Mesa F-series Lounge. Come on in and share your secrets.

[mudbuddy11]

does the beam blocker help for the f-50 as much as they claim? I just dont want the beam blocker to color the tone at any volume, except taking out ear-splitting harsh highs. I'm really thinking of installing one of these.... I also see that hal installed these between the cab and cover,,, while the website says to install it between the speaker and cab... is there a difference?

[AXEL276]

Thanks for the suggestion Axel, but is it REALLY that different when you play it at low volumes?
What happens when you play it low, is there a buzzing sound? or what is it?

IMO, it's like night and day. So much so that I rarely ever play the f-50 anymore except for gigs where I can turn it up. At bed room volumes it's just plain uninspiring. Using an attenuator (I use a Hotplate) sucks tone big time and the FX loop mod really doesn't drive the power tubes. All it does it shrink the pre-amp signal way down. So the tiny signal your sending from the pre-amp to the power tubes really isn't enough to drive them hard unlike and attenuator, which reduces the overall signal to the speakers. In either case, for low volume application there are way better amps at a fraction of the cost. Like I said, I use my Trademark60 at home all the time and actually use a Marshall VS65R which I leave at band practice. The F-50 only goes out if I'm able to turn the master up to 3 or more and that is way to loud for in the house.

[hal9000]

does the beam blocker help for the f-50 as much as they claim? I just dont want the beam blocker to color the tone at any volume, except taking out ear-splitting harsh highs. I'm really thinking of installing one of these.... I also see that hal installed these between the cab and cover,,, while the website says to install it between the speaker and cab... is there a difference?It isn't so much about the F-50 in particular, but speakers in general. Since guitar speakers by nature have a laser beam of treble dead center on the dust cap, they can be very harsh and directional. Some speakers are worse than others with the Vintage 30 usually being cited because of its mid-spike. What the Beam Blocker does so well is 1) block the treble beam dead center with the speaker, and 2) redistribute the highs with the rest of the frequencies so there is no longer a huge change in how the speaker sounds moving across its face. Before, when I would stand dead center of my F-100's speakers I could hear my amp great with my earplugs in, but when I'd take them out the treble would be overbearing. Now with the Beam Blockers, the sound stage where I can hear the whole frequency response (i.e., the "Sweet Spot") is much larger and there is no laser beam of treble to take off my audience's heads. Also, the tone is exactly the same, but much better presented if that makes sense.

As far as mounting goes, most amplifiers have T-nuts to secure the speakers so that the only way to install the Beam Blocker is between the speaker and baffle. Mesa uses machine screws and nylon locking nuts which are much more rugged IMO so you have access to both the front and back. Since I didn't want to have to worry about deforming the speaker gasket to install the BBs, it just makes sense to put them on the front. They work the same of course, with perhaps a little bit less treble attenuation off-axis because the doom of the BB is 3/4" farther from the dust cap.

[hal9000]

Thanks Neil!

We have to thank DT for the riff :) ... yes, it's FX send to UX2.

F50: contour on Gain and Treble 12:00 Mid 9:00 Bass 12:00
UX2: 1996 V30 cab - SM57 on axis 0%

My next idea is to try to route signal through SPL Goldmike mk2.

Other option is routing it through something like THD to get the power amp tubes on the chain... do you think it would benefit the sound noticeably?Tommi, I think the power section running into a load is indispensable for getting great tone. In fact, two of my clips aren't even possible without the power section distorting:

http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_F-100_Tuesdays_Gone.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Afraid_Dave_Superman_solo.mp3

The gain was at 8:30 on Channel 2 with the master @ 2:00 using my Fat Strat. :eek: If you've ever heard the amp that loud, it's got this unbelievable tone and feel, but will destroy your hearing in a few minutes. Also, there are some ridiculously great liquid solo tones to be had in that region that few people get to enjoy. With the Hot Plate you can do it all silently. BTW, the Gibson Power Stealth (rebranded THD Hot Plate) is currently only $200 from MF, so perhaps you can get one at a discounted price in Finland?

[hal9000]

Wow ! That amp looks awesome !!!!:thu: :love:Thanks! I still marvel at its good looks, even after all this time. :)

If you're handy with your hands, you can customize your F-50 without too much effort to look however you'd like. I'd caution against a re-tolex, but grill cloth, knobs, piping, etc. are fair game and relatively inexpensive.

[Tommi Inkila]

Tommi, I think the power section running into a load is indispensable for getting great tone. In fact, two of my clips aren't even possible without the power section distorting:

http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_F-100_Tuesdays_Gone.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Afraid_Dave_Superman_solo.mp3

The gain was at 8:30 on Channel 2 with the master @ 2:00 using my Fat Strat. :eek: If you've ever heard the amp that loud, it's got this unbelievable tone and feel, but will destroy your hearing in a few minutes. Also, there are some ridiculously great liquid solo tones to be had in that region that few people get to enjoy. With the Hot Plate you can do it all silently. BTW, the Gibson Power Stealth (rebranded THD Hot Plate) is currently only $200 from MF, so perhaps you can get one at a discounted price in Finland?
Thanks for the info/feedback!

I think my friend's friend have THD... maybe I'll borrow for a testdrive. Other options are Weber Minimass which has lineout as well and a technician I know. Perhaps he could build me full load with line out. I don't the load to be tweakable since I only need it for the silent setup. I'm tight on budget since I bought new LCD TV and DVD + Cubase 4 and Toneport etc. :D

PS. Your silent tone is still inspiring :)

[ashjn]

LOL, yeah eventually everything I own gets mod'ed in one way or another. Here are the current pics:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/F-100%20Cosmetic%20Mod/F-100Finishedobliqueright.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/F-100%20Century%20Vintage%20Install/F-100_CVI_Century_Vintage_Closeup.jpg

If you're curious about the cosmetic mod, I wrote a tutorial back in the day: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1182222

So far, my F-100 2x12 combo has:
1) Celestion Century Vintage speakers which lightened the amp by 13 lbs and still sound great.
2) Weber Beam Blockers for that "Not so laser beam treble."
3) New grill cloth, piping, vintage white knobs, and a blue jewel light for kickin' good looks. I knew it would look cool when I did the prototype, but people go crazy over how it looks so I'm flattered I made such an improvement with my own hands.

I may eventually open her up and voice a few things differently to taste, but nothing drastic.



Mesa should offer the F-Series like this as an option

[hal9000]

Mesa should offer the F-Series like this as an optionHa, if you read the tutorial thread another poster said basically the same thing. :)

I think Mesa tiers their amps by the color scheme a lot of the time meaning that if the F-100 was allowed to look like mine, it would cut into the Lone Star/Stiletto Ace combo numbers. Perhaps I'll email Mesa and ask them to add my F-100 to the custom gallery.

[Lt_Core]

Thanks for the info/feedback!

I think my friend's friend have THD... maybe I'll borrow for a testdrive. Other options are Weber Minimass which has lineout as well and a technician I know. Perhaps he could build me full load with line out. I don't the load to be tweakable since I only need it for the silent setup. I'm tight on budget since I bought new LCD TV and DVD + Cubase 4 and Toneport etc. :D

PS. Your silent tone is still inspiring :)

Hi Tommi,

Somehow I missed your PM from awhile ago, sorry about that. I tried the Mini Mass and really didn't care for it. 10 on the knob is no attenuation. The trouble is from 4 to 10 I didn't hear any attenuation, then it dropped quickly from 4 to 0. The previous owner also didn't care for that "feature"...LOL! I did like the treble compensator switch: 0db, 3db, 6db

I hear better tone by dropping the volume slider on my MXR 10-band EQ so I'm sticking with that right now.

[Tommi Inkila]

Hi Tommi,

Somehow I missed your PM from awhile ago, sorry about that. I tried the Mini Mass and really didn't care for it. 10 on the knob is no attenuation. The trouble is from 4 to 10 I didn't hear any attenuation, then it dropped quickly from 4 to 0. The previous owner also didn't care for that "feature"...LOL! I did like the treble compensator switch: 0db, 3db, 6db

I hear better tone by dropping the volume slider on my MXR 10-band EQ so I'm sticking with that right now.
No prob bro!

I basicly need a way to get the power amp tubes on the silent recording signal chain... and since I'm looking for full attenuation/mute and line out, Weber might be the thing for me. It costs about half of the THD around here.

PS. Treble compensator... not good since I can spend easily ten hours tweaking the settings with it ending up to the starting point :D

[Tommi Inkila]

Ooh!

http://www.spl-usa.com/transducer/2601_kurz_E.html

[hal9000]

Ooh!

http://www.spl-usa.com/transducer/2601_kurz_E.htmlNice! I figured the price would be in the high-tier ($1300). It's about time someone made a product like this.

[Surfcaster]

I'm good John, thanks for asking. I'm in the process of moving to the DC area, so I won't be as active around here for a while, but I'll try to check in every now and then.


Haven't been around much lately...just busy with life. Anyway, turns out your coming to my part of the country...well, close, anyway. I live a couple hours SW of DC in the Shenandoah Valley. Anyway, hope the move goes well for you, and welcome to the area!!

Those clips are great, Neil. I noticed those Gibson branded HotPlates at MF, but I don't really have $200 available right now. But shoot, getting that kind of direct tone may be worth $200. And I think I need a beam blocker for my amp. I'm using duct tape right now and it helps, but is certainly not ideal!

[hal9000]

Haven't been around much lately...just busy with life. Anyway, turns out your coming to my part of the country...well, close, anyway. I live a couple hours SW of DC in the Shenandoah Valley. Anyway, hope the move goes well for you, and welcome to the area!!Thanks! I'm from outside Richmond originally so it's a homecoming for me. I'm fond of the valley since I went to school in the mountains (VT) so perhaps we can meet up sometime?

[Surfcaster]

Thanks for the suggestion Axel, but is it REALLY that different when you play it at low volumes?
What happens when you play it low, is there a buzzing sound? or what is it?

My experience is that the fizzy top end is much more pronounced at low volumes, which is just rather unsatisfying to me. At higher volumes, the other frequencies develop more and you don't really notice this. And in my experience, there's no way around this issue (and I'm beginning to think it's as much a tube amp issue as anything...I've yet to find one that really sounds good at bedroom levels). I had a Weber Mini Mass, I've done the volume in the loop thing...in each case the result was no improvement over just turning the master down...in fact, I sold the Mini Mass.

So I mostly use the F50's clean channel at home, and I have a low-wattage tube amp that I had built for me that I use for dirty tones, though I still end up using a distortion pedal with it. It's a 15W amp (though with a 6V6 it's closer to 6-7W), but it still has to be just a bit louder than "family friendly" to sound good overdriven. I can get away with it for a few minutes, but not for long!

[Surfcaster]

Thanks! I'm from outside Richmond originally so it's a homecoming for me. I'm fond of the valley since I went to school in the mountains (VT) so perhaps we can meet up sometime?


I'd like that, let's keep it in mind.

[Tommi Inkila]

Nice! I figured the price would be in the high-tier ($1300). It's about time someone made a product like this.
Once I have the money I'll buy it :) ... I have high trust on SPL products.

While I was browsing that Transducer I ended their partner company's site and found this about F30 http://www.tonehunter.de/custommade/eng_ampmod.html#f30

[AXEL276]

My experience is that the fizzy top end is much more pronounced at low volumes, which is just rather unsatisfying to me. At higher volumes, the other frequencies develop more and you don't really notice this. And in my experience, there's no way around this issue (and I'm beginning to think it's as much a tube amp issue as anything...I've yet to find one that really sounds good at bedroom levels). I had a Weber Mini Mass, I've done the volume in the loop thing...in each case the result was no improvement over just turning the master down...in fact, I sold the Mini Mass.

So I mostly use the F50's clean channel at home, and I have a low-wattage tube amp that I had built for me that I use for dirty tones, though I still end up using a distortion pedal with it. It's a 15W amp (though with a 6V6 it's closer to 6-7W), but it still has to be just a bit louder than "family friendly" to sound good overdriven. I can get away with it for a few minutes, but not for long!

They ya go. From the first day I brought the F-50 home it was an on going battle to balance volume and tone when using the F-50 at home. In the end I have spent about the equivant of another F-50 on a Hotplate ( I already have a FX loop mod device) and finally another amp for home use. IMO the F-50 is a great giging amp. But it's not a "play at home" amp unless you either blast at home or don't mind using devices to limit volume or play very low. In either of these cases you will not bennifit from the potential of the F-50 or the cost to buy one. To the original poster on this subject, if you only plan to use the F-50 at home, save your money, buy a hybrid Fender, Marshall, or a Tech21 TM60. Any of these amps will give excellent tone at ANY volume.

[Progdude]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, they are really helpful :)
but there is a little problem, my friend and I have been hanging out quite a lot lately to play in his house and we can crank up the volume all we want, so that changes my decision.. i'm really undecisive..
just to know, at what volume do you guys have it for it to sound the best? like 2:00?
by the way, nice thread, really user-friendly.

[Tommi Inkila]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, they are really helpful :)
but there is a little problem, my friend and I have been hanging out quite a lot lately to play in his house and we can crank up the volume all we want, so that changes my decision.. i'm really undecisive..
just to know, at what volume do you guys have it for it to sound the best? like 2:00?
by the way, nice thread, really user-friendly.
Hey, welcome aboard :)

2:00 is ear bleeding... I normally have mine at 10:00 at band practises, when recording and gigs. The spot where the F50 starts to work is about 9:30...

Like others have said for bedroom levels something like Tech21 or Vox AD-series which I use is probably better option. I don't have yet tried to attenuate the F50 so I can't say how it sounds low levels then.

I can understand that it's not that easy decision... how about going for the F and then later on spare for cheaper home practise amp?

[AXEL276]

Hey, welcome aboard :)

2:00 is ear bleeding... I normally have mine at 10:00 at band practises, when recording and gigs. The spot where the F50 starts to work is about 9:30...


I forgot the F-50 volume works clockwise with 6 or 7:00 being 0. I agree the sweet spot for me is around 9 -9:30. The F-50 like most tube amps gets most if not all of it's volume in the 1 - 5 range and then just thickens up after that.

Progdude it sounds like your justifiying to yourself buying and F-50. Good luck if you do but as I've said, it's not a play at home amp. Yes you can play it at home but you will not bennifit from the tone of this amp or justify the price tag. But then again...it's your money, have fun:snax:

[Lt_Core]

I was reading the manual last night and noticed this under the Master volume's description:

"SECOND: They act as Effect Send controls for each Mode in the Effects Loop. As with many of the controls on the F-Series, the best results for balance and tone are usually found in the medium range of this control."

Why did they do that? Can someone explain that in English? Medium range so the Master should be around midnight? That will kill your ears...LOL!

"For the best results...Set the mix of your effect to 100% wet. Then dial in the amount of effect that you wish to hear, starting at 10% with the FX LOOP MIX control. The drier (closer to 10%) signal you use, the better your tone should be. This parallel type FX Loop allows the amplifier to retain its purity with the smallest amount of degradation due to possible effect impedance mismatching."

I've always ran the FX loop wet at the max 90%. What about you guys?

I'm also going to experiment this weekend (2 gigs) with not attenuating as much, dropping the masters a bit and hitting it with a boost or low-gain pedal like my Barber LTD to help cook the tubes a bit to reach decent distortion levels. I'm finding that pulling back the volume in the FX loop with an MXR EQ pedal is just crushing the dynamics of my clean channel. Add gain/volume to achieve tone, rather than subtracting from it. My new thought for the day ;) It may totally bomb. I'll have to see.

Oh, and I played a Stiletto Ace combo this past week at Guitar Center. OMG, I loved it! Very British sounding but still maintained that fluid Mesa drive in channel 2.:thu:

[Progdude]

hehe, I am on a thin line here, this opportunity doesn't come twice, my dad is at the moment convinced and I NEED to take the chance, otherwise I won't get either amp, and since I've checked out suggestions on the f50's tone it seems quite nice, with just few flaws, still, I am undecisive..
I'll be checking out this forum from time to time, and i'll update you guys with what i've come up with.
Thanks again.

[nifty50]

Progdude,

I PM'd you about a used F-50

hello to Andy and the rest of the F-series Gang.

Hal9000, thanks for the info on the FX loop master volume! It's working great.

I don't post much; but I read this thread quite often.



N-50

[jacksonps495]

Hey guys,
I have an issue with my pre-amp tubes on my F50. I pulled one out to check the model and tried to put it back in and got my pins all screwed up, i thought i straightened out the pins and got it inserted right, but the amp wouldn't make any noise except a really small amount of fuzz if i turned up the gain and master real high. As I was trying to fix my amp I got frustrated and started shoving tubes around and ended up breaking a different tube...so now I have to replace at least two of my preamp tubes.

I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions. I'd kinda like to get some preamp tubes that would allow me to get a better tone at a lower volume. I know this means it would probably lower the total volume I can get out of the amp, but as i've never even turned the amp above about 12 o'clock, thats not much of a problem for me. Any suggestions on the tubes i should use?

I

[hal9000]

Hey guys,
I have an issue with my pre-amp tubes on my F50. I pulled one out to check the model and tried to put it back in and got my pins all screwed up, i thought i straightened out the pins and got it inserted right, but the amp wouldn't make any noise except a really small amount of fuzz if i turned up the gain and master real high. As I was trying to fix my amp I got frustrated and started shoving tubes around and ended up breaking a different tube...so now I have to replace at least two of my preamp tubes.

I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions. I'd kinda like to get some preamp tubes that would allow me to get a better tone at a lower volume. I know this means it would probably lower the total volume I can get out of the amp, but as i've never even turned the amp above about 12 o'clock, thats not much of a problem for me. Any suggestions on the tubes i should use?

