If you’re a fan of Mesa/Boogie amps, you probably already know about their reputation for great tone and solid build quality. It would be easy for such a company to rest on their laurels; however, Mesa founder Randall Smith is always on the verge of creating the next best thing. Of course, sometimes the next best thing is the thing that reminds you of the past.

Enter the Mesa TA-30, which is an amp that contains the best sounds of vintage American (i.e. Fender) and British (i.e. Marshall and Vox) amplifiers. The TA-30 has the same great tone as the TA-15, but has much wanted features such as reverb and an effects loops. Unlike many of their other products, the TA-30 focuses more on “classic” clean and overdrive tones, not the über-saturated tones of the Dual Rectifier or Mark series. 

The TA-30 fits a welcome niche within the Mesa/Boogie family. Though it’s an often overused description, it’s a very “pedal-friendly” amplifier with a lot of versatility. The amp cops Fender, Vox, and Marshall tones very convincingly.