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1978 Mesa Boogie Mark I, 1X12 Combo

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'59fatburst

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 29, 2017
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I'm selling my vintage 1978 Mesa Boogie Mark I 1x12 combo amplifier. The chassis is dated 5/1978 and signed by Randall Smith.

This amp is in very good overall condition considering it's now 41 years old. There are a couple of small dings, chips and light scuffs to the vinyl tolex covering but no tears or heavy peeling. The left side of the faceplate is very slightly dented but it's extremely difficult to see unless you're really looking for it. Overall, there's no heavy wear or damage and the amp shows far less than average wear and tear for its vintage.

The speaker is a replacement Celestion built Mesa Black Shadow MC-90 from a slightly newer Mark IIA. This speaker helps lighter the amp up to a manageable 51.5 lbs. A modern speaker would likely get the weight under 50 lbs. That's a serious power to weight ratio! Tubes are Peavey branded, USA built Sylvania STRs with double "OO" getters.

Tonally, this Mark I is big, fat and warm with tons of clean, smooth headroom. It's killer for pedals if that's your thing as the base tone is a great, expansive clean tone to shape your sound. In my opinion, input #2 sounds very much like a Blackface Showman or Bassman, albeit, with more midrange punch. Input #1 gives you total Santana "Latin Fusion Rock" lead tone. It's very vocal, rich and fluid. With an attenuator, this amp is completely useable at a gig or at home. I've had good luck with both Rivera and Kelley attenuators. This amp will include it's original vinyl cover. I'll also include a footswitch with a volume control that will facilitate switching between channels one and two.

Older Mesa Boogie Mark I's are becoming increasingly difficult to find as well as becoming exceedingly expensive. Buy a piece of rock history!

If you're local in New England, I'd consider a trade for an early Mesa Boogie Mark III amplifier.

I'm looking for $1199 shipped in the US. Photo link on Reverb below;
https://reverb.com/item/24576918-mesa-boogie-mark-i-1x12-combo-mk-1-vintage-1978-black-tolex
 

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