IWelcome to the forum and the F-series brotherhood! :)

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Mesa uses high quality ceramic tube sockets which have very tight pins. Also, the location of the preamp tubes behind the power tubes and output transformer makes it difficult to align them. I like the JJ ECC83s and Tung-Sol reissues. Mesa tubes are also good. However, the preamp tubes aren't going to make an impact in low volume tones at all. What you need is a way to attenuate the FX loop of the amp for really low volume playing. The solution I like best is in my sig, "FX Loop Master." If you want to test out the method, simply insert an unused cable into the FX Send jack and nothing else. Plug another cable into the FX Return jack. On the unused end of the FX Return cable, wrap aluminum foil so that there is a connection between the tip and sleeve of the 1/4" connector. Then, secure the connection with a rubber band. Now, adjust the FX mix pot to about 1-2:00. The amp should be sufficiently quieter than before, but with better low volume tone. You could also use a volume pedal, EQ, FX processor, etc. to got the same overall volume control.

[haleyes]

I am trying to set up a G-Major, a Behringer FCB1010 and a Mesa F-50 combo. I've been reading this thread for a while so I thought things would go smoothly.....but :cool:

Right off the bat, I'm not sure about settings on the G-Major and the F-50. I have a mono 1/4 cable going from the FX Send of the F-50 going to the input (mono) of the G-Major and a similar cable going from the G-Major output going to the FX return of the F-50. So far so good?

I notice that if I turn the FX mix to 90%, the volume goes down significantly. As I turn the mix toward 10% the volume increases significantly. Is this supposed to happen? I know the degree of effect is
affected, but the overall volume?

Can you share your G-Major input and output positions? Am I correct in that the output determines how much effect is sent to the F-50?

How do you properly set the G-Major input? The manual is not altogether clear about this, or it is but I'm not geeting it. :cry:

I'm going to be asking more questions than I originally thought, so bear with me. :thu:

I'm going to try the FCB1010 now....

larry

[hal9000]

I am trying to set up a G-Major, a Behringer FCB1010 and a Mesa F-50 combo. I've been reading this thread for a while so I thought things would go smoothly.....but :cool:

Right off the bat, I'm not sure about settings on the G-Major and the F-50. I have a mono 1/4 cable going from the FX Send of the F-50 going to the input (mono) of the G-Major and a similar cable going from the G-Major output going to the FX return of the F-50. So far so good?

I notice that if I turn the FX mix to 90%, the volume goes down significantly. As I turn the mix toward 10% the volume increases significantly. Is this supposed to happen? I know the degree of effect is
affected, but the overall volume?

Can you share your G-Major input and output positions? Am I correct in that the output determines how much effect is sent to the F-50?

How do you properly set the G-Major input? The manual is not altogether clear about this, or it is but I'm not geeting it. :cry:

I'm going to be asking more questions than I originally thought, so bear with me. :thu:

I'm going to try the FCB1010 now....

larryLarry, provided that you haven't changed the individual patch volume, you should be able to set both the input and output knobs on the G-Major to 12:00 and set the mix to 90% like I do. There will be some attenuation of the signal at that level, but I personally like the tone better that way. Your FX Send > G-Major input and G-Major Output > FX Return is right. You can also have a look at my rig (sig) which is basically the same.

[Tommi Inkila]

I also use the G-Major at both 12:00... and the FX loop about full on the F50. I found out that anything between the full and next-to-nothing position sounds awful. To me, it's much easier to set the effect levels when the loop is near full.

Another topic: ... have anyone tried the bigger Weber attenuators? I've been reading about the Mass Lite which would have better control and different mechanics compared to Minimass... well, THD testdrive should be this weekend so expect some clips :)

[Santuzzo]

Hi guys !

I have had my F-50 combo now for about 2 months or so, and I have been very happy with it.

I usually don't use reverb when I practice.
Today I wanted to use it and I noticed something weird:

The reverb did not seem to have much effect ..... (yes it was switched on in the footswitch).

I had to turn it up half-way to hear any reverb at all ..... :confused:

I played the amp kinda soft, so not cranked at all .... but I also tired turnig it up to about 9 o'clock but the thing with the reverb was still the same ....:confused:

Is that normal??? Or is there something wrong with my reverb?

Do you other guys who own an F-50 have had the same expericene with the reverb?

:confused:

This is really weird, isn't it?

[willburford]

After playing my F-30, I absolutely love it! :love: Awesome cleans, great high gain, great med. gain (my favorite gain setting is on the contour channel... gain from 9:00 - 11:00... it's wonderful). It's also ridiculously LOUD! Lol, I didn't know 30 watts could be so loud! But it's all good, it still sounds great at practicing levels (not as great as when cranked, but definitely not bad). So again thanks for all the clips / suggestions / etc.

And santuzzo, that definitely is not normal. I have an f-30, not an f-50, so it could be different but I'm guessing it's not. My reverb at about 9:00 for gain is perfect. For cleans it's usually around 11:00, and it's quite a bit of verb. It's got a ton of reverb on tap, and I usually turn it up to 2:00 - 4:00 for cool ambient stuff. Sad to say, I have no advice whatsoever on how to fix it, I'm just here to let you know that's not normal. :p good luck!

[Lt_Core]

Here are some current shots of my live rig. Enjoy!

http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/_threadpics/6-8_mesa.jpg

http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/_threadpics/6-8_guitars.jpg

http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/_threadpics/6-8_pedals.jpg

Photos taken from this show (http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/photos/photos/2007_06_08.html), it was a madhouse!

[Tommi Inkila]

Cool looking set Lt_Core!

...

while I'm waiting for the THD testdrive I routed the silent signal through my SPL... pretty nice already. I'm hoping to kick it up a notch with the THD.

http://www.scenerychannel.com/broadcast/silentmets.mp3

[Tommi Inkila]

Cool looking set Lt_Core!

...

while I'm waiting for the THD testdrive I routed the silent signal through my SPL... pretty nice already. I'm hoping to kick it up a notch with the THD.

http://www.scenerychannel.com/broadcast/silentmets.mp3
?!

Just recieved the THD for testdrive... and for some reason I think that things got worse. The sound is overly bright and fuzzy no matter what... time to investigate.

[Lt_Core]

Cool looking set Lt_Core!

Thanks, Tommi! My gear has completely changed over from year ago. I was a PODxt & Atomic amp guy with an SG and Telecaster...LOL! Funny how gear changes when you go to a real tube amp and no modeling. Sounds 10 times better and really cuts through a live mix.

[Tommi Inkila]

Yeah, tube is so much better than modeling... and still I'm trying to model the sound at the moment :D

Check the thread for today's tone efforts... no THD, for some reason it doesn't "work" in my silent setup.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1662430

[Santuzzo]

Hi guys !

I have had my F-50 combo now for about 2 months or so, and I have been very happy with it.

I usually don't use reverb when I practice.
Today I wanted to use it and I noticed something weird:

The reverb did not seem to have much effect ..... (yes it was switched on in the footswitch).

I had to turn it up half-way to hear any reverb at all ..... :confused:

I played the amp kinda soft, so not cranked at all .... but I also tired turnig it up to about 9 o'clock but the thing with the reverb was still the same ....:confused:

Is that normal??? Or is there something wrong with my reverb?

Do you other guys who own an F-50 have had the same expericene with the reverb?

:confused:

This is really weird, isn't it?

Anybody else have experienced something like this?

[Rodimus Prime]

so whats the consensus on the best speaker matched with this amp. I'm not sure how keen i am on the G12M-70 anymore.

[PowerDude]

Here are some current shots of my live rig. Enjoy!

http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/_threadpics/6-8_mesa.jpg

http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/_threadpics/6-8_guitars.jpg

http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/_threadpics/6-8_pedals.jpg

Photos taken from this show (http://www.naughtymonkeyband.com/photos/photos/2007_06_08.html), it was a madhouse!

Nice rig.
I've checked out you guy's site. It looks like you have a lot of fun when you play.
That's what it's all about, IMHO.

Do you use the EQ in the effects loop for volume control?
Do you bypass it for a volume boost, or just leave it on all the time?

[Lt_Core]

Nice rig.
I've checked out you guy's site. It looks like you have a lot of fun when you play. That's what it's all about, IMHO.

Do you use the EQ in the effects loop for volume control?
Do you bypass it for a volume boost, or just leave it on all the time?

Hi, I use it for volume control and leave it on all of the time. I use the MI Audio Boost N' Buff for solo boosts. The F-50 is so damn loud that I pull back the volume a bit using the EQ pedal. Works great.

Yeah, we have a blast when we play. We consider ourselves entertainers more than musicians. It's a lot of fun.

[opultaM]

Wow, never saw this thread til now. Had my F100 head since abpout Christmas. Love it. Switched from a 3 channel Dual Rectifier. The drive is much nicer, warmer, and less harsh. And the clean is no comparison; so much cleaner and fatter on the F. Not the biggest fan of the Contour (I boost my channel 2 for higher gain), but I need to try it on lower gain, as some earlier posts recommend.

I run it through a Marshall 4X12 with V30's at rehearsal/live, and a Rectifier 2X12 cab in my room. Sounds much better through the marshall, but maybe an attenuator will help at home. My USA Schecter Sunset 7 sounds great through it, but I recently played a nice strat on my F and fell in love. For boost i use a Lovepedal boost and it really just adds some saturation.

My friend recently bought a Lonestar and raves about it. But I payed a lot less money, got some wonderful tone, and avoided a whole lot of options that I really don't think I'd need.

And of course the one complaint: the footswitch and power jack locations. I had a Nomad years a go and I figured they would've learned, but no.

Oh, and reading this thread has reminded me that there's a pull-bright switch. Thanks guys. keep it going.

[opultaM]

The reverb is a bit...damp yes.

[Rodimus Prime]

so whats the consensus on the best speaker matched with this amp. I'm not sure how keen i am on the G12M-70 anymore.

anyone?

[musicdog400]

FWIW, I have been playing around with using a Yamaha magic stomp with the F-50. Usually I run it into the effects return.

For a great jazz sound I run it before the input, using the clean channel, using the magic stomp as a parametric EQ. This is the best jazz sound I have ever obtained from my equipment. With the Washburn J-6 jazz box, I get a super warm, full, somewhat dark Metheny / Martino jazz tone.

The magic stomp is not easy to use, but once you figure it out, it is a nice little unit. I also use it as a bass guitar modeler (it has a bass mode).

[Santuzzo]

The reverb is a bit...damp yes.

So, you mean the problem I described earlier in this thread might be normal?

[Santuzzo]

Hi guys !

I have had my F-50 combo now for about 2 months or so, and I have been very happy with it.

I usually don't use reverb when I practice.
Today I wanted to use it and I noticed something weird:

The reverb did not seem to have much effect ..... (yes it was switched on in the footswitch).

I had to turn it up half-way to hear any reverb at all ..... :confused:

I played the amp kinda soft, so not cranked at all .... but I also tired turnig it up to about 9 o'clock but the thing with the reverb was still the same ....:confused:

Is that normal??? Or is there something wrong with my reverb?

Do you other guys who own an F-50 have had the same expericene with the reverb?

:confused:

This is really weird, isn't it?

Again...anyone???:confused:

[haleyes]

Again...anyone???:confused:

I've haven't experienced the problem you're describing. When I turn the reverb up, I hear it's effect immediately... on both channels.

larry

[Rodimus Prime]

Again...anyone???:confused:

i did once. Turned out my reverb wire was coming out. Make sure that its nice and tight in the chassis.

[Santuzzo]

I've haven't experienced the problem you're describing. When I turn the reverb up, I hear it's effect immediately... on both channels.

larry

i did once. Turned out my reverb wire was coming out. Make sure that its nice and tight in the chassis.

The thing is, I do hear the reverb's effect, but I really haf to turn it half way up to notice it ....
So, it seems to be pretty slight/weak....
Does that maybe have to do with the master volume setting on each channel?
So, if I'd crank those the reverb would be have a stronger effect on the signal?

It's not that the reverb is not there at all, it just seems to be pretty weak in the signal, know what I mean?

Rodimus, when you had that reverb problem with the wire loose, was the reverb completely not in the signal of was it there just only very soft like in my case?

[opultaM]

So, you mean the problem I described earlier in this thread might be normal?

Yeah I think it's just a more subtle reverb than many other amps. When you crank it there is not the super reverb saturation that I expect.

[Rodimus Prime]

The thing is, I do hear the reverb's effect, but I really haf to turn it half way up to notice it ....
So, it seems to be pretty slight/weak....
Does that maybe have to do with the master volume setting on each channel?
So, if I'd crank those the reverb would be have a stronger effect on the signal?

It's not that the reverb is not there at all, it just seems to be pretty weak in the signal, know what I mean?

Rodimus, when you had that reverb problem with the wire loose, was the reverb completely not in the signal of was it there just only very soft like in my case?

it was just less present. quit talking about it and just check the wire

[Santuzzo]

it was just less present. quit talking about it and just check the wire

LOL....

Yeah, you're right !

I'll check it and let you know !:wave:

[jammwill]

Hello everybody. I was hoping someone might have some advice for me - I'm not a tech, so I'm really at a loss. I have a Mesa F50 combo. The clean channel sounds great, but the 2nd channel is EXTREMELY gainy, muddy, fizzy, harsh in the high end and just plain bad sounding. With the gain on channel 2 (without contour) just at 9 o'clock it is already really muddy, fizzy, and harsh. The high end is unbearable. I played a different F50 in GC recently and it sounded much better - the onset of gain wasn't so immediate, and it sounded much smooth and natural, and not nearly as harsh. I'm wondering what is wrong with my amp - are there any particular components that can go bad that can cause this? I'm hoping this is not just how the dirty channel sounds on this amp, because it's nasty! If anyone has any advice for me I would really appreciate it. Thanks...

James:confused:

[PowerDude]

Hello everybody. I was hoping someone might have some advice for me - I'm not a tech, so I'm really at a loss. I have a Mesa F50 combo. The clean channel sounds great, but the 2nd channel is EXTREMELY gainy, muddy, fizzy, harsh in the high end and just plain bad sounding. With the gain on channel 2 (without contour) just at 9 o'clock it is already really muddy, fizzy, and harsh. The high end is unbearable. I played a different F50 in GC recently and it sounded much better - the onset of gain wasn't so immediate, and it sounded much smooth and natural, and not nearly as harsh. I'm wondering what is wrong with my amp - are there any particular components that can go bad that can cause this? I'm hoping this is not just how the dirty channel sounds on this amp, because it's nasty! If anyone has any advice for me I would really appreciate it. Thanks...

James:confused:

Bad tube??

[haleyes]

How can I make this work:

press pedal 1, light comes on
press pedal 2, light comes on, light on pedal 1 stays on
press pedal 3, light comes on, light on pedal 1 stays on, light on pedal 2 stays on
press pedal 2, light goes off, light on pedal 1 stays on, light on pedal 3 stays on

I have the most up to date software from Behringer. Do I need the Uno firmware to do this? thx

larry

[Surfcaster]

Hello everybody. I was hoping someone might have some advice for me - I'm not a tech, so I'm really at a loss. I have a Mesa F50 combo. The clean channel sounds great, but the 2nd channel is EXTREMELY gainy, muddy, fizzy, harsh in the high end and just plain bad sounding. With the gain on channel 2 (without contour) just at 9 o'clock it is already really muddy, fizzy, and harsh. The high end is unbearable. I played a different F50 in GC recently and it sounded much better - the onset of gain wasn't so immediate, and it sounded much smooth and natural, and not nearly as harsh. I'm wondering what is wrong with my amp - are there any particular components that can go bad that can cause this? I'm hoping this is not just how the dirty channel sounds on this amp, because it's nasty! If anyone has any advice for me I would really appreciate it. Thanks...

James:confused:

Not sure what to tell you. It could be tubes as suggested above. But IMHO, channel 2 w/o contour seems a little muddy/fizzy. Adding the contour helps a lot, for me at least...in fact I rarely use ch 2 without contour. Another issue could be volume....I'm wondering where you have the master volume set? You really need to get the master up to at least 9:30-10:00 oclock for all the frequencies to develop...below that the sound is not ideal as some frequencies stand out more than others.

But two things here...

1) Mesa's tend to have fizzy top ends. With the F-Series, it's less pronounced at higher volumes, so increasing the volume as described above helps.

2) The C90 is kind of a beamy speaker, which results in a somewhat harsh tone if the speaker is aimed straight at your face. I find mine sounds better if it's aimed at my knees. Another solution is a beam blocker. You can make a cheap one with a couple pieces of duct tape making a square on the grille cloth right in front of the dust cap just slightly bigger than the dust cap itself. I actually do this even with the speaker aimed at my knees. The beam blocker diffuses those high frequencies more evenly through the rest of the soundfield. If that helps enough, you can buy ones that attach to the baffle from Weber Speakers.

[musicdog400]

Hello everybody. I was hoping someone might have some advice for me - I'm not a tech, so I'm really at a loss. I have a Mesa F50 combo. The clean channel sounds great, but the 2nd channel is EXTREMELY gainy, muddy, fizzy, harsh in the high end and just plain bad sounding. With the gain on channel 2 (without contour) just at 9 o'clock it is already really muddy, fizzy, and harsh. The high end is unbearable. I played a different F50 in GC recently and it sounded much better - the onset of gain wasn't so immediate, and it sounded much smooth and natural, and not nearly as harsh. I'm wondering what is wrong with my amp - are there any particular components that can go bad that can cause this? I'm hoping this is not just how the dirty channel sounds on this amp, because it's nasty! If anyone has any advice for me I would really appreciate it. Thanks...

James:confused:

Here are a couple things I do to make the F-50 a little smoother
-turn the bass on the drive channel way down, to around 9:00
-use the bridge pickup
-crank master up past 9:00, use an attenuator if necessary. The amp tends to sound fizzy and harsh when the master is really low. My attenuator takes away some high, which ends up being a good thing with this amp.

I can understand how someone new to this amp could dial in a bad sound. But I have been using it for a while, and with an EQ in the loop, and a compressor in the front end, I can get all kinds of great sounds. Jazz, tweed, rock, metal, scoop metal. I still love this amp.

