Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100, Sounds -- Alt Rock Rhythm (1 of 8) | Full Compass

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What it sounds like -- Mesa Boogie Limited Royal Atlantic RA-100 Guitar Amp Combo and Head with Full Compass Systems

In the RA-100, each mode is dedicated to a region of musically useful gain and capable of iconic sounds. These are comprised of CLEAN, LO and HI and they cover the continents with inspiring soulfulness, conviction and authority... you need but plot the course and she'll take you there.

Channel 1 offers CLEAN, a decidedly American circuit, that chimes with bell-like clarity on the top and is filled out with bouncy, tight low-end that's warm and rich, but doesn't get tubby. CLEAN produces angelic cleans, but because of its tucked bass frequencies, also clips beautifully when used with its dedicated Soak for either pushed bluesy rhythm or old-school overdriven solo sounds.

Channel 2 pays tribute to both classic and modified British sounds, and though the two Modes in this Channel share Tone controls, they are adept at delivering amazing, no-compromise footswitchable performance. LO focuses on that touch-sensitive region of gain produced by classic Brit circuits and will have you knee-deep in hit-making sounds instantly.

The undeniable beauty of this gain region lies in the ability to dictate the sound based upon your picking technique, now further enhanced by the addition of Mutli-Soak™. Pick softly and she'll purr through stormy seas of Blue or, lay into it and deliver the classic Brit gut-punch... tight and thumping - with enough gain to crunch -- yet with dynamic attack and not too saturated. HI covers the widest spectrum of gain in the RA100 and though its moniker suggests "over-the-top", some of its best attributes are to be found at settings in the middle of the evening watch. HI transforms from a sweet sea of lower-gain, English-Blues bliss at the shallow end of the GAIN control - to an angry, raging tempest with fathoms of harmonics riding just below the surface as you taunt its furthest reaches. And don't worry, if your style takes you right up the middle -- where you need enough gain to saturate, but you need your attack intact and not mush -- some of the Royal Atlantic's best sounds reside in the heat of the noonday sun. Around 12:00 on Channel 2's GAIN control, the Royal rocks like a classic, but sings like a modified. Tight and percussive with harmonics that leap to the surface as if chased by a predator.

These two Modes in Channel 2 interact with the one set of Tone controls virtually seamlessly and deliver their respective characters with surprising accuracy and detail. This enables you to switch across styles with a minimum of tweaking and a level of compromise that is well worth the trade in simplicity.