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

[Tommi Inkila]

Yep, Bad Monkey is spreading... I didn't bought one yet, but I did order them local store so that I can give it a try... although I'm not sure do I really need it

I bought a book that seems to be very interesting based on the first 20 pages I have read... The Mixing Engineer's Handbook by Bobby Owsinski. It has been written from nice perspective... it has some tips and "magic" tricks, but it also has interviews with about 20 famous mixers who tell their secrects... there you can find lots of good ideas and blend them into your way of thinking. Checkout if you are interested

[Glimpse]

Quick question and bump: How much are the F-50's going for in the US (new)?

[UconnJack]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan
I have a Mesa V-Twin pedal that I usually use with my Fender Princeton Chorus.
Andy.

Hey Andy, I used to run a v-twin in front of a PC also. What a great tone (I thought). Sometimes I miss that simple rig.

Glimpse, I think the F-50's are right around $1000 new.

[Glimpse]

Thanks UConn.

[UconnJack]

Originally posted by hal9000
I've used the XTL in front with all amp models running and it sounds ok, I much prefer to run the XTL (sans cab models) into the FX return if I'm only using the F-100 as a power amp.

Hal9000,

Hey, I'm experimenting with my XT live and the F-50. How do you set the output mode on the XT when running into your FX return, as mentioned above?

There's alot to learn on this POD.

Thanks
UJ

[markmann]

F-50 Brothers,

Well, I've had my F-50 for a few weeks now and I've come to the conclusion that I prefer to have my FX up front rather than in the loop. Actually, after many hours of crittical listening I think pedals sound better through this amp than with my Roctron processor. Of course this is just my opinion but it was the other way around with my last rig, so bye-bye processor and back to pedals. I don't use many, wah>chorus>delay>delay and ocasionally a drive for a third channel, so it's not a big deal.

One thing I miss though is not having the processor in the loop to attunuate volume before the power amp (thanks to Andy for that tip). I'm thinking now of making a simple attenuator. I can get a small project box from the local electronics store and mount a pot and a couple input jacks and I should be set. The box will be small enough to velcro to the back of the amp so that I can leave it there. Should work, right? If a volume pedal works I would think this would too. Does anyone know what the impedence is in the loop? I noticed that an Ernie Ball pedal has a 250k ohm pot but not sure if this is best for this application.

[hal9000]

Originally posted by UconnJack


Hal9000,

Hey, I'm experimenting with my XT live and the F-50. How do you set the output mode on the XT when running into your FX return, as mentioned above?

There's alot to learn on this POD.

Thanks
UJ

I've used both stack/combo power amp and no cab/mic/air models and I prefer no cab, especially for FX only. To me, without the cab models the XTL is much more open.

[hal9000]

Originally posted by markmann
...One thing I miss though is not having the processor in the loop to attunuate volume before the power amp (thanks to Andy for that tip). I'm thinking now of making a simple attenuator. I can get a small project box from the local electronics store and mount a pot and a couple input jacks and I should be set. The box will be small enough to velcro to the back of the amp so that I can leave it there. Should work, right? If a volume pedal works I would think this would too. Does anyone know what the impedence is in the loop? I noticed that an Ernie Ball pedal has a 250k ohm pot but not sure if this is best for this application.

Markmann, I made a similar device for solo boost that works very well in the F-series loop. IMO, you couldn

[yourguitarhero]

with my F-50 I find that while the rythyms are cool my leads seem to get lost int he mix slightly.

I'm thinking of getting an EQ to put in the loop - mid and volume boost style.

Any other tips and tricks?

[hal9000]

Originally posted by yourguitarhero
with my F-50 I find that while the rythyms are cool my leads seem to get lost int he mix slightly.

I'm thinking of getting an EQ to put in the loop - mid and volume boost style.

Any other tips and tricks?

I

[markmann]

Originally posted by hal9000
If all you want to build is an adjustable attenuator you just need (2)

[hal9000]

Originally posted by markmann
Thanks, that's exactly what I'm after but what's the purpose of the minimum vol resistor? I'm planning to attach the ground lug of the pot to the ground leads on the jacks so if I use a resistor where would I place it? Does it matter?

