Mesa Boogie Studio 22 Amplifier Review - It's Awesome!
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- Опубліковано 20 лип 2024
- Mesa Boogie Studio 22 Guitar Amplifier Review. Maybe one of the best combo amplifiers of all time!
This video will cover the tones of the Mesa Boogie Studio 22 and how loud is it when it's cranked.
00:00 jam tack
01:20 mesa boogie studio 22 overview
02:46 drive channel
06:16 clean channel
09:28 how loud is it?
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Great tones! Love the guitar too.
TTK!!!! :) Cant wait for your videos from Germany. It will be really cool to see stuff you do with Shane over there. Should be fun. Hope you guys have good time over there.
TONE KING.....YOU ROCK. Love your channel too.
He plays much better than you tone king.
I have one of these amps. I'm the third owner, I know the guy who bought it originally, he sold it to his brother, and I got it from him. Mine is the only one I've ever seen in white tolex. It has aged to a nice cream color. Mine also was pre EQ era like the one in the vid. Now about the tones, holy moly I will never want for another amp that doesn't say Boogie on it! Just a killer amp. I've gigged it. I've been to the studio with it. I've been recording at home with it. They may bury me with it. It's that good. The cleans are sparkly with a touch of dirt that sounds just right. The gain side will melt the walls down with torturous gain, sustain, and feedback. You just ain't played guitar yet if you haven't plugged into a Boogie.
I hear a lot of people don't like them. No accounting for taste...
There are two drawbacks to this amp, the clean/gain channels do not match up well. (there is a mod for that I just haven't done it) And they can be a bit noisy at stage levels when things get quiet. You won't notice it when the band is playing, and the crowd won't care when your leads singe their ears.
I could see the look on Shanes face in the vid, he could barely contain his enthusiasm for the Studio .22. It puts a smile on my face every time I play mine too. :)
I bought one of these back in the 90s once I outgrew the little cheepy I bought to start learning on. Best purchase I ever made, still have it today and never bought another amp since.
Nice review and great to see you checking out Boogies. The Cal50 from the same series uses two 6L6s and has heaps of clean headroom. Both great amps!
Some of the best tones I've ever heard on this channel.
nice to see a demo of this oldie but goodie. Another Mesa worth checking out is the Maverick: 4 x EL84, two separate channels and dual rectifier. The 1x12 combo is a bit larger than the Studio 22. The amp also came as a head and 2x12. I've been through several MBs and kept the .22(+) and Mav.
I’ve got one of these Studio 22 amps. It has the 5 band eq and needed a cap job when I got it (that I did myself.) It was made in 1996. It has a very anemic reverb that is attached to the chassis so I run a Boss RE-20 space echo thru the effects loop to give the unit more depth in sound. The thing will absolutely blow the windows out of my house if I crank the volume past 3!!!
Thanks for making a review video of a 30 year old vintage amp!
As usual great review/demo and playing Shane !
I've got this amp too. Great piece of kit. Always use it! Never gonna sell it.. Never!!
Hey Shane, made it back home last night. Really rough night too, but I survived...
Great professional video as usual, and a good example of what people might be getting themselves into with this amp. I guess I'm just an old Fender clean with a slight bit of crispy around the edges kind of guy. Not sure what happened to me.... I was a serious headbanger back in the 80's. Of course no curly frosted blond tips long hair for me, I was still in the army... lol But I loved the music... Judas Priest, Ozzy, Cinderella, Dokken, Mötley Crue and all the rest. I know that when I came back to Germany on my 2nd tour, the local music had changed in the 2 years I was off healing from my 1st purple heart (thank you Beirut), it had gone over to some crazy techno stuff that still kind of rules the clubs today. Our local NCO club had Rock and Roll night on Friday, and Country and Western on Saturday. Truly despising techno, me and most of my friends stayed out of the local clubs and just hung out at the NCO club where we could "take it outside" and blow off a little steam now and then without getting into too much trouble as long as no one ended up in the hospital (this was almost encouraged by our higher ups. Sure we'd get called to the carpet and yelled at for a little bit, but no one, not ever, really got in trouble. It sort of kept us on the top of our game between deployments). As long as no one ended up dead or in the hospital ;) we all had to be able to deploy anywhere in the world within 24. Hard to do if you were laid up in a bed with tubes sticking out of you. Besides, even though each MOS had their own rivalries, at the end of the day, we were all on the same side. God I miss those days :) But speaking of hospitals, I made it out of my hospital bed yesterday and got home safe and sound.... well safe anyway, dang my chest hurts!! But I walked in the door, took one look at my work bench and almost cried. I am so far behind :( At least 4 weeks. I had started to really slow down before the surgery. Just not enough energy or oxygen making it in. Strange how that works...
