No praise for the Badlander?

[Guitarfreak]

All Mesa Boogie amps are worth owning but for rectifier tubes vs diodes I prefer solid state for higher wattage amps because of the extra tube maintinence. If you got a million bucks yes but nobody is going to know the diffrence live anyway.

One thing to mention is that Mesa/Boogie puts a lot of effort into their preamp sections to replicate older/sucessful model tones going into those outputs but best to invest in the amps that have the output power you desire pref 90-100 Watts. I scaled down from a 60/100W MK III 4x12 to a Nomad 45 1x12 20 years ago. Now I want my 60/100 back with a good 4X12. You can always use a ts8 or whatever.. Never needed that. I used to run one in the effects loop also sounded killer!

 

[bandit2013]

I was thinking about the OD in the FX loop, was not sure if the line level would be suitable for something mostly meant for front end.

Based on the Dual and Triple Rectifier amps, I would agree and disagree here. Older models that had the means to switch between Diode vs Tube rectification, I would agree with the diode being better for most work. However, going to spongy power (variac on the MWDR) and using the Tube rectification has a unique sound on its own. I feel the MWDR does a better job at bringing out the harmonics more so than the Roadster. However, where it makes a difference is the preamp tube choices. Roadster is phenomenal with the old 1989-1991 Mesa 12AX7 (Chinese Beijing Square foil getter tubes, aka 6N4-J). Those preamp tubes tighten up the response of the Roadster, removes most of the swamp and makes the amp suitable to run with a 7 string guitar. No pedal required. The MWDR has a different preamp design and have not explored the potential of that amp yet. Did not feel the need but will get easily swamped with the 7 string. To me the MWDR is more of a hot rod compared to the Roadster. Roadster is better served up with a colder power tube like reds or yellows where as the MWDR is just fine with a hotter tube in the grey range.

Sometimes tube rectification tracking has its value and sometimes it does not.

The use of the 5U4GB tube in the Mark V90 never made sense but is required for the 10W power mode. It is there for a purpose. I never liked using the tube tracking on CH1 and CH2, all it did was drop the output levels.

So back to the BAD, only has the silicon diodes for its power supply, No 5U4GB tubes to deal with. That I can agree, one or two less tubes to deal with. If you need to explore the similar effect the Bad does have a Variac power mode which does bring the Bad crunch a bit closer to that of the Rectifier characteristic.

This morning I moved the other bad amp so I can run it side by side to the other. I wanted to compare the STR445 (JJ 6L6GC) with the STR447 (EH EL34). Much more low end, lower mids to upper mids with the STR445 tubes, it has a meaner voice to it than the EL34 tubes. Good overall saturation effect with the SRT445 greens vs the STR447 green + blue parings. Not sure if this musical content can be captured with microphones but I will give it a try and see how that turns out. Now that I have the stock tubes from the Mark VII loaded in the one bad, I will have to compare the Mark VII to it. I am curious how different it will be. I would not doubt there may be more gain on tap with the Mark VII but is there more gain? is it just a perceived effect based on sound levels or its there more gain or distortion since they basically share almost identical lead drive circuits (almost meaning I did not map out the dc blocking caps, cathode bypass capacitors, and control grid network between stages). The Mark VII (JP2C, and other amps with the GEQ) have the 5 inductors used with caps and resistors for the boost/cut of the tone at the notch frequencies 80Hz, 240Hz, 750Hz, 2200Hz, and 6600Hz. So why list this obvious mention? The Badlander has a single inductor of the same type used in a Mark amp, of which I would assume is for tuning purposes to address the vocal character of the EL34 power tube. No schematics so it is just a wild guess. Not used as a power choke as this is a small signal inductor. I could have looked at the label more closely but failed to do so.

