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

[Tommi Inkila]

Here's a nice link-site I found recently about mixing, production and stuff... I haven't checked everything, but this site is probably a good place to start when you're in need of information on this specific area.

http://theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

[mentoneman]

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by mentoneman

Very Cool - "denim leather" would have been an interesting combination with the wicker grill. You're a star, mentoneman!

Big smiles,

Andy.

[markmann]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan


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.

My other processors are Rocktron Replifex and Alesis Quadraverb. The Intellifex is the only one I used for live playing controlled by a Midi Mate FC. I liked that unit in particular because you can opt to keep the signal path all analog. I used a tube preamp and M/B 50-50 Power amp and that was my complete rig. Very simple and effective. If and when I needed something else I added a box out front. So why did I ditch that setup? In short I had plenty of programability but lacked on-the-spot tweakability. Also, I never quite got my signiture tone where I wanted it.

I finished my volume box and it works perfectly. It didn't occur to me until after my last post that you may have been thinking about a remote switch. Great idea but the KISS concept worked well for me. FYI, I used one 100k ohm audio taper pot and two short cables and it's totally tranparent. I'm still considering a hot plate but for now this will help tame the beast.

[hal9000]

Markmann, I'm glad the volume box worked out for you.

If you ever want to build one that is footswitchable, my design already incorporates this feature. By Using a 9V DPDT relay I either switch in the attenuation (no power default for the relay) or ground the gate of a FET using an external switch from Boss (FS-5L). The FET just allows current to flow through the Relay coil. So, I run 6" cables from FX send and return and my footswitch can be as far away as I want since it is not in the audio path. This is the reason I was considering mod

[mentoneman]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan


Very Cool - "denim leather" would have been an interesting combination with the wicker grill. You're a star, mentoneman!

Big smiles,

Andy.

that's just something i spotted on the bay that i thought you folks would appreciate.

i recently told a friend that the F50 was the amp he should get, of all the amps on sale at GC.

i played it and it was really fun and the tones were solid. i liked it better than the lonestar and stilletto.

aloha

[markmann]

Originally posted by hal9000
Markmann, I'm glad the volume box worked out for you.

If you ever want to build one that is footswitchable, my design already incorporates this feature. By Using a 9V DPDT relay I either switch in the attenuation (no power default for the relay) or ground the gate of a FET using an external switch from Boss (FS-5L). The FET just allows current to flow through the Relay coil. So, I run 6" cables from FX send and return and my footswitch can be as far away as I want since it is not in the audio path. This is the reason I was considering mod

[ode2no1]

is anyone using an f50 or f100 with single coil guitars? i use a strat and a tele and just sold my TSL. im seriously considering buying an f50...like tomorrow maybe. does it have a good amount of gain with single coils? can i get a nice fat rhythm tone? my marshall was a little bit too bright for me with my guitars....i mean i loved it for a long time, but ive recently grown tired of the marshall flavor.

[markmann]

Originally posted by ode2no1
is anyone using an f50 or f100 with single coil guitars? i use a strat and a tele and just sold my TSL. im seriously considering buying an f50...like tomorrow maybe. does it have a good amount of gain with single coils? can i get a nice fat rhythm tone? my marshall was a little bit too bright for me with my guitars....i mean i loved it for a long time, but ive recently grown tired of the marshall flavor.

It just so happens that I was doing A/B comparison between my Gibby's and Strat last night through my F-50. To my ears the LP with standard 490 pups sounded best at higher gain settings. The ES446 hollow body with 57's wasn't too far behind although suffers from excessive feedback. The Strat with lace sensors was a distant third at higher gain but sounded best on the clean channel. Also, I have switches for coil options on the LP and when I played in single coil mode the tone was very bright. Single coil at bridge was harsh but single coil at neck was very good. That being said I think the F-50 has enough low end to crank in a fat sound with single coils but have yet to do that. If you wait I'll try it this weekend. Make sure you take your guitar with you and try it before you buy.

What guitars are you other guys using? I'm curious to know what else sounds good through the F-50. This amp seems to really like my Les Paul.

