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

[hal9000]

Originally posted by boonhogganbeck
I really think this will be my next amp. I've spent a lot of time with one at my local dealer. My question for the brotherhood is how does the F-50 like attenuators? I'm thinking that I'd probably use one just so I don't disturb the neighbors. Also, which is the best attenuator for the amp? I see a lot of post praising the Hotplate.

Thanks!

I use the Hot Plate on my F-100 set for -12 dB with the OD master around 10:30. In my live gigging application the Hot Plate excels. It is very transparent and allows me to open up the amp. However, if you're trying to get at or below TV volume, there are some caveats. What kind of volume are we talking here?

[JeffB]

I use an old Marshall Powerbrake for now..

Of course, it's not optimal, but it's better than crankin' it (as far as the neighbors are concerned that is )

I plan on buying a Hot Plate because it has the treble and bass boosts, which I think will help for bedroom volumes compared to the Marshall.

Honestly tho, I really feel the F-50 sounds much better un-attentuated at lower volumes than most other amps when you run the master low and the pre-amp gain high. It's more full and less buzzy sounding than say a 800/900/2000 Marshall, 5150, Peavey Classic, or similar. Again it's not optimal, but better than anything I've ever owned or tried.

And as for the vintage marshall-esque sounds, yes Hal's "vintage high gain" setting is very close to what I use. It'll vary a bit depending on the type of guitar/pickups.

IME, there are a TON of sounds to be found in the F-series amps if you just play with it. It's a tone tinker's dream. I think with a mod for adj. bias and some EL34s it would excel at british/modded marshall type sounds. I thot about having Voodoo perform such a mod on mine, but I'm not sure now. I really love the way the amp sounds right out of the box, and I can't remember any amp that I felt that way about in the past (especially an "open" back combo...I normally abhor open back combos).

All I know is Randall Smith has converted this ol' Marshall fanatic to a MESA-phile with the F-series

[UconnJack]

Originally posted by JeffB


Honestly tho, I really feel the F-50 sounds much better un-attentuated at lower volumes than most other amps when you run the master low and the pre-amp gain high. It's more full and less buzzy sounding than say a 800/900/2000 Marshall, 5150, Peavey Classic, or similar. Again it's not optimal, but better than anything I've ever owned or tried.

I agree completely. I've been giging my F-50 for a couple of months now and just recently stopped using the Hotplate. I'm always miked and I feel I get a fuller-fatter tone without the HP.

[Tommi Inkila]

Keeping the thread alive!

I just received some 12ax7's, the Billington Golds (tested Svetlanas) and Golden Dragon (tested chinese tubes)... unfortunately I haven't yet put them on my F-50.

Initial impressions are that Golden Dragons have cooler package and Billington Golds have very handy markings of mA / transconductance... picked up few that came close to "so called standard" 1.2mA / 1600 ... let's hear how they will sound.

[yourguitarhero]

Here's my F-50, back in the house for repairs. The cabinet is a matamp with a single V30.

Getting some incredible solo tones with the green side (tubescreamer clone) of the jekkyl & hyde with Channel 2 normal mode.

Craig

[Tommi Inkila]

Looks cool Craig!

Jekyll and Hyde is really good overdrive/distortion pedal... if somebody doesn't need the distortion side (right side) of that thing then I'd suggest you checkout the Route 66 from same manufacturer. It has the same left side as in Jekyll and Hyde (tubescreamer-type overdrive) and on the right side there is very healthy sounding compressor.

[yourguitarhero]

very intersting. I can't really see me using the red channel, just the green for a boost.

But it'll be handy in case my amp goes down at a gig and I have to borrow someone else's - three channels and a solo boost (off, green, red, red+green) rig that I can use through a clean amp.

But yeah, it's a cool pedal.

In a couple of days I'll have a Nano Head sittign on top of the cab.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Following on from the custom cable explanation that I kicked this thread off with, and in connection with hal9000's recent posts about using a POD XT Live and a CFX4 to get a pseudo three channel set up, I thought I'd elaborate on how I achieve something similar.

I use a Behringer FCB1010 as my MIDI foot controller. This has two built in relays that can be used for amp channel switching. The two relays are enough to select the F-series Clean, Lead and Contour sounds. ...but not reverb.

