Building Mesa/Boogie Part 5: Founder Randall Smith answers questions, talks Neil Young and Racing

[@philarends7555]

This guy is a national treasure. I'd listen to him reading his grocery list.

[@charlesrocks]

For real

[@RandallSmith2G]

Don't forget the milk!

[@samright4661]

Please never stop making videos. Have you ever considered making a pod cast ? We need hours of these stories this is high quality entertainment

[@michaelarthurmusic307]

I have owned 3 Mesa amps over the years and loved them all, especially the Lodestar Special. Great series of stories, very entertaining.

[@phillipewing2406]

Good Sir! I have never owned a Mesa. I've never been able to afford a Mesa. I'm 61 and probably will never be able afford one. I have watched, so far, up to this point and I have to say that I truly wish I was living in your neck in the 1960's. I have fallen in love with you, the person, and the brand. I'd love to, one day, own one. Shred on...

[@chriswinfree9097]

Love your stories, you and Paul Reed Smith should get in a room together and have a discussion, tinker on something or whatever.The world may or may not explode, but I know there will be fire. It'll be entertaining but in a good way.

[@tonyelgordo7508]

Art and technology are a wonderful marriage. Art and business often conflict. You did it right, and I’m thankful for the 25 years of finding inspiration through the Mesa sound.

[@PeterMcCracken-n3g]

What an education I'm getting Randall, The founder of Rammstein uses and has used dual rectifiers since the start of them in 1994. I unfortunately didn't know anything about Mesa/Boogie except Carlos Santana used them. Anyway, Where I come from we couldn't get valve amplification locally from the seventies to the nineties and so the cost to import was prohibitive, meaning I missed out and had to suck it up. I got fairly reasonable at getting some semblance of a tone from the solid state amps that I had bought at the time. Thank God for you Randall and cheers for your hard work on behalf of me and probably every other guitar player the world over.

[@drlarcey]

Keep them coming, Randy this is awesome

[@lefujyou]

When I bought my first Mark four combo, yeah that was the pitch if anything goes wrong with the amp you take it to boogie in Petaluma and they would say go get a coffee latte and when you come back, it’ll be ready true that.!!I had two mark fours and a Lonestar special……..☮️❤️‍🔥✨

[@Tony-Jabroni]

Randall, you are the man! Thank you for making these videos!

[@stevemc6694]

Talk about whatever hits you and never dismiss a tangent. The stories are great.

[@jamiemorgan4146]

Randy, I bought a Mesa Mark ll C+ New, from the Hollywood store, then the Mark lll came out and I sold the llC+ and bought the Mark lll blue stripe simul class with EQ and Black Shadow speaker. I do not miss the ll C+, the lll gets all of the sound, that the ll c+ had, plus it has the other channels that I wanted. It’s in an Anvil Road case and it kicks azz, even today. Love hearing your stories!

[@dfwlistener7593]

Thank God for his gift in you to the world. You are a national treasure in my world Sir. Fascinating stuff please keep it coming.

[@NerdGasims]

Mr. Smith really I really enjoy these videos & want to say thanks for posting these & also for creating Mesa/Boogie. Many years ago when I first started playing guitar I remember getting Metallica’s And Justice For All… album & it said something in there about them using Mesa/Boogie amps; that sent 13 year old me wanting a Boogie. As a teenager I took guitar lessons from a local player named Kirby who would teach anyone any style they wanted to play/learn but at heart he was a metal head & he had a Boogie MK3. I remember him teaching me the solo to Blackened & after I learned it he let me play it through his MK3. Right then and there I said I’d get a MK3 one day. Flash forward many years from then & back in 2020 someone locally was selling a green strip MK3 combo for an amazing price that I couldn’t say no to & I finally got my dream amp then. It’s my forever amp definitely one piece of gear I’ll never part with

[@davegardner7731]

My mate meet you at race meet a Kiwi called Craig you spoke about the NZ version of early Boogies the Rocket amp...Cheers for great stories

[@FatBoy7.3Powerstroke]

Hell Yeah, Cheers Randall from Fort Mitchell, Alabama!

[@dguy709]

I love hearing about the history of Mesa Boogie as much as I love playing my Mesa Boogie amps! Thanks for this series!

