Mesa Studio Preamps

[pagemalicious]

How do they sound? in what style of music do they shine in? I love the tone of the Mark IV but would the studio preamp get me close to that kind of tone?

While i'm at it, how do lee jackson Perfect Connection preamps sound?

[jgcable]

The Mesa Studio preamp sounds more like the Caliber series. They shine best for classic rock. For the high gain metal stuff you will need to slam the preamp tubes with a preamp pedal like a DOD250 or Tube Screamer.
If you want Mark IV sound you should look at the Mesa Quad preamp.

[pagemalicious]

nevermind now, i'm going to buy a Lee Jackson preamp for a pretty good price.

[Twisteramps]

Studio preamp is basically a .22 caliber set up for recording. Even the Quad isn't a Mark IV - it's based on the preamp of a II and IIC. And no, it does NOT sound like a IIC+, since that amp is not just a preamp but the power section too.

Studio preamp gets you one of THE best clean tones in a preamp, and a passable lead tone for 80s metal. I prefer the Soldano SP77 for overdrive, but the studio blows it away for clean tones and versatility.

pete

[PeteL]

Sorry to revive this thread, but these preamps would NOT be a good choice for an over-the-top sort of heavily distorted rhythm sound, kind of an industrial tone, something like Rammstein's earlier work?

[chrisolson]

No. Great for "classic rock" kinds of tones though. Not a heavy distortion though - kind of a smooth overdrive. Not too nasty.

The Quad would be better like Pete said, but still not super-saturated like Rectos or the like. They don't quite approach Mk IV territory, which is far and away my favorite Mesa.

[PeteL]

I see, anything out there that gets Recto-esque? I think I actualy saw a Recto rack-mount preamp somewhere...

[soc_monki]

the Lee Jackson preamp is the Children of Bodom tone basically...if you like them, get it LOL i want one of those preamps one day when i can find one for a good price and have the money LOL

[chrisolson]

I see, anything out there that gets Recto-esque? I think I actualy saw a Recto rack-mount preamp somewhere...

Yep, you did. But for what you'd be paying to put together a rack with that, you may just want to buy a head.

Maybe think about a Line 6 POD Pro, or XT Pro? Just a thought...

[PeteL]

Gotchya, thanks!