What Happened to Mesa Cabs?

Mesa cabs used to be goliaths of sound, build quality, and variety… Now they are disappointing… They are not a modular design, so you can’t stack a 410 and a 115 for example… They don’t have any of the large exotics available like the PH 1200, 412, or 810 that we all know and love… And the cabs are so thin and flimsy they feel like they were built by Toyota!! WTH Mesa???

You clearly haven’t ever seen this:

Note: there is a part 2 and a part 3 also :wink:

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Is this something more recent? Something noticed after Gibson bought Mesa? I don’t own one but I know quite a few players who do and I haven’t heard or read any complaints from them. As for variety my guess is they build what sells. Maybe some of the more esoteric designs don’t sell well enough any longer to justify producing them.

The trend seems to be toward smaller lighter weight cabs that are more easily transported. The Genzler Bass Array cab I just bought weighs less than 20lbs and it’s not flimsy. It can also be stacked with other single or dual speak cabs very easily to create a multiple speaker set up with lighter individual cabs that are easier to transport. We old guys appreciate that. LOL

But I do own a Toyota. It’s 17 years old, has nearly 150k on it. It’s a very solid and the most trouble free car I’ve ever owned. Both Mesa and Toyota brands are routinely considered among the very best made.

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Ha ha…I guess Ford Tough isn’t the only tough there is.

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Dunno, the current Subway series are like 8 years old. Those head and cabs are built like tanks afaik. Not as big as the ones mentioned by the OP, but I guess the market for those sizes has changed over the years.

IMHO lightweight > backbreaker :joy::joy:

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The market has changed. I have an Epifani UL2 212 Neo Cab that’s a phenomenal all around single cab. It weighs just over 50lbs which is not heavy for a 212 cab. I have it listed for less than 50% of what a new 212 cab would cost and have had just two legit hits on it in four months.

Others, like me, are going with dual single speaker cabs that are nearly half that weight and easier to transport. So even a 50lb cab is not as popular as they once were. Everything is getting much smaller and lighter. The Genzler MG350 Combo I bought weighs just 25lbs total for head and cab and it’s not shy on output given it’s size and 175w output at 8 ohm. I’ll add a second cab to it in order to get it’s full 350w and won’t look back. It’s all I need.

So if anyone wants a mint condition Epifani UL2 212 cab have I got a deal for you…LOL.

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Yeah I think you are obviously missing the point… I don’t like this new era we are in where I get charged $2k for a bass cab and it feels like a tin can… Whoever is in charge of operations and product design over at Mesa clearly puts all their time into the guitar side of things, and the bass business is a bit of an afterthought…

Aye, pretty sure this has been the case for a while now. Gibson who bought Mesa has always been much more guitar orientated, so there is that too. Shame, I believe Mesa amps was one of the most celebrated amps for bass.

I wouldn’t mind having one of those new rectifiers tho :metal:

Yeah I know what you mean… Now, I would like to be clear… I don’t want this discussion to be a complete bash-fest on Mesa… They still make great quality stuff. I am an avid Mesa fan and customer… I have $15k worth of Mesa gear… As far as quality and consistency of the product on the guitar side of things, they are just as good as they have ever been. In fact, their consistency may be a little better now post Gibson acquisition. The beautiful options available when building guitar heads, guitar combos, and guitar cabs is Amazing!! The custom shop will build you cabs and cases in gorgeous quilted maples and walnuts, exotic leathers and skins, etc. So My primary gripe is on the bass side of things. They used to be just as committed to pushing the limits on quality and variety on the bass side. Arguably, the top bass amplifiers of all time are Mesa bass amps (400+, Titan V12, etc.). I was talking with several employees from Mesa on social media and they told me if I wanted to order a 412 Powerhouse cab with the newer Subway drivers installed, I would have to order a hundred cabs. Thats around $300,000.00. Its not exactly custom either… Of course they have the blueprints for the Powerhouse cabs still, and simply installing newer drivers in place of the older drivers is not exactly difficult. I was astonished at the audacity of telling a customer to place a $300,000 purchase order if I wanted some big beautiful Mesa cabs… Unbelievable… If Mesa wanted to improve their bass business, maybe they should produce the gear we love???

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Maybe an ex-engineer from Mesa can start his own brand and produce affordable copies for us mere mortals. :sweat_smile:

Mesa (bass) gear is pretty hard to get in EU. Same goes for Gallien-Kreuger…

Andy (Aged Horse) over on the TalkBass forum has been involved with the design of Mesa bass gear for quite some time. He’s a knowledgeable guy and a great resource. Maybe it would be worth a shot to trundle over to TB and ask him about it either in a thread or a PM.

At any rate you could share your thoughts there as well and get even more responses from other players who have Mesa cabs. As far as missing the point I don’t believe I am. The current market is the current market. My suggestions to anyone who feels it’s not what they want is to buy used. My Epifani cab would be an example. Wanna buy it? :laughing:

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the gear we love these days probably doesn’t involve any amps or cabs at all. ask @howard :rofl:

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haha :100:, amps are dead to me

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