To each his own. I've had Two Rock CRS 50 for a few weeks and am thrilled with this amplifier. Now I have bought myself a Silver Sterling. A Two Rock Family and a Tone King Sky King. Now I have everything I need.
Really enjoyed the comparison. I was looking for something more fender twinish or black face. I just purchased the Fillmore 100 head and 2 * 12 cab. I played the 50 w amplifier and really loved how it sounds. It's good enough for what I want to do with it. But that two rock really did sound awesome. Thanks for the comparison
I've been thinking of sending my DRRI down the road for one of the Fillmore amps and your vids have done a lot to push me closer to that decision. Thanks!
James, just recently ran across your channel. I really enjoy your work! Thanks for the comparison today. I’ve had my eye on both of these amps but haven’t had the opportunity to try a Two Rock yet. I will say that the Fillmore is very good bang for the buck. Keep up the good work!
I have the TR Classic Reverb and among several other amps I own is the desert amp for me I never have enough of playing it, sure to enjoy it you need an attenuator but the tone you get from that amp are IMHO unmatched !
Liked and Sub'd! Really enjoyed your video. I am looking at getting the Fillmore 50, as a home player I can not justify the cost of the Two Rock. Thanks for your comparison and sharing your experience!
James, thanks for this. I love the way you go in depth with your reviews/demos and show real use scenarios with different guitars and pedals. Very helpful! Which cab are you running these through? Im gearing up to get a Fillmore 25 head and am spinning around which cab to get. I really dig the tone you got here; sorry if I missed it in the video if you said. Thanks!
I never thought i would say that but i like more the fillmore for the clean and the pedals, the two rock reigns with the breakdown sound and the gain channel. great comparison! Many other comparisons i've seen never talk about pedals with amps.
Yeah i’m always curious how amps interact with pedals, and I might do more on this in other videos. Yeah, it is great what mesa Have managed to do with this amp 👍🏼
Great video and comparison but I'll hang on to my Two-Rock Bloomfield for now. The background music while you're talking is distracting but the content is awesome
Great video man. Both are great amps, and they certainly have different voicings. I can see how one would fan boy over the very nice Two Rocks, but thy are both great, just different. Two rocks mids heavy, and when you where pushing it with humbuckers, I felt the Fillmore sounded better. On a strat, definitely Two rock sounded better. I would have love to hear a Mesa California Tweed in this mix, I think the tweed tone would give the TC a good run for its money
Thank you for doing the review dude. It was fantastic. I thought the Mesa had a more traditional fender clean rather than the more mid pushed Two Rock. The edge of break up is comparable though still different. The Two Rock is still worth the money over the Mesa for me. The Mesa is a tool, like a good car gets you from A to B. The Two Rock is a mustang with the top down at sunset driving the Pacific high way. It’s heart and soul.
I have the Filmore 50 and absolutely love it. I definitely like the Two Rock in this demo but knowing what the Filmore 50 is capable of, I doubt I'd go for the Two Rock.
Good video. Not everyone can really a/b these two amps. I feel that Boogie does a more traditional clean sound if that's your bag. And the Two Rock seems to have a low-mid chirp that I like once driven a bit. The Boogie is kind of still in that the Fender Tradition like a driven Blackface.
A $1500 amp that sounds that good is a great amp. A two rock you expect to be great and pay every penny for it! I think sometimes a good compromise isn’t really one at all, the mesa is my choice every time. I can get to work in a Ford or a Ferrari. The main thing is the work! Of course we know the Two rocks are great also!
I see what you’re saying but the two rock is about 4x the Mesa price and the ferrari could be 15-50x the Ford, and secondly, i can’t take the ferrari to its potential but I can with the two rock! So i agree on the ferrari front 😃😂
I love my Fillmore 50 combo. And I agree with you - I run one channel in the purest clean tone, and the other dialed in on the Drive channel, which gives me a perfect range of crunch to snarl. But producing absolutely ideal clean tones, at any volume, from whispers to moving vast volumes of air, is what (to me) the Fillmore does best. Thanks for another great video!
Great video! I have to say, I was surprised that the Mesa Boogie tone impressed me over the Two Rock. The Mesa Boogie clean tone was clearer and more "forward" to my ears. I typically measure an amp by its clean tone because if I want to drive it, I'll rely on pedals rather than the drive features on the amp itself. Even if the price was the same, I would lean toward the tone of the Mesa Boogie. Sure, the Two Rock has more tweakable features but I doubt I would use them while performing. And the weight difference is a factor favoring the Mesa Boogie. So, my preference is the Mesa Boogie which I never expected when a Two Rock amp is in the mix!
The Filmore 50 arguably a better comparison? FET (Field Effect Transistor) input stage as used by Dumble and some early MESA MK series amps. Great video review - thanks.
Fillmore for me. Especially on cleans, it felt like a huge improvement coming from the TR. It's a different voicing and matter of taste of course, but TR is too much of a blues amp for me.
I had a Two Rock Jet a few years ago and ended swapping it for a Mesa 5:25. I have to say, the Mesa is the better amp for me by quite a long way. The Two Rock was really an all or nothing amp… but when it was on…. It was on!!
