Mesa Boogie’s latest Mark-series dares to do it all—from switchable 6L6 and EL34 power sections to 3-channels that span sparking clean and flat-out filthy.
From humble beginnings to worldwide recognition, MESA/Boogie has remained the original boutique Home of Tone, hand-crafting amplifiers of uncompromising quality from the world’s finest materials in California, USA. Founder Randall Smith instilled basic principles into MESA such as passion, drive, integrity, and excellence, and his insistence on making the best amplifiers has guided half a century of breakthrough innovations, elevating the amplifier into an instrument in its own right--one with the power to shape and create musical genres. MESA/Boogie is proud to announce the new MARK VII series, available now at authorized MESA/Boogie dealers and on www.mesaboogie.com.
The MARK VII is the Magnum Opus, the flagship of Randall Smith’s 50+ year career in one visionary amp design. The new MARK VII takes the knowledge, history, innovation, and performance and distills it into the simplest, most versatile, and smallest 90-watt Mark Series amplifier, ever. The 3 Channel, 9 Mode Preamp, coupled with our legendary Simul-Class Power section that offers three distinct characters across its three wattage ranges, creates a new MARK icon in terms of adaptability, soulful tube tone, and magic feel that will serve any discerning player.
The long-awaited “Simul-Seven,” aka the new MARK VII, leapfrogs its predecessor, the Mark Five, and the secret Mark Six prototype to arrive at the most power-packed Boogie Mark model ever created in terms of tone, flexibility, compact design and interfacing. The MARK VII is a do it all tone machine that delivers legendary Mark performance and adds two new sounds, the throwback yet infamous Mark IIB and a new modern high-gain mode full of character and attitude, aptly named MARK VII.
The MARK VII offers discerning players analog, all-tube sound, soul and feel in a smaller more compact, yet more comprehensive package. With a focus on perfecting icons, bringing back beloved classics, and introducing new realms of modern high gain, all while improving the interface and the performance across all mediums, the MARK VII offers inspiration and freedom across all musical styles. The MESA/Boogie MARK VII is now available in Head, 1x12 Combo, and Rackmount Head formats.
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Jason Isbell, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robben Ford, and more top string benders talk about how much they loved Howard Dumble's amps and what made them so special to plug into.
Gibson’s ’Birds of a Feather, Flocked Together
This trio from 1964, accompanied by a 1969 Super Bass head and 8x10 cab, projects a ready-to-rock attitude.
This pair of Firebird I guitars and a Thunderbird II bass, from 1964, were tucked in a closet for decades. Now, they're ready to rock again.
With help from noted automobile designer Raymond Dietrich, Gibson introduced the Firebird and Thunderbird lines in the spring of 1963. They were an effort to compete with Fender's offset body instruments: the Jazzmaster, the Jaguar, and the Jazz Bass. Dietrich, who was famed for his work with Chrysler, Packard, and Lincoln, created the contours of four guitars—the Firebird I, Firebird III, Firebird V, and Firebird VII—and the Thunderbird II and Thunderbird IV basses.
Each of these instruments had an asymmetrical body shape comprised of two mahogany wings attached to a long mahogany neck running all the way through the center. Their resemblance to the smooth fins of now-vintage automobiles remains striking. The guitars used Seth Lover's mini-humbuckers, which were invented in the late '50s. The basses had a new humbucker design that used molds from earlier lap-steel pickups. Another departure from Gibson tradition for the guitars was the use of six banjo-style tuners positioned in a row along the right side of the headstock—the opposite of Fender's arrangement. More typical heavy-duty four-in-line tuners were required for the hefty strings of the basses, however. The standard finish was a dark tobacco sunburst, but any of 10 custom colors—similar to Fender's, but with different names—could be ordered for an additional $15.
The instruments pictured here were originally purchased by a reform school for boys, to be used by its music department.
The guitars were numbered according to price, with the single-pickup Firebird I—outfitted with just two dials for tone and volume—selling for the lowest amount. The neck of the Firebird I has dot inlays and no binding, while more costly models have binding, and some have trapezoidal inlays. The 1963 catalog described the Firebird I this way: "The new solidbody by Gibson that is priced for the growing economy-minded market. Gives you all of the fine performance of this exciting new series of guitars at a price you can afford. You have to try it to believe it." And here's how that catalog described the Thunderbird II: "A fine, new economy-priced bass by Gibson. It offers clear sustaining response, that throaty bass tone, and the easy fast low-action that allows you to always play at your best." The T-bird II is also a single-pickup model, with the same control set as its Firebird I counterpart.
The Firebird I sports a single mini humbucker. With fewer windings than a PAF, these pickups tend to have a brighter sound.
The instruments from 1964 pictured here—a pair of Firebird I models and a Thunderbird II—were originally purchased by a reform school for boys, to be used by its music department. At some point, they were put in a store room and spent the next few decades undisturbed. Recently, a new employee who knew a bit about guitars discovered them. Realizing their value, he reached out to multiple dealers and Gibson to bid on the instruments. Our store was able to acquire them and keep them together as a set. The original price for a Firebird I was $189.50. The current value is $12,500. The original price for a Thunderbird II was $260, and the current value is $9,000.
Lap-steel pickups were the inspiration for the Thunderbirds' pickups. Versions from the '60s have a reputation for prominent mid and treble response, with rich core lows and a tad of inherent distortion.
The lure of the Firebird's modernist look and its bold tone has appealed to a host of blue-ribbon players over the decades, including Allen Collins, Eric Clapton, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Phil Manzanera, Gary Moore, Brian Jones, Dave Grohl, Warren Haynes, and Johnny Winter. And notable Thunderbird players include Kim Gordon, Adam Clayton, Mike Watt, Tom Hamilton, Tom Petersson, Jared Followill, and Jackie Foxx.
The Thunderbird's upper bout has a distinctive emblem based on Native American art. The Firebird has a similarly positioned logo of a phoenix rising from ashes.
Behind the 'Birds is a 1969 Marshall Super Bass 100-watt plexi head, formerly owned by Eric Johnson. The cabinet is a rare late-'60s 8x10. The current value for the head is $5,000, while the cabinet is worth $2,500.
Sources for this article include Gibson Electrics by A.R. Duchossoir; Flying V, Explorer, Firebird: An Odd-Shaped History of Gibson's Weird Electric Guitars by Tony Bacon; Gibson Guitars—Ted McCarty's Golden Era: 1948-1966 by Gil Hembree; and Gibson Amplifiers: 1933-2008 by Wallace Marx Jr.