Mesa Maddness...NEW AMP DAY
- Thread starter dmraco
- Start date
P
ptirman
Guest
Congrats! I have a Stiletto Ace. Man are you going to be happy! :laughing7:
The stiletto Ace is billed as a "British Crunch" amp. I'm assuming the transatlantic is similar and not the Spanish Flamenco sound?
The stiletto Ace is billed as a "British Crunch" amp. I'm assuming the transatlantic is similar and not the Spanish Flamenco sound?
dmraco
Master Member
- Messages
- 4,655
Honestly...I am not real familiar with the other MESA products. I have never really played throught them. Their Reputation is AWESOME. I have always pegged them as strictly metal. Althought the Lone star offers some great tone too.
I picked this because it gives a nice variety. The 1st channel, the one on the left, offers fender like clean tone, but can be made to break up using the cut/master, becoming more VOX like. The second channel, the one on the right, has setting sthat match tweed/british/Mesa USA tones. Simply awesome.
What I really like is the switchable wattage. I can boost the watts on the clean channel giving more headroom while cutting the wattage on the dirty channel causing great gain and breakup.
My only beef is no effects loop but I have never used them much anyhow. Looking to keep this rig SIMPLE!
I picked this because it gives a nice variety. The 1st channel, the one on the left, offers fender like clean tone, but can be made to break up using the cut/master, becoming more VOX like. The second channel, the one on the right, has setting sthat match tweed/british/Mesa USA tones. Simply awesome.
What I really like is the switchable wattage. I can boost the watts on the clean channel giving more headroom while cutting the wattage on the dirty channel causing great gain and breakup.
My only beef is no effects loop but I have never used them much anyhow. Looking to keep this rig SIMPLE!
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
Epic Member
- Messages
- 8,318
I saw that in the GC flyer. The multiple wattages looked cool.
TBurst Std
Hero Member
- Messages
- 3,322
Congrats
O
OzziePete
Guest
Cletus said:
+1............ lunchbox amp that kills..Soundwise it is probably gunna sound like an AC15 on 'roids and angry pills.
Congrats on the new purchase.... :icon_thumright:
O
OzziePete
Guest
DMRACO said:
Does the amp need?.....
More cowbell?
dmraco
Master Member
- Messages
- 4,655
Spend some time last night playing. I kept the second channel mostly on 5 watts. I did some switching to the 15 and 25. (I believe the 5 and 15 are class A power while the full 25 is Mesas Dual rectifier power setting). Changing the power really adds volume but also changes the tone a bit giving it some additional chime. The tweed channel is exactly that, sounds like a vinage Fender tweed amp. This is great for my strat and single coil stuff but I am not fond of the tone with my humbucker equipped guitars. It gets a little too muddy for me. Most of my time is spent on HI1 and HI2. HI1 gives a real classic British tone. Very Marshal-esq. Messing with tone and bass and dialing back the gain gives more of a VOX type sound. I can even get close to my Orange set up. I have to assume speakers make a change here. I am currently playing thru a old VOX 2x12. I have an Orange 2x12 with two celestions V30s...Can I plug a cab that is rated at 16 OHMS in a an 8 or 4 OHM inputs? I always though as long as the numbers were higer on the cab you are OK?HI2 is not that much different but adds some more gain and give more of and USA rock tone...adjusting the gain really effects this channel and is very wide in range. I need more time here to fully evaluate.
The Clean channel is awesome. With tone, bass, and cut (this kida sweeps the mids) this really is adjustable. The nornal/boost simply boosts that channel and makes it much more bright. With the CUT/MASTER, pushed in, it works as the cut and the channel is completely clean. Need more head room, just up with wattage! Anthing higher than 15 watts and my ears were hurting. This channel can be very bright. My biggest worry about getting rid of my fender was loosing that fender clean. After using the Mesa, my worries are gone. This thing is CLEAN. I have often found myself dialing back the tone because it was so bright. I found playing the NORMAL mode more pleasing that the bright.
If I pull out the CUT/MASTER, the channel now has a master volume. If you start to krank the volume and dial back the master, the channel will start to break up at lower volumes, especially at lower wattages. This is VERY VOX like in tone.
I hope this helps. Like I said I need some more time to really get a feel of the amp's potential. I am going to order a 1x12 AVATAR with a Celestion 30 watt G12H30 70th Year Anniversary special. I have found it adds a little more warm low end over the V30. When funds allow, I will add a 1x12 with a V30. I have heard that combo is killer.
More to come...
