Available Now at Northeast Music Center!

MESA/Boogie DynaPlex British Crunch Overdrive Pedal

Classic British crunch, ripping harmonic edge, and the dynamic response of a great tube amp pushed into its sweet spot. The MESA/Boogie DynaPlex delivers everything from muscular low-gain rhythm tones to thick, sustaining overdrive, with enough control to make single coils and humbuckers equally at home.

The MESA/Boogie DynaPlex was created for players who love the sound and feel of a great British-style amplifier working hard.

MESA positions the DynaPlex directly in the medium-gain territory between the lower-gain Cleo and higher-gain Gold Mine. Its personality centers around classic crunch, '70s-inspired rock tones, strong pick attack, harmonic richness, and the kind of dynamic response that lets the player's hands remain an important part of the sound.

At lower Gain settings, the DynaPlex delivers open, aggressive crunch that's perfect for rhythm work. Push the Gain higher and the sound becomes thicker and more fluid, giving single-note lines greater body and sustain without losing definition.

Available from Northeast Music Center, the DynaPlex is an outstanding choice for players looking to add a convincing British-flavored drive channel to an existing amplifier.

KEY FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS:

• Vintage-inspired medium-gain overdrive
• British-flavored crunch and harmonic character
• Wide-ranging Gain control
• Up to +20dB of Level boost
• Independent Tone and Presence controls
• Internal selectable EQ Voicing switch
• Mid-scooped or fuller, more balanced response
• Excellent with single-coil and humbucking pickups
• True-bypass switching
• On/Off status LED
• 1/4" input and output
• Input impedance: 1M Ohm
• Output impedance: 10k Ohm
• 9V battery or external 9VDC power
• Center-negative external power
• Current draw: 15mA
• Model: FP.DYNAPLEX
• Dimensions: approximately 4.77" D × 2.87" W × 2.3" H
• Hand-built in Petaluma, California

STRAIGHT TO THE HEART OF BRITISH CRUNCH

The DynaPlex occupies a very specific place in MESA's drive-pedal lineup.

This isn't intended to be an ultra-transparent boost.

And it isn't designed around extreme modern saturation.

The DynaPlex lives in that wonderfully useful territory where an amplifier begins moving from clean into crunch, drive and harmonic saturation.

Think classic rock rhythm guitar.

Big open chords.

Power chords with bite.

Blues-rock leads.

Hard-rock riffs.

And an amplifier pushed far enough that the sound responds differently depending on how hard you hit the strings.

That's the personality MESA built into the DynaPlex.

GAIN — FROM CRUNCH TO SUSTAIN

Turn the Gain down and the DynaPlex retains considerable openness.

There's drive, but the guitar remains present.

Chords stay articulate.

Pick attack remains immediate.

Increase the Gain and the pedal becomes progressively thicker.

The low mids gain weight.

Harmonic content increases.

Single notes begin to sustain more easily.

MESA specifically describes this transition as moving from a wealth of crunch rhythm sounds at lower Gain settings toward greater fatness and liquidity as the control is increased.

That's what makes the DynaPlex more versatile than simply labeling it a "British distortion pedal" might suggest.

SINGLE COILS OR HUMBUCKERS

The DynaPlex was designed to work with both.

A Strat-style single coil can retain its attack and upper-frequency character while gaining considerably more body and drive.

A humbucker can push the pedal harder, creating thicker crunch and increasingly saturated lead sounds.

MESA specifically highlights the DynaPlex's ability to retain its personality with either single-coil or humbucking pickups.

That's an important quality in a drive pedal—particularly for players who regularly switch guitars.

LEVEL — UP TO +20dB OF BOOST

The Level control isn't simply there to match bypass volume.

The DynaPlex provides a variable signal boost of up to approximately +20dB.

That gives you considerable flexibility in how you use the pedal.

Set it close to unity gain and let the DynaPlex provide the overdrive character.

Or increase the output and use the pedal to push the front end of an already responsive tube amplifier harder.

That interaction between the DynaPlex and the amplifier can create some of the pedal's most interesting sounds.

