Studio 22+ EQ Owners .... need your honest advice please

[ben ifin]

Hi all and particularly any past/present Studio 22+ EQ owners.

I have an opportunity to grab an old Studio 22+ EQ at a good price from a close friend who is getting rid of some studio gear and am thinking about grabbing it as a backup-amp to my Mark III 60w R&G Head.

As he is about a 5 hour drive away [ each way ] I am hoping to get some comments here first before I decide to go or not

My questions are purely about the clean channel on this amp.

-> how is the clean channel ? is it "chimey" like a Fender Deluxe R/I or is it a more " sterile " clean ?

-> is the clean channel " spongy " / " spanky " or is it a more lifeless/flat clean ?

-> I have a Mark III Rev and EQ non-simul-Head = is the Studio 22+ EQ Clean anything like the MKIII clean ?

-> does the clean channel start to break-up quite quickly once the volume goes up or does it have quite a bit of headroom ?

Many thanks in advance,
Ben

 

[Bob Anthony]

I like the clean channel in the 22+. More spanky than spongy, understand it uses EL84's, so it is more like an AC30 or Hiwatt type of sound than a Fender or Mk III. The reverb is not lush at all; it trails off, which might suit you if you like a little drier sound. The EQ is a nice feature--essential, even. The gain channel is definitely dirtier--there is a huge gulf between the level of the two channels and good tone can be hard to attain--but there is a lead drive mod many here have gotten YOU.MUST.DO.THIS...It gives you a lot of flexibility and you can dial in a much sweeter sound that isn't such a jump. Also, see what kind of speaker it has-Personally, I find the stock VS-12 nasally and 'honk"y, Mesa used a MC-90 made by Celestion, which offers much more clean headroom. Many also use an EV replacement which sounds amazing, but takes away one of the best things about the amp-its lightness. If you want more early breakup, a Celestion Vintage 30 is a popular option. Get it checked, esp. the PC board, you can try many kinds of tubes, it is a very good workhorse amp, quite versatile, with send and return and level control--It takes extension speakers well, sounds best with less effects...If you can get a good price, pull the trigger.

 

[tonejam]

Hi, I agree with just about all Bob said. You can get chime out of the amp, but a lot depends on the speaker. I use a Weber Blue Dog in mine, nice retro sound. Before you try the mod he mentioned, try a 12AY7 tube in V1, evens out the volume jump between channels quite a bit.
The clean channel starts to break up around 6 on the master volume, depending on how much gain you've dialed in.
You won't regret buying the amp, especially if the price is right.

 

[ben ifin]

Many thanks Bob and tonejam

If I grab the amp - and its looking like I probably will - I will only be using the clean channel and doing everything else with pedals - so the Ch1 <-> Ch 2 volume / balance / level issues thankfully wont arise for me [ .... btw I know about this sort of issue well as my MK III head needed the " R2 " mod and once I did it, it now allows me to perfectly balance and fine tune my clean / crunch / lead sounds perfectly on my MK III ]

Three quick last things please:-

-> from all reports this is a very-loud 22 watter so I am assuming that the clean can get quite loud before it starts to break up ?

-> I'm assuming that when the clean does start to break up it is [ hopefully ] a musical-clean-break-up *or* is it a harsh / un-musical clean break-up ?

-> from your comments, I gathering that the clean-sound / tone is a bit of a mix between classic-fender-clean and classic-boogie-clean ?

Many thanks again in advance,
Ben

 

[tonejam]

Yes, its a LOUD 22 watts. I used to brag that my .22 could give a Twin Reverb a run for its money. The break up on clean channel is very musical, as you would expect from most Boogies. Its probably more a mixture of classic Boogie clean, and Vox clean (although I've never owned a Vox), due to the EL84 tubes, as Bob mentioned.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that its a very bright amp, lots of tops. Anyway, good luck.

 

[Bob Anthony]

Yes, it is a bright amp, and the tone controls make a difference as you know, esp. the treble,.but it is worth getting, and if it isn't for you, will be easy to turn around.

 

[MrMarkIII]

The "+" means it has a separate Lead Master.
Eight knobs on the front panel.
The "+" model may or may not have the Graphic EQ.

 

[tonejam]

True, it has a lead master, but even with it, the volume jump makes life difficult, unless you've got the master set high.

 

[ben ifin]

Hi all

Firstly, my sincere thanks to Bob, tonejam, MrMarkIII and Roland for the advice via posts and pm's.

Your honest advice and suggestions and comparative comments have been invaluable and as such, I have decided to get the amp and paid for it and will be picking it up in the next week or two.

From what you have all said, in short, its clean wont be Fender-ish or Vox'ish or anything-else'ish tone...... it will be a Mesa clean tone and with a little bit of luck and tweaking, thats no bad thing.

I am extremely fortunate to have been offered it as such a friendly price that even if by some chance it just isn't my cup of tea, I will be able to on-sell it [ only for what I paid for it ] and get my money back, so in truth, it was always going to probably be a no-brainer - I'm too old and frankly cant be bothered to buy and sell gear for a profit so if someone does something for me, I'll happily pay-it-forward to someone else so that amp can have a good home ...... hopefully though, I wont want to.

Again, my sincere thanks to all of you and I'll report back when I get it.

Ben

PS: Now for another new thread as I am also looking for a new speaker box for my Mark III head.

 

[tonejam]

You're welcome Ben, glad to help.

 

[zoldt]

Ben, happy driving!
In 1991 I drove the 5 hours from Lubbock to Albuquerque (and back again on the same day) to pick up a Marshall 2150 combo which I still own.
http://s1367.photobucket.com/user/zoldt/media/Marshall2150MesaBoogie22Caliber_zpse61af116.jpg.html
Here it is sitting next to my .22.
Enjoy your new amp!