BTW Hal900: nice clips a couple of pages back !

[mattpas]

I was thinking of picking up a Mesa Boogie F-30 and was wondering, how does it sound at low/bedroom volumes?
Does it do low well or is it too powerful?

[musicdog400]

IMHO, the F series are not bedroom amps, at least for distortion sounds. Run it through an attenuator then it can be a bedroom amp.

My F-50 sounds very different (worse) with the master below 9:00 than it does when opened up.

[Surfcaster]

I agree with Musicdog400. The clean channel works nicely at bedroom volumes, so if you play mostly clean, or can use distortion pedals for your gainier tones, then an F-Series will work in the bedroom, but I doubt you'll be pleased with the gain channel at bedroom volumes.

The gain channel on my F-50 doesn't get used much these days, but I do use the clean channel pretty regularly. For gain I either use an MI Audio Crunch Box, or I use my custom-built 15W tube amp.

[haleyes]

After playing for about 45 minutes, I started to fade in and out. It was intermitent. Then permanent. I checked the batteries in the pedals, turned off the footcontroller, the effects machine and the drum machine until it was just me and the amp. It's the amp. :cry:

This is a brand new Mesa F-50 combo with only 2 hours of playing on it. As this is also my first experience with tube amps I'm wondering what it could be? I looked at the tubes: one was not brighter (or dimmer) than the other. I could hear the guitar through it but very, very faintly.

Any suggestions as to what it could be?

A speaker problem?

larry

[haleyes]

Bump :cool:

[jman435]

I too have a problem with my F30's reverb. Basically, it has none. Bought it used and it didn't work from day one. Get this...the FedEx guy dropped my amp in the driveway when I received it from an Ebay seller...NICE. I was well packaged, but I wonder if the reverb tank was damaged when he dropped it. The seller reported no problems with the amp before he sold it. Can someone tell me where to look inside the chassis for wiring problems (besides the obvious wiring coming from the reverb pots to the circuit board) and where is the reverb tank? Any help would be appreciate. Thanks guys.

[PowerDude]

I too have a problem with my F30's reverb. Basically, it has none. Bought it used and it didn't work from day one. Get this...the FedEx guy dropped my amp in the driveway when I received it from an Ebay seller...NICE. I was well packaged, but I wonder if the reverb tank was damaged when he dropped it. The seller reported no problems with the amp before he sold it. Can someone tell me where to look inside the chassis for wiring problems (besides the obvious wiring coming from the reverb pots to the circuit board) and where is the reverb tank? Any help would be appreciate. Thanks guys.

The reverb tank, at least on the F50, is inside a bag in the bottom of the cabinet.

[Surfcaster]

After playing for about 45 minutes, I started to fade in and out. It was intermitent. Then permanent. I checked the batteries in the pedals, turned off the footcontroller, the effects machine and the drum machine until it was just me and the amp. It's the amp. :cry:

This is a brand new Mesa F-50 combo with only 2 hours of playing on it. As this is also my first experience with tube amps I'm wondering what it could be? I looked at the tubes: one was not brighter (or dimmer) than the other. I could hear the guitar through it but very, very faintly.

Any suggestions as to what it could be?

A speaker problem?

larry


I've noticed this a couple times on my F50...which is about three years old now. I really have no idea what the issue is...wondering if it's power tubes, but I don't know. I'm planning on taking it in for servicing to get the bright switch fixed here soon, and I thought I'd have them look into it then, but it only happens on ocassion...my luck it will work fine for them! Sorry, don't have much to offer beyond that.

[xlxtrevorxlx]

sorry to hijack the thread but two things. One. who posted the between the buried and me cover on here of mordecai? the tone from the F-100 was phenomenal. And two, can you dial in the F-50 lose or tight, fat or thin? I'd like to have a little bit of loseness if i need it, more for the bluesy stuff, but i'd like to be able to get the sound semi tight too. I'm not talking Like randall solid state tight though. I love the voicing of the amp and the gain and clean channels, i'm just curious.

[Blatti]

Hello everybody. I was hoping someone might have some advice for me - I'm not a tech, so I'm really at a loss. I have a Mesa F50 combo. The clean channel sounds great, but the 2nd channel is EXTREMELY gainy, muddy, fizzy, harsh in the high end and just plain bad sounding. With the gain on channel 2 (without contour) just at 9 o'clock it is already really muddy, fizzy, and harsh. The high end is unbearable. I played a different F50 in GC recently and it sounded much better - the onset of gain wasn't so immediate, and it sounded much smooth and natural, and not nearly as harsh. I'm wondering what is wrong with my amp - are there any particular components that can go bad that can cause this? I'm hoping this is not just how the dirty channel sounds on this amp, because it's nasty! If anyone has any advice for me I would really appreciate it. Thanks...

James:confused:

About 80% of F-50's sound great. About 20% sound just like you described. It's not the tubes. There is a bad component in there somewhere. Nobody seems to know whats wrong with them. I'm sure it's the same problem every time. All the bad F-50's sound alike.

The F-50 can be a great amp. But the quality control at Mesa wasn't very good.

My best advice would be to try to sell the amp. I doubt you will be able to figure out the problem.

Or just stop using the lead channel and use a distortion pedal.

[jammwill]

Thanks for the responses everybody. I'm wondering if I take it to an authorized Mesa repair station if they could figure out what's wrong with it.... I really do think there's something wrong in there - the gain channel shouldn't sound like it does...

[Blatti]

Thanks for the responses everybody. I'm wondering if I take it to an authorized Mesa repair station if they could figure out what's wrong with it.... I really do think there's something wrong in there - the gain channel shouldn't sound like it does...

I took one to Savage Audio. They said that it had a bad preamp tube. They charged me $100 to install a Sovtek 12AX7WB. The whole thing was a total waste of time and money.

The main problem was that the guys at Savage Audio didn't know what a F-50 was supposed to sound like. They are not big fans of the Boogie sound. As far as they were concerned, the amp sounded the way it was supposed to.

If you get the amp fixed, try to report back on what the problem was.

[jry 1949]

hi sorry to hear about your reverm any way i had a problem on my F50 combo could hardly hearit i tok it to the warranty repair guy who replaced the fet [field emmiting transiter] was fine after thay tons of reverb better than original but after several uses it went out again same prob.took it back in he got in touch with mesa they sugessted installing series isolation circuit between fet gate and foot sw. i guess its a resistor and diode. anyway its been working great for several weeks now good luck john

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

Hi guys, this my first post and looks like this the place to a question answered. You guys are obviously alil bit biased in favor of the boogie F-series amp line but also seem to be very knowledgeable about them as well and I could use a little bit of insight so here we go. A small shop near my house has a used F100 combo for $900.00 . I don't think I have ever been more awe struck by the sweet blend of gain and warmth from any other combo. The tone just SCREAMED outta this thing and the low end hit you in the chest like a mule kick. I am thinkin of trading a Fender HotRod Deluxe in great shape, a MIM Fender Strat in New condition, and a Marshall JCM900 1960A 4X12 and $200.00 for the Boogie. Think it's worth it?

[Blatti]

Hi guys, this my first post and looks like this the place to a question answered. You guys are obviously alil bit biased in favor of the boogie F-series amp line but also seem to be very knowledgeable about them as well and I could use a little bit of insight so here we go. A small shop near my house has a used F100 combo for $900.00 . I don't think I have ever been more awe struck by the sweet blend of gain and warmth from any other combo. The tone just SCREAMED outta this thing and the low end hit you in the chest like a mule kick. I am thinkin of trading a Fender HotRod Deluxe in great shape, a MIM Fender Strat in New condition, and a Marshall JCM900 1960A 4X12 and $200.00 for the Boogie. Think it's worth it?

They're not giving you much trade in value. Whats the piece by piece breakdown?

I would just trade in the HotRod Deluxe and try to come up with the rest of the money. The Strat should sound real good with the F-100. You could also put the Boogie on top of the 4 x 12. Make it into a 6 x 12. I like the sound of the open back combo on top of a closed back cab.

But I don't know what other guitars and cabs you have. I also don't know how much money you have. You gotta do what you gotta do. Just get the amp as soon as possible. Once it's gone, it might be hard to find another one.

[Progdude]

Okay.. I decided to go for an F-50, and I got it yesterday.. and GODAMN DOES IT SOUND NICE.. CRAP seriously.. it wasn't as LOUD as I was expecting, (around 9 for bedroom level) (which is good btw..) anyways, the clean is superb, the contour is awesome.. and.. pretty much everything you know?
I got it off ebay, MINT condition and with a roadcase, for $995.
I'll post some pics later, btw it has a custom grill kind of a yellowish color.. :)

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

Thanks Blat, I kinda felt the same way about the trade value and also the same about not letting it get away so I'm thinkin I will take in the Fender amp and strat. They will give me $450.00 for them, and thats what I paid for them a month or so back. I think I can get the guy to give me a week or so to move the cabinet myself. I have no doubt that I can beat his price. I bought the Fender amp for my son and the Strat just came with it but, I don't really care for Strats myself, it's a Les Paul or nuthin' for me. The 4X12 is actually the only one I have right now and it's not being used so it's an obvious sacrifice to the cause. Thanks again for the help.:thu:

[Tommi Inkila]

Okay.. I decided to go for an F-50, and I got it yesterday.. and GODAMN DOES IT SOUND NICE.. CRAP seriously.. it wasn't as LOUD as I was expecting, (around 9 for bedroom level) (which is good btw..) anyways, the clean is superb, the contour is awesome.. and.. pretty much everything you know?
I got it off ebay, MINT condition and with a roadcase, for $995.
I'll post some pics later, btw it has a custom grill kind of a yellowish color.. :)
Congrats and welcome aboard :)

I'm glad it worked out nicely! Beware of 9:30 where the volume increases suddenly :thu:

[XiXora]

Beware the Tides of March!

[bowen71]

I posted this in the effect section but I wanted to try it here because I have seen so much good advice in here.
--------------------------------------------
Has anybody tried using a Rocktron Nitro and a Morley Bad Horsie together out front of an amp?

I am borrowing a Nitro from a buddy, possibly to buy, but it doesn't seem to mix well with my Morley wah. If I use the nitro by itself it works great! But when I hook it and my wah up together the amp hums and when I kick on the Nitro there is a terrible buzz in the amp. I tried the nitro in front of and after the wah with the same results.

My setup: I am runnig a Morley bad horsie 2 into a Mesa F-50 half stack with a Boss ME-50 in the loop. This all works great together, until I add the Nitro along with the morley out front.

[JJ037]

This is my first post, but just wanted to share my current problems with the F-50's that I have.

Don't get me wrong, everybody, I love the tone of the amp, clean and dirty, this is a great amp.

I have two F-50s (one for gigs, one for home/rehearsal/backup).

I actually have owned three F-50s, the first of which had a problem about a month after I bought it, with a ton of hum, microphonics, rumbles, etc, which did not improve after retubing. I was given another new one to replace it. About 6 months after I got the replacement, without warning, it lost power while playing on stage. Bad enough, but manageable. The tech thought it was a bad capacitor, and with repair, it worked fine for another 6 months, but just went on the fritz again.

Jump back a few months, now. Loving the tone, I recently bought the back up F-50 (at a bargain basement price, since the line was discontinued) which I've been using for home, rehearsal, and for back-up live. At our last rehearsal, I began losing tone and volume; our tech (who is a former Mesa employee) says that it's not the tubes, and that the buzz going around the community is:

"F-50's age much faster than they should; Mesa knows this is a problem, but does not know how to fix it".

I feel totally burned by this--Mesa is supposed to provide products with high reliability. I cannot imagine having problems with one Mesa product, but THREE?? Granted, they're all F-50's but still...

BTW, I am not hard on my amps at all, by the way.

Also, the quote above is a little alarming. If you follow the history of this thread, I think you can see a trend developing around the exact problems that I am describing--back in 2005 it was "all good", now there are a lot of posts about problems with tone, power, grit, etc.

a disgruntled F-50 owner

ps: I DO believe Mesa generally provides good products, so if I were to move to another Mesa series, what would provide the tone, power, and distortion of the F-50 without the problems that the F series seems to have?
-------------------
PRS Custom 24
Strat Plus
Les Paul Custom
Rickenbacker 360/12
Martin G16GTE

[Progdude]

wow.. seriously how do upload photos? I clicked in manage attachments and uploaded right from my laptop.. it took forever and didn't upload..

@JJ thanks for that info, sucks that you have had problems, is it all the f50s or just about 20%, since I read something about 20% of the f series had some problems..

[Rodimus Prime]

is it feasable to make the F50 a closed back combo? anyone here ever done it? tips?

[JJ037]

ProgDude

Honestly, I can't see how it can be 20% of all F series and I've been burned 3 times...then again maybe I'm just unlucky.

The thing that worries me is that our tech says that the 'buzz' is that there's serious flaws with the F series electronics and that Mesa has no work-around for it. Just learned this today.

[Alchemist]

Hey guys, just wanted to post this quick video I did on the contour mode of my F-50 rig.... guitar right into amp, gain on 6.5, delay in the loop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0JcG59wFjs

[opultaM]

Tell me if I'm way off on this one. Would it be possible to remove the reverb from my F and replace it with a different effect? Not sure what the connection is but maybe could I convert it to 1/4"? Could maybe throw a chorus or delay or compression (depending where it is in relation to the gain stage), or maybe even a better reverb. This would then be foot switchable?

Is this the stupidest thing you heard all day or maybe a possibility?

[Lt_Core]

Tell me if I'm way off on this one. Would it be possible to remove the reverb from my F and replace it with a different effect? Not sure what the connection is but maybe could I convert it to 1/4"? Could maybe throw a chorus or delay or compression (depending where it is in relation to the gain stage), or maybe even a better reverb. This would then be foot switchable?

Is this the stupidest thing you heard all day or maybe a possibility?

Ummm...buy a pedal. It won't cause damage to your amp. Pedals are footswitchable ;)

Not trying to be a smart-ass but, yes, it is the stupidest thing I've heard all day, to quote you :)

[opultaM]

Ummm...buy a pedal. It won't cause damage to your amp. Pedals are footswitchable ;)

Not trying to be a smart-ass but, yes, it is the stupidest thing I've heard all day, to quote you :)


I already have about 30 pedals, what's wrong with wanting to put one of them INSIDE AN AMP??

ok, well from a cursory look at the back of the amp it seemed like the reverb connection wasn't all that elaborate. so explain why it's dumb. humor me :love:

[Surfcaster]

Well, I dropped my F50 off at a service center over the weekend. The main reason I took it in is that the bright switch hasn't been working for several months. I figured I'd better get it fixed while it's still under warranty. He's also going to check the amp to see if it sounds like it needs new tubes...I've had it nearly 4 years with the original tubes, but then it only get's played once or twice a week for an hour or so these days. But it doesn't sound like he'll put Mesa tubes in it, which sounded a little odd to me, being an authorized repair center and all...but whatever. He said it'd be a couple weeks til he gets to it. The guy's got a pretty small shop, but his website says he used to be a Senior Amp Tech for Marshall here in the states.

[Surfcaster]

I already have about 30 pedals, what's wrong with wanting to put one of them INSIDE AN AMP??

ok, well from a cursory look at the back of the amp it seemed like the reverb connection wasn't all that elaborate. so explain why it's dumb. humor me :love:

I'm doubtful it will work, but can't tell you why...just seems like you would have heard about it somewhere if it was that easy. But if you find out it does, let us all know!

[pedrozepelim]

Hey guys, just wanted to post this quick video I did on the contour mode of my F-50 rig.... guitar right into amp, gain on 6.5, delay in the loop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0JcG59wFjs

Gain on 6,5? are you shure? 6,5 what: o'clock?

[Alchemist]

Gain on 6,5? are you shure? 6,5 what: o'clock?

6.5 out of 10.....

Its a head, into a 4*12 supersonic cab, closeback and loaded with V30's, can get very heavy and cuts nicely. This amp has plenty of gain on hand.... the bridge pup is a Duncan 59, and the neck is an overwound PAF...


Here are some more quick clips:

one is on clean with the amp set dark (with gain high for a slight amount of breakup), mid+neck pups..

..the other is neck pup, crunch channel, gain on 2...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUrJx9lulME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLxcPOVTaZ0

[Progdude]

Just about an hour ago, I noticed some humming sound coming from the amp while I was playing the E and D chords.. it really bothers me, but it was quite strange, since at one point I just struck the D chord and then muted it and the amp made some kind of humming noice similar to a DIAL UP CONNECTION trying to connect to the internet.. I wasn't playing and the noise continued on for about 10 seconds.. still does that.. but the contour channel works more than perfect.. does anyone have any suggestions or similar experiences??

[pedrozepelim]

6.5 out of 10.....

Its a head, into a 4*12 supersonic cab, closeback and loaded with V30's, can get very heavy and cuts nicely. This amp has plenty of gain on hand.... the bridge pup is a Duncan 59, and the neck is an overwound PAF...


Here are some more quick clips:

one is on clean with the amp set dark (with gain high for a slight amount of breakup), mid+neck pups..

..the other is neck pup, crunch channel, gain on 2...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUrJx9lulME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLxcPOVTaZ0

Thank you, Alchemist!

[opultaM]

Just about an hour ago, I noticed some humming sound coming from the amp while I was playing the E and D chords.. it really bothers me, but it was quite strange, since at one point I just struck the D chord and then muted it and the amp made some kind of humming noice similar to a DIAL UP CONNECTION trying to connect to the internet.. I wasn't playing and the noise continued on for about 10 seconds.. still does that.. but the contour channel works more than perfect.. does anyone have any suggestions or similar experiences??


Is your cell phone near the amp?

Maybe it's something with the cabinet wood? That happen to me once, my old cab would resonate with this really loud...buzz...thing if I played on the 5th or 6th fret of my low B string.

