Mesa F-series users...

[chrisolson]

Hey guys - I'm picking one up this morning. The F-100 combo. Any tips/tricks from you guys out there who have been using them a while? I'm looking forward to it - it seems to be a pretty straight-forward amp with "easy-to-get" good basic tones.

It was a hard choice between a few amps. I was looking HARD at the Orange Rocker 30, and the Mesa Rocket 44, but in the end this one got the tip o' the hat. I was also looking at the Mesa Express 5/50 until I played it last night - it didn't do much for me at all...

***EDIT***
One other question - are these like Marshalls where you can pull the two outside power tubes and get it to half power - i.e. turn a 100 watt amp into a 50 watt amp?

Since this is a 100 watter, I could potentially pull two tubes, and make it a 50 watter, and then put it on the half power switch and make it a 30 watter, right?

[chrisolson]

I've been messing around with it for a few hours now - my fingers hurt - and MAN IS THIS A NICE AMP!!

I've got it set up with my POD Pro in the loop, and have the loop at 100%, (which I guess makes it into a series loop??) so the POD is basically controlling the amp, very much like I had my Rectoverb set up with my G-Major. I like the POD a lot more as far as the simplicity of use, and I also think the effects sound better - probably just me though.

I have been able to quickly dial in some great tones - which is MUCH more than I can say of the frustration of trying to dial in a Rectifier. The reverb is a bit weak, but I don't really use it much anyway, and I'm thinking that an eventual tube change may take car of that.

All "three" (2 plus the "contour" switch) channels are very useful, although I've found that I doubt I'll really have a need for my Boss SD-1 any more... I might keep it anyway - we'll see. I could see using it for a different sound on the drive channel - keep the gain low and use the SD-1 to drive it instead for a different tone. This amp is a LOUD mother!! I haven't hooked it up to my Orange 212 yet, but I'll bet it'll be a whole different animal even though it has the same Vintage 30's that the combo does - just like my Spider Valve sounded much different as a combo, than as a head/cab combo.

It was surprisingly clean, and must have been taken care of by the previous owner(s). The inside wasn't very dusty, but I still took it apart to clean it up. The only bad thing is that the logo was missing from the front of the amp - the one on the grill. Can those be gotten from Mesa?

All in all, I think I've found a great amp, and I think it was a better choice than the Orange Rocker 30 I was originally looking at. I've still got some tweaking to do...

[killingismybusiness18]

I've got an F30 and I agree, they're brilliant amps for the price. Just to clarify, though... you're just using the POD for effects and such, right? Using amp models and distortion presets on such an amp is blasphemy.

Anyway, I find I pretty much leave the contour on all the time, otherwise it starts to sound really dead and farty. It was a bitch to get EQ'ed when I first got it (though like you said, not comparable to a Recto), but I've pretty much gotten the hang of it now.

Anyway, excellent choice.

[chrisolson]

The POD is only for effects!!

I will say that the boost and distortion activated from the Floorboard actually work well with this amp though -- better than with the POD on it's own or on the Flextone.

[chrisolson]

Here we go:

[slash-ed]

Aww man, no more SV?

Pity about you not liking the G-Flex too, I thought that thing looked way cool! Orange cabs, not so much my thing.

Nice Mesa though

[chrisolson]

Aww man, no more SV?

Pity about you not liking the G-Flex too, I thought that thing looked way cool! Orange cabs, not so much my thing.

Nice Mesa though

The SV was nice, but I just had a "need" for something else. I was really only using two channels on the SV anyway... I figured if I could find something close, I'd be more than happy and quit dicking around with the sounds constantly!! Long story short, I'll probably play more. But I've still got a little line 6 in the mix, so I hope we can still be friends!! I'm still a fan of the SV (always will be - except for the modulation effects...blech...), and I'll probably regret selling it as it was a GREAT sounding amp once you got it loud enough to really sing and get the tubes into the picture.

As for the G-Flex, if it would've preformed AT ALL at volume, I would have probably kept it, because in concept, it's a great idea. In practice, it sucked FOR ME. I was really disappointed with that cab after I really worked it, and it was obvious that it wasn't going to work for me. I've never been literally disappointed with a cab until that one.

The Orange is great, but you gotta like "the look" for sure - I love it!! It gives me a closed back V30 option when I want it, but I gotta say that I'm becoming much more partial to open backed cabs...scary!! They have all the snarl but sound a little "bigger/fuller", while not having the boomy low end that closed cabs seem to have. I don't really need that with my sound. Bass players can take care of the low end! The also focus the sound a little less, which means I can hear myself a little better.

I may still get an Orange Rocker 30 head at some point, but when I had a choice to make between that and the Mesa, I think I did the right thing in the end. The Mesa is much more flexible, and allows me to use my effects, which, while being pretty simple, are a big part of my sound. If I don't have a little delay, I'm pretty bored with my sound.

