Several circumstances have come together that encourage me to sell my Triple Recto. It's the three channel 150 watt Triple Rectifier Solo head, from about 1999. Not the multi-watt version. It includes the 5 button Bigfoot footswitch and an 18 foot footswitch cable. The amp is stock and unmodified wi...

In the past week I've added my first Marshalls to my growing amp collection. The first is a 1977 JMP 2203 master volume model, 100 watts. The second is a 1973 JMP 1959 4 input model, no master volume, also 100 watts. (Same model as EVH's original Marshalls, just a few years newer.) The 2203 is good ...

Do yourself a huge favor and retrofit a full sized reverb tank to it. Get a tank, bag, and a set of cables suitable for a Mark series combo amp from Mesa, and a pair of RCA jacks to add to the chassis. You'll be rewarded with better reverb and also slightly better cooling. .22s run HOT and benefit f...

I've taken on a light restoration project for a friend/customer. It's a first version Hamer Steve Stevens model from the mid 80s. It had a neck break many years ago and whomever did the repair work made a solid repair but what he did to the finish on the neck is basically a tragedy. My job is to res...

If you're thinking of a Helix, get a Fractal instead. An older Fractal unit will sound better than the latest Helix. The Helix is a LineSux product. That should give you a clue. Play it for a while and your suspicions will be confirmed. It's not that good compared to any Fractal unit you can find, n...

The original style is no longer being made by the original manufacturer. But the replacements that Mesa sells are just fine. Get a set from them and be done with it.

If you're super focused on originality, just watch ebay. Somebody will be along shortly to sell you used knobs for 20 bucks a pop.

It's always been my understanding that Mesa has basically only ever had ONE output transformer for ALL 150 watt/six output tube amps. The OT in the D180 I had appeared to be identical to the OT in my first gen TRS head. It's supposed to be the same one used in EVERY Coliseum head. Given the cost of ...