Mesa Boogie's (Gibson) Future Without Randall Smith?

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  • Опубліковано 15 лис 2024

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  • @VertexEffectsInc
    @VertexEffectsInc  2 місяці тому +2

    00:00 - Intro
    00:48 - Today's topics
    03:07 - Topic 1: Mesa Boogie , Randall Smith, and our experiences with Mesa Boogie
    11:04 - What are the "Legacy Amps" with Mesa Boogie?
    12:34 - Quick recap on Mesa Boogie, Gibson, and Randall Smith
    16:09 - Our thoughts on the current situation
    25:18 - Mesa Boogie, make THIS amp!
    29:06 - Mason’s experience building a Mesa Boogie based rig
    32:48 - Grant's biggest gripe with Mesa
    39:19 - Topic 2 : Current State of Trade Shows i.e. Fretboard Summit
    44:25 - Let's talk fretboard summit
    46:27 - Fretboard Summit in comparison to NAMM
    50:29 - Brian on the Fretboard Summit
    51:12 - Brian's pet peeve with airlines
    53:22 - Mason's experience with NAMM
    58:32 - Mason's next pedalboard build
    59:16 - Topic 3 : Current state of used gear market
    1:01:59 - Grant on the used gear market
    1:04:23 - Brain on selling gear
    1:06:07 - Grant on how Goodwood used to offer the pedals for rig builds
    1:06:54 - Brian on having a hard time selling gear
    1:09:16 - Goodwood Long Line vs. Radial
    1:14:27 - Wrapping up today's episode

  • @glenprice2183
    @glenprice2183 2 місяці тому +2

    Hey y’all, I went for this first time this year to the Fretboard Summit as an avid hobbyist, i.e., not a vendor. As a listener to the Fretboard Journal podcast (which is definitely public), I can tell you that the host and Fretboard Journal publisher Jason Verlinde was very definitely publicly inviting anyone interested to come to the Summit. I had a great time, learned a lot, heard a lot of great music, saw and tried out some amazing instruments and pedals, participated in some awesome workshops, and met some wonderful people. For me, it was a great value. At every point in the day there was at least one thing going on that I was super interested in. Being able to walk around in very comfortable exhibitor spaces and try out boutique guitars, amps, and pedals was incredible icing on the cake. Occasionally some of the exhibitor spaces got crowded but that was much more the exception than the rule. I have already marked my calendar for next year’s summit (8/21-23/25). Thanks for your great podcast!

  • @WTC_2U
    @WTC_2U 2 місяці тому +2

    For what it's worth - I have two combo Lone Stars, one is a single 12, (serial number is something like 000012!) the other is a 2x12. Got them for decent prices, $900 and $1200. LOVE them. yeah their heavy (and I'm getting old!). I run them in stereo, just to annoy everybody around, but my ears. I love 'em.

  • @Theweeze100
    @Theweeze100 Місяць тому

    Went to the amigo Guitar show in Franklin Tennessee this year.
    Really enjoyed hanging with other guitarists… And saw lots of 10 and $20,000 guitars and basses.
    Enjoyed the fellowship, saw lots of old guys like me. Really hoping younger folks start taking up the instrument.

  • @ParFive
    @ParFive 2 місяці тому +3

    Much respect for Randall Smith. I have had 4 Boogies in my time. He needed a retirement plan, Gibson provided that. Gibson bought it to make money, and they need to make money. They both got what they needed. I wish only the best for both Randy, who I revere, and Gibson, a historically significant guitar company.

    • @timp.9582
      @timp.9582 2 місяці тому

      agree fully. i'd imagine Randall was offered the most money he'd ever seen, and saw an opportunity for an exit without having to look back.

    • @petesorensenguitar
      @petesorensenguitar Місяць тому

      ​@@timp.9582 Yup, it's pretty naive to think that Randall wanted to run Mesa Boogie until his demise - what else was he going to do?

  • @Spidouz
    @Spidouz 2 місяці тому +23

    It was a huge mistake to sell Mesa Boogie to Gibson…. Seriously, if they wanted to sell, they should have talk with PRS. Just like we will always associate a Les Paul with a Marshall amp, we can’t ignore that the whole ‘90s and ‘00s were all about PRS Custom 24 on a Mesa Boogie amp… for many it was THE sound to have. Also, PRS is a smaller brand that would fit better the Mesa Boogie philosophy…. Going with Gibson was for sure to end up like shit!

