Mesa Boogie RA-100

I’ve been a huge fan of Mesa Boogie amplifiers going back to…..well, let’s just say it’s been a loooong time! So when Tim McKee at Boogie asked if I’d like to take their new Royal Atlantic for a spin and review it here on The Gigging Musician, how could I refuse! It’s only fair to admit that I’ve been using Boogies since the 80′s and have used many of their amps over the years since. My current rig consists of a Lone Star Special head with 2, 2×12 Lone Star Cabinets, and my backup rig is an original Mark IIb head that I got from Steve Miller that’s been modded a few times by Mike Bendinelli down at Boogie. Just so you don’t think I’m too biased, I also have a 65 London, a vintage Princeton Reverb, a VOX AC-15, and a few others, but for live gigging nothing beats the Mesas!

Before we delve into the features on the amp, I’ve got to tell you that the first word that came to mind when I sat down to write this review is BOLD. This amp is BOLD! With the Lone Star, I feel like I can blend in or jump out as needed. It’s so transparent that I can sometimes get lost in the mix, and more than once I’ve actually been asked to turn up by my lead singer as well as a soundman or two. That is definitely not the case with the Royal Atlantic. This amp is chomping at the bit to be cut loose, and I had no problem finding great tones out of it as soon as I plugged it in. The amp (while being decidedly British) is more akin to a big, American V-8 muscle car, while the Lone Star is more like that racy, European job. One of the biggest tests for any new piece of gear is what my bandmates think of it, and with the Royal Atlantic they immediately knew something was different and commented very favorably on the variety of tones I was getting from it. That’s a big test to pass as these guys can be brutal when they don’t like something!

The Royal Atlantic is the flagship of the TransAtlantic line and packs 100 watts of EL-34 based power. It is a two-channel, three-mode amp, giving you access to Clean, Lo-Gain, and Hi-Gain modes via the supplied two-button footswitch. The Lo-Gain and Hi-Gain modes share their tone controls, but in a new and much more useful way than they did on say, my old Mark IIb. The tone controls on the RA-100 are much like those on the Mesa Electra-Dyne, using concentric tone pots to actually subtly change the tone stack when switching between the two modes. I have used the amp on a wide variety of settings and have never once wished I had separate tone for the gain modes. That was a pleasant surprise given the battle I always have finding a happy medium on the old MKII between the Clean and Gain channels! The Reverb on this amp is one of the best I’ve ever heard, and via switches on the back, you can have it engaged on all three channels, on just the Lo-Gain and Clean channels, or just on the Clean channel. Very useful for keeping those cleans lush, and those searing solos clear and distinct.

Multi-Soak

Which brings us to probably the most interesting and innovative feature on this amp, which is the Channel Assignable Multi-Soak. This features basically gives you a separate power attenuator for each mode of the amp, giving you the ability the get the sound you want at the volume you need! Located on the rear of the amp, each channel has a 5-position power attenuation switch (-16db, -12db, -8db, -4db & 0db) for Power Ratings ranging from 100 watts all the way down to 3 watts of class A/B power. For those of you who prefer a non-master volume amp, this is an invaluable solution, as you can have this big amp working hard and still be able to use it in the smallest settings. They do warn you that using the higher levels of attenuation will dramatically shorten tube life, but it’s a small price to pay for the amazing versatility it offers. The amp comes with a two-speed fan, and I always keep the fan on high so as to prolong tube life.

So how does it sound? Besides Bold? Suffice it to say I really love this amp. While I got my Lone Star Special mainly for it’s clean sound, the Clean channel on the Royal Atlantic is the best clean I’ve ever heard on a Boogie. No kidding! You can basically set everything at noon, attenuate wherever you want, and this thing sounds fantastic. I’ve tweaked the tone on this channel and no matter where you set it, it performs. I use Les Pauls, Teles, and Strats throughout our shows, and the clean here really lets each guitar’s distinct sound shine through without having to change settings when changing guitars. The tone is big, round and warm, very American sounding. The amp is worth trying for this channel alone!

