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

[musicdog400]

A couple of thoughts about my F-50:

-it has become my hands down favorite amp because of the warm cleans, smooth low overdrive, and the contour mode. I play it every day.

-running it at really low volumes doesn't sound good unless you use an attenuator (I use a Weber Mass)

-sometimes I think it has a tad too much high end, but the attenuator actually helps here.

-I run a compressor and EQ in front of the input, and an EQ in the loop to give it a little more bass and a little less high end.

-it really annoys me that the parallel loop only goes to 90%, I have the mod details to make it serial, but haven't done it yet.

-this is an easy amp to get a bad sound out of, I am glad I bought it and took the time to learn it.

Overall I am very happy with this amp. Now I am not sure what to GAS for. After a point, it only gets incrementally better, even spending thousands more. But I am GASSIN for a Mark IV or Kock Multitone.

[LithiumZero]

I am using a Les Paul Classic with the 500T pickup which is super hot through my F-50 Head and 4x12. I don't have any problems with unwanted feedback. Did you try lowering your bridge pickup?

Wow! 11:00 on the OD channel? Damn, that IS loud!

[markmann]

Originally posted by UconnJack
It happens with both pick-ups, but maybe it is a height issue. However, it doesn't happen in the center position (both pick-ups), or with other amps. And let me clarify about my volume, I run the gain down around 9-9:30 and the master around 11:00ish, on the gain channel.

I also do not get unwanted feedback when using my LP. I have 490R & 490T and I've played it through several F-50's at many different tone settings. My pickups are somewhere around 1/8" from the strings. My LP will sustain forever and if I get close to the amp at higher volumes on ch 2 I'll get "Useful" feedback like added singing type harmonics.

My 446 hollow body is a differrnt story. I bassically cannot use it wit the F-50 unless at low volume and clean channel or it gets crazy real fast.

[No Soul]

I have EMGs, whats unwanted feedback?

[the_chigga]

Hi guys I was wondering what an attenuator was and how it will help the F50 sound great at low volumes.
I am going into the store this week to try the F50 again but this time with the contour setting and going to find a sweet spot on the amp or I am not leaving. I like the way the rectos sound all dialed to 12 o clock bass and all. can you get that kind of sound from F50? Someone on here has a F50 and a recto can you make a comparison please? or reassure me that the sound is possible.

Thanks,
Charlie

[hal9000]

Originally posted by the_chigga
Hi guys I was wondering what an attenuator was and how it will help the F50 sound great at low volumes.
I am going into the store this week to try the F50 again but this time with the contour setting and going to find a sweet spot on the amp or I am not leaving. I like the way the rectos sound all dialed to 12 o clock bass and all. can you get that kind of sound from F50? Someone on here has a F50 and a recto can you make a comparison please? or reassure me that the sound is possible.

Thanks,
Charlie

Low volume is pretty subjective, so you'll have to define what you mean. I use a Hot Plate (set @ -12 dB) with my F-50 and it sounds really good, especially for being able to open up the amp's masters and backing down the level for practice and gigs.

BTW, if you didn't use contour or get the master volumes up to where they are in my settings, then I can

[hal9000]

Guys, I saw this on the Boogie Board and I thought you would be interested:

These two clips are from a guy in Greece named Takis, aka mr. blues

F-30 Singing lead by Takis

Classic Slow Blues (F-30 Clean Channel + Tube screamer boost)

Here's the original thread: F-30 F-50 Clips Please...

[the_chigga]

Hey Hal9000, I mean quiet as in like bedroom levels I know the F50 isn't very good at doing that, there a volume jump from quiet to loud.. I guess I was just wondering if I can get the good tone like the amp cranked at full at a 8o clock volume using some kind of pedal?

am listneing to the clips you posted and... Wow, I listended to the 3rd clip called throbbing or something like that and THAT'S the kindda tone I want... OMG... Can that be reached with the f50?
Also I do a lot of PM Alternate picking stuff does the amp play it very clearly or does it gett muddy cuz I know the F50 I played needed a lot more control than other amps.