[Nemesys]

Just about an hour ago, I noticed some humming sound coming from the amp while I was playing the E and D chords.. it really bothers me, but it was quite strange, since at one point I just struck the D chord and then muted it and the amp made some kind of humming noice similar to a DIAL UP CONNECTION trying to connect to the internet.. I wasn't playing and the noise continued on for about 10 seconds.. still does that.. but the contour channel works more than perfect.. does anyone have any suggestions or similar experiences??

Preamp tube going a little microphonic, maybe? I had a bad tube do something like that a while ago, they can resonate at certain frequencies pretty easily in a combo amp -- the tubes get hammered pretty hard by the backwave from the speaker.

[diaz]

What are the prices for the F series mesa amps? I am looking to buy new... BTW, could annybody provide a list of prices for all the new mesa amps? I cannot for the life of me find anything on the internet other than ebay for US prices on mesa rigs.

-D

[hal9000]

What are the prices for the F series mesa amps? I am looking to buy new... BTW, could annybody provide a list of prices for all the new mesa amps? I cannot for the life of me find anything on the internet other than ebay for US prices on mesa rigs.

-DThis is the current price list: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=9622

The F-series is discontinued now, and the Express series is the replacement in the same tier. The most expensive F-series amp is the F-100 2x12 combo which was $1349 IIRC last year.

If you were buying on eBay or around here, I would expect to pay around $700-800 for an F-50 1x12 combo and a bit more for an F-100 combo. The heads will be roughly the same price.

[Progdude]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, but the problem isn't solved :/
if the tube is getting a bit microphonic, do you think that it could possibly be a bad preamp tube? if it is so, how do I know which one is? I heard something about tapping it or so..

[Nemesys]

To determine if any of your preamp tubes are microphonic, just tap on them lightly with your fingernail or a pencil eraser. All preamp tubes are somewhat microphonic, so it's normal to hear the sound of your tapping through your amp's speaker (this shouldn't happen if you tap on the power tubes, though). If any of the tubes have a continuing ringing or oscillating noise after tapping them, they should be replaced.

Hope this helps! :)

[Progdude]

Thanks nemesys.
I just tapped all 4 of my preamp tubes and they all heard through the speaker except one, however.. you're saying that it's normal for them to hear through the speaker? the odd thing should be that when I tap them they should sound a bit ringy? if you do, then I don't have bad preamp tubes, any other problem it might be? :(

[pedrozepelim]

To all of you who have doubts concerning the choice of a F30 or a F50 because of their output tubes, here's something that made me decide for a F30:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=226975

[SandmaN211]

hi f-50 users, just wondering is it safe to record stuff by using the mirc socket on the computer ? i've got a cable with a 1/4 head (to connect to amp socket and 1/8 (to connect to mirc socket on computer) on the other side
because some people say this setup is not recommended

thanks

[Si.]

Just wondering if anyone had any "Marshall like" settings for an F30 (or F50)

[pedrozepelim]

Just wondering if anyone had any "Marshall like" settings for an F30 (or F50)

I'm sorry, but I just can't see it being done.

I've seen plenty of settings and youtube videos claiming to get a Marshall sound out of this amps, but I can honestly say that it can't be done.

The distortion nature it is just too diferent from this amps to the british sound.

[hal9000]

I'm sorry, but I just can't see it being done.

I've seen plenty of settings and youtube videos claiming to get a Marshall sound out of this amps, but I can honestly say that it can't be done.

The distortion nature it is just too diferent from this amps to the british sound.I think the F-series does a pretty good British impression:
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/What_the_Hell_Does_hal9000_Have.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Will_Rock_You.mp3

My settings were: Gain 1:00, T: 9:00, M: 3:00, B: 9:00, Contour = off for this first and the second was this:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/hal9000F-100SettingWeWillRockYou.jpg

[pedrozepelim]

I think the F-series does a pretty good British impression:
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/What_the_Hell_Does_hal9000_Have.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Will_Rock_You.mp3

My settings were: Gain 1:00, T: 9:00, M: 3:00, B: 9:00, Contour = off for this first and the second was this:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/hal9000F-100SettingWeWillRockYou.jpg

I'm sorry, but I disagree. I own a Laney GH 50L and it is just like a Marshall but with more gain and a slighly diferent mids. Now that's british voicing, not the clips you posted. They are great, don't get me wrong, but they're not "Marshally".
The Queen clip was great, but I think there's too much gain. But everyone who owns a F Serie knows this amp is all or nothing when it comes to gain.

[Lt_Core]

I use a Barber Direct Drive for some really good Marshall tones. Make sure the Ton knob is up for more dynamics.

http://www.barberelectronics.com/directdrive.htm

I've been tempted to try a Stiletto Ace or Deuce but I would have to sell my beloved F-50. Not sure I want to do that.

[PowerDude]

Anybody ever try a ZVEX box-of-rock through an F-50 or F-100??
Just curious.

[Lt_Core]

Anybody ever try a ZVEX box-of-rock through an F-50 or F-100??
Just curious.

Yes, I've tried many Marshall-in-a-pedal stompboxes in the $100 to $200 range through my F-50. The Box Of Rock was one of the worst ones, IMHO. Other Mesa users have stated the same at TGP. Very loose, flubby low-end. Very noisy pedal. The BOR was built with EL-34 tubes in mind. Pretty harsh sounding to my ears on the F-50's 6L6's.

I tried the Crunchbox v2 but that was before I had my Avatar Hellatone 60L cab. I'd love to try it again. Seriously, the Barber Direct Drive and Silver LTD are great pedals. LTD is a low-gain pedal. Awesome stuff and they're not that expensive. Good luck!

[pedrozepelim]

I use a Barber Direct Drive for some really good Marshall tones. Make sure the Ton knob is up for more dynamics.

http://www.barberelectronics.com/directdrive.htm

I've been tempted to try a Stiletto Ace or Deuce but I would have to sell my beloved F-50. Not sure I want to do that.

Once again, and not wanting to be an A.-H., I have the Barber DD. Actualy I use for low gain (with the gain knob around 10:30h). It does not make my F30 sound like a Marshall in any setting.

But remember this: I have a F30 with Vintage 30 not a F50 with C90. And speakers make a LOT of diference.

And second remember I'm a bedroom player, wich means that my Master Volume on the clean Channel is on 9:30h, and most overdrives realy shine on at "full band volume", and as far as I know the DD is one of those.

[Lt_Core]

Once again, and not wanting to be an A.-H., I have the Barber DD. Actualy I use for low gain (with the gain knob around 10:30h). It does not make my F30 sound like a Marshall in any setting.

But remember this: I have a F30 with Vintage 30 not a F50 with C90. And speakers make a LOT of diference.

And second remember I'm a bedroom player, wich means that my Master Volume on the clean Channel is on 9:30h, and most overdrives realy shine on at "full band volume", and as far as I know the DD is one of those.

It's all good :)

I'm strictly using my Hellatone 60L's (broken-in V30's with a tighter low-end) in my Avatar cab and not the F-50 speaker, which is a Jensen NEO 100, not the C90. DD and the Hellatone 60L' can cop a pretty good Marshall sound through the clean channel. Of course nothing beats the real thing.

Yes, I'm talking gig levels. I agree that at bedroom levels the Barber is ok but sounds really good at higher levels. I use it sparingly. I mostly use the Contour channel. Love it!

[pedrozepelim]

Now, if you want Marshall tone coming from a Boogie...

http://www.guitarworld.com/article/mesa_boogie_stiletto_ace_1x12_combo

:)

[PowerDude]

Yes, I've tried many Marshall-in-a-pedal stompboxes in the $100 to $200 range through my F-50. The Box Of Rock was one of the worst ones, IMHO. Other Mesa users have stated the same at TGP. Very loose, flubby low-end. Very noisy pedal. The BOR was built with EL-34 tubes in mind. Pretty harsh sounding to my ears on the F-50's 6L6's.

I tried the Crunchbox v2 but that was before I had my Avatar Hellatone 60L cab. I'd love to try it again. Seriously, the Barber Direct Drive and Silver LTD are great pedals. LTD is a low-gain pedal. Awesome stuff and they're not that expensive. Good luck!

Thanks for the heads up!

[Lt_Core]

Now, if you want Marshall tone coming from a Boogie...

http://www.guitarworld.com/article/mesa_boogie_stiletto_ace_1x12_combo

:)

+1 on that! I played an Ace combo 2 weeks ago and loved it! I still might trade my F-50 in on one, not sure yet. Or a Deuce II head. Great stuff!

Hey, we agree on something ;) LOL!

[pedrozepelim]

+1 on that! I played an Ace combo 2 weeks ago and loved it! I still might trade my F-50 in on one, not sure yet. Or a Deuce II head. Great stuff!

Hey, we agree on something ;) LOL!

...and on many other things, certainly! :)

[Nemesys]

Thanks nemesys.
I just tapped all 4 of my preamp tubes and they all heard through the speaker except one, however.. you're saying that it's normal for them to hear through the speaker? the odd thing should be that when I tap them they should sound a bit ringy? if you do, then I don't have bad preamp tubes, any other problem it might be? :(

Sorry I didn't reply to this sooner, I was offline for a few days. :o With a good tube, you should hear your tapping, but if tube rings or oscillates after you tap it, then it's probably going microphonic and should be replaced. You probably don't have to worry about not hearing one, it's probably your effects-loop driver, I wouldn't think you would hear that one without something in the loop.

If you have a spare 12AX7, swap it with each preamp tube, one at a time, and test after each swap to see if you can replicate your original problem. If it goes away, you've found the culprit tube.

[jry 1949]

hi guys fairly new to the forum although i've been checking it out for awhile . ive got a fender strat american delux and mesa F50 combo .for pedals boss dd3 and a micro vbe and my boss tuner i go right into the input because using the fx loop with all the cords i was getting interference in the rehearsal space. at rehearsal i cant get the amps master to the sweet spot of 930 to 1030 its just to loud so i use the guitar vol to turn down then ch.2 is kind of muddy and the tone on ch 1 is also effected .im thinking the F50 is just to loud for smaller venues. any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. thanks john

[PowerDude]

+1 on that! I played an Ace combo 2 weeks ago and loved it! I still might trade my F-50 in on one, not sure yet. Or a Deuce II head. Great stuff!

Hey, we agree on something ;) LOL!
I must admit, I tried a Stiletto ACE this past weekend and really liked it. Very crunchy.
It was a 1x12 combo. I didn't think to try the effects loop volume trick on it like the F-50.
I wonder if it would work?
Also tried the Stiletto Deuce II and Roadster. Liked them both alot also. The benefit of the Roadster, of course, is the huge amount of flexibility built into the thing.... There was a 07 Roadster 2x12 combo on Fleabay with a BIN of $1550. But bidding is past the reserve and up to $1350 with over 5 days left. :rolleyes: Somebody could've gotten a real deal if they'd have used BIN.

[PowerDude]

hi guys fairly new to the forum although i've been checking it out for awhile . ive got a fender strat american delux and mesa F50 combo .for pedals boss dd3 and a micro vbe and my boss tuner i go right into the input because using the fx loop with all the cords i was getting interference in the rehearsal space. at rehearsal i cant get the amps master to the sweet spot of 930 to 1030 its just to loud so i use the guitar vol to turn down then ch.2 is kind of muddy and the tone on ch 1 is also effected .im thinking the F50 is just to loud for smaller venues. any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. thanks john

Check the first page of this thread, post #2. The effects mix - master volume trick.
Works great!

[Lt_Core]

Check the first page of this thread, post #2. The effects mix - master volume trick.
Works great!

Yes, great way to reduce your overall volume. However, it does render your effects loop useless.

[hal9000]

hi guys fairly new to the forum although i've been checking it out for awhile . ive got a fender strat american delux and mesa F50 combo .for pedals boss dd3 and a micro vbe and my boss tuner i go right into the input because using the fx loop with all the cords i was getting interference in the rehearsal space. at rehearsal i cant get the amps master to the sweet spot of 930 to 1030 its just to loud so i use the guitar vol to turn down then ch.2 is kind of muddy and the tone on ch 1 is also effected .im thinking the F50 is just to loud for smaller venues. any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. thanks johnJohn, welcome to the forum and the F-series brotherhood! :)

You have good taste in gear! I have a similar rig and my American Deluxe Fat Strat has been my #1 for 4.5 years now. I would not recommend your method of reducing amplifier volume for a number of reasons. 1) Reducing the guitar's volume going into the amp will affect the amount of gain the amp will produce. It's basically the same as using a volume pedal out front. So, if you needed a lot of gain, reducing the input signal runs counter to that goal. 2) The American Deluxe Strat does not have treble compensation on the volume control AFAIK so when you turn down, the tone gets muddy since the highs get attenuated disproportionately to the lows. You can solder a capacitor to the volume control to fix the problem so that your guitar's tone will remain the same as it's turned down. So, what to do? If you're not going to be using the loop, check my signature for the "FX Loop Master Volume." In this simple configuration, the FX mix pot becomes your master volume and greatly helps to wrangle the output level. It will allow you to get your channel masters up to the sweet spot, and then turn down the whole amp by the loop. If you intend to use the loop (I'd at least but the Delay there), then I recommend an MXR 10-band EQ as the preferred method of volume reduction. It will also give you fantastic control over the tone as well. Lt_Core uses the MXR 10-band and has had great results. Other devices that will help with the loop volume are FX processors, volume pedals, etc. Basically, anything that will work in the loop and that has a volume control will do the trick.

Yes, great way to reduce your overall volume. However, it does render your effects loop useless.Hey Jeff, I hope everything is going well?

The FX loop volume trick is referring simply to using a device in the loop such as an FX processor, Volume pedal or EQ (e.g., your rig) to reduce the overall output level. So, in that case, the FX loop is used as normal. Conversely, my FX loop master using the mix pot does disconnect the FX loop by design, so is really for people who put their boxes out front.

[beyondthislife]

So, I'm thinking about buying a cab for my F-50 combo for gigs and stuff. When I played my last gig I noticed that while my amp sounded fine at home or whatever, it sounded really thin and nasty when I went out into the crowd just to get an idea of how it sounded out there. It wasn't good. So, I was thinking about picking up a cheap cab to help out my sound and I've heard talk of Avatar cabs. They're cheap which I like and I've heard good things about them so I was wondering...would a closed back cab be the best? Open? And what about OHMs? What OHMs would I need to go with the F-50?

[Lt_Core]

So, I'm thinking about buying a cab for my F-50 combo for gigs and stuff. When I played my last gig I noticed that while my amp sounded fine at home or whatever, it sounded really thin and nasty when I went out into the crowd just to get an idea of how it sounded out there. It wasn't good. So, I was thinking about picking up a cheap cab to help out my sound and I've heard talk of Avatar cabs. They're cheap which I like and I've heard good things about them so I was wondering...would a closed back cab be the best? Open? And what about OHMs? What OHMs would I need to go with the F-50?

Hi, I'm a big fan of Avatar cabs. I use an 8 ohm, closed-back Vintage Premier cab loaded with Hellatone 60L's, which are broken-in Celestion Vintage 30's.

Avatar Vintage Premier 212 (http://www.avatarspeakers.com/Vintage%20Premier.htm) (mine has a black grill)

Sounds fantastic! Tight low-end with mids that cut through beautifully.

[Lt_Core]

Hey Jeff, I hope everything is going well?.

Hi Neil, I hope your move was successful! Yeah, things are going great. We're playing a ton of gigs so we've been busy. I hate to say this but I'm thinking of selling my F-50 for a Stiletto Ace or Deuce II head. Not sure yet. After playing an Ace combo, I can't get it out of my head. We are gear junkies ;)

Nice hearing from you!

[beyondthislife]

Hi, I'm a big fan of Avatar cabs. I use an 8 ohm, closed-back Vintage Premier cab loaded with Hellatone 60L's, which are broken-in Celestion Vintage 30's.

Avatar Vintage Premier 212 (http://www.avatarspeakers.com/Vintage%20Premier.htm) (mine has a black grill)

Sounds fantastic! Tight low-end with mids that cut through beautifully.
So you use 8 ohm with your F-50? Is it a head or a cab? And what would be the difference between a Traditional and a Vintage cab?

[Lt_Core]

So you use 8 ohm with your F-50? Is it a head or a cab? And what would be the difference between a Traditional and a Vintage cab?

Yup, I use an 8 ohm cab with my F-50 combo. I unplug the F-50 speaker from the 8 ohm jack on the back and plug in my Avatar Vintage cab with a speaker cable, not an instrument cable (very important), into the 8 ohm jack. You can also plug the F-50's speaker into the 4 ohm jack AND the cab into the other 4 ohm jack so they both work.

Read through the different cab designs for a better idea but the main thing is that the Vintage Premier cabs have the speakers angled up towards the player, which is a great idea. Easier to hear. Of course, my band just went to in-ear monitors so it doesn't matter anymore. I like the look of the Vintage Premier over the traditional cab, personally. Yeah, it's a bit bigger but looks very nice and classy.

Here's some text I grabbed from Avatar's site:

"It is styled after the famous Bluesbreaker 212 cab from the 60's. It features a slanted front speaker baffle board to point the speakers up slightly towards the player."

[hal9000]

Hi Neil, I hope your move was successful! Yeah, things are going great. We're playing a ton of gigs so we've been busy. I hate to say this but I'm thinking of selling my F-50 for a Stiletto Ace or Deuce II head. Not sure yet. After playing an Ace combo, I can't get it out of my head. We are gear junkies ;)

Nice hearing from you!Jeff,
I'm in a temporary corporate apartment for the time being until I can sell my house in FL, so I don't have access to any of my noise-making machines. I brought by EBMM 20th Silo and Vox Tonelab which is fun, but can't make up for volume. :cry:

I'm looking forward to getting into a house and cranking up the beasts.

I hear you on the Ace. That's why I have more than one amp. :) Right now, I'm loving the tone from my Soldano Avenger. It's everything I've ever wanted in a Marshall type of sound, but better all around. I know you need a versatile amp, but if you have the chance, do audition an Avenger.