You don't really need the resistor but it adds a level of fine control over the attenuation. I used another small 1k pot connected like a variable resistor in the ground leg of the pot so I could fine tune the attenuation without throwing off the main setting. It's just an added feature. In fact, since it is a pot, all the way off means that it isn't there anyway. This is more or less what it's going to look like.

[markmann]

Originally posted by hal9000
You don't really need the resistor but it adds a level of fine control over the attenuation. I used another small 1k pot connected like a variable resistor in the ground leg of the pot so I could fine tune the attenuation without throwing off the main setting. It's just an added feature. In fact, since it is a pot, all the way off means that it isn't there anyway. This is more or less what it's going to look like.

Interesting, I'll experiment with it. One more thing, I checked out some pots online but didn't see any leaded bulkhead pots.... what is a leaded bulkhead pot?

Thanks

[hal9000]

Originally posted by markmann
Interesting, I'll experiment with it. One more thing, I checked out some pots online but didn't see any leaded bulkhead pots.... what is a leaded bulkhead pot?

Thanks

They're also called panel mount, but that is only if you want to mount the pot external to the box. Grommets are the easiest to solder to, but you can also use leaded which are like the leads on a resistor or tabs for surface mount. Your design direction will determine the type of pot you need. This is a panel mount with solder lugs:



I used a couple of trimmers like this:

[markmann]

Originally posted by hal9000
They're also called panel mount, but that is only if you want to mount the pot external to the box. Grommets are the easiest to solder to, but you can also use leaded which are like the leads on a resistor or tabs for surface mount. Your design direction will determine the type of pot you need. This is a panel mount with solder lugs:

Hal, you are the man of many visuals... awesome! That clears it up, I just didn't know the terminology.

Thanks again.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by UconnJack


Hey Andy, I used to run a v-twin in front of a PC also. What a great tone (I thought). Sometimes I miss that simple rig.

I agree it's a gorgeously sweet tone, and the V-twin pairs particularly well with the Princeton Chorus. I still remember the feeling when I first heard this combination - I was on tour with a choir in Florida, and we were at the hire place sourcing gear. Wow! I've actually used this set up in front of 5000 people for a BBC TV recording at the Royal Albert Hall. It took me a long time to find a rig I liked more on both the clean and the dirty side - but hey, this thread might be a clue.

I still have this rig, and I sometimes use it for stripped down rehearsals and gigs. It has the added bonus that I've found some usable acoustic tones on the drive channel of the PC, so I can use one amplifier for my acoustic/electric Variax setup.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by markmann
F-50 Brothers,

Well, I've had my F-50 for a few weeks now and I've come to the conclusion that I prefer to have my FX up front rather than in the loop. Actually, after many hours of crittical listening I think pedals sound better through this amp than with my Roctron processor. Of course this is just my opinion but it was the other way around with my last rig, so bye-bye processor and back to pedals. I don't use many, wah>chorus>delay>delay and ocasionally a drive for a third channel, so it's not a big deal.

One thing I miss though is not having the processor in the loop to attunuate volume before the power amp (thanks to Andy for that tip). I'm thinking now of making a simple attenuator. I can get a small project box from the local electronics store and mount a pot and a couple input jacks and I should be set. The box will be small enough to velcro to the back of the amp so that I can leave it there. Should work, right? If a volume pedal works I would think this would too. Does anyone know what the impedence is in the loop? I noticed that an Ernie Ball pedal has a 250k ohm pot but not sure if this is best for this application.

Hi markmann,

You have the Intellifex, don't you? I'm intrigued to know why it doesn't seem to be working as well. I'm thinking about retiring my Zoom 9030, which works great, and replacing it with a G-Major. Have any of you tried the G-Major with the F-series?

Regarding the box, it seems like a good move. Have you considered making it footswitchable in a similar fashion to hal9000. That way, you can have your project box alonside your other pedals.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by yourguitarhero
with my F-50 I find that while the rythyms are cool my leads seem to get lost int he mix slightly.