Thanks..
WOW I am amazed by the tone..

[Dann'sTheMan]

Dear Friends and Brothers,

Just checking in from the land of the rising sun. I'm having a fantastic time here, and although I'm missing my F-50 and the rest of my rig, at least Japan has plenty of quality guitar shops with cool gear to tide me over (I go home this weekend).

One of the highlights has been playing a F-50 combo through a Mesa traditional 4x12 cab. I kept the combo speaker going for some open back airiness - wow, what a chunky drive sound. hal9000, I can see why you like running that closed back 2x12 with your F-100 - huge tone!

I've also had fun with the new Vox AC-30 Custom Classic, the reissue CAE pre-amp and the H&K Triamp II that responded really well with a high end Japanese strat type guitar.

It's great to see this thread thriving. and I thought I would briefly share my thoughts on some of the questions that have been asked since my last post, before heading back to my vacation.

Big smiles to everyone,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by Locky
Anyone experiemented with beam blockers on there F-series amps. I find the C90 has a rather harsh center beam that i'd like to attenuate a bit.

Hi Locky,

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with beam blockers, but I will keep an eye open for them in the future.

One idea that comes to mind would be to try your F-50 with some external cabs, and thus narrow things down to a speaker you like. I had a lot of fun recently with a 4x12 closed back.

Another tip to bear in mind is that open back combos have an interactive relationship with the walls that they are near. You can change the tone by varying the distance with the rear wall, moving it in and out of corners, tilting it, taking it off the floor etc. I've found that if I put my combo on top of its road case, then place my full length 6U rack case on top of the combo, so that it touches the rear wall, then an interesting baffle is formed behind the combo and under the rack case that really enhances the low end - it sounds much more like a closed back cab.

Big smiles,

A.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by the_chigga
Hey guys!
I've been away for the past few weeks and I had another chance to go check out the F50.

I got the guy at the store to dial it in and I also brough Hal9000's settings with me. I trying to made it less muddy than it was but I couldn't do it! I was very dissappointed with the way the distortion sounded but I will tell you one thing, this amp has one of the nicest clean tones you will ever hear in an amp like this.

I did play the Triple Recto again and again, it has the sound I am looking for, perhaps it needs a bit of coutour but it sounded amazing. too bad it can't do cleans like the F50..

my search continues for another amp.

Charlie

Hey Charlie,

I'd suggest trying to contact TechMetalMan (perhaps you could PM him). He brought home an F-50 rig, and then decided to exchange it for a Recto, because he found it easier to dial in the drive sound he was after (obviously he missed the clean sounds). Interestingly, having gained experience with his Mesa, he tried a F-series amp in a store recently and was able to dial in the drive sound he was after with no effort.

There's no substitute for experience, and I continue to find new sounds years after purchase. For example, I dialled a fantastic crunch sound this week that has yet another "unorthodox" setting (FWIW on Contour channel: G:1 T:8 M:2 B:11 V:9 - in o'clock settings),

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by doggage5050
f50 problems!

my f50 has been in the shop for almost 2 weeks now. the tech only comes 1 day per week and yadda yadda parts, yadda yadda time, yadda yadda ya. let me tell you guys what was going on. on ch1, it kep flickering out like it wanted to change to ch2, even with the footswitch out. turns out the relay switches are bad and have to be replaced. thank goodness for the warranty. in the meantime, i picked up a peavey classic 30 as a backup amp. i played it through a greenback loaded marshall cab and luuvvved it! gonna put an eminence private jack in it.....anyway, had to tell you guys about my f50's current problems. i still love it though!

Hey my brother,

Sorry to hear about your relay problems. I hope your amp is back to full health soon.

Regarding the Peavey Classic, I hear that my guitar hero, Dann Huff plays a Classic 50 on a significant proportion of his sessions, and he's a man who knows tone!

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by markmann
That castle in the background of your photo's looks awesome. My next thought was, man they must have a big console to mix all those mic's plus all the other instruments!
I like your guitar, is that your PRS?