[@corpse-in-orbit]

The more digressions, diversions, and tangents, the better! It's just a privilege to hear stories from the man who invented modern guitar tone. That line of coke on the buck knife is killing me, particularly because a very similar thing once happened to me on a gig at a coke-trafficking bar in Little Rock, but we were a few million dollars and people short of a Neil Young concert.

[@MrMOMOJAZZ]

Mr. Randall thank you for all the boogies. My Lonestar is irreplaceable for me. It's a lifelong love between LS and my strat❤

[@mattsummers1246]

I just LOVE these stories, but you always leave me wanting more! Please keep em coming, Mr. Smith!

[@stevenlopez7135]

1-6-2025 and we love Randall Smith more than ever Gibson on the other hand ?

[@guitarmoog]

As a Fillmore 50 owner, a Neil Young fan, and an F1 geek, this is just about the perfect stuff for me. Really appreciate you taking the time to do these great videos!

[@TheChingazo]

I love these videos. The only amps I ever wanted to own is Mesa Boogie and to get personal insight from the man himself is a unbelievable. Appreciate you taking the time to tell these stories.

[@MesaMXR]

Randy, I would love to hear stories about the Rectifier series and it's creation. That sound is pretty much the meaning of life for me. I've watched many interviews with you over the years and have yet to see you discuss at all. But also I could listen to you talk about anything guitar related all damn day.

[@DipendraBagchee]

Thank you again Randy for sharing these great stories. It's inspiring!

[@surj33t]

Love the random stories, keep em coming!

[@TomAtkinsBand]

Thank you so much for sharing all your insights and amazing talent! I have been a boogie user ever since I plugged into a mesa boogie 3 all the way back in 1986! Mesa Boogie amps are the greatest guitar amps ever made!

[@vogtgrant1]

We love hearing all the stories! I hope you don't stop!

[@timzyk]

Thank you for making these videos, keep it up. This is history!

[@martingriffin6294]

Tell any story you want. We are enjoying all of it! Big love sent to ya from Texas!

[@toddhamby]

What a great a fun bunch of stories! One of my really good friends from South Carolina moved there and worked for you named Kevin Robertson. Love your channel!

[@RandallSmith2G]

Kev still there and doing a Great Job final testing!!

[@abstractsymphony7713]

Greetings From Chile Randall love the stories about how you Build Mesa/Boogie legacy thanks so much for sharing all this great stories about cars bikes and of course the amps

[@scottwest1677]

Thank you Randy! I lived 3 blocks from Prune Music in Mill Valley. I used to come in and drool over the guitars I couldn't afford when I was 12 years old. Even 160 dollars for a Fender Stratocaster was too expensive for me! But the guys would let me take them off the wall and play them for a while. I got my first Boog when my friend and bandmate, Mitch Faber found a used Mark 1 at Zone Music in Cotati. It was a fantastic amp that saw many gigs and never failed me. Under the chassis in sharpee marker: RCS 9/76

[@PurposefulPorpoise]

U gotta understand Randall, most of the guys from ur generation are either gone or sippin Mai Thai's in Cancun with not the least bit of concern about the younger guys comin up. For those of us that were born in the mid-late 80's, we missed all that stuff, so getting to hear stories from back then from someone who was not just there but a critical part of that scene is a real treat. P.S. I wanted to be a race car driver and was learning on a Kart back home at the Homestead Speedway in Miami out by the parking lot track they set up there, but I was 16, which was basically an old dinosaur in race car driver terms. Most of the kids i was learning with were like 5-6 years old haha. I knew my odds were terrible, so i picked up guitar. Take care!

[@charlesrocks]

Best comment I’ve in this entire thread. Randall is doing us millennials and zoomers a great service.

[@TKO-rf5no]

Thanks for these videos. Custom ordered my first Boogie head in the early 80s as a teenager with my life savings at the time. Wish I still had that amp! Cheers

[@Doctorphoenix82]

Randall, I love hearing all these great stories from the different pillars of your life. I fell in love with mesa amps in high school, i had a mesa studio pre into a mesa simuclass 50/50. I miss that old rig.

