Electra Dyne is the best kept secret out there right now

Like many of you I stumbled upon the Electra Dyne by accident as I hadn't really heard of it before. That was a great day for me. Yet I am still amazed at how few people actually know how great this amp really is. I commonly speak to other guitarists about the ED and most have never heard of it or have heard of it but never actually played one. Why is this?

I would think that everyone would be lining up to get one now a days!?

I guess Mesa/Boogie needs to work on there marketing or something. There aren't even very many Youtube videos demoing this amp.

Boggles the mind!

I think it is a brand recognition / perception thing. My theory is that Mesa Boogie is successful because of their contribution to high gain tones. The company is known for their flagship Mark and Recto series, both of which are specialized crunch tones.

Guitarists I speak with who are unfamiliar with the brand consider Mesa to be a high gain / metal amp company and they cannot conceive that this company would make amplifiers for any other sort of applications. When I was at Steeles L&MQ there was a guy who was a considerably good blues player. He complained his Fender Deville was too heavy / loud and he wanted something lighter and more portable. He was demoing a Traynor and I suggest he try the Mesa Boogie TA15. He says "Aren't Mesa amps high gain?" I said "Just try it, you might be surprised." He sees the control layout on the amp and says "These controls are so complicated, I'm a plug and play kind of guy." I power the thing up and start dialing in tones. His jaw drops. He says "This is a fantastic recommendation." Then he checks the price. "It's out of my budget. It's a grand just for the amp and I'd have to get a cab. Those are my BMW payments."

This is the general perception guitarists have of Mesa; too expensive, too many features, lots of gain for Metal.

On the other hand, you talk to Mesa users and you discover that they really LIKE the loads of gain. The Electra Dyne has plenty of gain on tap but for most Mesa Players, it is not enough. Talk to any of them and they say 'It doesn't have enough gain.' Meanwhile, they miss the whole point of the amp. This is like Wendy's attempting to sell Sushi. Wendy's is known for burgers and to serve a vastly different food type would raise questions for customers.

My conclusion is that the amp is 100% right but the brand is wrong. If it had the name 'Fender' or 'Marshall' on it and it was several hundred dollars cheaper, I bet this amp would be everywhere! Oh well, perception lags reality so perhaps guitarists will figure out that Mesa is doing more than high gain these days!

As far as I know, the one Electra Dyne that Steeles Long and McQuade has in stock has been there for over a year for sure, and possibly two. I was seeing that this amp was a commercial dud and I snapped one up before they are discontinued. I figured, here is something I love that can be a unique voice for me. Unlike the Dimadozen Recto, this is something really personal and special and I'm **** glad I got it!

In addition to the above I also feel the ED is a victim of economics. It was released at a period of time where most people aren't willing to drop a lot of money to experiment with an unknown value. I've seen it develop a bit of a cult following on various forums but I don't know how much that translates into real world $$$. Guitarists are a conservative group and don't tend to embrace change quickly. My fear is that the ED will be discontinued before the amp gets wide enough exposure to really catch on.

Definitely economics. You can get a H&K Switchblade for $1000 new. Mesa stuff is really expensive. I'm surprised they sell as much as they do. I assume it's the combination of great product and good product placement with popular artists.

Good point elvis. It's like Drum Workshop drums. They are some of the most expensive drums, yet they've become "the" drum kit to play due to artist endorsements and people finally catching on to how great they sound.

Mesa's amplifiers are inordinately expensive. I think of all their products, the only thing I ever bought new was my 27" 1 x 12 cab and this was because the chances of finding that exact piece used were slim to none.

YellowJacket said:

Mesa's amplifiers are inordinately expensive.

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But you do get what you pay for.

Mesa is even more expensive in Europe (30%) and even in Hungary where people's salary is ****. It is expensive but it's handmade and true you get what you pay for. i have a vox ac4tv made in china potmeters are worthless craps got them swapped two times so far.
every high grade instrument is very expensive. like you buy a high class car.

There are many cars that are less expensive than my amp + cab, even here in the US of A.

Every time I turn on my amp, I am happy I bought it. But it's just out of reach for most people. I could never have afforded it in my 20s. Though I think about what those gigs might have been like with the setup I have today... :shock:

screamingdaisy said:

YellowJacket said:

Mesa's amplifiers are inordinately expensive.

