I've had my RA100 for almost eight years now, and it wasn't until the past few months that I realized how shamefully I had been neglecting the blue channel. I think mostly it's because on every other modern Mesa I've had, turning a Gain knob past about 1:00 is usually not a great idea. So I pretty much never did it, and thus is took me like seven years to discover the fire breathing monster that Vintage Lo turns into when you give it enough gain.
My issue with Vintage Lo was that it was a little thin-sounding in the "normal" gain range, especially since I started playing my Jackson Soloist all the time. But I think because Vintage Lo is voiced so tight and bright, when I put the gain up to like 3:30 and the master at 2:00 it just fills out perfectly instead of getting flubby or indistinct.
Then I tried boosting it with an Empress Para EQ, using the same settings I'd use to kick my JCM800, and I got some of the most rewarding non-djenty metal tones I've ever played!
I *might* even prefer it to my actual JCM800 :shock: , mainly because of the power soak. The Marshall boosted at full blast is a *little* bit more open-sounding, has a little more 'presence' up high, and cleans up better with the guitar volume. But that's with the Marshall's preamp at 7 and the master at 6, which is just not practical for... well, much of anything.
My issue with Vintage Lo was that it was a little thin-sounding in the "normal" gain range, especially since I started playing my Jackson Soloist all the time. But I think because Vintage Lo is voiced so tight and bright, when I put the gain up to like 3:30 and the master at 2:00 it just fills out perfectly instead of getting flubby or indistinct.
Then I tried boosting it with an Empress Para EQ, using the same settings I'd use to kick my JCM800, and I got some of the most rewarding non-djenty metal tones I've ever played!
I *might* even prefer it to my actual JCM800 :shock: , mainly because of the power soak. The Marshall boosted at full blast is a *little* bit more open-sounding, has a little more 'presence' up high, and cleans up better with the guitar volume. But that's with the Marshall's preamp at 7 and the master at 6, which is just not practical for... well, much of anything.
