mesa users, need advice!

[jgcable]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

Thanks Reb. I am gonna try it out for sure.

[MetalMedal II]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

[ QUOTE ]
the pres seems to open up the sound when you play by yourself, but just blankets it with the full band.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good thread, as I never fully understood what the presence knob does. Would you suggest turning down the presence on Mesa power amps as well? I've got a Mesa 50/50 where I usually have the presence 1/2 way up.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

power amps are a side of the coin that i have no experience with.

my guess would be keep the pres low to off on what ever your pre is and then adjust to taste the pres on the power. at least that is how i would initially approach it.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

I always thought that Presence is output power EQ and the bass, mid and treble are pre-amp EQ. Any truth to that?

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

i don't know. possibly? twisteramps would probably know. it IS the only tone control on poweramps that i have seen.

but it might just be included to give them more high end at low volumes.

that is the only time i use presence.

[Fragle]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

"diming out the treb on mesa's is basically allowing as much singal as possible travel to the rest of the signal chain. and there is tones of midrange in there. the mid knob after 5 or 12 o'clock turns into a gain saturation rather than adding more mid frequencies"

umm, i'm not sure if you're right about that one. the manual says that diming for example the treble will minimize the amount of mids and bass possible in the mix. same goes for the gain: the higher the gain the less effective are the tone controls.
you're right about the mids acting as a gainboost, yes. but only on the rhythm channel.....AFAIK.

ah yeah, and once again:
"by the way, one off-topic question: usually i'm running the 4ohm out into the 4 ohm in of my cab. but what about running the 8 ohm out into the 16ohm in? i checked the manual and it says it's a safe mismatch. but the question is if it puts more stress on the tubes/trannys? actually, i dont think so, as the manual says the amplifier is running a bit cooler than normal...which means there's less stress on the amp, right?"

greets
fragle

[magh8]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

[ QUOTE ]
and i have to dissagree. i think mesa's and marshalls can sound great together. you just have to tweak them right.

[/ QUOTE ] Same here I run a jcm2000 dsl 100 and my old guitarist ran a mesa triple rec sounded incredible together but I could cut through him anytime I wanted.I finally got my new guitar player to get rid if his triple X that he wasn't to happy with and forget about the infamous metalzone(metalzone was the shit 10 years ago,key word WAS) and finally he has seen the lite... loves his triple rec...

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

[ QUOTE ]
ah yeah, and once again:
"by the way, one off-topic question: usually i'm running the 4ohm out into the 4 ohm in of my cab. but what about running the 8 ohm out into the 16ohm in? i checked the manual and it says it's a safe mismatch. but the question is if it puts more stress on the tubes/trannys? actually, i dont think so, as the manual says the amplifier is running a bit cooler than normal...which means there's less stress on the amp, right?"

[/ QUOTE ]

a mismatch will put more stress on the poer tubes, but won't hurt anything. it will just make your power tubes not last as long. i don't think it will run any cooler. if you want it to run cooler put a clip on fan aimed at your tubes on the back. works great, if you leave your amp on for long periods of time.

just never turn it on if you speakers are not plugged in.

[beachjammer]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

I have one of the mesa 50cal. heads and I noticed that if I turned the EQ off then I got more of a Marshall sound but better. That help it cut through in a band situation for but you'll probably be sacrificing the tone you like. It's gonna be difficult finding the lesser of two evils but I will say from my experience with this amp and others that normally if it sounds good to you in the bedroom then it doesn't with a band. I find it better to tweak my amp while at a jam sessions as opposed to the bedroom or write down different settings while I'm at home so I can quickly dial them up at band practice and not waste time.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

right on man. i love my .50 cal

is yours the + (2 6L6's) ot the el 84 ver?

[beachjammer]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

Mine is the 2 6L6 version. It's the loudest amp I've ever had and it's only 50 watts! I used to have a 1982 Marshall JCM800 and I like this way better. You just can't beat haveing all the extra EQ settings. The only thing that I'm gonna try on mine, which might help Fragle out, is a compressor to tighten and smooth it up just a little bit. Have any of you tried this and if so was it better through the effects loop or in front? What was the difference between a rack mount version versus a footpedal version? Course I'm also running mine with the old style Mesa/Boogie 4x12 cab with Black Shadow speakers and that might also account for why mine cuts through and doesn't need much. I've also been thinking of loading the bottom of the cabinet with EV speakers. I know that some of the cabs came factory this way and Zakk Wylde's tech said that those are the secret behind his tone. Have any of you heard the difference between the Black Shadow speakers versus the EV's?

[jgcable]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

We used to do the same thing but with JBL's in the bottoms of the 4 x 12's. The only reason we didn't use full JBL was because of the weight. Those speakers are really heavy.
I am a firm believer that mixing either JBL's, EV's or Altec Lansings with black shadows or vintage 30's gives you the best of both worlds. Punch and sizzle.

[Fragle]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

"a mismatch will put more stress on the poer tubes, but won't hurt anything. it will just make your power tubes not last as long. i don't think it will run any cooler. if you want it to run cooler put a clip on fan aimed at your tubes on the back. works great, if you leave your amp on for long periods of time."

umm, i think they aren't talking about the temperature beeing lower. let me quote the manual
"when running a higher resistance (for example: 8ohm output into 16ohm cabinet), a slightly different feel and response will be eminent. a slight mismatch can provide a darker smoother tone with a little less output and attack. this response is the result OF THE AMPLIFIER RUNNING A BIT COOLER"

maybe they're saying that there is less current flowing through the tubes, a cooler bias setting or something like that? i dont know...


by the way: afaik most mesa's are fixed bias, so you can go and buy a set of the right mesa tubes and the bias will be OK. but what if i'd like to swap them for some other brand of tubes, e.g. JJ's or svetlanas? will the bias be way off or is it possible to change them without causing problems?
or what if you're playing a gig and one of the power tubes fails, and you don't have the proper mesa tubes? could you just pull the broken tube (and the other one) out and plug a set of for example JJ's in?


anyway, thanks for the replies guys. you are helpful as always [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

greets
fragle

[Infernal Death]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

Since Mesas are fixed Bias you should use tubes matched for those settings. I recently retubed my Dual Rectifier and bought some chinese 12ax7 and some Sovtek 6L6's.
I bought them at http://www.tubetown.de/ttstore/ and asked them to send me matched tubes for the rectifier and so far no problems [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Those guys are helpful and have good prices.
Whenever i need tubes or other tube-relevant gear i order there.

Flo

[toejam]

Re: mesa users, need advice!

I changed the Mesa tubes in my F-30 combo. I put in JJ EL84s and EH 12AX7s... they sound fine to me, really not much different than the Mesa tubes.