[hal9000]

So, I'm thinking about buying a cab for my F-50 combo for gigs and stuff. When I played my last gig I noticed that while my amp sounded fine at home or whatever, it sounded really thin and nasty when I went out into the crowd just to get an idea of how it sounded out there. It wasn't good. So, I was thinking about picking up a cheap cab to help out my sound and I've heard talk of Avatar cabs. They're cheap which I like and I've heard good things about them so I was wondering...would a closed back cab be the best? Open? And what about OHMs? What OHMs would I need to go with the F-50?It's not so much that the amp sounds great at home and poo at the gig, but more likely you're hearing the treble beam of the speaker for the first time at a gig and you normally practice off-axis. You can solve the problem by installing a Weber Beam Blocker (http://www.webervst.com/blocker.html) like I did on my F-100 2x12 combo. Avatar's sweet cabs notwithstanding, I don't think you need anymore speakers to solve the problem. Of course, if you're looking to change the overall tone, add some bass or get your combo up off the floor, an Avatar Vintage 2x12 would be a nice addition.

[Lt_Core]

It's not so much that the amp sounds great at home and poo at the gig, but more likely you're hearing the treble beam of the speaker for the first time at a gig and you normally practice off-axis. You can solve the problem by installing a Weber Beam Blocker (http://www.webervst.com/blocker.html) like I did on my F-100 2x12 combo. Avatar's sweet cabs notwithstanding, I don't think you need anymore speakers to solve the problem. Of course, if you're looking to change the overall tone, add some bass or get your combo up off the floor, an Avatar Vintage 2x12 would be a nice addition.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I need more bass and thump. The Avatar cab gave me that instantly.

[musicdog400]

Personally, for dirty and hi gain sounds, I prefer to use an attenuator with the F-50. I have even debated building one into the combo. Because 9:00 and up is where it starts to sing, and that is pretty loud. At least the drummer asks me to turn it down. :)

[Progdude]

Hello again, I have yet ANOTHER question to make, sorry to bother.. but this is the best place to get the info :)

So I have been thinking of changing tubes in my f50 to see if the tubes are the problem, and also to have some spare ones :) so.. I would like to know which tubes to buy, both preamp and power to get the petrucci's tone kind of warm and punchy.
Where should I buy them also? I've read that the mesa's ones are bad, so should I order them from the tubestore?
Thanks.

[Lt_Core]

Hello again, I have yet ANOTHER question to make, sorry to bother.. but this is the best place to get the info :)

So I have been thinking of changing tubes in my f50 to see if the tubes are the problem, and also to have some spare ones :) so.. I would like to know which tubes to buy, both preamp and power to get the petrucci's tone kind of warm and punchy.
Where should I buy them also? I've read that the mesa's ones are bad, so should I order them from the tubestore?
Thanks.

No problem, keep the questions coming. A year ago this past June I knew nothing about Mesa amps, let alone tube amps.

I buy JJ tubes from Eurotubes. Here is the link to the full retube kits for the F-series (https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=6&sub_category_id=34). I have the regular retube kit.

[Progdude]

Thanks Lt_Core, that link really helped me out, have you tried the high gain set of tubes? and.. if I order them in the US about how much time would it take them to arrive? :)

[Lt_Core]

Thanks Lt_Core, that link really helped me out, have you tried the high gain set of tubes? and.. if I order them in the US about how much time would it take them to arrive? :)

I have not tried the high-gain tubes. From what I've heard, if you max out your amp's gain and still need more, then try those out. Otherwise it would be a waste. I bought my tubes almost 10 months ago from Eurotubes but I'm guessing 2-4 business days if you're in the lower 48 states. Email Bob at Eurotubes and he'll answer all your questions. He totally rocks!

[beyondthislife]

So what has been the verdict on Weber attenuators? I'd love to get an attenuator but Hotplates are so expensive.

[hal9000]

Thanks Lt_Core, that link really helped me out, have you tried the high gain set of tubes? and.. if I order them in the US about how much time would it take them to arrive? :)Progdude, along with Eurotubes, I would suggest looking at www.dougstubes.com. I got my last set from him and the entire F-100 re-tube cost about the same as 4x6L6 from Mesa. Plus, Doug is very good about knowing the right tubes for Mesa amps. Send him an email and you should get a quick response.

[hal9000]

So what has been the verdict on Weber attenuators? I'd love to get an attenuator but Hotplates are so expensive.Weber Attenuators get good press and there are those who prefer them to Hot Plates. IMO, some amps sound better with certain types of attenuation and that probably accounts for why people prefer one over the other. The only negative I've heard on the Weber attenuators is that at zero volume when it's acting as a load rather than attenuator it has some bleed through to the speakers. I can't confirm that account since I don't have a Weber, but it's a good question to ask.

I really love my Hot Plate and have used it for many different setups. Now, I mostly use it as a load in my silent recording rig and it's excellent for that.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/hal9000SilentDirectRecordingRigF-10.png

[Surfcaster]

So what has been the verdict on Weber attenuators? I'd love to get an attenuator but Hotplates are so expensive.

I had a Weber MiniMass that I used with my F50 for a while. Hal is correct with the bleed-thru issue, at least with mine I could never get it completely silent, and if the master was cranked it was still more volume through the speaker than I could comfortably use in a house with sleeping kids.

Personally, I found that my amp sounded the same (or possibly slightly worse) with the Minimass as it did by simply turning the master down...but then I wasn't using it with the master cranked to really overdrive the poweramp, just to try to bring the volume down to basement levels with the master at 10:00-11:00.

In the end I decided an attenuator was not really what I needed, so I sold it. If I were to get another, however, having used both the Mass and the Hotplate (tried one out in a store with a 100W Plexi RI) I'd personally save up the extra and buy the Hotplate. The controls had a much smoother operation, and it was dead silent at max attenuation.

[Lt_Core]

+1 on that, Surfcaster. I didn't for the Mini Mass I tried. My review is back a bunch of pages. I have better luck dropping the volume through my MXR 10-band EQ pedal in the loop.

[Tommi Inkila]

Hello again, I have yet ANOTHER question to make, sorry to bother.. but this is the best place to get the info :)

So I have been thinking of changing tubes in my f50 to see if the tubes are the problem, and also to have some spare ones :) so.. I would like to know which tubes to buy, both preamp and power to get the petrucci's tone kind of warm and punchy.
Where should I buy them also? I've read that the mesa's ones are bad, so should I order them from the tubestore?
Thanks.
Yes, for the smooth Petrucci sound I recommend and also use JJ's. I have TAD power amp and preamp tubes... their Cz-model should a JJ.

[danyeo]

Wow, this thread has some life to it.

[hal9000]

Wow, this thread has some life to it.Yup, thanks to the good contributors this thread is IMO the most successful on HC. What are you rockin' through these days?

[Tommi Inkila]

My silent recording solution is on hold at the moment. Although I got quite nice results with similar setup that Hal has I never quite nailed it.

My next move is to try isolation cabinets... number one is Axetrak since it's small and practically silent.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Yup, thanks to the good contributors this thread is IMO the most successful on HC. What are you rockin' through these days?



I second hal9000's response. I've been lurking far more than posting recently, but the brotherhood continues to support each other and rock! I'm proud to be a member. :)

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Progdude]

Allright, i'll go with the JJ's and i'll check in later to tell you guys how it went ;)
thanks!

[jry 1949]

hi thanks for the feedback i will try some of the suggestions.

[Will Cyrier]

I've owned my Mesa F-30 since December 2005 and I have to say that I wasn't happy with the purchase until two days ago!

I had purchased it used from GC in Tacoma, WA, USA. I brought it home and loved it for a short period. Channel two developed some squealing and crackling. I assumed it was a microphonic tube and ordered a retube kit from Eurotubes. This didn't solve the problem and left me quite frustrated and out $50 (not a bad price for all new tubes). I ended up going the way of guitar amp modelers (POD XTL and Tonelab SE). About a month ago I was wishing my Mesa worked right because I never fully enjoyed it. I worked up the mustard to take it to an electronics repair guy my dad knows.

This guy ended up finding a blob of solder somewhere in the preamp that was causing an arc (the crackling and squealing that I was hearing) and removed it. Problem solved. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long to take it in...

Great forum BTW.

[Blatti]

I recently took my F-50 to a tech. Since I had just put in some new tubes, I told him to set the bias.

After looking at the amp, he gave it back without doing anything. He told me that he put it on the scope, and the wave looked fine.

The amp has a harsh/bright distortion. It almost sounds like it is out of tune. I think the bias is set to cold.

So, if the wave looks fine on the scope, does that mean the bias is set correctly?

[TheAmazingBlob]

Wow, this thread is incredibly massive :eek:

Keep rocking, my Mesa brothers! :rawk:

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

I am picking up a F100 2x12 combo next week but it doesn't have a footswitch with it. Anybody know where I can find one or what can be used as a substitute?

[Will Cyrier]

I'm very intrigued by the FX loop attenuation method from page one of this forum. Since being introduced, has this caused any physical damage to any of your amps? I also have an Ernie Ball stereo volume pedal, should I try that instead of the cable method?

Hal9000, beatiful pics BTW.

[Lt_Core]

I'm very intrigued by the FX loop attenuation method from page one of this forum. Since being introduced, has this caused any physical damage to any of your amps? I also have an Ernie Ball stereo volume pedal, should I try that instead of the cable method?

Hal9000, beatiful pics BTW.

Welcome to the F-Series lounge!

I would try the volume pedal in the loop, first. If you're talking about the Mix Pot Master Volume 1/4" trick, it does not damage your amp based on past experience. I use an EQ pedal in the loop now to attenuate the volume.

Neil (Hal9000) is the attenuation god around here...I'm sure he'll chime in :)

[hal9000]

I'm very intrigued by the FX loop attenuation method from page one of this forum. Since being introduced, has this caused any physical damage to any of your amps? I also have an Ernie Ball stereo volume pedal, should I try that instead of the cable method?

Hal9000, beatiful pics BTW.I should hope it doesn't cause any physical damage since it's identical to placing a volume pedal in the loop. :) The only difference between a regular volume pedal and the Mix pot master is a higher impedance (usually 250 kOhms) if it's for passive guitar whereas the FX loop Mix pot is only 25 kOhms which is obviously matched to the loop. If you're not going to use the loop, the FX Loop Mix pot master is a great an inexpensive way to add an overall master to the amp and it will help greatly for getting conversation levels out of a massively loud amplifier.

If you want to use the loop and would like to have a device to provide an overall master, the MXR 10-band EQ that Lt_Core mentioned is excellent. I use a G-Major with excellent results as well for overall volume control.

I also have a Hot Plate which I use for lots of things and it's very good at bringing down the overall level of the amp. Unless you're really pushing the power section though, it's not as night and day a difference as one might expect, especially with one of the quality methods of loop attenuation I've outlined.

Thanks for the compliment on my work! If you want to see more, check out my portfolio at www.64graphics.com or click some the links in my sig.

[hal9000]

I've owned my Mesa F-30 since December 2005 and I have to say that I wasn't happy with the purchase until two days ago!

I had purchased it used from GC in Tacoma, WA, USA. I brought it home and loved it for a short period. Channel two developed some squealing and crackling. I assumed it was a microphonic tube and ordered a retube kit from Eurotubes. This didn't solve the problem and left me quite frustrated and out $50 (not a bad price for all new tubes). I ended up going the way of guitar amp modelers (POD XTL and Tonelab SE). About a month ago I was wishing my Mesa worked right because I never fully enjoyed it. I worked up the mustard to take it to an electronics repair guy my dad knows.

This guy ended up finding a blob of solder somewhere in the preamp that was causing an arc (the crackling and squealing that I was hearing) and removed it. Problem solved. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long to take it in...

Great forum BTW.I guess this is a little backwards, but welcome to the forum and the F-series brotherhood! :)

That's unfortunate that Mesa missed that one, or at the very least there was a failure somewhere the overheated the joint causing the solder to flow. Still, I hope Mesa paid for the repair? If not, give them a call. Maybe you'll get a new set of tubes out of it for your trouble.

BTW, for a real treat, plug an unused cable into the FX send (and into nothing else) and run the Left mono out of the Tonelab SE into the FX return of the F-30. I'm a big fan of the Vox Tonelab, and the SE has even more features. When I was still in Florida, I ran my Tonelab in stereo through the FX returns of my F-100 (left) and Tremoverb (right). That was a sweet, sweet setup. There's nothing quite like 200 W of 6L6 goodness on tap in true stereo.:D

[hal9000]

I recently took my F-50 to a tech. Since I had just put in some new tubes, I told him to set the bias.

After looking at the amp, he gave it back without doing anything. He told me that he put it on the scope, and the wave looked fine.

The amp has a harsh/bright distortion. It almost sounds like it is out of tune. I think the bias is set to cold.

So, if the wave looks fine on the scope, does that mean the bias is set correctly?What was your tech going to use to set the bias? Unless you had someone install a bias pot, there nothing for him to adjust.

When you set the bias with an oscilloscope, you're generally looking for a specific amount of crossover distortion in the sine wave on a Class A/B amplifier. That's the amount of distortion created at the zero crossing point when the positive swing of the wave (One 6L6) is handed off to the negative half (The other 6L6). Crossover distortion looks like a chink in the wave so that it is no longer smooth like a pure Class A amplifier.

Mesa has always set the bias cold AFAIK to prolong tube life and people will tell you that it's a travesty they don't do it "right." The reality is, once you're in an acceptable range for the bias of the tubes so they make rated power, it's a subjective matter whether they should be hot, cold, or in-between. Since there are a lot of other factors that affect the tone of an amplifier, I personally would rather have my power tubes last longer than eek out that last 1% of subjective performance.

If the distortion is harsh/bright, you may simply no longer care for the overdrive of the amplifier. Or, you could be listening in the bore-site of the speaker (harsh treble, thin) rather than off-axis. I also find that if I'm really close to the amplifier there is whole different sound since the back pressure wave mixes with the front. A Weber Beam Blocker, new speaker, new room, different positioning in the room, different listening position, etc. could all "fix" the problem.

[Blatti]

What was your tech going to use to set the bias? Unless you had someone install a bias pot, there nothing for him to adjust.


I assumed the tech would install the bias pot. Or put in a different resister.

The bias is probably set right. I just wish I could eliminate that factor.

There is probably a bad part. I know what a good F-50 is supposed to sound like. This one is a little off.

It's hard to describe the sound. It's like it's out of tune for a second, then goes in tune. It would even do it if I played one note. The lower the pitch, the worse the amp tracks.

[Nemesys]

That doesn't sound like a bias problem to me, it sounds more like ghost notes. It's possible that one of your new tubes was bad out of the box, or possibly you have a power-supply filter capacitor that isn't working quite as well as it should. If you have your old power tubes, swap them back in, see if the problem goes away (it might be a preamp tube, you may want to try those too, though I think a power tube is more likely). The big filter caps in a tube amp can kill you if you don't know how to safely work on them, have your tech check that out for you unless you're sure you know how to do it. :)

[diddlybo]

When you set the bias with an oscilloscope, you're generally looking for a specific amount of crossover distortion in the sine wave on a Class A/B amplifier. That's the amount of distortion created at the zero crossing point when the positive swing of the wave (One 6L6) is handed off to the negative half (The other 6L6). Crossover distortion looks like a chink in the wave so that it is no longer smooth like a pure Class A amplifier.


Dude, when it comes to amps you are smarter than God. I mean that in a good way. :)

By the way, I have this in the mail. I know, not a F series but maybe I can hang out in here anyway?

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/diddlybo/express.jpg

[v_c]

By the way, I have this in the mail. I know, not a F series but maybe I can hang out in here anyway?

Nice :thu: Im gonna try to pick up one of those 10" combo's when they start cropping up on the bay (with worldwide shipping).

[diddlybo]

Nice :thu: Im gonna try to pick up one of those 10" combo's when they start cropping up on the bay (with worldwide shipping).

Have you tried the 10" combo's? Those things put out a big sound for such a small package. I looked long and hard for a head version and was just about to give up when this one popped up on Ebay. Mesa must not have built very many 5:25 heads as I couldn't find a Mesa dealer anywhere who had actually seen one of these. I'm hoping I bond with this amp and it becomes my main gigging amp. My bad back likes amps weighing in less than 30 lbs.

[v_c]

Have you tried the 10" combo's? Those things put out a big sound for such a small package. I looked long and hard for a head version and was just about to give up when this one popped up on Ebay. Mesa must not have built very many 5:25 heads as I couldn't find a Mesa dealer anywhere who had actually seen one of these. I'm hoping I bond with this amp and it becomes my main gigging amp. My bad back likes amps weighing in less than 30 lbs.
No I havent yet, they've only just started shipping over here.

But yeah, the idea of a fully featured amp so small really appeals to me. I have a few bigger boogies right now, but I've also owned the Studio 22+ and 20/20 power amp, so I know just how loud the Mesa EL84 simulclass amps really get.

And with the full 2-channels + contour, reverb, voicing switches, man, that's such a professional & versatile amp packed into a small package, I can't wait to try one :thu:

[pierce34celtic]

Looking for something that'll handle 80s thrash (Testament,Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax) up to SOME modern stuff (Lamb of God, older Nevermore). I'd also like a nice clean channel, that could do well with a chorus pedal for Metallica type clean tones. I need something crushing on high gain for metal rhythms, I'm thinking something along the lines of a boosted JCM800/mark series with a big low end punch. However, I need it to be tight and articulate, and the lead channel has to be fluid and non-fizzy, something that really cuts through.

I'm on a budget under $900, and have considered a Peavey xxx, F series, or Dc series combo. Which would be best?

