@wabara, thanks so much for the in-depth review. You seem to be coming to similar conclusions to my own. In particular, this is a very responsive and playable profile, useful as an extension of the Instrument/player. The profile captured the original amp so that’s a success.
I used to have a Mesa Boogie Mark 1 reissue combo and since I swore off combos (they’re too heavy!) I got the head version instead, which is an earlier example of this amp (and a lot harder to find in the head version). I felt like the head had a better sound and feel than the combo and was glad I made the switch. This profile is from the head.
Plus the pilot light is a different color. It’s orange instead of blue. So clearly that’s what made the entire difference. Well, that and the back panel Dymo labels.
As far as sustain, the amp at these Santana knob settings is freakishly loud. Most people don’t turn a Mark 1 up past 2 on the master and he keeps it between 7 and 9, and since he also runs it through 4x12s at times, he is pushing a lot of air.
Even with moving that much air, lIke a lot of artists, during sound check he will go around the stage and find the sweet spot locations and mark them so he can stand there and get those infinite sustain notes.
Even still, playing this profile at my desk through monitors is enough to get some good feedback notes, I’m using a 2017 PRS Santana SE. I noticed that if I sit at my desk without deadening the strings, they’ll start to sing on their own. When I ordered this guitar from Sweetwater, I intentionally chose one on the lighter side (they weigh them so you can do this) so that it might be more responsive. (PRS says they also have upgraded the pickups to more closely match the signature models.)
Carlos seems to write songs so he ends up landing quite a lot on the B-string, 10th fret. This is a singing note. Think of the 5th note he holds from the intro to Smooth. You’ll get that upper harmonic in spades, it will just jump right out. Supernatural was almost entirely pre-Dumble so those tracks are examples of Boogies even without going back to the early 70s era, or at least that is my understanding. (You can see his Boogie in the video for Smooth.)
I too had tried making a Dumble-based Santana profile several years ago. It is in the Rig Exchange. I had profiled a Ceriatone OTS50 to a Cannabis Rex speaker. It became my #1 workhorse profile and I‘ve used it for years but it didn’t exactly get rave reviews. (2.5 stars)
And yes as far as graininess, if you’re backing off the volume it cleans up, leaving you with gain in reserve for solos/upper notes.
Thanks again for trying it out, glad you like it, and I’m glad there’s a proper Mark I on the rig exchange now.