Studio Pre...Please teach me about them

[Turumbar82]

I'm interested in a the Studio Pre's. I know a lot of people here love them. Does anyone have some good recordings of how they sound? Does anyone have a manual or anything that I can read to find out more about them?

Thanks for your input guys!

 

[MetalMatt]

A few board members have made some recordings. The only one I can remember at the moment is FastRedPonyCar. Look around here and Youtube for clips of his

Check out
Marco Sfogli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqOomFjGfGg

For a manual http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/user_manuals.htm

I sure you have already read about the studio pre. I will add... It is, along with the Quad pre, one of the best products Mesa has made. The lead channel is to die for. The clean channel is very nice as well. 8)

 

[Turumbar82]

Thanks for the info. I read the manual yesterday after I posted this realizing it would be on the mesa page.

Thanks for the link.

How would you describe the lead channel? From what I read it's similar to a Mark IIC+ sound? So it has the capability of doing a tight metal sound?

You essentially can get three sounds footswitchable right? Clean, Lead, and Lead + EQ?


I've seen them go for such low prices so I'm really interested in them.

 

[Turumbar82]

Thanks for the info. I read the manual yesterday after I posted this realizing it would be on the mesa page.

Thanks for the link.

How would you describe the lead channel? From what I read it's similar to a Mark IIC+ sound? So it has the capability of doing a tight metal sound?

You essentially can get three sounds footswitchable right? Clean, Lead, and Lead + EQ?


I've seen them go for such low prices so I'm really interested in them.

 

[Tubes Rock!]

Thanks for the info. I read the manual yesterday after I posted this realizing it would be on the mesa page.

Thanks for the link.

How would you describe the lead channel? From what I read it's similar to a Mark IIC+ sound? So it has the capability of doing a tight metal sound?

You essentially can get three sounds footswitchable right? Clean, Lead, and Lead + EQ?


I've seen them go for such low prices so I'm really interested in them.

I just got one of these on evilbay. I'm so glad I made the purchase. It's the best sounding preamp I've ever played. I've owned a TriAxis, and that was nice, but this thing has that analog tube warmth, the TriAxis was missing... I simply love it man. Very high gain..

 

[reo73]

I acquired my Studio Pre about 2 years ago and have not had second thoughts since. And this is coming from a guy who went thru about 8 amps in 8 years. The Studio Pre for me is everything I want in an amp.

Here is a clip that I did a while back that shows a medium cruch tone and it's lead tone....

http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=24622

 

[reo73]

And to answer your questions...yes it will do a tight metal sound ala Metallica AJFA. It is reported to be as close to the IIC+ tone as anything out there but regardless of how close it is it is a great sounding preamp in it's own right. The clean channel is very chimey and gorgeous.

 

[JT_Marshmallow]

I cannot recommend the Studio Pre enough. I bought mine in January and haven't fantasized about another amp once (ok, maybe I fantasized about a few poweramps but THATS it...)

As for the tonal possibilities, its got gorgeous cleans and juicy, singing, almost vocal-like lead tone. As for that tight metal sound, by my standards its a great metal amp. But I'm not much of a metal player any more. For metal rhythm guitarists where thats all they play, I wouldn't recommend the Studio Pre. Mainly because it does not have a massive amount of gain on tap. Once you max out the Lead channel's gain, you then have to resort to the Volume knob which controls how much signal is fed into the circuit. Once you get into the higher range of the Volume knob you get some nasty farty sounds like as if the signal is maxing out, or like there's "too much" signal. I do use the Volume knob in small doses to add a bit more attitude once I max out the Lead Drive, but as far as I know, the Quad has a bit more of that heavy MarkIII-like chunk which might be what you're looking for. (The Studio Pre has no Mark III influence on its design, where the Quad was designed later and Mesa had implemented a bit of that Mark III character.)

At this point I'm primarily a Jazz/Fusion player so I like my high gain lead tone to be dripping with mids. That's why I LOVE the Studio. But nonetheless, the thing still sounds great when those mids are scooped as well. The 5-band EQ opens up a whole world of possibilities. If you go easy on the Volume knob and use high-output pickups and/or a transparent clean boost pedal, you'll get some great metal rhythm sounds. Though if thats all I played, I'd go for an amp that will give me all that gain natively without the pedal.

So if you're looking for incredible lead tone, incredible clean tone, and incredible hard rock CRUNCH, its all in the Studio. If you want all that plus a terrific Mark III chunk, go for the Quad.

 

[Turumbar82]

Thank you all for your input.


I've been saving like crazy for my next big purchase and I'm torn on what to get.

I'm between a Studio Pre (because it's cheaper) a Triaxis (because of all the features) or just going with a Mark IV head. The only one I've ever played on is a triaxis multiple times at the GC when I was living in West Palm Beach. I liked the Triaxis a lot but I'm open to trying all other possibilities in the search for great tone.

 

[axisman5150]

Turumbar,

Do you already have a poweramp? That's another thing you'll have to get unless you're using it direct. They sound good direct and GREAT through an amp.

I've never played a Triaxis so I can't comment on that, Mark iv is nice but one advantage the studio pre has is it's stereo so you can go with a wet/dry setup or run wet on both sides.

 

[Turumbar82]

No, I don't have a power amp yet. If I get a studio or a triaxis I will be looking into getting a used Mesa 50/50 probably for it. For the time being I would just run it into the effects in of my current tube amp.

I had a Single Rectifier and liked it a lot but felt it was a little lacking in the leads department. I'm looking for something that will give me a great singing lead tone. I've heard so many good things about the Studio's having a fantastic lead channel and they are so cheap compared to anything else like them. I mean the preamp and a used power amp would be cheaper than almost every other head out there.

 

[axisman5150]

The leads on this thing is SWEEEEEEETTT!!

You won't be disappointed.

What amp do you have?

I'm using my Studio Pre through a VHT 2/50/2 and it sounds great through it. That's another amp I would suggest as well.

 

[JT_Marshmallow]

If its a singing lead tone you're after, go for the Studio if price is a concern. If price doesn't matter, a used Quad or Triaxis will still give you terrific lead tone and then some.

To tell you the truth I believe that even a solid state power amp would sound great with the Studio. When Kurt Cobain used his Studio Pre's on tour he amplified them with solid state Crown power amps. Solid state power amps are cheaper and lighter to carry around, too. I went for the tube Peavey 50/50 because I got it cheap, but I think a good power amp will only make it sound better, where its not necessarily a requirement.

 

[zenabI]

I've owned mine for two months now and I completely agree with DMTransmutation, very accurate description of it.

It has one of the best lead sounds I ever heard of any amp. So if you mainly are a soloist who plays a lot of solos you will be happy the rest of your life with this amp, I can almost guarantee that you won't sell it.


If you want a tight Metal sound out of it you need to go easy on the bass knob though, it gives a lot of bass. It get flabby very easy so use the graphic EQ for adding bass instead and just have to bass knob at "1" as maximum.