I also have not found the Mesa 5BGEQ yet, got the empty box, just no pedal. Curious what that will sound like with the Badlander FX loop. I could use the Boss EQ-200 but that units does not have the same notch frequencies and the boost/cut is much greater than the Mesa GEQ. I hope I find it before I begin the comparison to the Mark VII. No need to swap tubes between amps as I did get more of the STR445 but in yellow bias color. Will also have to listen to the difference between the STR445 and the STR448 as I felt that had tube was similar but with more airiness to the tone. Curious to find out how the STR415 tubes will sound in the BAD. Not sure I want to pull them out of the JP2C at this time.

 

[bandit2013]

Okie dokie smokie, time to light up another spleef. Just joking, I do not smoke weed, but if you have it go ahead and puff away.

I spent close to an hour this morning comparing the Badlander loaded with the STR445 (green bias color) tubes to the Mark VII loaded with STR445 yellow

and a pair of STR448 yellow [outer]. (I did the mix of tubes as this improved the note definition to some degree, the STR448 improved the low end a bit but what is used in the center pair define the overall character of the amp, it is simul-class afterall. )

Bottom line and the takeaway from the experiment: Preamp is loaded with the stock Mesa 12AX7 tubes in both amps.

BAD with EL34 tubes is much closer to the Mark VII when comparing crunch to crunch and crush to VII modes. The Mark VII may have a perceived advantage in the gain department, or shall I call it usable distortion and compression. The EL34 tubes do have limits on its sonic footprint. I feel it sounds really good, more old school so I will go back to those after the experiment ends. Hoever, after hearing the Badlander with the STR445 greens, that sort of changed my mind if I wanted something more aggressive than the Mark VII.

BAD with the 6L6GC STR445 (green) vs the Mark VII loaded with the same tubes described above.
Now the BAD has a different meaner voice to it, much more aggressive than it was with the EL34 tubes. Those STR445 saturate quite well in the Class A/B power section. So how does it compare now? Bad crunch was better than the MK7 crunch as I had more usable gain on tap. They sounded close but to get the Mark VII on par with the BAD, I had to use the GEQ to curb the midrange content. It was not bad without the GEQ but seemed to lack the low end I was getting from the BAD.

BAD crush vs MK7 VII mode: this is where they differ, the Badlander had more usable gain and was more aggressive than the VII mode on the MK7. VII mode was weak sauce compared to the deliverables of the Badlander in crush. That was a surprise (NOT, I compared the BAD to the JP2C and thought the BAD was more of a Poor man's JP than just a crappy Rectifier amp the pushed out. I spend some time on CH3 with the MK7, IIC mode, getting much closer but not quite the same texture of tone. IV mode was the hit, perfect match for the Badlander on crush sporting the STR445 tubes. From gain set to noon and the rest of the controls the same on both amps, Badlander was a notch above the Mark VII. Dialed back on the midrange control to 11am and that improved the match. Also had to use the GEQ to match the depth of the Badlander. Note the Badlander had better note definition, gain or useable distortion was about the same.
Pushed the gain to 2pm on both amps, Badlander had the advantage again of better note definition but the Mark VII was keeping up. I had to pinch some bass control off on the CH3, now set to 11:30 and the bad controls are all set to noon except for the channel master and the gain. Very close saturation levels and characteristics in the gain department. Now with gain at 3pm, Badlander was still holding its own, retained clarity in the note definition but the Mark VII was starting to loose composure and was beginning to swamp itself a bit. I did not go any farther with it as that hour was over and have to work today.