TONE + PRESENCE

Rather than giving you one generalized tone control, MESA provides separate:

TONE

and

PRESENCE

controls.

Tone provides broad control over the high-frequency balance.

Presence gives you another level of control over brightness, attack, cut and clarity.

That separation is particularly useful when you're matching the pedal to different amplifiers.

A naturally bright amplifier may need a different DynaPlex setup than a darker, warmer amp.

Likewise, a single-coil guitar may call for different Presence settings than a high-output humbucker.

The controls give you enough range to make those adjustments without turning the DynaPlex into an unnecessarily complicated pedal.

THERE'S ANOTHER EQ INSIDE

Here's one of the DynaPlex's most interesting features.

Underneath the bottom plate is an internal EQ Voicing switch.

The pedal actually provides two different EQ responses.

The factory setting uses a mid-scooped response, which MESA recommends particularly for rock chord work.

Switch the internal EQ circuitry out and the response becomes flatter, punchier and more mid-present, which can add focus, definition and body for single-note playing.

So although there are only four knobs on top of the pedal, there's another level of voicing available inside.

RHYTHM OR LEAD

This internal voicing flexibility makes the DynaPlex particularly interesting for different applications.

For rhythm playing, the scooped setting can create space while retaining the pedal's aggressive attack.

For lead playing, the fuller midrange response can help the guitar step forward and give individual notes additional body.

Combine that with Gain, Level, Tone and Presence and you can tailor the DynaPlex as:

A classic-rock rhythm pedal

A blues-rock overdrive

A medium-gain lead voice

A boost into an already driven amplifier

or simply:

Another amplifier channel at your feet.

TRUE BYPASS

When switched off, the DynaPlex uses true-bypass switching, removing the effect circuitry from the signal path.

That's especially useful for players building larger pedalboards where every part of the signal chain matters.

When you want the DynaPlex, step on it.

When you don't, it's out of the circuit.

Simple and effective.

STANDARD PEDALBOARD POWER

The DynaPlex can be powered from a conventional 9V battery or an appropriate external 9VDC center-negative power supply.

Current draw is only 15mA, so it places very little demand on a quality multi-output pedalboard supply.

MESA specifies a 2.1mm × 5.5mm center-negative connection and cautions against using an incorrect power supply.

HAND-BUILT IN PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA

This is something worth communicating to the customer.

The DynaPlex is hand-built in MESA's Petaluma, California shop, using the same company's manufacturing expertise behind its celebrated amplifier line.

That's part of what separates this pedal from another generic overdrive with a familiar EQ curve.

The DynaPlex is MESA's interpretation of British-inspired medium gain.

And that's exactly why we like having pedals such as the DynaPlex available at Northeast Music Center.

It's familiar enough that a guitarist immediately understands where the inspiration comes from, but it still has enough MESA personality and control to establish its own identity.

CLEO, DYNAPLEX OR GOLD MINE?

MESA makes the relationship between these three pedals very clear.

CLEO — Lower Gain

Transparent boost and overdrive.

DYNAPLEX — Medium Gain

Vintage-inspired British crunch and rock overdrive.

GOLD MINE — Higher Gain

Smoother, more saturated high gain with a stronger Boogie influence.

For players looking specifically for that middle ground—the place where clean becomes crunch and crunch becomes sustaining rock overdrive—the DynaPlex is the natural choice.

CLASSIC CRUNCH WITHOUT THE CLASSIC AMPLIFIER VOLUME

That's ultimately what makes this pedal appealing.

The sounds that inspired the DynaPlex traditionally came from amplifiers being driven hard.

And hard-driven amplifiers can be loud.

Very loud.

The DynaPlex gives players another way to bring that British-flavored crunch, harmonic bite, attack and saturation into a modern rig.

At Northeast Music Center, we'd recommend it to players who want an overdrive with more personality than a transparent boost but who don't necessarily need the saturation of a dedicated high-gain distortion.

Gain. Level. Tone. Presence. Internal EQ voicing. True bypass.

Four controls on top.

Two personalities inside.

And a whole lot of classic-rock attitude.