For me it's not a problem to have the Reverb non-footswitchable. I can add reverb from my FX unit for a particular song, or more usually, I use the amp's reverb control to dial in the appropriate amount of reverb for the venue. This may be a useful tip for some as I've found having reverb in every patch is a pain when I arrive in a venue with lots of natural reverb, and I have to spend time tweaking all the patches and disabling reverb - so now I tend not to use reverb from the FX unit when playing live.

My FX unit is a battle worn Zoom 9030. I've used this for years and I've found that not only are the modulation and delays sweet, but that the EQ section is very powerful for "post" shaping the tone. Because the EQ is set at the patch level, you basically have a MIDI programmable EQ that can create wildly different tones whilst maintaining a fixed EQ on the amp. I must admit that I love the voicing of the F-series so much, that I don't tend to use the EQ functionality any more, but it's there whenever I need it.

Combining the Behringer, Zoom and custom cable makes for a very powerful live rig where pressing a single footswitch simultaneously selects both amplifier channel and FX. I have 2 rows of 5 sounds set up in my "main" bank. 1 row is just a louder version of the other row, for those solo moments.

Switch 1 selects the Clean Channel, with no FX. If I press the switch again, it toggles Chorus on/off. Expression pedal B varies Chorus mix.
Switch 2 selects the Lead Channel, with the volume boosted to be the same level as other patches. If I press the switch again, it toggles on/off a short single slapback delay.
Switch 3 selects the Contour Channel with delay and a hint of chorus. Expression pedal B varies the amount of feedback for trails when required.
Switch 4 selects the Clean Channel with Tremelo. Expression pedal B varies the Tremelo rate.
Switch 5 selects the Lead Channel with Flange. Expression pedal B varies the Flange depth.
These are my main patches with Expression pedal A varying overall volume. I have other banks set up along similar lines.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[yourguitarhero]

I get a 5 channel setup with a pedal in front, I use the tubescreamer side of the Jekyll & Hyde.

So i have clean, dirty (clean + pedal), distortion (red channel), more distortion (contour) and solo (hitting the front end with the pedal when on the red channel)

When doing this, I keep the gain on the red channel down to around 11 o clock.

Craig

[jrc6]

Hey guys,

great thread. You guys have definitely tweaked the amp with tons of home mod recipe's! that is cool. I just plug the guitar into the thing, get good sounds, and add effets in the mix later on. Just easier for me to get a better tone.

I did install some yellow jackets. Played them over the weekend. I haven't cranked an F30, but it definitely gives it a unique tone. It still sounds F-series, but a tad thinner & less low mid. It is a little brighter, and it the el 84's break up very easy. It is a good alternative to a power attenuator.

I will post some clips later today to compare the yellow jackets and 6l6 groove tubes.

[UconnJack]

Just ordered the XT Live. Looking forward to experimenting with it thru my F-50. I'll post a follow-up in a few days.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Whilst we're lounging here are some of my F-series design fantasies.













Why not share yours?

Big smiles,

Andy.

[the _serpent]

Hello all, first post, after reading your posts over the last few weeks i decided to join the brotherhood,got my F50 this week, its early days yet but im in love with this boogie, really pleased with it.

[Tommi Inkila]

Welcome to our brotherhood! I'm glad you found us

BTW, that beauty has pewter grille?

[the _serpent]

Yes its Blue Bronco with Pewter Grille

[Dann'sTheMan]

Wow Welcome to the brotherhood, the _serpent!

Absolutely gorgeous! Is the pewter grill similar to the cloth used on the Lonestar? Did you custom order it? or was it bought used? What kind of music do you play?

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Tommi Inkila]

I'd love to have different coloring on the front grille. I'm not sure if I would like to change the black tolex... maybe to some cool wood

Anyway I asked about this from Finland's importer... The front panel where the logo is only a plate that is connected with for screws on my head... I asked if I could order that plate separately. The response was that it costs 300 euros which is the cost of whole custom order (for that money you get what wood and grille you want) ... well, it was too pricey to me. Have anyone else asked about this possibility... just ordering the front plate... I guess I would pay something like 50-70 euros

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by Tommi Inkila
I'd love to have different coloring on the front grille. I'm not sure if I would like to change the black tolex... maybe to some cool wood

Anyway I asked about this from Finland's importer... The front panel where the logo is only a plate that is connected with for screws on my head... I asked if I could order that plate separately. The response was that it costs 300 euros which is the cost of whole custom order (for that money you get what wood and grille you want) ... well, it was too pricey to me. Have anyone else asked about this possibility... just ordering the front plate... I guess I would pay something like 50-70 euros

Hi Tommi,

I've not asked... yet. I'd be interested in a new grill too (in tan) and keeping the black tolex. I don't think I would go through the European distributors though, because the cost gets crazy. I figured next time I was in LA, I'd see if I could swing by the Mesa outlet in Hollywood.

