Found a '89 Blue stripe with all factory paperwork and two original foot switches. Recently serviced and has a Celestion G12. Simul-class, EQ and back controls.. has a fan (Howard Industries if that matters) too. Though I put the reverb up to 10 and it seemed still like a short reverb. Also, I was reading the manual and it suggested to use EL34's in the Class A slots, but don't many people use 4 6L6's? I think I'd like to go that route eventually. Beside's that, I'm really happy with the amp and relieved to finally own one... I'll probably pick up one of those replacement all-in-one swicthers from Switch Doctor.
(http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z78/sereantpepper/Mobile%20Uploads/20140611_185308.jpg?t=1402529126)
I got a kick out the speaker connector being Monster but I guess as long as the wire is a good gauge and the connection is strong it's fine.
(http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z78/sereantpepper/Mobile%20Uploads/20140611_185340.jpg?t=1402598630)
Sweet!
Mesa Boogie retracted the statement about using 6L6's in place of the EL34's. I think a lot of people still do, but maybe with shorter tube-life? I like the sound the 2 EL34's add personally - a little squishiness, less deep bass, and smoother top-end. Trey has 4 6L6's but its unclear whether his amp is simulclass - if not, its supposed to have 4 6L6's (and he only uses two, with the half-power setting).
I guess Mesa liked those short reverb tanks. I keep mine set fairly high - I think Trey does as well based on the numbers written on the gaffers tape on his amp. Its not a beautiful reverb like a Fender, but functional and in the background.
I have a Switch Doctor switch - never had any problems with it, but I stopped using it because its clunky and adds extra wires. I just use a boost pedal for leads.
Which Celestion is in there? V30 or CL80? Both are great with that amp. I have an EVM12L in mine right now, but thinking about putting my Weber Blue Dog in there - I have another speaker on the way that I might put in my Fender.
Yea it's a V30, sounds great. Ok, I was just trying to make sure the reverb wasn't damaged or whatever. I really only want a replacement switcher because I don't want to risk pulling on the pots frequently.
I was digging the lead channel alot. Made we want to play a bunch of Aerosmith and Rush. (I read somewhere that Lifeson used a Blue stripe at one point)
Congrats on the great score! I have a blue stripe (forget what year) that is exactly the same as yours, except mine has the stock EVM12L, which I have absolutely no inclination to remove from the amp. These are great amps, and can be had for not as much as one would think. I'd have to be in quite the financial bind to get rid of mine.
There are just soooooooo many great sounds to be attained from using these amps, especially between all 3 channels. You can literally play through it for a year, and still not even have realized the capacity of these things. I do suggest that when you get a tone dialed in that you really dig, to take pictures of your knobs/settings. And then use a different guitar and go for something totally different, and then snap another picture. The crazy thing is really how sensitive slight turns of some knobs are that can make or break getting it dialed in right, which can even be frustrating when you redial off of recorded settings from a picture and think, hey this doesn't sound quite like I remember, and then you slightly adjust one or two knobs by a micro-fraction of a turn and the tone you were looking for just punched you in the face!
Quote from: Down_With_Sco on June 12, 2014, 07:17:32 PM
Yea it's a V30, sounds great. Ok, I was just trying to make sure the reverb wasn't damaged or whatever. I really only want a replacement switcher because I don't want to risk pulling on the pots frequently.
I was digging the lead channel alot. Made we want to play a bunch of Aerosmith and Rush. (I read somewhere that Lifeson used a Blue stripe at one point)
V30 is a great speaker - As Wilson says, the EVM12L is awesome too, but I go back and forth with Celestion type speakers when I want less (treble and) bass.
I wouldn't worry too much about using the push/pull pots. I use them regularly when I don't feel like getting out my footswitch. Although a Switch Doc is pretty cheap relatively.
The lead channel can be tons of fun when you want to play something a bit heavier. I mostly use it when I'm jamming with someone who has a big, hard-rock (or even metal) amp and I want to make them shut up about how it has the most killer tube distortion ;)
If the reverb sounds 'off' to you, maybe try a different reverb driver tube. I think those tubes get worked pretty hard, at least in Fender amps, and you might find the reverb is slightly livelier. Having said that, Mesa's reverb is not lively, but fairly dark and short. Your not gonna get that crazy SRV or Surf reverb, but it will still add depth and will stay out of the way of your actual playing. Its a utility and in the background (felt, not heard) like a good Jazz drummer.