But it's really good to see the Raven out again. What a sweet and simple guitar. Part of it is the woods used! What are they made from? Obviously some exotic (to us outside Australia) stuff. The rough texture and deep dark chocolate body with the lighter fretboard. And I love the 3/3 headstock in that shape. Kind of a Fender meets Gibson meets PRS or Schecter. Is it a bolt on neck? That would surely make shipping much easier. But yep, gotta get me one of those when I clean off my bench. Thanks Shane for the words of encouragement during the last week and a half. Interesting getting that from all the way around the world. USA to Europe to Australia. Anyway, Keep up the great work, and again, Thanks bro!! Bob in Germany
Wow nice amp & great demo as always Shane !! :)
Shane, greetings from Central Texas! I have a MarkIIB that I bought in 1980. It was Simulclassed at Mesa by Mr. Mike Bendinelli. 15w Class A and 60w Class AB. It's good friends with my '79 Les Paul Custom. Cheers Mate!
Boogies fit your playing style Shane. These are some of the best toanz I've heard on your channel.
Great review, I have the Mesa Express 5:50 plus great amp with so much versatility four modes on two channels, graphic eq, three power levels 5,25,50 watts. Just an amazing amp.
Had a shot at getting a Studio 22+ (which has separate Master levels for both channels), and bough it immediately after seeing this. It's a wonderful amp.
I bought mine in 86. I've since had a maple cab made and changed the speaker for a Celestion Blue and you can imagine how it sounds. Effing awesome!
I had the 50 Cal Plus combo. Loved it! But looking back I would have been just fine with a .22 as it was more than loud enough.
I like that amp. Mesa Boogie makes great stuff. I have a studio caliber DC-2 that is awesome. It’s very versatile and definitely a professional quality amp (not that I’m a pro or anything). Nice demo. Keep up the good work.
iv had one for about 20 years, use others occasionally but when I need natural tone, its crazy good. I've used slaved to a Marshall slimline amp and quad box for big gigs, but by itself it has beautiful tone.
Finally!!!! I love you man!!!!! I knew Mesa’s were made for you or you were made for the Boogie. I love my Mark 5 / 25. It is all you need. Puts the Marshall DSL 40 C I had to absolute shame, and I loved that amp. Thanks, you rocked it. I hope you get to take it to a gig with your PRS and record that for us. Thanks.
The new Fillmore sounds a killer too!
The Mk V:25 is Mesa's masterpiece. I just wish it had crunch on channel 2 so I could have clean & crunch footswitchable with each having their own EQ.
I got an older S O B in wood and wicker. 60/ 100 watts and that killer limit knob. With the knob set low I can play along with my Crate 15 watt S S practice amp. And then turn it up and make Marshall owners mad with envy. And got a used road case for only $ 120.
I've watched a few of your amp reviews, and IMO you can't beat a boogie I had the studio 22 plus ev and I gigged with it and put a mic on the front and it was outstanding tbh 5 years ago I had to sell my dual rec & nomad 100 combo and the 22 plus, as my gigging days are done at 55 year's and been depressed ever since lol they were just amazing, we can talk katana, bandit, catalyst, and they are great until you have played through a boogie and ya never forget how sweet they really are, I really can't justify getting the Mk5 for indoors but was lucky to use one and that's a real arse kicker !!! Thanks for your upload 👍🙏🐱
I have this amp..and has been on most everything I've recorded. And I've played it in Rock band RnB Bands..Hip hop..classic rock...Even Jazz fusion..and BIG BAND!!
