Mesa TransAtlantic TA-30

[Bigsnaketex]

Does anyone have any real-world gigging experience with the Mesa TransAtlantic TA-30?

I've been playing it in the music store and am completely captivated by the different tones you can get out of this thing.

Of course, like so many things, music store boogie and gigging are two different things!!

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Colo Springs E]

I have not gigged it, but based on my experience with Mesa, would expect nothing short of amazing. Practiced with a 4-piece band with a TA-15 and it was awesome. Only got rid of it, as I like having reverb built in (which the 30 does).

 

[Bigsnaketex]

I bought it.......2 grand was tough but OMG this amp rocks. I own a lot of amps and this one is head and shoulders above anything I've ever played through.

There are 5 different preamps somehow in this thing:

Vox AC30
Vox AC30 Top Boost
Fender Tweed
Marshall Hi Gain
Mesa Hi Gain

And they all sound so different.........and man, is it loud.

Nice tube goodness with either 15 or 30 watts in class A and 45 watts in class A/B.

I'll be playing with this for months before I figure out all the tones it will spit out!!!

The best thing - the head weighs in at 20 lbs with 10 tubes in it. I have no idea how they do all this......but I surely like it!! It's much lighter than my new Fender Bandmaster and (whispers) it sounds so much better.....

The 1x12 cabinet is beautiful and I didn't think I would like it because it has an 80 watt Celestion speaker in it and I generally prefer lower wattage alnico 2 vintage speakers - but after pairing the head with all my other cabs, I'll be darned if it doesn't sound best with the Mesa TA 112.

I didn't mean for this to sound like a MESA COMMERCIAL - the truth is I have never particularly liked their high gain sound even though I appreciated the quality of their products - it's just that this new amp is killer and it loves my American Deluxe Tele!!

 

[Dave_O]

I played through a 1x12" combo at a gig last year.

Did a gig review...

the TL;DR version-- It's a pretty good sounding amp, but with some (IMO) dumb features. And I thought very spendy.

 

[taylor714bce]

I've had one (head version) for about a year. I run it through the Transatlantic 2x12 cabinet and LOOOOOOVE this amp! The thing that I can't get over is how organic it sounds even at lower volumes.

I have a steady gig at a smallish sports bar and I have to control my volume. For that gig it's either the TA or a Tech 21 Blonde pedal normally. (Just to be clear, I'm not a fan of playing "in the box". The Tech 21 isn't bad, however.) The TA just plain ol' ROCKS! Move it outside and it will roar with the best of 'em! Versatility is what drew me to the amp (I'm normally a purist (one, maybe two channels, and minimal switches/knobs), Vox AC30, Matchless C30, Bad Cat Cub II, or my own Tweed amps. This amp has made me think long and hard about what I THOUGHT I knew about amps; and how they should be built. Besides, it looks so freakin' cool with those Cylon blue lights glowing on stage. AND...it has a fan to cool the transformers, etc.

So...versatility, sound quality, and looks; it really is a gigging musicians dream!

 

[Jared Purdy]

I brought one home to try out next to a Lonestar Speical. Both were 112 combos. I connnected them to a A/B/Y pedal and had some fun. As much as the TA had great tones and a lot of versatility, I thought the Lonestar sounded better. What is better to me? I thought the cleans were richer and warmer, and I found that I really didn't need or want to have what amounts to four different preamps. The two channel Lonestar Special, and the wide range of OD sounds that can be had out of channel two did it for me. If you have the chance to check out the LSS, give it a go. In either case, I'm sure you'lll be happy.

 

[gitold]

I have never played through a Mesa TA 30. I have a Mesa 5X 50 combo, a 65 Amp Tupelo, a Marshall Class 5 and I had a Egnater Rebel 20. I sold my Egnater a couple of years ago because it just wasn't doing it for me. I decided I wanted a Vox AC 15 for that EL84 sound. I went to the store to buy one and decided to try the Mesa TA 15 since it had a Vox channel. It did the Vox thing better than the AC15 IMO and the other channel is so versatile how can you not love it. It certainly is not hard to figure out..Very simple in fact. I love the 5 watt setting so much that I'm not looking at the TA30 but I bet it's brilliant....Come on, you figured out a Computer or you wouldn't be here. too many buttons? I think not.

 

[Jared Purdy]

I have never played through a Mesa TA 30. I have a Mesa 5X 50 combo, a 65 Amp Tupelo, a Marshall Class 5 and I had a Egnater Rebel 20. I sold my Egnater a couple of years ago because it just wasn't doing it for me. I decided I wanted a Vox AC 15 for that EL84 sound. I went to the store to buy one and decided to try the Mesa TA 15 since it had a Vox channel. It did the Vox thing better than the AC15 IMO and the other channel is so versatile how can you not love it. It certainly is not hard to figure out..Very simple in fact. I love the 5 watt setting so much that I'm not looking at the TA30 but I bet it's brilliant....Come on, you figured out a Computer or you wouldn't be here. too many buttons? I think not.

