Older Boogie amps

Stitsel

Was cranking the vintage Sabbath Mob Rules LP at work today & was marveling at Iommi's amp tones from that era; I already knew he had briefly switched to Marshall during that era, also some Boogie but knew nothing else really.So,a little net research showed me his Boogies were Mark II B Coliseum heads.....anyone know anything about these? Obviously, they came before the "C" designation of the Mark II line; we all know the Mark II C+ as the Metallica sound.....anyhow, anyone know anything about these older versions of the Mark II? They sounded HUGE in my opinion.....I get that it was signal chain/studio/producer (thank you Mr. Martin "Headmaster" Birch!!) but....wow, what a killer amp tone Iommi got on that album.Mean, dirty, raw but refined. 

Dinosaur David B

I know Sykes used them for a time, and for some tracks on the WS87 album. 

For much of the Whitesnake '87 album and first Blue Murder album John used 2 Mesa Boogie Coliseum heads. These amps have a Mark III pre-amp section but use six 6L6 power tubes--giving the amps180 watts each! John also owns several Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+'s, Mark III's and some rack mounted Mesa Dual Recto heads. Other Mesa Boogie equipment includes a Tri-Axis preamp and a Strategy 500 Power Amp.

For speaker cabinets, John uses Marshall 4x12 cabinets, Mesa Boogie metal grill "Half Back" 4x12 cabinets, Mesa Boogie 4x12 Recto cabinets and some custom made 4x12 cabinets.

The rack setup used during the later Blue Murder days included a Mesa Boogie Dual Recto head, a Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis Preamp, a Mesa Boogie IIC+ head, a Mesa Boogie Strategy 500 Power Amp, a rack mounted Dunlop Crybaby, a Lexicon PCM 41, a Lexicon PCM 70, and an H&H V800 Power Amp.

Tatosh Guitar

Yeah, mention those Coliseum heads and the first thing that comes to my mind is the 87 Sykes sound. I didn't know Iommi had used them.

Dinosaur David B

Tatosh Guitar said:

I didn't know Iommi had used them.

I'm not sure he used them enough to draw any meaningful conclusions. 

cvansickle

I remember Metallica using Boogies in the 80s, and Stryper had a full backline of them when I saw them live in 1988. Steve Lukather was a Boogie man too.

My local shop stocked the full line for several years, and I've owned four different ones before finally seeing the light and sticking with Marshall. First I had a DC5 combo, which I traded eventually for a Nomad 55 - should have kept the DC5! Later on I got a Blue Angel combo, which had the EL84 and 6V6 power tube settings. I traded the Angel and the Nomad (sounds like a song title!) for the Stiletto Ace head I used for several years. The Stiletto had EL34 tubes and was supposed to sound British, but it just didn't.

LerxstFan

The Caliber series were awesome amps. I had a Studio .22 that was just wicked sounding. A .50 Caliber head with EQ popped up locally a little while ago for just 200 that I considered until I remmebered the F50 I own that is just too damn loud to even think of playing. 

Stitsel

I YouTubed a Boogie Mark II Coliseum head & it was ferocious sounding indeed; the guy did a metal sounding demonstration......wow cool amp...... I also found one on Ebay ( & have been incessantly bugged about it since I looked at it; apparently no one's buying it ) but rather than forking out over a grand, I decided I'd just retire out to my garage & my JVM halfstack. Boogie MK II B GAS is quickly forgotten about.....

Osky

I'm not sure of the model but I'm pretty sure Brad Gillis used Boogies back with his time with Ozzy and the early Night Ranger LPs.... they were some great tones to my ears!

Stitsel

Ahhh forgot about him, that tone...that era.....yep, killer stuff from Gillis back then!

inmyhands

A Mesa Boogie Mark III blue stripe head was my main amp for six or seven years. I played in through a 4X12 Marshall cabinet loaded with Vintage 30s. I loved it.
The Mark IIC+ always makes me think of Dream Theater. 
The Mark IIB Coliseum sounded great in a Coliseum or stadium but was just too damn loud even when loud was the norm for tube amps.
I think Jeb used to play a Mesa DC10.
I think Mesa Boogies best current offering is the JP-2C. If's just freaking wonderful on all fronts. If the 100 / 60 watt option is just too loud for your needs I also like the Mark Five:35. Its output volume is more in line with a Vox AC30.

Stitsel

I myself have been eyeing the Mark V:25 for a couple of years now; I'm always searching for the ultimate LB head ya know....

Eclipse II

I used to have a DC5 which was great for high gain tones. Instant Metallica! Unfortunately it was loud as hell so totally impractical in a home setting. I kept if for ages but finally sold it this year. It was a great amp though. 

dinomikesr1963

Listening to Mob Rules now after watching the video.  I can hear where it sounds similar but who knows what studio voodoo was added in the mix.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9DAPK87gnQ

Tatosh Guitar

dinomikesr1963 said:

Listening to Mob Rules now after watching the video.  I can hear where it sounds similar but who knows what studio voodoo was added in the mix.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9DAPK87gnQ

I can see what you mean. I have always thought the Live Evil album didn't sound like the usual cranked Marshall of the era, unless it was heavily modded. When I hear live albums of the late 70's/early 80's (AC/DC's If you want blood, Priest's Unleashed in the East, Whitesnake's Live in the Heart of the City, UFO's Strangers in the Night) I hear a Gibson sound thru a cranked Marshall. There's power tube saturation there. The opening of LE, with Neon Knights sounds way heavier to my ears from the first power chord, with lots of preamp gain. Maybe there's a Coliseum head here  in some way?

Joebuddha

I still still have my Studio 22 combo. It's a really versatile amp, incredibly over built.