I'm thinking of getting an EQ to put in the loop - mid and volume boost style.

Any other tips and tricks?

Hi yourguitarhero,

Are you using the Contour channel for your leads?

I tend to think of the Contour switch as a voicing switch. As you know, it switches in Boogies famous Graphic EQ circuitry in a pre-set 'V' configuration. As you would expect this scoops the tone, which may not be what you want for those lead moments, especially at higher volumes.

At higher volumes, I tend to use the Lead channel for leads, and the Contour channel for modern rhythm. I'd suggest experimenting along these lines. As you may already have worked out, in my MIDI switching setup, I can set the volumes of the Lead and Contour channels completely independently.

Big smiles,

Andy.

P.S. Also be aware that there are some sweet mid-heavy Vox like tones from some strange EQ settings e.g. Bass:9 Mid:3 Treble:9 (o'clock).

[Tommi Inkila]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan
Have any of you tried the G-Major with the F-series?

Hello Andy!

I'm using the G-Major with my F-50 ... only downsides I've found are that the input/output levels on the G-Major are very sensitive so you have to be careful when setting those... well, at the moment I have both at 12 o'clock, so there's not much to remember... just have to check them before I start to play... G-Major can easily drive the effect loop too hard.

The mix of the effects loop have to be somewhere near full to get best results, but I guess that's a feature of F-50.

G-Major have very usable effects (compressor isn't that great). I think the best part in G-Major are great great great delays (dynamic delay) and spillover, if somebody hasn't come across with that term yet, it means that when you change preset you can still hear ie. the delays from the last preset playing... you can turn that off if you like, but I think it brings fluidity to live playing... there's no big caps between sounds.

[markmann]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan


Hi markmann,

You have the Intellifex, don't you? I'm intrigued to know why it doesn't seem to be working as well. I'm thinking about retiring my Zoom 9030, which works great, and replacing it with a G-Major. Have any of you tried the G-Major with the F-series?

Regarding the box, it seems like a good move. Have you considered making it footswitchable in a similar fashion to hal9000. That way, you can have your project box alonside your other pedals.

Big smiles,

Andy.

Yes, it surpised me that I like the pedals more with the F-50, of course it's all very subjective. To my ears the pedals have more of an "in your face" sound as compared to the processor sound. It's a subtle difference when listening to myself playing but in a group setting the processor effects seem to get lost in the mix easier. On the upside I picked the pedals individually as opposed to buying a processor which always seems to be a compromise. I currently have three processors and like something different about each one. I like all of my pedals.

As for the volume box... I think once I set it I won't touch it again for that session so I'd really rather not have something else to trip over. Mounting it to the amp means one less thing to hook up and 30 feet less cable for the signal to travel. I don't need a lead boost because I've learned to use pick attack and guitar volume to control dynamics and the F-50 is VERY sensitive for that. I love the way this amp responds when I dig in and cleans up when I back off. Sweet.

Mark

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by Tommi Inkila

Hello Andy!

I'm using the G-Major with my F-50 ... only downsides I've found are that the input/output levels on the G-Major are very sensitive so you have to be careful when setting those... well, at the moment I have both at 12 o'clock, so there's not much to remember... just have to check them before I start to play... G-Major can easily drive the effect loop too hard.

The mix of the effects loop have to be somewhere near full to get best results, but I guess that's a feature of F-50.

G-Major have very usable effects (compressor isn't that great). I think the best part in G-Major are great great great delays (dynamic delay) and spillover, if somebody hasn't come across with that term yet, it means that when you change preset you can still hear ie. the delays from the last preset playing... you can turn that off if you like, but I think it brings fluidity to live playing... there's no big caps between sounds.

Hi Tommi,

Thanks for sharing your insight. I've just pulled the trigger on the G-Major, so it should be with me sometime next week.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Tommi Inkila]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan


Hi Tommi,

Thanks for sharing your insight. I've just pulled the trigger on the G-Major, so it should be with me sometime next week.

Big smiles,

Andy.

Cool 8)

Let me and rest of the brotherhood know how it sounds to your ears.