Ideally, we would be able to import one from a US supplier. Has any of the US brothers inquired about ordering a second grill?

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Tommi Inkila]

I actually was quite surprised because the importer said that it isn't possible so easily. He said that if it would be possible, Mesa would drown into these small orders. Wouldn't that be nice extra business for Mesa?

If somebody has some first hand information about this please inform us...

BTW, I would probably go for the pewter grille

[the _serpent]

Im glad you like it
I got mine new as a custom order, well not my custom order, the store i use In the UK had 25 units imported for the sale in there stores across the UK. It cost the same as the 'Standard' version.

As for music I play.......well im eclectic, I play anything from classic rock, AC/DC,Led Zep and such, also im a fan of brit pop Stone Roses, and I like to play new stuff like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers.
Im working on my own songs, and after a few days with my new F50 im starting to get that elusive tone i have been looking for.

[JeffB]

Curious if anyone has run a MESA bottle Rocket into an F-series amp?

I don't use channel 2 by itself, instead preferring CH2+Contour with the gain backed off as my crunch sound, so I'm looking for a lead bost. I don't really care for the sound of my TS or SOD with it since it makes the amp take on a more british character, so I thought the Bottle Rocket may be a good idea to keep it sounding "mesa-ish"

Anyone?

[Tommi Inkila]

Hmm... I haven't tested the bottle rocket, but I know that V-Twin is very Mesaish... almost ended up with it + poweramp to be my setup.

Also, you could checkout the Visual Sound Jekyll&Hyde pedal, we changed few words about it few posts ago. I'm not sure if it will keep the tone Mesaish, though

[LithiumZero]

I've been using a Bad Monkey in front of my F-50 head for a few months now. It's a very transparent pedal which makes the F-50 much more versatile for live use. I run the pedal as follows:

Bass = 3:00
High = cranked
gain = 12:00

Using these settings I can leave the Bad Monkey on util I want a clean sound. This setting gives the clean channel a really nice smooth overdrive which sounds very much like the clean channel does when you crank the gain and treble up. On the dirty side I keep the F-50 gain at around 10:30 with the highs and mids hanging right around 12:00 and the bass at around 9:30. On the dirt channel the Bad Monkey tightens up the amps distortion and pulls the "blanket" off my speaker cabinet. Keep in mind that cranking the highs on the Bad Monkey really doesn't add a ton of high end but rather pushes the output signal which hits the front end of the amp harder.

The bad monkey also works well as a clean boost in front of the Dirt channel. Just crank the level control and set everything else at 12:00. The only problem is that you can't use it in conjunction with your clean channel because the volume with the pedal on is so much louder than with it off. I actually prefer this setting for making the dirt channel scream but opt for the above settings which effectively gives me 4 really good channels.

The best part is that the Bad Monkey is only $39 and smokes a lot of the other OD pedals that I've tried. Damn, I better quit loafing on the job.

[UconnJack]

The Monkey strikes again! I'm diggin mine too...

[Dann'sTheMan]

I have a Mesa V-Twin pedal that I usually use with my Fender Princeton Chorus. I haven't really spent any serious time trying it in front of my F-50. The one time that I did, I remember thinking that I preferred the voicing of the amp without the additional pedal. I remember it sounding too compressed to my ears, but this could well be that I spent next to no time trying to find new settings for the Mesa + Mesa combination. The V-Twin is a great device, but it needs to be partnered carefully with the right amp. I should experiment more...

I do sometimes run a vintage MXR Dynacomp ('78 pots) as a boost in front of the F-50, thus turning the 3 channel MIDI setup that I described above into a pseudo 6 channel set-up. I also occasionally use the MXR as a compressor for clean sounds, but the older Dynacomps work particularly well as boosters as they have a high output for slamming an amp's front end (I learnt that my hero Dann Huff uses one a great deal in this way ).

I'm also potentially interested in the Bad Monkey that everyone seems to be raving about (love the clips of your band LithiumZero! ), even though I'm not really a stomp box kind a guy (at most the Dynacomp and a Vox Wah). Just need to investigate if they are as cheap in Rip Off Britain.

Big smiles,

Andy.