Got me a Trem-o-verb and would like some settings

[metalmarlon]

just got a trem-o-verb and would like to be pointed in the right direction.

I'm playing metal so any ideas on some good settings.

Also how will putting EL34s in it change the sound, will it crunch better when palm muting?

 

[mefgames]

You can download a manual from Mesa online that will have some settings in it. When I bought mine. it had EL-34's in it. No idea how old they were. It sounded good, not great. I ordered a complete TOV tube set from Eurotubes opting for the 6L6's, and it made it sound like a DR should. One thing you should know as TOV owner, there were issues with some of them having been made with questionable LDR's. Mesa will replace these free of charge as long as you take it to an authorized Mesa dealer even for a non original owner. Make sure the shop knows you know this or call Mesa direct.

Welcome to the club. You now own one of the best amps Mesa ever produced IMO.

Good Luck,
Mike

 

[metalmarlon]

You can download a manual from Mesa online that will have some settings in it. When I bought mine. it had EL-34's in it. No idea how old they were. It sounded good, not great. I ordered a complete TOV tube set from Eurotubes opting for the 6L6's, and it made it sound like a DR should. One thing you should know as TOV owner, there were issues with some of them having been made with questionable LDR's. Mesa will replace these free of charge as long as you take it to an authorized Mesa dealer even for a non original owner. Make sure the shop knows you know this or call Mesa direct.

Welcome to the club. You now own one of the best amps Mesa ever produced IMO.

Good Luck,
Mike

Cool. What are the LDR's and if they go bad what happens?

 

[mefgames]

Light Dependent Resistors.

Read this thread http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=42771

or just do a search for Tremoverb

mike

 

[stephen sawall]

All done in o'clock

orange ~
M ~ 1
P ~ 1
t ~ 1
m ~ 3
b ~ 12
g ~ 2

red ~
M ~ 10
P ~ 9
t ~ 1
m ~2
b ~ 1
g ~ 1

These are the sounds I use most.

 

[metalmarlon]

Thanks.

Also, I think I might be having a problem with the head (not sure though).

When I'm in RED modern (at least that is to only one that I have heard) the amp seems to loose some gain. It goes from nice and chunky with a sharp palm mute to round sounding. I "think" it sounds as if the treble knob is getting rolled back.

Any ideas? I am going to do a lot more fiddling tomorrow.

 

[94Tremoverb]

That does sound like it may be a LDR issue. It's not confined to the end of the production run either, although that's when the problem was worst. Any Tremoverb or 2-channel Dual Rectifier (and other Mesa amps like the MkIV which also use a lot of them) of any age can have an LDR failure unfortunately - it's just one of those things! But relatively easy to fix, for a tech who knows what to check for.

A simple rule with the Tremoverb and 2-channel DR is that if the problem is confined to one channel or mode, or the Channel Cloning, it's not a tube fault, and is likely to be an LDR - unlike a lot of channel switching amps, all the tubes are in use all the time, in all modes. (Except for the rectifier tubes in the Silicon Diode setting, and V4 when the loop is bypassed on the back panel.) But if the fault is across all the modes, it's not likely to be an LDR fault.

 

[metalmarlon]

Thanks for giving me some tips for what to look for. The head is an older model (with the fixed AC cable).

EDIT: I played it again today and it again lost gain/treble. The gain loss was on the red channel across the modern, vintage and even when I switched the blues mode on the front panel.

Still don't know if it is affecting the Orange channel though.

 

[Soma]

Yeah I have the same issue with my Tremoverb. I dial in a nice full thick chunky sound on the red channel and after a while it goes sort of boxy and flat sounding. If I turn the amp off with it setup nice and sounding great it can sound completely different when I turn it back on next. I'm pretty sure it's not just ear fatigue. I want to get the LDRs overhauled but there don't seem to be any Mesa techs here in NZ.

Should a good tech be able to source parts (Mesa or non-Mesa) and do these for me? Or does it have to be a Mesa tech?

Thanks.

 

[stephen sawall]

Swap tubes first since you can do this yourself. Just switch one at a time and you may find a bad one. Preamp tubes that is in this case first. Like said it could be something else .... but this is easy.

The amp is no longer under warranty so anyone can work on it. Go with someone that has a good reputation .... it well save you head aches and money in the long run even if it cost a little more.

 

[Soma]

Sorry, should have said I completely re-tubed recently. Problem occurred before and after.

Cheers.

 

[vitor gracie]

Regarding the Power Tube question (EL34s vs. 6L6s) I have been a TOV owner since '96 and have two 96' models now. I really believe the amp was designed to work best with 6L6s. It actually touches on this in the manual as well. There are great tones to be had from amps using EL34s and most times I prefer those power tubes for the tightness and overall chunky break-up, but having owned TOVs for so long and used them with both tubes often loudly, I feel that 6L6s are the way to go.

There are aggressive adjustments you can make when you are playing loud enough for the tubes to break up. When the TOV is up half way on the master volume, (fx loop engaged) it will be disgustingly (in a good way) loud and you will have power tube break up/compression for sure. I just did a show where I was that loud through an Orange 2X12 cab. To get a tighter palm mute I had to really lower my bass knob a lot... like almost 9 O'Clock. I also had to put my gain at about 12 o'clock for rhythm work. For the event I just played I wanted a crispier attack so I used the red mode on the distortion and relied on the power tubes natural compression to smooth it out. Lastly, the midrange knob (when your volume is set this high) almost acted as a volume boost because the amp was working so hard. You get great tube compression, your using your cab efficiently at that level, and you speakers are driving with everything you do so the mid knob became really sensitive when I was right in front of the cab hearing what the sound guy could hear.

I am typically all about the Orange mode for distortion when tracking. It gets the amp to compress a little better at lower volumes and has less lows, more mids and way more usable and natural treble response. However, with your power tubes canceling out all of that (ie: over accentuating those desirable qualities) it made sense to me to use the red mode to try to cut through more and then drop the frequencies I didn't like to try to get the Red to do what the Orange does. I have only done this at very high volumes. Otherwise, at regular volume for recording or normal gigs I can't stress using the Orange for distortion enough, as will a lot of guys that like the older dual recs and TOVs here. The Orange (under normal circumstances) and possibly the Blues mode with 6L6s will give you everything you need in a TOV-provided your trying to get your sound to be what a TOV is. In other words, guys who want Dual Recs to be a Triple X or 5150 or something else, it ain't that... it is what it is and that's why I love and use them.