Shane, you were killing it with that Boogie. Got my Mark IIB in 1980...Boogies are the best!
Great review, Shane!! Not too many good reviews on older Mesa Boogies. Mostly Rectifiers. I have a Dual Caliber 5 that would blow people's minds! It'd be nice if you could review some Marks & DC's in true "In the Blues" style!! 😉
Thanks so much for creating the Guitar Tone Reference Library on your Channel. Shane, it's great that here you are highlighting this unsung, compact gig-worthy amp. I still have my Studio 22 that I got new when they first came out in the early 1980s! I rarely used the "Lead" channel for leads! The most tasty LEAD tone in this amp (and my personal favorite setting) achieves a killer, authentic 1968-era Marshall crunch lead tone. For that, you use the "Rhythm" (clean) channel, crank up the master volume knob all the way--as high as it goes, then set the volume way up (over 6) to get the power tubes to the singing sweet spot. Your tube quality and condition really matter for that type of sound. For years, I used that setting, with a power attenuator to tame the loudness to suit the situation. I absolutely ignored the Lead channel on the Studio 22. For years, I gigged with the Studio 22 in two-amp rig with a Blackface Deluxe reverb amp, with an ABY switch. They are perfectly matched amps, and both fit easily in the back of most cars, and don't break your back. The DR gets that American tone and the cranked Studio 22 gets the Marshall crunch. Both amps active at the same time sound utterly divine, and that is one of the best slide guitar tones I've ever played! Try it!
I got a 50 Caliber Plus combo back in the 80s because it was in the same family of Boogies as the Studio .22. Pretty much the same tone with more wattage, although I could have done just fine with a .22 because they are more than loud enough. I remember when that .22 because THE session amp in the 80s. I wish Boogie still made it. Incredible tone. Very sweet, versatile, and it just makes sense. I find that the 5 band optional EQs really don't do much for Boogies, and if I could have done it over again I would have either gotten the 50 cal without the EQ or gotten a 22. You can do the EQ boost with a pedal anyways.
Nice tone!! Love those Mesa
Man, the sound with the channel down and the master up, lordy
The Studio 22 was my first tube amp and I loved it. Easy to dial in great rhythm tones and also awesome lead tones. Problem is very limited range of options if you want to switch between channels on stage with compatible volumes. Had to sell mine and buy a Mark 3. Have had a Mark 4 head and Mesa quad box for about 20 years now and still love it but I miss some of the incredible tones I got out of the Studio 22 that the MkIV just cannot replicate.
The Mk3 combo amp with the wicker front, is one the most awesome amps ever made by anyone. It's also a thing of beauty and built like it could destroy an entire continent if dropped on there.
There is a very popular mod to solve the volume balance problem. You add another volume pot ( in the back of the amp). I have not done it but it something to consider.
@@EgoShredder True! The MkIV is way more versatile though with separate controls for each channel and power options down to 15 watts. I also have a Marshall and AC30 which are both great but they will bury me with the MkIV.
@@emmanuelaube6458 Very cool. I did not know that. I actually sold it to a mate who still has it. He will be interested in that. Thanks.
Sounds awesome and they’re pretty reasonably priced on the used market. I think I’ve found my first tube amp.
Nice warm tone!
best sounding demo i've seen you do. just can't beat that boogie lead tone imo.
I would also add that you should really try a Mesa Lonestar special if you haven’t already, it’s an unreal good blues amp! Look forward to a Fillmore demo!
nice amp & great demo
I have one of these little beast and there freaking awesome. I believe mine is a 84-85 or 86 earlier version with the word Boogie in front only. I don't play it as much anymore due to being spoiled with my Morgan AC20 deluxe and my new Friedman pink taco 😋
Jaw on the floor, stunning tone
Shane, PLEASE review/demo the Mesa Fillmore 50!
I bought mine in 86. I've since added a Celestian Blue alnico and a maple cab. It made a great amp even better.
