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


Dann'sTheMan

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Hey guys! I just today won an F-30 head on Ebay, so I'll be reading & participating with the thread (hopefully). This is my third Mesa. The other two have been Studio 22+ combos. From what I've read so far I'm going to love the F-30.


My other amps, btw:

'63 Epiphone (Crestline) EA-35T

'64 Gibson (Crestline) GA-19RVT

'66 Vox AC50

'74 Fender Bandmaster Reverb (in a Weber repro 2x12 cab)

Late 70s MusicMan RP100 Head

Vox AC30CC2X

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Quote Originally Posted by gregv

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Hey guys,


so i called mesa today to ask them about it. They said it is pretty normal and that all amps will have varying degrees of volume taper. If it is a problem he said to send it in but very likely they will find nothing wrong with it. Of course the amp is meant to be played at higher levels and it does that just fine.


On a side note a cam across this attenuator on ebay


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting


Its a THD hotplate, the 2 ohm variety. I noticed on the THD website they had 2,4,8 ohm etc. I am thinking about bidding on this item. It is an older version but the seller says it works great. I am not sur ethe difference b/w the different ohms in the hotplates. Any thoughts on this and would it do the job for getting the high volume tones for playing at home??


Thanks!

 

Hi gregv,


Good news. smile.gif As I mentioned, I had noticed that all of the F-series that I have tried behaved differently with the way the volume tapers, but if it's just down to the pot, then no worries. cool.gif


Regarding the Hotplate. I wouldn't suggest going for the 2 Ohm model. The F-series amps expect an 8 Ohm load, and so you should really keep an eye out for the 8 Ohm Hotplates (or similar) - they are usually painted purple IIRC. In addition, if you've not tried loop attenuation for getting good tones at low volume levels, then try that out first as you may decide you don't need an attenuator (the Mix/Master mod in hal9000's signature is a great place to start). thumb.gif


Big smiles,


Andy.

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Quote Originally Posted by Joeytpg

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welcome to the brotherwood Lawton.


What kind of music are you into? From your gear I asume you're into classic rock/blues stuff right?


you'll love your F-30 then.

 

Hey. The guitars will tip off my "into" music more than the amps...


Rickenbacker 325v63

Epiphone Elitist '65 Casino (sunburst)

Gretsch 6119-1962HT Tennessean

Gibson '61 RI SG

Gibson J-160E

Heritage H-150CM Classic Custom (Almond Burst, Duncan Seth Lovers)

Larrivee L-03E


...so yeah, Classic Rock, 60s British Invasion, a bit of Psychedelic thrown in for fun (I love my Hartman Germanium Fuzz pedal for that...).


Woo hoo!!!! Yeah, the F-30 is gonna add a nice amp-based gain feature to what I've already got going on...


biggrin.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by Dann'sTheMan

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Hi gregv,


Good news. smile.gif As I mentioned, I had noticed that all of the F-series that I have tried behaved differently with the way the volume tapers, but if it's just down to the pot, then no worries. cool.gif


Regarding the Hotplate. I wouldn't suggest going for the 2 Ohm model. The F-series amps expect an 8 Ohm load, and so you should really keep an eye out for the 8 Ohm Hotplates (or similar) - they are usually painted purple IIRC. In addition, if you've not tried loop attenuation for getting good tones at low volume levels, then try that out first as you may decide you don't need an attenuator (the Mix/Master mod in hal9000's signature is a great place to start). thumb.gif


Big smiles,




Andy.

 

Hey Andy,


Thanks for the reply about the hotplate, I was thinking the 2 ohm wouldnt cut it. When you are talking about Hall's signature do you mean the soldering of the guitar cable.? If not could you point me in the right direction...


Is it as simple as doing the soldering in the diagram and that is it you are off! Because it seems a little complicated to me...... sorry about the questions a little new to this amp modifying and such. Much appreciated!


Greg

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Quote Originally Posted by Lawton

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Hey. The guitars will tip off my "into" music more than the amps...


Rickenbacker 325v63

Epiphone Elitist '65 Casino (sunburst)

Gretsch 6119-1962HT Tennessean

Gibson '61 RI SG

Gibson J-160E

Heritage H-150CM Classic Custom (Almond Burst, Duncan Seth Lovers)

Larrivee L-03E


...so yeah, Classic Rock, 60s British Invasion, a bit of Psychedelic thrown in for fun (I love my Hartman Germanium Fuzz pedal for that...).


