REVIEW
MESA BOOGIE WANTS TO MANAGE AND BUFFER YOUR SIGNAL! by Eric Dahl
Mesa Boogie amplifiers have a long and storied
Mesa’s ClearLink Receive and Send are
eliminates signal loss and provides the correct
history, from acquiring their name when Carlos
designed to work together, but they can also be
load on your guitar pickups. Features include
Santana made a comment about their tone, to
used individually depending upon your stage or
¼” in, out, send, return, and tuner out. A Level
the Rolling Stones and The Dead playing them
studio setting.
Comp toggle switch provides +3db, and the
on tour. Combo amps and cabs were their
control knob allows for variable boost choices.
focus for most of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, but
The Send is a buffer and balanced line driver
The footswitch provides choices of mute, tuner,
then they started to dabble in pedals. Then a
with 9-volt power input and output ( for driving
or boost. Besides cleaning up your signal and
few years ago they launched four heavy-duty
another pedal) ¼” input and balanced / ¼”
providing boost and comp where needed,
pedals with the Tone Burst, Throttle Box, Grid
output. And the +12db boost is a great addition
the High-Wire is a great little switcher for your
Slammer, and Flux-Drive stomp boxes. Now,
on this one to bring the gain level back that your
pedalboard, all in one box!
in 2016, that little ole company from Petaluma,
pedalboard lost.
CA has released a line of four circuit boxes
Mesa Boogie products have never claimed to
designed to save your tone and manage
The Receive unit doesn’t require power, and it
be inexpensive, but they are built for the rigors
your signal.
features an XLR / ¼” combo balanced input,
of the road, and they are dependable. The
unbalanced output, ground lift, and a phase
Stowaway sells for $99 street. ClearLink Send
Up first is the tiny Stowaway, which is an Input
in/out switch. This signal box can correct
is $129, Receive is $279, and the High-Wire is
Buffer built to fix your mismatched impedances
typical gig problems from long cable runs with
$199. All four of these new signal management
that are caused by long pedalboard runs. It is
the ground or phase switches, and it’s a true
devices work great, and the one or two you will
a discrete Class A circuit with RFI filtering, or
converter with a Jensen ISO transformer.
need depend upon the stage, studio, or gigs
ultra-low noise. It takes up very little real estate
you’re playing, and the length of your cable
on your pedal board, but cleans up the sound
My favorite of the review models is the High-
runs. For most club gigs and live usage I prefer
nicely and it is simple with ¼” in and ¼” out and
Wire, since it is like Swiss army knife for your
the Stowaway or High-Wire, as both provide a
a solid metal casing.
pedalboard. This is a dual buffer pedal that
noticeable improvement to the overall sound.
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18
Nov Dec 2016
CollectibleGuitar.com