Guitar Center | 12 months ago

Get the West Coast sound with a California Tweed from Guitar Center today:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Mesa-Boogie-California-Tweed-Guitar-Amps.gc?source=4GOA4LOBA

The MESA/Boogie California Tweed series takes a snippet of DNA from another West Coast amp maker’s iconic tweed amps. But, thanks to some savvy circuitry, while the California Tweed is a single-channel amp, it’s far from a one-trick tone pony. MESA/Boogie’s Incremental Multi-Watt, Duo-Class and Dyna-Watt technologies serve up different power levels, operating classes and wiring options to produce various sounds. For example, when you run the California Tweed 6V6 4:40 at its full 40 watts, all four tubes are pentode. Drop to 30 watts, and two tubes are pentode and two are triode. At 20 watts, the configuration is two pentode tubes, and at 10 watts, it’s two triode tubes. Set the amp for 2 watts, and you get single-ended parallel pentode and triode. What does this mean for your tone? MESA/Boogie Tone Lab director Doug West runs it down for you.

“Basically, when you select a power mode on the California Tweed, it’s not just the wattage that changes,” explains West. “The tubes are reconfigured, as well. Pentode tubes tend to be brighter and punchier, and triode tubes are warmer and smoother. So, when you choose a power mode, you’re also hearing different tonal characters. You can stick with one tone or the other, or blend the two sounds, depending on where you set the Multi-Watt knob.”

The California Tweed 6V6 2:20 shares the sonic alchemy of its sibling, but with less Multi-Watt options. Go for 20 watts, and you’re using two pentode tubes. Half the power to 10 watts, and it’s two triode tubes. Bring it down to 1 watt, and you have a single-ended pentode. For modern players, the MESA/Boogie California Tweed offers two other departures from the vintage tweed formula—a tube spring reverb and a fully buffered effects loop.

For a deeper dive into MESA/Boogie's current amp offerings, check out our guide on How to Choose the Best MESA/Boogie Guitar Amplifier:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/riffs/buying-guides/amplifiers--effects/mesa-boogie-amplifier-guide

Keep up with MESA/Boogie news and products at https://www.mesaboogie.com/en-US/.

Chapters
00:00 - Intro with Doug West
00:27 - Overview of the California Tweed’s Multi-Watt Feature
01:10 - Demo: Going Through the Various Wattages on the California Tweed
01:59 - Overview of the Padded “Low” Input
02:10 - Overview of the On-Board Reverb
02:21 - Demo: Exploring the California Tweed’s Reverb Capabilities
02:59 - Available in Various Configurations
03:33 - Outro