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FOUND: Mesaboogie - You Need To See This

“I thought I’d got over my Mk.gee-inspired Jaguar hype, but Fender has sent me spiraling down the rabbit hole again”: All the guitar gear that caught my eye this week – including the most futuristic Epiphones ever created

Big drops from Fender, Gibson, Marshall and more headline the round-up this week

Guitar World

“A small yet mighty gig bag hero”: Mesa/Boogie launches powerhouse preamp/DI with all the tone-shaping capabilities of its high-end Subway line

A blockbuster sequel to the original, the Subway+ Bass DI‑Preamp II offers bassists everything they need in one compact housing that's 40 per cent smaller than its predecessor

Guitar World

“It offers the holy grail amp sounds beloved by John Mayer, SRV, and more for just $150. A must-try for Dumble fans”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including the angriest fuzz pedal you will ever come across

Plenty of new pedals, amps and more from the likes of Epiphone, IK Multimedia, Fender, Laney, Mesa/Boogie and beyond...

Guitar World

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“These dominated stages behind some of the biggest names in rock”: Mesa/Boogie brings back the fire-breathing Triple Rectifier in a classic finish – reviving one of the most impactful amps it ever created

This limited edition drop puts the custom-order look back in style, presenting 150-watts of legendary high-gain performance – and a sound that shaped '90s rock and metal

Guitar World

“Its aggressiveness earned it a revered place in heavy rock and metal”: The Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ HRG was championed by John Petrucci and beyond – now it’s been brought back

The 100-watt amp, which heralds from Mesa/Boogie’s Lagunitas Shop days, has been revived alongside a Vintage Thiele cab

Guitar World

“It possesses the horsepower to remain clean, even at the loudest volumes, and handles – and delivers – the highest dynamic content from your picking hand”: Mesa/Boogie reissues a cult classic that takes the amp brand back to the beginning

Loved by the likes of John Petrucci, the Mark IIC+ HRG presents super-clean tone at super-high volume and a super-tight crunch voicing for rock and metal rhythms

MusicRadar

“He wanted all that at an undoable selling price”: Mesa/Boogie founder Randall Smith confirms rumours that it built James Hetfield a signature model – and it combined three iconic amps in one

A Diezel, a JC-120 and a Mark IIC+ all in one? That would have cost a whack – and it would have, which is why the Metallica frontman's prototype never got released

MusicRadar

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“Theory C: it’s a scoop knob... they built James’ parametric EQ into the amp”: Metallica spark a Mesa/Boogie mystery as unidentified amp spotted in 50th Anniversary message to ESP Guitars. Could this be a James Hetfield signature?

Speculation surrounding this unidentified chugging object has been ongoing since 2017 when it was spotted in Metallica's studio

Guitar World

“One of the rarest and most coveted vintage amplifiers ever”: Mesa/Boogie’s hallowed Mark IIC++ was used by Metallica to shape the sound of 1980s metal – and now it’s been given a production release for the first time ever

Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield's Crunch Berries amp, which was only ever made as an unofficial mod exclusive only to artists, gets its first-ever wide release

Guitar World

“Experience one of the rarest and most coveted vintage amplifiers ever”: Mesa/Boogie puts ‘Crunch Berries’ on the menu as it releases the holy grail amp used by Metallica

Mesa/Boogie launches the Mark IIC++ head as a limited edition production model

MusicRadar

“Even after four decades of high-gain amp design evolution, the Mark IIC+’s distortion tonesstill remain the gold standard”: Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ review

Beloved by James Hetfield, Prince and John Petrucci, the most revered amp in metal guitar tone makes a long-awaited return

Guitar World

“I auditioned for a guitar commission with a carload of basses! I laid them all out on the floor, and he went, ‘OK, let's make a guitar’”: James Hetfield's luthier on how he went from crafting basses to becoming the Metallica guitarist's go-to axe maker

And why we have Doug West from Mesa/Boogie to thank for Ken Lawrence and Papa Het's now-iconic link-up