The Clean channel is awesome. With tone, bass, and cut (this kida sweeps the mids) this really is adjustable. The nornal/boost simply boosts that channel and makes it much more bright. With the CUT/MASTER, pushed in, it works as the cut and the channel is completely clean. Need more head room, just up with wattage! Anthing higher than 15 watts and my ears were hurting. This channel can be very bright. My biggest worry about getting rid of my fender was loosing that fender clean. After using the Mesa, my worries are gone. This thing is CLEAN. I have often found myself dialing back the tone because it was so bright. I found playing the NORMAL mode more pleasing that the bright.
If I pull out the CUT/MASTER, the channel now has a master volume. If you start to krank the volume and dial back the master, the channel will start to break up at lower volumes, especially at lower wattages. This is VERY VOX like in tone.
I hope this helps. Like I said I need some more time to really get a feel of the amp's potential. I am going to order a 1x12 AVATAR with a Celestion 30 watt G12H30 70th Year Anniversary special. I have found it adds a little more warm low end over the V30. When funds allow, I will add a 1x12 with a V30. I have heard that combo is killer.
More to come...
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
DMRACO said:
Plugging a cabinet into inputs wouldn't do much for you. You would be better off plugging them into outputs <grin>
But, to answer your question, mismatching impedances is poor practice. You can get away with it to a certain degree, but how long you can do that without damage is difficult to quantify. Audio transformer and speaker impedances aren't really etched in stone, as they're frequency dependant.
Generally speaking, tube amps will tolerate lower impedances better than higher ones, while transistor amps are the opposite. So, you could plug a 4 ohm cab into an 8 ohm output on a tube amp, and the world wouldn't end immediately.
But, you should be aware that running lower impedances causes higher current flows, which will heat up your output transformer. Eventually, it may fail due to thermal stress. Running higher impedances will cause voltage reflections back into the amp, which may cause arcing in your power tubes, puncture filter caps, or short rectifiers. So, mismatch at your peril.
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
Epic Member
- Messages
- 8,318
If it's 2 speakers in a 16 ohm cab, is it more likely it's (2) 8 ohms in series, or (2) 32 ohms in parallel? If it's the 1st scenario, wire them in parallel and then you'll have no issues.
Jet-Jaguar
Hero Member
- Messages
- 515
How does that sound at low wattage? Can it do "Quiet" and "Good?" The reason I ask is that I see it, and the Mesa Boogie Express, have those "5w/50w" (or 25w) switches.
dmraco
Master Member
- Messages
- 4,655
Jet-Jaguar said:
Even at 5W this thing cranks...On the dirty channel you have to get the volume up past the 10 o'clock setting to start to get real loud. Tone is good with the 5 watt even at lower volumes. On the dirty channel you can get it to break easily creating a dirty VOX like tone even at low volumes. this is even more easily done with the top boost mode.
Crank it up to the 15 and 25 watt and thing thing with drive a 4x12 like a mutha...
This amp replaced my 40 watt Fender Hotrod....that amp was useless in the bedroom setting. Any volume past 1 and my ears were ringing for days.
Wana_make_a_guitar
Hero Member
- Messages
- 2,793
Man, I soo want one, but for the 'affordable' Mesa, it's still friggin expensive over here.
As for switchable wattage, it would in no way compare to Egnater
As for switchable wattage, it would in no way compare to Egnater
dmraco
Master Member
- Messages
- 4,655
Wana's made a guitar said:Man, I soo want one, but for the 'affordable' Mesa, it's still friggin expensive over here.
As for switchable wattage, it would in no way compare to Egnater
Was that the Tourmaster? I looked at those too. Very nice amps with many choices of tone. It however was a full size deal. The switchable watts go from 10 to 100 watts! Amazing! It was also $1400.
I also looked at the Egnater Tweaker and loved the tones. However it was 15W and not switchable. Also...it was a single channel amp. they at least needed a footswitch for OD.
Lastly, the Egnater Renegade 20 you can dial anywhere from 1-20 watts, but alas, it did not have the tones I desired and was single channel without a footswitch.
Hard to believe I just briefly outlined 4 AWESOME amps here that can go from the bedroom to the stage and sound great doing it!. I think we have some great choices for boutique sounding amps at GREAT price points. Another I tried was the Blackstar HT5....amazing if you are in to Metal.
Needless to say I have spent a huge amount of time at Guitar Center....they have a wide selection of amps that even includes ORANGE and BOGNER! And for the most part the sales folks have been great! I guess I am lucky.
