New Electradyne Review!

The Boogie Board

Help Support The Boogie Board:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Hollis

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
222
Reaction score
2
I've been lurking around the Boogie Board for a couple years now without actually owning a Mesa/Boogie amplifier...until now! During the past couple of years lurking, I loved reading about people's experiences with the Electradyne. I loved reading reviews and checking out pics of their rigs and stuff. So here's my experiences with the Electradyne, and a bit about how I got here with Boogie and the ED. This is for folks like me who are maybe on the fence about which Boogie amp to get, or maybe, like me, they just can't afford a $1500+ amplifier and they like to come here a drool over gear porn :D I hope you enjoy this read and I'll post some pics soon as well.
I've always heard of the brand, and always associated it with high end, pro level gear, used by big name acts like Metallica, Tool, Foo Fighters, etc. When I got back into playing guitar seriously a few years ago (after a lifetime of drumming) I was strictly going for clean, Fender-y type tones. The band I was playing (drums) in at the time had a really awesome old school cat as the lead guitarist and he said there's only one amp for me and that's a Deluxe Reverb. So I went a DRRi and got a nice American Standard strat and so here I go to the woodshed. I've played guitar since I was a kid, but drums were always my main instrument. As a professional musician I was a drummer. My carpal tunnel from years and years of playing eventually shut down my drumming. I am obsessive about practicing and learning and I always want to be the best I can, so I take it too far and end up wearing myself out (literally!).
Well, after a few years with the DRRi and pedals I realized that while the DRRi is a great amplifier, it just can't get all the tones I was searching for. The Deluxe Reverb's cleans are stellar and as a dirt pedal platform it's almost unrivaled...almost. In my opinion, you just can't make a blackface Fender sound like a cranked up old Plexi Marshall or Vox, even with the extensive pedals available today. I admit I haven't tried 'em all, but all the dirt pedals I've used, while sounding great, always sounded like an overdrive pedal into a Deluxe Reverb. There really is something special about overdriving real tubes. Some tone snobs will tell you that the simplest clean amplifier circuit sounds best, but then they have to run all these dirt pedals in front of their clean amp, defeating the whole purpose!
Another one of it's(DRRi) drawbacks is that at gigging volumes it runs out of headroom. Now this can go both ways. At gigging volumes it's running in it's sweet spot and gets some absolutely stunning edge of breakup tones. Which is great, I love that, but when you put some serious gain in front of it, it looses definition, articulation, gets a bit flubby in the low end, etc. I want my amp to respond to every nuance of my guitar, even at high volumes and at moderate to high gain saturation.
So, on to the Electradyne already, right? :lol: I've always been intrigued by Mesa/Boogie amplifiers, so as my guitar playing evolved and I need more out of my amplifier, this is where I came to. I love Boogie amps. I've never played one that didn't sound great, and they make or have made an amplifier to fit absolutely everyone. From the 15 watt TA-15 to the massive 150 watt Triple Rec and Stiletto Trident. I love my Fender cleans and coming from several years of playing the Deluxe Reverb I wanted to retain those cleans, and how the DRRi sounds with pedals.
I was at first lusting after the Royal Atlantic. It seemed to me the perfect amp: 100 watts, power soak on each channel, clean, vintage lo, vintage hi. It seemed perfect. I loved the video/sound clips on the Boogie website, especially the gain channels. But anytime I spoke with someone in the know(like at Martin Music here in Memphis) they always said, "Yeah, the RA-100 is an awesome amp, but the Electradyne is better". What? Can't be, whatever. My friend bought an RA-100 2x12 combo and I got to play it quite a lot, and at any volume level. The two gain channels are spectacular, absolutely stunning. If you like to play with mid to high gain Marshall-esque type tones - this is your amp. From what I understand and have read, the RA-100 and Electradyne have a very similar preamp architecture, but have vastly differing power amp sections. The RA-100 has very aggressive Brit style power section whilst the ED has an all-out American style, Boogie Simul-class power section. And when you hear and play the amps, this sounds about right. To me, the RA-100 is more 80's and the ED is more 70's.
When comparing the RA-100 vintage Lo or Hi to my Deluxe Reverb with pedals, the Royal just blew it away. But running those same pedals through the Royal's clean channel, there was no comparison the DRRi took pedals way better. This was disappointing to me because at that time the RA-100 was the amp I had my sights set on. So I then started looking at the Electradyne more seriously.
I went down to my local Mesa dealer, Martin Music in Memphis. They had a couple of Electradyne 2x12 combos. I brought my own guitar with me and plugged straight in. Holy sh!t did this thing sound good! So a heavy case a gas set in for the Electradyne. I guess it was a year or two later before I actually was able to buy my own. Guitar Center had a used 27" 1x12 combo listed on their website for $999. It came with the slip cover and casters too! So I took the plunge and had that sucker shipped to me here in Memphis, TN from Oregon. The wife wasn't happy, but you know the old saying: it's better to ask forgiveness than permission. :lol:

Clean channel:
I can make the clean channel sound identical to my Deluxe Reverb. It responds to pedals the same way and everything. The only difference here is the speaker. The C90 is a little smoother, while the stock 100 watt Jensen speaker in the DRRi has a bit more "sting" to it. I attribute this "sting" as to one reason why the DRRi makes TS-style pedals and such sound so good. However, the Electradyne's clean channel covers the tones I was used to getting 100%. I didn't have to sacrifice any tones when switching to my new Electradyne. That said, the Vintage Lo channel is so f'n good I rarely even use the clean channel with pedals!
Vintage Lo:
This is where I spend 99% of my time. It really is every bit as good as you've heard people say over and over again. The low end frequencies are just slightly higher than the Clean channel, and to my ears it has a slightly broader Q. It also says in the manual that the clean channel's low end has more sub lows than Vintage Lo and Hi, and in my opinion again the Clean channel has a tighter Q in the low end. Vintage Lo is the epitome of touch sensitivity. With the Volume(gain) set around 2:00, if you play lightly it's almost perfectly clean, then when you dig in and play hard you have this open, uncompressed, snarling beast of Plexi Marshall, albeit with a tad more thump and breathy lows. It's truly a joy to play. It just feels so good under your fingers. It's bouncy, alive, active, sensitive. It is pure, unadulterated expression. After playing this, you'll never go back to using a low gain overdrive in your Fender Twin, DRRi, etc. I was so used to the compression of using an overdrive pedal into my DRRi, it took me a little bit to get used to it. Now when I go back to the pedal DRRi setup it's just lifeless and boring. If this was the only channel this amp had it would be worth it.
Vintage Hi:
Vintage Hi is pretty much the same as Vintage Lo, but with a tad more gain. If you crank the volume(gain) it does get pretty heavy. But, it still has the ultra expressive, open, uncompressed feel that Vintage Lo has. When I'm in Vintage Lo and want more gain, I either switch to Vintage Hi or I'll step my boost(TS-9) or my overdrive Fulltone Fulldrive II Mosfet, just whatever I feel like at the moment. Vintage Hi doesn't have the smooth liquid gain of the Mark series amps or the Express or even the Royal Atlantic. You can get close by diming the Volume(gain), but that's not the way I set the amp up. I'm in a cover band, and I use all three modes.
My settings:
Volume(gain): 2:00
Treble: 12:00
Mid: 10:30 <--This is key to that soft, Blackface clean
Bass: 10:30 at bedroom/ home practice volumes, 11:30 at gig volumes
Presence: 12:00
Master: 9:00 <--Obviously this is set a lot lower when playing at home.