Hi James, another great video, nice one. The Mesa is fantastic for sure (I have a Triple Crown myself) but that Two Rock is other-worldly. Dripping with tone, hugely flexible and sounds like it takes pedals wonderfully. One day....
Thanks for this! I would have loved to see if you could EQ the boogie to meet close to the two rock as an additional thought. Your settings are substantially different in your clean and crunch than is recommended in the Fillmore manual. Appreciate this great content, awesome playing!
Ah yes, sorry, i just went by my ears rather than the manual (what manual?🤣). But yeah that is a good idea, i’ll try to incorporate into a future video 👍🏼
Thanks. You know, it is not the strongest at low volume tbh. I think i said in the last video, when comparing it to the morgan, the morgan is better at low volume 👍🏼
Have you checked out the California Tweed? Also, do you want a single channel so that it would be cheaper? I think the 2nd channel would be a great tool, even if you were just using it as a solo boost.
Boogie…..yes please I’ve got a mark V 25 I dial in whatever I want high gane probably leaves the two rock in the dust…lol And it’s even lighter than the boogie your testing…. Great video
So we are forgetting that for each amp there is a certain speaker voiced for each amp so there's that..the Fillmore uses the black shadow C90 by celestion not sure about that TR..that does make a big difference. Not a totally fair comparison but you can buy 3 Mesa amp heads of different styles for 1 Two Rock..its a no brainer for me here..also it should have been the Fillmore 50 used against the TR not the 25
Fillmore reverb had a very studio-esque Black Keys vibe, whilst the Two Rock just had a magical "perfect room live environment" sound. The reverb has to be one of the reasons the Two Rock is sooo heavy. Your viewers are very nice haha. I seriously thought you'd catch more flack for not running them at the closer wattage settings or getting a closer db reading. I honestly liked the humbuckers through the Fillmore. A true service to the community would be to open the Fillmore up with a very pushed and opened clean sound then with a dumble style pedal infront of it to see if you could approximate your favorite setting on the Two Rock sans pedals. You could segment the video into the different pedals then have one where there are two or more dumble pedals stacked and maybe throw a vertex boost in for some punch. You could also divi it up into to trying to match the diffeent sounds on the Two Rock. That would be a longer, more in depth video, and honestly be harder to shoot, but maybe try to match a very good clean sample that you use for jamming and three overdriven sound of the Two Rock and try to match those. Go into it with the mindset that you're trying to sell gigging musicians on a Fillmore w/ pedals instead of lugging their Two Rock around. This video kind of just read like "the Two Rock is totally better and worth the money, but the Fillmore is no slouch". I feel everyone watching this should already know that haha. You and I have a very similar collection of gear so I wanted to suggest to you to check out an Eric Johnson Strat. Thats the first electric guitar I ever bought, and it's just proven its greatness every time I buy a higher end and more expensive guitar. I've always liked the EJ strat but always lusted after other guitars. Every time I purchase one of those other guitars and the better I get as a player the EJ strat just proves that it's far better than I originally gave it credit for. 3 add roles... maybe 4 or else your gonna lose the serious guys that you actually want to subscribe to your channel. My best suggestion would be that if you could use examples from "Five Watt World" and "Ask Zac" a a channel but continuing with your own style. Best of luck!
Nothing you’ve said is totally wrong, although i think i offered something up in the video for people who really don’t know which to buy. And yeah, i knew my thoughts regarding what i would choose etc. It is really hard balancing completionism with being too niche on youtube. I’ve tried all sorts of ways of doing it and so far this video has the highest watch time average and most views in its first day, so who knows, there is no science to it! I am developing my own style and way of doing things and it won’t suit everyone, but we are lucky to have many great youtubers in the guitar space and maybe one day i will have developed my own way to do it too 👍🏼 i think one youtube video cannot do it all, regarding the points you bring up, because people just switch off in the end 🤷🏽 Also about the watts thing - it could go either way really, because if i had gone lower in watts then people might say what’s the point in that, seeing as how you would be quite likely to use the higher setting a lot of the time. I am learning just to go with my guy and pick a way to do things rather than try to cover absolutely everything 👍🏼 cheers
@@JamesOnGuitar Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure how my comment came across to you, but I wasn't criticizing (well only the adds... which is totally your choice). I was literally surprised that people weren't bitching, not implying you did anything wrong. People seem to only bitch on youtube and I saw all the different possible variables of this head to head and said to myself "there's gonna be angst in the comments". So you really do have a genuinely nice group watching your videos. The rest was just a suggestion for you if you saw fit to use it for a future video. I can see more people viewing a video meant to show gigging musicians how to use a readily available amp to achieve similar tone and feel as that of the Two Rock/High end D-Style amps so it would probably boost your channel. That and a possible video comparing a Two Rock with a VHT 50? Food for thought. Thanks again for the video and for reaching out
The Two Rock is heavy because it's basically just the 100 watter with 6v6 tubes, while the Mesa was built to be a 25 watt amp. Reverb tanks only way a pound or so. By comparison, the 100 watt Fillmore is an inconsequential 2 pounds lighter than the Two Rock.