I’ve had a Studio 22 since the early ‘90s except mine is a plus - lead master and a 5 band graphics in addition to bass, mids treble. It’s only in the last couple of years have bought additional amps ( one of which is a TA-30. Strictly it’s not 2 channels but one channel with a lead booster (6db I think). Clean head room is its greatest limit and after 30 years it has become a little fragile ( needs a service now cause it just won’t turn on) but still a keeper. Sound guys have always told me to turn down even on2 and 2 hee hee
Great vid. I have the Studio 22+, my only complaint is it’s impossible to balance the EQ between the channels. The clean channel is just way darker than the drive channel.
TRY a brighter speaker perhaps?
DMSProduktions then the drive channel would be too bright. The clean channel can be EQ’d great with the stock speaker, but then the drive channel is just ear-piercingly bright. This is a common drawback of amps with shared EQ.
Ok. Never had this problem but ok. I know later models all had a 5 band graphic EQ!
Maybe a pedal in the effect loop? I run 1 in all my amps!
Man that amp sings!!!!! Great tone can come in small amps!!! Both the clean and the drive channels rock!!! Never really thought I’d be interested in Mesa Boogie amps but this little sucker has changed my mind!!! Great review Shane!!! Cheers!!🎸🎸🤙🏾🤘🏽🤘🏽
Mesa has a *severe* marketing problem. Everyone associates them with NuMetal, and while they do that, they do _so. Much. More._
Ive got a Mark V:25 and it's one of those amps that you get and after a week or so realize that "hey, this may be the last and only amp I need... For EVERYTHING." I have not been denied a sound I wanted with that thing, and I'm like the polar opposite of NuMetal. It's amazing.
The Mesa Blue Angel is a very sweet sounding (about $800) tube amp. Check out Darrell Braun's guitar channel, as he demoes virtually everything through his Blue Angel!
Whew, that thing is HOT man! I’ve got nothing else besides that LOL! 🤙🏻😎🎸
Jammin' intro!!
Do you have any experience or thoughts about this amp with Strats, Teles and such? Even if it didn’t end up on this demo (shame btw), did you demo it with any single coil guitar? Thoughts?
This was my first Mesa boogie. I got in the 80s. Great amp
great content, great tones, as always!
Shane, how does the studio22 compare with your marshall dsl40? I am about to buy my first proper tube amp that I can gig with and these two are about the same in price in the used market. How do they compare in volume and gain-wise. I am into blues rock/ classic rock and was on the verge of getting a dsl40 until I found this amp as a new competetor, thanks to your channel!
Yeah we want to see that!!
All the gain you need wow cheers from Nj USA
can you do a demo with a Strat and some pedals? I'm curious , could be a good pedal platform?
Blind test vs peavey bandit please! Also the Fillmore sounds pretty cool. Would like to see a bind comparison with the bandit too.
Not a lot of BULLSHIT CHATTER LIKE MOST REVIEWS Thank You!! You jumped right into it which is why 99.5% of us watch reviews. Highly informative, objective and entertaining!!
I have a calibre 50 and this is so good and I guess it is almost the same. The speaker is a black? I never had it turn totally up
Great amps but they have serious heat problems if you do long gigs with them. I highly recommend adding fans to them. My preferred method is to yank out the tiny reverb tank, retrofit a full sized tank into the bottom of the cabinet, and wire up some 2" box fans on the metal grille where the reverb tank used to sit. Push cool air INTO it. I've seen some run so hot they literally melted their own solder which causes problems.
I have this exact amp, made in 1985. Total sleeper amp.
GREAT little amp! I can see WHY Khaled would never part with it!
He can't 'hear' it much cos he always puts it on the floor, and he stands right next to it lol!
5-6 m out front and it's SCREAMING! \m/
I've got the same amp in my shop' it sounds great!!
Hey Shane if you want to demo some more Mesa gear, I've got Mk5 a subway rocket a Nomad and a Heartbreaker. I'm in Melbourne too. The Heartbreaker is insane. The mk5 is the one I gig with. The subway is like studio 22 a little weapon. If you're keen hit me up.
