Blue Angel tube chart and schematic questions

[Curly]

Howdy!

first post ...
I just got a Blue Angel 1 x 12 combo yesterday.

I brought it home, and put it through it's paces with a few different guitars.

I do believe I can get this thing dialed in a little more to my liking, so I called Bob @ Eurotubes and ordered power tubes and a balanced phase inverter. I already have enough preamp tubes.

While talking to him about the tubes, he mentioned that the rectifier was a 5AR4. I said the bottle looked bigger, and sure enough, when I hung up, I pulled it, and it was a 5U4.

I know some amps are friendlier than others regarding swapping rectifiers.

What this shows me is that I really should have a schematic, or at least a tube chart.

I did a search first, and found an online site with schematics, but the quality is not great. Also, I didn't see the preamp tubes called out specifically.

Another thread said to contact Mesa directly, and I'll do that, but it brings up another question: how do you locate a serial # ?? Yes, I looked and didn't see anything.

I appreciate any help. I've played many years, but this is my first Mesa, so I apologize if these are stupid questions. I'd just like to get this thing sounding as good as possible, and have all the info I might need to do so.

Thanks kindly

 

[musicbox]

its on the underside of the chassis..the guys at gc had a heck of a time finding mine...i'm not sure where it finally was, but it looked like the left side(from the back), or maybe the tube chart. good luck finding it! as far as i know, the amp can take a rectifier change just fine. enjoy your new amp. its a brilliant little box.

 

[Curly]

thanks kindly, musicbox

I've wanted one of these since I read Joe Gore's review in Guitar Player when they first came out.
I travelled to the Mesa store in Orange County - an hour and a half away, to try one at the time, and the impression it made stayed with me. Don't ask me why I didn't just get one!

anyway, yes, I got some help over on the Seymour Duncan forum, and found both the serial # and tube chart on the left side after turning it upside down in decent light.

it's a bit of project at this point ... first new tubes, then a speaker change - the stock one sounds worn to my ears, lacking sustain and bottom end.

I've had other amp projects though, and I'm sure this will sound killer when I'm done.

I am a little concerned about the age, though.. it's # 00803, and may be due for some filter caps.


thanks again for your help

 

[musicbox]

a couple things to help you along your way:

don't be afraid to mess with ohm mismatches. this can make a big difference in tone, and from what i've been told by mesa, it's not really hard on the amp.

if you can get your hands on a set of 6L6's, please try them! they are just awsome in this amp, adding alot of definition to the bottom end, and adding some chunk to the gain when you get it going. also gives a bit more headroom if you find yourself struggling with it live.

use your fingers! the fidelity of the blue angel is stunning and the tone from your bare nails and fingertips has to be heard to be believed. kevin eubanks(tonight show band) enjoys his blue angel this way with a RAT infront, and he's got tone for days!

you'll find that single coils and p90's really shine from clean use, while humbuckers can add crunch.

watch your patch chords. if your not using top quality stuff, you're going to be loosing tone. everything from a bit of bad wiring in your guitar, to a bad speaker lead. everythings going to come through so make sure the path between your fingers and your ears is as clear and clean as possible

also, be sure to read through the Blue Angel Appriciation Thread. Lot's of helpfull hints, tricks, and stories about Blue Angels. You'll soon see that there are alot of lovers of this great, and much under-appriciated amp on this board. the thread can be found here:

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=31&highlight=blue+angel

enjoy from a blue angel lover!(who is sadly now without his baby!)