The next generation of Line 6 Tube amps should be interesting - with as well as the SV has been received, I think we'll be seeing more soon. The amp I'm holding out for next though is the new Bogner Alchemist, that's being built in the Line 6 factory - that will be interesting!!

So on my list of "needs":
Fender JR Tele in White (on the way)
One of the new Charvel S-heads - tele maybe??
Bogner Alchemist head
Orange Rocker 30 or Rockerverb 50 head

Fun list of potential expenses, huh??

[slash-ed]

No! You're dead to me now.. :ROTF:

Open back, huh? Maybe I should try that with my Legacy cab. The back panel is removable for just that purpose!

Ah, the GAS list... don't we all know. I'm a bit broke at the moment, so please, by all means - buy more stuff so us broke fuckers can live vicariously through your purchases

[chrisolson]

I'm a firm believer in the open back cab. I think best case scenario would be to get one of the old Mark Series Boogie cabs - the half-backs. I've seen a few around. Shoulda bought one.

[chrisolson]

MAN!! I LOVE this amp!!

So I was at home for lunch and thought - "Hey, why not put my Boss SD-1 in front of the amp and see what happens...". HOLY SHIT!! Turn the gain down to about 8-9:00, and use the OD as a boost - WOW!! It actually sounds really Marshall-y. I'm nicely surprised about that - a Marshall with EQ that matters!

It also works well for a good pushed sound on the clean channel. I think I should try to see if I can find a clean boost - like a BBE Boosta Grande or an MXR... That would kill.

I'm picking up a Mesa Subway Rocket combo tomorrow, which I think will compliment my f100 nicely. I'll try it through my Orange 212, as I've heard they work over a 212 cab nicely. If it sounds good, I'll keep the cab. If not, I'll probably sell the cab, because the F100 combo sounds better as a combo than it does through the cab. It seems the main weakness in the Rocket is the 10" speaker from what I've read. We'll see. I've played a few of them and really liked them. I especially like the Rocket 44 w/the 12" speaker.

Anyway...just babblin'.

I think I'm finding out that I like the Celestion V30's in combo form, but not really so much in a closed cab. Surprisingly, I'm partial to Marshall cabs with G12T75's. Weird, huh?

[toejam]

I think I'm finding out that I like the Celestion V30's in combo form, but not really so much in a closed cab. Surprisingly, I'm partial to Marshall cabs with G12T75's. Weird, huh?

You like the V30s in any combo form or just the Mesa? Because V30s in Mesa amps are supposedly voiced a little differently than typical V30s.

[chrisolson]

You like the V30s in any combo form or just the Mesa? Because V30s in Mesa amps are supposedly voiced a little differently than typical V30s.

They were good in my Spider Valve as well - that and the F100 are about it for my combo experience with V30's. FWIW, the V30's in my F100 have the Celestion label on them, not the Mesa label - I've heard they come both ways??

With that said, I've had combos with the G12T75, and I didn't like those in the combo form - it was a Marshall DSL combo (401 maybe??) and Yamaha T100. But when I plugged those amps into a closed-back Marshall cab, they rocked! Opposites attract? I dunno...

[toejam]

I'm not totally sure, but I don't think the V30s ever had a Mesa label on them, just I've heard a couple people say that Celestion voiced them slightly different for Mesa.
I've always thought the V30s were just okay on their own, but they always seem to sound better when paired up with the G12T75. The V30s have lots of honky mids, and the G12T75s have scooped mids, and they mix very well together.

[chrisolson]

I'm not totally sure, but I don't think the V30s ever had a Mesa label on them, just I've heard a couple people say that Celestion voiced them slightly different for Mesa.
I've always thought the V30s were just okay on their own, but they always seem to sound better when paired up with the G12T75. The V30s have lots of honky mids, and the G12T75s have scooped mids, and they mix very well together.

Hmmm... Maybe I should do a 1 'n' 1...

But what do I know? Maybe I need to scoop the mids a bit when I use the V30 cabs - I use a LOT of mids most of the time - usually around 2:00, which could be a little strong for some cabs.

Like I said, I like combo as is, it's the cabs that don't do much for me. Food for thought I guess - combos - V30's, cabs - G12T75's. But NOT the other way around because it doesn't do much for me. ME. Others will obviously disagree, but that's just my hangup I guess. Anywhooo...

[toejam]

I like a lot of mids, too, but even in my old F-30 combo, I thought the sound was still a little too middy. I preferred the contour control engaged so it scooped the mids in the V shape like their old Mark series with the 5-band eq, but that still had some midrange chunk to it. I did get the best results when I also used an extension cab with a G12T75 in it.