    • @allstopblue5717
      @allstopblue5717 2 місяці тому +2

      I’m quite sure they did their due diligence. Probably came down to money at the end of the day. I’m also kind of tired of the Gibson hate

    • @Spidouz
      @Spidouz 2 місяці тому

      At some point they deserve the hate because they did every single step to earn it. Gibson is an evil greedy corporation that makes shitty products… plain & simple; and instead of improving their quality, they will use all their money to sue anyone that makes better guitars. And now they’re gonna ruin Mesa Boogie… oh wait, they already did!

    • @PeeSocks14
      @PeeSocks14 2 місяці тому +1

      money. plain and simple.

    • @cjbmw4705
      @cjbmw4705 2 місяці тому +1

      While I agree, you said it. PRS is a smaller brand in comparison to the big G and probably couldn't afford to buy Mesa.

    • @louderthangod
      @louderthangod 2 місяці тому +4

      @@allstopblue5717As a Gibson guy, I’m kinda tired of Gibson consistently deserving the hate based on their own actions.

  • @fretboardjournal
    @fretboardjournal 2 місяці тому

    Thanks for mentioning our Fretboard Summit. I know I'm late to the game but I'll chime in on a couple of points:
    -This started out because I (Jason from the Fretboard Journal) wanted to throw a big festival for our magazine readers featuring our favorite brands, magazine / podcast subjects and industry legends. Over five Summits, it has snowballed beyond that because a) it's like no other guitar hang around and b) it's a rare chance to see a lot of these people outside of a NAMM show, if ever at all. As long as you're into the brands that we celebrate or the music that we book, you'll probably have a good time, but it's also definitely not for everyone.
    -This event is open to the public. If anyone just wants to shop for gear and meet some makers, tickets are just $20-25 for the day. You can even buy them at the door. We want luthiers, amps and pedal makers to sell stuff to customers, so the more, the merrier on that front. The more expensive all-access, three-day pass gives you full access to not only the gear exhibitors but also all the Summit concerts (there are multiple stages each night), hourly workshops/master classes, live podcast tapings and evening parties. Booking the eclectic kind of artists that we do (Blake Mills, Joe Henry, Colin Hay, and Adam Levy all played this year, among many others), making sure they get paid, and having small/intimate theaters means we have a strict limit on how many passes we can sell. We want everyone with an all-access pass to have a good seat at any show they want and that affects the pricing, too. Our main theater holds just 400. When you think of how much programming we have and how much a typical non-guitar industry conference costs (a lot more) I think it's a pretty good value. But, again, you can always guitar shop for $20 if that is all you care about. The full-pass is for the real fanatics who want to see the concerts, do the panel discussions, podcast tapings, etc...
    -I have no intention to replicate/replace NAMM. My original goal was actually to be the TED Talks of guitars...totally different. But we do have a lot of dealers attending now because they can actually talk with both their national customers and the brands they carry. And a lot of UA-camrs attend because there's a ton of content that can be made at the Summit. My only goal is for the typical attendee/guitar consumer to have the greatest weekend of their life and for the exhibitors to feel like they had value out of their weekend. Based on feedback from this year's event and all the UA-cam posts about it, I think we pulled it off.
    -Exhibiting: We don't have space for hundreds of brands like a NAMM does. But we did have an exhibitor application link up for most of 2024 until all of our slots sold out. I imagine we'll post it again in January and start the 2025 process again if our current exhibitors don't all renew.
    Between the magazine, the Summit, the podcasts, etc. I'm pretty easy to get ahold of if anyone has any other questions. Next Summit is Aug 21-23, 2025, same venue.

  • @nickm.9474
    @nickm.9474 2 місяці тому +1

    Love the wicker. And that red is covering and wicker is sick!!!

  • @Theweeze100
    @Theweeze100 Місяць тому

    Brother to Brother is off the scale, I had no idea about that Mesa!😊

  • @Spidouz
    @Spidouz 2 місяці тому +2

    The Mark V 90w is one of my favorite amp, we have one at the studio and I like so much I want to get one for home… I need to hurry up to get an old version before Gibson will ruin it, like they do with everything they touch…

    • @PeeSocks14
      @PeeSocks14 2 місяці тому

      Hurry up and get an old, out of production, used amp before the new company ruins said amp? How is Gibson going to ruin the mkV?