My Rig at Work

The Gain channel really takes you back to those classic British rock tones all us old(er) guys grew up on. Between the two modes on this channel you can cover everything from sultry blues to over-the-top screaming lead, and everything in between. A huge benefit of the Gain channel is how well it responds to both your picking and use of the the volume knob on your guitar (you all know where that knob is, right???). If you’re the type that rolls back your volume for rhythm and brings it up for leads, this amp is made for you. It’s very quick to respond, giving you back exactly what you put into it. That being said, I tend not to do this (and yes, I know where that knob is on my guitars!), so I have the Lo-Gain mode set for my rhythm sound, and use the Hi-Gain mode for solos. Works perfectly either way. I did find the Gain channel a little harder to dial in, mainly because I tend towards a bit darker, warmer tone and this amp is on the brighter side. I ended up running the Bass at about 4:00 and the Treble between 8:00 and 9:00, and then use the Middle to dial it in for each room. I am running this through a couple of open-back 2×12 Lone Star cabinets and would expect more low end and punch if I were to run it through a big, closed back cab. That being said, it was easy enough to dial in, it just didn’t work as well for me with all the controls at noon.

The RA 100 also has a transparent, series effects loop which handles outboard signal processing and provides a seamless interface for units that don’t always like to live in front of the preamp such as Delay, Chorus, Flange and Pitch Shifting based effects. The Loop Send is derived from a source at the end of the preamp and the return is inserted back into the signal path near the input to the power section. Being more “old school” (as opposed to just “old!”), I run everything in front of the amp and honestly haven’t used the loop. When there are no patch cords and/or devices connected, the loop is hard bypassed and all associated circuitry is removed from the signal path, which is a nice touch.

Gain Channel

Clean Channel

I was told that some of the other Boogie guys checking out this amp were running the master all the way up and then cranking the attenuators to get the volume they were looking for. While I tried this and it was very cool, I didn’t find it to be the sound I was ultimately looking for. I’ve ended up running the amp in the 100-watt setting (via the handy 50/100 switch on the front panel), and then attenuating each channel two clicks, or at -8db. Keep in mind that the ear’s perceived difference in volume between a cranked AC-15 and an AC-30 is only 3db, and you can see just how versatile this feature is! I took a couple pictures of my front panel settings, and while they turned out horribly, it at least gives you a starting point for what worked for me.

So what would I change? There’s really very little about this amp that doesn’t work for me. I would probably like the Gain channel to have a bit more low end at neutral settings, but again, that’s what those knobs are there for so that’s not a big deal. The one thing I would LOVE to see on this amp (as well as on just about any amp) would be a variable Solo Boost feature like I have on my Lone Star Special. I’ve gotten so used to having that, that it has become an indispensable feature for me. With a variable solo boost on this amp you would have six, count ‘em, six different foot-switchable settings, and tone for days!

My verdict is that the Mesa Royal Atlantic RA-100 is an amp that you definitely want to check out before making your next amp purchase. We are so lucky these days to have so many great amps out there to choose from, and the RA-100 is right up there at the top of the stack. I’ve been using the amp for about 4 months now and will follow up with another long-term review next year after I’ve got a few more miles on it. Very special thanks to Tim, Mike, Jim and everyone at Mesa for bringing us such a versatile beauty. And speaking of beauty, I’ll leave you with a picture of an amazing, custom-ordered RA-100 that was recently delivered to Geo at The Guitar Sanctuary. I don’t know about you all, but this thing ROCKS!!!

RA-100 in Champagne Tolex

Today we have a guest submission on instrument cables from Lee Hodgson. Lee teaches at London’s Guitar Institute (part of the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance), has written for Guitar Techniques magazine, been an official demonstrator for Vox amps, and is a Fret-King guitar endorsee. He has put together a very thorough comparison of a wide variety of cables, and though we may differ in our preferences (he disses one of my favorite cables!), the bottom line is that the cable you use DOES make a significant difference and it’s worth trying as many as you can to find what works best for you. Thanks for the great article Lee!

