Mesa definitely has the edge over the twin when used with some grit and distortion in some songs , but the twin is a very open, wide and clear sounding amp when used clean, both sound great in their own terms. But the EQ on the Mesa really shapes the tone of the guitar so that's why i prefer it over the twin, but at the same time i really dig the atmospheric sound of the twin.
"Kurt only used the Mesa Boogie Studio .22 Preamp Combo Amp once which was on October 24, 1991 at Off The Record, San Diego, CA where Nirvana was This was supposed to be an acoustic show, with instruments supplied by the record store, but since they didn't have any left-handed guitars, the band ended up using their own instruments and playing an electric set. So the Mesa Boogie Studio. 22 Combo Amp Belonged to the Record Store."
It all depends on what you are looking for. We know that the mesa boogie amplifier has a very powerful working range and that it works better with distortions. It also has a good clean. The twin reverb amp has the best clean with a bright and melodic sound, but I think it overdrives with distortion or at least doesn't handle it as well as the mesa boogie. In the end you have to come to a compromise of what you want. It's like choosing a single coil or a humbucker, everything will depend on the sound because for distortion you need the humbucker. Therefore the commitment to nirvana is difficult because you need clean and dirty both powerful. I would bet on the mesa boogi because nirvana needs the most distortion possible and that it works as it should but keeping in mind that the twin reverb has a beautiful sound.
Omg the Mesa Boogie sounds unreal, I need to buy one, fr such a fantastic tone, it's clean but distorted at the same time, exactly what I'm looking for
I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was using both together. The Mesa has that "thrust" that I associate with Nirvana's choruses, but the fender tone just sounds so spot on too.
great video, it was interesting to compare! twin reverb somehow wheezes a lot. is it his feature? I tried to wind up the sound of the Bleach in Amplitube, even with different speakers, but it turned out the same.
I think the Fender sounds better clean, then the transition to distortion is not smooth or even. The Mesa transitions better, resulting in the volume maintaining an even quality. I think that makes the Mesa a better pick for this demonstration. Otherwise I think the Fender generally sounds more dynamic.
I like the fender one more. When your amp hast a nice clean sound, then you can do what ever you want. It depends also on a lot other things like pedals, pick ups and so on how the the distortion is handling. I think over all you can do more with the fender amp.
Very interesting. I must say that the Mesa sounded best in most scenarios. Bleach with Univox: Mesa wins by a mile Nevermind w Jag: Slight advantage for Mesa In Utero w Mustang: Equally good or maybe 1 point more for the twin (10/10 vs 9/10) That would be my personal opinion. Awesome video, I would like to see more of those especially with the Quad
Great comparison man! I can’t decide which one I prefer haha. I have a boss nextone artist which I really like and I find it gets a decent nirvana tone especially with my mustang which has a hot rail in the bridge and pedals. Love your content btw 😊
Believe it or not, the clean channel of the Mesa Mark series is that same exact circuit as a blackface fender. The only difference is the addition of the EQ.
@@jq.guitars Also out of curiosity do you use this amp more than your quad? I also have a chance to get one for less than 1k but the mesa I think is the go to
Extremely well done. Even though I'm a shred, sweep and instrumentalist/metal player, the attitudes and life within the amps and pedals themselves was more than apparent. It makes more sense to use solid state for the punk/grunge genre for a few reasons, but in the video we can hear why many don't. You could have played just about any guitar without severely straying away from those tones and textures, but you definitely could not have used modelers and the wrong pedals.
This was probably pointed out already but if not, Kurt used a rack Boogie, so the speaker in the combo is irrelevant, because he didn't have a combo, and the speaker makes up the bulk of the tone.
The Mesa sounds better and it is a great amp punches way above its weight class i will say a deluxe reverb is more similar to the mesa in terms of wattage and it only has one speaker so maybe that ,might be kind of a blend of both especially since the deluxe is known for having better dirty tones than the twin? Also the twin really nails that bleach tone
It all depends on the speakers and other little things. It's no surprise that Cobain used Twin to record Bleach. But in your case, Mesa sounds better due to a lot of different things
@@jq.guitars Definitely. I'm not just talking about speakers but it depends on electronics and power tubes too. For example, I had an old twin silverface from the 70s and almost every month it sounded different, so I had to constantly repair it and change electronics inside🥲
It seems to me that Fender is more suitable for clean parts, and Mesa is more suitable for dirty ones. Mesa is suitable for Bleach, and Fender is suitable for Nevermind and In Utero.
