First post, new amp day, Trem-o-verb! need troubleshooting

[guitarzan1143]

This amp cost me about 230 dollars and about 20 hours of work, which is probably the only reason i'd ever have a Mesa, they aren't exactly within my budget! However, a series of great deals led me to this guy.

The vintage high gain channel is incredible. However, all of the other channels are suffering. Clean wont stay clean no matter what i do, blues sounds harsh and i cannot tame it at all, however many times i try, the modern high gain can't even get close to the gain on the vintage high gain.

The guy i bought it from said the last time he got it serviced was a little over a year ago, and he had it tubed with JJs. I really want to restore it with mesa tubes so it will be back to the factory bias (im assuming that using tubes that are not meant for the amp, plus a year of use, these tubes are well beyond un-usuable). The amp is also a bit noisy, and doesn't seem as loud as it should (2.5-3 on master are just about bedroom levels). I have tried the channel cloning, but leave at normal for the most part, i have tried the tube rect/ss rect switch, and the bold/spongy, and all combos, nothing fixes it.

Would you agree that new tubes would bring this thing back to life, or am i possibly in for some replacing some LDR's. and how much would that cost? All labor for me is free, friendly exchange of services with an amp tech. for my lutherie skills.

So glad to be a part of the mesa family! i've had an f-30, didnt like it. And a DC-5, LOVED it but spent too much money (being a struggling college student, owning a mesa for me is a big deal!).

 

[mefgames]

The tubes are definitely the right first choice. I have a full set of JJ's in mine from http://www.eurotubes.com . He sells sets specific to the Amp with options as to gain in the 12ax7 slots. I went with 6L6's and a moderate gain boost. Sounds killer.
The LDR's are also a possible problem. Mesa replaced mine at the Petaluma Factory free of charge even though I am not the original owner. They told me there were some that were not holding up. Lucky you, IMHO, this is the ultimate Mesa amp.

Good Luck, Mike

 

[guitarzan1143]

Yeah so i've heard. I thought i was just buying into some dual rec with tremolo, turns out everyone raves about it. I would really really love to have this, and an older Mark III, then i think i would have all bases covered with my peavey knockoff twin-reverb amp, known as the "Ranger", that is the highest, or one of the highest rated harmony-central amps to date.

I really wanna get this thing up to speed and working soon, i have a few auditions this week and i finally have an amp that will play a gig. I will order up some new 12ax7's and i will probably just order up some stock mesa 6l6s if i can find a bargain. If that doesnt fix it, im gonna have my buddy look at the LDRs.

 

[Elpelotero]

What guitar are you using, what cab, what settings, and most importantly...what type of music or bands are you trying to play? I believe Mike from Incubus had the best tremoverb tone ever in their late 90's albums.

 

[guitarzan1143]

Right now im playing a schecter classic with a duncan distortion in the bridge and a duncan 59 in the neck. i usually play my own guitars (im a furniture maker, so making a guitar is a breeze), they aren't cruddy at all, i take a lot of pride in my work. Im playing through a 4 ohm cabinet with two Eminence OEM speakers from the 90's. They sound real good through my other amps, especially when i had a marshall JCM 2000. I am just trying to play all sorts. I play jazz mostly, so i NEED cleans, i play blues at open mic nights, and i play in a hard rock band (www.myspace.com/jpcorwyn), and i do heavy metal with my friends in an internet-band sort of thing (www.myspace.com/creativemindmm). I really play every type of music, so i figured i'd get an amp that is a jack of all trades.

 

[Elpelotero]

Wow, you really do play everything. What I'd recommend is downloading the instruction manual from the Mesa website. It's VERY detailed and will start you in the right direction. As for settings, put everything at 12 noon (flat) and let your ears decide where things should go from there. Don't let your eyes deceive you. One last thing to note is that many people like to put an overdrive pedal in front of the amp to play tight, fast metal. Otherwise, there can be too much bass.

 

[guitarzan1143]

Ive got the manual, read it like 10 times. Waiting for a call back from boogie to get any last advice on troubleshooting, them im pulling the trigger on a 140 tube set from a guy on ebay (with tons of good feedback), and im gonna drop it off to my tech to check the LDRs and all the caps to make sure everything is in perfect order. Im also pretty strict on my no-pedals policy, but then again i dont really play fast metal (though sometimes i like to jam on some angra/kiko loureiro stuff, this amp can't touch that laney 80's tone alone, but thats why i am gassing for one of those paul gilbert VC-50s.)

 

[Elpelotero]

Some people on this board have a love/hate relationship with JJ tubes. Some like them because they are high gain, but others dislike them for being too dark. In old rectifiers I personally like the original tubes they came with, which are Mesa STR 420's. They are discontinued by Mesa, but live on in other brands under 6l6gc coke bottle tube types.

 

[echoes420]

Are you already trying to sell your new amp?

Or did someone steal your pictures?

http://richmond.craigslist.org/msg/1437679759.html

 

[guitarzan1143]

Are you already trying to sell your new amp?

Or did someone steal your pictures?

http://richmond.craigslist.org/msg/1437679759.html

I was just offering it up for trade to see what people would offer. I got offered a Mark III combo, its like brand new all original, but i dont know if i wanna givethis up until i retube it.