Mesa F-series Lounge. Come on in and share your secrets.

[estring777]

 

Originally Posted by Torh

All right.. I have complained about motorboat/helicopter sound of my DD-20 through my F-50 before.. However I found settings where I could avoid the problem. But however again, I find it limits me a lot, so now I'm going for the mod described by Hal, Dann, petesvilla, et. al. I.e. modding the loop from parallel to serial.

Nevertheless, I am a bit nervous as to how to go about this. What screws would I want to release to access the guts for the loop? Any precautions I should take regarding electrical safety?

I am not inexperienced with the solder pen, it's just that I've never used it in an amp before...

Thanks!

 

I had the same problem with my DD20. I just back off the feedback and level a little bit and it was fine.

[eddie.perez]

 

Originally Posted by estring777

I had the same problem with my DD20. I just back off the feedback and level a little bit and it was fine.

 

Ok, the only problem is that my band has some songs that have dub reggae guitars on them. And we tend to use the feedback a little higher then the normal to trip your mind out. I seen the tips already on how the mod the fx loop from parallel to serial but i'm not a techncian. I would need step by step details. Or does mesa boogie shops do this kind of work. will they mod your amp.

[hdhv]

Hi Guys,

I have an F-50 which sounds good to me, only a bit harsh sometimes.

I just reecived an MXR 10 band equalizer.

Do you have suggestions for settings with a stratocaster and the F50.

I play a coverband and we cover Gary moore, velvet revolver G&R, AC/DC, Satriani, SRV and many more.

i do not need the MXR as a booste, I have a TS9 in front which I use as a booster and to fatten the sound

[Dann'sTheMan]

 

Originally Posted by hdhv

Hi Guys,

I have an F-50 which sounds good to me, only a bit harsh sometimes.

I just reecived an MXR 10 band equalizer.

Do you have suggestions for settings with a stratocaster and the F50.

I play a coverband and we cover Gary moore, velvet revolver G&R, AC/DC, Satriani, SRV and many more.

i do not need the MXR as a booste, I have a TS9 in front which I use as a booster and to fatten the sound

 

Hi hdhv,

Welcome to HCAF and the F-series Lounge - thank you for making your first post to the brotherhood.

Regarding tips, if you're not already attenuating in the loop in any way, try setting the loop at maximum (90% wet) and turning up the Channel Masters to 10-1 o'clock on the amp's control panel. Now use the output control on your EQ to reduce the overall volume to something sane. With the Channel Masters up, the pre-amp will be working harder, and you should get fatter tone. If you wish to thicken things further with distorted tones, try adding +2dB around 700-900Hz.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Hey Brothers!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! You make this thread such a great place to lounge!

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm currently in Japan on a long business trip. I've been here four weeks already (arrived Nov 24) and I head back to the UK on January 26. Guess who's missing their F-50?!

Thankfully, I'm not missing my family because I brought them with me. As you may remember, my wife is Japanese, so my kids are bi-lingual. We've put the oldest two into school and pre-school, and the baby - well her job is to look cute, and she does that very well.

As for my musical family, well all of my guitars are back in the UK, so I've been forced to resort to the 1/2 sized acoustic that I brought along so that my older two girls can keep practising. Whenever I get an opportunity, I head over to Tokyo's main music shop area, Ochanomizu, and have some fun.

I've been having so much fun, that I'm considering buying a particularly nice Eric Johnson Stratocaster - and the strong Pound Sterling is twisting my arm even more. The biggest inhibitor is working out how to lug 2 months worth of stuff back to the UK along with another guitar. Hey, it's not the worst problem in the world to have.

Hope you're blessed with good things over the Festive season,

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

 

Originally Posted by Lamb

So, something like this:

http://ftp.disenteria.ru/0-reviewed/...20Did%20We.mp3

wouldn't be quite as feasible? Right now, I'm basically choosing between the F-50 or the V-twin pedal with a poweramp.

 

Hi Lamb,

I hope you're enjoying the choosing process. I own both a V-Twin pedal and the F-50. To my ears, the V-Twin pedal is darker and looser than the F-50. I personally much prefer the tone of the F-50, but I should say that I normally run the V-Twin into the front end of a Fender Princeton Chorus. In this set up, the brightness of the Fender helps compliment the darker V-Twin - I've used this rig for pretty big gigs - including the Royal Albert Hall, but the F-50 is altogether in a different league imho - and tighter too.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

 

Originally Posted by Lamb

No, I know. But I'm curious which one I should focus on more. The F50 or the F100. I plan on playing live but I'd also like to be able to do some bedroom volumes. I'm leaning more towards the 50 because I'm thinking I'd be able to push the tubes a bit more at lower volumes. Basically I just want to make sure I'm not missing out on anything by buying the 50 rather than the 100.

 

You won't be missing out imho. The F-series have tonnes of headroom, and I can't remember coming across anyone who felt they ran out of power with the F-50.