Welcome to G-Major league!



BTW... I just made a realisation that you have FCB1010 so few thoughts on that... You can make those footpedals work, but when I tried FCB with G-Major there wasn't smoothness on those pedals... even using them as a volume pedal was somewhat hard because of that at least to me. Using them as whammy worked if you didn't try to get slow increase in pitch.

So if you're testing those pedals and don't find the end-results smooth, I believe that is just "a feature" on FCB, not a problem in the equipment.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by markmann
Yes, it surpised me that I like the pedals more with the F-50, of course it's all very subjective. To my ears the pedals have more of an "in your face" sound as compared to the processor sound. It's a subtle difference when listening to myself playing but in a group setting the processor effects seem to get lost in the mix easier. On the upside I picked the pedals individually as opposed to buying a processor which always seems to be a compromise. I currently have three processors and like something different about each one. I like all of my pedals.

As for the volume box... I think once I set it I won't touch it again for that session so I'd really rather not have something else to trip over. Mounting it to the amp means one less thing to hook up and 30 feet less cable for the signal to travel. I don't need a lead boost because I've learned to use pick attack and guitar volume to control dynamics and the F-50 is VERY sensitive for that. I love the way this amp responds when I dig in and cleans up when I back off. Sweet.

Mark

Hi Mark,

What are your other two processors? As you may have seen, I've just pulled the trigger on the G-Major, so I hope it will be a tonal improvement on my tired old Zoom 9030 (which indeed sounds very good) - even if it doesn't have all the features.

Your idea for the volume box seems well thought through, and I also wouldn't want to run such a long signal cable length just for the boost feature. I might be tempted to design in a remote footswitch jack, so that if I ever felt the need, I could run an external footswitch (which obviously would not change the signal path). Having said that, even as an EE major, I believe in the K.I.S.S. principle.

The fact that the F-50 is so responsive to the touch does give a fantastic amount of control from the guitar. The F-series brotherhood is spoilt for choice.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by Tommi Inkila

Cool 8)

Let me and rest of the brotherhood know how it sounds to your ears.

Welcome to G-Major league!



BTW... I just made a realisation that you have FCB1010 so few thoughts on that... You can make those footpedals work, but when I tried FCB with G-Major there wasn't smoothness on those pedals... even using them as a volume pedal was somewhat hard because of that at least to me. Using them as whammy worked if you didn't try to get slow increase in pitch.

So if you're testing those pedals and don't find the end-results smooth, I believe that is just "a feature" on FCB, not a problem in the equipment.

Hi Tommi,

Thanks for the heads up on the G-Major and FCB combination. I must admit, I hadn't come across any reported problems about the smoothness of the FCB's expression pedals. In fact I use them in my current setup for volume swells all the time.

I do know of reported problems with effect block toggling, but the more recent versions of the FCB firmware implement that feature. Indeed, I also toggle effect blocks in my Zoom 9030 all the time.

Thanks for the warning though, and I will check the expression pedal "smoothness" area carefully for "zipper" problems when the G-Major arrives. I consider myself officially welcomed to the G-Major League!

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Tommi Inkila]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan


Hi Tommi,

Thanks for the heads up on the G-Major and FCB combination. I must admit, I hadn't come across any reported problems about the smoothness of the FCB's expression pedals. In fact I use them in my current setup for volume swells all the time.

I do know of reported problems with effect block toggling, but the more recent versions of the FCB firmware implement that feature. Indeed, I also toggle effect blocks in my Zoom 9030 all the time.

Thanks for the warning though, and I will check the expression pedal "smoothness" area carefully for "zipper" problems when the G-Major arrives. I consider myself officially welcomed to the G-Major League!

Big smiles,

Andy.

No prob, bro and league-mate!

I really hope that there's no problems with those pedals anymore... I must add that my experiences with those problems are from 2002 or so, so those problems might be vanished by now... a fellow guitarist had the same problem with FCB/G-Major combination back then, though... so I guess I didn't have bad FCB-unit on testdrive.

Let me know how they work so I can update my perception of that combination.

Hear ya