Hi markmann,

The guitar is actually my Line6 Variax. It too has been suffering some problems recently, so I decided to take it with my to Berlin where I could return it to the store I bought it from for a proper diagnosis. The Variax has a large computer brain, so problem diagnosis is not as straight forward as a regular guitar.

As for my PRS, you can see some pictures of my Paula at the end of myNational TV Gig thread as well as in the video clips (of course),

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by jadedlikeme
Hey guys. Awesome thread. Don't know if this question/request has been asked before but how does the F-50 or F-30 handle classic rock and hard rock -- say from the likes of ACDC and Aerosmith?

I have downloaded all the clips I can find of the f-50 and f-30 from this forum, sweet stuff, great playing, but I noticed it's mostly metal flavored songs. Any chance somebody could whip-up a clip of some classic rock stuff??

Hi jadedlikeme,

Check out this Designing the F-50 Interview with Randall Smith. You'll see that classic and hard rock are very much amongst the strengths of the F-series - it does them with class.

Regarding clips, from your comments I suppose you've already checked out all of mine (see my sig). I've tried to create a wide range, but interestingly, many of the comments I've received have been that they don't go metal enough. Can't win!

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by jadedlikeme
I'm really leaning towards the F-50 at the moment. I've never had a tube amp before... are the volumes usable at low levels, bedroom noodling volumes? (edit: never mind this was answered in a post above. F-50 might be too much for me).

Originally posted by the_chigga
I mean quiet as in like bedroom levels I know the F50 isn't very good at doing that, there a volume jump from quiet to loud.. I guess I was just wondering if I can get the good tone like the amp cranked at full at a 8o clock volume using some kind of pedal?

I, too, highly recommend the Volume Pedal in the FX Loop trick that Cold_Fever highlighted. It doesn't have to be a Volume Pedal - I use a rack unit, and I suspect the output level on a stomp box would work too. Just turn the parallel mix control to maximum (90%).

The key thing is not just that it works to get around the sensitive Master Volume knob issue, but that it actually SOUNDS BETTER this way i.e. to have the Master Volume above 9 o'clock (where it sounds best), and the amp's loudness reduced to more sane levels using the loop. I can guess as to why this is the case (I have a Masters in EE), but it sounds great at bedroom levels (and from experience, at TV studio levels too). When I first bought the amp, I quickly came to the conclusion that I would have to buy an attenuator too for bedroom shenanigans. This "pedal in the loop" approach works so well with my F-50 that an attenuator is no longer a serious consideration.

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by the_chigga
Someone mentioned that the F50 can hang with the Mark IV and Dual Rectos... Is this true guys? I've only had the chance to play the F50 at low volumes below 9 o clock in stores, i'd like to hit the Dual Recto Modern OD sound.. I've played this amp 3 times and tried to get that sound all 3 times is it because I am not turning on the contour? I'd like to go again.. does anyone have a clip of the F50 doing something like the Dual Recto sound? Thank you!

oh and If this doesn't work I am going to try and look into Krank Revolutions.

Yes the F-50 can certainly hang with the Mark IV and the Dual Rectos. When I bought mine, I had a budget for any of them, and I found myself preferring the tone of the F-50. So I decided to follow my ears, and put my money where my mouth was. Don't get me wrong, I have a great deal of respect for both the Mark series and the Recto lines, and they may be a better fit for other individual tastes. It's just that the F-series was the fit for my particular taste and I have not regretted my decision. In fact Mesa actually invite such comparisons between the F-series and other more expensive amps in their line up.

Regarding Recto type tones - do check out the Designing the F-50 article. You'll see that the Contour mode is very much where the F-50's more modern sounds live. I can now understand why you had muddiness issues, if you tried to dial in modern tones on the more vintage sounding regular Lead channel, especially with the Master Volume below 9 o'clock.

Regarding Recto sounding clips from the F-50, I recommend checking out Tommi Inkila's excellent threads here and here. In addition, my Heavy Riffin' thread contains a clip I very quickly did to create a specific Recto tone from the band Creed.

Big smiles,

Andy

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by musicdog400
A couple of thoughts about my F-50:

-it has become my hands down favorite amp because of the warm cleans, smooth low overdrive, and the contour mode. I play it every day.

