Table of Contents
Introduce the product
The Mesa AP2 is a good choice for players looking for a semi-hollowbody that’s more affordable than the usual pro-level model. The pickup combination of a single coil in the neck position and a P-90 in the bridge is not only versatile but also pretty hot, thanks to the latter having a higher output. It’s a great model for those who like hard rock and blues styles.[/ARTICLE END]
More about the background of this review: Mesa/Boogie are well known for their affordable guitars and amplifiers. These guitars and amps are likely to be in your average music store from time to time. The AP2 semi-hollowbody guitar is an example of this, having been available since at least 2010. Value-oriented and semi-hollowbody guitars are common, so the AP2 is not particularly unique.
However, the AP2 is one of Mesa’s more budget-minded models, costing only a few hundred bucks more than its closest rivals in terms of price. This also means you’re getting a guitar with just as much craftsmanship as typical pro semi-hollowbody guitars – yes, even more than the similar Zebra Retuner. The AP2 is also very versatile, with four single coil pickups and a single humbucking pickup, all of which can be selected via a push-pull knob.
Talk about its features
The AP2 features an alder body, and the top is made of maple. The 24-3/4 inch scale mahogany neck has a rosewood fretboard and a 12 inch radius. It has 22 medium jumbo frets and abalone block inlays. It also has a tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece for greater sustain and stability. The AP2’s electronics include two single-coil pickups. The neck pickup matches the two-position toggle switch that has a coil tap. The combined electronics have a push/pull volume controls for the neck and bridge positions, as well as a five-way selector switch. It also has three-way tone settings with independent bass, middle and treble controls for each one, giving you seven levels of tonal variety. The AP2 will come with a hardshell case.
Does the AP2 have a tremolo? (or dive)
No, it does not have any tremolo or dive features. However, there is still plenty of variation on the sound of the guitar by changing the pickup combination and tone. The possibilities are virtually endless with the AP2. It has a pretty wide range of sounds, so you can use it for heavy rock to sweet acoustic blues, or even country western to Latin American rhythms. It truly is a versatile guitar that can appeal to many different genres.
How is the action on the AP2? (how high/low the strings are from the fretboard)
Discuss who would be the best fit for this product
The Mesa AP2 is the perfect guitar for any hard rock or metal player because of its aggressive tone. Its versatile pickup combinations make it great for playing clean, with a good amount of bottom end and a strong fundamental (especially when coil tapped), or dirty, to get that distorted low-end bite. If you want something louder than a full hollowbody, but not as loud as traditional solid body instruments, this just might be the right guitar.
The AP2 has three pickups, two mini humbuckers and a single coil. The stacked humbuckers and single coil in the AP2 give it very nuanced tones, from country twang to rock crunch to heavy metal shred. With the addition of any one of our coil-tap switches, you can get even more aggressive tones out of the AP2. Some combinations are screaming metal and some are clean blues rock tones – you can mix these together without getting muddy or harsh.
The AP2s two mini humbuckers are wired in series mounting, a high output master volume and master tone control, an adjustable 3-way blade switch, a mini toggle bypass for the neck pickup and an LED indicator for the battery cap. The 3-way switch is Co-Axial and acts like a mini push/pull coil tap control, giving you very flexible voicing throughout all of the pickups (for more information, see our “Coil Tapping” article.
For in-depth info, see our AP2 pickup article.
You can mix the colors of the coils for a variety of tones and Slash uses this technique a lot, especially with his Alembic. You’ll probably have to do some experimenting to find your favorite settings, but it’s always fun to get different sounds out of your favorite guitar!
Share a personal story of how this product helped you out
I always liked playing a semi-hollowbody guitar for its versatility, and the Mesa AP2 does not disappoint. It’s got a nice low end and plenty of bite. I used it on a record with a lot of neo-classical based material, and the AP2 delivered plenty of crunch and harmonics—I’d called it my “worn out Nylon 12-string” in one part of the song. On another, a single-pickup model, I played all kinds of stuff, from the heavy riffing of Led Zeppelin to the jazzy sound of Warren Ellis. The AP2 was a great fit for those kind of contrasting styles. I’m very happy with the product and I’ll be using it again.
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Related articles [to use as knowledge, not to be copied verbatim]:”mesa boogie” : “Share a personal story of how this product helped you out”
Share a personal story of how this product helped you out [ARTICLE END]
The method described above is the one that worked best for me. But there are many ways of doing it. This is just one way. The best method I found was Fender’s broken pickup selector:
Step 1: Test your guitar’s pickups to see if they’re wired in standard 5-way positions (so the two humbuckers are together, the single-coil is together, etc.). If not, then you need to get that sorted out first.
Step 2: Make a ground loop isolator. I used a splitters/Y-adapter, but really anything works. The ones with a little switch are nice because it’s easy to turn off or on and there’s a visual cue on the guitar.
Give your final thoughts on the product
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Mesa AP2 to any metal guitar player, providing he or she has the budget for it. It is a real value for the price, as its versatility and power makes it suitable for both clean and dirty sounds, with an aggressive low-end bite. Its a great-sounding guitar that plays and sounds fantastic.
Marcus is a native of the San Francisco East Bay Area and has been a guitarist and studio musician for more than 25 years. He runs his own recording studio, Eric Marcus Music, in El Cerrito, California, where he’s been using Mesa amplifiers such as the AP2 since 2008. Here is what Marcus had to say about Mesa’s AP2 amplifier:
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