Mesa Boogie F-30 questions

[SwampAshSpecial]

What are some of the good/bad points of this amp? How loud/quiet can it play (would it get bedroom volumes or will I need an attenuator?)
What styles is it good for?
I love Mesa tone, but I've always found the crunchy, gritty OD of EL34s/EL84s suits my style better than the smooth, rich 6L6 tone, so the F-30 seems like a great choice - I really want an Electra Dyne but I can't seem to quite pull that one atm - so, any opinions on the F-30?

 

[fishyfishfish]

I love the clean channel on my F30, takes pedals pretty good (Or great depending if you can use a big cab and drive it) CH. 2 is the weak point for some. It has a contour switch which in my case is always on. It can do classic rock at the right volume and a pretty good Mark series grind with the contour on. Now the downside with the contour is that either you like the sound or not. Not a bad thing, but for my Top Forty band It was almost to much distortion. I run mine with a 2x12 and use a BB preamp and a TS9 on the clean channel and that's my small grab and go rig.

 

[elvis]

The F30 is not a quieter version of the F50. They run at about the same volume flat-out, but the F30 has very different tone. The EL84s compress at pretty much any volume, so they tend to smooth out the sound a lot. I prefer the 6L6 because it stays cleaner, so it's punchier, and it tends not to lose as much low end at higher volume. You can run either one at bedroom volume, though for a more flat-out tone at low volume, you would be better off with a 5W amp.

 

[giorikas81]

I on the other hand prefer the f-30 to the f-50. Don't get me wrong everything this guy said is true. The f-30 compresses and may "sound" smaller but to my ears it has more "growl" and some mids that cannot replicated from a 6L6 amp. Either you love or you hate it. I am similarly fond of a dc-3 which is also el-84 based.

Anyway. The f-30 has the original boogie cabinet and a v30 speaker. Some will say that the v30's have this mid spike blah blah. Bull. Why? Because I really don't hear it, and probably because of the voicing. As in many mesa's, the region where the v30 becomes harsh is probably rolled-off. The original boogie size cabinet is the one you find in marks. Thankfully it does not rattle. This is good. The amp is very heavey for an amp with only two el-84's and small transformers but lightweight overall. Due to the small cab and the el-84's you will never get thunderous bass response. Use a bass player for that. You will hear your mids and treble better though and be more percussive!!! That is the advantage for me. Or add a thiele when you are on your own!!! I plan to do that!

The amp cuts very easily in a band or in a gig. Especially in the contour mode.
About that. The contour mode is in simple words the known mesa graphic eq in a preset V (the most popular according to smith) that does not goes to xtremes. Meaning that it gives the scoop thing but leaves enough mids to cut through. It also changes the negative feedback and pressence. It seems to have more gain than gain channel without contour and it responds differently.

Gripes? Yes. The clean channel does not have headroom. I use a compressor and single coils to avoid some break up but if you play with power you will distort it. It is touch sensitive though. Personally I find it a minus. I cannot strum hard and maintain a clean sound and be heard easily. Also it is noisy...

Second gripe. A big one. For all f-series amps. The volume difference between modes. I would like to have the clean channel to play clean. Ok!!! The contour channel to play rythm. And the normal gain channel to play lead (with more gain and volume than contour and different settings.). It cannot be done. As a result I play rythm with the normal channel and compromise my lead sound...I am planning to maybe play lead in the clean channel with a pedal...

All in all a fantastic sounding amp. But not for all uses. I would also like to add that the el-84's do not guarantee british nothing!!! No marshally sounds here. The voicing is dark, as a mesa should be for me. It is more like a fender el-84 equipped than anything british!

Have fun
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