Tweaking your Mesa

[NDRU]

Do you find yourself tweaking your Mesa more than your other amps?

My Fender Deluxe Reverb seems to pretty much always sound good with everything on 4 or 5, but the Mesa F-30 never sounds the same two days in a row.

Even in the same room, untouched, the same band, I find myself completely changing settings. I get it just right, and the next day it's all out the window.

The other day I even pulled the Bright Switch. The BRIGHT SWITCH fer crissakes!! :lol:

Are boogies made for knob twiddlers?

 

[GeoBull]

My experience is that Mesa's do *seem* to change from day-to-day. At least my mkiic+ is like that. Lone Stars much less so.

The tweaking I find I do is live: using Output to control volume, using the power-switching for different levels of dirt. I also tweak tone controls here and there as I know the general affects all the knobs will have on the sound. This allows me to e.g. go bass heavy for a certain song, etc.

The Lone Star feature set to me is really well done. My complaints are largely that ch. 2 never seems to quite get there (time for Reeder mod?)

I've heard people get great sounds out of Deluxe Reverbs. I've never been sure whether they were using reissue or actual vintage gear. I tried the '65 reissue recently with my Parker Fly Mojo (which has hot pups). I did not find a sound I liked a lot, no clean headroom, nor much variety by turning the knobs. I've noticed this as well with people who I've seen live with them. One great sound.

I don't use effect pedals (beyond the occasional stomp on the Zendrive); rather I prefer to get a variety of overall organic tones through the versatility of the Parker Fly Mojo (very versatile) and the features of the Lone Stars.

 

[NDRU]

Yes you're right about the Fender Deluxe. I use a reissue, BTW. They're not nearly as versatile, but I really like the "one great sound" they produce. Anything else you want to add you can do with a pedal (except clean headroom, of course!).

The versatility of a Mesa might be something to grow into, but it can be frustrating at times.

 

[Don]

I never find any of my amps to sound the same two days in a row!

So far, I've been happiest using my Express 5:50's channels backwards. Channel 2's Blues mode is my clean sound and channel 1's Crunch mode is my dirty sound.

As far as EQ'ing is concerned, I try not to mess with it too much at home. The amp sounds best from a minimum of about 10 feet or so away from it. I found mysel at home, getting frustrated, trying to tweak it so it sounded good from about 3 feet away.

My Vibrolux Reverb and tweed Deluxe clone seem to sound about the same close up and far away. Actually, I think I prefer the VR close up.

The MESA has been an education for me.

 

[ja22y]

I think you're talking about 'modern' vs classic 'amp. Yes the Mesa amp tends to give you all kind of options/features so you can tweak for days. IMO Mesa tries to be everything to everyone. The classic amp, like the Deluxe, is simple and has a couple distinc sweet spots. Just plug in, set and play, either you like the tone or you don't.

 

[NDRU]

I am still tweaking at the drive channel. I found a pot on the clean that I really liked (yesterday!) but the gain channel is elusive.

 

[MusicManJP6]

The F-30 combo I had was notorious for being a tweakers amp! I was always fiddling with it. I finally stopped when I put an EQ in the loop in a slight smiley face shape (VERY slight). I eventually sold the F-30 and got a RoV combo. Better, but still tweaked it alot. The Stiletto I just got seems to sound awesome no matter what settings and is VERY versatile. I can finally be happy with my tone and not tweak the knobs constantly!!

 

[srf399]

I have a 65 Deluxe Reverb... Very consistant. A MKIV I had was different every time I turned it on. The Stiletto is more like the Deluxe Reverb in consistancy

 

[crisis]

Its my first decent amp and I love it (Single Recto). But yes, I tend to tweak it a lot. To me its more about gilding the lily. I like the sound but it seems you can always milk a bit more out of it. The only real problem I think is that mine needs to be opened up more as in played a bit louder than we really can jamming so I never get to experience the love in practice.

 

[Old BF Shred]

The F-30 combo I had was notorious for being a tweakers amp! I was always fiddling with it. I finally stopped when I put an EQ in the loop in a slight smiley face shape (VERY slight). I eventually sold the F-30 and got a RoV combo. Better, but still tweaked it alot. The Stiletto I just got seems to sound awesome no matter what settings and is VERY versatile. I can finally be happy with my tone and not tweak the knobs constantly!!

I agree with this assessment of the Ace. My Ace (when it's working OK, that is) is pretty much set and forget. Sounds the same always, to me, although the 'Mid' control seems to have widest effect. My Triaxis/50-50 setup also is this way...all preamp modes, once set, are stable. The Studio cal 22 is a bit more finicky. Seems to change with the slightest bump, but even then it really smokes when those little tubes get loud and hot. Tone controls are most "sensitive" of all the amps.

 

[SCOTTY]

Here is why I think you have to tweek Mesas. It really is a professional product. Pros or hired guns have to be able to play all kinds of different styles therfore they need a flexible amp. Mesa gives you the tools you need to do that. However you need to be able to tweek it to meet your needs.

As far as the amp sounding different from day to day thats a mystery. Let me know when that mystery is solved..I'd lke to know why too.

 

[CudBucket]

That's why I like the Lonestar 2x12 combo so much. I never tweak it. I just turn it on and play.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Here is why I think you have to tweak Mesas. It really is a professional product. Pros or hired guns have to be able to play all kinds of different styles therfore they need a flexible amp. Mesa gives you the tools you need to do that. However you need to be able to tweak it to meet your needs.

I agree and I also think that some amps have more 'usable' settings than others. The more usable settings an amp seems to have the less I feel I need to tweak it. The Ace is the best example of this of any Mesa amp i've owned... And i've owned a few...