[@RichardTull]

Keep these coming Randall! Over decades of playing your amps and trying others, I always come back to yours as my main amps! Thank you for the incredibly inspiring work! It's fascinating hearing your journey!

[@owleven]

Hey Randall, if you can believe this, I just came into possession of an original Mark IIC+! Im feeling blessed. I would love to hear your side of the origin story of that circuit and how it came to be so mythical! Thanks again for these great videos. Im a big fan of yours, thanks for being such an inspiration.

[@elmaffo]

I have only two words for Randall Smith... THANK YOU!

[@wrobelsparrow]

The fact that you were fired from your company is really saddenning. Nethertheless - keep on posting, it’s really interesting! Greetings from Warsaw!

[@clovergrass9439]

Would be interesting to hear about the firing. I also understand keeping it private.

[@samright4661]

@@clovergrass9439He probably signed a NDA with Gibson

[@jamiemorgan4146]

@@samright4661FFFFFFFFK GIBSON! They destroy everything that they touch. Quality means nothing to them. All they want to do, is see how much money they can shake out of a product, by cheapening it..

[@jochemjonker3362]

​@@jamiemorgan4146it's the owners/ stakeholders and Gibson management creating this maximazing profits hunt,just like Fender and most other companies. I don't think,the workers/builders at Gibson like it this way.

[@TheWolvesCurse]

exactly like Fender when CBS ran them and they fired Leo Fender.

[@cfh13]

It took me 22 years to get an amp that gives me the tone I have in my head. It was a Mark V 90w & 4x12 rect cab I got right after covid hit & I love it. 2 years later I sent in a lemon 5050 to Petaluma & got it back just as I found a Quad Preamp & holy hell, does it kick some ass. I don't need any other amps now. I'll go a month or two between playing them and fall back in love with them every time. I'm grateful to have a few pieces of exceptional gear. Thank you, sir.

[@xray5niner1]

Another fantastic video!! Simply love these, keep them coming!!

[@sgt.thundercok4704]

20:33 - LMAO! Loved the gear box impressions!

[@eoinsmith422]

Great Channel, great stories, great vibes. You light up my day, thanks man.

[@trevorstine5732]

These videos are very inspiring. Thank you Randall

[@joerectifier]

All the discussion detours are fine, Randall. Keep them coming - and know this - I will not purchase a Boogie now that you have left the building. It’s not that they will not be good, it’s that I do not like corporate America and will not “abide” a company that would not keep you in your womb and let you gracefully transition to Emeritus At Large 😊

[@cpizani]

Great info... Enjoying the history and the lifetime contribution.

[@pvdmac]

These videos are absolutely magnificent…

[@SeanSlavin1974]

Happy to see Mike B get some love. He's a saint and a fantastic human. I miss him dearly.

[@DennisShaw-g3s]

It was an honor getting to know you back around 2003 and hearing you describe the Traxis. The meal at Two Degos was great. You are the one that taught me about great tone and build quality. I can never thank you enough for all I learned from you. I sincerely hope you return to doing what you were placed here in this earth to do.

[@RandallSmith2G]

Hey Dennis! YOU are one of our most precious and favorite cats of all time!! Cheers & Thanks! 2G

[@almightyguitarnerd]

All the best to you Randall, thank you for decades of tonal inspiration. My Fillmore 50 is the best all-around amplifier I ever owned. Im still rediscovering it five years later. It was my 40th birthday present. I still remember all these Mesa/Boogie catalogues I was holding in my hands as a kid until they felt apart... I will echo others. Please keep the stories coming, and I hope at some point I will see you back in the amplifier business. I will be the first in line to buy one

[@johnpandolfino8663]

Tell the crew at Mesa to reissue the Lone Star Special....great amp Keep em coming....it's like a history lesson listening to you tell your stories....

[@charlesrocks]

The Lonestar is a phenomenal amp

[@illiance]

As a honky-tonk musician since the early 1970s, guitar amps were my bane… low power, sans tone. My first amp was a tuck and roll Kustom amp followed by a plethora of other amps, Fender, Peavey, Roland, etc. I always loved the sound of Mesa Boogies but they were always outside of my budget… you don’t make squat in the honky-tonks. Well into my 70s, I finally bought a Mark IV and played one gig with it when Covid hit, at which point, ironically, I decided to finally hang up my pick. Thanks for your wonderful stories and insight into your creative life and the genesis of Mesa Boogie.

