First I would do a factory reset. Then I would try a set of tubes that I knew worked correctly. If the problem continues, I would call Mesa and see what assistance they could offer.
I don't usually reply here but I'm set in my ways. I completely agree that Clapton had a better (to me) woman tone in the Gibson days. I guess his tone completely "disappeared" and "Your (sic) not going to get anywhere close with just a strat into a Mesa"... Keep an open mind and see the 4:00...
Dad was a barber who played mandolin with some other pickers in the ceramic tile barber shop. Fantastic sound those guys put out in that room. I was always around music. I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and that was it! I started playing trumpet age ten and then seriously on guitar at 12.
I bounced from Fender and used several Marshall amps in the 70's and 80's for the big gigs. I had no idea what to expect when a buddy told me he had traded JCM and bought a Mesa/Boogie Mark III. I first played it outside on a hot July day before a gig and I was just blown away. I was pretty much...
Living in rural North Carolina, we didn't have a lot of amps to choose from back in the late 60's. Two music stores within 50 miles. I had a Sears Silvertone, the old 1484 piggyback. Sounded great when it worked. Would blow a fuse in a heartbeat with correct stated voltage. So I kinds of learned...
The second time I saw Jeff Beck was with Carlos Santana in 1995 in Raleigh. Jeff opened the show. I had a Jeff Beck Stratocaster at the time (wish I still had it) and he came out with his talc powder right hand and absolutely killed it for over an hour. He played one guitar the whole show...