Mesa/Boogie gear on the Anagram

Mesa/Boogie started in Randall Smith's California workshop, where he hot-rodded small combos into amps with far more gain than they were built for. The company went on to make the Mark series, the Rectifier heads and a line of bass amps and cabinets.

Guitar players get the most here. Bogren Digital says Ampknob RevC is modelled on Jens Bogren's own Dual Rectifier, an early Revision C with a pre-500 serial, with a fixed overdrive in front. Nembrini Audio says Cali Reverb recreates the Rect-O-Verb 50. Both are confirmed by the developers.

For cabinets, forward audio says faIR MEGA California Recto captures a Rectifier 4x12 loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. Its free faIR Post Grunge blends that cab with a Marshall and an ENGL. Both are confirmed. The built-in Modern 4x12 is our guess at the same box.

Bass players have built-in options. Modern ISOBRICK 750 and Modern ISOBRICK 750 OD are likely the clean and drive channels of the Big Block 750. Darkglass does not name the source, so that is our inference from the names and controls. The four cabs, Modern Bass 1x15, Modern Bass 2x10, Modern Bass 4x10 and Modern Bass 8x10, are our guess at the PowerHouse range.

The Rectifier sound is tight in the lows, thick in the upper mids and heavily saturated. That is why it sits under so much drop-tuned rock and metal. The Big Block is a different animal: a wide, modern clean with a drive channel that keeps the low end solid.

On bass, try Modern ISOBRICK 750 OD first, since it is already on your Anagram. On guitar, start with Cali Reverb.