Sure, the Badlander may appear to have less gain and low end but that is with the stock tube intended for the amp, Mesa STR447 (EH EL34) tubes. On the flip side, the Badlander actually has more on tap when you run with the STR445 (JJ 6L6GC) tubes. As I said after getting the first Badlander, I thought it sounded much closer to the JP2C (loaded with the STR443 tubes or the STR440 tubes). At the time, I kept the EL34 tubes in the BAD but did explore what Mesa 6L6 tubes I had on hand, STR440, STR441, STR443. It was OK but did not overly impress me. Then came along the STR448 (TAD red-base 6L6GC) and the set had a grey bias color. Awesome in the JP2C and just as awesome in the Badlander. Ordered a second set, bummer they came in red bias color, totally lame in either amp. The Badlander is just like the JP2C, it needs to have that power tube distortion to complete its task. The Mark VII or other Simul-Class Mark amps are designed to improve on the tube saturation (distortion) using the Class A sockets (it is not a true class A, it is more Class A/B push pull but biased to conduct more than 80%, also called extended Class A, push/pull which is just Class A/B with a fancy name) and the other sockets are just for support which operates in Class A/B but probably closer to Class B than A/B.

I will probably get some negative feedback on that comment. That is fine.​

 

[soloistthree]

Okie dokie smokie, time to light up another spleef. Just joking, I do not smoke weed, but if you have it go ahead and puff away.

I spent close to an hour this morning comparing the Badlander loaded with the STR445 (green bias color) tubes to the Mark VII loaded with STR445 yellow

and a pair of STR448 yellow [outer]. (I did the mix of tubes as this improved the note definition to some degree, the STR448 improved the low end a bit but what is used in the center pair define the overall character of the amp, it is simul-class afterall. )

Bottom line and the takeaway from the experiment: Preamp is loaded with the stock Mesa 12AX7 tubes in both amps.

BAD with EL34 tubes is much closer to the Mark VII when comparing crunch to crunch and crush to VII modes. The Mark VII may have a perceived advantage in the gain department, or shall I call it usable distortion and compression. The EL34 tubes do have limits on its sonic footprint. I feel it sounds really good, more old school so I will go back to those after the experiment ends. Hoever, after hearing the Badlander with the STR445 greens, that sort of changed my mind if I wanted something more aggressive than the Mark VII.

BAD with the 6L6GC STR445 (green) vs the Mark VII loaded with the same tubes described above.
Now the BAD has a different meaner voice to it, much more aggressive than it was with the EL34 tubes. Those STR445 saturate quite well in the Class A/B power section. So how does it compare now? Bad crunch was better than the MK7 crunch as I had more usable gain on tap. They sounded close but to get the Mark VII on par with the BAD, I had to use the GEQ to curb the midrange content. It was not bad without the GEQ but seemed to lack the low end I was getting from the BAD.

BAD crush vs MK7 VII mode: this is where they differ, the Badlander had more usable gain and was more aggressive than the VII mode on the MK7. VII mode was weak sauce compared to the deliverables of the Badlander in crush. That was a surprise (NOT, I compared the BAD to the JP2C and thought the BAD was more of a Poor man's JP than just a crappy Rectifier amp the pushed out. I spend some time on CH3 with the MK7, IIC mode, getting much closer but not quite the same texture of tone. IV mode was the hit, perfect match for the Badlander on crush sporting the STR445 tubes. From gain set to noon and the rest of the controls the same on both amps, Badlander was a notch above the Mark VII. Dialed back on the midrange control to 11am and that improved the match. Also had to use the GEQ to match the depth of the Badlander. Note the Badlander had better note definition, gain or useable distortion was about the same.
Pushed the gain to 2pm on both amps, Badlander had the advantage again of better note definition but the Mark VII was keeping up. I had to pinch some bass control off on the CH3, now set to 11:30 and the bad controls are all set to noon except for the channel master and the gain. Very close saturation levels and characteristics in the gain department. Now with gain at 3pm, Badlander was still holding its own, retained clarity in the note definition but the Mark VII was starting to loose composure and was beginning to swamp itself a bit. I did not go any farther with it as that hour was over and have to work today.