  • @joenosser
    @joenosser 2 місяці тому +2

    Lucky I have 3 Boogie amps one from the late 70's, one from the 90's and one fromthe 2010's. They are even more valuable now!

  • @wayfaerer320
    @wayfaerer320 2 місяці тому +3

    The Fillmore (in my opinion) is Mesa's new best amp in terms of pedal platforms. Amazing clean sound. Absolutely gorgeous.

    • @nicfabrizio1776
      @nicfabrizio1776 2 місяці тому +2

      Agreed

    • @timp.9582
      @timp.9582 2 місяці тому +3

      Mesa hit it out of the park with the Fillmore. Unloaded my Mark IV and got the 50w combo, never looked back.

    • @MitchMasterMusic
      @MitchMasterMusic 2 місяці тому +1

      4real mon

    • @wayfaerer320
      @wayfaerer320 2 місяці тому +2

      @@timp.9582 Nice! I'm contemplating getting a second Fillmore 50 combo so I can run them in stereo.

    • @timp.9582
      @timp.9582 2 місяці тому +1

      @@wayfaerer320 that's gonna sound glorious!! I sometimes run mine stereo with an old Rivera 55-12 (another great amp).

  • @MrDavemiley
    @MrDavemiley 2 місяці тому

    I had two Mesa Boogie amps. An MKII C Then later a.MK IV. These were my main amps for 10 years !

  • @RU-HDD-4-HVN
    @RU-HDD-4-HVN 2 місяці тому +2

    2 -112evm Mesa Boogie Mark III 90w simulclass, on top of 2-412evms stereo sweetness was a sustainer for days. I have many examples on my ch. Loved it to no end but my back couldn't keep up without side help. Spanky spanks, silky silks, crunchy crunch.

    • @timp.9582
      @timp.9582 2 місяці тому

      i can imagine how good that sounds

    • @RU-HDD-4-HVN
      @RU-HDD-4-HVN 2 місяці тому

      @@timp.9582 Listen to the left channel electric guitar (and both guitars as well, but the right channel is a Hughes and Kettner solid-state preamp ...very good too) on the song on my channel called "The Lock And The Key"...there ya go..... beautifully brutal sustains and silky silk lead tone. Mark III tones at their best!! Locked solid....

  • @samrobertson2067
    @samrobertson2067 2 місяці тому

    Lonestar is switchable between 50/100 watts and switchable on power tubes for all units. Always surprised they stopped making them.

  • @belowthesmile
    @belowthesmile 2 місяці тому +6

    Glad I bought my Boogie before Gibson absolutely destroys Randall Smiths legacy…. because they will. With Gibson it’s always profit over quality and screw the consumer. Rip MesaBoogie.

    • @gawentaylor6838
      @gawentaylor6838 2 місяці тому +1

      Equally never been impressed with Gibson's quality control...

  • @cellulosefdr
    @cellulosefdr Місяць тому

    I love my les paul or custom 24 thru my nomad 45....and my valley arts strat sounds good too...sometimes I hook it up to my marshall 1960A cab and it sounds better than the V30's

  • @jasondrummond1318
    @jasondrummond1318 Місяць тому

    The Recto is really a well rounded amp. It is a bit noisy, but has a lot of gain for metal and classi rock with head room... That said I have a dual, F with full FJA mods. The cleans are way better, but it's about how you dial them in that's odd. Oh I also have a nomad 100....

  • @ralphbenitez4407
    @ralphbenitez4407 2 місяці тому +1

    19:30 Every time a great smaller company sells to a larger Corporation, this happens. He should have seen this coming! They’ve made movies about it. They toss out the ex-owner and founder now consultant first chance they get. Look at what Gibson did to Steinberger. They could be capitalizing on the fact that headless guitars are big now and make some nice ones but instead they keep producing Asian made Spirits, and no mid level or higher models.

  • @scottoharamusic
    @scottoharamusic 2 місяці тому

    Gibson has form on this! In the 90s, long before protools, the best sequencing software on the market was Vision by Opcode. It was way better than Logic, cakewalk and cubase and was the first to add digital audio and become the first daw. In 1998 they released Vision DSP - the best version yet, and were acquired by Gibson. In 1999 all staff were let go, development and support ceased and it disappeared

  • @peevee605
    @peevee605 2 місяці тому +1

    Whisper to Synergy to make a Lonestar module.