[@shredhiker6209]

I really enjoy everything about this video series, and hope you’re able to do more of them!

[@Clrwatrtom]

Thanks Randy for these videos. I'm a wannabe player and I've owned 3 boogies, a Studio 22+ with EQ and a Subway Blues that I ordered with a 12" speaker. I ran the 2 together in stereo thinking I knew what I was doing. The 22+ got real noisy and because I played in church got rid of both. I also had a Mk II with EQ but it was too heavy and so LOUD. I've use a couple Carvins, a Vintage 33 and a Vintage 16. The both suffer from pcb noise and constantly need to be resolved because printed circuit boards just don't seem to hold up over time without getting real noisy. I'm using a Silvertone 1471, and English Electronic champ copy and a 63 Ampeg Jet with 7868 output tubes. I dint play guitar much these days because my church needed a bass player. Thanks for reading my comment.❤

[@civgeek]

Mike B is the best! He's worked on a few of my amps. He is also doing a great job of transferring his knowledge.

[@rickfinsta2951]

Here in the Milwaukee area we are spoiled for Mesa maintenance/repair with Jonathan Blick. He's one of the factory certified shops and is absolutely fantastic. I never intended to have a stable of amplifiers but now that I do (my first love the MkIV, two Mk5s for gigging, and a TA-30) it is wonderful having Blick around if anything goes wrong. It has never been more than a resistor here and there and never taken more than a day or two.

[@57Techboy]

I'm turning on my buddy to your videos, he's a gear head and loves music. You're a hoot. Thanks, Randall

[@GoldenNuggetRec]

Man this just gets more fun! I mentioned feeling connected over the combo of cars and amps, but thats when you were talking v8s, which i started on, but my real love came in with toyotas and corollas and 4ages which were used for i think some formula atlantic racers. This is so fun, really enjoying this tid bits and stories

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Love your stories... you have lots of them to tell!

[@yournamehere7182]

Thank you, Randall 🎸

[@braden2112]

I know this is probably well documented over the decades, but I want to hear your thoughts and maybe some stories of working with John Petrucci over the years. Whether it may be developing the JP2C, stories of him visiting the factory, just things like that. He’s the guy who got me into Mesa Boogie, and I bought my first ever Mesa head last year because of him. Proud owner of a Mesa Boogie Mark V 25 watt head.

[@angrytroll27]

5:44 Absolute words of wisdom! Ill be remembering that next week when I start recording!

[@AJNpa80]

Sounds like that time and place , the people and your life is even cooler than the amps. Which makes them amps even better. Love the history. I can't collect boutique amps. I learn about them. I work on my guitars and own some small units strategically selected to be good enough to play with myself. It was a rare time of exploding change and possibilities. Great stuff.

[@davidblake136]

another fab video Randy - I wish I were closer (live UK so thousands of miles away) so I could offer to buy you a beer!!

[@danerickson1632]

The sixties were great, I remember all the Hippies and Music , I was born in 1961😊

[@davidhair7390]

Keep the stories coming! Diverge and digress as much as you want to, because it’s all great. Thank you from South Carolina!

[@blastmasterparker6358]

Great story and the pursuit of the dream u didn't imagine at the beginning

[@clovergrass9439]

Another excellent installment, thanks! Watching these has totally piqued my interest in MesaBoogie amps. The Fillmore is on my list.

[@kevinbailey1097]

I have to say. I’ve owned some of your amps. Never knew the story of how you got started. And the spirit and your ingenuity that it took. You’ve had one great trip and got to work with and meet some great people and players. It’s definitely very interesting to hear your story and experiences. That’s what life is about the experiences. I hope you continue making these videos.

[@paroblynn]

It’s wild to me how I feel like I’m listening to someone I’ve always known. These stories are great. Do you remember Dave Sarge at all? He’s been the tech I go to when I’m stumped, and he was my go to whenever I didn’t know anything. Also I heard your comment where you said you hit a nerve by saying about mountain biking. Don’t let anyone get to you, with the web/tube/social, everyone is a critic. These stories are awesome. I’m tuning in for all of them.