Sure, the Badlander may appear to have less gain and low end but that is with the stock tube intended for the amp, Mesa STR447 (EH EL34) tubes. On the flip side, the Badlander actually has more on tap when you run with the STR445 (JJ 6L6GC) tubes. As I said after getting the first Badlander, I thought it sounded much closer to the JP2C (loaded with the STR443 tubes or the STR440 tubes). At the time, I kept the EL34 tubes in the BAD but did explore what Mesa 6L6 tubes I had on hand, STR440, STR441, STR443. It was OK but did not overly impress me. Then came along the STR448 (TAD red-base 6L6GC) and the set had a grey bias color. Awesome in the JP2C and just as awesome in the Badlander. Ordered a second set, bummer they came in red bias color, totally lame in either amp. The Badlander is just like the JP2C, it needs to have that power tube distortion to complete its task. The Mark VII or other Simul-Class Mark amps are designed to improve on the tube saturation (distortion) using the Class A sockets (it is not a true class A, it is more Class A/B push pull but biased to conduct more than 80%, also called extended Class A, push/pull which is just Class A/B with a fancy name) and the other sockets are just for support which operates in Class A/B but probably closer to Class B than A/B.

I will probably get some negative feedback on that comment. That is fine.​

Well, all of these comments about the circuit sure do make me feel good about my assessment of the Badlander, to me and apparently a few others I know, it sounds like a Mark series without the EQ turned on and with less gain. Personally, I find the Mark VII mode set to about 1 o''clock gain, and the EQ on, to be exactly what I wanted the Badlander to sound like; big, punchy, not boomy, but with enough gain to get good sustain for leads and not sound too dry for rhythms. If the Badlander had the low end of the Mark series with 20% more gain, it'd be a keeper

 

[bandit2013]

The BAD will not get there with the EL34 power tubes, they are too subdued for that as it has a more vintage characteristic. I do like them though. However, replace them with the STR445 6L6GC power tubes and set the bias switch to 6L6 on the back panel, they same one's used in the Mark VII and the amp becomes much different. The Mark 7-VII mode is not even close. IV is a better comparison when the BAD is pushing air with the STR445 tubes when using the crush mode. Same could be said with the STR448 which seem to add a bit of air in the mix and not as in your face like the STR445. I explored the full potential of the Badlander I got, it was a pre-100 SN. After that, I was in debate if I should get another JP2C or Badlander. The Badladner won. This was before I got my hands on some new NOS STR415 from Mesa. That was a game changer for the JP.

I would not doubt the Mark VII would lose some teeth if I opted to run the EL34 tubes. I am curious to hear how it sounds, need to look at my tube stock and see if I have a reasonable set to use with the EL34 bias. I seem to have no desire to do it since the manual says shorter tube life, since there is no variac power switch like found on the Mark V90, not sure if the screen voltage will be too high. The STR447 tubes should be able to handle it.

Running the Mark VII, JP2C, Mark V90, Mark IV, Mark III (list of the Mark amps I have owned) without the GEQ in use on any gain driven channel sounds just awful to me. I need something to tame the mids. Not required with the BAD, RA100, TC100, TC50, MWDR, Roadster, California Tweed, Some amps do sound great with the GEQ like the TC100, made no difference with the TC50. MWDR and Roadster, does nothing unless you run an inverted V on the 5BGEQ pedal since the Rectos are too scooped in tone. RA100 with or without is fine. BAD, have not explored it yet with GEQ in the FX loop.

 

[bandit2013]

I like the flexibility of the Mark VII as it does have more than three flavors to choose from and three selectable channels. Badlander is three flavors of tone but you cannot switch between all three. No FX loop control, it is dedicated so what is in the loop will remain in the signal path. I do not see that as much of a hinderance as I only have been using one effect.

I found the Mesa 5BGEQ so I put it in the FX loop of the Badlander. I believe I tried it before but may have been the Boss EQ-200. Not required when using the STR445 6L6GC tubes. The Badlander has some sort of pre-canned tuning which may explain the small inductor on the PCB. The Triple Crown has one as well.

