Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne 45/90 Head - Long & McQuade Musical Instruments

Description

Keep It Simple... Without Imposing Limitations.

Introducing the Electra Dyne. An easy-to-look-at, simple-to-use new amplifier that has way more TONE than you might expect hidden artfully behind these six knobs and a switch.

Deeply rooted in the Best of the Brit lineage, the Electra Dyne takes modified English gain sounds and sorts them into LO and HIGH regions. These two choices are combined with a retro-minded, American-voiced clean channel and linked to one mini-toggle that gives you three of the most classic sounds in Rock and Roll on one switch! And unlike other amps of this style, footswitchable Modes and the finely tuned control interface allow many players to stomp back and forth across the pond without touching a single control.

Add to this stealthy versatility our patented Simul-Class Power that blends the efficiency and headroom of CLASS AB PENTODE with the sweeter clip and enhanced harmonics of CLASS A style wiring. Choose between the Simul-Class quartet of 6L6 for 90 watts of authority or, switch down to the Class AB pair for a bouncy, easy to clip 45 watts. You can also load the Electra Dyne with EL34 type tubes for a brighter Brit style clip thanks to the switchable Bias Select.

Lush, deep, all-tube Reverb adds a whole new dimension to the Brit-inspired scheme and raises the bar to a new height. The Reverb circuit can be switched-in to be Active in all Modes, defeated in either LO or HIGH gain Modes (CLEAN remains active), or Hard Bypassed, which removes the entire circuit including the Reverb tube from the signal path for the purist.

Simul-Class Power Amp (Patents 4,532,476 & 4,593,251) featuring a 45/90 Watt Power Switch that incorporates concept elements from our Patented Multi-Watt and Duo-Class technologies (Patent Numbers 7,602,927 & 7,173,488) providing two power and two operating class options: Choose 2 power tubes operating in time-honored Class A/B producing 45 Watts or 4 tubes running in Mesas legendary, Patented Simul-Class Power that blends the best of Class A and Class A/B simultaneously to produce 90 Watts of pure tonal magic / 4x6L6 (or 4xEL-34), 7x12AX7

Bias Select Switch (6L6 / EL34)
Fixed Bias for Consistent, Maintenance Free Performance
Single Channel simplicity with the performance versatility of a Multi-Channel amp through 3 Footswitchable Modes (Classic Boogie Clean, Vintage Low Gain, Vintage Hi Gain)
Channel Control Features: Volume (Gain), Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence & Master Volume
Clean Level Control
Gain Trim Switch
Slip Cover
All-Tube, Long Spring Reverb with Auto Reverb Defeat Switch for Vintage Hi and Lo Modes (Defeat Mode removes Reverb from Vintage Hi or Low Modes but retains Reverb on Clean Mode Normal Mode applies Reverb to all Modes)
Reverb Hard-Bypass Switch removes entire Reverb Circuit from amp
Fully Buffered FX Loop w/Automatic Hard-Bypass to completely remove when not in use
Slave Out w/Level Control External Switching Jacks for Vintage Low/Hi (Clean is default) & Reverb
17 Aluminum Chassis (rack-mountable option available)
2 Button Footswitch (Classic Clean, Vintage Low/Hi)