Mark

[hal9000]

Originally posted by ode2no1
is anyone using an f50 or f100 with single coil guitars? i use a strat and a tele and just sold my TSL. im seriously considering buying an f50...like tomorrow maybe. does it have a good amount of gain with single coils? can i get a nice fat rhythm tone? my marshall was a little bit too bright for me with my guitars....i mean i loved it for a long time, but ive recently grown tired of the marshall flavor.

My American deluxe fat strat is my #1 and sounds great with my f-100. I usually run single coils in the clean channel and

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by ode2no1
is anyone using an f50 or f100 with single coil guitars? i use a strat and a tele and just sold my TSL. im seriously considering buying an f50...like tomorrow maybe. does it have a good amount of gain with single coils? can i get a nice fat rhythm tone? my marshall was a little bit too bright for me with my guitars....i mean i loved it for a long time, but ive recently grown tired of the marshall flavor.

Hi ode2no1,

Thanks for the PM, and for posting your question. In my experience Mesas tend to favour HBs, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the F-series was an exception. It really is happy with both types of pick-up, and seeing as my No.1 guitar is a Charvel Strat, this worked in its favour when I chose my F-50 over the mighty Mark IV.

The amp does sound very different with single coils and HBs (unlike lesser amps), but there is plenty of gain on tap to get beautiful saturated yet articulate lead tones from lower output guitars. Now admittedly I have a JB Jnr pick up in the bridge of my strat, but its a very different sound to my PRS Custom. I also tend to use slightly different EQ settings with my Charvel, and I balance the Gain and Master Volume differently - I have no problems turning the Gain round to 4 o'clock or more with the Strat.

I would certainly recommend auditioning the amp and seeing if it can get the types of Radiohead and Muse tones that you are after with your guitars. Do take hal9000's audition settings with you, as the EQ behaves very differently to a Marshall. The voicing of the amp is also darker than Marshall so I think that will appeal too.

You may be interested to know which guitars were used in the clips in my sig:

Gain sound - Charvel Strat
Clean sound (Miked) - Charvel Strat
Clean sound (Direct) - Charvel Strat
Gain sound with HBs - PRS Custom 22
Crunch sound with HBs - PRS Custom 22
Gain sound (touch of delay at mixdown) - Charvel Strat
HB Gain sounds (delay & chorus at mixdown) - PRS Custom 22
Bluesy sound (delay at mixdown) - Charvel Strat
Triple Texture Guitars Revelation (5.4Mb) - Charvel Strat & Taylor 814BCE
"LA" Sounds (Clean & Lead) - PRS Custom 22
TV Video Clips - PRS Custom 22 & Taylor 814BCE
Orchestral Video Clips - Line6 Variax on Jazz clip; Charvel Strat on other
Modern Heavy Riffin' sound - PRS Custom 22

Big smiles,

Andy.

[ode2no1]

whoa...i wasnt expecting such detailed responses. thanks a lot guys. i actually went down to the mesa store to in hollywood 2 weeks ago because i was dying to try out a mark iv. i thought that was going to be my solution, but it just didnt have enough gain using an anderson telecaster. next i tried out the F-50 in combo form...and even the though volume was pretty low i could tell there was something about the amp. it sounded a little scooped, but im sure with the master up the mids would have been a lot more present. i could tell it had a decent amount of gain, but without turning it up i wasnt sure just how saturated it could be using single coils. anyway i think im gonna go for it. if i end up not liking it i can sell it and try something else. it just sucks...my TSL had every feature i'd want in an amp, but it just wasnt doing it for me anymore. the marv iv matches the TSL feature wise, but isnt saturated enough. anyway thanks again guys.