The Electradyne is a LOUD amplifier, but it performs just fine for me at home. now, if you're trying to play it at mouse fart volumes, I don't know how well it'd work. It has tons of low end, and it would be difficult to keep it manageable. I guess you could just turn the bass all the down.
After playing the Electradyne for a couple of weeks, my Deluxe Reverb sounds like a toy.
This amp is heavy. Real. ****. Heavy.
I don't use the Clean Level control, nor do I use the Gain Trim switch. With the above settings it works for me just fine and I am able to footswitch through the modes with no compromises in volume or tones/eq. Well, actually I would prefer to be able to make the Clean channel a little louder. Just like when using an overdrive pedal, when I switch from clean to Vintage Lo whilst using a guitar with low output single coils, the Clean channel isn't quite loud enough, even with the Clean Level control all the way up(bypassed). With higher output pickups this isn't a problem.
Different guitars/pickups will sound vastly different through the Electradyne. Vastly.
All in all I love this amplifier. It's everything I wanted it to be and then some. I've played it home, at rehearsal a times and I've played three gigs with it so far, and it's performed flawlessly every time. I've had so many comments on my tone, and I just love that. I eat it up haha! :lol: I've even had a few comments on it's appearance. It is a nice looking amp. It's an expensive looking amp. I love the leather-ish looking tolex. It just looks like a pro level amp. Thanks for reading my huge article :) Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll post some pics soon!!
 
This is congruent with my experiences with the Electra Dyne as well. It's a fantastic piece for cleans, crunch, and soulfull leads. The amp has soul and the responsiveness is absolutely marvelous. Once you start playing it you can't stop, at least I can't stop!

Have you tried it with a Gibson Les Paul? How about a Superstrat? It can get downright ill tempered (In a good way) with more modern voiced pickups and a more aggressive playing style!
 
Excellent review Hollis, and I am glad that the ED is an excellent fit for you!! Congrats!! :D

I agree with most of what you said, but also noticed that you spend 99% of your time on Lo mode......which was also my favorite so I fully appreciate that comment!
I found a similar "sweet spot" with volume and EQ knob settings similar to yours, but the one thing that I find interesting is that you say you are not using the clean channel trim / level knobs located in the back of the amplifier at all.
All that I can say is WOW because it was virtually impossible for me to balance Clean, Lo and Hi volume levels without using that feature. However, this really wouldn't have been an issue so much for me if I spent 99% of my playing on Lo. In fact, it would have required for me to play 100% on Lo mode or at least never on Clean mode! :wink:
I do depend on an excellent clean sound for much of what I do......so would tend to "EQ" the amp for optimal clean mode sound which unfortunately didn't translate into optimum Lo / Hi mode sounds for me. That is just me though...

Anyway, I am glad you are loving your ED and Rock On! It is a great sounding amp.....no question.
 
I'll give a very blunt and honest response about this issue, that is the shared EQ.

I think it's a very problematic design compromise in spite of the absolutely brilliance that went into it. I personally like the tone and feel of the amp so much that I bought specific pickup combinations for all my guitars that optimize the use-ability of these features so I can honestly say that I have not had problems with the level balance between the modes nor with the EQ between the different modes.

Now, when you consider the cost associated with swapping pickups in multiple guitars, it quickly adds up to -and surpasses- the used cost of an Electra Dyne. If there is no need to install aftermarket parts beyond the functionality of the guitar with the amp, then the cost quickly becomes prohibitive. In my case, having 100% compatibility with both my Dual Rectifier and my Electra Dyne makes the investment worthwhile.

In all honesty, the amp would have been FAR better had it had: 1) A discrete tone stack for each mode, rendering all of them completely independent channels. 2) Channel Cloning on channels 2 and 3 so that guitarists would be able to use Vintage Hi for two channels or Vintage Low for two channels as necessary. 3) An overall master volume to help tame the crazy amp volume that comes up so fast. 4) Perhaps a 5 or 10 watt mode to enable easier power section clipping for people who want to combine preamp and power amp gain for those true vintage tones.

All gripes aside, for what I need it for, the Electra Dyne excels. I don't know of any production amp that can even touch it.
 
I found that after putting 5751 tubes in V4 and V5, the gain trim switch on the back can be bypassed. To keep my overall volume more controllable, I use my rack effects volume. That allows me to crank the master and not blow the doors off the house.
 
YellowJacket said:
I'll give a very blunt and honest response about this issue, that is the shared EQ.

Let me ask a very stupid question here. Do you think that using the new EQ pedal from Mesa in the loop would solve the problem you mention?
 