Woo hoo!!!! Yeah, the F-30 is gonna add a nice amp-based gain feature to what I've already got going on...


biggrin.gif

 

Welcome to the brotherhood, Lawton,


I like your style! smile.gif


Big smiles,


Andy.

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Quote Originally Posted by gregv

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Hey Andy,


Thanks for the reply about the hotplate, I was thinking the 2 ohm wouldnt cut it. When you are talking about Hall's signature do you mean the soldering of the guitar cable.? If not could you point me in the right direction...


Is it as simple as doing the soldering in the diagram and that is it you are off! Because it seems a little complicated to me...... sorry about the questions a little new to this amp modifying and such. Much appreciated!


Greg

 

Hi Greg,


Yes I was talking about doing the soldering in that diagram - very straightforward, heh? That's more of a permanent solution though...


...If you want to just quickly try the approach and see if it works for you: just take two guitar leads, some conductive tin foil, and an elastic band. Plug the first guitar lead into the Send socket. Wrap the tin foil around the jack of the second guitar lead, so that the tip and the sleeve are electrically connected, and use the elastic band to secure it; plug the unwrapped end into the Return socked. Turn the Mix pot to maximum, and then turn up the amp's channel volumes to 10 o'clock or more, and judge the tone for yourself. cool.gif


Big smiles,


Andy.

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Quote Originally Posted by eddie.perez

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Hello Tommi Inkila,


I know that probably been asked this question so many times, but I got to ask you again. What kind of tubes do you use. I really like the tone of your clips. They all sound good.


thumb.gif

EDDIE.

 

Hi Eddie,


I use tubes from www.tubeampdoctor.com ... I have their TAD 6L6GC-STR RCA-Style power tubes and TAD ECC83-Cz preamp tubes.


If you someday order from them you can ask them to match the power tubes for your Mesa. I normally ask to match them with Mesa green rating tubes.

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Quote Originally Posted by Dann'sTheMan

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Hi Greg,


Yes I was talking about doing the soldering in that diagram - very straightforward, heh? That's more of a permanent solution though...


...If you want to just quickly try the approach and see if it works for you: just take two guitar leads, some conductive tin foil, and an elastic band. Plug the first guitar lead into the Send socket. Wrap the tin foil around the jack of the second guitar lead, so that the tip and the sleeve are electrically connected, and use the elastic band to secure it; plug the unwrapped end into the Return socked. Turn the Mix pot to maximum, and then turn up the amp's channel volumes to 10 o'clock or more, and judge the tone for yourself. cool.gif


Big smiles,


Andy.

 

thanks again Andy! I am away from home for the weekend but I am going to give it a try on monday. Ill let you know how it worked!


Greg

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Quote Originally Posted by Tommi Inkila

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Hi Eddie,


I use tubes from www.tubeampdoctor.com ... I have their TAD 6L6GC-STR RCA-Style power tubes and TAD ECC83-Cz preamp tubes.


If you someday order from them you can ask them to match the power tubes for your Mesa. I normally ask to match them with Mesa green rating tubes.

 

Hello Tommi Inkila,


If I oder some preamp tubes. Do they also have to be within the Mesa's bias range.thumb.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by bobbyswamp

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Greetings all. Looks like I'm the newest member. I think I've read most of the 285 pages here since buying my F-30 last year, so I finally joined up.

dscn4541afn3.jpg

 


Hello Bobby Swamp,


Hey, welcome to the F-series brotherhood. That's a nice piece of equipment you got there. By the way, do you play in a band?smile.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by bobbyswamp

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Greetings all. Looks like I'm the newest member. I think I've read most of the 285 pages here since buying my F-30 last year, so I finally joined up.

 

Hi bobbyswamp,


Welcome indeed. I agree with eddie.perez - your rig looks mean and purposeful! cool.gif Tell us more about the music you play! smile.gif


Big smiles,


Andy.