["sasquatch"]

i would also like to add that of all the guitars that i have played through my F50, a telecaster sounded best to me. the bridge pickup on ch2 is incredible! i have a G&L Tribute legacy with Dimarzio Virtual 2 set, which i am really digging. the pickups sound great. i like to get a real shimmery breakup on ch1 using my neck + middle pickup on my Legacy and crank everything....gain, treble, mids, bass. it sounds great. i, like dann's the man, like to crank the gain up for my single coils. i can also pretty much mail the tone for the lead work for Pearl Jam's "Nothing as it Seems" using my bridge pup on ch 2 contour. Crank the bass all the way and play with your treb and mids from 10:00 - 2:00. Right now, that is my favorite lead tone. it has this fat, warm bottom with harmonics galore on top. Pearl Jam has some of my favorite tones. If you guys have never heard 'nothing as it seems', you need to and pay attention to the lead. It is incredibly beautiful.

[jrc6]

Ode2no1,

The marshall's are much too bright & thin. I think you need to crank the DSL & TSL's to get a fuller sound. The F50 is similar. sounds buzzy at very low volumes, but once you reach 9 o clock on the master, it starts to fill out. I agree it is much darker than the Marshall's. I tend to crank the mids. If you still think it is too dark, you try an eq boost or try a brighter speaker.

In my original post, I mentioned that I installed an eminence screaming eagle in to the F50. Man, did it brighten things up. If made my humbuckers "twang," like a strat. Definitely got more of that "poppy," bell like tone. The american speakers also sound a lot fuller rounder tone, and lack that buzzy, nasal thing of the celestions.

I think single coils will work fine. The resale values of the mesa's are pretty decent. consider the f50

["sasquatch"]

Originally posted by jrc6
Ode2no1,

The marshall's are much too bright & thin. I think you need to crank the DSL & TSL's to get a fuller sound. The F50 is similar. sounds buzzy at very low volumes, but once you reach 9 o clock on the master, it starts to fill out. I agree it is much darker than the Marshall's. I tend to crank the mids. If you still think it is too dark, you try an eq boost or try a brighter speaker.

In my original post, I mentioned that I installed an eminence screaming eagle in to the F50. Man, did it brighten things up. If made my humbuckers "twang," like a strat. Definitely got more of that "poppy," bell like tone. The american speakers also sound a lot fuller rounder tone, and lack that buzzy, nasal thing of the celestions.

I think single coils will work fine. The resale values of the mesa's are pretty decent. consider the f50

could you post clips of the new speaker? i would love to hear some.

[Dann'sTheMan]

So my G-Major arrived yesterday, and I spent part of yesterday evening going through the pre-sets (typically overdone of course), and getting my Behringer FCB1010 working with it. It was straight forward, and the volume swells work smoothly.

Tonight, I hope to try creating some of my own patches and making sure that I can recreate my favourite sounds/patches from my old rig on this new beast. Oh, and I'll have to learn some material for a gig I have in Spain this weekend.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Tommi Inkila]

Hi Andy!

Great news that the pedal works... hmm... maybe I should get one so that I could abuse the whammy pedal on the G-Major

I have a little bit different worries around here ... five exams and some paperwork for university and most of all, we are still 1,5 songs short for our upcoming album, we have imaginary deadline for ourselves, 1st of May... and another goal is to play our theme album from beginning to end on our next gig... that will be a spectacle

... and I have to also start compose some computer music for Assembly etc. So there's much to do here also ... well, I work better under stress.

Anyway, already at this point, have a really nice trip to Spain and show them how the F sings!

[Tommi Inkila]

Hi Andy!

How your gig went? ... and what about the F and G-Major? Working like a charm?

[the_chigga]

Hey guy's I am very interested in the F50, I have yet to try it out in the store. I've been looking for an amp for quite some time now and I've just stumbled upon this thread. I was wondering if you guys could help give me the 'thumbs up' on checking this amp out a bit more.
I play a PRS Mccarty and I've played it through Triple Recto, I found the distortion can get too "modern" and annoying. But I know that Mesa + PRS are just as good if not better than the Gibson + Marshall combo.
I play music from Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Santana to Metallica or even just some slightly distorted blues.
I was told by a friend of mine to check out the F50 as recommendation, I was wondering if the F50 would be the amp for me. Most of the sound clips I've heard here are not the time of tone I look for, can the F50 get the tones I look for? If it's not too much trouble could someone perhaps make a sound clip sampling those tones for me. (I know it's a lot to ask for.. but I really want to see what this amp can do).