@@mechmat12345 I realize all of their differences, though I believe that was the 40 watt version Two Rock... I honestly don't remember. Spring reverb tanks can weigh more than that, but mainly I was referring to the extra cabinet dimensions involved in fitting in a spring reverb vs. the Mesa's digital reverb. I realize that this is not the only contributing factor involved in the 2 amps weight differences. I've personally never had the pleasure to deal furst hand with any if the Fillmore amps but they look to be light. Two Rock uses a thicker plywood, and their chassis are fairly big, as well as the TR has more glass in it. As well as the difference in transformers. Sorry, I misread your comment about it being the 100 watter with 6v6 tubes! I've heard the new Silver Sterling 150w head is around 55 pounds
hey man, ...this was cool. ...do you remember what speaker/cab you used? not sure if mentioned it. i know how important a speaker is, always looked. LOL cheers
For me your initial clean comparison highlights what the more expensive hand wired amps are all about. If you don’t think the CRS sounds fantastic and feels fantastic, then you might as well save a huge amount of money and go for something cheaper. Let’s face it most other amps are cheaper by comparison 😊 The TwoRock is like high end HiFi looking to deliver all the nuances you could wish for, while delivering them in the most organic/natural way possible. Nothing brittle in the right setup and right hands. But like silly money HiFi, if you personally don’t hear and feel something special, then you save a fortune and walk on by 🙂 Thanks for another great video James. After we exchanged e-mails, I talked to Peach and more dealers in the US. Then went for the 100/50 CRS in British Racing Green Tolex with cane grill cloth and matching 2x12 cab. It was 35% cheaper for me than in the UK so I couldn’t ignore that for the tone in my head. Now for the long wait on the build... Cheers from Portland, OR🍻
@@JamesOnGuitar I'd let you borrow mine but I'm in the US. Trying to decide if it's worth it to upgrade to the Bloomfield or crs. And NO ONE has done a Shootout of the studio sig vs the big iron
Good question - as far as having some type of Fender sound and then sort of hot rodded/modded then yes I guess you could say that... one day I'll try a real Dumble (yeah, right) and then be able to answer these ones better!
So what your saying is your left chasing the dragon. It's OK we all know it's a real creature and it has to be possible to cage it up in the right amp or that old 60's something guitar. We hear and swear we have seen the dragon. Almost had him but if we could only just change these pickup or rewind them just perfectly we could have that magical mystical creature be our own. I'm not sure if it's because of that Zeppelin album or It was the way the girls looked at John Mayer wielding a Strat. We just have to chase that dragon and keep believing it can be our very own...
I think the Two Rock all around has so many different sound set ups. The Fillmore is still not a bad amp but just not the same. I have almost had my Two Rock for about a year and it's just awesome 😎 It's also pedal friendly
@@JamesOnGuitar Thanks for your reply! I'm about to put a deposit down for a CSR 100w and a 4x10 at Humbucker Music. The wait is long - about a year. Is the CSR better than a Fender Deluxe reverb (more specifically the handwired 64 model)?
Yeah but the reason why this comparison doesn’t really apply to real world gigging is the fact 100w two rock isn’t going to fall apart tonally on stage with just a moderately loud drummer like the 20w would in fact struggle during louder segments. Just one man’s opinion. Give me that fuckin two rock in any scenario
I stopped watching the comparisons at the two rock (its heavier more expensive and one channel) thank god they have John Mayer keeping them in business
I’m not overly impressed with the clean on the Fillmore compared to the Two Rock but you’re enthusiasm for Fillmore has definitely increased my interest. A basic technical question, as I’ve only ever had a single channel amp and pedals, can you use the rhythm and drive channels separately with a looper? I know the looper is supposed to come at the end of the chain but if you’re using amp drive, is that possible? Does it work if you place it in the effects loop?
Ben, the answer is ‘No’. The signal path is not physically wired that way. The concept is two sets of identical controls with switching between the control sets. I’ve tested the Fillmore and was reasonably impressed with the clean and crunchy gain structures, but not so much the hot. It’s pretty good bang for the buck. Like you, I’ve long since returned to single channel amps - Dr. Z for me. However, I think the Fillmore might be a worthwhile addition to my stable as a grab-and-go. I would personally recommend the Fillmore 50 as it uses 6L6 power tubes and has better headroom.
I would think if you put the looper in the effects loop that would work. I’ve done it before on my mesa mark v 35 and it worked. And that amp has 2 separate channels.
No amp is worth 5k+ USD! You could buy Fillmore & Morgan AC20, and still, have plenty of money to blow on whatever else you convinced yourself that you needed to sound good.
Ha ha, I’m about to watch the video, but I wonder if you know that these two amp companies are actually both based in Sonoma County California, literally just about a 10 minutes drive from each other🤣(PS I live in Petaluma lol)
@@JamesOnGuitar yeah, also I in same county as Voodoo Lab, Shubb, Mission Electronics and not too far from Dunlop/MXR/Ernie Ball headquarters as well! All just north of San Francisco…crazy
I cant describe it, but something about these "new" amps is lacking. When I hear JTM45, Fender Twin or other "heritage" amp, it sends shimmers down my spine. Some of the old idiosyncraties are making those amps magic. Chooseing from these two, again all odds, I will go with the Filmore.