Anyway, with the 5BGEQ in the loop, it acted more like a booster. Forgot this thing had input and output signal adjustments. With that in the FX loop, it was a Mark series killer. Have to try this amp with the open back 4x10 cab and see if I get the same effect as I did with the JP2C. The Mark VII was just OK with the 4x10. Badlander with the EL34 loaded in the amp did not provide favorable results. Sort of want to try the open back 112 cab I stuffed an EVM12L classic into. Bad with the STR445 tubes becomes a different animal. Getting hooked on those tubes. The STR448 are 6L6GC tubes that turn the Bad into a beast as well. Need to find what I did with the grey bias color set. Have them in yellow as well.

I am not one that gives up easily and will explore the potential of the amp, heck I still have the 2012 Mark V90 and that was the most disappointing Mesa amp I ever owned. However, since the BAD and Mark VII are still new and under warranty, I have only been using the Mesa branded tubes. Sure, I have other preamp and power tubes without the Mesa blessing. More current production brands like Mullard, Tung Sol, Svetlana, Preferred series, and JJ. A few NOS preamp tubes too. I just did not see any need to roll in the preamp tubes of the BAD but I did try out several of them just for kicks. The Mark VII, yeah, had to replace two preamp tubes as I had issues with microphonics.

Since I am running 2 BADS, one JP2C and the Mark VII in my rig, I do not have need for all 4 amps pushing air with the 6L6GC tubes. Mixing in the two BADS with the EL34 tubes really makes for a sonic bliss. However, the 6L6GC experiment has proven to be interesting so that may change things a bit.

 

[bandit2013]

I will have to try out the STR445 yellows. bummer, I only have two quads of those and one is in the Mark VII. I could split up the greens and yellow pairs and run them in the two BADS. That would complete my sound and help remove the wall paper in my neighbors home, I am getting tired of seeing it on their wall through the window across the street. Ok, no, I am not staring at my neighbors, it is just a pun. I believe I am hooked on the BAD STR445 configuration.

 

[bandit2013]

So during the experiment, I had remembered I had one pair of STR448 (outer sockets) in the Mark VII. I found the STR445 pair in yellows and swapped the STR448 so it was a full quad of STR445 vs STR445 in both amps. It seems that made the two amps sound basically the same, Mark VII vs Badlander 100.
IV mode = Crush in every way. The other mode like crunch were a bit different.

Oh the Joy of running both in parallel. I am stoked. Have to load up the other BAD with the STR445, set up the rig again using the 2 BAD, Mark VII and JP2C. I want that wall of sound again but this time it will be much more than I have imagined. At least the V212 cabs make it easier to fit in the room, if I had opted for all 412 cabs, that would be a tight squeeze.

I believe I have worked out what I need to begin on a video project. Perhaps this weekend. Doing the setup and stuff is a pain, but I can see the value in doing this. Sorry if this is taking longer than expected. I do not do video stuff that often.

 

[bandit2013]

OK, time to check in at the local mental facility so I can stare at blank sheets of paper or one's with ink blots on them. What do you see? I see the fact I am not correct with everything I write down. I am flawed, a defect, I am a character witness to my own demise. Confucious say "Man who jump to conclusion trying to reach a higher level soon fall off ladder".

Hmm, so what now Ollie? I just found out much about nothing. There is that trait of the Triple Crown running the 6L6GC tube does impact volume. Badlander is no exception but not to the same degree of volume loss, just a little bit. I was getting set up to do a video to demonstrate the STR445 vs STR447 and then eventually compare it to the Mark VII. Well dang, there is a volume difference after all.

Now for some more fun facts. My first bad is a pre-100 build. The second one I got more recently, and it is post-1100 build. So what? That is not what makes it all that different except for the OT and PT are different transformers. They are not the same. Sort of makes me wonder if Mesa corrected their oops on the PCB as the pre-100 had one of the power supply capacitors directly soldered onto the legs of one of the bridge rectifiers. Now I have to open the amp up and explore to see what else may be different from the pre-100 Bad.

