Mesa boogie speakers

[MagnusLindblOOm]

Whats the difference in sound between the Eminence MS-12 150 watt speaker and the EV speakers?

 

[Boogieman]

Whats the difference in sound between the Eminence MS-12 150 watt speaker and the EV speakers?

Hopefully, I have also answered this question in your other thread:

http://www.grailtone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=35472&start=15

 

[dodger916]

Whats the difference in sound between the Eminence MS-12 150 watt speaker and the EV speakers?

Quick background: I have an MS-12 in my IIC combo and an EVM in a 1x12 half-back. I've A/B'd the IIC through both speakers. I run my Simul C+ (all 6L6s) exclusively through the 1x12.

The EVM is more articluate, meaning more pronounced and tighter on the lows and crisper on the highs (not ice-picky) than the MS-12, and a bit more punchy overall. The EVM is said to offer the least "colored" sound of any speaker Mesa used. I find the Eminence offers a very sweet blurring of the mids, providing a bit of a Marshall crunch overtone.

I sometimes think of it in these simplistic terms: the EVM sounds Fendery, while the Eminence sounds Marshally. I get great sounds from both. It depends on what you're after.

Hope that helps.

 

[MagnusLindblOOm]

Thanks a lot for your answer. That help a lot accually. I think I have an idea of what the EV sounds like now. Is it hard to find an EVM speaker?

 

[Boogieman]

Thanks a lot for your answer. That help a lot accually. I think I have an idea of what the EV sounds like now. Is it hard to find an EVM speaker?

Used EVM-12L's are not hard to find. Check out the "Classified" forum here or evilBay.

EV has reissued the EVM-12L as EVM-12L Classic, and then there is the 300W "Zakk Wylde Black Label EVM-12L".

 

[dodger916]

Thanks a lot for your answer. That help a lot accually. I think I have an idea of what the EV sounds like now. Is it hard to find an EVM speaker?

Here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Electro-Voice-EVM-12-L-Series-2-12-Loud-Speaker-USA_W0QQitemZ180354145833QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item29fdf1de29&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

I've seen them go for less than that. Or you can buy a brand new reissue "Classic" for $229 (free shipping) from ZZ Sounds and others. I'd opt for a good used one as it is already broken in.

 

[MagnusLindblOOm]

Thanks a lot, What can I do to reduce a muddy bass. My Mark II b has kind of a muddy bass sound and eventhough I turn down the bass knob to zero and on the eq as low as possible before it sounds to thin the tone on the A and low E string sound a bit blurry and gives a bass sustained tone. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Tuna141]

How old are your power tubes? Worn power tubes can cause this effect.

Are the filter caps OK? The IIB is an older amp and the capacitors can degrade over time.

Which brand of preamp tubes are you using? IMO, JJ's and some other brands tend to sound dark. Other tubes like EI Gold will sound more articulate and brighter. You may want to try some preamp tube swapping if nothing else works.

My first guess would be that your power tubes are worn, so I'd start there...

 

[dodger916]

How old are your power tubes? Worn power tubes can cause this effect.

Are the filter caps OK? The IIB is an older amp and the capacitors can degrade over time.

Which brand of preamp tubes are you using? IMO, JJ's and some other brands tend to sound dark. Other tubes like EI Gold will sound more articulate and brighter. You may want to try some preamp tube swapping if nothing else works.

My first guess would be that your power tubes are worn, so I'd start there...

+1. An EVM might help there.

I've also been told that a filter cap job will tighten up the bass. If you can't get the desired results with tubes, think about a cap job. If the caps are original, they are well beyond their service life (10 to 15 years).

 

[MagnusLindblOOm]

Once again thanks a lot for your help. If I would switch to mesas own tubes, do I need to calibrate bias and so forth or is it just to "plug them in"?

 

[dodger916]

Once again thanks a lot for your help. If I would switch to mesas own tubes, do I need to calibrate bias and so forth or is it just to "plug them in"?

Just plug and play. Mesas are fixed bias. Just make sure you use match duets or matched quads, matched as to the color code.

With 4 power tubes, you can use either a matched quad or two matched pairs. The matched pairs can be different colors, but you must use the same color in the paired sockets. For instance, in most amps, the two inner sockets are paired and the two outer sockets are paired. So you could run a yellow pair in the inner sockets and a red pair in the outer sockets.

Have I confused you yet? :wink:

 

[MagnusLindblOOm]

Once again thanks a lot for your help. If I would switch to mesas own tubes, do I need to calibrate bias and so forth or is it just to "plug them in"?

Just plug and play. Mesas are fixed bias. Just make sure you use match duets or matched quads, matched as to the color code.

With 4 power tubes, you can use either a matched quad or two matched pairs. The matched pairs can be different colors, but you must use the same color in the paired sockets. For instance, in most amps, the two inner sockets are paired and the two outer sockets are paired. So you could run a yellow pair in the inner sockets and a red pair in the outer sockets.

Have I confused you yet? :wink:

Ha ha, better call my brother, he´s a PHD. No, I think I´ll work it out. Just one question though. Where do I find the color code for my amp or can I go with all colors?

 

[dodger916]

Any color Mesa tubes will work in Mesa amps. It becomes a question of whether you want early power tube break-up or maximum clean headroom. The spectrum by color from early break-up to max headroom is:

Red
Yellow
Green
Gray
Blue
White

(This is per the following: http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/Rating.html)

 

[MagnusLindblOOm]

Any color Mesa tubes will work in Mesa amps. It becomes a question of whether you want early power tube break-up or maximum clean headroom. The spectrum by color from early break-up to max headroom is:

Red
Yellow
Green
Gray
Blue
White

(This is per the following: http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/Rating.html)

Nice, you´ve been very helpful. Thanks a lot

 

[Dolebludger]

Well, here's another thought on "muddy bass". First, Mesa uses passive tone controls, which aren't as responsive and predictable as the active (powered) tone controls in other brand of amps. I would not play a Mesa amp without an active graphic EQ in my FX, so I have one in my Nomad. Now, with high tube gain distortion, mud and fizz come along for the ride. Somebody told me that the mud on the Nomad comes in at about 200HZ. So, I tried mine with the EQ in my FX cut 12 db at 250HZ. This made the mud worse. So then I boosted my FX EQ at 250HZ to about 7 db, and the mud went away. So, sometimes with a Mesa, you have to BOOST a frequency that is bothering you to solve the problem; whereas conventional wisdom would tell us to cut it. If you don't have an active, powered graphic EQ in your FX, I would recommend you get one and try it before buying a bunch of new tubes. Cost will be the same or less. And if this is the wrong solution and you really need new tubes, you'll still have the EQ which you will find very useful.

 

[MagnusLindblOOm]

Thanks a lot guys for your help. I will change the tubes cause thay are very old. Hope that helpes