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But you do get what you pay for.

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This is why I buy used. The quality of Mesa amps is so stellar that one can easily risk purchasing a used amplifier and therefore bypass all the unnecessary fees.

elvis said:

There are many cars that are less expensive than my amp + cab, even here in the US of A.

Every time I turn on my amp, I am happy I bought it. But it's just out of reach for most people. I could never have afforded it in my 20s. Though I think about what those gigs might have been like with the setup I have today... :shock:

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Yup. Only kids paying no rent in their parent's basement and well to do 40 year old career guys can play these things. I'm lucky to have the gear I have and I'm very thankful for it. Now I basically have all the tones I want between the amps and guitars I have. The only thing that is missing is some sort of extended range guitar!!!

I have always found mesa amps ro be reasonably priced. My Bogner, PWE and H&K all cost more.
I still plan to get an ED head rather than a Splawn I had been eyeing since they are found so cheap used.
My tech thinks they sound bland and fizzy. I think they sound fat and smooth. If I need to play Metallica or Alice in Chains, I can use a pedal.

I had a Mark III a long time ago. If I had a choice today, between the Mark III or the ED. It would be the ED all the way. I thank your amp tech. is mistaken. The ED doesn't sound fizzy at all.

Some times, I feel like go ahead and buy an ED. Then, I wonder whether Mesa will come out with a Series 2.
Do you think it is probable, possible or unthinkable?

Not going to happen. In a sense, the RA is the ED series II.

You could probably argue that the ED has already been revised with the addition of the clean trim controls.

Clean and Gain trim controls drastically increase the useability of the amplifier. I think this does count as a revision!

Mesa's are fairly expensive, but compared to boutique amps they are very reasonable. I compare them to today's boutique amps more so than standard (non custom shop) Fender's & Marshall's because they are built everty bit as solid as any boutique amp I've seen and I've owned several and still own one.

The Electra Dyne is an exceptional amp imo. It starts with a very good clean format and with the additional stages, it covers a lot of territory. I owned a 2x12 combo a few years, but sold it because I was gassing for something different. I have since owned several exceptional amps. I went to my local GC yesterday to look around. They had a good selection of new and used amps. I walked over to the Mesa area there was the same Electra Dyne that had been there since they were first introduced. I asked the salesman to set it up in the loud room and after only about ten minutes decided to buy it after remembering how good it is. It was on clearance for $1199.00, because it had been there for so long which made it a great deal.

BTW if you guys have never tried EL 34's in it, I think this makes a positive difference. They just seem to fit this amp. They drop the base and roll off the highs just a tad, but sound great imo. I don't see why more Fender & Marshall guys don't love this amp. Oh well, to each his own.

When you compare Mesas to internationally/factory manufactured amps, they are expensive. When you compare them to other hand made in the US/boutique amps, their prices are competitive. It's the fact that Mesas are a fairly accessible in comparison to Engls, Bogners, Diezels, etc. in a place like Guitar Center, people forget that their handmade in the US top notch quality amps. I work at GC and people make excuses to not plug into a Mesa, but the instant I convince them to give one a try and I show them how to dial it in, they are blown away. The fact people see more than 6 knobs and a couple switches, they instantly get scared, sometimes I think people are afraid to try one and instantly become dissatisfied with what they have and see how much they want to spend. The honest truth is that you get what you pay for, I would like to pay less money like everyone else for my amp, but it's definitely worth the extra money to me. I've owned an Uberschall before as well, while it was very nicely made, and I still felt that the quality wasn't on par with the Mesas I've owned.

Ya, I still remember the ******* that did that to me. Plugged me into a Subway Rocket and I've been using Mesas ever since. I particularly like my Electra Dyne and I figure that I still am addicted to playing it 1 1/2 years later that I must be onto a really GREAT thing!

In my case the a**hole was a guy who told me I should sit in with his band. The cord he handed me was plugged into an F50 combo, and I bought one a week later. 6 Months later I sold my 1965 Deluxe Reverb.

Now I've owned 9 different Mesa amps & preamps, and still own 3.