There is a story out that Gibson is getting rid of Randell Smith

[SoftwareGuy]

This is really the end of Boogie amps. It didn't take long for Gibson to destroy another take over company.

[starjasmine]

Yep, various forums are ablaze with speculation that he has been fired.

The newly released Gibson Falcon amps certainly seem to play in the same ballpark as Boogie, price-wise. It'll be interesting to hear whether they offer suitable bang for such bucks.

I did a cursory scroll-through of this video and didn't hear anything that made me want to sell my MKIIC+ ;-)

In fact, I'd posit that Gibson seems to have squandered Randy's talents by trying to recreate the past (built in tremolo and spring reverb?!?) instead of trying to create the future.

https://noisegate.com.au/gibson-anno...on-amplifiers/

[Litterick]

It is all speculation. His story is still on the Mesa/Boogie site. I doubt he could be sacked — the companies merged, so he would be more than an employee.

[Alter]

Great amps! He's 78, and has been with the company for 55 years, I believe he started it in 1969. That's quite a venture! A mesa was my first good amp

Regarding future quality, there's just no way a big corporation can continue to run a business the way it was run by the person who created it and had it as their life's passion. If i was buying a Boogie I'd look for an older used amp..

[FourOnSix]

Great amps! He's 78, and has been with the company for 55 years, I believe he started it in 1969. That's quite a venture! A mesa was my first good amp

Regarding future quality, there's just no way a big corporation can continue to run a business the way it was run by the person who created it and had it as their life's passion. If i was buying a Boogie I'd look for an older used amp..

Which I have, for sale in the Bay Area. More details to be provided if anyone is interested.

[SoftwareGuy]

Regarding future quality, there's just no way a big corporation can continue to run a business the way it was run by the person who created it and had it as their life's passion. If i was buying a Boogie I'd look for an older used amp..

Why is that? There are lots of companies that sell high quality products. You can't compete primarily on price, but some will select quality over price (or weight) and that selection creates a niche for the product. Gibson doesn't understand who purchased Boogies and why.

[sgosnell]

Corporations seldom, if ever, buy another company with the aim to continue it as it was. They buy companies in order to acquire technology or market share, and often just put the acquisitions out of business. Anyone who expected Gibson to continue Mesa as a standalone going concern was just naive.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

The newly released Gibson Falcon amps certainly seem to play in the same ballpark as Boogie, price-wise.

They're only in the same ballpark as the little Mark Five and California Tweed combos right now. The Falcons are 15W amps with 6L6s and 12W with 6V6s (and the power difference between them is miniscule and won't affect sound very much if at all). The Mark VII (which is the current incarnation of the original 12" Boogie combo) weighs 58 pounds and costs $3800. I've never played through one, but I suspect it's as close to my original and much loved '78 Boogie as they get today. If I were younger and wanted one tube amp to handle all my gigs, I'd probably do one of these. But there's no way that any Gibson amp is in the same ballpark as even this one, let alone my Hunree Mark 1.

I don't know how sales of the "real" Boogies have been. The current flagship small combo amp (the Petrucci) is $4300, and I've never seen one anywhere. Unless the current Boogies are selling like hotcakes (which I doubt), the future of the Boogie name looks bleak to me. I'm thankful I have my Quilter OD202 and BlockDock to handle any big gig I may have before I shuffle off the planet.

FWIW, Randall Smith is one cool dude. He made his early bones fixing tube amps at his music store. He was so good at it that (as rumor has it) that he charged by the minute - and if it took him more than 10 minutes, he didn't charge anything. The early Boogies were hand assembled by him and his wife while they were (again as the story goes) sitting on the floor of their potting shed stoned. But their products were stellar. I had an early Boogie 12" combo for decades and loved every note that eve came out of it.

[SoftwareGuy]

Corporations seldom, if ever, buy another company with the aim to continue it as it was. They buy companies in order to acquire technology or market share, and often just put the acquisitions out of business. Anyone who expected Gibson to continue Mesa as a standalone going concern was just naive.

And sometimes companies take over others for the brand/name recognition.

However Gibson has thrown away every thing of value and simply destroyed a going business with a much loved product.

The management at Gibson is filled morons. I didn't expect Boogie to survive Gibson management.

And BTW a company named Berkshire Hathaway is know for purchasing successful companies and not interfering with them after the take over. Berkshire has done well with their strategy.

[jads57]

Well the good news for me at least is I don’t play tube amps any longer,Lol! Randall Smith is a good guy for sure!

[Cunamara]

He's 78? Could be he's just retiring.

[Doug B]

However Gibson has thrown away every thing of value and simply destroyed a going business with a much loved product.

The management at Gibson is filled morons. I didn't expect Boogie to survive Gibson management.

Gibson has been perfecting the art of the screw up the last few years. The Theodore guitar model, all the law suites against other companies-and often losing (see PRS vs Gibson, Dean Guitars vs Gibson.) Quality control often getting neglected, hiring that doofus that used to work for Norman's Rare Guitars, management shakeups that are often for the worst, this with Mesa, etc,etc, ad infinitum.

[ccroft]

Randall deserves retirement if he wants it. I ordered one around '75 or '76. It was done by talking to him on the phone, and then mailing a money order! How quaint. He was really great on the phone with me. He helped me pick my speaker, and then he convinced me I should wait a month or two because they were working on a new tweak. I think I remember him talking about it being called 'B'. I'm not really sure what Mark mine was.

