mesa transatlantic!

[Heritage Softail]

Who did the marketing analysis for this amp. They need to be taken out and shot. Money losing ideas like this one drive up the prices of the good Mesa amps.

It appears the Transatlantic is a hippie/indie amp. Look at the crazy blue light thing, it's practically a lava lamp... And besides that, we all know hippies don't need bar soap or effects loops. :lol: :lol:

 

[djw]

I'm really starting to GAS for the TA. After seeing a couple of demos and running the specs/features, I gotta say: it looks sweet as hell to me. Sure, there are amps that have more features and some that subjectively sound... "better" I guess, for the money at least. But for a grab-n-go? It looks unbeatable to me. Sheeeee-yit.

The FX loop thing doesn't bother me one whit -- notice, NONE of the true lunchboxes have one, nor do any have a reverb worth worrying about. The Egnater little guys have some of this, but those just aren't speaking to me like the TA does. You can always throw a Holy Grail in front if reverb is that important, and how many of us don't already have a good OD/Dist that they can toss in front of a delay pedal on its way to the input, if you simply must have delay after their OD?... I guess if you really, really need an fx loop you're out of this market anyway. Personally, an amp like this makes me want LESS in the way of effects cluttering up my tone.

I do agree that a 1-watt or less power option would have been nice. But I also think that complaints about the features the Transatlantic doesn't have ignore the features it DOES have, and how little space there is left to cram more stuff in there. Those jacks and pots and switches take up precious space in a tiny amp like that. Heck, the Vox isn't even footswitchable.... has about half as many features and options, and sounds like *** by comparison (though I kinda want one of those too :lol: )

I might wait for some kinks to work out, and save my ducats in the meantime... got a nice Freda cab on the way to my address that I'll bet would go nicely with a cool little amp like this.

 

[elecnight]

Other than tone, there is little difference between this and a 5:25 Express head.

Both use 2xEL-84, Express has loop & 5x12AX7 and transatlantic has no loop and 4x12AX7.

This seems extremely naive.. you downplay the difference in tone as if it were nothing. Tone is a HUGE difference.. In fact, it's the only difference that matters in the end. It's not just about what tubes they use. By your logic, there is little difference between a Mark IIC+ and a Dual Rectifier. After all, they both use 5 12AX7s and 4 6L6s.

Besides, if features were the most important part of an amplifier, more people would play digital.

why do I get this feeling elecnight is an engineer :lol:

Haha...you are absolutely right :wink:

And by that comparison, I was trying to show, on paper, how close are TA and Express while how far is TA from other microamps with 2-3 tubes. It's not in the same class as Killer Ant, etc. It is indeed a fully loaded head minus a few features including FX-Loop. So a great percentage of potential buyers of 5:25 Express (and not microamps) will consider TA as an alternative.

Hands down...I have no problem with TA. It may not be the best option for many people seeking typical Mesa tone IMHO. But is it better than 5:25? I don't know!

[It's clear from my posts that I'm not very interested in practicing with typical British high gain tone. Although 80% of bands I love most are British! Life is full of these kindo paradoxes.]

 

[cvansickle]

First, I was sold on the Tiny Terror. Next, I had to add the Night Train. This past weekend, I tried the Mesa TransAtlantic.

I have to say that AMP GAS IS A *****!!!

At $899.99, I say it's a lot of amp for that money. Here's my quick first impression of this killer:

Clean Channel - set at Top Boost voicing is shimmering clean Vox tone. Bubbly and juicey.

Dirty Channel - British high gain bliss on the H1 setting. All the punch and gain that is controllable with the guitar's volume knob. No fizziness on the top end like some low watt amps have. Thicker and more compressed in the H2 setting. I prefer H1.

If I bought it, I could sell both the Vox and the Orange, along with the Radial Headbone I bought to use them in one cabinet. My tax refund is coming.... hmm....

 

[sted]

At 799 USD thats a great little amp, unfortunately for us in the uk its retailing at aound 1000GBP so around 1450 USD?? Kind of makes a difference at that price point though people are still buying it!

 

[bigdawg]

thats exactly whats putting me off it at the moment, us retail of $799 should mean a UK price of around £550/650 max, inwhich case it would sell by the boatload, but at double that for no real reason I think theyll have trouble shifting them tbh, no reason why I wouldnt buy a 5:25 head instead.

 

[b0nkersx]

thats exactly whats putting me off it at the moment, us retail of $799 should mean a UK price of around £550/650 max, inwhich case it would sell by the boatload, but at double that for no real reason I think theyll have trouble shifting them tbh, no reason why I wouldnt buy a 5:25 head instead.

Maybe because it's a different amplifier that sounds, looks, and weighs nothing like a 5:25? Also, shipping from California to the UK is expensive, plus you have to deal with taxes/duties in both the USA and the UK, plus they have to warranty the amplifier overseas, and they are a very small company compared to the big-name amp builders (Peavey, Marshall, Fender) and they don't have as many resources as those companies do.

 

[Finnster]

thats exactly whats putting me off it at the moment, us retail of $799 should mean a UK price of around £550/650 max, inwhich case it would sell by the boatload, but at double that for no real reason I think theyll have trouble shifting them tbh, no reason why I wouldnt buy a 5:25 head instead.

If it makes you feel any better......the US retail is $899...not $799 :?

