I run my F-50 combo direct a lot of the time and I like the tone. Much better than any modeler, and I've tried everything. Just curious if a Hotplate or other attenuator would make a big difference in sound vs going direct? I know you can go direct out of the Hotplate too.
Mesa F-50 Combo with HOTPLATE?
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Brewski
Well-known member
You can get a little more tone from your power tubes at lower volumes, however, you won't be pushing your speaker nearly as hard, so there is a small trade off. Some guys think that the Hot Plate constricts their amp, but if you are looking for decent bedroom level tones, it does a pretty fair job.
hal9000
Well-known member
For going direct, I much prefer a Hot Plate on my F-100 over using the recording output.
This setup is similar to what I use, except with my F-100 in place of the Valvetech VAC 22:
The beauty of this setup is I get post power amp FX from the XTL and I have many different cab sims to choose from.
As far as using the Hot Plate in a live situation it worked well for me up to -12 dB. I use it at home much more now since I've been using a G-Major in my F-100's loop that takes care of giving me good low volume performance. You can also try this setup below for getting great low volume tone:
If you already have something in the loop, look to see if the device has an overall master. IMO, the trick to getting great low volume performance from the F-series, is to get the red channel master over 9:00 and preferably to 10:00, then reduce the overall level in the loop so the volume is manageable.
This setup is similar to what I use, except with my F-100 in place of the Valvetech VAC 22:
The beauty of this setup is I get post power amp FX from the XTL and I have many different cab sims to choose from.
As far as using the Hot Plate in a live situation it worked well for me up to -12 dB. I use it at home much more now since I've been using a G-Major in my F-100's loop that takes care of giving me good low volume performance. You can also try this setup below for getting great low volume tone:
If you already have something in the loop, look to see if the device has an overall master. IMO, the trick to getting great low volume performance from the F-series, is to get the red channel master over 9:00 and preferably to 10:00, then reduce the overall level in the loop so the volume is manageable.
