NAD - Mesa Fillmore 25

[culturejam]

I spent all of 2021 purging gear (so much so that I got a 1099-K from Reverb), so of course it was time to complete the circle with a new purchase. 

This is the Fillmore 25, which is supposedly an old design from the early Mark I era days of Mesa. Definitely does not sound like any of the Mark amps or the many derivative models and lines. It's much more Fendery (but the breakup is great). Also, the tone stack does not at all behave/interact like most Mesa amps. It's a nice change, frankly. I'm not afraid to change the settings on this one like I am on the Mark V:25. 



I've only played it for a couple of hours, and of course it's still honeymoon territory, but I do like it quite a bit. This is going to be replacing my Princeton, for sure (anybody want a lightly used 68 RI Princeton?).  It can do that clean Fender sound (with tube reverb, no less) but also a whole lot more. It also takes up les space, which is always an issue for me.

In the Hi mode and with Gain dimed, it maxes out at around what I would call a medium-heavy overdrive. Definitely not a modern metal sound, but it can do 70s and early 80s hard rock pretty well. Actually, so far, I don't hear a whole lot of difference between the Drive and Hi modes. Hi has a little bit more compression and sustain, but gain-wise it's nearly identical to my ears. I actually think I like the overall sound of Drive mode better, but we'll see with some more time.

Apparently this thing was designed with edge of breakup / dynamic breakup in mind. It does this really well.

Things I would change: I don't have many gripes so far, but I'd love it if the reverb controls (one for each channel) were on the front panel. Also, it would be cool if they had a multi-watt switch option for 25w / 10w, but I can live without that. One last annoyance: the "Boogie" nameplate letters are painted on rather than being emossed/3D like on other Boogie-designated amps. Not the end of the world, but kinda lame for a pricey amp.

[imjonwain]

I love the look of those, especially since most recent Mesas look a little too cheesy for me.  You'll have to get us some gut shots

[jimilee]

Very cool man, I love new amps.


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[harryklippton]

I played a Fillmore 25 combo in a store a couple years ago while trying out guitars. It sounded great

[nzCdog]

Happy NAD!  If it's bumping out a Princeton, it must be good.  Enjoy

[culturejam]

Happy NAD!  If it's bumping out a Princeton, it must be good.  Enjoy

Thanks! The Princeton is a great sound, but it's very much a one-trick pony in my opinion (the base sound, that is). Also, even with Bass at 1, there's still too much bass. That's for humbuckers anyway. Sounds okay with single coils, but I don't use those all that often.

[culturejam]

I love the look of those, especially since most recent Mesas look a little too cheesy for me.  You'll have to get us some gut shots

Yeah, the look is great. The Mark and Recto series look BADASS, but this one has that Classy AF aesthetic. At some point I'll probably have a look inside, but for now I'm just breaking it in. Need to test it out as a clean platform for dirt. So far I've only tested it with modulation and delay.