Mesa Boogie California Tweed or Bassman LTD?

I would go for the Bassman LTD. I'm not really into all the bells and whistles of the more modern amps, and for the music I play power switching and pedals just complicates it too much. What amp you want to get really depends on what you are going to put it through. They both are great amps, but in the end it's up to you to decide what you need. Good luck on your journey!

 

I'm a fan of Mesa/Boogie amps, having owned a couple in the past. Nothing wrong with a few bells and whistles.

 

My understanding is the Mesa California Tweed is not your typical Mesa with tons of push-pull knobs and features.

I would also check out the Mesa Fillmore as another option (probably my first option).

I’m not up on this model Bassmanbut I would imagine that you would need an OD pedal for any level of gain at moderate volumes.

Also, if you really want old school, vintage SF and BF amps are a good option.

 

As far as bells & whistles and Mesa amps, the CT is FAR removed from their standard fare. It's a bare-bones, single channel amp that excels at the Tweed sound. Power scaling isn't really much of a distraction, it's basically a second volume control.

And as for the build quality, you would be hard pressed to find a modern Fender that could touch anything Mesa does.

But in the end, it all comes down to which amp does what you need it to do.

 

If both were an option I'd go with the Mesa. They do the 'American sound' just fine and the power scaling attenuator is always handy too.

A year ago I would't have looked at them but some of their more stripped-back models (the Calis in particular) look really good. If I could get my hands on one of those King Snake amps I reckon I'd just about be done for good. Tonally and financially...

 

Mesa as ‘pedal platform’?

i’d go for the Mesa’s reverb and fx loop extras for the best long term options for riding the guitar volume controls on the high input and getting the most from the circuit.

Have you looked at the Filmore or lonestar models? The lonestar has got huge cleans.

The power scaling is only a benefit in the three amps I have with it. My mesa is 15/75w Don’t need to be ear shattering for cranked tones.

 

My take, (full disclosure: I have not played a Mesa California Tweed) the Fender tweed Bassman RI is a classic amp and has a classic tone. It sounds amazing with single coils and it takes pedals pretty well.

The Mesa OTOH offers versatility with some modern features. Mesa Boogies have a long track record as sitting nicely in the mix. Fenders slice through.

I’m kind of partial to the tweed Bassman. But I’ve had a few Mesa Boogies in my time, Mark IIB, III, 50 Cal+ and they all sounded really good. I’m sure the California Tweed by Mesa is no different.

 

Corbo, if you could play both amps, I would suggest doing so. Some of your effects would better be applied through an effects loop. You might not be attracted to the power options, but after getting acquainted with the amp you might change your mind about that...or not. I would find that aspect useful.
Happy hunting!

To be precise, there is no power scaling in any Mesa amp of which I am aware. “Power scaling” is a particular method of voltage variation to achieve power reduction. Mesa achieves the power options through different applications of the power tubes.

 

I have the California Tweed. That is what I went with when I had the choice. The Cali Tweed is NOT your normal Mesa amp, the only “bells and whistles” it has are the power modulation (SUPER useful) and an effects loop. Beyond that it is a gain, bass, mid, treble, presence master volume and reverb knob. If you don’t like master volume amps, just dime that control and it is no longer an issue. It has a switch input to turn the reverb on and off.

Bassman LTD has 4x10 and the bigger tubes. But not a lot less on the controls. It has two volumes, and the same basic set of tone controls as the CT. But no low power mode.

They seem to be about the same weight. The tweed is a bit more expensive.

I love the tones of my CT, so I’m biased. It works great with pedals as well.

 

I have not seen a schematic of the Cali Tweed, but I am going to think that the preamp it is based in the 5F6A world. Their literature and spoken work seems to lean that way. Scooter as could ascertain this for us with a simple test. Dime the gain and the tone controls. Use full output from the guitar. Is the signal usable or does the treble and bass ‘go to pieces‘? If it all hangs together, then the tone stack is farther down the chain as in the tweed Bassman. If it falls apart, then it is more closely related to the AB763.
If you could find a used Pro Sonic, that might be preferable to either one of these amps....for me. Ommv.

 

Hands down I would chose the California Tweed. It's better constructed and is a bare bones Mesa other than the Power Scaling which is quite unique. It's going to give you all the tweed you need plus adds Reverb and an effects loop.

IMO Fender has missed the boat with power scaling. That would be a useful 'vintage modified" feature for some of there amps.
I have a built in attenuator in my Tone King Gremlin. It's an awesome feature.

 

Once again and with all due respect, the term power scaling refers to a PARTICULAR method of reducing output power. It is not attenuation. It is not power tube selection or power tube operational condition selection as is done in many Mesas.
Fender has done very little in the manner of output power electability other than in the Pro Sonic, which has three levels of output power. Those three different output levels are the results of power tube operational differences.....cathode biased/tube rectifier for 30 watts, ixed bias/tube rectifier for a 50 watt output, and fixed bias/solid saptate icier for a 60 watt output level. Those three options yield notable differences in sound.

 

Hmmmmm, I’ll have to try that. I don’t usually dime the gain and tone and master.....Whatever the basis of the pre-amp, it works well for my purposes. OTOH, I may have a chance to try that tonight, and will let you-all know.

 

To be fair, Mesa calls their system ‘Multi-Watt’”. It is not power scaling, per se, but a variety of tube modes and combinations to give from 2 to 40 watts.

Mesa plays with pairs of output tubes, and changes them from pentode to triode mode, and that makes that pair (with the biasing they use for that) produce about half the power. On the Cali tweed, you have 4 pentodes, then 2 pentodes and 2 triodes. Then two tubes in pentode only, then two tubes in triode then two tubes in a single ended class a mode. That produces, 40, 30, 20, 10 and 2 watts, respectively. I believe some power scaling ideas have changes to where the output tubes work on their curves via changes in supply voltage and the bias voltage/currents. Tone King (and my old Princeton Recording Amp) has a built in attenuator that absorbs excess power.

I haven’t looked into how Fender does that on the ProSonic.

However Mesa does it, it works great on the Cali Tweed (and my 5:50 Express + as well).

I do have other (non-Mesa) amps that I like. But the CT is special.

 

scooteraz, you don’t have to dime the master volume...keep that as low as you wish. What happens happens in the preamp as far as what I noted above. With a 5F6A, all of the classic big Marshalls, an SLO, a Mesa Rectifier, a Fender Pro Sonic, Blues/Hot Rod amp, Peavey 5150/6505/Classic 30/Delta Blues, and many other amps fashioned after the 5F6A one can run the tones anywhere one wishes at any preamp gain setting without the signal going to pieces in the preamp. Many people find the AB763 type of preamp more ‘responsive’ to tone pot adjustments than with say a Bassman RI. This is because every tone setting adjustment is amplified by all except the first gain stage and therefore the response is more notable.

 

Power scaling is done with voltage adjustments. Some amps adjust the entire B+ rail.....all of the voltages in all of the circuit. Some amps adjust only the voltage supply to the power tubes and the biasing. This is actually not as new as many might think, and it did not originate with the ‘London power scaling’ approach. The MusicMan amps from the 1970s used voltage reduction to the output and the biasing to achieve a power reduction.