Guitar Leads Do Sound Different…

By Lee Hodgson

Introduction

Are there really audible differences between guitar leads? And if so, is there a ‘best sounding’ one? Well, they all sound different for sure, so I believe it’s a case of finding what’s best for you. After all, not everyone might want a totally transparent sounding lead. (An electric guitar is not exactly a piece of hi-fi…) Blues players, for example, may want a warmer tone, whereas a funk guitarist might want sparkle, get the idea? On a larger scale, we basically choose between, let’s say, a Fender Strat over a Gibson Les Paul (or vice versa); one has more warmth yet the other has more brightness and cut. Of course an amplifier has tone controls, so does a lead’s characteristics count? I believe so. It’s not just about treble, middle and bass; there are other more subtle factors at work – which scientific studies could explain. All we musicians care about is a musically satisfying result, wouldn’t you say? My main point is that I really can hear how some leads impede or alter the sound in some way or another. Curiously, I can also sense when a lead is the ‘right’ way round: it’s not about tone, it’s rather more to do with cohesiveness and the frequencies all arriving synchronously. Whatever, all I ultimately want is a balanced, uncongested, cohesive and generally wholesome sound. I only want gear that lets me get on with the playing of music.

Test Guitar: Fret-King Corona & Super S with Wilkinson pickups (various pickup settings used).

Test Amps: Mesa/Boogie MkIII Simulclass (EV12L), Cornell Voyager 20 (6V6 tubes, Celestion Gold Alnico loudspeaker). Also a Vox ToneLab ST (modeller).

I USED AN ESSENTIALLY CLEAN SOUND THROUGHOUT. Using parallel thinking, I’m one of those who want even their ‘dirty’ sound to be essentially clean – articulate is probably a better word – when using overdrive. I believe that clarity is invariably perceived as being a positive quality. Some producers think in terms of ‘expensive’ sounds…

Playing Style(s) used: hybrid picking mostly, plus some fingerpicking – the sound of flesh makes Jeff Beck sound good, wouldn’t you agree? I played single note lines (including soulful bends), double-stops, triads and chord strums. I can state categorically that playing multiple notes together or closely in succession, sustaining that is, reveals just how a lead accurately or inaccurately passes the component sound(s). Some leads make your chords sound disjointed and imbalanced, almost as if it’s two guitars fighting each other, whereas certain other leads definitely produce a singular, coherent sound. OK, what follows is my professional opinion of various guitar leads.

My favourite guitar cable is without a doubt, Van Den Hul Integration Hybrid (from Lava Cable). It’s just the best! It actually does seem to improve sustain. It’s quite expensive but not ridiculously so. I went for a 10-foot length.

Lava Soar.

I bought a 20-foot one of these and it’s fine. I use it for general gigging. It’s a ‘high-end’ cable but very reasonably priced.

Cordial.

The CGK 122N is definitely one of my favourite guitar cables! It seems to add something – which might imply that it’s not neutral sounding…

• Fabulously clear sound (especially on double stops).
• Sounds musically integrated and has a balanced tone; it’s a wholesome sound that makes a guitar sound wonderful by itself yet, it’s also offers a sound that gels with accompaniment noticeably better than when using other leads. It makes you think: “this is what my guitar should sound like!”
• It ‘feels’ great! I’d say it’s best suited for rock/blues/overdrive sounds.

I own several Cordial leads: the CGK175, which is slightly different physically (it is more flexible so is more suited to stage use) but sounds every bit as good as the CGK 122 N, plus I have the slightly cheaper CIK122, which is ever so slightly edgier and more vibrant sounding than the rest.

Sommer Cable.

The Grindycop Beast seems to have gained a great reputation amongst discerning players. It’s main feature is its “quickness” (transient response). I bought one and found it to be, as Sommer themselves put it, ‘analytical’…

Evidence Audio.

Dave Gilmour uses the ‘Lyric HG’, as do many other top-ranking players, but I’m left unimpressed. This twin-core (solid) cable is clear enough and well balanced but all I can say is, playing loud through a VOX AC15, a Cordial cable just delivered something special. Evidence Audio might well say that their cables are totally neutral sounding but I don’t really care, I enjoyed playing through another cable more.

Elixir.

Sweet, clean and fairly open sounding. The cable measures a little resistance, which worries me very slightly.

Horizon Siverflex.

The Horizon Silverflex cable is very good but not quite as cohesive and balanced sounding as Cordial leads. It has a great sounding treble response, which makes high-pitched lead work very clear, but I think the bass end is ever so slightly disjointed.

George L’s.

