Mesa F-30 Combo (!)

After sitting around from noon to 8:30pm waiting for this to show up (I had to sign for it or else they would have brought it back to their regional warehouse), it finally showed up. It's in mint condition and came with a really nice leather slip cover too. This thing is real classy looking.

Anyways for those who don't know, this amp is a modern incarnation of the old Dual Caliber amps (DC30 in this case). It has 2 EL84 tubes and is VERY loud. I must say that thing thing has the best cleans I've ever heard in a Mesa - combo OR head. It smokes the old Studio .22+ Caliber I had not too long ago. The reverb is also lush and musical. The distortion is just absolutely incredible. With the "contour" switch enabled, it sounds very much like an older Dual Rectifier head - it has all the things people love about the Recto sound, and DOESNT have all the things they don't. It's the most articulate heavy distortion I've ever heard in a Mesa, even more so than my Triaxis/2:90 combo. It's definitely a different sound than the Recto, all I'm saying is it has all the crunch and heavy distortion and more so. No fizz, sag or mud... just miles and miles of incredible tone.

Another thing which is a first for the countless Mesa amps I've owned, is that it doesn't feedback, even at VERY VERY loud volumes with VERY high gain, even standing right next to the thing. So far I've only tried it with my Ibanez K7 and S7420FM, but it's been extremely quiet. It's very tight and with stacatto stuff it shuts up the second you to stop picking.

This amp kicks ass. I can't think of ONE downside to this amp. The EQ and contour function lets you sculpt so many different sounds. Just amazing. It has a sweet low/mid gain sound, perfect for blues/prog/rock, then out of this world crunch and ROAR with the high gain modes. Blistering cutting leads and heavy tight rhythms are had with ease. The amp is also VERY dynamic, el84s are extremely sensitive to pick attack and your own technique, it feels so alive.

I give it 5 out of 5 Cousin Larry's. It'll take time to really gauge if this is my favorite amp ever, but I've been lusting over this amp at GC for years, and this is the first time I really got to crank it, and I'm in heaven. BUY THIS!