If I wanted to get a 2x12 cabinet or have one built and just use the combo as a head, what would be the best route? Probably try to still use the 8-ohm output, right? Wouldn't a 4-ohm cab be more necessary for 4x12's? With a cabinet I would use the amp in simul-class to get the full wattage and then go back to the combo package when using class A.
I've been hearing things about this company, I could use the 4-ohm: https://reverb.com/item/162146-avatar-traditional-premier-2x12-2014-black-silver
Any insight is appreciated.
I've got a 1x12 cabinet that was custom built by Avatar about a decade ago. I think they were just getting started then. It looks different from the ones on their site now. I think it's a great cabinet and they were really easy to work with then and coached me through the options. I bought the speaker directly from Weber and had it shipped to Avatar, but I think they have dealer deals in place now. Decade ago but I hope that helps.
Quote from: Down_With_Sco on June 20, 2014, 05:37:05 PM
If I wanted to get a 2x12 cabinet or have one built and just use the combo as a head, what would be the best route? Probably try to still use the 8-ohm output, right? Wouldn't a 4-ohm cab be more necessary for 4x12's? With a cabinet I would use the amp in simul-class to get the full wattage and then go back to the combo package when using class A.
I've been hearing things about this company, I could use the 4-ohm: https://reverb.com/item/162146-avatar-traditional-premier-2x12-2014-black-silver
Any insight is appreciated.
If I remember correctly, the Mesa has 2 4ohm outputs and 1 8ohm. Just use whatever matches best:
- If you have 2 8ohm loads, one on each 4ohm output
- If you have 1 4ohm load on 1 4ohm output
- If you have 1 8ohm load, it goes with the 8ohm output
- If you have 1 16ohm load, it goes on the 8ohm output
As long as the speaker load is not more than double or less than half of what the output transformer expects, you should be ok.
Looking into a 2x12 Road King cab... a 4x12 in later years if I feel like a rock star. I'm basically trying to go with the Santana setup. (combo speaker in the 8 ohm and then extension cabs in the 4 ohm) he only feeds one of the prs cabs from the mesa, the other is from the dumble or bludotone that he has in racks. I wish you could get those Eminence Fillmore KS100 speakers w/o buying a King Snake.. I'll probably put a Celestion Black Shadow in the combo if I can't find a Fillmore.
http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Guitar%20Cabinets/RoadKingCABS/RoadKingCabs-Main2012.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIv7IGdqHjQ
I'm pretty sure you can order a Fillmore direct from Mesa, they did that with the V30 and their previous speaker (C-90?) if I get a chance to swing by my work this weekend I'll look at a price guide and make sure.
yay the forums are functioning again!!
I won this cab the other day.... cant wait to blast off!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mesa-Boogie-2x12-Three-Quarter-Back-Cabinet-/231284065055?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=IEbarsnzhsQr4ivmYV9a68TW51s%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Quote from: Down_With_Sco on July 21, 2014, 10:19:39 PM
yay the forums are functioning again!!
I won this cab the other day.... cant wait to blast off!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mesa-Boogie-2x12-Three-Quarter-Back-Cabinet-/231284065055?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=IEbarsnzhsQr4ivmYV9a68TW51s%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Mesa cabs are out of this world. Congrats.
Dropped on the porch right before I went to the dentist, had enough time to pull it in and rip open the box.. got home and fired it up! Sounds great, didn't get to use the pedals since I had the fender amp and pedal board in the garage for tonight. But played the Les Paul and Strat right-in and used all three channels.
Would it be silly to run this 3x12 combination in Class A mode? I didn't try.
(https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/l/t1.0-9/10511276_10153070701933327_3798537676152673364_n.jpg)
i have that 2x12 cab rebaffled with a walnut baffle and a 1x15 jbl it is ridiculous!
Quote from: Poster on July 29, 2014, 08:37:41 PM
i have that 2x12 cab rebaffled with a walnut baffle and a 1x15 jbl it is ridiculous!
