Solo switch volume trim on Single Rectoverb 50 combo

[dgfitch]

Hey guys, I have what is possibly a really stupid question! I've owned and loved this amp for quite a while, played through a few sets of tubes, and I should have figured this out by now. [I'm not sure if I have a series 1 or series 2. I think a series 1, but the manual for that shows reverb knobs on the back and I have 'em on the front.]

I have a stock footswitch. Works great, but the solo toggle is WAAAAY too loud. It's actually too loud for gigs. It's at least tripling the DBs. Crazy too much power, only useful for scaring people. I use a pretty middling-to-low gain on both channels, and generally stick to the "clean" and "vintage" settings.

Is there a way to adjust how MUCH the solo toggle amps things up? I don't have a solo knob and I don't see any adjustment on the back for this, but I could just not be looking in the right place.

I'm currently using a Jaques Tube Blower for overdrive, so that lets me do a similar thing and adjust the level a bit, but that's not the same as the solo switch on a clean channel. It would be great to just use the amp's solo switch if I could.

Clues appreciated!

 

[58boogie]

Reverb on front = series 2

Generally, the solo knob needs to be at or lower than the output knob. You should have a solo knob right next to the output knob (see manual below).

Turn your solo knob all the way down. Set you master and output at desired volume. If you toggle between output and solo on the footswitch you should hear no significant bump in volume. Now you can start tweaking the solo volume knob a little bit at a time, and you should hear an incremental bump in volume when you hit the solo switch. Set correctly, it is one of the most usefull features of this amp, and will give you that "solo" boost similar to hitting an overdrive pedal.

The solo knob is independant of the output. The only time you will hear that huge increase in volume is when you set the solo knob higher than the output knob.

Here is the series 2 manual:
http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/sRec_Sers2.pdf

 

[dgfitch]

That's what I'm getting at. My amp doesn't match either the series 1 or series 2 manuals.

It does have reverb knobs, but it does NOT have solo knob(s), just a solo light on the front, and there's nothing on the back for it either, so I can't figure out how to adjust the solo volume.

Here's a picture:

http://dan.mindfill.com/img/photos/20110801%20-%20amp%20front.jpg

I bought it new, but whatever original manual came with it is long since lost in the moves of history.

 

[58boogie]

That IS crazy! :shock:

It looks like someone did a modfication, because that input jack is exactly where the solo knob belongs. But since you bought it new, (btw, what year did you get it?), I would email that pic to MESA customer service oryou can also email the Mesa Hollywood store and ask them what you have.

It doesn't look like anything I have ever seen. Very Interesting. Please report back.

This is the store email:
[email protected]

 

[dgfitch]

Yeah, oddly in that crappy photo I took, the "solo" thing does look like an input but it's actually a light, like the channel light, that lights up when the solo button is on. (In the current setup, that means when the light is on, you are suffering ear damage.)

I bought the thing at Good n' Loud here in Madison WI in what must have been 2002 or 2003 but I didn't start seriously pushing it through its paces until 2007 or so. Maybe some amp gnomes came and screwed with it somewhere in the meantime just to mess with my mind?

 

[domct203]

That's what I'm getting at. My amp doesn't match either the series 1 or series 2 manuals.

It does have reverb knobs, but it does NOT have solo knob(s), just a solo light on the front, and there's nothing on the back for it either, so I can't figure out how to adjust the solo volume.

Here's a picture:

http://dan.mindfill.com/img/photos/20110801%20-%20amp%20front.jpg

I bought it new, but whatever original manual came with it is long since lost in the moves of history.

It looks to me that the shaft is broken off of the Solo control (pot). Easy fix for a decent tech.

Yeah, oddly in that crappy photo I took, the "solo" thing does look like an input but it's actually a light, like the channel light, that lights up when the solo button is on. (In the current setup, that means when the light is on, you are suffering ear damage.)

You'll need to post a pic of that. I see a broken potentiometer.

Dom

 

[fluff191]

It looks to me that the shaft is broken off of the Solo control (pot). Easy fix for a decent tech.

You'll need to post a pic of that. I see a broken potentiometer.

+1

Me too. Remember the shaft on the Mesa pots are black plastic.

 

[58boogie]

It does look like a sheered off knob! Whatever it is, (mod or sheered off knob), you should get it fixed back to original spec.

That solo knob function is one of the best parts of the amp.