All Original Mesa Boogie Mark I 1975 Blonde with original Extension Cab

This is a completely All-Original 1975 Mesa Mark I. This is an original, not a re-issue. It is serial number A300, making it only the 301st Production Mesa ever made. Included in the auction is a type-written and hand-signed letter from Randall Smith dated August 30, 1975 in which he answers questions asked by the original purchaser. Also included in this auction is the original 1975 receipt as well as the General Info, Maintenance guide, and schematic that Randall photocopied and sent to the original purchaser along with the amp.

This is a special amp that dates from the earliest days of Mesa. As Randall Smith tells it in the YouTube video "Randall Smith & The MESA/Boogie Story Part Two," at first Mesa was just Randall, and then it was just him and his wife. Later it was him and his neighbors, and finally then a full team of people. The included letter signed by Randall indicates that this amp was produced when it was just Randall and his wife: "There are still just two of us trying to keep up with incredible demand, and holding to our high quality hand crafted standards."

When I say "All Original," I mean it. The owner of this amplifier was not a technical guy in his playing years, he was a musician. He told me he never had the amp serviced or modified, nor did he change the tubes. The included tubes are 4 USA Made RCA 6L6GCs and a mix of 4 US and UK Made 12AX7s and 1 12AT7. Looking at the circuit board it appears that the power supply filter capacitors are also all original. They show no sign of bulging or oozing. The speaker included for both the Combo and Extension cab are the original Altec 417-8H speaker which still sounds fantastic. The amp has the same Mesa-stamped transformers found on other early Mark Is. The only item listed on the receipt that I do not have is the vinyl cover, though I am working with the owner in hopes that we can find it.

The amplifier is completely functional - the lamp lights up, the reverb controls are functioning and not scratchy, the EQ and EQ defeat switch work perfectly, both inputs and gain numbers function as they should. It sounds fabulous, just like you'd expect something hand-wired by Randall Smith to sound. However, because this is a nearly 40-year old amplifier I must sell this item as-is and cannot provide any guarantees on the amp continuing to function perfectly. I cannot accept returns on this sale.  If you will be using this amp as a player rather than a collector, your first step should be to take this amp to a tech to have it checked out. If you are a collector, amps don't get any more Original than this.

Now the problems: there is discoloration on both cabs, particularly but not exclusively on the bottom of the combo and the top of the extension cab (although this has been cleaned up greatly -- see the last few photos). The front of the combo has a small tear in the grill as well as a small (but repairable) rip in the Tolex.  The extension cab is missing one of the rear rubber feet. The back of the amplifier chassis looks like there was once some kind of badge or sticker affixed to the back that is no longer there. On the left-hand side (when looking at it) of the extension cab there seems to be a bump in the wood as well as a small bubble in the tolex.  That's about it. Both items sound amazing and are without functional issues.

Feel free to ask any and all questions and I will do my best to answer them. I can provide additional photos as requested. Buyer to pay actual shipping and insurance cost which will be calculated after the sale. This will likely be quite expensive as the Combo is heavy.