Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic In Depth Review RA-100

The new Royal Atlantic is poised to become the next big thing from the tone masters at Mesa/Boogie. This amp delivers up big american clean tones as well as all of the classic and modified british tones you could ever want, and with each preamp mode having a dedicated control for the Multi-Soak power attenuator, you can have any level of power tube clip and any volume level.

In this review we show you several tones in each preamp mode, show you how the gain and tone controls respond, and let you hear how the Multi-Soak attenuator sounds.

Please note that as the Multi-Soak attenuator is demonstrated, you will not notice a change in volume because each audio clip was normalized to the same level in Pro Tools. The amp drops in volume considerably and that would not have translated well to the recording. By hearing each setting at the same relative volume, you will get a real sense for how transparent and natural the attenuator will sound, as well as how it would sound on a recording where low volume tracking is required.


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[addictedtogear]

I appreciate the effort that goes into making a demo like this and I am not trying to knock your efforts, but I think your videos would be so much better if you simply play instead of trying to read the product manual. Just be yourself and people will appreciate it much more. A good example of this is gearmanndude's videos. For what its worth I think your video quality is much better than his. Also a room mic would make the amp sound much more natural and less harsh. Keep up the great work!

[fluro]

the best shootout ever! this review is unique. thanx!

[haggertysmusic]

@JohnnyTsak316 The audio clip was "Normalized" on each step of the attenuator. This is not compression. Normalizing raises the volume until the loudest peak hits -0dB. It doesn't effect the dynamics, quality, or tone of the audio file. It's just a way to balance the clips so that our ears don't trick us into thinking louder is better. The amp gets very quiet at the highest attenuation settings and this video hopefully showed you can still record or jam with it and get great results.

[motogps]

Probably the best amp review I've seen. Loved how the tone knobs were turned whilst the guitar was being played, really gave me a feel for how the amp sounds. Good guitar playing helped :)

[TheAlbiCollier]

Awesome 4:00 he says in "Load mode now" and plays wasting my hate! Awesome!

[SonicProvocateur]

@skunizzi The reason you probably hear their videos as "harsh" sometimes is because they volume normalize their videos. A) in whatever audio program (probably pro-tools) and that pushes the decibels to zero, and makes it almost clip. and B) they probably use Sony Vegas (which I use) and it makes it sound a little different once the video is re-compiled. C) Youtube compression takes some away again. All this adds up to the dynamic change. Mesa's are still king of the hill, though.

[haggertysmusic]

@chasingtone Yeah, I think the RA has as much usable gain as a Recto, but voiced differently. The gain on both amps can be pushed past the point of sounding good. If you need more gain at that point, a boost will work really well with either amp and take it over the top. You would get more bottom end with the RA head and a 2x12 Rectifier cabinet as opposed to the combo which has a smaller cabinet and part open back.

[johnstrathman]

Thanks! mine is great...keep pulling..under

[mhb]

I think the Solo feature in the Stiletto and Lonestar series is the most useful feature Mesa has added in some time. Why it is not applied across their entire line up is a mystery to me.

[dylanbradleyofficial]

does the attenuation allow it to get to low almost bedroom volumes ?

[JME]

First off, I wanna say your videos are great, and helpful, but your radically awesome playing in this and the Mark V vids are making my life a bit difficult. Ya see I am currently trying to decide between getting this amp or a Mark V. If I get the RA, then I'll have some extra cash in my pocket for a pedal or two. If it were your $, what would you do man? Would ya get the Mark V or a RA with a couple pedals. (Side note, I play a lot of 90's music like the RHCP, Nervana, Foo Fighters etc)

[chasingtone]

Hey Don, I really enjoy every demo that you do. I have a question for you! I have the Mesa Boogie Rectoverb 50 Single Rectifier. I do not use the Modern channel at all, i only use the Vintage Channel only. I know the RA is voiced different in the British way. My Question is does this amp have as much gain as the single rectifier? Also i noticed that the RA combo has Vintage 30's, does it have good bottom end with these speakers. From your demo it might be my next amp. Thanks for any info. Bruce

[haggertysmusic]

@skunizzi Haven't had anyone complain they are harsh sounding. What kind of speakers are you using to listen to the clips?

[DToneQuest]

i'm having a real hard time choosing between the ta-30 or the ra-100, the ta-30 seems more versatile, compact and sounds great and volume wise is more than i need. the RA has good clean and crunch, more headroom and can attenuate to the volume you want. I have a attenuator but this can do per channel which is amazing. someone please help me!

[addictedtogear]

Why do your recordings sound so harsh and brittle?

[haggertysmusic]

@JME033089 Thanks for the compliments! You can give me a call if you would like, 605-348-4801 and we can talk tone, but based on the groups you just mentioned and that era of music, my initial instincts lean towards the Mark V. But give me a shout. It's easier over the phone to figure out exactly what kind of sound you are looking to get.

[digitrixster]

Am I the only one who didn't hear much of a difference (or any at all) when they demoed the power soak?

[Blackbird]

why do reviewers keep scooping the mids on the high gain channel when the gain is cranked? shitty compressed tone, crank the fucking mids up the amp sounds so much better..

[klimpster]

This amp is not worthy Petrucci-riffs.

[bobbyberetta]

That's a review! This is how it should be done, thank you!