I agree about the shared controls being an issue for some. Now that I've gotten to know the amp a little more intimately :oops: I realize a few of its shortcomings. For instance, Vintage Hi I prefer the gain dimed and the mid up to 3:00. That setting sucks for the other 2 modes. My biggest complaint though is when set it optimally for me, the clean mode is too quiet. I set the volume at 2:00 and everything else close to noon, Master around 9:00. I have the gain trim on clean and clean level all the way up (bypassed)
 
igfraso said:
YellowJacket said:
I'll give a very blunt and honest response about this issue, that is the shared EQ.

Let me ask a very stupid question here. Do you think that using the new EQ pedal from Mesa in the loop would solve the problem you mention?

Perhaps it would mitigate the problem somewhat, if you like tap dancing. The real buttpain with the Electra Dyne is that the tone stack is such a powerful tone shaping tool. Simply shaping the tone with a post EQ wouldn't have the same impact as manipulating the tone stack.

Hollis said:
I agree about the shared controls being an issue for some. Now that I've gotten to know the amp a little more intimately :oops: I realize a few of its shortcomings. For instance, Vintage Hi I prefer the gain dimed and the mid up to 3:00. That setting sucks for the other 2 modes. My biggest complaint though is when set it optimally for me, the clean mode is too quiet. I set the volume at 2:00 and everything else close to noon, Master around 9:00. I have the gain trim on clean and clean level all the way up (bypassed)

I've heard this complaint before. It would have been far better just to have separate controls for each mode as complete channels. I find that I can get a good balance between clean and crunch but this is because I use humbuckers. I hear that the lower output with single coils makes mode switching a real buttpain because the clean isn't loud enough.

Generally, this amp is best used as a one channel amp on vintage lo with vintage hi used for extra gain when necessary. If you spent 90% of your time on vintage lo, you're set.

Because I wanted more snot and mids out of vintage hi, I ended up going with fairly hot bridge humbuckers in all my guitars. I find the extra output gives a lot more snot to vintage hi and vintage lo, and if I need to back off the power from the guitar, I just turn down the volume knob.
 
Hollis said:
I agree about the shared controls being an issue for some. Now that I've gotten to know the amp a little more intimately :oops: I realize a few of its shortcomings. For instance, Vintage Hi I prefer the gain dimed and the mid up to 3:00. That setting sucks for the other 2 modes. My biggest complaint though is when set it optimally for me, the clean mode is too quiet. I set the volume at 2:00 and everything else close to noon, Master around 9:00. I have the gain trim on clean and clean level all the way up (bypassed)

I've heard this complaint before. It would have been far better just to have separate controls for each mode as complete channels. I find that I can get a good balance between clean and crunch but this is because I use humbuckers. I hear that the lower output with single coils makes mode switching a real buttpain because the clean isn't loud enough.

Generally, this amp is best used as a one channel amp on vintage lo with vintage hi used for extra gain when necessary. If you spent 90% of your time on vintage lo, you're set.

Because I wanted more snot and mids out of vintage hi, I ended up going with fairly hot bridge humbuckers in all my guitars. I find the extra output gives a lot more snot to vintage hi and vintage lo, and if I need to back off the power from the guitar, I just turn down the volume knob.[/quote]

I have been able to find a balance between Clean and Lo/Hi if I turn the volume(gain) to 3:00 or more. However, dirt pedals sound better in the clean mode with the volume(gain) set to 12:00 or less. Above noon, it's just too thick sounding. I prefer the Clean mode without pedals with the gain at 12:00 or less too. It's a skinnier tone, and it sounds exactly like my Deluxe Reverb, which is what I'm used to hearing for cleans.