Maybe because Kurt used the Twin, and not those other amps. I have heard a bit about the Princeton being used in numerous studios, I'm interested in getting one one of these days.
I had both, they sound the exact same. Matter of fact, I sold my studio pre because of that. The .22+ is just a combo version, so it's a better value to just use the .22+ into a cab
@@tomjoad8939IMO go for the graphic EQ version if you can, way more versatile. I own one of these and never have the Graphic EQ off, just sounds so much flatter without it.
@@jq.guitars Never was. He used a mesa boogie preamp but never a combo. He used a quad reverb with 1 power tube on in utero and this is coming from a Steve albini interview
@@jq.guitars Yeah. He used a mesa preamp for most of his after bleach career, (and courtney took Kurt's rig for hole after he died) He used a twin on unplugged also, and a plethora of amps that belonged to butch vig on nevermind
Mesa definitely has the edge over the twin when used with some grit and distortion in some songs , but the twin is a very open, wide and clear sounding amp when used clean, both sound great in their own terms. But the EQ on the Mesa really shapes the tone of the guitar so that's why i prefer it over the twin, but at the same time i really dig the atmospheric sound of the twin.
How do u find the clean tone on the Mesa 22+ ?
The only answer is both!
"Kurt only used the Mesa Boogie Studio .22 Preamp Combo Amp once which was on October 24, 1991 at Off The Record, San Diego, CA where Nirvana was This was supposed to be an acoustic show, with instruments supplied by the record store, but since they didn't have any left-handed guitars, the band ended up using their own instruments and playing an electric set. So the Mesa Boogie Studio. 22 Combo Amp Belonged to the Record Store."
yes, but he did use a studio pre amp, and this is simply a practical version of that! :)
Mesa definitely hits that live tone for 91 and on. The reverb I think is better for recording and studio tones
Awesome video
same i thought the same thing
Would love to see a quad reverb comparison next! The Mesa definitely sounded better to me across the board
Mesa sounds amazing for both clean and distorted tones, I love how saturated it sounds
It all depends on what you are looking for. We know that the mesa boogie amplifier has a very powerful working range and that it works better with distortions. It also has a good clean. The twin reverb amp has the best clean with a bright and melodic sound, but I think it overdrives with distortion or at least doesn't handle it as well as the mesa boogie. In the end you have to come to a compromise of what you want. It's like choosing a single coil or a humbucker, everything will depend on the sound because for distortion you need the humbucker. Therefore the commitment to nirvana is difficult because you need clean and dirty both powerful. I would bet on the mesa boogi because nirvana needs the most distortion possible and that it works as it should but keeping in mind that the twin reverb has a beautiful sound.
Great job man! I have the Fender now looking for a Boogie- thank you for making!
I love how twin sounds in Heart Shaped Box, but in the others mesa is better
Omg the Mesa Boogie sounds unreal, I need to buy one, fr such a fantastic tone, it's clean but distorted at the same time, exactly what I'm looking for
I want that univox so bad but my wife won’t let me buy more guitars right now, so I’ll have to be happy with the Kurt Jaguar and jagstang for now 😭
I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was using both together. The Mesa has that "thrust" that I associate with Nirvana's choruses, but the fender tone just sounds so spot on too.
I think Mesa Boogie better for Bleach era, and fender twin reverb for nevermind and in utero era
I'm love you sound tone and you videos:)
great video, it was interesting to compare!
twin reverb somehow wheezes a lot. is it his feature? I tried to wind up the sound of the Bleach in Amplitube, even with different speakers, but it turned out the same.
It seems to be a blackface twin thing. I own a silverface quad that I'll compare in a future video, but it doesn't do that wheeze sound.
did you use the eq sliders on the mesa?
I had a Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ and I never could bond with it. Twin Reverb wins for me.
I think the Fender sounds better clean, then the transition to distortion is not smooth or even. The Mesa transitions better, resulting in the volume maintaining an even quality. I think that makes the Mesa a better pick for this demonstration. Otherwise I think the Fender generally sounds more dynamic.
I agree, thanks for the comment!
