MESA/Boogie Gold Mine California High Gain Effects Pedal

Smooth, soaring high gain with unmistakable Boogie character and just enough British-inspired harmonic edge to give it its own voice. The MESA/Boogie Gold Mine delivers everything from sweet overdrive to thick, singing saturation, backed by a full three-band EQ and an internal TIGHT switch for even greater control.

The MESA/Boogie Gold Mine sits at the highest-gain end of MESA's overdrive pedal family.

This isn't simply a distortion box designed to pile more gain on top of your amplifier. MESA engineered the Gold Mine to deliver the fluid sustain, harmonic richness and expressive response players associate with great high-gain Boogie amplifiers—while retaining enough attack and definition to keep your playing present in the mix.

Back the Gain control down and the Gold Mine becomes a sweet, musical overdrive.

Turn it up and the pedal's real personality begins to emerge: thicker saturation, greater sustain and a smooth, almost violin-like quality on single-note lines.

Available from Northeast Music Center, the Gold Mine is an excellent choice for players looking to add a serious high-gain voice to an existing amplifier without sacrificing dynamics or tonal control.

KEY FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS:

• California high-gain overdrive/distortion
• Smooth Boogie-inspired saturation
• British-flavored harmonic edge
• Wide-ranging Gain control
• Full Bass / Mid / Treble tone stack
• Level control
• Internal TIGHT voicing switch
• Tight mode reduces bass response for faster tracking
• Excellent for rhythm and lead playing
• 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 2.1mm × 5.5mm power connection
• Current draw: 15mA
• Dimensions: 4.77" D × 2.87" W × 2.29" H
• Weight: 0.865 lb. with battery
• Model: FP.GOLDMINE
• Hand-built in Petaluma, California

FROM SWEET OVERDRIVE TO SERIOUS HIGH GAIN

One of the Gold Mine's greatest strengths is its range.

At lower Gain settings, it doesn't immediately overwhelm the character of your guitar and amplifier. Instead, you can use it to add warmth, harmonic texture and a touch of drive.

Keep turning the Gain upward and the pedal changes personality.

Saturation becomes thicker.

Sustain increases.

Single notes become smoother and more fluid.

Chords develop greater harmonic complexity.

That's where the Gold Mine earns its name.

MESA describes the pedal as occupying the high-gain end of its Cleo, DynaPlex and Gold Mine family, with the Gold Mine providing the greatest level of saturation of the three.

BOOGIE CHARACTER WITH A BRITISH EDGE

The Gold Mine isn't intended to duplicate one particular MESA amplifier.

Instead, its voicing draws from the characteristics that have made high-gain Boogie amplifiers so desirable while incorporating a harmonic edge that MESA itself describes as bordering on British character.

That combination gives the pedal considerable versatility.

There's enough thickness and sustain for expressive lead work, but enough bite and harmonic content to keep rhythm sounds alive.

The result works especially well when you want high gain that feels musical rather than simply aggressive.

A FULL THREE-BAND EQ

This is an important advantage of the Gold Mine.

Instead of giving you one generalized Tone control, MESA provides:

BASS

MID

TREBLE

That means you can shape the pedal more like an additional amplifier channel.

Need to tighten the low end?

Reduce Bass.

Want the guitar to step forward in a dense mix?

Work with the Mid control.

Need more cut or a smoother top end?

Adjust Treble independently.

Combined with Gain and Level, the full tone stack makes the Gold Mine considerably easier to integrate with different guitars and amplifiers.

THE HIDDEN TIGHT SWITCH

There's another feature that isn't immediately obvious from looking at the pedal.

Remove the bottom cover and you'll find an internal TIGHT switch.

Engaging it reduces some of the bass response and creates a tighter, faster-tracking feel.

That can be particularly useful for:

Palm-muted rhythm work

Fast alternate picking

Lower tunings

Technical playing

Focused lead tones

The standard setting gives you the Gold Mine's fuller low-frequency personality, while Tight provides another option when precision and pick attack become more important.

SINGING LEAD TONES

The Gold Mine becomes particularly impressive as the Gain increases.

MESA specifically designed the pedal to develop a smooth, sustained quality on single notes at higher gain settings.

That's exactly what many players are looking for in a lead sound.

Enough saturation to make notes bloom.

Enough sustain to carry a phrase.

Enough attack to retain articulation.

And enough harmonic complexity to keep the sound from becoming flat or sterile.

For a player trying to add a dedicated lead voice to an existing clean or moderately driven amplifier, the Gold Mine can essentially become another channel sitting on the pedalboard.

TRUE BYPASS

When the Gold Mine is switched off, true-bypass switching removes its circuitry from the signal path.

That's a simple feature, but an important one when you're assembling a serious pedalboard.

Your bypassed guitar signal remains your bypassed guitar signal.

When you want the Gold Mine, step on it.

When you don't, take it out of the path.

WORKS WITH 9V BATTERY OR STANDARD PEDALBOARD POWER

The Gold Mine can operate from a conventional 9V battery or an appropriate external 9VDC center-negative power supply.

Current draw is only 15mA, making it easy to incorporate into most quality pedalboard power systems.

MESA specifies a 2.1mm × 5.5mm center-negative connection and warns against using an incorrect supply, so this is one pedal where we recommend following the published power requirements exactly.

HAND-BUILT IN PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA

Here's something worth emphasizing.

The Gold Mine is hand-built in Petaluma, California by MESA.

MESA points out that its pedals are built by the same operation responsible for its celebrated amplifier products.

That's important at Northeast Music Center, because customers shopping for a premium effects pedal deserve to understand what separates one product from another.

The Gold Mine isn't simply using the MESA name.

It's part of MESA's actual California-built product family.

AN EXTRA AMP CHANNEL AT YOUR FEET

That's perhaps the best way to think about the Gold Mine.

With:

Gain

Level

Bass

Mid

Treble

and the internal:

TIGHT switch

you have enough control to treat this pedal almost like another channel for your amplifier.

Use it for moderate overdrive.

Set it up as your dedicated rhythm gain.

Or turn the Gain up and create a smooth, saturated lead voice that you can call up with one footswitch.

At Northeast Music Center, that's what makes the MESA/Boogie Gold Mine particularly appealing.

It's not high gain for the sake of high gain.

It's about feel, sustain, harmonic complexity and control.

Whether you're adding another voice to a clean amplifier or expanding the gain range of an already great tube amp, the Gold Mine brings a genuine piece of MESA's high-gain personality directly to your pedalboard.

Boogie-inspired saturation. British-flavored harmonic edge. Full three-band EQ. Hidden Tight mode. Hand-built in California.

There's a lot of tone inside this little gold box.