My awesome boogie.

This is my first posting. I acquired my Mark IIB from a friend about 4 years ago. It was in the back of his closet, and I didn't have an amp or any money to pay for one. So he gave me the best deal ever. It ended up costing me about 14 sandwiches, $150.00, two pizzas and a half dozen omelets. He's a good friend, what can I say. So now I have this amp. I love it. The story of the amp goes like this. His next door neighbor's dad was my friends guitar teacher. The teacher's friend bought this amp in January of 82. He ordered it without reverb. It just wasn't something he needed. So he gets the amp, plays it for eleven years and sells it to my friend, whom played it for 11 years and then put it in his closet. So I get the amp and I start poking around. There's no reverb unit but there's a reverb knob and some rca jacks under the chassis. So I throw an accutronics reverb unit into it and I have reverb. My question is, does this make sense? Is this story true? The bottom of the amp has no screw holes for the reverb unit, and it sits in there nice and still squeezed between the walls of the cabinet. That's my Boogie story.

Jacob

Maybe I wasn't specific enough. Um... Did Mesa actually take orders for amps with and without reverb? The original owner played with a Fender Reverb unit so he didn't need reverb. Sorry about how that post came out, it sounds douchey. I'm not that guy. I just want to know if this story is true.

Jacob

Cool story. Sounds like a good friend indeed.

Not sure about the custom orders in '82. I was born that year. It's inexpensive to buy a reverb tank so the cost difference would likely be small if it was in fact an option back then. The fact that there is a reverb knob and the rca connections is a little strange. Were there holes already drilled to mount the tank?

Great story and a cool friend and amp!

MusicManJP6 said:

Were there holes already drilled to mount the tank?

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Nope, no holes and I haven't drilled any in yet. The amp never leaves my house so there's no real reason.

Jacob

jacobcarpet said:

MusicManJP6 said:

Were there holes already drilled to mount the tank?

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Nope, no holes and I haven't drilled any in yet. The amp never leaves my house so there's no real reason.

Jacob

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Is it possible that it was re-tolexed so the holes are just covered up? Seems odd to include the reverb knob and connections, but just omit the tank... the cost difference for the tank couldn't have been that much when it was being ordered!

MusicManJP6 said:

Is it possible that it was re-tolexed so the holes are just covered up? Seems odd to include the reverb knob and connections, but just omit the tank... the cost difference for the tank couldn't have been that much when it was being ordered!

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By the amount of gunk and dirt I cleaned off of it when I got it, no there's absolutely no chance it was re-tolexed. It does seem odd to include everything else, and not the tank. I did pull the chassis to find out if the reverb pot was attached to the circuit. I couldn't imagine that it didn't come with reverb. It doesn't have anything special that had to be custom ordered. It's just the cream tolex and a 12" speaker. I called Mesa to get some of the mounting springs and told someone the same story and he said, "Well, it could be. I've certainly heard weirder stories." Anyway I guess it doesn't matter. I still love my boogie. It's the best amp I've ever owned. Considering I've only owned three other amps. It's awesome.

Jacob

Hi,

I ordered my Mark IIB combo in 1981, and took delivery early in 1982.
And yes, reverb was one of the options on this model. I had to specify Verb
when I placed the order. If I remember correctly, the basic amp was 850.00
or so and the EQ and Verb were priced at 150.00 each. I also got 60/100W
option. It ended up being around 1350.00.
I have seen others with no reverb, so it's not uncommon.
BTW, I just had it refurbished by Mike Bendinelli at Mesa in Feb 09 with the
updated effects loop, replacement caps etc. Good as new. Still using the same
tubes from almost 20 years ago. They probably have less than 150 hrs on them.
Good luck & enjoy!

Brad

That makes a lot of sense now. I found a tolex strap at the bottom of my amp yesterday when I was looking for the knob to one of my old pedals. I didn't notice it before. But there it is and the reverb bag fits nicely into it so I assume that is what is supposed to hold it down. It doesn't have the eq either, so I'm assuming they needed to ship out an amp without reverb and this is what he got. It's awesome. I love it. The only problem I have is, it's to good for me. I hardly ever use the drive channel and it's noisy in my old house without grounded outlets. Other than that I recommend them. Highly. I still haven't taken any pictures of it, but then again it took me almost two years to join this forum so I wouldn't be surprised if it takes me a long time to do anything.

Jacob

gts said:

btw a 1/4" thick plywood (luan) cover is screwed to the tank before it goes in the bag.

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Is this how they shipped originally, or is it used to keep the reverb from picking up noise or rf?

Jacob