I like the fender one more. When your amp hast a nice clean sound, then you can do what ever you want. It depends also on a lot other things like pedals, pick ups and so on how the the distortion is handling. I think over all you can do more with the fender amp.
You should try about a girl on an SSS Strat bridge pickup maxed out tone, it sounds great and very similar to the actually version)
The Studio 22 is very different from the Studio Pre that Kurt used live. The latter is basically the preamp section of the Mark III.
Very interesting. I must say that the Mesa sounded best in most scenarios.
Bleach with Univox: Mesa wins by a mile
Nevermind w Jag: Slight advantage for Mesa
In Utero w Mustang: Equally good or maybe 1 point more for the twin (10/10 vs 9/10)
That would be my personal opinion.
Awesome video, I would like to see more of those especially with the Quad
I believe that most of us agree.
The twin going into a 4x12 is a tone i didn't know i needed
Kurt used a rental Twin during Unplugged, rented from SIR New York, he did not use his 1982 Twin.
Great comparison man! I can’t decide which one I prefer haha. I have a boss nextone artist which I really like and I find it gets a decent nirvana tone especially with my mustang which has a hot rail in the bridge and pedals. Love your content btw 😊
Believe it or not, the clean channel of the Mesa Mark series is that same exact circuit as a blackface fender. The only difference is the addition of the EQ.
What pedal(s) did you use for this comparison?
I have a 1970’s twin reverb and I reaaallly want to get that sweet Nirvana tone
SansAmp classic for In Utero, DS1 for everything else
Clean Heart shaped box on the mesa sounded EXACTLY like the studio! I gotta get one of those.
Hi..Whats the year of the mesa boogie amp and fender amp ? Thanks
When heartshaped box began on the mesa amo I thought I was listening to the isolated track
idk looking back i feel like you have used the twin better. I think it's also about how you use it
How so? They were using the same settings
I think the Mesa sounds the best like you said it handles distortion well and imo had a good clean sound ether way good job comparing both of them.
Fender has good cleans, but I like the characteristic tone of distorted Mesa
Do you still plan on comparing the 22 plus and regular studio preamp? I'm stuck between the 2 right now.
I don't have a studio pre anymore, I sold it because the .22 sounds exactly the same when plugged into a cab
@@jq.guitars Also out of curiosity do you use this amp more than your quad? I also have a chance to get one for less than 1k but the mesa I think is the go to
@@williamcoolhat5438 I actually use my JCM900 more than anything. But, Quad is after JCM, then Mesa.
Kurt Cobain is worth tone chasing. Thanks
I own a fender blues deluxe and what I got out of it was kinda good I kinda recommend it but it depends
What I took from this video is that I really like the way you cover Nirvana.
What drive pedals did you use?
I have special request , plz i want a video of you playing RFUS Live and Loud version
I am going to make an entire Live and Loud video soon
I am thinking on the mesa Boogie
do you feel mesa clean sounds like more compress than fender?
Nevermind eh...I didn't think I could like the 22+ anymore but, I just did a little 🤷♂️😊
Extremely well done.
Even though I'm a shred, sweep and instrumentalist/metal player, the attitudes and life within the amps and pedals themselves was more than apparent. It makes more sense to use solid state for the punk/grunge genre for a few reasons, but in the video we can hear why many don't.
You could have played just about any guitar without severely straying away from those tones and textures, but you definitely could not have used modelers and the wrong pedals.
Great comparison! Did you use DS-2 pedal when it's distorted??
Good job mate!
I go with the twin reverb all day
This was probably pointed out already but if not, Kurt used a rack Boogie, so the speaker in the combo is irrelevant, because he didn't have a combo, and the speaker makes up the bulk of the tone.
He did have the combo also. Check out the Off The Record show. I also compared this amp through a Marshall 4x12 in this video
@@jq.guitars Oh interesting! Thanks! Do you know if he left the stock speaker in it?
@@jsullivan2112 Probably, there isn't any documentation of Kurt ever changing stock speakers out of any amp.
Love your dedication to Kurt’s tone!! Wanna do this with Green Day!