-running it at really low volumes doesn't sound good unless you use an attenuator (I use a Weber Mass)

-sometimes I think it has a tad too much high end, but the attenuator actually helps here.

-I run a compressor and EQ in front of the input, and an EQ in the loop to give it a little more bass and a little less high end.

-it really annoys me that the parallel loop only goes to 90%, I have the mod details to make it serial, but haven't done it yet.

-this is an easy amp to get a bad sound out of, I am glad I bought it and took the time to learn it.

Overall I am very happy with this amp. Now I am not sure what to GAS for. After a point, it only gets incrementally better, even spending thousands more. But I am GASSIN for a Mark IV or Kock Multitone.

Hi musicdog400,

Thanks for posting these great tips and insights. Regarding the parallel loop mod, are you able to post the details on this thread, or PM them to me. I think this is really useful information.

Big smiles,

Andy.

P.S. Both the Mark IV and the Koch Multitone are fine amps.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by UconnJack
Guys,

I've been gigging alot with my F-50 lately. I am really diggin it's flexibility. I'm not at all into Metal, but we play a few Modern Rock tunes as well as alot of Classic Rock, Blues, etc.

I do have one issue with the amp though and am hoping somebody knows how to deal with it. I get a fair amount of feedback with my Les Paul. Especially when using various overdrive pedals. I'm constantly moving away from my amp during pauses. It seems like the amp would really start screaming (in a bad way), if I let it. Anyone experience this? I'm forced to play loud because we have a really loud Bass player. But loud mind you, is only like 12:00 on the clean channel and 11:00 on the gain channel. Thanks for any suggestions.

UJ

Hi UJ,

Sorry to hear about your feedback problems. You may be aware that the F-50 uses a rather unconventional pre-amp front end, which is very much a factor in the amp's amazing touch responsiveness. However, I suspect that it may also contribute to the amp being more susceptible to noise and other problems early in the signal chain, and may exhibit problems that other amps do not.

I'd suggest checking to see if your Les Paul is well grounded (is there a change in background noise levels if you touch the strings?); that your guitar and patch leads aren't noisy; spraying contact cleaner into the sockets of your stomp boxes; removing all of your stomp boxes from the signal chain, and then adding them back in one by one, and checking for anomolies; perhaps even swap your pre-amp valves around, in case one is going microphonic. Phew, just a few suggestions to be going on with,

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Tommi Inkila]

Wow

I've missed few pages here... took a while to read. Now I'm up to date again.

I just bought Samson Powerbrite PB11 after I had those problems with fuses on our last gig... also bought 10 fuses so I'm all packed up. My only complaint is that the powercables included with the PB11 was very loose so I had to put some tape on them to tighten things up. Also, you can't really say if it's working correctly until everything blows up

Okay, big day next week... were going to perform our theme album from beginning to end... the recordings should start at 3rd of June. Expect some clips

[Locky]

I tried my buddies Ernie Ball in the FX loop and cranked up the Master Volume. I do notice quite a difference in tone with it there attenuating the parallel signal. Its not quite the same as a real cranked tone but I still really like it. Makes so upset because I just got rid of my old Ernie Ball pedal

Hey Dann'sTheMan, was it you who it running an F50 through a cab with V30's. I'm very curious as to how as F50 would sound through a 2x12 V30 loaded cab. I'm really looking for something that is closed backed with tight low end, soaring mids and an UNharsh top end.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by Tommi Inkila Wow I've missed few pages here... took a while to read. Now I'm up to date again. I just bought Samson Powerbrite PB11 after I had those problems with fuses on our last gig... also bought 10 fuses so I'm all packed up. My only complaint is that the powercables included with the PB11 was very loose so I had to put some tape on them to tighten things up. Also, you can't really say if it's working correctly until everything blows up Okay, big day next week... were going to perform our theme album from beginning to end... the recordings should start at 3rd of June. Expect some clips

 

Hey Tommi,

 

Great to have you back! I've just arrived back from Japan, and am getting reacquainted with my rig. I'm also on the look out for a Power conditioner. Any recommendations?