  • @jamesprice6381
    @jamesprice6381 2 місяці тому

    Randall's a AMPLIFIER LEGEND darn shame what happened, but w/whats going on in this world, should we xpect anything different?

  • @xacttone
    @xacttone 2 місяці тому +1

    I did not have "The Nutty Professor" on my COTB bingo card.

  • @WTC_2U
    @WTC_2U 2 місяці тому

    Wicker controversy: I am ALL IN on the wicker grill cloth. I think the wood grain finish with wicker grill is beautifully classic. Just says Mesa Boogie to me.
    I'll pass on the snake skin, though.

  • @nedward5871
    @nedward5871 2 місяці тому

    Gibson's history of acquisitions speaks volumes. Under Henry J. Gibson went out and bought a lot of great companies - and gave them zero dollars to innovate or move forward. Opcode (leader in Audio MIDI sequencing), Baldwin, as well as all the Consumer electronics companies before they went bankrupt in 2018. With the debt load they most likely have, private equity is focused on paying down debt, and the least riskiest way to do that is to "play the hits" vs. trying new styles, amps, etc.

  • @phillippitts6294
    @phillippitts6294 2 місяці тому +3

    Gibson screws up everything they touch nowadays

  • @michel333100
    @michel333100 2 місяці тому

    I understand that you guys are just talking to have something to discuss. Let's just clarify a couple things. As far as Gibson guitars go, of course they will basically continue on reissuing their guitars, because honestly trying to reinvent the wheel, get serious. A well made guitar is a well made guitar. All the bells and whistles have been done to death on guitars. Same as guitar amps. Everything has been done to death with a minimum of knobs to a million knobs. Most of these amps today that are expensive are all the same pretty much. Some people will bullshit and argue that point to death but I have played lots of high quality amps and they are all pretty much the same. So my point is, if Gibson doesn't come up to Randall Smith's future ideals, who cares? He's retiring. Shit, he is old now. Nothing remains the same. So carrying on about Mesa is redundant . One last thought of mine is that I have a 1994 Mesa Tremoverb amp 100watts. I have had this amp repaired 4 times since I bought it years ago. As Lyle Caldwell from Psionic Audio has said on one of his videos about Mesa Tremoverbs , they are shite and a bad copy of a Soldano 100. The effects loop is completely wrong and is horrible. The Mesa are built like tanks but if one of these goes south, good luck trying to get it repaired. Their whole design is a spaghetti factory on the PC boards. Mine is still mint condition after all these years. I have play it much. Always thought the distortion sucks and channel cloning is no big deal. Give me Ceriatone any day. I have two of them. Easy to repair and way cheaper price and better quality and is ten times the amp that Mesa is.

  • @picktheblueone
    @picktheblueone 2 місяці тому

    Typically corporate acquisition idiocy- “oh we don’t need the talent behind the company we just bought- we know what we’re doing”…This will end badly.

  • @nickm.9474
    @nickm.9474 2 місяці тому +1

    Like they mentioned. The man is 78 years old. His whole plan was to stay on for a couple years and then retire from the company. Pioneer to stop speculating on matters they haven’t a clue about. Until a reliable source comes out yall just need to stop with the trash talk of Gibson. It really makes you look stupid. I’m not talking about the chairman. 😁

  • @dave_d_i_a_l
    @dave_d_i_a_l 2 місяці тому

    The America story though 🙌👏🔥👌

  • @stevespringer412
    @stevespringer412 2 місяці тому

    " this band America"......I had to chuckle a bit : )

    • @VertexEffectsInc
      @VertexEffectsInc  2 місяці тому

      @@stevespringer412 why?

    • @stevespringer412
      @stevespringer412 2 місяці тому

      @@VertexEffectsInc I thought they'd be more recognizable amongst the group there. Pretty big band in the 70s with multiple hits. Guess I'm just getting old : ). Love the content here Mason !

    • @VertexEffectsInc
      @VertexEffectsInc  2 місяці тому +2

      @@stevespringer412 I presumed, since I’m the oldest of the group that they may not know their work, and perhaps might be more familiar with the Janet Jackson sample of Ventura Highway.

