RE Caliber 22 or Rocket 44

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ultimate1

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I am new here and came across The Boogie Board searching for an amp. I always wanted a Boogie when I was a teen but they were way out of my budget back then. They still kind of are but I am playing again as part of my mid life crisis stage LOL. I was thinking of getting a Hughes Kettner Tubemeister 18 and then I came across a couple of local ads for a Caliber .22 and a Rocket 44. Both are local so I can go and try them out as I am not a big fan of buying guitars or amps online without at least hearing them in action.

My playing is a far cry from when I was in my teens but while playing one of my acoustics a few months back I just started playing some old Journey and Rush on my nylon string. I felt the need so I started looking at electrics and playing a few and after visiting a few guitar centers I finally made my way to Wolfe Guitars and played a few G&L Legacy guitars before finding the one that felt and sounded just right. I am probably going to play mostly in my house so I don't need to move a whole lot of air but I would also like the flexibility of being able to go to some of the local pubs and bars to jam or play out if I want to as my town has a decent local music scene. Of course I would like to be able to use it to record with as well if I want to do that. Although, I have a decent sized house, I don't want to have a bunch of different amps. Just a simple amp that is capable of doing it all.

I was interested in the Tubemeister 18 and probably going to get it but I always wanted a Boogie like the ones that were simple to operate. Not into all the switches and knobs that the newer models have and like the layout and clips I saw on youtube for both the caliber 22 and the rocket 44. Plus I could care less about the modern heavy metal tones. I prefer the sounds of the 70's, 80's and some of the early 90's. So a good clean and a good hard rock 80's style sound will work with my playing style and sound that I am looking for.

Both look like they are in mint condition. The caliber 22 has all the original paperwork and looks mint while the rocket44 also looks mint. The caliber 22 is at a local music store and the rocket 44 is privately owned and has not been played in about 10 years. The owner of the Rocket told me he migrated to playing bass about 10 years ago and stopped playing guitar so he has the amp wrapped up and untouched for all those years. I think I was the first guy to call him as he needed to go and check to see if the tubes are good since he has not powered it on in years. Both can be had for roughly $500 so I greatly appreciate any feedback with your experiences with these amps as well as maintenance issues I should look out for when I am demoing them this week. Thanks in advance!
 
Like you I always wanted a Boogie and the object of my desire was the Studio22. I found a 22+ used in a local music store a few years ago for a good price so snapped it up. I've also picked up a H&K GrandMeister last year with the idea that it would give me the massive flexibility that a modeler has but with tube tone.

What I've found is that the H&K is definitely more modern in its tone. There seems to me a distinct lack of lower mids that I'm sure would help to cut through but when played alone as I do for the vast majority of time I find it somewhat disappointing especially on the clean channel. I've tried tube and speaker rolling and still can't get the sound that's in MY head. Your mileage may vary of course :)

The Boogie has a simply gorgeous clean tone and that fat drive tone. I've done the lead drive mod and used a 12AU7 in V1 to make the drive channel more controllable when the volume on clean is raised to a nice level. In fact for me, using the clean channel with a booster results in a fantastic drive tone.

Hope this helps,

Jeff
 
Don't know too much about the Rocket, but I've had a Studio 22+ since new in 1990. For what you want, I'd go for that. It'll be loud enough for small gigs if you want.
If you get a 22 and not a 22+, you will likely have some trouble balancing the channels. I'd get it modded for a lead channel master.
The 22 is going to be lighter, which is a plus.
If you get problems with it cutting out, stick a short lead in the FX loop on the back (send/return jacks). That's a common problem with them.
 
Thanks Jeff242 for the feedback on the H&K. I was curious of the reason H&Ks seem readily available on ebay and craigslist and open box available moreso than other heads and amps at Musicians Friend, Guitar Center and Full Compass. Your response makes a lot of sense and is probably the reason they seem so readily available.

Tonejam and Jeff thanks for your feedback on the Studio22. I had to drive about an hour and a half away to check out the 22 and the 44 yesterday and could only coordinate with sellers for yesterday afternoon. Both are in super clean mint condition with all of the original paperwork. I also checked with a local Mesa service shop and they suggested that the 22 could need more work cause it has the older circuitry but the 44 has more modern circuitry and all I would ever really need to do with that is change the tubes. So I had that in mind as well.

I ended up getting the Rocket44 which is probably all I will ever need and hopefully the last amp I ever have to buy. Although, your comments and everything I read about the Studio22 and the Subway Rocket22 suggest I should keep my eyes out for one for backup just in case.

It also seems like there are a fair share of Boogies that were bought for show but not really played as much as they should. The guy that sold me the Rocket told me that he used it maybe 10 times cause he needed an amp when he played guitar then he switched to bass because his band needed a bass player. He had it stored in a dust free air conditioned storage and I felt like I was in a time warp when I got to his house to play it. There was no dust inside the speaker base. I was pretty amazed. Anyway hope I enjoy and this will end my lusting for a Boogie LOL. I will put up pics later when I have time to figure out how to do that.

Thanks fellas I am sure I will be popping on here with more questions that I will have with my amp.Time to Boogie :D
 
The Rocket 44 is a hidden Mesa gem. Loud, compact, versatile, potable and only weighs a bit over 20kg.
 
Well I got a scare when I heard an awful buzz but turned out to be one of the preamp tubes. The one cool thing about all of this is that the tech at Mesa returned my call and he treated me like I bought a new amp from them yesterday. I replaced the EL84s and same problem so I took my amp to the local Mesa dealer, Z Music in Flagler Beach Florida, and they helped me locate the bad preamp tube and treated me with the same amount of kindness in a first class way as well. Really nice to not have to deal with a call center or crappy offshore customer service.

Anyway, I figured out how to upload a pic so here are the pics of my Boogie :)

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Killer amps man -- enjoy. I have had mine for 4 years and still love it. The direct silent recording is also a great feature.
 
Good choice, I've owned both and currently have a studio 22 but the 44 was a great platform and had the edge on volume/clarity, if I had found another 44 I could afford first I would probably have gone for that.
 
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