Got my Studio .22+ today!

[diegs]

Hey all,

Through the wonders of the internet, I managed to get my hands on a Studio .22+ with EQ, which is exactly what I was looking for.

I play a PRS and it gets along with the Studio just beautifully. So many sounds in there, between my 5-way rotary switching on the guitar and the amp itself--honestly all the knobs are still at 5 right now and I'm just playing with the gain and my guitar, and getting so many amazing tones.

I quickly found that after a few minutes of playing the amp starts to cut out, but I correctly guessed the culprit, shorted out the effects loop, and haven't had any issues since.

My next question is what should I do with it? I want to make sure I've got it at its full potential. There are a few areas that jump out at me:

1. Tubes. It currently has Fender power tubes (!!), and several different preamp tubes. I want to give it a fresh tubing. I have heard that JJ are great, is that what people recommend? I almost ordered the F-30 kit off the eurotubes site but I figured I should ask here first.

2. Speaker. It's got the original Black Shadow and I haven't been able to turn it up yet (and in general won't be able to thanks to living in a dorm room), but I was wondering if the stock speaker is a weakness and if I should be looking at changing it.

3. Maintenance. It's a more recent model (I'm guessing mid-90s because it has the plastic power switches), but is there anything I need to know about maintaining the other components? Caps? Pots? Reverb? Any hints as to knowing if I have problems with those items?

4. It smells like cigarettes :-( I febreezed it and hopefully the smell will go away soon...

This is my first tube amp and I am instantly sold on them (they glow! so cool!) And it's great to join the Mesa family.

Cheers
Diego

 

[Kortlanda]

Congratulations! It's a great amp.

I have used tubes from Mesa, Ruby and now JJ's. Don't expect a huge difference in sound just by changing brands, but try out different types of preamp tubes. I'm currently running a 12AU7 in the V1 position, which in my opinion gives a much better balance between the two channels. You can also try a 12AT7 if you prefer more gain on the lead channel.

As of speakers, I have replaced the original with a Weber Blue Dog 30W. This is definitely less harsh than the stock speaker, and also breaks up earlier (in a nice way, that is).

 

[RR]

... I'm currently running a 12AU7 in the V1 position, which in my opinion gives a much better balance between the two channels. You can also try a 12AT7 if you prefer more gain on the lead channel.

As of speakers, I have replaced the original with a Weber Blue Dog 30W. This is definitely less harsh than the stock speaker, and also breaks up earlier (in a nice way, that is).

Thanks for input, really? 12U7 in V1 makes a more balance footswitching between the two channels?

Did the V1 originally have a 12AX7? I'm trying "mellow" out the lead channel. It great for heavier stuff but I figure my other amp could do that.

I like to lug my Studio.22 in my vehicle entertaining friends but I don't need that saturated drive and like to tone the drive down. Sounds like a lower gain tube might do the trick[?]

 

[Kortlanda]

Then I would go for the 12AU7. I also did not care too much for that oversaturated sound, which the lead channel produces with the original 12AX7 tube for the lead channel gain stage. The 12AU7 allows you to dial in a nice, slightly overdriven sound on the rhytm channel, with a very warm distortion on the lead channel.

If you decide to go for JJ's, you should get in contact with Bob at Eurotubes. He will assist you in selecting the tubes of your taste. I have grade #32 on my power amp tubes. These break up early, and gives a nice power amp distortion sound at lower volumes.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I have the Studio Caliber, DC-2. Great amp, wish it had the Graphic EQ though. Mine has separate EQ for each channel.

I swapped the speaker out for a Celestion Heritage 30 (older, made in England model). I would also reccomend the Weber or a Mojotone BV25M or BV30H. The Mojotones are Celestion parts from the original supplier, and US built. These and the Webers are very good speakers.




As for the Lead channel, the manual might have a tube chart that tells you what each tube does. You can try the 12AU7 in V1, and maybe 12AT7's, or AU7's, in the other tube slots for the Lead channel. These can be swapped with no ill effects.

There are so many possibillities.

 

[diegs]

Great info, thanks! I will give Bob a call next week to pick out some new tubes for this guy.

I agree that the lead channel, although sweet-sounding, has a lot of gain. I think I would also prefer more breakup on the rhythm channel and a little more range on the lead, which is what a 12au7 would give me...