Is it cheaper if you buy from a US Dealer? The dollar is pretty weak so you may make out

 

[elecnight]

Just saw the first used one on ebay. $800 + $25 !! :shock:

 

[bigdawg]

thats exactly whats putting me off it at the moment, us retail of $799 should mean a UK price of around £550/650 max, inwhich case it would sell by the boatload, but at double that for no real reason I think theyll have trouble shifting them tbh, no reason why I wouldnt buy a 5:25 head instead.

Maybe because it's a different amplifier that sounds, looks, and weighs nothing like a 5:25? Also, shipping from California to the UK is expensive, plus you have to deal with taxes/duties in both the USA and the UK, plus they have to warranty the amplifier overseas, and they are a very small company compared to the big-name amp builders (Peavey, Marshall, Fender) and they don't have as many resources as those companies do.

I do agree with what youre saying but normally if something sells in the US for $500 it sells in the UK for £500, incl taxes shipping etc...Theres no reason for that kind of increase. Would you buy it if it was double the price it is in the US??

 

[CoG]

Also, shipping from California to the UK is expensive, plus you have to deal with taxes/duties in both the USA and the UK, plus they have to warranty the amplifier overseas, and they are a very small company compared to the big-name amp builders (Peavey, Marshall, Fender) and they don't have as many resources as those companies do.

plus the amps in the UK are being sold by an international distributor who can charge whatever they like, not Mesa.

 

[bchulse]

This amp absolutely kicks ***! No loop, no reverb? Big deal!
No room for a verb tank anyway. I use an Eventide delay,
Keeley Comp, RC booster in front and it sounds excellent.
It has cleans that rival my MkV.
Plus it's more useable than most mini amps I've seen for live use
because of its channel switching. My Egnater Rebel 20 is a good amp
an has very useable crunch/lead tones, but it's a one channel,
one trick pony. The Mesa cleans at 25W kill the Egnater cleans, and
for that matter, my Stilletto Deuce cleans as well.
The high gain channels rip, either H1 or H2!
The Blue light is pretty intense, but I think it looks great. Styled like
an old time radio. Make no mistake, this is a serious killer amp!
Using it with either a Roadster 2x12 or Rectifier 2x12 cab.
I heard the clips from NAMM, and it sounded ok, but you should
really try it in person if you get a chance. I'm very impressed!

 

[Vigo1999]

This amp absolutely kicks ***! No loop, no reverb? Big deal!
No room for a verb tank anyway. I use an Eventide delay,
Keeley Comp, RC booster in front and it sounds excellent.
It has cleans that rival my MkV.
Plus it's more useable than most mini amps I've seen for live use
because of its channel switching. My Egnater Rebel 20 is a good amp
an has very useable crunch/lead tones, but it's a one channel,
one trick pony. The Mesa cleans at 25W kill the Egnater cleans, and
for that matter, my Stilletto Deuce cleans as well.
The high gain channels rip, either H1 or H2!
The Blue light is pretty intense, but I think it looks great. Styled like
an old time radio. Make no mistake, this is a serious killer amp!
Using it with either a Roadster 2x12 or Rectifier 2x12 cab.
I heard the clips from NAMM, and it sounded ok, but you should
really try it in person if you get a chance. I'm very impressed!

clips?? 8)

 

[Analog Kid]

Right on. Put your fx after the mic.

 

[plumptone]

Interesting demo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hzQ3ZGpHMA

 

[TimeSignature]

Played one a couple of weeks ago. It sounded OK but didnt really do anything for me. I dont know how someone could say " No loop, no reverb? Big deal! " But thats just me.....

 

[BoogieJem]

Played a TA-15 today at World Guitars in the UK (awesome shop BTW). I was using a PRS Swamp Ash Special and the TA-15 was hooked up to a Matchless open back 2x12.

Overall impression was pretty good. Take aways for me were that this amp adds some great new tones I haven't heard in other amps in the mesa range and it's really simple to dial them in!

The McCarty pick ups in the PRS are pretty warm so running the clean channel open (without the master engaged) and with no treble cut gave a great clean tone, bright and elastic and perfect for funky chords and riffs. Top boost added bite and extra gain/volume to the voxy clean channel.

On the high gain channel Hi 1 gave a distinctive and instantly playable rich and harmonic overdrive sound that I have often struggled to dial in on a Mark iv or LSC. I think this channel would put a smile on any guitarists face!

I was tempted, but would need to try with the 1x12 thiele (C90) that I have at home (the amp sounded really loud in the demo room but would it be loud enough to hang with a drummer?) + I think I would need to do a loop mod to use it live.

I'll probably demo again with the 1x12 but...... at just under £1K here in the UK it has to be twice as good as the Orange Dual Terror!

Anyone already tried the 1x12 Thiele C90 cab with the TA?

 

[cvansickle]

I got a chance to play it again today at my local dealer.

I think the cleans, especially on the top boost setting, are extraordinary. I could buy it just for the clean channel. However, I find the "high gain" side to be lacking. The sound is okay, but IMO it could use more gain. I'm sure a good OD pedal would fix it, but it's a Mesa after all - it should have more than enough gain on tap, and this model doesn't.

Nope. I'll pass. I'm keeping my Vox Night Train, my Orange Tiny Terror and my Radial Headbone.

 

[bigdawg]

weve all herard how good it is with the vox sound, but how does it stack up with the marshall & orange sounds ??

 

[wxjeremy]

I also played one and thought it was a fantastic little amp. Some great cleans out of it.