Hey - i can’t fully disagree on that at all. But maybe, the players you grew up loving, played with those amps, and that connection is so strong. And they made music with those amps that connected so much with so many of us! And i think part of what the boutique amps do is make the sound a little cleaner, if that makes sense, and maybe that can remove some of the mojo. But what i find is the feeling of playing these new amps is so much better - in terms of dynamics and touch. Given the price difference, i think many would go with you! If i was buying again I would have bought the Fillmore first, and maybe not even tried the Two Rock yet 🤷🏽 cheers 🤟🏼
Damn the Fillmore sounds so much better - owners of two rock must be hating Mesa. That’s why they all over here posting how much better their Two Rock are.
I sold the mesa. In the room it couldn’t hang with the classic reverb really, especially once i got more into figuring out how to get the best out of the classic reverb. Mesa amazing for the money though
@@JamesOnGuitar If one we’re looking for a Two Rock in a small package, would the Fillmore 25 do the trick ? I am thinking clean/edge of breakup sound and clean low volume.Thanks
Hey all, subscribe (publicly) and comment to have a chance at winning a BB Preamp when I get to 2,500 subs!
Thanks
Bought a Fillmore 25 1x12 combo in February and am loving it.
For me, the Fillmore would be my choice. I love the sounds and responsiveness of this amp in your comparison.
To each his own. I've had Two Rock CRS 50 for a few weeks and am thrilled with this amplifier. Now I have bought myself a Silver Sterling. A Two Rock Family and a Tone King Sky King. Now I have everything I need.
Really enjoyed the comparison. I was looking for something more fender twinish or black face. I just purchased the Fillmore 100 head and 2 * 12 cab. I played the 50 w amplifier and really loved how it sounds. It's good enough for what I want to do with it. But that two rock really did sound awesome. Thanks for the comparison
I've been thinking of sending my DRRI down the road for one of the Fillmore amps and your vids have done a lot to push me closer to that decision. Thanks!
I think that could be a good move 👍🏼
James, just recently ran across your channel. I really enjoy your work!
Thanks for the comparison today. I’ve had my eye on both of these amps but haven’t had the opportunity to try a Two Rock yet. I will say that the Fillmore is very good bang for the buck.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you - much appreciated! Agree, the Fillmore is great at this price 👍🏼
That introduction was sick!!! Aesthetically pleasing af
I am just debating this exact purchase!! Thanks
Excellent - hope it helped 👍🏼
I have the TR Classic Reverb and among several other amps I own is the desert amp for me I never have enough of playing it, sure to enjoy it you need an attenuator but the tone you get from that amp are IMHO unmatched !
Ooo desert island amp and guitar setup, that’s a good idea for a video! 👍🏼
Great video. I think the Fillmore sounded better all around, especially the breakup. Great to know I don’t need to spend thousands more on a TR.
Liked and Sub'd! Really enjoyed your video. I am looking at getting the Fillmore 50, as a home player I can not justify the cost of the Two Rock. Thanks for your comparison and sharing your experience!
Very informative video.
I like the way you present and describe the gear you are reviewing.
thank you!
Awesome content!!! I liked the Two Rock for the cleans and the Boogie for the edge of breakup/overdrives.
James, thanks for this. I love the way you go in depth with your reviews/demos and show real use scenarios with different guitars and pedals. Very helpful! Which cab are you running these through? Im gearing up to get a Fillmore 25 head and am spinning around which cab to get. I really dig the tone you got here; sorry if I missed it in the video if you said. Thanks!
I never thought i would say that but i like more the fillmore for the clean and the pedals, the two rock reigns with the breakdown sound and the gain channel. great comparison! Many other comparisons i've seen never talk about pedals with amps.
Yeah i’m always curious how amps interact with pedals, and I might do more on
this in other videos. Yeah, it is great what mesa
Have managed to do with this amp 👍🏼
Great video and comparison but I'll hang on to my Two-Rock Bloomfield for now. The background music while you're talking is distracting but the content is awesome
Great video man. Both are great amps, and they certainly have different voicings. I can see how one would fan boy over the very nice Two Rocks, but thy are both great, just different. Two rocks mids heavy, and when you where pushing it with humbuckers, I felt the Fillmore sounded better. On a strat, definitely Two rock sounded better. I would have love to hear a Mesa California Tweed in this mix, I think the tweed tone would give the TC a good run for its money
yeah, I have a Fillmore 100 and I stay off the high gain setting. The clean and drive modes are really nice.
Thank you for doing the review dude. It was fantastic. I thought the Mesa had a more traditional fender clean rather than the more mid pushed Two Rock. The edge of break up is comparable though still different. The Two Rock is still worth the money over the Mesa for me. The Mesa is a tool, like a good car gets you from A to B. The Two Rock is a mustang with the top down at sunset driving the Pacific high way. It’s heart and soul.
