Son of Boogie

[DonP]

It had 420's and 425's in it when I got it and the Mesa support guy said those were used in a simul class amp and not what they used in them when they were made.
I have no idea what they used in 83.
I'm going to take the old ones in and test them and see if they are still good.
Having had them red plate I'm not sure they are any good to be honest.
Odd how just taking them out and putting them back in stopped the red plating and volume drop issue.

Did you replace them in exactly the same sockets they were in before?

I've watched another RM100 I had loaded with Ruby EL34s. It was fine at low volumes, but those plates would be glowing as I cranked it up. It did sound better than the Lynchbox that I decided to keep. I figured I could get the Lynchbox to sound the same with atube swap or cranking up the bias.

BTW I had a similar issue with my LB - it was shipped without the tubes in it and I had to guess which tube went where. At first I had it wrong - all JJ's, but two EL34 tubes on one side and two EL34L tubes on the other. It didn't really impact anything, but I saw that and shuffled tube around to even things out. There's a shit chance in hell that I got the right tube in the right socket. I need to check the bias next on all 4 tubes.

[jgcable]

The last time I had a Mesa Boogie red plating it needed new power tubes. Problem solved.
I had that problem with a Peavey Triple X and it just needed a rebias. Problem solved.

Thats a very cool amp to own. I remember when they first came out. I had a friend who had a combo. It sounded great.

[straycat]

Ran thru most of my OD pedals and found the BB pre amp pedal works the best with this amp, pushes the first gain stage perfectly and you can adjust the second gain control to get more but its not really needed at that point.
Limit and presence control is the key to this amp.
Its a very good sounding amp for sure just do research on how to get the most out of it is needed.
Spending a few hours reading online and get up to speed on these amps is a must.

[toejam]

Very cool! I remember reading about those awhile ago, like a Mark I reissue.

[straycat]

Mark I has some differences.

[toejam]

Yes, but from what I remember, this was supposed to be like a simpler version of it.

[straycat]

It is TJ, no reverb or FX loop.
Big difference is the limit control.
Its pretty complex as are most boogies and takes some time to dial in settings you like.
I can't find any sample settings or a manual online anywhere.
Did find some sample settings for the MK I but they don't relate well to the version I have.
If anyone can find a site that has a manual I can download free that would be cool.

[jgcable]

If I recall that is a dumbed down version of a Mark I. It has an active EQ and a cascading preamp section. The active EQ is interesting and very touchy. For instance.. if you dial in too much bass it limits how much treble you can dial in. Its a fine amp. Back in the old days you couldn't give one away but that was along time ago. Its a really nice amp to own.

[Chief_CrazyTalk]

It had 420's and 425's in it when I got it and the Mesa support guy said those were used in a simul class amp and not what they used in them when they were made.
I have no idea what they used in 83.
I'm going to take the old ones in and test them and see if they are still good.
Having had them red plate I'm not sure they are any good to be honest.
Odd how just taking them out and putting them back in stopped the red plating and volume drop issue.

You may just have had contact corrosion on the pins and sockets. Seen it countless times on countless different products.

[straycat]

You may just have had contact corrosion on the pins and sockets. Seen it countless times on countless different products.

Probably so Chief.