You should check out Orpheus Pickups by David Paul bro! Some of Australia's finest pickups in Melbourne. Perfect combination with an Achillies amp
Phenomenal tones! Would you pick this over your Marshall DSL40c combo if you had to pick between the two?
Marshall is louder but this amp sounds so good.
My brother has one of these and the first time I played it I was impressed by how much bigger it sounded than it's size. I found it sounded best with a Strat.
My brother's amp doesn't have Boogie on it, just Mesa Engineering.
The Caliber are workhorses made for gigging bands.They will not achieve legendary status like the Mark series but they do their own thing. Compact and toneful, and tons of cleans on the larger 50. Put a fan in the cab to keep it well vented.
Love that tone man. Not to shabby in the playing department either.....
Rockin'!
Amazing amp. My go to amp!
I have a Mesa Express 5:25 & curious how it compares 🤟🏻
Guitar n amp are a good pair. Wats the fretboard on that dude?
Killer amp. You can play anything with this.
Review the new Fillmore 50
Absolutely love my little Boogie. Bought mine in the 80's and will never part with it.
is the dc2 the same one as this but with 2 channels?
Man this sounds amazing…but way more amp than I needs. There’s a used one locally for 1.5k, was looking at a new amp and saw it. I have an Allen Sweet Spot, but just looking for something new. Considering a Mesa 5:25, Ceriatone JY or ?? Any suggestions, I’m mainly a blues/strat type player- Santana, SRV, etc alternative rock. Don’t need a lot of wattage. Great tone and playing btw!
Try a Marshall DSL40CR (Not the C version) It's awesome.
world needs more of these types of amps - i have 30 watt trace elliot ....you dont need more volume than 22 watts in a club - having said thar ,,,,its strange how they arrive at 22 as a number - and not a rounded off 2o watts -or 25 -lol ....nice review .
Michael Seymour I think this was a part of Mesa Boogie’s Calibre series...hence the .22 calibre name. Great amp... I had one 30 years ago...regret selling it😞
Michael Seymour you might not need more volume - but depending on the gig you very well could need a lot more clean headroom - the only way to get that I know of is more output tubes/higher power amp wattage. (Edit: or solid state, meaning a hybrid or lug around two amps) I always gigged w a channel switchable 50-ish watt amp for that reason.
I's had my Studio 22 since 1985. A few years ago I had a friend build a solid cherry cabinet and a baltic birch baffle for it, and it really added to the focus and articulation I will never sell it.
Its a tube amp?
@@BurntGamerPlayz you're kidding right?
Nice. Cool amp. Good vid.
One question - Was that SPL Meter out at 1 meter ?
That's where the measurements are usually taken from for comparison.
I bought mine in 87. The people at the store said they put up the CLOSED sign and crank it up because every guitar sounded great through it.
Years later, I got a maple cab and changed the speaker for a Celestion blue Alnico. OMG!
Got one in the early 90s with the EQ and extended cab for a STEAL! ($300 US) Best Deal Ever! Does everything you want and more. My kids can have it or sell it AFTER I’m dead.
damn you made that amp sing!!
I got two of them for the last 25 years and never touched anything else. I got addicted as I played the first tones with it.
My friends and bandmates always tells me, that they instantly know my tone. It's different to other amps. It's a "cut through the mix tone". I use it clean with pedals.
I don't have "the feeling" when I tried other amps. It's strange - so never change a winning team ;-)
Awesome playing by the way 🤘🏼
Shane that’s a hell of an Amp.Clean or Dirty..
Aside a bit lacking on the bass department compared to other Mesa amps, it sounded good.
I wondered how an F-30 would compare if you have experience with them.
Just consider the 22 plus with additional graphic EQ. Plenty of bass...
I got another episode of will it blues! MESA DUAL/TRIPLE RECTIFIER!
Shane if you are getting into Boogies a bit, TRY and get a Fillmore to demo! I think you'd seriously DIG it! It has a seriously GOOD clean channel! You MIGHT want to SELL your Marshall DSL40 to pay for it!
hahaha.