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Thanks for the welcome in, gang! I have been scouring this thread for months getting fantastic advice and tips from all you guys. Thanks for settin' up the lounge! Anyway, as for the gear in the pic, I tossed some BurstBuckers in the Epi. She roars thru that F-30. I play Fenders, too, but feel more at home on humbuckers. My band plays mostly power-pop. A friend and I went amp shopping a couple years ago and we tried, I don't know, 12 dozen different amps? It was crazy. We wandered into the Hollywood Mesa/Boogie store as our last stop. We tried out an F-50 in the window and from the first note we knew we were done. It was frickin tone-heaven. Within a week, my buddy had bought a used F-50 combo. It took me awhile, but I nabbed mine off eBay for a great price.

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I've narrowed my amp choices to the F-30 or 50. Also played the replacement Xpresses, but like the F's better. Anyhow, I'm torn between the two. I'd like to hear from those of you who have extensive experience with both, which you like better.


It's hard to do a decent comparison at GC so I'm hoping to get some insight. I also hope this hasn't been discussed before, but this is a huge thread (and I will read the entire thing when time permits).


I hate a hard and harsh sounding amp and will like the one with the smoother presentation. Also, I only play at home so the extra power is not a concern.


It will be used with a Strat, Tele and Schecter Tempest (their LP style guitar) and I play chords/rhythm 90% of the time with a few rifts here and there just for fun. wink.gif


Thanks

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Quote Originally Posted by Jack Dotson

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I've narrowed my amp choices to the F-30 or 50. Also played the replacement Xpresses, but like the F's better. Anyhow, I'm torn between the two. I'd like to hear from those of you who have extensive experience with both, which you like better.


It's hard to do a decent comparison at GC so I'm hoping to get some insight. I also hope this hasn't been discussed before, but this is a huge thread (and I will read the entire thing when time permits).


I hate a hard and harsh sounding amp and will like the one with the smoother presentation. Also, I only play at home so the extra power is not a concern.


It will be used with a Strat, Tele and Schecter Tempest (their LP style guitar) and I play chords/rhythm 90% of the time with a few rifts here and there just for fun. wink.gif


Thanks

 

My F-30 gets plenty loud for small to medium rooms and sounds great IMHO. Whether you go with the 30 or 50, you can crank the master to get the tube saturation and then attenuate the volume with one of many methods listed within this thread. I guess it comes down to EL-84 or 6L6 power tubes and the sound difference between the two. Which ever you buy, don't be a noob like me...send in your warranty card within 10 days of purchase. Make sure they give you one along with the literature and cover that comes with the amp. I didn't get that stuff until a couple of weeks after I purchased my used F-30 when the called me up and said they had it. All of these amps have a 5 year transferrable warranty with hoops to jump through to activate it. But the tone is worth it....thumb.gif
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I've noticed that alot of amps out there have a presence knob. So I thought it would be nice to add some presence to my F-100 since it doesn't have it.The presence range is between 4kHz and 6kHz and is responsible for the clarity and definition of many instruments. Boosting this range can make chords and solos seem closer to the listener. For electric guitar I recommend that you use frequencies between 1.5 to 2.5 khz. I personally use the parametric eq in my Gt-8 and boost up the 2.5khz up to 4db's for clean melodies and bring it down 1db for solo's. The sound that I got was amazing. The way these frequencies work is like magic. My guitar parts are now more detailed,and more pleasant to the ear. by the way I use a rect. cab with two v-30's, if you have a 4x12 cab i recommend that you lower the frequency, just don't go lower than 1.5 khz. I hope this can work for you. My F-100 sounds even better now. I can't wait to get my new preamp tubes. Then my amp will sound even sweeter he he he. smile.gifthumb.gif

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I just joined harmony-central, 20 minutes ago, especially for this lounge. I don't know the ins and outs of blogging at all haha, but this is a pretty inspiring place, regardless of its lack of physical space! I already have a question that needs awnsering however, and please correct me if this isnt proper "etiquette". I have an f50 head running into a 412 framus cobra, and I seem to have a faulty effects loop. It hisses and produces very trebly tone. Is this my mistake or the amps? And how do I fix it?!

Thanks for accepting me (so far haha)

Zach

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Quote Originally Posted by dulcetpine

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I just purchased an F-100 head off of ebay (at a rediculous deal) and am curious, as i would have prefered a Nomad head/combo, can I switch directly from the clean channel to the contour, or do i need to have the channel two active first?

 

If you have the contour active and switch to your clean, when you swtich back the contour will be still active... so I guess the answer is yes.
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