The F-100 sounds almost identical - even though the combo uses different speakers. When I A/Bed the two combos, I couldn't separate them on tone alone (slightly preferred the F-100's clean, and slightly preferred the F-50's lead), so it actually came down to weight - I could lift the F-50 combo with one hand.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[estring777]

 

Originally Posted by eddie.perez

Ok, the only problem is that my band has some songs that have dub reggae guitars on them. And we tend to use the feedback a little higher then the normal to trip your mind out. I seen the tips already on how the mod the fx loop from parallel to serial but i'm not a techncian. I would need step by step details. Or does mesa boogie shops do this kind of work. will they mod your amp.

 

OK....but you dont have to back off much. The change probably wont even be noticable, but you will get rid of that Helicopter oscillation. You dont need this mod to solve your particular problem. Well, at least I didnt.

[estring777]

 

Originally Posted by hdhv

Hi Guys,

I have an F-50 which sounds good to me, only a bit harsh sometimes.

I just reecived an MXR 10 band equalizer.

Do you have suggestions for settings with a stratocaster and the F50.

I play a coverband and we cover Gary moore, velvet revolver G&R, AC/DC, Satriani, SRV and many more.

i do not need the MXR as a booste, I have a TS9 in front which I use as a booster and to fatten the sound

 

I love the F-50...but I'm guessing your needs may call for a Marshall.

If you havent already, swap out your mesa tubes.

[hdhv]

yes I have swapped the tubes.

Now I have:

MP RUBY 6L6GCMSTR Powertubes

Tung-Sol 12AX7 V1

Penta Labs 12AX7C V2 alternativ I have high gain JJ ECC83S

Shuguang 12AX7C V3

Balanced Sovtek LPS V4

The earpiercing highs are gone, but still a lot of highs.

Think of adjusting with eq. Boost lower freq. and cut highs. Tha adjust middle to taste. hoe harschness is gone to

Some suggestions?

Mind that recording with the amp direct into PC is good, Maybe the speaker makes it harsh and piercing.

Tried with 2x12 V30 sounded much better.

[mrelusive]

here's an F-series question for ya:

i was thinkin about switching out the speakers in my 4x12. Right now there are 4 Vintage 30s in there, but i'm debating doing an x pattern with another speaker model to round out the tone. All my guitars are solid mahogany (yamaha sbg700s and a gibson faded natural sg, all stock pickups right now) and i play tuned down 1.5-2.5 steps a lot of times. Not super-thrashy metal or shred, more like straight-up heavy guitar rock. Akin to Queens of the Stone Age, Monster Magnet, the Cars, etc.

what speakers would sound good? what should i avoid? would switching these out really make a difference or sound better, or should i just get new pickups for one of my guitars and cure the GAS that way?

[lovED]

mrelusive has a good question that i wouldn't mind hearing some answers to as well.

mrelusive, I play a Mesa F-100 head. I play dropped C. I use an older Marshall 4x12. I don't think they are V-30s. I'm looking for a good solution in terms of speakers myself. I was thinking either a MESA cab or an Orange. Orange have v30s though.......so i was leaning more towards a nice mesa cab.

lovED

[Joeytpg]

Well I don't have much experience with Cabs, but the mesa cabs sound very big and have a lot of bottom end..... If you like a bright sound, I'd go for a Marshall cab, or an orange cab with V30s.... it would sound VERY NICE with a drop C tunning and the dark F-100......

but again, what do I know heheheh

[opultaM]

Hey Andy, find any good deals in Japan? I went to Tokyo a few yearsw ago and came home with a mint used Maxon AF-9 AutoFilter which I got for about $130. Also, I was playing an Akai Deep Impact bass synth (on a guitar) and loved it. So I told the guy I wanted it and he just took $40 off hte price right there. I don't know why, as the entire transaction was wordless. he just showed me the price with a discount and I smiled and nodded.

I like to think it's because I was the first gringo who really tore it up in his store, but that's doubtful.

Edit: I should mention, I got the AF-9 in Akihabara (don't remember the store) and the Akai in Osaka at the Yamaha store. Also, there was a great collection of boutiques in a store in Shibuya (it was near the Friday's)

[mudbuddy11]

hdhv, I had issues with the amp sounding a little to harsh to my ears too, and the mxr in the fx chain solved my issue. I had to try several differnt patterns before I found the one that I really liked. It works great for my les paul, but I dont find I really need it with a strat, because it has really clear low output pickups. I use a v-shape pattern, with a boost on my lows and highs at +10db, and my mids around -6db, and the rest fall in line to make the v-pattern... I know you get it... anyway, that might not work for your set up, but you could try it, but not so drastic on the high and low,....

what people really recommend is, to start at a flatline, and adjust each control one at a time, until you have the sound youre looking for.

or try this,,, set level to 0 and gain to slight boost, then in order

-6,-6,+6,0,-3, 0,0,+6,+3,0.... this is in the mxr manual as 'sparkly clean'

level 0, gain0, -12,-12,-12,-12,-6,+6,+3,-12,-12,-12 ... is clalled 'am radio tone'

I still found my scooped mids v shape to be the best sound in my rig.