I will be playing inside garages, sheds, churches, and my room. I was wondering if the amp can accomedate those places.

How is the clean tone? I've heard very good things about the clean tone of this amp, does it sound good when you strum chords?

Is the F50 a loud amp? I've heard it's very loud and I know tube amps are louder than SS amps?

Any replies would be great! Please help me answer these questions. Thank you!

Is it better to get the combo or get the F50 head and buy Avatar cab to go with it? (My bud has one so I know they are great cabs)

Thanks once again to everyone.

[No Soul]

Originally posted by the_chigga
Hey guy's I am very interested in the F50, I have yet to try it out in the store. I've been looking for an amp for quite some time now and I've just stumbled upon this thread. I was wondering if you guys could help give me the 'thumbs up' on checking this amp out a bit more.
I play a PRS Mccarty and I've played it through Triple Recto, I found the distortion can get too "modern" and annoying. But I know that Mesa + PRS are just as good if not better than the Gibson + Marshall combo.
I play music from Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Santana to Metallica or even just some slightly distorted blues.
I was told by a friend of mine to check out the F50 as recommendation, I was wondering if the F50 would be the amp for me. Most of the sound clips I've heard here are not the time of tone I look for, can the F50 get the tones I look for? If it's not too much trouble could someone perhaps make a sound clip sampling those tones for me. (I know it's a lot to ask for.. but I really want to see what this amp can do).

I will be playing inside garages, sheds, churches, and my room. I was wondering if the amp can accomedate those places.

How is the clean tone? I've heard very good things about the clean tone of this amp, does it sound good when you strum chords?

Is the F50 a loud amp? I've heard it's very loud and I know tube amps are louder than SS amps?

Any replies would be great! Please help me answer these questions. Thank you!

Is it better to get the combo or get the F50 head and buy Avatar cab to go with it? (My bud has one so I know they are great cabs)

Thanks once again to everyone.

Contrary to popular believe, the F-series CAN do modern tones (using its contour mode) but thats just one of its many hats.
Considering your guitar and the type of voicings you said you are looking for, you will DEFINITELY be able to find them in an F-series.

An F-50 should definitely be able to cover everything you listed. Clearly if you need more power, then the F-100 is where its at, but the F-50 is still capable of getting STUPID loud. Matter of fact you might even find it too loud for home use, considering its a tube amp and wont make the greatest of tones at low volumes (the F-100 is especially horrible in this respect, even when you cut down the power on it).

Are tube amps louder than solidstate amps?
Yes and no. The proper explanations for this are a bit technical (and I dont exactly remember them ) so I'll try to wing it.
Under the assumption both amps have the same wattage, NO one is not louder than the other. However, the reason why a 50w tube amp will seem louder is that as you turn up the volume and it begins to clip (distort) the wattage actually increases, sometimes easily doubling (or more) what the stock rating is listed as.

Is the clean channel good? If anybody doesent like these amps clean sounds its probably because they just dont like clean sounds to begin with. They are amazingly good.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by Tommi Inkila
Hi Andy!

How your gig went? ... and what about the F and G-Major? Working like a charm?

Hi Tommi,

Thanks for asking, my friend! I got home at 1.30am this morning, so it's been a busy four days.

The gig went really well, in spite of the fact that I was sick for the first two days. I borrowed all of the equipment from a band that were also playing an item. The guitarist lent me his Godin LGT guitar and his rig was a SS Fender amp, and a pedalboard containing compressor, chorus and a couple of Carl Martin boost pedals. It sounded OK and so I used it (I had my flying rig with me just in case - POD and Behringer footcontroller), but I did really miss my F-50.

In fact, I was thinking of the F-50 + G-Major setup all the time. Last Wednesday, whilst I was meant to be learning material for Spain, I tried running my vintage Dynacomp in front of F-50/G-Major combo, and I spent the rest of the evening in tone heaven! All of the factory patches came alive, and all I could do was play. Couldn't stop thinking about it all weekend.