 

Can't wait to hear the results of your imminent work! Best wishes for the gigs - I'm sure you'll wow everyone.

 

Big smiles,

 

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Originally posted by Locky I tried my buddies Ernie Ball in the FX loop and cranked up the Master Volume. I do notice quite a difference in tone with it there attenuating the parallel signal. Its not quite the same as a real cranked tone but I still really like it. Makes so upset because I just got rid of my old Ernie Ball pedal:( Hey Dann'sTheMan, was it you who it running an F50 through a cab with V30's. I'm very curious as to how as F50 would sound through a 2x12 V30 loaded cab. I'm really looking for something that is closed backed with tight low end, soaring mids and an UNharsh top end.

 

Hey Locky,

 

I'm sorry you didn't get to try this volume-pedal-in-the-loop trick before getting rid of your old EB pedal. I like the results too, and it certainly makes the F-50 a cool and viable bedroom amp.

 

I actually run a stock widebody combo, so I have the C90 Black Shadow speaker like you. hal9000 has two v30s in his F100 combo, and he also has a separate 2x12 cab - I'm not sure what speakers he has in them though. Perhaps there are other brothers here that have experience of the setup you seek.

 

Big smiles,

 

Andy.

 

P.S. After my recent 4x12 encounter, I'm also a little interested in considering a closed back 1x12 or 2x12 to run along with my combo. If I get an opportunity, I will take my combo into a guitar store and try it with potential candidate cabs.

[LithiumZero]

I did a complete retube of my F-50 Head last night and the resulting tone was AMAZING! Called Doug at Doug's Tubes and he hooked me up with a balanced JJ ECC803S for V1, a high gain JJ ECC83S for V2, a Shuguang 12AX7C for V3 and a balanced EH 12AX7A for V4. Also got a set of SED 6L6's. Of course I had to redial the entire amp but in the end I am extremely happy with the tones I am getting. The amp sounds less compressed and more alive and the high end is back but not harsh like it was with the stock preamp tubes. I has previously put JJ6L6's in to tame the highs but found that with the new combination of preamp tubes that the SED's sound more open than the JJ's. I also used to run an EQ in the loop but now find it unnecessary. Overall tone is better because I can turn the mix down to around 25% on the loop instead of cranking it to use the EQ. The loop sucks A LOT of tone with higher mix settings.

 

P.S. Don't listen to the boneheads that tell you not to put the ECC803S in V1 because it's a long plate tube and subject to microphonics. I wouldn't use in in V2 but it works flawlessly in V1

[markmann]

Originally posted by Locky I tried my buddies Ernie Ball in the FX loop and cranked up the Master Volume. I do notice quite a difference in tone with it there attenuating the parallel signal. Its not quite the same as a real cranked tone but I still really like it. Makes so upset because I just got rid of my old Ernie Ball pedal:( Hey Dann'sTheMan, was it you who it running an F50 through a cab with V30's. I'm very curious as to how as F50 would sound through a 2x12 V30 loaded cab. I'm really looking for something that is closed backed with tight low end, soaring mids and an UNharsh top end.

Hey Locky, you can save a few bucks on a new Earnie Ball by constructing a small attenuator box as explained starting at the top of page 5 of this thread. Works like a charm and can be attached to the back of the amp. I think I spent less than 10 bucks at Radio Shack. I can take a picture if you're interested.

[Tommi Inkila]

Originally posted by Dann'sTheMan I'm also on the look out for a Power conditioner. Any recommendations?

It's good to be back

 

What comes to power conditioners, all I know that all the pros seem to use Furmans. I went for Samson for it's price and because there's not much bad comments about them. Though, afterwards I noticed that they seem to have that loose cables problem. I couldn't use it today on our practise "camp" because the power kept on going on/off from G-Major. It was the fault of loose socket, even after I used some plastic tape to tighten it up. Well, I have to call to the guy who sold it to me... the problem will be solved then. We have good relations.

 

As with every equipment, good and cheap seem to be two different things