[@edcampbell2206]

Love the content! A couple of my favorite things - fast cars and fabulous music gear. Will never forget my cousin telling me to buy a Boogie! Have at least 2 perpetually in the line up ever since! Please continue posting!

[@sdelling1]

You are an absolute Gem! Love these "rants"!

[@TedToob]

Fascinating stuff. Watched it all! I live in Pacifica. I've owned a Mark III since 1996. Love that thing! Thanks!

[@AmiGuitar]

i have never been interested in car racing, but you might have turned me on to it. I love listening to your racing stories

[@the-LeoKnightus]

I can definitely appreciate your passion for racing. Out here in New Mexico, it's been motocross and desert motorcycle racing for me. I spend my time on and around my bikes and playing my Boogies in my Red Dirt Country band. Those amps have been my weapon for a long time. I have all the old staples...Fenders and so forth...but to be able to get great musical breakup at a reasonable volume...my Boogies are the secret sauce.

[@kaidemen156]

Loving the series, looking forward to the next!

[@frankdiaz5877]

do not stop the vids you the man love the amps own 4 of different models

[@darekpeszt3640]

Laughed my ass off at the cocaine line. Dude had one hell of a life.

[@mikajohannesgahre6529]

What is the Story behind the mark IV? Would be very interested in hearing about that, it's my favorite amp.

[@shelbyavant5081]

Mine, too

[@device1974]

Good stuff Randall, keep it coming! Talk about your bass amps!

[@marcojohnston334]

If you didn't build the coolest amps on earth, you would have been a great talk show host!

[@bebop502]

Hi Randall, thx for putting these videos out there great fun. I have a IIc+ I ordered way back when .. still a great amp. love the racing story's too I used to race GP bikes kinda miss the old crew at the tracks. amyhow ... thx, Cheers

[@fedrek01]

Thank you dear Randall, I will definitely watch to the end, to reply to a comment you need to click with a left mouse button on a small word Reply under any comment (The one next to the thumb up and down), write your own response in the narrow text field that appears and click on the word Reply in the rectangle that turned blue after you started writing. It appears under the whole text field at it's end (in the bottom corner of the field).

[@RandallSmith2G]

Thanks!

[@fedrek01]

@@RandallSmith2G Glad to help, you're a true legend!

[@BillPappas1977]

Fascinating stories, Randy! From my first Boogie (IIB in 1980) to my most recent Fillmore 25, I've enjoyed the amplifiers you and the crew have created over the years! Could you please set the record straight on Acoustic Control's "borrowing" of your concept back in '79-'80 with the Model 160 series? I bought one before I got my Mark IIB but never used afterwards - there was just no comparison.

[@danmartin633]

I have the 60w and the 100w with 5 band eq. I would also like to hear RS's thoughts on those.

[@Spidouz]

I would love a round table podcast with Randall Smith, Mike Soldano, Mike Zaite, Peter Diezel, Bill Krinard, Reinhold Bogner and Martin Kidd…

[@lylelong9530]

Paul Rivera too

[@cjgutz78040]

Damn, I hate to hear that you were fired from the company you brought up. You still know how to build amps, you should now make REALLY boutique amps. Love your stories, please keep them coming!!

[@drlarcey]

You know something you’re bringing this biking up again and I was up to the guitar store the other day the same day as watching your videos and next-door a bike shop and I roll in there and just out of the blue I bought a brand new specialized mountain bike and now that I’m watching this again I just remember that you were around these mountain bikes it’s really wild That is very strange I had no intentions of buying a bike that is too weird

[@samdefrancomusic]

I owned and heavily gigged an ACC 165 combo back in the very early 80s. Sounded really good until something failed in the circuit causing sparks and much smoke. I salvaged the EV speaker and ordered a Mark IIB head in '81. I waited a few months but it was well worth the wait and the Mark IIB still works and sounds amazing today - 43 years later!

[@JockeLundgrenTV]

Thank you very much! Excellent stories.

[@sadisynn9836]

I STILL don't have a Tube Screamer. In the early '70s, I played thru a Heath TA-16 and fed a line from the speakers to a variable attenuator of my own design to the input of a Princeton which was where the overdrive occurred. "Pre-amping" we called it.... at least in Alaska. I 'spose I could've got an LPB1, but I wasn't aware of 'em.