I would like to hear what you get worked out for your strat. good luck.

[estring777]

yes I have swapped the tubes.

Now I have:

MP RUBY 6L6GCMSTR Powertubes

Tung-Sol 12AX7 V1

Penta Labs 12AX7C V2 alternativ I have high gain JJ ECC83S

Shuguang 12AX7C V3

Balanced Sovtek LPS V4

The earpiercing highs are gone, but still a lot of highs.

Think of adjusting with eq. Boost lower freq. and cut highs. Tha adjust middle to taste. hoe harschness is gone to

Some suggestions?

Mind that recording with the amp direct into PC is good, Maybe the speaker makes it harsh and piercing.

Tried with 2x12 V30 sounded much better.[/quote

We have a similar tube config.....

Well my "secret" to getting it smoother was a 2x12 avatar cab with a V30 and a G12. I put beam blockers on both and then, and this is what really did it, I set the cab vertically...instead of horizontally. It was like night and day.

I have a theory why this worked but it would be hard to put into words...at least for me.

V30's tend to be a little harsh...especially if they are new.

[Joeytpg]

Hey bros, made a new video. My new John Mayer Sig Strat, into the F-50, no pedals, or fx. Recorded with my Macbook isight and miced with a shure SM57 into a Metric Halo ULN-2 interface.

I'm loving this guitar! The amp came to life once more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duoGRUPzA-8

[Guest Anonymous]

I have a Mesa Boogie F-50 amp head wanting to get a speaker cabinet. Any recommendations? I play a 72 Custom Gibson Les Paul w/ fretless wonder. I like having a good distinction between my highs/lows when I hit the switch on my guitar. Not extremely high high's and not extreme lows, but in the mid-high range and mid-low range, something like that. Would a Avatar 2 x 12 cabinet with Vintage 30's be alright? I was thinking that with the closed back. Any help would rock.

[Joeytpg]

Hey Neil, how could I get me one of those cool rig pictures design like you got and tommi/andy ?

[Dann'sTheMan]

 

Originally Posted by opultaM

Hey Andy, find any good deals in Japan? I went to Tokyo a few yearsw ago and came home with a mint used Maxon AF-9 AutoFilter which I got for about $130. Also, I was playing an Akai Deep Impact bass synth (on a guitar) and loved it. So I told the guy I wanted it and he just took $40 off hte price right there. I don't know why, as the entire transaction was wordless. he just showed me the price with a discount and I smiled and nodded.

I like to think it's because I was the first gringo who really tore it up in his store, but that's doubtful.

Edit: I should mention, I got the AF-9 in Akihabara (don't remember the store) and the Akai in Osaka at the Yamaha store. Also, there was a great collection of boutiques in a store in Shibuya (it was near the Friday's)

 

Hi opultaM,

Well everything is a good deal here compared to rip off Britain - in the past I've bought my Dynacomp, my PRS Custom 22 and my Tascam recording interface in Japan - as well of loads of sundry items.

This time I'm eyeing up a Fender Eric Johnson strat - to put it in perspective. The EJ Strat costs about $2200 - 2600. Here, I've found a new one for $1450.

If I don't go for the strat, then I might indulge in a new wah-wah. If I could find a Voodoo Labs GCX or an Axess GRX4, I'd snap it up and make the two pedals I run in front of my F-50 MIDI controllable.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[mudbuddy11]

holy crap, I've been looking for an overdrive pedal. I was thinking ts9, then thinking that if I were to spend that kind of money, and since I've got a tube amp that can benefit from the best pedals on the market, I was thinking analogman or keeley modded ts9's.

I got a wild hare, and pulled the trigger on a lovepedal red cot. I CANT WAIT to get this thing and start playing. I just got my old 50's 5w(?) airline amp working again, and I'm thinking it will push that sweetly... oh, not to mention the 76 champ silverface thats on its way too.

For a broke dude, I sure seem to spend the dough.

[Joeytpg]

Hey guys...... another video for you... This is the POD XTL through the F-50 only as a power amp/cab.

[mudbuddy11]

thats pretty friggin good, joey

[Joeytpg]

thanks a lot Mud!

[Lamb]

 

Originally Posted by Dann'sTheMan

Hi Lamb,

I hope you're enjoying the choosing process. I own both a V-Twin pedal and the F-50. To my ears, the V-Twin pedal is darker and looser than the F-50. I personally much prefer the tone of the F-50, but I should say that I normally run the V-Twin into the front end of a Fender Princeton Chorus. In this set up, the brightness of the Fender helps compliment the darker V-Twin - I've used this rig for pretty big gigs - including the Royal Albert Hall, but the F-50 is altogether in a different league imho - and tighter too.

Big smiles,

Andy.

 

Haha, I sure am although I'd love to finally get my hands on a decent amp set up. Unfortunately, I was outbid on the F-50 I was going for and the F-100 auction was taken down

Oh well, gives me more time to save up for a cab while I keep my eyes open for another F-50.