[jry 1949]

higuys i just tried hal9000 fx loop master vol. it worked great while im here does anyone have some good settings for the F50 using an american delux fender strat. much appriciated later

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

I guess I should be passin out cigars 'cause, I feel like a new dad. I just got home with my first F Series in the form of a F100 2X12 100 Watt combo, YAY ME!! :thu::thu::thu:

[Foorever]

How would a F-30 hold up in a gigging rock n roll band? Is it loud enough? I could mic through the PA if possible, but I'd like to avoid it.

[Will Cyrier]

BTW, for a real treat, plug an unused cable into the FX send (and into nothing else) and run the Left mono out of the Tonelab SE into the FX return of the F-30. I'm a big fan of the Vox Tonelab, and the SE has even more features. When I was still in Florida, I ran my Tonelab in stereo through the FX returns of my F-100 (left) and Tremoverb (right). That was a sweet, sweet setup. There's nothing quite like 200 W of 6L6 goodness on tap in true stereo.:D

I've tried going into the power amp only with my TLSE, but without the "dummy cable" in the FX send. Will that change the sound that I'm getting? Also, do you use the "AP" or "LN" output mode when doing this? I love my Vox TLSE and my Analog rig.

Back to attenuation. Here's what I'm experimenting with:

Warmoth Strat (pictured at left)-->Boss TU-15 tuner-->Original Crybaby wah-->TS9 Tubescreamer-->Danelectro Fab Overdrive-->ProCo Rat-->Mesa F-30-->(FX Send)-->Ernie Ball Volume pedal-->Matao Flanger-->Line 6 DL4-->(FX Return)-->Celestion Vintage 30.

Any suggestions for a better signal path?

Will

[Foorever]

I've tried going into the power amp only with my TLSE, but without the "dummy cable" in the FX send. Will that change the sound that I'm getting? Also, do you use the "AP" or "LN" output mode when doing this? I love my Vox TLSE and my Analog rig.

Back to attenuation. Here's what I'm experimenting with:

Warmoth Strat (pictured at left)-->Boss TU-15 tuner-->Original Crybaby wah-->TS9 Tubescreamer-->Danelectro Fab Overdrive-->ProCo Rat-->Mesa F-30-->(FX Send)-->Ernie Ball Volume pedal-->Matao Flanger-->Line 6 DL4-->(FX Return)-->Celestion Vintage 30.

Any suggestions for a better signal path?

Will

How is the F-30 for gigging Will? Is that what you use for gigs?

[Blatti]

you have a power-supply filter capacitor that isn't working quite as well as it should.

I would like to replace all the filter capacitors in the power supply.

Does anybody know which ones I should get?

www.tubedepot.com/capacitors.html

[hal9000]

higuys i just tried hal9000 fx loop master vol. it worked great while im here does anyone have some good settings for the F50 using an american delux fender strat. much appriciated laterSweet! I'm glad the FX master worked out for you.

I have settings in my sig. Most of the channel 2 settings are with a humbucker, but the clean channel ones are all from my Fat Strat using the neck and middle coil pups.

[hal9000]

I guess I should be passin out cigars 'cause, I feel like a new dad. I just got home with my first F Series in the form of a F100 2X12 100 Watt combo, YAY ME!! :thu::thu::thu:Congrats on the amp, welcome to the forum and the F-series brotherhood! :)

I'm one of the few around that also has an F-100 2x12 combo. It's everything I need in one package.

[hal9000]

I've tried going into the power amp only with my TLSE, but without the "dummy cable" in the FX send. Will that change the sound that I'm getting? Also, do you use the "AP" or "LN" output mode when doing this? I love my Vox TLSE and my Analog rig.

Back to attenuation. Here's what I'm experimenting with:

Warmoth Strat (pictured at left)-->Boss TU-15 tuner-->Original Crybaby wah-->TS9 Tubescreamer-->Danelectro Fab Overdrive-->ProCo Rat-->Mesa F-30-->(FX Send)-->Ernie Ball Volume pedal-->Matao Flanger-->Line 6 DL4-->(FX Return)-->Celestion Vintage 30.

Any suggestions for a better signal path?

WillWithout the dummy cable, the Tonelab will sound like there is a blanket over the speakers. Basically, the FX loop is back-feeding the unused F-series preamp causing an impedance mismatch which just makes things muddy. Adding a dummy cable disconnects the preamp entirely so you're just using the amp as a power amp. You should be using the output set to line since that's the expected level of the F-series preamp.

I'm curious if your volume pedal in the loop affects the other devices there other than total level? In an active loop it's generally better to have everything buffered so they don't disturb each other's output. If I understand correctly the Ernie Ball is passive 250 kOhms, right?

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

Congrats on the amp, welcome to the forum and the F-series brotherhood! :)

I'm one of the few around that also has an F-100 2x12 combo. It's everything I need in one package.

Thanks hal, so far I am very happy with this powerhouse amp. I live in an apt. though so I am gonna try to get together with a friend this weekend and krank this sucker up at one of his rehearals. As for it being everything in one package,....not quite yet. I need a footswitch for it. Happen to know of one somewhere other than the factory at $110.00 a pop?

This is my second Mesa/Boogie product , first full amp package ( first was a Quad Pre-amp ). Can you tell me where I should look for the build date on this thing?:wave:

[Will Cyrier]

How is the F-30 for gigging Will? Is that what you use for gigs?

To me this amp is loud. However, I use it in a situtation where I really can't turn it up since my church uses electronic drums and such. I think i've turned it up to 1 and that was too loud. I think, if you're not bounded by such issues, that this amp would hold its own. But, you should try it out if you have a chance. I love the sound of it, and if you're going to be mic'ing it, then you won't have a problem.

Will

[Will Cyrier]

Without the dummy cable, the Tonelab will sound like there is a blanket over the speakers. Basically, the FX loop is back-feeding the unused F-series preamp causing an impedance mismatch which just makes things muddy. Adding a dummy cable disconnects the preamp entirely so you're just using the amp as a power amp. You should be using the output set to line since that's the expected level of the F-series preamp.

I'm curious if your volume pedal in the loop affects the other devices there other than total level? In an active loop it's generally better to have everything buffered so they don't disturb each other's output. If I understand correctly the Ernie Ball is passive 250 kOhms, right?

I really don't know about the Ernie's ohm rating. I figured that having the mod and time effects after the pedal I would get the best sound out of them. I haven't had a chance to crank it yet to see if they're affected by the VP.

[Blatti]

Does anyone know where to get a schematic for the F-50?
I think I'm getting some ghost notes. I want to change the Electrolytic Capacitors.

[Will Cyrier]

Does anyone know where to get a schematic for the F-50?
I think I'm getting some ghost notes. I want to change the Electrolytic Capacitors.

I tried searching online for my F-30 awhile back with no luck. You may need to contact Mesa directly, but I've heard they're pretty tight-fisted with their schematics. I could be totally wrong with that since I read it in a forum online somewhere. They may actually be pretty helpful. Give them a call.

[estring777]

I just picked up an 06 F-50 head. I really would like to get the master up past noon to open up them power tubes. But at that point I think I really need a Hotplate. It just dosent get fat enough for me around 9-10 o'clock
any thoughts.

[v_c]

I just picked up an 06 F-50 head. I really would like to get the master up past noon to open up them power tubes. But at that point I think I really need a Hotplate. It just dosent get fat enough for me around 9-10 o'clock
any thoughts.

There's a lot of discussion about this in this thread, you should work your way through it when you have time.

See Hal9000s F/X loop mod, hal links to it in his sig above.

[Rodimus Prime]

i've also found that around 4 is prime tone for this amp. after about 5 there's just too much (gain, bass, treble...) and its so hard to control. This amp on 4 is about the same as a dsl 50 on like 6 or 7. Don't worry, the powertubes are cooking.

[estring777]

There's a lot of discussion about this in this thread, you should work your way through it when you have time.

See Hal9000s F/X loop mod, hal links to it in his sig above.

over 4000 posts and 250 pages...I'd rather be practicing!!!! ;)
Plus, the search function is down...again!!!!
Cant use Hals fx loop trick since I use the loop.
Thanks though...

[Nemesys]

Does anyone know where to get a schematic for the F-50?
I think I'm getting some ghost notes. I want to change the Electrolytic Capacitors.

You should be able to read the capacitance and voltage values off the sides of the caps -- you just need to match those values. As Will Cryrier suggested, you may be able to get some help by calling Mesa directly. They probably have a better idea than I do what would cause ghost notes in this particular amp -- it's frequently caused by filter capacitors not up to spec, but not necessarily in this specific case.

You may want to take the amp to a tech anyway, to test the capacitors before you swap them (unless you are lucky enough to own or have access to an oscilloscope). They aren't very expensive, but there's no need to replace good caps. Also, I think new electrolytics need to be broken in before they can be used at full power, which I think involves bringing the amp up to full voltage on a variac over the course of half an hour or so.

If you do change them yourself, though, BE CAREFUL!!! Those are the exact bits of the amp that can kill you if you don't know what you are doing. And, good luck! I hope you get it sorted out! :)

[Surfcaster]

I took my amp in to an authorized Mesa servicer a couple of weeks ago and he had told me to call and check on it in a couple of weeks if I hadn't heard back, so I called in yesterday.

I took it in for two issues, one was the Bright switch had stopped working. The other had to do with intermittent output issues...it was not a real serious issue yet, but I noticed it on a few different occasions. In fact, it happened so infrequently I was afraid it wouldn't do it for the repair folks. But he told me it was doing it for them. He didn't have a diagnosis yet, but said he should in a couple days.

Anyway, I'm glad...hopefully this issue will be resolved on Mesa's dime! I remember a couple people with similar issues a while back, so if that described your amp, it might be worth having the amp looked at.

I'll let you all know what the final diagnosis is when I find out.

[Spirithunter]

Impulse buy...bitten by the Boogie bug!

Walk into my favorite music store today to buy a guitar i have been looking at for a bit.
Instead walked out with this F-50 head w/212 for $700.00 taxes included...

The music store bought it from the person at the same time i walk into the store.
I wish i caught the person berfore they sold it to them.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/Spirithunter/F-50with212cab.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/Spirithunter/MarkIVF-50with212cab.jpg

Everything is in excellent condition.

These days I can't walk by a Boogie without considering buy it.lol

Glad to be part of this family here now.:thu:

[estring777]

Heres a problem...
I have an F50 head and a DD20 in the loop. Normal short delay settings with a couple repeats sound great. Its the multiple repeat delays...or infinite delay settings that I have a problem. After a few seconds this awful helicoper thumping sound starts coming through and gets louder and louder until I either change patches or turn off the delay.

ANy ideas...
thanks

[ashjn]

Heres a problem...
I have an F50 head and a DD20 in the loop. Normal short delay settings with a couple repeats sound great. Its the multiple repeat delays...or infinite delay settings that I have a problem. After a few seconds this awful helicoper thumping sound starts coming through and gets louder and louder until I either change patches or turn off the delay.

ANy ideas...
thanks

I know exactly what you are talking about and have the exact same problem. I notice it the most when I have the DD-20 set to Dual

[estring777]

I know exactly what you are talking about and have the exact same problem. I notice it the most when I have the DD-20 set to Dual


Time to do some experimenting!!!!! Theres some kind of signal thats still being generated enough to be echoed. Now we have to find it.:cool:

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

Does anyone know where to get a schematic for the F-50?
I think I'm getting some ghost notes. I want to change the Electrolytic Capacitors.

I know that these aren't what you were lookin for Blat, but if Boogie schematics are as hard to find as I have heard maybe they will help someone else. I'm still lookin for the F-50 though.

http://www.schematicheaven.com/mesaboogie.htm

http://www.tubefreak.com/mesa.htm :thu:

[petesvilla]

That "helicopter" sound you hear happens because the mix control on the F50 is only 25K. It allows some of the returned signal from the outboard effect to leak back into the effect's own input (via the F50 send jack) thus causing a feedback loop.
Have a look back a few pages for the small write up I did on converting the parallel loop to a series one. Doing this mod prevents the feedback loop when an effects unit is being used.


Cheers,

Pete

[beyondthislife]

Man..someone online is selling a custom Avatar 4 x 12 cab with 2 Vintage 30's to 2 G12H30's. $250 + shipping. I want.

[Surfcaster]

I took my amp in to an authorized Mesa servicer a couple of weeks ago and he had told me to call and check on it in a couple of weeks if I hadn't heard back, so I called in yesterday.

I took it in for two issues, one was the Bright switch had stopped working. The other had to do with intermittent output issues...it was not a real serious issue yet, but I noticed it on a few different occasions. In fact, it happened so infrequently I was afraid it wouldn't do it for the repair folks. But he told me it was doing it for them. He didn't have a diagnosis yet, but said he should in a couple days.

Anyway, I'm glad...hopefully this issue will be resolved on Mesa's dime! I remember a couple people with similar issues a while back, so if that described your amp, it might be worth having the amp looked at.

I'll let you all know what the final diagnosis is when I find out.

Well, come to find out their problem was a bad cable! They couldn't find anything else wrong. So my original concerns were correct...it is too intermittent to be diagnosed by a tech! :mad: Oh well...

They did say it's done and ready to be picked up, so at least it'll be back home this weekend.

[Goldwing]

Hi.

After one year of using my F50 with the Gt8 in front of the amp, I'm getting tired of the sound, so I'm willing to try new setups

I have a doubt regarding the use of the G-Major with the F-50. Does anybody use the "KILL DRY" setting?

I'm thinking in change mi GT8 for the G-major (maybe the G-system..but its so expensive here.. almost 1800 usd) and I found that it has the Kill DRY feature to work with parallel loops.

If I use the "kill dry", do I'll still be able to use the g-major as attenuator?

Other question, If I mod my parallel loop to series, does the mix pot have a function? maybe as send volume control?


cheers!!

[estring777]

That "helicopter" sound you hear happens because the mix control on the F50 is only 25K. It allows some of the returned signal from the outboard effect to leak back into the effect's own input (via the F50 send jack) thus causing a feedback loop.
Have a look back a few pages for the small write up I did on converting the parallel loop to a series one. Doing this mod prevents the feedback loop when an effects unit is being used.


Cheers,

Pete

Thanks Pete...but screw it...I'm just putting it up front now, with no problems.

[PowerDude]

Man..someone online is selling a custom Avatar 4 x 12 cab with 2 Vintage 30's to 2 G12H30's. $250 + shipping. I want.

Where????

[Alchemist]

Hi.

After one year of using my F50 with the Gt8 in front of the amp, I'm getting tired of the sound, so I'm willing to try new setups

I have a doubt regarding the use of the G-Major with the F-50. Does anybody use the "KILL DRY" setting?

I'm thinking in change mi GT8 for the G-major (maybe the G-system..but its so expensive here.. almost 1800 usd) and I found that it has the Kill DRY feature to work with parallel loops.

If I use the "kill dry", do I'll still be able to use the g-major as attenuator?

Other question, If I mod my parallel loop to series, does the mix pot have a function? maybe as send volume control?


cheers!!


I changed my G-Major for a GT8....

why are you running the GT8 in front of the amp though???

I use it in the loop and it sounds great for delay, harmonizer, reverb, chorus, tremolo etc.......

[estring777]

Where????


Petrucci forum...Gear section

[Goldwing]

I changed my G-Major for a GT8....

why are you running the GT8 in front of the amp though???

I use it in the loop and it sounds great for delay, harmonizer, reverb, chorus, tremolo etc.......

I use it in front because in that way I can put individual pedals in the GT8 loop and just bring it in to the effect chain without having to do "tap dancing" jeje.

But more recently I feel that I was loosing a lot of character in my sound with this setup so I decided to change it. Initally, I tought in just put my strat into an Axess CFX4 for the stompboxes (MIDI controlled by the GT8), then the amp and the GT8 in the loop. Its just that I cant seem to make it sound good.

The connections, there is to many options:

One.- Control the mix level of the loop and just send processed signals from the gt8. That means to reduce to 0 all de direct level in the effects of the gt8. The issue is that I can't have loop attenuation, since I mic my amp in every rehearsal and gig this leave me with the necessity of a HotPlate.

Two.- Run the loop at 90% and use the Gt8 as attenuator. I can set the volume pedal to 100% and use the analog output level to get the correct volume depending of the situation (rehearsal, gig). Or just set the output level fixed and control the volume with the expresion pedal of the gt8

How do you set up the input and output level in yours? I think the input level in mine must be set low in order to obtain a good sound from the GT8..almost -10db with the Mix pot of the F50 at 90%..

cheers!

[P4RKC1TY]

looks like i've got double the credentials to hang out here.
unfortunately when my F-100 arrived last week the top of the cabinet with the chassis attached had broken off.
damn you UPS man.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/adamparkcity/DSC01952.jpg

[Blatti]

You may want to take the amp to a tech anyway, to test the capacitors before you swap them (unless you are lucky enough to own or have access to an oscilloscope). They aren't very expensive, but there's no need to replace good caps.


Is the test 100% accurate?

If the filter capacitors pass the test, is there no way they could be causing the problem?

One reason I think I have bad electrolytic capacitors is this quote from "The Guitar Amp Handbook", page 29.

Electrolytic Capacitors

Put simply, electrolytic capacitors are used to remove AC ripple that's left in the DC power supply after it has undergone the rectifier's AC-to-DC conversion. Left untreated, this ripple can cause a number of problems generally associated with unwanted noise: these can take the form of a pulsating current, a dirty hum, a flabby and distorted low-frequency response, or even ghost notes, which sound something like a dissonant harmonic following along behind the actual note played. None of these are desirable, and it's the filter capacitor's job to eliminate them.

http://www.musicdispatch.com/item_detail.jsp?itemid=331349&order=0&catcode=01&refer=search&type=product&keywords=guitar+amp+handbook

When I'm on channel two, it sounds like a dissonant harmonic. It starts after the sound of the pick. Then it goes away after a split second. It's like an extra scratch in the sound.

But the clean channel sounds good. If I put a distortion pedal in front of the clean channel, it also sounds good.
So it's only channel two that sounds bad. Which makes me think that something is wrong in channel two's preamp.

