3 x Mesa preamps - What Mesa 50w power amp ?

[psihiatros]

Hi to everybody.
I have a question about connecting 2 preamps in one mesa 50/50.
I have a formula preamp and a Quad preamp. And i want to connect them both on an old mesa fifty/fifty.

My questions are these :

Can i connect the formula in one side and the quad into the other side, of the 50/50 and switch between them ?
Like the marshall 9100 dual monoblock for example ?

Or do i need the Mesa high gain (pre)Amp switcher to switch between them (formula/quad) into only one side of the 50/50 ?

I mean, can i use the 50/50 as 2 separate power amps like the marshall dual monoblock ?

Thanx,Chris .

 

[crane]

Yep you can do that. And use an A/B box to select the preamp.

 

[psihiatros]

Crane, are you sure 100% about that ? :shock:
You mean that i can use it like a dual monoblock ?
Like that:
Quad ----> input A (50/50) --> output A (50/50) --> cabinet 1
Formula --> input B (50/50) --> output B (50/50) --> cabinet 2

It's very important to know for sure.
Because it's gonna save me some big money !

 

[ando]

Crane, are you sure 100% about that ? :shock:
You mean that i can use it like a dual monoblock ?
Like that:
Quad ----> input A (50/50) --> output A (50/50) --> cabinet 1
Formula --> input B (50/50) --> output B (50/50) --> cabinet 2

It's very important to know for sure.
Because it's gonna save me some big money !

Of course you can! What else do you think the two inputs and two volume controls are for? They are separate signal paths. You can't switch between channels on the 50/50, but as crane said, you just A/B them at the preamp input stage.

 

[RectoStudioGuy]

You could also use them both as stereo if you were to run though a switching matrix of some sort. i.e. switch blade, GCX, even a line mixer.

 

[psihiatros]

Thanx very much for the hekp guys :wink:
These are very good news for me.
As for the connection and switching it's a little complicated.
I'm building a wet/dry/wet system and the heart of my sound will be :

1) JMP-1 + 9100 ( first block with EL34's )
2) Recto preamp + 9100 ( second block with 5881's )
3) Formula pre + 50/50 ( first side )
4) Quad pre + 50/50 ( second side )

These 4 will connect on an Egnater amp head switcher, 'cause the concept is to have them as 4 different heads and switch between them.
I also have 3 gcx's, effects units,pedals e.t.c.
It's all about FLEXIBILITY !

What i'm missing at the moment is the boogie Recto pre,the old boogie 50/50 and the Egnater amp head switcher.

If anyone has anything of the above that don't need and want to sell in a good price,just let me know :wink:

 

[ando]

I'm building a wet/dry/wet system and the heart of my sound will be :

1) JMP-1 + 9100 ( first block with EL34's )
2) Recto preamp + 9100 ( second block with 5881's )
3) Formula pre + 50/50 ( first side )
4) Quad pre + 50/50 ( second side )

These 4 will connect on an Egnater amp head switcher, 'cause the concept is to have them as 4 different heads and switch between them.
I also have 3 gcx's, effects units,pedals e.t.c.
It's all about FLEXIBILITY !
:

Wow, that is going to be a BIG and HEAVY rig!!

I wish you all the best with it. Let us know how it all turns out.

 

[RectoStudioGuy]

I occasionally use different pre amps for L&R channels (recto left studio right) through my 50/50. But most often I use one at a time through both sides and switch between preamps. Using tham as separate channels makes dialing in a great deal easier being that while things sound great in theory it can be quite a task making things play well with one another sonically.

 

[psihiatros]

Thanx a lot for your kind words guys ..
Unfortunally,it seems that i need the Boogie High gain pre-amp switcher after all ...
It's gonna be like that :
Recto pre + Quad pre + formula pre ---> Mesa high gain amp switcher ---> power amp .

The point is : What Boogie power amp in 50w series, is suitable for all these 3 preamps ? :roll:

a) Old 50/50 before the modification (red light, i think)
b) Old 50/50 after the modification (blue light, i think)
c) New 2:50
d) Marshall ' s 9100 second channel with 5881's or 6L6's (modern mode activated)

PS: RectoStudioGuy : How does the Recto pre sound with your old 50/50 ?

It's a very critical point and i really need everyone's opinion.
Chris

 

[RectoStudioGuy]

I have a couple of the old 50/50's and they both have blue lights and neither has been modded. And to answer your question, I really like the sound of the recto pre through a 50/50. I took some tweaking, as the voicing is dramtically different than that of a 2:90 and definately the 2:100, but that would be expected. My studio, on the other hand, absolutely refuses to have a bad tone through the 50/50.

 

[psihiatros]

I see ...
Well,what i'm gonna do,as the first step, is to give the Marshall 9100 a try.
I'm gonna connect all of them (quad,recto,formula) at the high gain switcher and the switcher at the 6L6 side of the Marshall 9100.
And see how it goes.
If i'm not satisfied with the result (bottom end,punch,voicing,overall sound.. ) then, i'll search for something else.
But i'm playing at my home for now and i'm not dying to get these sounds 100%.
Just to get close enough, in a certain point where i will be pleased with the result that i'm hearing.
What i'm trying to achieve here, with these 3 different preamps, is the mark and recto sounds of Petrucci with some tweaking and a little bit of compromise.. :wink:
I really like the sounds he's getting on the Score,LTE in LA and Live S.f.NY DVD's.
We'll see...
Thanx for the help once more