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INSANE: Randall smith - The Real Truth

“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

“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

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“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

MusicRadar

“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

Guitar World

“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

MusicRadar

“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

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“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

MusicRadar

“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

Guitar World

“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

MusicRadar

“Can genuinely hold its own in any genre, with direct tones that stand up to market-leading amp modelers”: Mesa/Boogie Mark VII 1x12 Combo review

How can Mesa/Boogie possibly have improved on the Mark V so much that it skipped the Mark VI? Join us as we plug in and find out

Guitar World

“Vintage tone and dual channel flexibility for the modern player”: Gibson expands Mesa/Boogie co-designed amp range with the Dual Falcon 20 2x10

The latest from the Gibson amp line has two channels, two Jensen 10” speakers, tube-driven reverb and tremolo, and design input from Randall Smith and the Boogie team

MusicRadar

Mesa/Boogie amps are officially back on sale in Europe

Yes sir, I can Boogie – preorders open across the range for late March delivery

MusicRadar

“Gibson is back in the amp business”: Gibson’s Falcon amps have landed – can the Mesa-made combos get their claws into the boutique amp market?

The firm’s first new tube amps since the late ’60s are hand-built in the USA and seem priced to compete

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

NAMM 2024: “Harmonically rich American tone in a compact and easily portable package”: Gibson’s relaunched guitar amplifier line takes flight with the Randall Smith-designed Falcon tube combos

The Falcon 20 and Falcon 5 are all-tube combos, based on the Gibson amps of the '60s and designed with Smith and his Mesa/Boogie team in California

Guitar World

The ‘90s was a watershed era for gear, and set the template for the future of the electric guitar – these are the retro designs, digital innovations and misfit toys that defined a decade and beyond

The invention of the seven-string, emergence of digital modeling and rise of the boutique pedal industry all took place during the ‘90s, and provided the blueprint for the sound of guitar music to come

Guitar World

Mesa/Boogie Mark VII Head review

The latest evolution of Mesa's flagship head might just be Randall Smith's finest hour, and one of the best amps on the market right now

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