I've got another flying gig during the first weekend in May, this time in Berlin; before immediately flying on to Japan to visit the wife's folks for a few weeks. So I need to spend some quality time with the main rig before then, because these times away are pulling on my heart strings.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[UconnJack]

Damn Dan, I'm just getting settled with my POD XTL and now you've got me gassing for the g-major! Thanks

[the_chigga]

Thank you No Soul for the quick reply.
I've been reading here and it seems like a lot of the people here use "patchs" what are those? Do you guys run any EQ or anything effects into the F50 to make it sound better or would it sound good Raw?
I have a Digitech Hot Rod Distortion pedal that I don't want to have to use if I get the F50 unless for specific sound and the DigiTech MultiChorus pedal.

Would you guys recommend getting the F50 Combo or the head and get a 212 cab to make it louder? Thank you guys.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by UconnJack
Damn Dan, I'm just getting settled with my POD XTL and now you've got me gassing for the g-major! Thanks

Hey brother UconnJack,

I've only spent two evenings so far with the G-Major. The first left me a little unmoved - I thought some of the effects like delay and reverb were better than my old Zoom box, but not others such as chorus and flange. The second night however, when I added the MXR Dynacomp to the mix, sent me reeling, and I honestly couldn't stop thinking about the tone all weekend.

I don't know how long it will take for me to learn how to consistently get the very best out of the G-Major - it may need careful partnering etc., but now that I've had a taste, my head is still spinning. Apologies for feeding the GAS my friend.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by the_chigga
Hey guy's I am very interested in the F50, I have yet to try it out in the store. I've been looking for an amp for quite some time now and I've just stumbled upon this thread. I was wondering if you guys could help give me the 'thumbs up' on checking this amp out a bit more.
I play a PRS Mccarty and I've played it through Triple Recto, I found the distortion can get too "modern" and annoying. But I know that Mesa + PRS are just as good if not better than the Gibson + Marshall combo.
I play music from Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Santana to Metallica or even just some slightly distorted blues.
I was told by a friend of mine to check out the F50 as recommendation, I was wondering if the F50 would be the amp for me. Most of the sound clips I've heard here are not the time of tone I look for, can the F50 get the tones I look for? If it's not too much trouble could someone perhaps make a sound clip sampling those tones for me. (I know it's a lot to ask for.. but I really want to see what this amp can do).

I will be playing inside garages, sheds, churches, and my room. I was wondering if the amp can accomedate those places.

How is the clean tone? I've heard very good things about the clean tone of this amp, does it sound good when you strum chords?

Is the F50 a loud amp? I've heard it's very loud and I know tube amps are louder than SS amps?

Any replies would be great! Please help me answer these questions. Thank you!

Is it better to get the combo or get the F50 head and buy Avatar cab to go with it? (My bud has one so I know they are great cabs)

Thanks once again to everyone.

Hi the_chigga,

Welcome to the F-series Lounge, and thanks for asking about the F-50. IMHO, the F-50 will do everything that you are looking for: it's great for both vintage and modern rock and metal sounds, has fantastic clean sounds, and although it ridiculously loud, it can also sound great at bedroom volumes. The "patches" that were being referred to earlier in the thread are from players that use their F-50 with a multi-FX unit, but rest assured the amp sounds great "raw".

There are F-series owners that are using their amps in all kinds of music. I've recorded a range of clips from clean to mean to give an idea of the versatility of the amp - if you haven't already done so, please check them out in my sig, bearing in mind I use a Charvel Strat and PRS Custom 22 - so I'm sure your McCarty would sound great. If you're looking for more heavier sounds, then I'd certainly recommend checking out the clips Tommi posted in his threads here and here.

The F-50 is one of only a handful of amps to win the highest "Gold" accolade from UK Guitarist magazine. Check out the review here

Big smiles,

Andy.

P.S. Combo or head is a choice that comes down to personal taste. I like the convenience of a combo - and Mesa's "widebody" cabinet format sounds really good. Heads give you the flexibility to use different speakers, and can create a fantastic wall of sound with a big 4x12 cab.