Nice.
absolutely heavy as shit though. have you gotten roadcases yet? if you end up looking they fit in a mesa lonestar 2x12 footprint. works well if you have other combo amps. my carr fits right in there too. as far as running all the speakers, you kinda have to ask yourself what the point would be, if you need a wider spread, or playing outside in a larger area facing downhill? there are some occasions where that could be neat, but otherwise you may be actually just needing to run 2-3 other amps with a switcher that can combine or isolate them
It came with the leather slip, then I got a recto 2x12 slip for the 3/4 cab, which is slightly too big, but it has a little side pouch so whatever it's all good. Good to know on road cases if I need to go heavy duty.
Its not silly to do anything if it sounds good ;)
I'd rock Class A with a 212!
well it is silly, because you trying to let the audience hear all the instrumentation. in some circumstances its good to run multiple cabs to achieve that depth. conversely, if your in a well tuned concert hall you dont need much more than a 1x12 or a 2x12 cabinet even if it is a bigger room. Amphitheater's are similar if they bowl up it could be good to do a wider phase field etc. then your really fighting the sound guy anyway. its kinda a mix between sound guy and monitor mix and your shit. but yeah, finding out how to run all your stuff without blowing up something is good too. One thing to think about, you could potentially unhook the internal speaker and just use an external cab. That way if your cab fails you have the internal speaker, which to me doesnt ever sound as good as an isolated speaker enclosure doing its thang. Thats basically how my rig works. I have a 2x12 combo amp with a 1x15 external. The amp runs the 1x15 alone. Shit goes down, swap one plug, and boom 2x12's yangin'. If I need to get hard titty then I just run all 3 in parallel (my amp has 2 speaker outs and adjustable impedance / power etc). But even without running them all at once its a decent idea to have them all there. Even the finest speaker will fail if you move it around enough. My jbl is a 1966' all original, no reason to think its going to fail tomorrow, but the fucking thing is older than me. Ive had mesa thiele cabs fail for no apparent reason. Again everything is usually roadcased and babied. Just something to think about. I dont mind hauling a little shit if I actually getting to swing the big stick
Poster you got any sound clips or a web page? I'd be interested In hearing you play. Trying to expand my horizons! And I assume since we're both on this site there are some commonalities to begin with! Thanks man.
Quote from: Poster on July 30, 2014, 01:07:26 AM
well it is silly, because you trying to let the audience hear all the instrumentation. in some circumstances its good to run multiple cabs to achieve that depth. conversely, if your in a well tuned concert hall you dont need much more than a 1x12 or a 2x12 cabinet even if it is a bigger room. Amphitheater's are similar if they bowl up it could be good to do a wider phase field etc. then your really fighting the sound guy anyway. its kinda a mix between sound guy and monitor mix and your shit. but yeah, finding out how to run all your stuff without blowing up something is good too. One thing to think about, you could potentially unhook the internal speaker and just use an external cab. That way if your cab fails you have the internal speaker, which to me doesnt ever sound as good as an isolated speaker enclosure doing its thang. Thats basically how my rig works. I have a 2x12 combo amp with a 1x15 external. The amp runs the 1x15 alone. Shit goes down, swap one plug, and boom 2x12's yangin'. If I need to get hard titty then I just run all 3 in parallel (my amp has 2 speaker outs and adjustable impedance / power etc). But even without running them all at once its a decent idea to have them all there. Even the finest speaker will fail if you move it around enough. My jbl is a 1966' all original, no reason to think its going to fail tomorrow, but the fucking thing is older than me. Ive had mesa thiele cabs fail for no apparent reason. Again everything is usually roadcased and babied. Just something to think about. I dont mind hauling a little shit if I actually getting to swing the big stick
Its not silly, its just like anything else, depends on the circumstances.
I agree with some of what you said...
- I also usually disconnect the internal speaker when using an extension cab
- If a 112 will get by, great, such as:
- if you have a good sound guy: you don't want to fight him with a loud amp on stage
- yet, if you don't have a sound guy, point the 112 at you (as a monitor) and the 212 at the audience if you need to.