No prob! I think you just summarised that really well 👍🏼👍🏼
pedalheads will still say their bluesbreaker copy and hot rod deluxe will sound better than a two rock for 1/10th of the money
I have the Filmore 50 and absolutely love it. I definitely like the Two Rock in this demo but knowing what the Filmore 50 is capable of, I doubt I'd go for the Two Rock.
Good video. Not everyone can really a/b these two amps. I feel that Boogie does a more traditional clean sound if that's your bag. And the Two Rock seems to have a low-mid chirp that I like once driven a bit. The Boogie is kind of still in that the Fender Tradition like a driven Blackface.
A $1500 amp that sounds that good is a great amp. A two rock you expect to be great and pay every penny for it! I think sometimes a good compromise isn’t really one at all, the mesa is my choice every time. I can get to work in a Ford or a Ferrari. The main thing is the work! Of course we know the Two rocks are great also!
I see what you’re saying but the two rock is about 4x the Mesa price and the ferrari could be 15-50x the Ford, and secondly, i can’t take the ferrari to its potential but I can with the two rock! So i agree on the ferrari front 😃😂
I love my Fillmore 50 combo. And I agree with you - I run one channel in the purest clean tone, and the other dialed in on the Drive channel, which gives me a perfect range of crunch to snarl. But producing absolutely ideal clean tones, at any volume, from whispers to moving vast volumes of air, is what (to me) the Fillmore does best. Thanks for another great video!
Cheers, it really is such a great solution for that exact scenario 👍🏼
Great video! I have to say, I was surprised that the Mesa Boogie tone impressed me over the Two Rock. The Mesa Boogie clean tone was clearer and more "forward" to my ears. I typically measure an amp by its clean tone because if I want to drive it, I'll rely on pedals rather than the drive features on the amp itself. Even if the price was the same, I would lean toward the tone of the Mesa Boogie. Sure, the Two Rock has more tweakable features but I doubt I would use them while performing. And the weight difference is a factor favoring the Mesa Boogie. So, my preference is the Mesa Boogie which I never expected when a Two Rock amp is in the mix!
Yup, it sounds much better. So many embarrassed here for spending $5,000 on a Two Rock amp.
Nice channel. I love the Mesa. Great little amp.
The Filmore 50 arguably a better comparison? FET (Field Effect Transistor) input stage as used by Dumble and some early MESA MK series amps. Great video review - thanks.
I’m a mesa guy and the 2 rock clean wise blew it away
Never liked the breakup sounds on a Two Rock. Love the cleans though
Fillmore for me. Especially on cleans, it felt like a huge improvement coming from the TR. It's a different voicing and matter of taste of course, but TR is too much of a blues amp for me.
I had a Two Rock Jet a few years ago and ended swapping it for a Mesa 5:25.
I have to say, the Mesa is the better amp for me by quite a long way. The Two Rock was really an all or nothing amp… but when it was on…. It was on!!
Mesa make amazing amps, two rock do as well and i think they probably form a venn diagram! Cheers
@@JamesOnGuitar hah! Diggory would agree!
Hi James, another great video, nice one. The Mesa is fantastic for sure (I have a Triple Crown myself) but that Two Rock is other-worldly. Dripping with tone, hugely flexible and sounds like it takes pedals wonderfully. One day....
😁👍🏼
That intro edit was awesome
Thanks for this! I would have loved to see if you could EQ the boogie to meet close to the two rock as an additional thought. Your settings are substantially different in your clean and crunch than is recommended in the Fillmore manual. Appreciate this great content, awesome playing!
Ah yes, sorry, i just went by my ears rather than the manual (what manual?🤣). But yeah that is a good idea, i’ll try to incorporate into a future video 👍🏼
That tele! Now that's the tone!!!
Man, that guitar is just something special, i love it 🤟🏼 cheers
@@JamesOnGuitar Are the stock p/u's in the Tele .Beautiful tone .Exceptional .
@@warnistt yeah totally stock 🤟🏼
Great video and comparison. Thanks.
Thanks!
How's the Boogie at low volume?
Also have you sound proofed your studio?
Great video as always.
Thanks. You know, it is not the strongest at low volume tbh. I think i said in the last video, when comparing it to the morgan, the morgan is better at low volume 👍🏼
Considering the Morgan JS12 vs the Fillmore 50 I currently have a princeton reverb. Any suggestions? Thanks!! Great content!
I actually liked the Fillmore better. There was a harshness to the Two Rock’s treble when you started introducing breakup.
Thanks for the video! It would be sweet if Mesa made an amp that’s half of the Fillmore 25. Like, a single channel version. I’d get that yesterday!
Have you checked out the California Tweed? Also, do you want a single channel so that it would be cheaper? I think the 2nd channel would be a great tool, even if you were just using it as a solo boost.
I have the California tweed and it’s literally exactly that. It’s 40 watts but they make a 20 watt version. It’s an excellent amplifier.