I’ve heard that these are highly regarded but they’re not for me. Despite having great clarity and transparency, they have a slightly cold, clinical sound in my opinion. However, I’d recommend that you try them out with your own guitar…

• Extremely clear, brilliant sound that works well with all kinds of sounds and playing styles.
• Good integration and balanced tone: it’s a wholesome sound.
• Excellent transient attack! Which makes it sound immediate as opposed to blurred.

Planet Waves (D’Addario).

I bought a 20-footer (the more expensive twisted-pair version) and had been using it quite happily until I discovered Cordial… By comparison, the PW lead sounded cluttered and uncohesive, especially on double stops (playing D & F# together on the 5th & 4th strings sounded much nicer through the Cordial lead; it sounded more focussed and the chord was noticeably more vibrant!). Planet Waves’ advertising claims that its cable is “acoustically transparent”, devoid of any filtering effects, yet it does, to my ears, sound a little thicker than other leads – which is probably why endorsee Eric Clapton likes them! I should add, however, that I once played a master-built Fender Tele at a gig and the Planet Waves lead did do it justice. You see, it’s a marriage…

• Fairly clear sound for single-note lines but not so great for double stops or chords.
• Flattering when you play hard but loses some detail (sounds a little furry) when using softer dynamics.
• Might suit a rock/blues lead guitarist who wants a marginally thicker, fatter tone. (It doesn’t actually boost anything, it’s just not ultimately as brilliant or detailed sounding as certain others.)

Ki-Sound (Rotosound).

I paid £4.00 for a 10-footer and I really can’t fault it!

• Lovely clear sound for any playing style and note formation.
• Balanced tone: gives a wholesome, integrated sound.
• A cosy sound. Highly recommended!

Active Lead.

I used to be an endorsee. The Active Lead is kind of like a DI-box-as-a-lead if you know what I mean. It’s perfect, therefore, if you want to quickly plug into a mixing desk or hi-fi etc that doesn’t have a dedicated guitar input (the Active Lead has a mega-high impedance, which is good for guitars).

Check this out: I once travelled by air so I couldn’t take my main rig. All I took was my (back-up) guitar, a Squier Silver Strat, and my Active Lead. I plugged into another guitarist’s little tranny Fender Deluxe (mic’d up)… …and I received many favourable comments from guitarists from the other bands at the festival. I can’t help liking my Active Lead! It serves a purpose.

• Particularly clear sound, with enhanced high-end – it sparkles!
• Balanced tone: gives a wholesome, integrated sound. Designed to eliminate an undesirable peak that’s found in most electric guitars’ pickup response.
• Suffers from a little added hiss. Also, in order to avoid induced hum, you must keep the integral battery box away from transformers etc.

Ripcord (MI).

I paid £82.00 for a 20-footer several years ago and loved it for a while. But then I fell out of love with it and so I sold it! It definitely has a ‘sound’ though…

• Not neutral sounding – imparts fatness and mid-range drive, a “juicy” sound!
• Suffers from a kind of crackling/rustling noise when you shake it. (So don’t!)
• Ripcord also sell expensive speaker and mains leads…

Digressing for a moment, but still considering the lengths people will go for great tone, Eddie Van Halen lowered the voltage supply to his Marshall amp and the sound, he says, went “brown”! And Eric Johnson believes, rather obsessively, in all manner of things that affect tone… Mind you, I’ve heard him play live and I can vouch that his sound was absolutely phenomenal!

Winding down now, I do recall once trying an upmarket Monster lead – they do all kinds of dedicated, stylised guitar/bass leads – and I seem to remember that it sounded neutral. Ultimately though, I preferred my “fruitier” sounding Ripcord, which I favoured at the time.

If you want esoterica, then check out Russ Andrews product brochure, which offers guitar leads that cost up to £600!!!

Finally and in conclusion, I have bought many guitar leads over the years (and plenty more besides those mentioned here, which varied between acceptable and unacceptable) and I can most definitely hear – I’d rather say “feel” – when something is right or wrong, subjectively speaking, that is. It’s all about finding that elusive “perfect combination” isn’t it?

Have fun!

In a follow up to our previous story regarding Heil’s new mic capsules for wireless microphone transmitters (think Line 6, Shure, etc) we thought we’d share this in depth review from L2PNet.com. It’s no secret that I have great love for Heil mics. Wireless Heil mics = heaven for me.