Simply put, other than the slight volume with the 6L6GC, the two Badlanders are equally aggressive and sound about the same. So why did I hear much of a difference when I compared the older BAD to the Mark VII? Time to get a hearing test as things are just not as they seem. As for gain character of the bad, it is bad-assed. My first impression of the first Badlander, it is a poor man's JP2C and is everything I would expect a mark amp to sound like. Back to square one and reinvent the wheel as it keeps rotating in a full circle. Oh well, time to retract from social media and crawl back under my rock.

 

[bandit2013]

Now things are getting interesting. Not only does the post-1100 build have different transformers, it has a different main board too. Just note if one notices, I put the EL34 tubes back into the older Bad just before I pulled the chassis of both amps.

Here are some images to compare since we all like pictures, right?

I will start with the obvious. This is the original release PT. Dated 11-17-2020.

This is the one I bought last year just before Mesa announced the Mark VII. I see it must have been collecting dust in the warehouse as it was date marked 12-9-21. Is that when they changed transformer vendors? Anybody know? Mesa is using the same part number, it is just a different resource or manufacturer.

The output transformers are also different. Same Mesa part number but not identical resource.
Here is the pre-100 BAD OT.

This is the OT on the post-1100 build.

Even the choke is different but probably does not matter much. Most people praise or complain more about the PT or OT than anything.

Now for the other details: What is inside?

The full gut shot of the pre-100 build. This is the Rev 5 of the Badlander.

Note the differences when you look at the other board. I will mention some now. At the upper left area where the PT wires mate with the board. There is a longer cap mounted to the board but the shorter one is not, it is soldered to one of the diodes. When you look at the next image you can see it was moved and placed on the board.

Post-1100 build, Rev 7 Badlander board.

In case you did not noticed, 4 of the diode rectifiers also changed from 1A to 3A capacity. Here is a closer view:

Pre-100: Rev 5 board:

Post-1100: Rev 7 board:

The layouts have changed in many other places as well. Now I have to see if the plate and cathode resistors are different. Time to see for sure. Also sort of wondering if there is any change to the configuration of the last gain stages. There seems to be plenty of relays in the area. The Curious Cat want to know.

 

[bandit2013]

Rest assured, regardless of Rev 5 or Rev 7, the preamp plate/cathode resistors measured on V1 and V3 are the same, no change. So what happened to Rev 6? Seems like a repeat of the same old story between the move of Mark V to Mark VII. I doubt there is any relation here. At least the two Badlanders sound the same when you run the same array of tubes in the amps. Odd that I did not notice much of a gain difference between the STR445 and STR447 but I did when I compared just the one to the Mark VII. Hearing fatigue or physical burnout is more likely the cause of perceptual differences. At least the Badlanders I have rip very well, will have to get them to gig level and compare to the Mark VII again. The 6L6GC (STR445) do have a slight advantage due to the extra low end and change in mid-range content. If there is any, it is not much of a difference. Running the EL34 has plenty of low end to start with. I give up now as this is going to circle around again I am sure.

 

[bandit2013]

Now that my ears are ringing, running the two bads with the EL34 tubes, I see no gain issues here. Pulled up the Mark VII and ran it against the one I had the STR445 in it before but this time the EL34 tubes I had in it from the start of this mess. Badlander still has about the same gain as the Mark VII. I really do not see much of a difference.

I think those that push the treble all the way up to squeeze as much gain as possible and dropping out the bass and midrage trick with a Mark amp may not work with the Badlander, tone stack is driven differently. Runing both amps dry with no effects in the loop is just plain out boring. Sure I can see that for some songs or parts of songs. But no reverb or any sort of delay for lead takes the fun out.

No point on going forward with the Video. Not much to reveal or learn in my opinion. I do want to do one but when? and what?

 

[rarebitusa]

IIRC it was Mesa's long time transformer vendor that closed shop rather quickly and left them scrambling. No surprise they ended up making changes to accommodate.