[@stevemc6694]

Great stuff once again. Stay amazing

[@Saxby8six]

thanks for the interesting stories

[@HubLocationSound]

Thanks for sharing your rich history, Randy. Just curious... did you keep any (or all) of the amp models that you developed? Like a trophy cabinet? Or not that sentimental?

[@RandallSmith2G]

No - -they always got sold (with my permission) to someone who HAD to have it - - except for beater protos.

[@chadspidle7176]

Fun to watch!

[@jega157]

Love the stories!

[@t2mccoy]

Love watching these. I'm a bit worried Gibson is just going to go into reissue mode and stop the Mesa innovation with Randall gone!

[@clovergrass9439]

CBS bought Fender in early Jan 1965. It took them a few years to downgrade the quality. See what happens here. Exploitative reissue agenda seems likely.

[@David.S.]

well of course Gibson is going to do that. They're all about nostalgia & reissues, clearly they had that in-mind when they bought Mesa in the first place. We're now seeing a "90's Dual Rectifier" reissue as well..

[@johnpierson8398]

I am an electronic tech with a 2 year degree. So I am not an EE because I don't have a 4 year degree. But, I have held design engineering positions in a variety of industries over the last 45 years. So I can relate to your story of Mesa Boogie not hiring engineers. Truth be told, my dream job was always to be a guitar tube amp designer. I hold you in the pantheon of great guitar amp designers. I came close - today my job is I am a tech developing a high power, portable, wireless subwoofer. Cool, but no where as cool as being a guitar amp designer. I say - never say never.

[@RobertD-y42]

I spent 23 years in PCB manufacturing. A friend offered to give my resume to a manager where he worked. I interviewed for a position as a Manufacturing Engineer with a major medical imaging manufacturer. The manager that interviewed me said he couldn't consider someone with no prior ME experience for the job, but he did give my resume to the PCB design manager. Twelve hours of interviews later, I got the job. The fact that I had no college, and no prior experience didn't phase them at all. I was the junior, then senior designer in our group as well as the sole Component Librarian supporting as many as 20 Engineers. It was the best 15 years of my career.

[@philipmarsh3522]

@@RobertD-y42Engineers are great when you need someone to make sure that you can build something over and over, on a budget and it always works. Not so great when you need someone to figure out a new way to do something. I remember this one guy who figured out a way to make an insurance claims system do all the checking and cross checking automatically that could handle as much work as 100 people (not so great for the folks doing the work, but back then that was a huge cost for employers who had their own health plans for employees and added bonus took forever to get the doctors and hospitals paid for their work). Great designer, but man that thing used a HUGE amount of mainframe resources. Had to bring in the software engineers to make it work without crushing the big computers but I guarantee you those engineers would never have thought to design something like that in the first place. The guy who figured out how to do it was just a claims person, but we’d offered them a bonus if they could pay more claims and he figured out a way to make a pretty big bonus this way. Our COO wanted to fire him for ‘cheating’ the system but I (CFO at the time) told him he was nuts and we needed to promote that kid. We made him a VP and gave him four times what he was making. His invention was copied by a lot of other companies and probably reduced healthcare administration costs by a $ billion a year across the industry (or maybe a few $ billion tbh).

[@RobertD-y42]

@@philipmarsh3522 I worked in new product development and the Engineers I worked with were always looking at new and better ways of doing things. I sat across from a patent paralegal so I could see when their designs proved out and they applied for patents. In addition to new product development, I supported Transducer development and sustaining for all of the company's products. I was also the company Component Engineer, so every single part or component request made by the Engineers went through me. Feature sizes over the years kept getting smaller. One of the last designs I worked on had a custom ASIC that was 1/4 inch by 1/2 inch in size and had 586 pins on a 250um (.010") grid. There were 2 of these ASICs on the design soldered to a .001" thick flexible substrate. When I told my manager that the design wasn't manufacturable, he told me a German company was already manufacturing them.

[@Journey-of-1000-Miles]

Terrific!

[@GoldenNuggetRec]

More racing absolutely!