Guitar World

NAMM 2025: “Mesa/Boogie has faithfully recreated the original formula – complete with ominous low end, harmonically rich top end, and that unmistakable midrange scoop”: The ‘90s spec two-channel Dual Rectifier is officially back

The sound of '90s hard-rock, metal and grunge lives again

MusicRadar

“A cleaner, meaner, better Rectifier. There’s no denying it”: Mesa/Boogie resurrects a ’90s icon with its reissued Dual Rectifier – and the holy grail amp head has been given some upgrades

Beloved by a crop of elite artists over the years, the legendary Dual Rectifier is finally back... with a few choice tweaks

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“This fiddle is Really Dope”: Cesar Gueikian all-but-confirms the return of the cult Gibson RD – an unsung build beloved by Dave Grohl and Ghost

One of the firm’s most obscure designs of the 1970s looks set for an unlikely return

Guitar World

“An original icon built by the same artisans who built them 30 years ago”: Mesa/Boogie is reviving the Dual Rectifier – the hallowed amp head that defined the sound of 1990s high gain music

The original Dual Rectifier arrived in 1992, and was championed by a huge array of guitar greats, from Foo Fighters to Tool and Korn

MusicRadar

“Faithfully recreated with modern upgrades, this amp defined ‘90s rock – powering metal, nu-metal, rap-rock, grunge, pop-punk and more”: Mesa/Boogie announces imminent return of the '90s era two-channel Dual Rectifier

Mesa/Boogie says the classic high-gain head will be reissued on 14 January

Guitar World

“You fix it so it won’t break again, then you pound on it some more. Every amp gets the living daylights hammered out of it”: Randall Smith on the origins of his ‘hammer test’ that makes Mesa/Boogies bulletproof

We don’t recommend trying this at home, but it’s a test that has helped Mesa/Boogie amps stand the rigors of touring throughout the decades

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MusicRadar

“There’s something about the harmonics of a V8 that’s just mind-blowingly badass and powerful sounding”: Mesa/Boogie founder Randall Smith on how his high-gain amp designs were influenced by hotrodded muscle cars

In his latest YouTube video, Smith talks tubes, the similarities between automobile and amp hotrodding culture, and admits that not everybody understood his quest for more distortion

Guitar World

“I said, ‘Hey, Carlos, would you plug into this?’ ‘That’s a Fender. I don’t want to plug into that.’ I said, ‘But I boosted it’”: How did Mesa get its iconic Boogie name? Founder Randall Smith explains

The famed Boogie began life as a modded Princeton, but a chance encounter with one of its biggest champions was what gave it its now-legendary title

Guitar World

“It was finally time to see if we could do a second build of this revered Boogie”: The iconic Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ is officially back – 40 years after the holy grail high-gain amp was last produced

Beloved by James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, John Petrucci, Steve Lukather and countless others, the original IIC+ is one of the most coveted amps ever created… and now it has finally been revived

MusicRadar

“Now you can forego the frustrating searches, the vintage pricing and the worry of aged-out parts and obtain a brand new Mark IIC+”: Mesa/Boogie reissues the Holy Grail tube amp famously used by Metallica

The greatest comeback in tube amp history? It's in the conversation, as the Mark IIC+ returns after nearly 40 years as a head and 1x12 combo

MusicRadar

“A splash of colour straight out of the SoCal surf and hot rod scene of the early 1960s”: Gibson refreshes its Falcon tube amp series in exclusive new Surf Bronco finish

These sweet retro look is a Gibson exclusive, available online or in person at the Gibson Garages in Nashville and London

Guitar World

“Randy has completed his time with Gibson as Master Designer and Pioneer of Mesa/Boogie”: Gibson confirms the departure of legendary amp designer and Mesa/Boogie founder Randall Smith

The influential boutique amp builder joined the Gibson family of brands following the firm's acquisition of Mesa/Boogie in 2021

MusicRadar

“Randy, and his original design ideas, will continue to inspire us”: Gibson confirms exit of Mesa/Boogie founder and legendary ‘boutique’ guitar amp designer Randall Smith

It’s the end of an era as Smith parts company with the Mesa/Boogie brand he founded 55 years ago

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