 

[bandit2013]

The only thing in the preamp that is Recto is how the tone stack is driven and how the FX loop is managed. This amp does not have the cold clipper gain stage in it like I had thought it would. My first attempt to measure components on the cathodes and to see if it had the DC coupled cathode follower circuit (it does) was done in error. 1.5k on the last gain stage was mistaken to be 15k. It was not until I decided to measure all of the plate and cathode resistors is when I realized this ain't no Recto amp, it is a Mark hybrid of sorts. So now what? You either focus on the tone stack driver circuit or the tone stack itself if you want more gain. Legendary Tones Scary mod or other of the models is more than likely an additional gain stage or two using the one tube and the other is probably the DC coupled CF tone stack driver circuit (this is assumed). Will it actually work in the Badlander that is mostly a derivative of the Mark preamp? The Scary mod takes the place of the V2 tube as that is the location of the DC coupled CF tone stack driver circuit. I found a reference for the original and used a 6C10 which was originally the Soldano hot mod. the 6C10 is a triple triode tube compared to the dual triode in the 12AX7. So the Legendary tones is just an additional gain stage and a DC coupled CF circuit. The images below are from the internet. I do not have either of these products, just an overview of what it is.

This is the tube that was used on the original design back in 1990.
https://www.tubedepot.com/products/6c10

Since the 6C10 tube is now as rare as others from that time period, Legendary tones recreated it with two 12AX7 tubs.

There are a few other models of this add-A-tube or stage. The original was more compact with the 6C10 tube but the cost is outrageous if you can find one and supply the NOS price for the tube itself.

I have seen a few videos but only one with a Mesa Rectifier. The comments were that the head shell had to be removed in order to use it as it required an adapter and with that it was too tall. If it is just and extra gain stage, nah, it be easier just to add a compressor/sustainer or boost/OD on the front end. At least with the compressor/sustainer if you get a good one it usually will be one of those turn it on and forget about it. I recall back in the day with the Mark IV and Mark III days, the Boss compressor was it for me. Now looking back, I really did not need it. I should pull out the compressor I have now and see how that works out.

It is interesting but would I be willing to use this in the Badlander? probably not. MWDR is a beast without any boost as is. Roadster, I woke that up with change in preamp tubes, both of those amps can grind away tone for days beyond the Badlander but do they have the same level of compression and saturation as the Badlander, absolutely not. Different preamp design and power section. The only thing related is the tone stack driver and the FX loop circuit (series type only) and it does not have the master volume control with solo boost. At least I found the right preamp tubes to use in the Roadster so that I can make use of the 7-string guitars with it. Have not yet experimented with the MWDR yet. As for the Badlander, right out of the box the amp works well with the 7-string guitars.

Funny, when you compare the Badlander to the Mark VII side by side, the gain and low end are there. Heck the Bad crush is more like the IV mode on the Mark VII than is the VII mode. Tone wise, you sort of lose a bit of the low end but gain loudness with the EL34. Change to 6L6GC the bad becomes more of a beast but the trade-off is reduced volume and more meat on the bottom. Different midrange content and the perceived gain from the amp seems to be much better if you compensate for the volume drop. Side by side Bad vs Bad, 6L6 vs EL34, there was only a slight difference in tone, attitude and gain characteristics. Depends on the bias color of the tube (Mesa branded ones). I will have to run a side by side test to compare the STR445 to the STR448 and see which I like better. At the time I got the STR448, I did not have the STR445 to compare too.

I am happy with the two Badlanders, Rev 5 (first release 2020) and Rev 7 (current production as of 2023). I do not feel it needs more of anything but exploring the possibility is always a good thing. As for doing any hard mods, no. Not going there. Is it worth adding an extra gain stage? probably not but not really sure if it would work to any advantage as the Bad is more of a Mark amp than a Rectifier with the cold clipper (no such circuit to be found in the BAD, I looked for it, not there.)