I didn't know anything about tech back then, and I don't know why I thought I should get the 100 watt option. I gigged that for almost 20 years and I'm not sure I ever used all 4 power tubes. Maybe I did use 100 on some outdoor concerts. (it had a 50/100 switch that killed a pair). It always gave me great sound and never once broke down. I probably replaced a tube here or there, but I'm not even sure about that.

[yebdox]

Similar experience. Ordered mine over the phone in 1976, blonde tolex with the cane grill, 5 band EQ, 100 watts. Had to sell it 3 years later as a broke grad student, but did hang on to the ceramic SRO.... the purchaser didn't want it. Had it reconed and it's been in and out of a few amps over the years. I wonder what I would think of that amp now, after all these years. It was pretty cool to have a hundred watts in that small package.

[Woody Sound]

Fender bought out and killed the excellent Genz-Benz. Jeff just continued on with the even better Genzler.

Acoustic Array Pro - Genzler Amplification

[ruger9]

Fender bought out and killed the excellent Genz-Benz. Jeff just continued on with the even better Genzler.

Acoustic Array Pro - Genzler Amplification

Yeah but unfortunately he no longer makes the excellent electric guitar and bass amps Genz-Benz did. The Black Pearl 30 was one of the best amps I've ever played. But Fender couldn't have it competing against their own amp line, so the canned it.

[Litterick]

And sometimes companies take over others for the brand/name recognition.

However Gibson has thrown away every thing of value and simply destroyed a going business with a much loved product.

The management at Gibson is filled morons. I didn't expect Boogie to survive Gibson management.

And BTW a company named Berkshire Hathaway is know for purchasing successful companies and not interfering with them after the take over. Berkshire has done well with their strategy.

So, you still have not heard anything?

[Gitfiddler]

Here's the confirmation of Randall Smith's departure from Gibson. I wish him a well-deserved happy retirement!

“Randy, and his original design ideas, will continue to inspire us”: Gibson confirms exit of Mesa/Boogie founder and legendary ‘boutique’ guitar amp designer Randall Smith | MusicRadar

"Gibson has announces that Randall Smith, Mesa/Boogie founder and legend of guitar amp design. has left the company. In a statement, Gibson, which acquired Mesa/Boogie in January 2022, said that it would “continue to celebrate the legacy” of Smith, who has spent the last 55 years of his life pushing the boundaries in amp design..."

[jim777]

I don't know how sales of the "real" Boogies have been. The current flagship small combo amp (the Petrucci) is $4300, and I've never seen one anywhere. Unless the current Boogies are selling like hotcakes (which I doubt), the future of the Boogie name looks bleak to me.

All the guys I know still buying Boogies, or who have multiple Boogies, only ever buy the heads. Nobody, it would seem, buys combos anymore because they are just too damned heavy, and won't push air like a 4x12. Also, ALL of these guys have a Recto 4x12, which is evidently the king of 4x12s. I wouldn't know, as my Mark IV is a combo

[AdroitMage]

Ya know? Maybe I'm crazy, but sometimes I think some people involved in the biz are trying to talk to me, in a supportive fashion

I have recently been debating weather to 'fire" an old friend, who I've known for decades, who's last name just happens to be Smith. I had already decided to fire him when I saw this story, but it does, in some strange way, confirm I made the right choice. Or maybe it's just the stars aligning for me? Or maybe I'm crazy, i know im crazy fun, LOL, and it's just a total coincidence? I have no idea which one, and I'm not going to venture a guess. LOL

I'm just telling ya guys that the universe be talking to me, telling me good things, like for real.

If I am a little crazy, LOL, at least I'm crazy cool, LOL, a person of good morals,and good character, and, trustworthy, and dependable. I'm also super creative, and a fantastic musician, jazz, classic rock, blues, R&B, all of it. I'm actually proud of that.

Does anyone know how many millions Randall got for selling Mesa Boogie?

[Hammertone]

Weight is not an issue with this setup:
-Mesa TA-30;
-Mesa Mini-Rectifier 1x12" slant cab;
-Mesa Mini-Rectifier 1x12" straight cab.

Very easy to carry/transport/set up as a 1/2 stack or full stack.
Head has a lovely carrying bag and weighs 20 lbs.
Cabs weigh @30-36 lbs. each, depending on speaker (lighter with neo speakers), and have fabulous handles.

[Hammertone]

An older photo with a very different view, from when I had just on Mesa cab, and ran it with a Koch Studiotine head. It communicates a very different impression of size, ha!

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

All the guys I know still buying Boogies, or who have multiple Boogies, only ever buy the heads. Nobody, it would seem, buys combos anymore because they are just too damned heavy, and won't push air like a 4x12. Also, ALL of these guys have a Recto 4x12, which is evidently the king of 4x12s. I wouldn't know, as my Mark IV is a combo

I loved my EVM Boogie Thiele 1x12 and used it with many heads over the years. But I bought it to stack under my hunree Mk 1 w/ EVM. That little stack really moved a lot of air with 100W driving its two 12s.

[jim777]

I loved my EVM Boogie Thiele 1x12 and used it with many heads over the years. But I bought it to stack under my hunree Mk 1 w/ EVM. That little stack really moved a lot of air with 100W driving its two 12s.

That's what I've got now, a Mark IV combo on a Thiele EVM 12". I did spend the $10 bucks to get another "Boogie" plate for it, as I wanted them to match (forgive the mess) But the enormous weight of this great sounding rig is why I grabbed the TM Twin to play out with.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

After many Boogies including a Subway Blues, 50 caliber head, hunree Mk 1 1x12 combo, Walkabout etc, I've finally found the amp we could only dream about for years -



Take THAT, Randall Smith!!!