Amplitudes: The Mesa Boogie Blog

Al Dimeola, the Mark V and his signature Paul Reed Smith Prism Guitar

Al Di Meola and the Mark V

Mesa/Boogie Artist Relations spent some time recently at Yoshi's Jazz club in Oakland, California with longtime Mesa user and one of the world's legendary guitarists, Al Di Meola. In support of his latest record release  Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody in March 2011,  Al has again taken to the road. The amp-of-choice for his latest tour is a Mark V 1x12 combo. The channels, features and tones immediately provided the flavor for the electric portion of the set and it's all Al from there.

Al has used and enjoyed Mesa tone in previous electric forays in recent years with his Stiletto Ace and Stiletto 4×12 cabinets. While the unmistakable British feel of the Stiletto Ace connected Al with some early Return to Forever feel and tones, he still asked about an amp that offered three distinct channels each with adjustable reverb. That request turned out to be the easy part for the Mark V to deliver. Mode and settings dialing fell in to place naturally after a brief overview of the tones available in each mode. Al was immediately pleased with the overdrive selections in Channel 2 & 3 and loved the depth of the reverb as well as being able to switch it in and out. The clean on Channel 1 was a snap to dial in and crisp with detail but full, warm and tube-round.

We were fortunate to be able to watch some of Al's rehearsal before the show. Watching how he puts the music together and works with the exceptional musicians (who performed on his new album and tour) was amazing to watch in real time.

Al rehearsing through some changes with 2nd guitar while bass watches for details

Al smiles as the band locks in the tune

Played as written... Al looks away from the written music for one of the faster runs3

Al lights up his Signature PRS through the Mark V in rehearsal

Al Di Meola with the Mesa/Boogie Mark V and his Signature Paul Reed Smith Prism

To see the band play flawlessly through the details they rehearsed earlier was icing on the cake for us. The bands performance reconnected us with the diverse and rhythmically rich music for which Al is so well known.

The band continues to tour in support of the new album and is heading to Europe where dates will stretch from April through July. For more information, check out the Al Di Meola website and Tour Dates and details. Get out and see this show!

Mesa would like to extend its profound gratitude to Al Di Meola for continuing to hear and feel Mesa/Boogie products as the amplifiers that deliver his legendary tone. The tremendous artistry and influence Al continues to deliver to the guitar-playing community and the music world is true inspiration. Thank you, Al!