Around 1988–1989, as the Stone Roses’ live venues grew, Squire began incorporating a Mesa/Boogie amp for additional drive and tonal thickness. He’s reported to have used a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC combo (a high-gain simul-class 1×12” amp) in his rig. The Mesa’s richer midrange “beefed up” Squire’s tone and was used alongside or in place of the Twin for live shows in the late ‘80s.
By 1989–90, his main live rig often consisted of the Fender Twin for clean tones and a Mesa/Boogie for overdriven tones, sometimes running together. Fans note [1] that during the Spike Island concert in 1990 and other shows, Squire would use the Mesa’s drive channel in conjunction with his pedals to achieve sustain and saturation that the Twins alone couldn’t produce. (In some gear forums, it’s mentioned that a “Mesa Mark I” was part of his 1989/90 setup but this likely refers to the Mark IIC, as the IIC+ was a coveted model at that time.)
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