Reviews

I tried this and I HAD to buy it. It was a disease.
Features		Quality
Value		Overall
Product Experience	I own it	Closest Store	Markham Ontario
Short version: This amp is the amp for guys who hate Mesa. The guys who buy vintage fenders and marshalls. The ones who don't want to have to get a degree to operate an amplifier. If you hate mesa you owe it to yourself to try it. It will impress you. Many times. If you like mesa, you may like this, but you will probably think it doesn't have enough gain... Overall: This is hands down the most awesome amp nobody knows about. I'd describe the tones as being a fender blackface era clean but deeper; a modded / boosted JTM style crunch; and something akin to a cross between a JCM800 and a Mesa Boogie Mark I. While the crunch tones in this amp are british inspired, they definitely have the signature Mesa massive low end, something that makes for a fussy amplifier if a guitarist tries to match it up with any cabinet other than the ones it was designed with. For cabs, I'd stick with Mesa's matching 1 x 12, 2 x 12, or any form of Mesa or Marshall 4 x 12. Features: I love this amp and I do not believe that the shared EQ / Ganged pots are a huge detriment for playing live. With recording, once can always dial in each tone separately and you seriously cannot hear the nuances live. The Gain Trim switch and the Clean Level trim pot are necessary to make all three channels balance since they make using the amp easier for more 'extreme' settings of the volume (Gain) control. The clean level trim pot in particular is necessary to be able to balance the clean mode with vintage lo and hi at 'low' volumes. The volume settings have a sweet spot around 10:00 - 12:00 with the gain trim set to (High Lo) which gives great breakup on the clean mode, an alternate clean on vintage lo, and a nice darker blues solo tone on vintage hi. Normal operation gives a thick and juicy clean tone, a nice dynamic edge of breakup crunch, and a higher gain rhythm / medium gain lead tone. Great with volume settings of 11am - 1pm (Clean) gives additional clean headroom while allowing the user to push the gain levels higher in vintage lo / hi. This gives a thick, rich, and fat clean, along with a massive and detailed classic rock crunch, and a nice elastic blow torch gain lead tone. The Vintage Hi mode can also function as a really thick and percussive modern rhythm tone as well. Individual Modes: Clean mode is fully vintage fender. Thick, warm, rich, with lots of depth. Low volume settings give skinny tones suitable to surf, funk, and country; medium volume settings give a nice rich, thick, and warm clean clean that is very elastic and responsive; while high volume settings get into a fenderesque blues clip. Vintage Lo. Low volume settings give a glassier and less bassy clean tone; medium settings are awesome for dynamic edge of breakup tones; and higher volume settings are great for full on rhythm crunch and blues solos, especially with humbuckers! Single coils also sound marvelous. Vintage Hi. Low volume settings give an alternate and darker blues voice, medium volume settings are great for a thicker crunch tone, while high volume settings give massive gain for liquid solos and a more aggressive and thicker rhythm tone. Think cranked and roaring marshall suitable for rock or punk rock. 45 / 90 watt setting: Do not think of 45 as a 'low power' option. Mesa's are LOUD and this one is particularly so. The purpose of this option is to alter the feel / tone / response of the amp. 90watt is more punchy, more direct, and more modern sounding. It yields maximum headroom for users who really like and want to rely on the sound of the preamp. Believe me, it sounds great. 45 watts is more vintage with more elastic sag and with it, the power section clips much more easily. This mode is for people who want to get the power amp involved without getting their bandmates or the sound man TOO angry. If you love power amp clip and you want to use this for recording or practicing, you may want to invest in a good attenuator. Just saying. It should be mentioned that this amp has many faces, depending on how it is dialed in. Master settings affect tone almost as much as the volume settings do. I'd say lower range master settings rely on the sound of the preamp, something that almost behaves like an overdriven amp already. It is quite incredible. But as the master comes up, the power section starts to clip. The amp is designed to overdrive the power section and as a result, the taper on the ganged master pot is quite steep. The tone and personality of the amp changes at this point. It sounds brighter and really starts to growl but it gets REALLY loud. I've never gigged with the master above 9:00 ever, even while playing outside on the back of a Semi trailer. Reverb: Sounds great but definitely better with a footswitch. Here are some issues I have with the amp: 1) My biggest gripe, the footswitch. There is one button to switch between clean and the two crunch modes and another to switch between vintage lo and hi. This means unnecessary tap dancing, especially if you happen to forget what mode the second button is set to and you click to go from clean to vintage hi and find yourself on vintage lo instead. Furthermore, there is no reverb switch. You need your own footswitch for that. You can preset the reverb on the back of the amp but I'd rather bypass it if I cannot engage it when I want it. WHY DIDN'T MESA INCLUDE A PROPER FOOTSWITCH LIKE WITH THE MARK V, ROADSTER, DUAL REC, ETC?!!??? One button for each option is best: Clean, Vintage Lo, Vintage Hi, Reverb, FX Loop, and a Solo boost!!! 2) Shared EQ. The ganged pots work fantastically well, but this limits the use of the amp for people who may prefer more extreme settings on some channels. While I know Mesa was trying to design an amp for people who don't like the airplane control room look of the Mark V, I think they turned off a lot of people by limiting the flexibility of what is otherwise an absolute Jem of an amplifier. I would have preferred to have seen channel assignable wattage settings, 3 separate and fully EQable channels, and possibly Channel Cloning as well. I can imagine myself cloning Vintage Hi for crunch and rhythm for harder styles of music, or cloning Vintage Lo for something more laid back. That being said, the ganged pots do work and the amp is definitely very usable and extremely flexible despite it's simple layout. Mesa was successful in realizing their vision to create an amp that does not require a degree to operate. The one requirement for the discerning guitarist is to set up the pickups correctly. Lower the neck pickup and raise the pole pieces, especially if the guitar can be boomy. This amp will accentuate that. Raise the bridge pickup and lower the pole pieces just enough to phatten the tone. This insures a thicker tone which results in a much better balance between pickups. My favourite guitar to use with this amp is an old '97 Godin LG I have. I have a Duncan Custom Custom in the bridge and an Alnico II Pro in the neck with RS Guitarworks electronics. A 3 way pickup switch and a push pull tone pot gives me access to many tones which really shows off the versatility of this amp. It's a great piece of equipment and it covers the ground from Jazz to blues, funk, country, classic rock, and lighter modern rock tones. If you are into fenders and vintage british tones, this amp is for you. If you like Traynors this amp is for you. If you want something similar to a JTM but want to be able to use it in your house and at small clubs, this amp is for you. If you want to blow people off a huge stage with a halfstack, this amp is for you. If you want to dial in great tones easily, this amp is for you. If you like open and dynamic / uncompressed crunch tones, this amp is for you. Each mode is very much it's own amplifier and I could see some guitarists gigging with this thing and ditching the footswitch altogether. It would be entirely possible and conceivable that someone would buy this thing just for Clean or maybe Vintage Lo. If you want to play metal or massive scooped UBER modern guitar tones, this amp is not for you. It will piss you off and stab you in the ears with it's open lack of saturation and dynamic responsiveness. It will grind on you and irritate you. Go try Dual Rectifiers, ENGLs, Mark Vs, Bogner Ubershalls, Fortin Satans, DVMarks, Peavey6505s etc etc etc instead. note this amp runs hot. It sounds good but I use it in lieu of baseboard heaters to head the back extension of the home I am renting. I'm serious. Posted by anonymous on Oct 31, 2012

simple
Features		Quality
Value		Overall
Product Experience	I own it	Closest Store	Ottawa Ontario
great sounding on all 3 channels. easy to get the sounds you want. It may not look like it has a lot of features but it really does when you get into the back panel where you can adjust your gain and reverb. I've had other Mesa amps in the past but the Electra Dyne is by far the best I've used. Posted by anonymous on Feb 10, 2012