Blue Angel - new owner

[SixVeeSix]

My Blue Angel arrived today. Took a short spin tonight, live in a condo so can't really give it a beating at home I think I did pretty well, $810 delivered for a 1-12 combo that looks near mint including the cover, footswitch, schematics, manual and all Mesa tubes. Has the correct fuse in it (you GOTTA check this stuff!).

This is an amazing amp. I can get any number of gorgeous clean to not-so-clean tones from any guitar I want to plug in. The difference in the two inputs, the Fat/Bright switch and the Progressive Linkage is like having an analog version of the POD in a real tube amp that actually sounds good Sorry, POD lovers, I don't care for it much :evil:

I am going to perform mad scientist experiments with tubes and speakers, will keep you all posted. I know Murphy Slaw loves his Angel, anybody else?

 

[jenks10]

Congratulations on your BA!

I've been experimenting with mine for some time now. You might want to do some searches through the threads here to get some great info on your amp.

Right now, I'm running a 5751 in V2 (yes, V2) and a 12at7 for the phase splitter. This really controls the noise level and drives the power tubes perfectly for me. I just popped in a set of Tung-Sol re-issue 5881's in place of the 6v6's. It sounds great, and I can crank the volume almost to the max, and really get control with the guitar volume, from clean (almost) to wonderful singing overdrive. The jury is still out for me on that swap. I really like the different tones that the 6v6's add, and the 5881's almost sound like the el84's.

Blah, blah, blah... sorry... at any rate, pay attention to the description of the tone controls in your manual. They are very accurate and a little different than the "normal" tone controls.

Just a little trivia, check out Kevin Eubanks on the J. Leno TV show. He uses a 4X10 BA.

Jenks

 

[LPClassic]

Congratulations, I have been very curious on these amps, how this one compare with the cleans and overdriving the clean of the Maverick?

 

[phyrexia]

Stop making me GAS. !

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Congrats. I bought mine from a guy in California unseen, and without a speaker. He had put a neo in it (and sold the original) because even the 1;12 combo is heavy, but I wasn't interested in the neo. I think I paid $625.00 delivered, and put a Celestion V30 in it. (add $100). It was dead mint with original tubes. No hours, the guy was a bedroom player.

I'd wanted a Blue Angel since reading about them in the late 90's but never found one in person. I live in the Heartland and the closest dealer is several hours away, and even when I'd bump into a dealer back then, they had Heartbreakers, ect., but no Angels.

The design just fascinated me. So when this one came up, I bit.

I've been gigging it for (time goes too fast anymore, so I'm guessing) 6/7/8 months. I bought a flight case from XCASEWHOLESALE and it sits on it at the shows. It still has the original tubes (it was built in Nov. 2000) although I have a complete set of spares ready to go if it ever sounds funny.

I use all three tube settings nightly. Depending on the situation. I use the 2;6V6 setting wide *** open for a really nice tube overdrive on a few songs. But I mainly use the 4; EL84 setting, and keep it pretty clean, with just a Tubescreamer (808) occasionally.

My tone is closer to SRV than EVH, if ya know what I mean.

Best of luck my friend, it will take several months to really get to know this rig, because different venues require different volumes, but somebody said once there isn't a bad sound in it and that's true. It's not a metal amp at all and I think that's why Mesa buyers never really got it?

I'm just amazed that Blues players never figured it out. Bassman my ***. Deluxe Reverb? Give me a break..... Vibrolux? I don't think so....

I'm glad they quit making them. I bought a "Boogie" badge for mine just to mess with "players".

Best to ya.

 

[SixVeeSix]

Thanks everyone. I just passed the audition for a Motown tribute band - www.motowncruisers.com so I will be taking this to practice. They don't practice too loud, the drummer is a musician!! so I will have to wait for my first show in mid October to really crank it a bit. Meanwhile, 5751s and 12at7s are whispering in my ear. I will try some of my ?OS tubes in V1 also, starting with a new looking RCA 7025. Oddly, the speaker in the Angel is bolted in from the back but my Maverick has 4 screws into the wood for a front mount. I am thinking that front mounting will give me a bit more air in the cabinet and make it easier to swap speakers till I find the magic combination. She's a hefty ***** anyway, a few more pounds won't make much difference. The stock V90 is decent but I have other preferences and they are just sittin on a shelf waiting. Will also check to see if coke-bottle size tubes will fit in the 6v6 slots, I have an evil plan......... :twisted:

 

[dannymusic]

FWIW

At the HamerUSA factory, the "test" amp in the finished guitar room/showoff room is a Mesa BA 4x10 combo

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Keep us up your "plan".....