@@friedkin71 oh I haven’t seem that one yet! I’ll check it oht
Boogie…..yes please I’ve got a mark V 25 I dial in whatever I want high gane probably leaves the two rock in the dust…lol And it’s even lighter than the boogie your testing…. Great video
So we are forgetting that for each amp there is a certain speaker voiced for each amp so there's that..the Fillmore uses the black shadow C90 by celestion not sure about that TR..that does make a big difference. Not a totally fair comparison but you can buy 3 Mesa amp heads of different styles for 1 Two Rock..its a no brainer for me here..also it should have been the Fillmore 50 used against the TR not the 25
Great review James, both sound amazing, but I would go for the Morgan 🤘🏽
A great choice 👍🏼
Interesting comparison. Thanks. Did you use the respective cabs from each manufacturer or the same one? Apologies if you said this, I missed it.
No worries - it was all through the Two Rock cab 👍🏼
Two Rock for me all around.
Fillmore reverb had a very studio-esque Black Keys vibe, whilst the Two Rock just had a magical "perfect room live environment" sound. The reverb has to be one of the reasons the Two Rock is sooo heavy. Your viewers are very nice haha. I seriously thought you'd catch more flack for not running them at the closer wattage settings or getting a closer db reading. I honestly liked the humbuckers through the Fillmore. A true service to the community would be to open the Fillmore up with a very pushed and opened clean sound then with a dumble style pedal infront of it to see if you could approximate your favorite setting on the Two Rock sans pedals. You could segment the video into the different pedals then have one where there are two or more dumble pedals stacked and maybe throw a vertex boost in for some punch. You could also divi it up into to trying to match the diffeent sounds on the Two Rock. That would be a longer, more in depth video, and honestly be harder to shoot, but maybe try to match a very good clean sample that you use for jamming and three overdriven sound of the Two Rock and try to match those. Go into it with the mindset that you're trying to sell gigging musicians on a Fillmore w/ pedals instead of lugging their Two Rock around. This video kind of just read like "the Two Rock is totally better and worth the money, but the Fillmore is no slouch". I feel everyone watching this should already know that haha. You and I have a very similar collection of gear so I wanted to suggest to you to check out an Eric Johnson Strat. Thats the first electric guitar I ever bought, and it's just proven its greatness every time I buy a higher end and more expensive guitar. I've always liked the EJ strat but always lusted after other guitars. Every time I purchase one of those other guitars and the better I get as a player the EJ strat just proves that it's far better than I originally gave it credit for. 3 add roles... maybe 4 or else your gonna lose the serious guys that you actually want to subscribe to your channel. My best suggestion would be that if you could use examples from "Five Watt World" and "Ask Zac" a a channel but continuing with your own style. Best of luck!
Nothing you’ve said is totally wrong, although i think i offered something up in the video for people who really don’t know which to buy. And yeah, i knew my thoughts regarding what i would choose etc. It is really hard balancing completionism with being too niche on youtube. I’ve tried all sorts of ways of doing it and so far this video has the highest watch time average and most views in its first day, so who knows, there is no science to it! I am developing my own style and way of doing things and it won’t suit everyone, but we are lucky to have many great youtubers in the guitar space and maybe one day i will have developed my own way to do it too 👍🏼 i think one youtube video cannot do it all, regarding the points you bring up, because people just switch off in the end 🤷🏽 Also about the watts thing - it could go either way really, because if i had gone lower in watts then people might say what’s the point in that, seeing as how you would be quite likely to use the higher setting a lot of the time. I am learning just to go with my guy and pick a way to do things rather than try to cover absolutely everything 👍🏼 cheers
@@JamesOnGuitar Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure how my comment came across to you, but I wasn't criticizing (well only the adds... which is totally your choice). I was literally surprised that people weren't bitching, not implying you did anything wrong. People seem to only bitch on youtube and I saw all the different possible variables of this head to head and said to myself "there's gonna be angst in the comments". So you really do have a genuinely nice group watching your videos. The rest was just a suggestion for you if you saw fit to use it for a future video. I can see more people viewing a video meant to show gigging musicians how to use a readily available amp to achieve similar tone and feel as that of the Two Rock/High end D-Style amps so it would probably boost your channel. That and a possible video comparing a Two Rock with a VHT 50? Food for thought. Thanks again for the video and for reaching out
The Two Rock is heavy because it's basically just the 100 watter with 6v6 tubes, while the Mesa was built to be a 25 watt amp. Reverb tanks only way a pound or so. By comparison, the 100 watt Fillmore is an inconsequential 2 pounds lighter than the Two Rock.
@@mechmat12345 I realize all of their differences, though I believe that was the 40 watt version Two Rock... I honestly don't remember. Spring reverb tanks can weigh more than that, but mainly I was referring to the extra cabinet dimensions involved in fitting in a spring reverb vs. the Mesa's digital reverb. I realize that this is not the only contributing factor involved in the 2 amps weight differences. I've personally never had the pleasure to deal furst hand with any if the Fillmore amps but they look to be light. Two Rock uses a thicker plywood, and their chassis are fairly big, as well as the TR has more glass in it. As well as the difference in transformers. Sorry, I misread your comment about it being the 100 watter with 6v6 tubes! I've heard the new Silver Sterling 150w head is around 55 pounds
@@michaeltyler1834 The Mesa has a long tank spring reverb in a tube buffered circuit. Read the manual.