If the electrolytic capacitors are going bad, wouldn't it make both channels sound bad?

Could a bad capacitor in the preamp cause the same problem?

Is there any specific brand of capacitors that would be considered an upgrade?

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

looks like i've got double the credentials to hang out here.
unfortunately when my F-100 arrived last week the top of the cabinet with the chassis attached had broken off.
damn you UPS man.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/adamparkcity/DSC01952.jpg

As a fellow F100 combo owner, I hope you did the same to ups guy. HELL yes! I say kill the messenger!:deadhorse:

[Nemesys]

Is the test 100% accurate?

If the filter capacitors pass the test, is there no way they could be causing the problem?


The test involves reading the current with a scope after each big filter cap. At that point in the circuit, the current should be pure DC, as the purpose of those caps is to filter out any leftover ripple after the rectifier. If there's any, it'll show up on a scope.


One reason I think I have bad electrolytic capacitors is this quote from "The Guitar Amp Handbook", page 29.

Electrolytic Capacitors

Put simply, electrolytic capacitors are used to remove AC ripple that's left in the DC power supply after it has undergone the rectifier's AC-to-DC conversion. Left untreated, this ripple can cause a number of problems generally associated with unwanted noise: these can take the form of a pulsating current, a dirty hum, a flabby and distorted low-frequency response, or even ghost notes, which sound something like a dissonant harmonic following along behind the actual note played. None of these are desirable, and it's the filter capacitor's job to eliminate them.

http://www.musicdispatch.com/item_detail.jsp?itemid=331349&order=0&catcode=01&refer=search&type=product&keywords=guitar+amp+handbook


Sounds like a good book -- I should pick up a copy. :thu:


When I'm on channel two, it sounds like a dissonant harmonic. It starts after the sound of the pick. Then it goes away after a split second. It's like an extra scratch in the sound.

But the clean channel sounds good. If I put a distortion pedal in front of the clean channel, it also sounds good.
So it's only channel two that sounds bad. Which makes me think that something is wrong in channel two's preamp.

If the electrolytic capacitors are going bad, wouldn't it make both channels sound bad?


When you posted before, I didn't catch that you only had problems with the second channel. It's possible that a bad filter cap would cause problems on all channels, or just on one, depending on the amp's circuit design. I'm not familiar with the F-50's layout, so I'm not sure.


Could a bad capacitor in the preamp cause the same problem?


Possibly, though the capacitors in the preamp are there for voicing, so they have different values than the filter caps, so I would think a problem would manifest itself more as a tonal difference. I'm no expert on preamp design, though, so I'm not really sure.


Is there any specific brand of capacitors that would be considered an upgrade?

I don't know what Mesa uses to begin with, they tend to use fairly high-quality components, but they do mass-produce, so there may be some cost compromises involved. I've heard good things about Sprague Atom caps...

[MKCL]

Hey guys, how much do you think a used Mesa F30 1x12 combo goes for nowadays?

[Spudmurphy]

I posted this to another forum and I was advised to come here- I'm glad I did!


OK so this is my first post having become the proud owner of an F50.
What a wonderful amp it is.

I've been hanging around on the Ernie Ball Forums a lot because of my passion for their Albert Lee guitars.

Anyway my question is (and please be gentle with a newbie!) why does my F50 have the Mesa Engineering badge on it yet whenever I see an advert or look at the custom versions on Mesa's website, the F50's have the Messa Boogie badge. (Spud ducks!!)

I guess I then have to ask "Can you buy a Messa Boogie badge?

Here's a photo

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/bluesplottboy/P6140086.jpg

Cheers
Spud
Cardiff,
UK.

[facefirst]

I want an F-100. Might have to get rid of the Recto.

[hal9000]

I posted this to another forum and I was advised to come here- I'm glad I did!


OK so this is my first post having become the proud owner of an F50.
What a wonderful amp it is.

I've been hanging around on the Ernie Ball Forums a lot because of my passion for their Albert Lee guitars.

Anyway my question is (and please be gentle with a newbie!) why does my F50 have the Mesa Engineering badge on it yet whenever I see an advert or look at the custom versions on Mesa's website, the F50's have the Messa Boogie badge. (Spud ducks!!)

I guess I then have to ask "Can you buy a Messa Boogie badge?

Here's a photo

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/bluesplottboy/P6140086.jpg

Cheers
Spud
Cardiff,
UK.Spud, I thought I recognized your handle from the EBMM forums. I've the same name over there, but I don't post all that much as I'm usually playing my 20th Silo in my free time.

That is interesting about your F-50 since usually you only see the Mesa Engineering badge on the face plate or on one of the Mesa extension cabs. I have a feeling someone put that there on their own since I've not seen one like it before. I believe you can get Mesa to send you one for free since many people here didn't get one as an aesthetic decision from Mesa. The F-series is Mesa's so-called "Stealth" amp.

I'll bet an AL sounds mighty sweet through the F-50! I enjoy my American Deluxe Fat Strat immensely with my F-100.

[hal9000]

I want an F-100. Might have to get rid of the Recto.Interesting. What is prompting your change from the Recto? I did a comparison of my F-100 and Tremoverb a few pages back if you're interested. I really like them both. :)

[facefirst]

Interesting. What is prompting your change from the Recto? I did a comparison of my F-100 and Tremoverb a few pages back if you're interested. I really like them both. :)

Mainly I just want a combo amp.

[Spudmurphy]

Spud, I thought I recognized your handle from the EBMM forums. I've the same name over there, but I don't post all that much as I'm usually playing my 20th Silo in my free time.

That is interesting about your F-50 since usually you only see the Mesa Engineering badge on the face plate or on one of the Mesa extension cabs. I have a feeling someone put that there on their own since I've not seen one like it before. I believe you can get Mesa to send you one for free since many people here didn't get one as an aesthetic decision from Mesa. The F-series is Mesa's so-called "Stealth" amp.

I'll bet an AL sounds mighty sweet through the F-50! I enjoy my American Deluxe Fat Strat immensely with my F-100.

Hal
Thanks for your very swift reply. Wow you seem to be a Mesa expert I'm honored! :)
The AL sounds soooo nice through the F50 - I don't think I'll be changing the amp or my guitars - it's only taken me 36 years to find my ideal combination.

I was getting reluctant to use my Marshall Silver Jubilee 50 1 x 12, as it is getting to be a rarity and I wanted to keep it in nice condition. I even have the Marshall Jubilee coffee mug coasters lol!.

I had made some money on expenses whilst traveling and decided to get a new amp _ I was going to get a beat up old Music man amp viz:-
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/bluesplottboy/P6140084c.jpg

but then I came across the F50 - I just had to have it!

I'll contact Mesa re the badge and see what they say.
If they come back and say that some left the factory like that I'll leave well alone.

Pop by the EB forum some time - I'll certainly be popping back here.

I have another question to ask which I'll post separately.
Regards
Spud

[Spudmurphy]

I'm new to Mesa products and you'll have to be gentle with me guys - you know I'm a typical fatherly figure who can't program a VCR and has a mobile phone like a house brick - well the company pays for it lol!

OK - I have been running my Pod XT through the return loop of my Marshall - sounds 8loody great - now when I plug it into the FX mix return on Mr F50 it sounds cr... sorry, not so good!

Any pointers please?

Cheers

Spud

[hal9000]

I'm new to Mesa products and you'll have to be gentle with me guys - you know I'm a typical fatherly figure who can't program a VCR and has a mobile phone like a house brick - well the company pays for it lol!

OK - I have been running my Pod XT through the return loop of my Marshall - sounds 8loody great - now when I plug it into the FX mix return on Mr F50 it sounds cr... sorry, not so good!

Any pointers please?

Cheers

SpudBTW, Welcome to the forum and the F-series Brotherhood! :)

I know exactly what you're experiencing because I've heard the blanket-over-the-speakers sound with my PODxt Live as well. Basically, you need to disconnect the F-50's preamp from the power amp and you can do that by inserting an unused cable or 1/4" plug in the FX Send's jack. Don't plug that cable into anything else. The FX Send jack has a switching contact when a cable is inserted that will take out the FX loop's parallel path. Then, plug your PODxt directly into the FX Return jack and it should sound a whole lot better. Also, on the PODxt, make sure the output is set for "line" as opposed to "amp" because that will also cause a similar result.

Also, check my signature for a little trick I worked up called the FX Loop Master volume. If you want more control over the volume of the amp and you aren't using the loop for anything else, take a look. If I'm not running my G-Major in the loop, this method gives me the same excellent low volume control of the tone.

[Spudmurphy]

BTW, Welcome to the forum and the F-series Brotherhood! :)

I know exactly what you're experiencing because I've heard the blanket-over-the-speakers sound with my PODxt Live as well. Basically, you need to disconnect the F-50's preamp from the power amp and you can do that by inserting an unused cable or 1/4" plug in the FX Send's jack. Don't plug that cable into anything else. The FX Send jack has a switching contact when a cable is inserted that will take out the FX loop's parallel path. Then, plug your PODxt directly into the FX Return jack and it should sound a whole lot better. Also, on the PODxt, make sure the output is set for "line" as opposed to "amp" because that will also cause a similar result.

Also, check my signature for a little trick I worked up called the FX Loop Master volume. If you want more control over the volume of the amp and you aren't using the loop for anything else, take a look. If I'm not running my G-Major in the loop, this method gives me the same excellent low volume control of the tone.

Wow that sounds a neat trick! I'll try that mod for sure - I'll try the pod xt as you have suggested first, and report back:thu:

I'm about to send an e mail to Mesa about the badge- let's see what their CS are like?
Spud

[hal9000]

Wow that sounds a neat trick! I'll try that mod for sure - I'll try the pod xt as you have suggested first, and report back:thu:

I'm about to send an e mail to Mesa about the badge- let's see what their CS are like?
SpudMesa's Customer Service is top notch! That's one of the reasons I looked seriously in their direction back in the day. :)

[Spudmurphy]

Mesa's Customer Service is top notch! That's one of the reasons I looked seriously in their direction back in the day. :)

Did I expect any different ? - nah the Pod xt sounds great.
Totally knocks out the pre amp stage and does the biz!!

Thanks for your advice.

[MKCL]

F30 vs F50.

If both have the exact same amount of playing hours, do the POWER tubes in the F50 last longer?

[Josh O]

Hey everyone, I'll admit I didn't look through all 249 pages and I didn't see a search function so I'll apologize in advance for asking a question that has probably been answered time and time again. Can you direct record with the F-50 simply by connecting the recording out jack to a mixing console or recording unit without using some sort of a separate speaker emulator? I do this now with my Koch Pedaltone all tube preamp which has a jack specific to PA/recording and a speaker emulator gets engaged when you use it. I want to start using my F-50 instead of my Koch when my band goes direct to a computer card (sometimes it isn't possible for us to mic up).

Will it work well or do I need another box. If I do, what is everyone using?

[ashjn]

Hey everyone, I'll admit I didn't look through all 249 pages and I didn't see a search function so I'll apologize in advance for asking a question that has probably been answered time and time again. Can you direct record with the F-50 simply by connecting the recording out jack to a mixing console or recording unit without using some sort of a separate speaker emulator? I do this now with my Koch Pedaltone all tube preamp which has a jack specific to PA/recording and a speaker emulator gets engaged when you use it. I want to start using my F-50 instead of my Koch when my band goes direct to a computer card (sometimes it isn't possible for us to mic up).

Will it work well or do I need another box. If I do, what is everyone using?

You can, but it won't sound nearly as good as mic'ing the amp up...

[Spudmurphy]

Hal
Thanks for your very swift reply. Wow you seem to be a Mesa expert I'm honored! :)
The AL sounds soooo nice through the F50 - I don't think I'll be changing the amp or my guitars - it's only taken me 36 years to find my ideal combination.

I was getting reluctant to use my Marshall Silver Jubilee 50 1 x 12, as it is getting to be a rarity and I wanted to keep it in nice condition. I even have the Marshall Jubilee coffee mug coasters lol!.

I had made some money on expenses whilst traveling and decided to get a new amp _ I was going to get a beat up old Music man amp viz:-
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/bluesplottboy/P6140084c.jpg

but then I came across the F50 - I just had to have it!

I'll contact Mesa re the badge and see what they say.
If they come back and say that some left the factory like that I'll leave well alone.

Pop by the EB forum some time - I'll certainly be popping back here.

I have another question to ask which I'll post separately.
Regards
Spud

So I experienced Mesa Customer Service for the first time and I was impressed to say the least - I had a reply from them that very same day which I think I'll share with the forum. They said...

Initially the F-series amps left the factory with no logo and later
adopted the Mesa/Boogie badge. So I would assume that someone put the
MESA logo on after the fact.

As far as serial numbers, we don't exactly have a solid database, but I
may be able to tell you when your amp shipped from the factory.

I removed the badge last night and there is no evidence of any other screw holes - I can only assume that the previous owner put the badge on - I'll try and find out more.

So, do I replace the Mesa Engineering badge put a Boogie badge on there?
- answers on a postcard to Spudmurphy ... ... ... ;)

[hal9000]

Hey everyone, I'll admit I didn't look through all 249 pages and I didn't see a search function so I'll apologize in advance for asking a question that has probably been answered time and time again. Can you direct record with the F-50 simply by connecting the recording out jack to a mixing console or recording unit without using some sort of a separate speaker emulator? I do this now with my Koch Pedaltone all tube preamp which has a jack specific to PA/recording and a speaker emulator gets engaged when you use it. I want to start using my F-50 instead of my Koch when my band goes direct to a computer card (sometimes it isn't possible for us to mic up).

Will it work well or do I need another box. If I do, what is everyone using?Hi Josh, welcome to the forum and the F-series Brotherhood! :)

The short answer to your question is Yes, you can run direct from the recording output which already has a speaker sim circuit to a recording interface.

The long answer is, you can run direct from the recording out, but if you want to maintain the excellent room tone of the amp direct, the recording output is going to fall far short IMO for anything overdriven. Part of the problem is simply that the recording output only contains the F-series' preamp since it is tapped right before the Phase Inverter (V4 - in the manual). So, even if the speaker sim was the best available, you're still not getting the best sound possible. Second, the speaker sim is a bit lackluster to my ears. Yes, it works, but I don't care for the tone as it sounds too muffled to me.

So, what is one to do to maintain sweet F-series goodness in a direct recording or playing environment? There are lots of options.

1) FX Send out -> Modeler for cab sim/FX -> Recording Interface
You can take your output from the F-series FX send jack which is a raw preamp signal at line level. From there you need to go into a speaker simulator of some sort. I would personally suggest using a PODxt or equivalent modeler that you can turn off the amp sims and only use the cab/mic models. Then, you could add FX as well. As shown by Tommi Inkila, this method can produce very good results. The one criticism I have is that it doesn't incorporate the power section of the amplifier, which is IMO crucial to the tone.

2) Line level tap with cab sim from amp's output -> Recording Interface
I have a Behringer Ultra-G (http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHGI100) that is expressly for this purpose. It takes a speaker level input and gives you a cab simulated line level output (XLR). The Ultra-G has a 4x12 cab sim so the output is very full sounding. As far as connections are concerned the amplifier output is connected to the Ultra-G with a speaker cable. The Ultra-G passes that signal unaltered to the speakers so the room sound is the same. However, the Ultra-G also taps a small portion of that signal and conditions it for balanced XLR and adds a cab sim (switchable). You can then take that line level signal direct to a mixer or recording interface. The Ultra-G is all metal and is about $35 USD. Hughes & Kettner makes the Red Box Pro (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Hughes-Kettner-Red-Box-Pro-MK-III?sku=480401&src=3SOSWXXA) which performs the same function for around $100

3) Power Attenuator with adjustable line out -> Cab simulator/FX -> Recording interface
I've used this scenario for a while now for recording direct silently and for post-amp FX which sounds really sweet. It's a lot more money to incorporate the power attenuator and cab sim, but the modular nature of the rig lends itself to many useful functions.

Here is my silent recording rig:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/hal9000SilentDirectRecordingRigF-10.png

A few clips recorded silently:
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Reflective_F-100_20th.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_F-100_Tuesdays_Gone.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Afraid_Dave_Superman_solo.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000F-100_Heavy_USB.mp3

[Josh O]

Thanks Hal. I've been thinking about getting an attenuator although your FX loop master volume trick looks cool. You're using the THD Hot Plate right? The only problem I have with doing that is I'm running an 8 ohm recto cab in addition to the internal speaker when jamming at home but if I go play with the guys, I usually just bring the combo, no extra cab. If I remember, the THD units are ohm specific.

[Ogi-wan]

Recently, I had the opportunity to play with a loaner Marshall 1x12 for several weeks, which I "converted" into an extension cabinet for my F-30 1x12. It was really the first time I ever played through more than one speaker, and the fullness of the sound was great! :thu: I enjoyed it so much that I am thinking of picking up an extension cabinet but don't know if I should get a 1x12 or a 2x12.

So I'd like to hear from the voices of experience. Will I be giving up anything by not getting a 1x12 and by instead going with a 2x12?

[Tommi Inkila]

Hey everyone, I'll admit I didn't look through all 249 pages and I didn't see a search function so I'll apologize in advance for asking a question that has probably been answered time and time again. Can you direct record with the F-50 simply by connecting the recording out jack to a mixing console or recording unit without using some sort of a separate speaker emulator? I do this now with my Koch Pedaltone all tube preamp which has a jack specific to PA/recording and a speaker emulator gets engaged when you use it. I want to start using my F-50 instead of my Koch when my band goes direct to a computer card (sometimes it isn't possible for us to mic up).

Will it work well or do I need another box. If I do, what is everyone using?
Hal's silent recording setup is really nice and recommendable.

I'm waiting for my Axetrak (silent cabinet for recording) to arrive and we shall hear how it sounds... I'm planning to do some clips as soon as possible.