I have 2 JAN Phillips 5751's (nos) I picked up from an old ham radio guy, and a 7025, and a Mullard GZ34 in my padded spare tube (Tupperware!) box, but haven't needed them yet, just saving them for a problem.

Mine sounds great, and gigs every weekend.

Best of luck.

 

[SixVeeSix]

Keep us up your "plan".....

I have 2 JAN Phillips 5751's (nos) I picked up from an old ham radio guy, and a 7025, and a Mullard GZ34 in my padded spare tube (Tupperware!) box, but haven't needed them yet, just saving them for a problem.

Mine sounds great, and gigs every weekend.

Best of luck.

Be careful with that GZ34, I redplated a nice quad of Sylvania black plate el84s with one in my Maverick! :evil: May not cause a problem but keep your eyes on it at first just in case.

FWIW, I have been running a 5V4 (NOS GE) in the Maverick and the output tubes run a bit cooler that way. Still sounds great. Checked the schematics and the Angel runs slightly lower voltages to the el84s than the Mav does. Maybe there is more to go around without the 6V6s taking their share?

The 5751 and 7025 will change the tone of the amp quite a bit and in different ways. A true 7025 is higher gain than a stock 12ax7, a 5751 is considerably lower gain than a stock tube. Both are premium tubes and typically run quieter than the stock tube.

Another fun tube is the 12at7,still pretty cheap for nice ones. I have a few goodies on hand, very low gain and quiet. Means you can turn the amp up louder and get more of the output tubes going. Can be very cool with the right combination (guitar, amp, speaker).

Gotta do all my base line stuff first, pull the chassis and clean all the jacks and sockets. Will find out when it was made then. Will switch to a front mounted speaker for more air. I have a few to try out, all cast frame with huge ceramic magnets. I love the tone of Alnico speakers but they always get hot and start fading. The beefy ceramics have tremendous bass response, means I can turn the "Flub knob" way down and get a fatter, clearer sound.

I mat try a thing or two this weekend, will keep you all posted. Hard to say what the real effect will be till I turn the booger up a bit!!

 

[lyman]

congrats on the amp AND on the motown gig! that sounds awesome.

do you notice that much of a difference from front vs. rear mounted speakers? i've seen conflicting reports, some say rear mounting gives better lows, some say it really is a minimal difference if any at all.

i'd love to hear some clips if you've got the recording gear on hand. you have some nice amps and seem to know your stuff!

 

[SixVeeSix]

congrats on the amp AND on the motown gig! that sounds awesome.

do you notice that much of a difference from front vs. rear mounted speakers? i've seen conflicting reports, some say rear mounting gives better lows, some say it really is a minimal difference if any at all.

i'd love to hear some clips if you've got the recording gear on hand. you have some nice amps and seem to know your stuff!

Quite honestly the main advantage to front mounting the speaker is that you can remove the grill (4 screws), and replace the speaker. Until I find a favorite I don't want to go through all the other procedures that are needed to swap out a rear loaded speaker in a Mesa. You also get the speaker cone a full inch farther away from the tubes which has to be a good thing. I doubt I will hear much difference in bass response, it is the better speakers I will be using that will affect that.

I am starting to record again after a long absence, will post something one of these days. May be while, I want it to be good. I guess I can play pretty well as long as I don't watch players like Jeff Beck or Vince Gill!!!!

 

[Murphy Slaw]

So how's progress?

I think a Motown gig would be a ball. Lotta Cropper in there, you're gonna need a Tele!

You've got me wanting to tinker with my Angel, just haven't had much time. When I work all week, and have a two night weekend, and some drive time, I'm just not worth much.......