The Mesa sounds better and it is a great amp punches way above its weight class i will say a deluxe reverb is more similar to the mesa in terms of wattage and it only has one speaker so maybe that ,might be kind of a blend of both especially since the deluxe is known for having better dirty tones than the twin? Also the twin really nails that bleach tone
Mesa is winner! Great video
I’ve been trying to find a fender quad reverb here in the UK…may as well be looking for pixie farts
It all depends on the speakers and other little things. It's no surprise that Cobain used Twin to record Bleach. But in your case, Mesa sounds better due to a lot of different things
I compared both amps through the exact same speaker and cabinet with the same settings in this video, and they sound pretty different
@@jq.guitars Definitely. I'm not just talking about speakers but it depends on electronics and power tubes too. For example, I had an old twin silverface from the 70s and almost every month it sounded different, so I had to constantly repair it and change electronics inside🥲
It seems to me that Fender is more suitable for clean parts, and Mesa is more suitable for dirty ones. Mesa is suitable for Bleach, and Fender is suitable for Nevermind and In Utero.
Tbh there's something that makes them better han each other, I can't tell what is it but twin reverb sounds better to my ears tho
Mesa Boogie for sure
Check out Aaron Rash if you haven't already. He pretty much got Kurt's sound to an amazing detail!!
He's been my friend before he even started making videos
i like to boogie
How come no one ever talks about the Fender Princeton or 57' Champ instead of the Twin Reverb?
Maybe because Kurt used the Twin, and not those other amps. I have heard a bit about the Princeton being used in numerous studios, I'm interested in getting one one of these days.
You want a good Nirvana tone?, you have to run both, Fender for the cleans and the mesa/boogie for the dirty = Heaven, or what's the other word?
This video is for people who are deciding on one amp or the other
For sure, eyeing a Studio .22+ at the moment myself, would be very interesting to hear the comparison between the Studio Preamp and the Studio .22+
I had both, they sound the exact same. Matter of fact, I sold my studio pre because of that. The .22+ is just a combo version, so it's a better value to just use the .22+ into a cab
what is the first riff in the intro
if its something the creator wrote what are the chords
I wonder how the amps sound not going through the Marshall. I think the Mesa sounds better, but maybe not without the Marshall cabinet
they aren't going through the marshall for the entire video besides the segment labelled "through the 4x12"
Ty. Missed that. Awesome video and great wrk!
I was looking at a mesa without EQ. Do you think I'll still get that nirvana sound?
Your channel has been a big help! Ty
@@tomjoad8939IMO go for the graphic EQ version if you can, way more versatile. I own one of these and never have the Graphic EQ off, just sounds so much flatter without it.
do think the mesa boogie 5 band graphic EQ pedal would work?
I just watchin how you doin that 😉
Does seem a bit funny fixating on Nirvana’s tone when he once just plugged his cheap dist. pedal into the desk.
That cheap pedal was aunivox super fuzz they go for a lot nowadays
What is the intro song?
It's just a riff I came up with
@@jq.guitars sounds awesome, is the tuning e flat?
@@yaroslavgolub9475 Thanks! It is in E flat
which song it is at 11.30 ?
Own original riff
@@jq.guitars REALLY COZ I HAVE HEARD IT 15 YRS BACK...SO I JUST WANNA KNOW THE SONG... :)
@Namanable I must've came up with a riff that sounds like an existing song. Not sure what the song you're referring to is though.
I feel like mesa is live tone and the twin is studio tone
The answer is the fender bassman
Mesa all the way
Basically any amp taken within an inch of its life, is the best Nirvana amp.. lol. Besides, should it really not be 'Solid State' for 'Punk'...🧷🤔😊
The Mesa wins with the distortion. No contest.
Mesa sounds muffled. Twin sounds great
me using randall rg100
He only used that mesa boogie amp once
It was apparently used in the studio as well
@@jq.guitars Never was. He used a mesa boogie preamp but never a combo. He used a quad reverb with 1 power tube on in utero and this is coming from a Steve albini interview
@@jaxcyl1-t4b I knew about the quad thing
@@jq.guitars Yeah. He used a mesa preamp for most of his after bleach career, (and courtney took Kurt's rig for hole after he died) He used a twin on unplugged also, and a plethora of amps that belonged to butch vig on nevermind
@@jaxcyl1-t4b Actually a good number of those Nevermind studio amps were rentals. The Vox AC30 and Bassman weren't Vigs, but were rented.
It's pronounced "may-suh" not "messa".
Smells:(
Definitely going to look for a mesa boogie 🧎🏽♂️