Live long, & ROCK! \\m//
I'm not sure if Shane's priority is totally about tone. He's had a lot of awesome amps in the past. He had a two Rock. So it's hard to figure out LOL.
JUST a suggestion, that he MIGHT want to look at!
and its cheap
Is your mate selling this by any chance, because there is one for sale in Heathmont and I am damn tempted. This video definitely hasn't helped haha.
Have one just like it that I bought brand new in 1987, & they'll bury me with it. 👍
i want this amp.
Bro, I had one for yrs and seeing you play one I just broke it out of retirement and going to use it at my next gig!
Mesa rules!
That's how a Boogie should sound.
Many gigs played with one. Never really used the "Lead Channel". Just drove it with Turbo OD or early OCD. Versatile amp. I know what you friend mean about not hearing it. For some reason the cab and and speaker don't project well when you are near the amp with a band. Out front it's great but a little lost in the mix if it's on the floor and you're only 4-5' in front of it. SF Vibrolux and Vibroverb RI 2x10's I plaxed never seem to have that problem or when I ran it into 80's Marshal 4x10" on special big house gigs. Love the amp though. Great tone. I've got a some recording that it sounds so perfectly expressive that I wouldn't have wanted any other amp. Great Master Volume style amp.
Curt Corbain used this in Nirvana, at least on some songs. Great amp but old ones overheat and the sound cuts out.
Geez, My first Boogie was a 22 Caliber. In my situation, I knew nothing about tubes or replacing bad tubes. My Studio 22 was great except for creating a high pitched unmusical squeal when I turned up the volume. This happened even when I had nothing plugged in. Today I realize that it was probably a $12 preamp tube that went rogue. I suppose that it's the reason I frown on EL84 tubes. Never trusted them since. It did not deter me from buying Mesa Boogie. I later got a 50 Caliber amp (6L6 loaded), Then a Dual Rectifier when they came out, and recently I purchased the Triple Crown TC-50. I love all of the Mesa Boogie amps that I currently have. (3 of them) I also love their speaker cabs. They do create some timeless gear. In a way, I'd like to get another studio 22 amp. It was definitely gig worthy. Totally loud enough to do live shows in medium sized clubs. And portable. Keep up the good work my friend. I love your reviews.
PS: I purchased one of those Marshall DSL 15C amps a few months ago. Definitely not loud enough to gig with. It was cool for a basement practice session but when it comes to being gig worthy Mesa Boogie has everyone covered for that. I think that everything that they build today is gig worthy. No insult to the DSL 15c. It's great if your gig is in a closet.
So it's 2 channel?
Best amp Mesa produced. Put them on the map and in the same VIP room with the Twin, Plexi, AC30.
Road Dog nope
Christopher Huff yep
I have one, and I absolutely love it, I always use the .22 for small gigs. Not the greatest amp mesa ever produced tho. I know that's just your opinion, I've been a mesa guy my whole life and have had many many. So this is just MY opinion but biased on alot of experience with boogies. Anyway, can't go wrong with a studio 22.
How would you compare this to your DSL?
This has far less clean headroom, but the drive channel is a monster!
Play the riff from China Grove from the Doobie Brothers :p
But can it Djent?
Those are hard to come by now because everyone who owns one will keep it forever. I know becasue I own one and you will have to pry it from my cold dead hands :D I run mine with a 12in Thiele cab too, fattens up nicely.
Dude, with ya.. I play a Gibson Johnny A, a strat, (and soon a Les Paul??!!🤞🤞) thru it, and just love it. turning it up with lead channel and it gets fricking nasty!
That sounds pretty damned good.
I used to have one and found it muddy. I think this vid reinforces my decision to let it go.
Mister Tee I was witness to a cat jamming this amp in a small jazz big band and it could not compete whatsoever with the brass section, I could barely detect his presence and the drummer wasn’t even using real drums, just electric drums piped through their P/A
Added an EV speaker to mine, warmer sound and louder
More boogies please
I'll see what I can do :)
Can You say S U S T A I N and D I R T, DANG! GOOD LORD!
sound like Johnny Winter in the intro