FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Mesa Boogie Blue Angel

Question:
has anyone out there had experience with Mesa's Blue Angel combos? I'm curious to know if this 6L6/EL84 setup actually works, separately and in tandem.

Answer:
I've got a Blue Angel 4X10, and it's really a great blues amp -- kind of reminiscent of a black face Super Reverb (of course, the speaker configuration has something to do whith that). The different power tube combinations really aren't all that noticable until you crank it, and you really have to crank it to get any kind of crunch even with the lowest power (18W) setting. (It's a really LOUD 18 watts). At low to moderate volumes it's got a really round, jazzy tone, especially with my Howard Roberts Fusion III. That said, be aware that it's not the most versitile amp in the world--no channel switching ('cause there's only one channel), no master volume, etc. Like most mesas, it's a bit noisy until you get the volume up. Shortly after acquiring mine (new) I picked up a used rack rig with a Carvin quad-X and Peavey 50/50 (8 EL 84s) power amp, and frankly, I use that a while lot more than then Blue Angel, simply because of the various sounds I get from it. If you're anywhere near Asheville, NC, I've got my Blue Angel up for sale.