MESA/
BOOGIE
Electra-Dyne Head BY JORDAN WAGNER
PRODUCT REVIEW
For almost 40 years, Mesa/Boogie has been
an icon in American amplifier design. That
unique tone has been heard by and inspired
countless imitators around the globe. While
some have come close to replicating their
sound, none have truly nailed the tone of
the originals. Famed designs such as the
Mark I, Mark IIc+ and the Dual Rectifier have
laid the tonal foundation that entire genres
of music are based on. No self-respecting
metal guitarist can deny the feeling the
first time they heard the Mark IIc+ rip open
that thunderous, distorted riff on Metallica’s
“Battery.” The same can be said for the
incredible tones that John Petrucci and
Carlos Santana have coaxed out of the Mesas
in their rigs. While Mesa/Boogie amps have
always had their own sound, they’ve given
nods to the forefathers of American amp
design, Fender, ever since the first Mark I
schematics were drawn up. Now, with the
release of the Electra-Dyne, Mesa turns their
focus to paying homage to the other side of
the pond, namely the British sound, and puts
their own stylized spin on it.
In comparison with most of Boogie’s past
offerings, the Electra-Dyne is astonishingly
simple. A total of only six control knobs
grace the front panel, which is strange to
see from a company known for popularizing
the use of extensive options in amp design.
With a simple three-band EQ, Presence,
Gain and Master Volume knobs, and a tall
head shell tailored with piping, it’s hard not
to make a visual comparison to the famed
Marshall Super Lead. Rounding out the front
panel are the standard Power and Standby
switches and a three-way toggle to switch
between Clean, Low, and Hi gain modes.
when I owned a Trem-O-Verb combo, a highly
underrated Mesa amp from yesteryear, and I
know just how well Mesa designs treat their
sound (Mesa has used Anderson guitars and
pickups to test their amps for years). The
Electra-Dyne can be set for either 90 or 45
watts via a small switch on the rear panel of
the amp. In this case, I went with the 90-watt
option. With all of the controls at noon (which
is usually how I like to set up Mesas at first) and
the amp set to clean, the Electra-Dyne roared
with authority, exhibiting a noticeably huge
amount of headroom—Mesa’s amps deserve
their reputation for being on the loud side. The
Electra-Dyne might be one of the loudest I’ve
ever heard. It could also be that my ears just
perceived it as being so, because the amount of
headroom on the Clean mode is astonishing.
Plugging In
After connecting the head to a Boogie 4x12
cab, I plugged in a 1978 Gibson Les Paul
Custom with Tom Anderson pickups. I originally
dropped the Tom Andersons in my Gibson
Mesa attributes this to the Simul-Class power
amp. This mode is the only one in the amp
that leans towards the American-voicing side,
and it sounds utterly fantastic, like there’s