- but most of us are not playing a well-tuned concert hall, and maybe not even a gig that has a sound guy. If your playing an outdoor gig without a PA, bring anything that can help your get heard
- Multiple speakers usually balances the tone and results in a smoother sound, especially with well-paired speakers
- Yet multiple speakers risks making a really wide and confusing sound where its hard to 'locate' the guitar. I wouldn't put the 212 on the opposite side of the stage, but stacked like you have in your picture shouldn't make your sound too wide. You want to maintain some instrument separation.
- and most of all, whatever sounds good! If simulclass is too loud with a 3 12s, and a 112 sounds too boxy, class A might work perfectly and let you run the amp a bit hotter. Thats not silly at all. Trey kinda takes the same route using 4 12's in half-power mode, even though he has a great sound guy in an amphitheater.
I agree with using the 1x12 as a monitor and the 2x12 for the main sound. I did that with my outdoor 4th of July gig and it sounded great. I play in a 3 piece, so it benefitted from more speakers. Alternatively If we set up the cream way (guitar->drums->bass in a line facing the audience) I'll put one cab on one side of the bass and the other between me and the drums - balances out IMHO and gives the bass a monitor too.
Quote from: Heady Jam Fan on July 30, 2014, 07:59:18 AM
Quote from: Poster on July 30, 2014, 01:07:26 AM
well it is silly, because you trying to let the audience hear all the instrumentation. in some circumstances its good to run multiple cabs to achieve that depth. conversely, if your in a well tuned concert hall you dont need much more than a 1x12 or a 2x12 cabinet even if it is a bigger room. Amphitheater's are similar if they bowl up it could be good to do a wider phase field etc. then your really fighting the sound guy anyway. its kinda a mix between sound guy and monitor mix and your shit. but yeah, finding out how to run all your stuff without blowing up something is good too. One thing to think about, you could potentially unhook the internal speaker and just use an external cab. That way if your cab fails you have the internal speaker, which to me doesnt ever sound as good as an isolated speaker enclosure doing its thang. Thats basically how my rig works. I have a 2x12 combo amp with a 1x15 external. The amp runs the 1x15 alone. Shit goes down, swap one plug, and boom 2x12's yangin'. If I need to get hard titty then I just run all 3 in parallel (my amp has 2 speaker outs and adjustable impedance / power etc). But even without running them all at once its a decent idea to have them all there. Even the finest speaker will fail if you move it around enough. My jbl is a 1966' all original, no reason to think its going to fail tomorrow, but the fucking thing is older than me. Ive had mesa thiele cabs fail for no apparent reason. Again everything is usually roadcased and babied. Just something to think about. I dont mind hauling a little shit if I actually getting to swing the big stick
Its not silly, its just like anything else, depends on the circumstances.
I agree with some of what you said...
- I also usually disconnect the internal speaker when using an extension cab
- If a 112 will get by, great, such as:
- if you have a good sound guy: you don't want to fight him with a loud amp on stage
- yet, if you don't have a sound guy, point the 112 at you (as a monitor) and the 212 at the audience if you need to.
- but most of us are not playing a well-tuned concert hall, and maybe not even a gig that has a sound guy. If your playing an outdoor gig without a PA, bring anything that can help your get heard
- Multiple speakers usually balances the tone and results in a smoother sound, especially with well-paired speakers
- Yet multiple speakers risks making a really wide and confusing sound where its hard to 'locate' the guitar. I wouldn't put the 212 on the opposite side of the stage, but stacked like you have in your picture shouldn't make your sound too wide. You want to maintain some instrument separation.