I already have the new Line 6 wireless microphones, so I’ll soon be getting one of the new Heil capsules to add to the Line 6 transmitters. I’m even more excited after reading the following review:

L2PNet.com review: Heil RC 22 and RC 35 Wireless Capsules

Anyone else try this combination yet? Or maybe you have a different solution that we haven’t covered yet. Feel free to share your insights with everyone else by posting a comment below.

We recently added a couple of the new Line 6 XD-V70 wireless mics to our live show setup. Added to the previous Line 6 XDR955 that we already had, we now have three wireless mics for all three singers in our band. These are all digital wireless units (as opposed to using analog frequencies like the standard Shure’s & Sennheiser’s). Line 6 claims that this means you will not run into the frequency issues that seem to plague some analog wireless devices (such as the FCC selling off the 700mhz spectrum recently).

I’m not going to go into all the speeds and feeds of these mics but instead I would like to concentrate on how they fit into a live environment and our experience with them so far. For all the specific details you should take a look at the Line 6 website.

I received the XD-V70′s the day of a gig…so of course we thought we’d try them out that night (we like living on the edge). Setup was very simple. Basically you turn on the mic transmitter and the receiver and they work. There’s not a lot of messing around with frequencies or anything like that. You will need to make sure that each mic is on its own channel (out of the 12 available on the V70). That’s as simple as hitting a button up or down on the receiver and slightly more challenging on the mic since the buttons are a bit hard to depress unless you have small fingers. But, overall it was a simple setup and easily achievable while we were setting up for the gig.

The half size rack unit is dead simple with an XLR or 1/4″ connector out the back and a couple of Antenna connectors. Multiple units can be daisy chained together to utilize the same antennas. There is an included connector to combine two half size rack units into a full size (1U) rack. This is a great idea, but I found it quite difficult to do in practice. The plastic joiner piece seems to be a bit too big for the slots that it is designed to be inserted into. I struggled with it for a while, then got a hammer out and pounded it into place….I hate having to use a hammer to setup my gear. The antennas can be configured to come out the front of your rack with the included half size plate, but plan on this extra space when designing your rack.

In use, we found that there was zero static or interference in the club environment or at our practice facility (where we quite often have interference with analog signals). The mics sound quite good. Not nearly as good as my Heil, but to my ears as good as any other wireless mic I’ve ever used. They have several modeled mic sounds to choose from, but we found we liked the L6 (Line6) model the best. The mic capsule is designed to be screwed off and replaced with another mic capsule if you prefer. I plan on replacing mine with the Heil PR35 capsule in the near future (Heil has designed a capsule especially for this purpose), but in the meantime I’m perfectly content with the sound I get from the Line 6 stock capsule.

The mics themselves have a good look, feel and weight to them. Which was a much needed improvement compared to the feel of the previous generation XDR955. The batteries are reasonably easy to change, although I wouldn’t want to do it in the middle of a set, so make sure you have fresh batteries. Again this is a big improvement over the XDR955 which is a complete pain in the ass to change batteries (this alone would keep me from buying that particular unit again). The battery life on the XD-V70 has been surprisingly good. I’ve used mine at a four hour show (turning it off between sets) and two 3 hour rehearsals and they were still going strong. We use the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries. They work great.

We really love being wireless. Quicker setup and teardown time for both live shows and rehearsals. Yeah, I know it’s only a few cables, but it really does make a difference to us. Plus it helps to create a cleaner stage environment. One of the big reasons for us to go wireless is that we do a lot of opening shows for major acts. Having our own wireless helps us to get on and off the stage quicker. It makes our band easier to work with for the sound company and stage hands and can shave minutes off our setup and tear down time between acts. Getting off the stage quick is critical to be a successful opening act.

I would not hesitate to purchase the XD-V70 again or recommend it to any of my musician friends. It’s quite a bargain at around $499 (it’s smaller sibling is $399…we haven’t tried that one yet). You can find the XDR-955 for $299, but I wouldn’t bother unless you really can’t come up with the extra money for one of the newer units (don’t get me wrong, it sounds just fine….it’s just not well engineered or built great). If you’re strapped for cash, but want one of the new mics you could look at either SweetWater or AmericanMusical, both of them offer to break up your purchases into 3 payments without even applying for a credit account. Worth looking into if you really need a new piece of gear.