Mesa Boogie King Snake - USA 2014

To plug into an amp and realise you have exactly the sound you want is a beautiful thing. As guitarists, we often find ourselves on a long and arduous journey in search of the perfect guitar tone. Luckily for Carlos Santana, early in his career he met up with Californian amp tech Randall Smith. Over the next few decades their collaborative efforts grew, and their innovations lead Mesa Boogie to create this phenomenal amplifier.  

Randall Smith started Mesa Boogie in the late 60s in Southern California. Initially Randall ran a repair business primarily working on small Fender amplifiers. His signature modifications often were to increase the input gain of these small amps, giving them much more power and higher gain, distorted tones. Early exponents of Randall’s work were big names such as Keith Richards and Carlos Santana. Carlos and Randall established a long-term friendship back in the 60s. Their many decades of collaboration culminated in Carlos’s signature amplifier Mesa Boogie King Snake. An amp so special to both Randall and Carlos, both of them have a handwritten signature on a plaque inside the amp! 

Good amps have this quality where they tend to sound good in any setting. Whether it be warm, or glassy, the amp has a full and fat tone with no flub or unruly bass notes. The settings become a stylistic preference rather than a way to resolve tonal issues. The reverb has a beautiful, studio-like quality and gives each note a sheen that enhances the fullness of the guitar tone, great for high lead playing.  

This amp is in excellent condition, with no marks or damage to the amp at all. The amp comes with a heavy-duty road case with wheels – making transport an effortless and risk-free venture.  

This amp can be astronomically loud, with all the headroom you would ever want. From such a small amp it is truly impressive to hear such a big sound. This potential is tempered by a three-way power switch, giving the option of 10 watts, 60 watts or 100 watts of power. Driving the amp hard at 10 watts brings out the harmonically rich sustain Carlos Santana is known for, without the wall shaking volume this amp is capable of. For some, the seemingly endless search for the perfect guitar tone might be right here.  

Features: 

Model: Mesa Boogie King Snake 

Covering: Snakeskin 

Channels: 2 

Power Output: 100 watts 

Speakers: Mesa Boogie 100 watt Fillmore KS 100  

Tubes: 4 x 6L6, 5 X 12AX7 

Date: 2014 

Serial Number: 411 

Accessories: N/A 

Dimensions: 43 x 48 x 26cm 

Weight: 25.4kg