Toured Mesa Boogie MFG Plant today

[Decko]

Hi All,

Thought to share.

I do factory automation/robotic sales for my job. So I hit up Mesa Boogie to see if there was any opportunity to sell factory automation. This call was strictly professional and had nothing to do with my passion for amp building. I swear.

Automation Sales Potential : Zero

I was very surprised and amazed. I assumed that this company would have been much larger and more automated after all they are Mesa Boogie. These guys are grass roots.

They run a very tight operation from board production, assembly (hand wired), burn in to test and through packaging.

They use all local vendors for machining and sheet metal and silkscreening. They build all their own cabinets head and speaker in house and use quality Celestions made in the UK. Not China.

They hand wire all the amps!!!

Randall still designs all the amp circuits. Take a look at the mini-rectifier...low watt moster.

Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to meet Randall. I understand he is somewhat of a celebrity in those parts. Maybe next time I can hit him up for some tips!

Anyway these guys epitomize the slogan: MADE IN THE USA

[tubeswell]

pictures, or it didn't happen

[Decko]

I was tempted to snap photos but I did not want to risk confidentiality of their process.

That said, next time I am in there I will make sure to get some photos!

Danny

[sonicmojo]

That must have been very cool! Speaking of Mesa Boogie, this weekend I made a separate head cab for a friend's Lonestar 2x12 beast. I've always been impressed by how clean they make them (although it is PCB, boo). At least they use quality "top down through the board" sockets. I counted no less than 24 carbon comp resistors in this bad boy. Not my style but it is an impressive looking circuit. And I noticed how nicely sanded and welded the chassis is.

[Cygnus X1]

Very cool Decko.
I too would jump at the chance.

PCB may be "boo" but imagine fitting all of those options into a turret style amp.
Done right PCB is fine.

Just a bear to work on!

[Cliff Schecht]

I think it's fantastic that Mesa builds a PCB amp with a focus on quality. For the amount of labor they do put into their amps, especially being made in the USA, I think they have some pretty fair pricing. They are one of the few companies whose amps I would actually go out and buy instead of trying to build. For the complexity of the designs and how well they are implemented, Mesa would get my money hands down.

I still wish I would have bought Ron Worley's Mesa Mk IV 1x12 in Bubinga cabinet/wicker grille. That was a great looking amp but the price was just out of my range.


Another reason I like PCB amps is not every tech has the ability to work on these amps. I know more than a few guys who won't touch a modern PCB amp, instead they pass it onto me to repair. Out of all of the modern amps I've worked on, Mesa Boogie and Peavey get my seal of approval for building a solid, (relatively) reliable and easy to work on/debug amplifier. I've never had either type of amp on my bench for more than 30 minutes to narrow down and solve any issues. And to be fair to both amp companies, most of the repairs I do on these amps are caused by user neglect or faulty parts, not by bad circuit design (especially Mesa) or using underrated components.

[Decko]

Gents, perception is not reality. At least my perception of Mesa. Once I saw what these guys were really about I had to admire the level engineering and heart that went behind their product.

Randall has created some pretty complex designs. Mark 5...button switch pusher. And then simpler designs like the mini...

Then to take this engineering and manufacture stateside...not the trend these days in the US. There is much to be said for that.

So I have a question. Based on popular opinion, PCB boards are not the preferred package for amp purists. I have blindly accepted that mind set because many pro amp builders espouse this belief.

Can someone scientifically explain why point to point, boards with turrets are better? Or is this like capacitors and carbon comp resistors where the values do not dictate the overall tonal mojo.

Danny

[dreric]

Can someone scientifically explain why point to point, boards with turrets are better?Danny

No.............. and therein lies the problem.

Eric

[M Fowler]

If I had the ability to design a PCB I would build my amps with PCB as well, fly the jacks, pots and sockets.

[Decko]

Mark, I bought a PCB board kit from MG Chemical. Has a few blanks, UV lamp and developer... but I did not take the time to learn basic PCB layout (signal traces against power traces). Be kinda cool to collaborate...

[Cliff Schecht]

The whole argument of PCB vs. turrets/eyelets is a voodoo electronics type of thing. There are differences between the two styles of construction yes, but only in that PCB amps can be manufactured much easier and (with a well designed PCB) will be very consistent from amp to amp. Mesa is a great example of somebody who has been using PCB's in amps successfully for many years. They understand that you have to beef up the traces around tube sockets and use plated through holes which are much more solid than single-sided PCB's. They also don't cheap out on the copper clad board itself, they use thick copper and thick/sturdy FR4.

The audible differences between PCB and turret will be nil if the amp designer has a good working knowledge of both styles of building. I can build any amp with a PCB that emulates the layout of PTP either using the PCB only for turret interconnects while hand wiring the tube sockets or shoving everything on a PCB. The former option is more attractive for a small time builder/manufacturer but when you are in the big leagues and trying to meet a certain price point while maintaining a consistent sound, you can't beat mounting everything to the PCB..

[xtian]

OTOH, amps with turret boards are much easier to mod, and for folks like us who can't keep their soldering irons away, hand-wired amps are like nectar to a honey bee.

BTW, I'm selling my Mesa Boogie Mark IVa. PM me.

[Reeltarded]

Randall love: Clean sounds and SOB.

Randall HATE: Mk IIB

There, I'z done.

[sonicmojo]

PCB may be "boo" but imagine fitting all of those options into a turret style amp.
Done right PCB is fine.
Just a bear to work on!

Agreed. Mesa does have the most solid and quality looking PCBs I have ever seen in a PCB amp and it would be impossible to fit all the features of a Lonestar type amp into a PTP chassis. Unfortunately when a cluster of four diodes, for example, decides to burn up like I've seen in an F30 combo, it makes things on the PCB very difficult to restore. But at least some of the new amps have a five year warranty and are transferrable so that says something. I would not try this but the manual on the Lonestar states that using impedance speaker cabinet mismatch will wear out the tubes faster but nothing about destroying the output transformer. Thy guy I built the cabinet for had been running his amp for a while on the EL34 setting with 6L6 tubes (searching for an EL34 tone apparently), something it says right in the manual will cause damage to your amplifier and they put a red warning light on the back when you engage that switch. But it didn't break the amp although he killed a tube. I forced him to read the manual but I am sure there are a lot of people out there like this and Mesa likely anticipates this.

[Randy Magee]

Did Randall patent the tour too?