My settings on the Electradyne now are:
Clean level: dimed (bypassed)
Gain trim set to Clean
Volume(gain): 2:00
Treble: 12:30
Mid: 11:00
Bass: 11:00
Presence: 12:00
Master: 9:00 (gig volume)
Luckily I live in a regular house, not an apartment or duplex or anything like that, so I can play my amp at home as loud as I can burden the rest of my family(wife and two young children) :lol:

Tonight we're playing at the Hard Rock Café Memphis. I'm gonna try running my clean boost through the FX loop and turning it on when I'm in Clean mode/off when in Lo/Hi. Hopefully I can still use it to boost my solos when in Lo/Hi. We'll see how it works at gig volumes. If this is still not working, I'm just gonna buy a Creation Labs MK 4.23 Clean boost. I'm torn between it and a Suhr Koko Boost. Maybe I'll use both: the MK 4.23 to boost the Clean mode, the Koko Boost solos since it has the mid boost as well. The clean boost I'm using now is the Fulltone GT-500. It is a distortion pedal with treble/middle/bass tone stack with a wah inductor as the mid tone control, and it has a completely separate clean boost. the signal chain order can be flipped with a toggle switch. It's a great pedal on paper, the distortion is extremely "tubey" sounding, but the clean boost does something weird. When engaged after a overdrive pedal it kinda smoothes out the gain. It's like instead of simply making it louder, it removes some of the artifacts of the gain-like it removes the "rattiness" of the gain. It's hard to describe. I just want my clean boost to simply make my guitar louder :mrgreen:
 
My settings on the Electradyne now are:
Clean level: dimed (bypassed)
Gain trim set to Clean
Volume(gain): 2:00
Treble: 12:30
Mid: 11:00
Bass: 11:00
Presence: 12:00
Master: 9:00

I'm torn between it and a Suhr Koko Boost.

Very good review Hollis! Your settings are almost like mine but i have middle little higher about 12:30-13:00. I think its fine settings to balance the channels. When i am using pedalboard with ED i tend to set ED's volume/gain lower about noon.

As you mentioned Suhr Koko Boost, i have to say its exellent tool with ED. The clean boost is very powerful, it adds much volume and lows. Its perfect when you have set ED's volume/gain about noon so Koko adds just proper amount of lows to turning "skinnier" sound to full and meanwhile adding volume just enough to balance clean channel with LO and HI. This is one way to use ED if you want more lowgain sounds instead of using volume/gain 2:00.

Or if you wanna set ED's bass lower for LO and Hi, you can still make your clean channel sounding full and smooth with Koko's clean boost. To my ears when i set the bass the best for clean channel its too much for LO and HI...

Koko's midboost is great especially with HI channel when you want more mid growl. When i set ED's volume/gain to 12:00 and kick the Koko's midboost on, its pushes the preamp so it sounds almost like i got ED's volume/gain on 2:00, full and chewy! It adds little more mids of course.

You can do much more with Koko and ED but this is thing how it works exellent with my setup. To solo's i am using BB preamp, haven't found better for that.
 
Thanks timop82! That was exactly the kind of info I was seeking. The gig at the Hard Rock went smoothly. The clean boost in the fx loop functioned exactly as it should. I'm just not 100% happy with this particular clean boost(Fulltone GT-500). I'm gonna take this pedal to my local Guitar Center and trade it for a Koko boost if they have one in Stock. I'm not sure if they carry Suhr, probably not.
 
Hollis said:
Thanks timop82! That was exactly the kind of info I was seeking. The gig at the Hard Rock went smoothly. The clean boost in the fx loop functioned exactly as it should. I'm just not 100% happy with this particular clean boost(Fulltone GT-500). I'm gonna take this pedal to my local Guitar Center and trade it for a Koko boost if they have one in Stock. I'm not sure if they carry Suhr, probably not.

Have you noticed there is a new version of Koko named "reloaded", http://www.suhr.com/suhr-guitar-pedals/KokoBoost-Reloaded

That smaller box is intresting update but i am little afraid its gonna downgrade the usability compared to older two button Koko. Reloaded got also new adjustment "MidQ" what is quite intresting.... maybe i shall have both versions! :D
 
I plan to pick up a used head soon since they are sooooo cheap used. I HATE combo amps so I would never in a million years buy the combo. :)
 
Yeah, they are selling anywhere from $1000 - 1400 used. Sometimes you hear of someone finding a crazy good deal.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top