You have the TwoRock far louder. Do it again but make the Fillmore louder than the Trock.
Subbed. Great content
The two rock sounds more low-fi to me. The Mesa sounds way more dynamic and articulate.
hey man,
...this was cool.
...do you remember what speaker/cab you used? not sure if mentioned it.
i know how important a speaker is, always looked. LOL
cheers
Hey, yup you are right! This was a 2x12 two rock cab with the two rock speakers in 👍🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar legend, cheers man
For me your initial clean comparison highlights what the more expensive hand wired amps are all about. If you don’t think the CRS sounds fantastic and feels fantastic, then you might as well save a huge amount of money and go for something cheaper. Let’s face it most other amps are cheaper by comparison 😊 The TwoRock is like high end HiFi looking to deliver all the nuances you could wish for, while delivering them in the most organic/natural way possible. Nothing brittle in the right setup and right hands. But like silly money HiFi, if you personally don’t hear and feel something special, then you save a fortune and walk on by 🙂 Thanks for another great video James. After we exchanged e-mails, I talked to Peach and more dealers in the US. Then went for the 100/50 CRS in British Racing Green Tolex with cane grill cloth and matching 2x12 cab. It was 35% cheaper for me than in the UK so I couldn’t ignore that for the tone in my head. Now for the long wait on the build... Cheers from Portland, OR🍻
Awesome! Yeah totally agree 👍🏼
I'll take a fillmore 25 and 3 guitars please over the two rock
great video bro, trough what speaker you run them?
This is the two rock 2x12
@@JamesOnGuitar amazing, the speakers in it are similar to the celestion heritage 65 right?
Any interest in getting a TR studio sig and comparing to the big two rocks?
I mean if I could borrow one I definitely would love to! I’ll see what I can do 🤔👍🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar I'd let you borrow mine but I'm in the US. Trying to decide if it's worth it to upgrade to the Bloomfield or crs. And NO ONE has done a Shootout of the studio sig vs the big iron
Nice job 👍
Cheers 👍🏼
Can you compare these to a Music man hd 130? $500-$800
Hi dude would you say the mesa boogie Fillmore is boogies take on dumble esk type amp ?
Good question - as far as having some type of Fender sound and then sort of hot rodded/modded then yes I guess you could say that... one day I'll try a real Dumble (yeah, right) and then be able to answer these ones better!
I came here looking for a clean head to my Marshall, and left with a new sub(and a lighter wallet).
So what your saying is your left chasing the dragon. It's OK we all know it's a real creature and it has to be possible to cage it up in the right amp or that old 60's something guitar. We hear and swear we have seen the dragon. Almost had him but if we could only just change these pickup or rewind them just perfectly we could have that magical mystical creature be our own. I'm not sure if it's because of that Zeppelin album or It was the way the girls looked at John Mayer wielding a Strat. We just have to chase that dragon and keep believing it can be our very own...
“Chasing the dragon” is a reference to smoking heroin. It’s not really about chasing a mythical creature. It just means having an addiction.
I tend to prefer the Mesa Boogie Fillmore.
I feel like a comparison with the Fillmore 50 would make more sense.
Maybe, maybe not. In this case both amps have 6v6 power tubes as opposed to the Fillmore 50 having 6L6. I’d say either way is fair
I think the Two Rock all around has so many different sound set ups. The Fillmore is still not a bad amp but just not the same. I have almost had my Two Rock for about a year and it's just awesome 😎 It's also pedal friendly
Yeah, it is worth the money imo 👍🏼
Great video... Loving the channel
Cheers 👍🏼
Do you think the Two Rock 2x12 cabinet would be stable on carpet or should I consider the 4x10? Would hate to see it tip over with my amp head on top.
It should be fine - it is large and quite heavy, so i’ve never been worried about it tipping. Although a 4x10 could be glorious!
@@JamesOnGuitar Thanks for your reply! I'm about to put a deposit down for a CSR 100w and a 4x10 at Humbucker Music. The wait is long - about a year. Is the CSR better than a Fender Deluxe reverb (more specifically the handwired 64 model)?
@@prettdboy nice one! Yup, much much better (well better is subjective... but it is just so good!). The wait is going to be... 😳 but so worth it!
@@JamesOnGuitar Good deal! Looks like I'm going to place my order. Thanks again!
I preferred the warmth and clarity of the clean Two-Rock, but I honestly dug the way the boogie breaks up more.
Good video
Thanks 👍🏼
Is the Two Rock more a transparent sound?
Yes, definitely as you use more gain on either the tr is more transparent 👍🏼
Two Rock has the ultimate Strat tones
Problem with tje Mesa is there is no reverb. To me, the Two Rock sounds so much clearer and I'm not knocking Mesa. They make great amps
The Mesa has a tube driven long tank spring reverb.