[Josh O]

Hal, that master volume trick with the FX loop works awesome!!!! I'm lovin it:love:

[hal9000]

Hal, that master volume trick with the FX loop works awesome!!!! I'm lovin it:love:Sweet! I'm glad it's working for you Josh.

[Spudmurphy]

Sweet! I'm glad it's working for you Josh.

Count me in too! I just rigged up a cable - so easyto do, yet it gives another dimension to the F50.

[Jeru]

Hey all,

I am looking to buy a 1x12 extension cab for my F30 1x12. Ideally, I would like the cab to be not much wider than the amp. However, many of the cabs out there that I know of are just short of being wide enough to use. I'd like to avoid a wide-form 1x12.

For instance, Lopo cabs 1x12s are 17" wide, and the F30 is 18 1/2" wide. So, if I put the F30 on top of the lopo cab, the amp would overhang the cabs on the sides and the rubber feet would stick out roughly 1/4 inch on each side.
http://www.lopoline.com/catalog/item/3698186/3354451.htm

SO, any of you have a cab for me to look at that's slightly wider? Ideas?

Many thanks.

[opultaM]

Hey all,

I am looking to buy a 1x12 extension cab for my F30 1x12. Ideally, I would like the cab to be not much wider than the amp. However, many of the cabs out there that I know of are just short of being wide enough to use. I'd like to avoid a wide-form 1x12.

For instance, Lopo cabs 1x12s are 17" wide, and the F30 is 18 1/2" wide. So, if I put the F30 on top of the lopo cab, the amp would overhang the cabs on the sides and the rubber feet would stick out roughly 1/4 inch on each side.
http://www.lopoline.com/catalog/item/3698186/3354451.htm

SO, any of you have a cab for me to look at that's slightly wider? Ideas?

Many thanks.


I have a recto 212 cab that i keep on its side. So my F100 hangs over the edge on both sides, with the feet about an inch away on either side. Doesn't pose a problem at all, sitting on the bottom of the head itself, and it's quite sturdy.

Sorry if that doesn't really help you.

[jcoggins7]

Originally posted by Tommi Inkila
I'm waiting for my Axetrak (silent cabinet for recording) to arrive and we shall hear how it sounds... I'm planning to do some clips as soon as possible.

Let me know how you like it when you get it. I've tried one with mine (record out->Axetrak->board) and did not like it at all.

Also, I know I've been gone for a while, but I just got a new guitar, so I've been floating around TGP and BaM a lot more than I used to. Here's a family pic of my stuff and my brother's stuff (disregarding pedals, etc.):
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/jcoggins7/Everything1.jpg
And the new one:
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/jcoggins7/Top1.jpg

[musicdog400]

I'm waiting for my Axetrak

I'm interested to hear what you think about the Axetrak.

[Tommi Inkila]

Hey, I didn't know there was that big interest about the Axetrak :)

My initial impression is that it's not completely "problem" free...

+ small and definately silent enough
- with Mesa F50 there's too much bass constantly
- it feels like there's too much middle also, but seems to be the box-like-quality of the sound

Then again, both minuses are counterable with EQuing... in the following (midnight) clip I used UAD's channel strip to EQ and compress the guitars a bit. The drum arrangement is pretty strange since I borrowed that loop from our drummer's improvised recording test.

http://www.scenerychannel.com/axetrakanddrums.mp3

I think I have still some tweaking to do... once I get the Axetrak in full control I'll do longer clip. I'm quite happy in the end and it seems that I can track our next album with this little box. :thu:

[Surfcaster]

Hi Josh, welcome to the forum and the F-series Brotherhood! :)

The short answer to your question is Yes, you can run direct from the recording output which already has a speaker sim circuit to a recording interface.

The long answer is, you can run direct from the recording out, but if you want to maintain the excellent room tone of the amp direct, the recording output is going to fall far short IMO for anything overdriven. Part of the problem is simply that the recording output only contains the F-series' preamp since it is tapped right before the Phase Inverter (V4 - in the manual). So, even if the speaker sim was the best available, you're still not getting the best sound possible. Second, the speaker sim is a bit lackluster to my ears. Yes, it works, but I don't care for the tone as it sounds too muffled to me.

So, what is one to do to maintain sweet F-series goodness in a direct recording or playing environment? There are lots of options.

1) FX Send out -> Modeler for cab sim/FX -> Recording Interface
You can take your output from the F-series FX send jack which is a raw preamp signal at line level. From there you need to go into a speaker simulator of some sort. I would personally suggest using a PODxt or equivalent modeler that you can turn off the amp sims and only use the cab/mic models. Then, you could add FX as well. As shown by Tommi Inkila, this method can produce very good results. The one criticism I have is that it doesn't incorporate the power section of the amplifier, which is IMO crucial to the tone.

2) Line level tap with cab sim from amp's output -> Recording Interface
I have a Behringer Ultra-G (http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHGI100) that is expressly for this purpose. It takes a speaker level input and gives you a cab simulated line level output (XLR). The Ultra-G has a 4x12 cab sim so the output is very full sounding. As far as connections are concerned the amplifier output is connected to the Ultra-G with a speaker cable. The Ultra-G passes that signal unaltered to the speakers so the room sound is the same. However, the Ultra-G also taps a small portion of that signal and conditions it for balanced XLR and adds a cab sim (switchable). You can then take that line level signal direct to a mixer or recording interface. The Ultra-G is all metal and is about $35 USD. Hughes & Kettner makes the Red Box Pro (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Hughes-Kettner-Red-Box-Pro-MK-III?sku=480401&src=3SOSWXXA) which performs the same function for around $100

3) Power Attenuator with adjustable line out -> Cab simulator/FX -> Recording interface
I've used this scenario for a while now for recording direct silently and for post-amp FX which sounds really sweet. It's a lot more money to incorporate the power attenuator and cab sim, but the modular nature of the rig lends itself to many useful functions.

Here is my silent recording rig:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/hal9000SilentDirectRecordingRigF-10.png

A few clips recorded silently:
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Reflective_F-100_20th.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_F-100_Tuesdays_Gone.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Afraid_Dave_Superman_solo.mp3
http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000F-100_Heavy_USB.mp3

I use a slightly different variation from those Neil has listed. My signal chain goes from the Headphone/Record Out directly into my Toneport UX1. I turn off the amp sim on the UX1 and use the speaker sim and the 4-band EQ (a MUST as the amps direct signal is bassy, mushy and lacks definition on it's own, even with speaker sim, I find I need to cut the lows some and boost the highs some). Then I also use the TonePort's effects.

This method does bypass the power amp, but I have been quite impressed with the results.

I've also used my old V-AMP2 instead of the Toneport (again with preamp bypassed but cab sims on), but then I have to use a 7-band EQ in between the amp and the V-AMP to cut some of the lows and boost some of the highs since the V-AMP doesn't have the parametric EQ the TonePort does. The result is okay, but not as good as with the TonePort.

The only thing I've noticed that seems odd is that I seem to get less gain when I go direct for some reason. But then I'm more of a classic rock guy than a metal head, so it's adequate for my needs.

[bowen71]

Thanks Hal. I've been thinking about getting an attenuator although your FX loop master volume trick looks cool. You're using the THD Hot Plate right? The only problem I have with doing that is I'm running an 8 ohm recto cab in addition to the internal speaker when jamming at home but if I go play with the guys, I usually just bring the combo, no extra cab. If I remember, the THD units are ohm specific.

I use a Weber Mini Mass. They have an ohm selection switch and they are a lot cheaper.

[jcoggins7]

The only thing I've noticed that seems odd is that I seem to get less gain when I go direct for some reason.

I think the reason is that there's no speaker breakup when you're direct.

[NashSG]

Running the direct line off of a Weber Mass works pretty well with an F50 for direct recording, especially if you run it into a tube preamp that has some EQ.

[FastRedPonyCar]

I played an F50 head through a mesa standard 4X12 yesterday and loved it. Not more than my V3 but I still really liked it. Question though. I've never gotten my hands on a MK Iv or III before and I'm curious how the F50/100 compares tone wise or contrasts to that of the MK III or MK IV?

[Curtis.Fagan]

Fairly close, but the F-series are a little simpler, and a bit more refined to my ears.

Love,
Curtis

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

These go for $800.00 or $900.00 used, so I am thinking that this is a good deal for anybody who has been wanting to pick one up.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230155397421&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013


http://i3.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/aa/ac/01da_1.JPG

[AshyLarry]

Have any of you guys changed the speaker in your F30? What did you get and what do you think of the difference?

[Blatti]

Have any of you guys changed the speaker in your F30? What did you get and what do you think of the difference?

I put a Celestion Heritage Series G12-65 in my Stiletto ACE. I know that the ACE is different than the F30, but both amps come with a Vintage 30 speaker.

After hearing the difference, it is hard for me to imagine a situation where a Vintage 30 would sound better than a G12-65.

Compared to the Vintage 30, the '65 has less midrange and softer highs.

The '65 sounds like a Greenback, but the bass is a slightly more bold.

www.avatarspeakers.com/

[Tommi Inkila]

Axetrak update:

Okay, I've been tweaking it few days and it seems that I can't remove the unwanted middle-boxiness with my current setup. It might be that my middleish pickups combined with mids of F50 boosted with Axetrak's middle is quite uncounterable. I think I have to try different guitars with different pickups and even borrow different head to hear if the middle is present in every amp you feed to the Axetrak.

Later bros!

[MKCL]

Hey guys,

It's time for me to change all 4 preamp tubes in my Mesa F30.

I was wondering what kind of tubes I should use for the F30? Nothing too expensive as I need 4 of them.

Also, when I took out some of the current preamp tubes, it said something like:

12AX7-A
Russian
Mesa

and then there were some preamp tubes that didn't have the word Russian in them.

Can someone clarify?

[Goldwing]

Have any of you guys changed the speaker in your F30? What did you get and what do you think of the difference?

Early on the thread I read about someone who put Eminence The Governor in his F50. If I recall correctly he said that that's the best speaker for the amp because increase the mids and removes the harshness of the treble.

cheers

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

Hey guys,

It's time for me to change all 4 preamp tubes in my Mesa F30.

I was wondering what kind of tubes I should use for the F30? Nothing too expensive as I need 4 of them.

Also, when I took out some of the current preamp tubes, it said something like:

12AX7-A
Russian
Mesa

and then there were some preamp tubes that didn't have the word Russian in them.

Can someone clarify?

I was looking at the mesa boogie web site and the pre-amp tubes are sold individualy so they probably were just picked out of 2 different batches. The 12AX7-A that is pictured looks like it says chinese under the 12AX7-A ( although it is hard to read. )Did you buy the amp new? If not someone who had it before you could have replaced a single tube. I have heard that the guys at Mesa are pretty good at answering questions if you e-mail them.:thu:

[Lo0SeSkReWz]

This a good deal for anyone looking for a monster cobo. I just bought one a month ago and it cost me $900.00 and I still had to go buy a footpedal for it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-F-100-guitar-tube-amp-combo_W0QQitemZ250150407946QQihZ015QQcategoryZ4337 4QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[DikzaK]

I put a Celestion Heritage Series G12-65 in my Stiletto ACE. I know that the ACE is different than the F30, but both amps come with a Vintage 30 speaker.

After hearing the difference, it is hard for me to imagine a situation where a Vintage 30 would sound better than a G12-65.

Compared to the Vintage 30, the '65 has less midrange and softer highs.

The '65 sounds like a Greenback, but the bass is a slightly more bold.

www.avatarspeakers.com/

Hello guys,

I have been following this thread for quite a while since i bought my f50 combo. Thanks for all hints, tips and tricks you guys, especially andy, hal, tommy, and i'm sorry for forgetting many many more...

I have been very happy with it...until i heard the stiletto ace!! which is luckily out of my budget for the moment (the misses would go crazy if i bought a new amp right now). I'm fond of it's British voicing and i can imagine you'd change the vintage 30 (which is a great speaker for the american 6L6 sound, though) speaker on your stiletto ace.

I surfed the Celestion site where you can check some sound samples and particularly liked the G12H samples. I haven't heard the G12-65 yet, but it's specs seems too bluesy for me while the G12H gets into heavy rock sounds too, i find...

http://professional.celestion.com/guitar/features/tone/index.asp

I was wondering if these speakers, G12H, would complement the F50 in my marshall cab 1960 A, which has originally the G12T75 in it. Those don't sound too bad, but one of em is broken and i'm considering a 'complete make over' for my cabinet. Has anyone got experience combining the F50 with the celestion G12H30's?

I mainly play some funk but mainly rock to metal but no new metal stuff...

any advice is welcome!


thanks!

[MKCL]

I was looking at the mesa boogie web site and the pre-amp tubes are sold individualy so they probably were just picked out of 2 different batches. The 12AX7-A that is pictured looks like it says chinese under the 12AX7-A ( although it is hard to read. )Did you buy the amp new? If not someone who had it before you could have replaced a single tube. I have heard that the guys at Mesa are pretty good at answering questions if you e-mail them.:thu:

Chinese ones. Hm, any recommendations on preamp tubes then?

I was thinking of getting 4 of the same as this is my first brand new preamp re-tube.

[Will Cyrier]

Chinese ones. Hm, any recommendations on preamp tubes then?

I was thinking of getting 4 of the same as this is my first brand new preamp re-tube.


You can get the stock 12-AX7's from Mesa, but they may not be your "cheapest" option. I retubed mine with JJ's from Eurotubes.com. They definitely have more high end compared to the Mesas. You may check out Groove Tubes as well as they are pretty well known.

Typically, pre-amp tubes don't go bad. Are you sure you need to replace them?

[MKCL]

You can get the stock 12-AX7's from Mesa, but they may not be your "cheapest" option. I retubed mine with JJ's from Eurotubes.com. They definitely have more high end compared to the Mesas. You may check out Groove Tubes as well as they are pretty well known.

Typically, pre-amp tubes don't go bad. Are you sure you need to replace them?

Well I bought the amp in Dec 2006 and haven't changed the preamp tubes. I only changed the power tubes. Another thing is, I bought it used, so who knows how much the past owner used it.

And most importantly, one is microphonic :D

I might as well just do a complete re-tube, but since this is my first one, and a few gigs are coming up, I'm trying to find the best option. I won't be able to buy any online and wait for them to arrive at my house as my next gig is next week!

When buying preamp tubes, can it be any 12AX7?
I was thinking of Mesa 12AX7s, but are there cheaper alternatives that won't worsen my tone (subjective) or perhaps maybe even make it sound better?

[Tommi Inkila]

Well I bought the amp in Dec 2006 and haven't changed the preamp tubes. I only changed the power tubes. Another thing is, I bought it used, so who knows how much the past owner used it.

And most importantly, one is microphonic :D

I might as well just do a complete re-tube, but since this is my first one, and a few gigs are coming up, I'm trying to find the best option. I won't be able to buy any online and wait for them to arrive at my house as my next gig is next week!

When buying preamp tubes, can it be any 12AX7?
I was thinking of Mesa 12AX7s, but are there cheaper alternatives that won't worsen my tone (subjective) or perhaps maybe even make it sound better?
Yeah, you can buy any 12AX7's. Mesa's own are safe bets and actually the sound difference is not that drastic with different tubes either... it adds some spice to the sound I think.

I like to use JJ's since they give generally a bit smoother and tighter sound.

[MKCL]

Cool, so I just go to the guitar shop and as for 4 JJ 12AX7s? Are there only 1 type of JJ preamp tubes?

http://item.express.ebay.com/Musical-Instruments_Guitars_Guitar-Amp-Accessories_JJ-12AX7-ECC83-Gold-Pin-preamp-tube_W0QQitemZ120114916383QQihZ002QQptdnZGuitarQ20 AmpQ20AccessoriesQQddnZMusicalQ20InstrumentsQQadnZ GuitarsQQptdiZ654QQddiZ1300QQadiZ1299QQcmdZExpress Item


http://item.express.ebay.com/Musical-Instruments_Guitars_Guitar-Amp-Accessories_JJ-Tesla-ECC83-12AX7-ECC83S-Pre-Amp-Tubes-Set-of-Four-4_W0QQitemZ270150089439QQihZ017QQptdnZGuitarQ20Amp Q20AccessoriesQQddnZMusicalQ20InstrumentsQQadnZGui tarsQQptdiZ654QQddiZ1300QQadiZ1299QQcmdZExpressIte m
...

[opultaM]

My F100 setup
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p318/opultam/Rig807.jpg

[Tommi Inkila]

Cool, so I just go to the guitar shop and as for 4 JJ 12AX7s? Are there only 1 type of JJ preamp tubes?

http://item.express.ebay.com/Musical-Instruments_Guitars_Guitar-Amp-Accessories_JJ-12AX7-ECC83-Gold-Pin-preamp-tube_W0QQitemZ120114916383QQihZ002QQptdnZGuitarQ20 AmpQ20AccessoriesQQddnZMusicalQ20InstrumentsQQadnZ GuitarsQQptdiZ654QQddiZ1300QQadiZ1299QQcmdZExpress Item


http://item.express.ebay.com/Musical-Instruments_Guitars_Guitar-Amp-Accessories_JJ-Tesla-ECC83-12AX7-ECC83S-Pre-Amp-Tubes-Set-of-Four-4_W0QQitemZ270150089439QQihZ017QQptdnZGuitarQ20Amp Q20AccessoriesQQddnZMusicalQ20InstrumentsQQadnZGui tarsQQptdiZ654QQddiZ1300QQadiZ1299QQcmdZExpressIte m
...
There is basicly just one type, normally labeled as ECC83S. I've seen them under different coding as well, named as high-gain JJ's. Basicly those are tested and found to be more easily overdriven and then there's those gold-pinned versions which aren't that necessary in a guitar amp I think.

[Rodimus Prime]

anyone up for trading their head for a combo? I have an F50 combo and i think i'd really like just a head setup. I'd love to trade straight for a F100 head but another F50 would do as well. Wutchoo got?

[Rodimus Prime]

5,001 :)