MESA BOOGIE MK I Limited Edition Santana Model Super Rare 100/60 watt all-tube-Reverb- code AM590

The anthropology of amplifiers, the MK I™ is the missing link, the transitional brain-child which bridged the vintage and modern eras. In truth, the Mark I is both: Plugging into Input 2 reveals an amp wholly faithful to its classic roots, producing a big, clean, shimmering rhythm sound. Up until then, this was simply all that amps could do. Chronologically, this was the BG era of guitar amplification: Before Gain.But recognizing the guitar’s latent potential as a solo instrument, the Mark I unearthed the Bone Tone, a discovery of historic importance: High Gain. Here for the first time was solo enhancement from the amplifier that produced a lead voice of singing sustain for guitar. This challenged the saxophone as the lead instrument in rock and signified Day One of the new AD calendar: After Distortion.Carlos Santana, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, Keith Richards and Pete Townshend all helped catapult this new guitar sound into the international spotlight.Despite the flood of orders and relentless offers to buy the company, Mesa refused to sell out and chose instead to remain true to its founding principles: Quality without Compromise and Guaranteed Customer Satisfaction. From the garage shop at home, just under 3,000 amps were built and shipped to 39 countries world-wide.Thirty years later the MK I we hand-build today is a faithful reissue of the original. The only differences are a variable gain Loop, which switches out of the circuit when FX are removed, and Tweed™ Power which works like a built-in Variac, lowering overall voltages to produce a softer, brown vibe.

In the1971 at the crossroads of Vintage and Modern amplified guitar sounds stood two pioneers, Randall Smith and Carlos Santana, and the little amp that could... the Boogie®. The passion, creativity and dedication of these two artists intersecting at that revolutionary time in music history can only be called fate, and the resulting impact on the guitar’s voice will be felt forever more. With so many “FIRSTS” it set the world’s pro guitarists on their collective ear, the Boogie ushered out the old notion of a guitar amp and transformed it once and for all into a legitimate instrument. and a tribute to the evolution of electric guitar tone.

THE FIRST CUSTOM BOUTIQUE AMPLIFIER, THE FIRST CUSTOM BUILDER – MESA ENGINEERING®

The Compact 100 Watt 1x12 Combo, Tube Cascading High Gain Preamp (SUSTAIN), FOOTSWITCHING (Clean to Overdrive), Half Power Switch (100/60), Pull-Gain Boost, Slave Out, All World Export Transformer, Custom Hardwood Cabinetry and a Wicker Cane Grille were all innovations seen exclusively on the world’s first boutique amplifier by the world’s first boutique amp builder, Randall Smith and MESA Engineering®.

The Limited Edition is legendary in both sound and story because it is the direct descendant of the original Boogie that stood alone at that intersection so long ago. That amp was the transitional link between the low gain single channel amps of yesteryear and today’s current high gain, multi-channel footswitching amplifiers. Before the Boogie’s appearance back then, players had to turn an amp all the way up to get overdrive and sustain and it occurred in the power section, which of course was LOUD.With the creation of the world’s first high gain tube preamp in 1970, found only in the little Boogie by MESA Engineering, players could achieve sustain and singing tube overdrive at any volume. Revolutionary! The rest is history – and while it is correct to say that the little high gain, high power 1x12 Boogie Combo changed guitar and popular music forever, the story doesn’t end there!

HAND SIGNED, EXACT REPLICA OF CARLOS SANTANA’S 1971 COMBO

This tribute model is an exact replica of the amp Carlos Santana toured with in 1972/73 as he introduced the world to this new sound, right down to the unique chassis size and the aged Snake-embossed Lambskin covering. But it has also been updated to include all our most secret Tone discoveries uncovered throughout the 43 years since the original’s creation.The Hand made features the original Boogie® MARK I™ single-channel preamp that includes two different Inputs, one for traditional lower gain performance (Input 2) and one for higher gain all-tube overdrive (Input 1). Each of these Inputs has it’s own dedicated VOLUME Control responsible for the amount of gain at that stage in the preamp. Input 2 gives you access to traditional lower gain Clean sounds and Input 1 accesses the extra tube stage that produces high gain performance.When plugged into Input 2, its associated VOLUME 2 Control is the sole determining factor for the amount of gain available. When Input 1 is chosen an additional tube gain stage is activated and both.

VOLUME 1 and VOLUME 2 are on line and must be blended to create the preferred amount of overdrive. The best results are usually found with VOLUME 2 set a little higher than VOLUME 1. This scheme produces richer, warmer saturation and reduces excess harmonic content that might create a layer of loosely attached harmonic sizzle with some instruments. This can be desirable on occasion, but setting VOLUME 2 lower than VOLUME 1 should be reserved for those times when you are looking for a brighter voice with added harmonics.

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