Best of luck.

 

[SixVeeSix]

Over the weekend I took her apart. I have redrilled the speaker baffle to accept T nuts and got a nice set with black bolts ready to put in. First speaker I am trying out is an old favorite of mine - JBL G125. Unknown and under-rated. I have picked out some tubes to try out. Since the band plays at pretty low levels I am going to try higher gain in V1 to start with. First V1 experiment will be a pristine RCA 7025 with a 5751 A frame getter military GE for V2. Going to try Tesla (NOT jj) ECC803s/E83CC tubes for the rest of the preamp, they are very quiet with a full response and bullet proof. I have a quad of military Russian EL84 equivalents and the 6v6s and 5AR4 are the stock Mesa tubes. I hear good things about the EH 6V6, will see if there are any locally in a couple of weeks. Should have it slapped back together Thursday evening, will have more to report after practice on Sunday.

 

[SixVeeSix]

She's all clean and purty in the jacks, not that they were dirty. It is my standard operating procedure to check this stuff with any used amp. The tube sockets looked pristine, gold plating will do that.

The JBL G-125 I front mounted sounded fantastic. The mounting ring has a tall flange and gasket that prevent the grill from re-installing correctly. Can compensate with the 4 "bumper" screws in the corners of the baffle board but I have another plan. It comes out tonight and I will drop in a Peavey Scorpion Ultra. This is one of the all time great guitar speakers, totally different than a standard Scorpion. HUGE magnet and voice coil and the cone is tuned for guitar use. These were intended for front mounting and have a flat base plate with no gasket. Previous testing with this and the JBL reveal little difference in tone. Subtle shifts in the mids, slightly more bottom end in the Scorpion, no surprises. It will be quite a bit heavier though.

I get to rock her up on Sunday at practice, looking forward to it. We will be playing a casino gig up here in mid-October and that will be the true test.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

You're having WAY to much fun with this......

Just kidding.

Are you going to gig her on the floor? On a stand? I bought a flight case for mine and put her on it. Perfect height for me. Gives me a far more accurate picture of tone, and volume, than having it at my feet. And keeps her safe when she's bouncing around the trailer on those out of town gigs.

Best to ya.

 

[SixVeeSix]

Yo, Murph! I have one of those $30 on sale at GC amp stands and I like it. I tend to aim it a bit off to the side so I can step over into "The Feedback Zone" and cut loose with all manner of animal howling and air raid chaos. Not that I would ever do such a thing in the middle of a solo for the Motown thang, it wouldn't be proper. :twisted: :shock:

Case sounds like a pretty good idea, the agency books us as far as Tacoma (2 hr. drive) so it would be safer in the equipment van. My only real worry is that one mini-switch, why do they use those flimsy things? If there was one thing I would change about Mesa, that would be it. I ruled out getting an Express or Lonestar because of all the minis. There is room in all my amps to use the same type switches as the power/standby switches, maybe someday I will swap those out myself. I know there isn't room to do that on the Lonestar, there are 9 of those cheap crappy minis on there!!

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I LOVE the case. It does make it heavier, and bigger, but once it's on the ground, the 4" wheels roll like butter. I searched and ended up going with xcasewholesale and am very happy but there are a few issues, should you decide to go that route.

1; At the ebay store, it said "in stock". Bullsh!t. It also says they are built to order. I got mine on the very last day they said it would be here. I figured if it was in stock, shipping from Memphis (150 miles from me), I'd have it in a few days. Wrong!

2; The measurements didn't work for the Blue Angle case because their database had the wrong height. So I ordered one for a LSS. Perfect fit, about a 1/2" slack all around.

3; You can't take the top off, turn it over, and set the wheels (bottom) into the top because it'll just be sitting on foam. You have to take the amp out, put the case back together, and set the amp on top of it. No big deal.

But it has 4 spring latches, 2 spring handles and is built like a tank and I highly recommend it. Nothing can ever hit the mini toggle, or anything else. It is pretty heavy but I'm a healthy redneck.

And it looks very professional. When you pull a Boogie out of a flight case your credibility instantly goes up.

Best to ya.