- and most of all, whatever sounds good! If simulclass is too loud with a 3 12s, and a 112 sounds too boxy, class A might work perfectly and let you run the amp a bit hotter. Thats not silly at all. Trey kinda takes the same route using 4 12's in half-power mode, even though he has a great sound guy in an amphitheater.
who gives a shit what Trey does? And why not haul around monitors if your playing venues without a front of house system. Shit at least a bar would book a band with some covers and a presser if your girlfriends would show up (and they would likely compensate you for having all that stuff and caring along with having a 200 dollar pa to avoid hauling a 700 cabinet). Your band needs monitors. Every band needs monitors. If you put the bass rig and the guitar cabs behind the drummer your missing the point. Your amp should be setup for the room your playing, then the pro audio side comes in to amplify it correctly. If your in a tiny room, you should not be using a fucking 2x12 cabinet? Tiny brick room = tiny combo amp etc. You can get some decent peavey monitors for maybe 40 bucks a piece. A power amp and mixer for 100 off the list. Because this shit is heavy. Bonus if you get a vocalist etc you now have some little pa speakers for practice. But hooking up 3 - 4 guitar cabs to play in a field because you guys dont want to run a PA is kinda stupid, and your also not going to get a smoother sound, your going to be louder, at the same time not getting the response out of each speaker. but what the fuck do i know?
If you think running multiple speakers smooths out the sound, and is not just under powering those speakers, you have got problems.
its a shame - but you guys will have to learn that you need MULTIPLE AMPS. Why isnt Trey using a shiva with the symphony? (used for reference) Why does kimock change his amp compliment for every show dependent on the size of the venue? What would the benefit be of having a 1x8 combo amp? These are the questions Id be asking myself. Having all this middle size tube amps are probably just a distraction. All that excess gear... Maybe less would be more if the intent was for progressing and people hearing what is happening. Learned it too late, too old and stubborn? Each time your taming that beast on 4 and turning on a distortion pedal your forgetting your not at a show, and you can just turn around and turn up the amp. Like in a studio you are master of your own domain - emulating is cool, but most of those cats are using effects pedal and big amps to nail studio sounds made with an engineer in a concert setting. Make the record experimenting with the I/O of the board - hearing basically how your big amps are worthless > make said record sound good enough to stand > build live effects rig to recreate said songs for project > have a couple amps that work for the venues your booking.
all this fuck man i just want a 200w hiwatt - trey got this new cab microphone bullshit is kinda getting old.
being able to nail a cover song can pay your bills. being able to play your own song and build unique tones for it, may save your soul.
so in summary - the mark III is a great amp, maybe you need a different speaker compliment internally. perhaps convert it to a head enclosure for better performance and portability. maybe use less shit - get a pa.
Again, I agree with most of what you said Poster.
The reason I referred to Trey is because every single member on SD is here because we think Trey's setup is a great example of a 412 in an amphitheater. He's clearly doing something right (definitely not wrong).
Monitors are great, so are multiple amps to fit the venue. I wish I could afford that. Fortunately most of the gigs I've been playing have monitors at the venue, including my show tonight. My Deluxe Reverb with a Badcat Unleash is a small, lightweight 112 that gets me the perfect tone from coffee shop to pretty large venue. You definitely don't need a setup with multiple speakers, but that doesn't means its bad or silly.
Multiple speakers, especially pairing two complimentary speakers does give a smoother tone if the speakers balance out peaks and valleys in the frequency response of the other speaker. This is the same reason why studios often use multiple mikes (or even multiple amps): it helps avoid harsh peaks in the frequency on recordings. Of having multiple speakers makes no difference if your only miking one of them for a gig.
Good chat going on right here, thanks guys.
I would also say ALL of you guys need ATA grade cases if your gigging out at all. Search craigslist and ebay for used only cases. Get them a little oversized in the combo size but mesa depth, you can always use dense block of foam to fit it for whatever needs it that night. In other words you should be able to get a bad ass 900 dollar roadcase for 150-200 shipped that has locking wheels, top off, in bullet proof shape for nothing. If they are a little tall you could leave the bad cat on it.
lol i gave out 3 applause only to be smited for sharing - this place hasnt changed much
Quote from: Poster on July 30, 2014, 01:00:08 PM
I would also say ALL of you guys need ATA grade cases if your gigging out at all. Search craigslist and ebay for used only cases. Get them a little oversized in the combo size but mesa depth, you can always use dense block of foam to fit it for whatever needs it that night. In other words you should be able to get a bad ass 900 dollar roadcase for 150-200 shipped that has locking wheels, top off, in bullet proof shape for nothing. If they are a little tall you could leave the bad cat on it.
lol i gave out 3 applause only to be smited for sharing - this place hasnt changed much
I applaud you