Who has a Mesa Boogie Blue Angel?

[Chrizcol]

I'm looking for an all tube amplifier for recording. Around 1k US$.

I'm living in Hong Kong and the used Guitar Amp market seems pretty non-existent. I have found one shop however....

There were a few amps there:
-Random Fenders
-Fender Blues jr w/o reverb unit.
-Mesa Boogie f30
-Mesa Boogie nomad
-Mesa Boogie Blue Angel

The blue angel by FAR had the sweetest sounding clean sound but was very noisy/hissy even at lower levels.



I plan to use this amp to record and perhaps play at gigs.. Will use a THD hotplate.
I play and are asked to record a diverse range of styles... Need something that can do lovely jazz/blues clean.. and then by way of a good distortion pedal... do rock to metal.

????Apart from Octatonic who i've discussed this with in another amp and appreciate :)???
??Who owns one of these or has owned it.. and has come up with a solution to the hissing problem...
or at least can tell me its just a tube issue.

Lets just assume I REALLY want this amp... and there are no other options...

[pan60]

my Mesa Boogie Blue Angel is not noisy/hissy at all ?
maybe their is something wrong with it?
my next studio amp will be made by

http://www.juleamps.com/

[Chrizcol]

Thanks for the ease of mind.. power-tube problem then....

Recommend it? I'm getting one for just under US$1k

[eligit]

my blue angel was also VERY hissy...not good for recording quiet stuff. it was the one speaker combo version.

also the insides melted at one point. black gunk all over everything. very bizarre.

the mesa guys were very cool about it though....they sent me a new one for free.

the tube reverb was very nice and there were many nice usable tones at the various power settings.

the only thing i did not like about the tone was a certain....lack of "melding" with the guitar....hard to describe.

about the hiss: here is something i THINK i remember....the hiss was present at the same volume no matter how loud the amp was turned up or down (as long as it was not on standby). you could have the volume knob at 0 and still have the hiss....or the volume at 8 and the hiss would still be at the same level.

[Meriphew]

I have a BA head. Wonderful amp IMO. Mine has never been hissy. The fan is a bit noisy when recording, but I keep it in a different room than the cab, so that's a non issue for me. It will do clean, gritty, and rootsy rock very nicely, but metal isn't its forte. Highly underrated amp IMO.

[pan60]

i wonder if it is the fan you are hearing?
i did not think about that:(
their is a bit of fan noise but not enough to bother me at all.
maybe i have been lucky but i have one of the early ones and i love it.

[eligit]

i had both the fan noise AND the hiss. two different sounds.

[Meriphew]

Combo or head version?

[Chrizcol]

Originally Posted by Meriphew

Combo or head version?

Combo. I dont mind fan noise.. heck my computer and aircon are noise.. just dont want noise coming from the speaker when close miked... Again.. prob just a power tube issue. I did try two 2nd hand ones at the store and they both had the same noise...

[eligit]

Originally Posted by Meriphew

Combo or head version?

combo.....

i will add tho that the fan noise was not as bad as the hiss.....i SUPPOSE if you were miking the back of the amp and playing a bit quietly....the fan might have become more of an issue.

i can only assume that because the hiss was found on more than a few combo BA amps it is just inherent to the design. still not a deal breaker if you crank it.

for really quiet intimate stuff where there are not lots of other tracks to drown out the hiss...it could be a problem

[Chrizcol]

Ok I'm sold. Went back to the store and played through it again. The tech there says the power-tube might need replacing.

Its a looooovely amp.

Played a horrible looking beat-up nicotine stained 2nd hand strat through it and it was blues heaven. single coil lovelyness.

sounded like a million bucks.

Anyone use an attenuator... e.g. THD hotplate with it for lower recording levels with maximum saturation?

[eligit]

just so you are forewarned....the hiss has nothing to do with replacing any tubes. he is just shining you on to make a sale.

nice sounding amp tho.

[Chrizcol]

I wont buy it unless he tries a new power tube first and it helps..

not too bothered anymore actually..

[eligit]

Originally Posted by Chrizcol

I wont buy it unless he tries a new power tube first and it helps..

that's good thinking.

however....if you typically turn up loud to record....the hiss will not mess that up.

[SpiderM69]

I have a 4x10 Jensen BA combo. The hiss has never been a problem, and I don't find it to be worse than any other tube amp. If it bothers you during quiet parts, use an expander. The tone is that good, that it's worth it to fix any noise issue in the mix. And live, who the F cares, it's not that noticeable.

The BA is the most underrated amp out there, IMO.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by SpiderM69

I have a 4x10 Jensen BA combo. The hiss has never been a problem, and I don't find it to be worse than any other tube amp. If it bothers you during quiet parts, use an expander. The tone is that good, that it's worth it to fix any noise issue in the mix. And live, who the F cares, it's not that noticeable.

The BA is the most underrated amp out there, IMO.

The BA is the most underrated amp out there, IMO.

i agree!
it is a very very useful amp and seemingly over looked.
i have a head and have been looking to find a killer deal on anther used one.
sadly with i have the cash i never seem to run across the head and when i am broke wah-la one shows up.