Mesa boogie has rightfully earned a place in history for changing your electric guitar’s tone in ways no other amplifier can. Now they’re ready to amplify your acoustic guitar without changing its tone at all. The Rosette flips the Mesa/Boogie script 180 degrees. The goal of an acoustic amplifier is to provide your audience with the tone of your guitar - not your pickup, and not your amp. The Rosette gives you the features you want, the power & headroom you need - and the Mesa/Boogie quality your guitar deserves.
After hearing about the Rosette 300: 2/8 from our Mesa/Boogie rep, my expectations were high. I've been playing Boogie amps onstage exclusively since the early 90's, and I'm well aware of their overall build quality & professional feature set. Every Mesa/Boogie I've ever played or heard has been well-designed with the working musician in mind. They don't make an amp that isn't gonna do the job onstage, or in the studio. The Rosette is no different.
Plugging into the Rosette, I was immediately taken back at just how ballsy the power section is. Tone stacks, sweepable EQ and FX are all important features in an acoustic amp - but there's one thing you can't fake: clean headroom. Like all Mesa/Boogies - this little unassuming acoustic amp is a giant-killer, too. Good things come in small packages. So do crazy-loud Mesa/Boogies. Years ago my band played a festival and we played before 4 other bands. I placed my Mesa/Boogie Subway Rocket (1x10 combo) next to a 100 watt Marshall with a 4x12 cab. Before our set, the guitarists in bands #3 & 4 were in line to borrow the Marshall for their sets. After we were done they both asked me to keep my Boogie onstage for them. :) Mesa brought this same mindset to the Rosette. This amp has more than enough power to allow you to play dynamically. No need to force your rhythm hand into powering through the mix ... you can relax into your comfort zone and know that when you dig in, the amp is ready.
As far as EQ, the Rosette gets all the ingredients right. It's got a lot going on without any uncecessary window dressing. Set the input gain (play with a heavy attack and raise the input so the clip light barely illuminates), and start with the EQ controls at 12:00 noon. Flip the phase switch to choose the setting with the fattest low-midrange. If you need to fight feedback later, you can reverse. Next, adjusted the bass & treble to taste. If you hear anything unpleasant in the midrange, raise the gain of the high-mid control & slowly sweep the high-mid Frequency dial. When you've found the most offensive tone, go back to the high-mid gain and dial it backwards. A little goes a long way. Dial out almost as much as you think you need to. This is subtractive EQ and usually sounds more pleasing than boosting good frequencies, but your mileage may vary. NEXT, repeat the same steps with the low midrange control, if you feel the need. PLEASE NOTE: you might not find any reason to adjust the low & high mids, and if that's the case, set all 4 dials to 12:00 noon. There's also a high pass filter that can be used to tame low-end boom. If you don't need it, make sure you have that control turned fully counter-clockwise. In any other position, it's cutting bass and no one wants that. ;)
I've tried this amp with the three most pouplar styles of acoustic pickups: K&K Pure Mini & Trance Audio Amulet M (bridgeplate pickups), Fishman Matrix & F1 Aura (undersaddle pickup with & without mic imaging) and the Fishman Rare Earth single coil (soundhole pickups). In the store, the studio, and at the gig, I've found this amp truly & honestly delivers the goods.
Maury tested the Rosette at a recent solo acoustic performance.
Regardless of the pickup, the Rosette 300: 2/8 offers the the important EQ adjustment that are intuitive to use & easy to bypass. The power section is offensively loud and strong. Those acoustic players longing to be heard onstage with a heavy-handed drummer will love this amp. And maybe most importantly - this amp sounds pretty neutral. Depending on your pickup, the Rosette's cabinet deisgn + speaker size + adjustable tweeter really compliment each other. It's not so small that it sounds boxy. It's not so big that it gets tubby or overly dark. The "my guitar only louder" mantra has just as much to do with your pickup system & choice of EQ ... but if you know how to dial in your tone, the Rosette sounds more like a blank canvas than any other amp I've played. It's surely the least colored acoustic amp I've played to date... including offerings by Fishman, Marshall & Roland. Full disclosure - I have not put it up against an AER or Schertler.
The Mesa/Boogie Rosette comes packed with the features that a professional musician needs, and it's intuitive enough for the coffeehouse player, too. When it comes to preserving your guitar's tone & feel, you need a robust power section, high-headroom preamp, acoustic-voiced EQ and speakers large enough to retain the guitar's body. The Rosette checks all those boxes, and remains easy to use & portable. Buy a Mesa/Boogie Rosette Acoustic Amp today!