Yeah but the reason why this comparison doesn’t really apply to real world gigging is the fact 100w two rock isn’t going to fall apart tonally on stage with just a moderately loud drummer like the 20w would in fact struggle during louder segments. Just one man’s opinion. Give me that fuckin two rock in any scenario
The TR is 40 watts, not 100.
I stopped watching the comparisons at the two rock (its heavier more expensive and one channel) thank god they have John Mayer keeping them in business
I love Mesa amps!!! Don’t love their reverbs
Why are you comparing a 6V6 amp with a 6L6 one? A Fillmore 50 up against the TR would be more meaningful.
Did you watch the video? This is the 40/20 TR which is 6v6
I’m not overly impressed with the clean on the Fillmore compared to the Two Rock but you’re enthusiasm for Fillmore has definitely increased my interest. A basic technical question, as I’ve only ever had a single channel amp and pedals, can you use the rhythm and drive channels separately with a looper? I know the looper is supposed to come at the end of the chain but if you’re using amp drive, is that possible? Does it work if you place it in the effects loop?
Ben, the answer is ‘No’. The signal path is not physically wired that way. The concept is two sets of identical controls with switching between the control sets.
I’ve tested the Fillmore and was reasonably impressed with the clean and crunchy gain structures, but not so much the hot. It’s pretty good bang for the buck. Like you, I’ve long since returned to single channel amps - Dr. Z for me. However, I think the Fillmore might be a worthwhile addition to my stable as a grab-and-go. I would personally recommend the Fillmore 50 as it uses 6L6 power tubes and has better headroom.
@@jerryhorton5708 thanks for the information.
I would think if you put the looper in the effects loop that would work. I’ve done it before on my mesa mark v 35 and it worked. And that amp has 2 separate channels.
He changes the Pick up position to the middle for the Filmore Be careful when doing comparison I see a lot of guys do this as a habit.
I have a Mesa Lone Star and still curious about trying a Two Rock! Hard to come by in the shops to even try!
Yeah, you just have to have faith i think 🤣🤟🏼
The Fillmore is completely different tonally than the lonestar
The Boogie is holding its own with the 335 & Tele...
Two Rock?……….. Nope.
No amp is worth 5k+ USD! You could buy Fillmore & Morgan AC20, and still, have plenty of money to blow on whatever else you convinced yourself that you needed to sound good.
The P90s sound more like P90s through the Boogie for sure
Ha ha, I’m about to watch the video, but I wonder if you know that these two amp companies are actually both based in Sonoma County California, literally just about a 10 minutes drive from each other🤣(PS I live in Petaluma lol)
Knew they were in California, but not so close! 🤟🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar yeah, also I in same county as Voodoo Lab, Shubb, Mission Electronics and not too far from Dunlop/MXR/Ernie Ball headquarters as well! All just north of San Francisco…crazy
I cant describe it, but something about these "new" amps is lacking. When I hear JTM45, Fender Twin or other "heritage" amp, it sends shimmers down my spine. Some of the old idiosyncraties are making those amps magic.
Chooseing from these two, again all odds, I will go with the Filmore.
Hey - i can’t fully disagree on that at all. But maybe, the players you grew up loving, played with those amps, and that connection is so strong. And they made music with those amps that connected so much with so many of us! And i think part of what the boutique amps do is make the sound a little cleaner, if that makes sense, and maybe that can remove some of the mojo. But what i find is the feeling of playing these new amps is so much better - in terms of dynamics and touch.
Given the price difference, i think many would go with you! If i was buying again I would have bought the Fillmore first, and maybe not even tried the Two Rock yet 🤷🏽 cheers 🤟🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar and thats the beauty of guitar playing, there is something for all of us ;).
@@stanislavmigra absolutely!! 👍🏼
Well, now we know why the Two Rock costs 5 grain lol
Damn the Fillmore sounds so much better - owners of two rock must be hating Mesa. That’s why they all over here posting how much better their Two Rock are.
I sold the mesa. In the room it couldn’t hang with the classic reverb really, especially once i got more into figuring out how to get the best out of the classic reverb. Mesa amazing for the money though
@@JamesOnGuitar If one we’re looking for a Two Rock in a small package, would the Fillmore 25 do the trick ? I am thinking clean/edge of breakup sound and clean low volume.Thanks
This TR (EQ) setings are not good for anything. You Must lurn how to play with that amp. Two Rock wins all the way!!! Best regards
Mega boogie
The two rock is awesome man. But for the money the fillmore is great too. Just get both haha 😂😂
😁👍🏼
Why is the two rock box so big? It looks like it could fit 2x10 speakers in it,..lol.
Haha! Yeah it is large - it is the same size whether 40 or 100 watts and i think the reverb tank is large in it! 👍🏼
The Two Rock cleans are excellent, but I'd still have the Morgan. The Mesa does not do it for me, but that's just me.
Graeme, you and the morgan and the es355... you need that in your life! 👌🏽
The Two Rock sounded like a guitar plugged strait into a PA. Very bad!
the right one is a Friedman
Sorry Boogie. No comparison to my ears. Two Rock blows the doors off.
Two Rock just has no *magic* to my ears.
Just wait until that Mesa breaks.. And they all do!