  • @jeremeydonovan8286
    @jeremeydonovan8286 2 місяці тому

    Air Canada for the win

  • @jacobpittman1996
    @jacobpittman1996 2 місяці тому +1

    Fillmore

  • @81realtime
    @81realtime 2 місяці тому

    Mesa Triple Crown can do everything

  • @joemora5895
    @joemora5895 2 місяці тому

    Nickleback rules!

  • @No_idea_whatsoever
    @No_idea_whatsoever 2 місяці тому

    Everyone up in arms about gibson ruining it 😂 . Randall sold it to them probably for a impressively large amount of cash so technically he ruined it himself as he knew exactly what would happen and did it anyway.

  • @beeps123
    @beeps123 2 місяці тому +1

    It’s equivalent to selling a great American brand to 🇨🇳

  • @Starch1b2c3d4a
    @Starch1b2c3d4a 2 місяці тому +1

    If guys like Doug West, John Marshall, Mike B are still there, they are in good hands. Hopefully Randall can start his own new company like Leo Fender with Music Man... Gibson is a pretty pathetic company to sell to, but it is what it is.

    • @PeeSocks14
      @PeeSocks14 2 місяці тому

      Randall is like 80 years old, supposing a standard 10 year "no compete" clause in his contract I wouldn't hold out for his new company..

  • @inaktiveshooter
    @inaktiveshooter 2 місяці тому +1

    Imagine if "musicians" ever figured out economics.. But it would suck you.

  • @jacobpittman1996
    @jacobpittman1996 2 місяці тому

    Do you smell what The Rack is cookin’!!?

  • @ahabshell3571
    @ahabshell3571 2 місяці тому

    No, the Badlander is a Rectifier.

  • @allenstroo5414
    @allenstroo5414 2 місяці тому

    Randal WAS Mesa. The company will go to complete shit without him! Selling to Gibson was a huge mistake. I've used Mesa since 1983 starting with a MarkI combo. Currently own a MK5 and a Lonstar. Probably will never buy another one!

  • @stratplayer96
    @stratplayer96 2 місяці тому +1

    Gibson is going to ruin another once great company. It's what they do.

    • @No_idea_whatsoever
      @No_idea_whatsoever 2 місяці тому

      Technically Randall ruined it himself by selling to Gibson . He knew exactly what was going to happen

  • @sushirollusa
    @sushirollusa 24 дні тому

    Never will be the same. Gibson will want profits . Letting go employees and sending mfg overseas will be coming soon .

  • @Tonetwisters
    @Tonetwisters 2 місяці тому

    Yeh. MESA should have NEVER sold to Gibson. That stuff is always a mistake.

  • @admarhermans1
    @admarhermans1 2 місяці тому

    And you guys didn’t even mention the bass stuff...
    The Buster, Walkabout,
    400+ (more a 60’s submarine than a bass amp, same amount of tubes and weight 😄), their great cabs especially!
    Everything like over engineered, really.
    The legacy is there to stay: no cluster-B Gibson CEO (since the early 60’s!!), no Musk, no Trump can ‘fake news’ that.
    They don’t own the Boogie, any of it; they mistook Mesa for Mega, 😉
    I really feel for all Mesa’s and Gibson’s employees: these people do not deserve any of this! They work their ass off! Never asked for any BS: way too busy!
    They’re the real boogie... the only true legacy.
    Humanoïds like JHS’s Josh and his team should run Gibson, because they’re a great bunch of humanoïds: but you’re going to need 50 of those teams...
    My idea: mandatory PCL-22 test for anyone on the Gibson board.
    It’ll work...

  • @DoubleAAmazin
    @DoubleAAmazin 2 місяці тому +1

    Mesa is the most over rated metal amp in history. Dude brought his Mesa over with his boosters thought he was gonna out crunch me....I cranked up my Randall with no boosters, and ate his Mesa for lunch. Everyone laughed, it was great. The Mesa sounded like a little girl amp, something they make for toddlers.

  • @nickm.9474
    @nickm.9474 2 місяці тому

    Grant also doesn’t like high gain amps so there’s that. Hahaha. Likes clean boring amps. About says it all. I’m just kidding. My gosh. 😄