The 5 watt function is really a great feature on that (for pure class A tone), and another reason why I preferred the LSS to the TA30. There was even a thread recently bemoaning the lack of 5 watt amps out there. Well, Mesa/Boogie makes three. The LSS just seemed more "organic" (a highly subjective and complicated adjective to explain) to my ears. I'm not sure if it is the circuitry, or the cab, or both, but the LSS is quite a bit heavier than the TA30, and the cab is also larger, and the chassis is considerably larger too. Just writing about "her", I feel a tear coming on...sniff, sniff.

 

[Cosmic Cowboy]

Does anyone have any real-world gigging experience with the Mesa TransAtlantic TA-30?

I've been playing it in the music store and am completely captivated by the different tones you can get out of this thing.

Of course, like so many things, music store boogie and gigging are two different things!!

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I can finally weigh in on this post.

Yes. I found one through happenstance. Was looking for an amp that has good breakup at manageable volume.

I play Country/Americana with single coil teles. Playing pub gigs. I am a classic 5E3 guy, but my amp has been down for a bit.

This Mesa is very usable. The top-boost channel is really good. But the Tweed channel is sublime.

Plenty of volume and headroom. Usable reverb tank. Very good amp imo.

I have not gigged it yet, but rehearsal was inspiring. Will take it out into the wild next week.

 

[Jon S.]

I owned a TA-15 for several years before selling it. I liked the tones but it lacked sufficient headroom for my needs. The TA-30 looks very nice to me!

 

[Tim S]

I managed to buy a TA-30 off of Reverb a couple of weeks ago. It wows me!

Mesa had a couple of design flaws in TA-30 amps that weren’t corrected until a few years into production. Both issues showed up when “FX & Reverb” is taken out of bypass. One was excessive noise when the loop was engaged. There was a TSB issued fix that required adding an electrolytic cap to a power rail. The other problem was excessive hum when using the reverb. (more prominent in heads than combos) The TSB for that requires turning the power transformer 90 degrees and reattaching via a new mount bracket so it won’t interfere with the reverb.

If anyone is looking to get a TA-30 and can’t play it first, make sure these TSB services were performed on the amp. If you can play it first, you should be able to hear if there are any issues. (Even on a repaired TA-30, the loop will add *some* slight noise on the first (“Vox”) channel because there’s no NFB. But if you engage the Master Volume by pulling out the Cut/Master knob, the loop noise goes silent)

 

[RockyRules]

I managed to buy a TA-30 off of Reverb a couple of weeks ago. It wows me!

Mesa had a couple of design flaws in TA-30 amps that weren’t corrected until a few years into production. Both issues showed up when “FX & Reverb” is taken out of bypass. One was excessive noise when the loop was engaged. There was a TSB issued fix that required adding an electrolytic cap to a power rail. The other problem was excessive hum when using the reverb. (more prominent in heads than combos) The TSB for that requires turning the power transformer 90 degrees and reattaching via a new mount bracket so it won’t interfere with the reverb.

If anyone is looking to get a TA-30 and can’t play it first, make sure these TSB services were performed on the amp. If you can play it first, you should be able to hear if there are any issues. (Even on a repaired TA-30, the loop will add *some* slight noise on the first (“Vox”) channel because there’s no NFB. But if you engage the Master Volume by pulling out the Cut/Master knob, the loop noise goes silent)

I have a TA-15 I rate as 2nd best low watt amp ever made.
2nd behind Mark V 25.
TA-15 doesn't have reverb or loop so never suffered from those 2 issues.
Here's my review from TPG - it cost only $600 2 years ago

Mesa Boogie TransAtlantic TA-15 and TA-30 amps - Under-rated Gems

So 12 yrs ago Mesa Corp tried something they've never done before. They decided to clone Vox AC30, Marshall overdrive and Fender Tweed in one amp, plus add on a Boogie lead mode. They gave 2 different amps EL84 tubes, each got 3 wattage options and 5 modes/voices, including Vox AC normal and...

www.thegearpage.net

 

[Tim S]

Here's my review from TPG - it cost only $600 2 years ago

Your review just got another Like.

Your posts here regarding your TransAtlantic helped me during my pre-purchase “researching phase”.

 

[RockyRules]

Your review just got another Like.

Your posts here regarding your TransAtlantic helped me during my pre-purchase “researching phase”.

Ok thanks - your posts got likes from me also