robthemac wrote: ↑Fri Apr 05, 2024 10:05 pm
How do the channels work, again? Are the knob settings shared between the two channels? And reverb is only on the clean?
You can switch the reverb to be on only the clean channel, or on all channels, or out of the circuit all together.
There is also a separate volume control for the clean channel on the back so you can balance it with the drive channel. Also a rather confusing gain trim switch, which reduces the gain on either one of the channels. It’s so you can have a super clean sound with no break up on the clean channel, and more gain available on the drive channels, or an edge of break up on the the clean and less gainy drive. Makes it quite versatile. Also the eq controls have ganged pots which have been set to best suit each Channel to try and make it easier and more natural to switch channels. It seems to work pretty well, but you don’t have independent control over the eq for each Channel. I think wanted to make it as easy to use as possible, but I reckon a separate volume control for each channel would have been better.
robthemac wrote: ↑Fri Apr 05, 2024 10:05 pm
How do the channels work, again? Are the knob settings shared between the two channels? And reverb is only on the clean?
You can switch the reverb to be on only the clean channel, or on all channels, or out of the circuit all together.
There is also a separate volume control for the clean channel on the back so you can balance it with the drive channel. Also a rather confusing gain trim switch, which reduces the gain on either one of the channels. It’s so you can have a super clean sound with no break up on the clean channel, and more gain available on the drive channels, or an edge of break up on the the clean and less gainy drive. Makes it quite versatile. Also the eq controls have ganged pots which have been set to best suit each Channel to try and make it easier and more natural to switch channels. It seems to work pretty well, but you don’t have independent control over the eq for each Channel. I think wanted to make it as easy to use as possible, but I reckon a separate volume control for each channel would have been better.
A nice simple Mesa Boogie layout.
Jops wrote: ↑Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:46 am
Spring is the comic sans of reverbs anyway.
I sold mine and bought a Royal Atlantic, which had separate EQ controls and a built-in attenuator. It was massive and really well built . I miss it now.
I have one of these atop a Recto vertical 2x12 - perfect fit!
Last time I really got to let it rip was at the Tuning Fork with Jakob a few years ago.
The rear panel volume/switches somehow defeat the purpose of simplicity and make it much more complex than it was seemingly trying to be - however, by Mesa standards, it's incredibly bare bones. The clean channel loud through a big cab is to die for!
I hear ya! The clean Chanel is glorious. Yep, the switches and knobs on the back to match up the gain and volume are not self explanatory, but seem to work OK. I would have preferred a separate volume for each channel.
jubbathehog wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2024 4:21 pm
I hear ya! The clean Chanel is glorious. Yep, the switches and knobs on the back to match up the gain and volume are not self explanatory, but seem to work OK. I would have preferred a separate volume for each channel.
Before I gave up futzing with them rear knobs and just went with a Friedman pedal for gain, I couldn't figure out how to go from sparkly clean Green channel to highest gain Red channel - there was always some kind of compromise on gain or volume between the 2, typically a large volume jump on the gain channel compared to the clean. I know that's what the switch/knob is for, to compensate - but I couldn't figure it out (admittedly I am dense). I think it is possible though?
For a sparkly clean you switch the gain trim on the back panel to clean. Then to match the volume of the clean Chanel to the gain Chanel’s, you wind up the clean level knob on the back panel until the clean Chanel is as loud as the gain Chanel’s. Unfortunately you can’t set different levels between the hi and low gain channels.
