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

[estring777]

WHAT?

Its not a true attentuation like a hot plate/power soak.
I have a 10band eq in the loop. If i crank the master on my F50 the tone thickens but the volume is too high. So with my EQ activated I lower the vol slider on the EQ thus taking the overall amp volume down, not greatly but it does lower.

Personally I dont do this, but I have experimented and it will work. You could so the same with a vol pedal to greater effect, in the loop as well. As has been discussed on the thread many times.

[Sixtonoize]

But (as has also been mentioned in this thread many times) you're not pushing the power tubes any harder with this method.

You're pushing the preamp tubes harder with loop attenuation.

So, like I said...you're incorrect.

[estring777]

But (as has also been mentioned in this thread many times) you're not pushing the power tubes any harder with this method.

You're pushing the preamp tubes harder with loop attenuation.

So, like I said...you're incorrect.


So help me understand this..The higher I turn the master the more I engage the power tubes or the preamp tubes?

[Sixtonoize]

It doesn't matter how high you set your master volume if you're using a volume device to lower the level in your loop, as far as the power tubes are concerned, the EQ in the loop acts as a second master volume. If your amp isn't brutally loud, you NOT driving the power tubes hard.

Period.

The reason that loop attenuation works with the F-series is that they have a tube-driven FX loop. When you turn up the Master volume on either channel, it sends a hotter signal to V3a, which is the FX loop send triode (and I'm assuming that it's a cathode follower - most FX loop sends are). As you send a hotter signal to V3a, it's own "tubey" characteristics come into effect: You begin to overdrive a unity gain follower stage, so it has a different tone to it than the usual "distortion" stage in high-gain amps. After this hot signal goes through your EQ, you throw most of it away with the Level control, so the power tubes only receive a small fraction of what you're putting out.

So, using loop attenuation, you're driving the FX loop send (a part of the preamp circuitry) harder. Not the power tubes.

[estring777]

It doesn't matter how high you set your master volume if you're using a volume device to lower the level in your loop, as far as the power tubes are concerned, the EQ in the loop acts as a second master volume. If your amp isn't brutally loud, you NOT driving the power tubes hard.

Period.

The reason that loop attenuation works with the F-series is that they have a tube-driven FX loop. When you turn up the Master volume on either channel, it sends a hotter signal to V3a, which is the FX loop send triode (and I'm assuming that it's a cathode follower - most FX loop sends are). As you send a hotter signal to V3a, it's own "tubey" characteristics come into effect: You begin to overdrive a unity gain follower stage, so it has a different tone to it than the usual "distortion" stage in high-gain amps. After this hot signal goes through your EQ, you throw most of it away with the Level control, so the power tubes only receive a small fraction of what you're putting out.

So, using loop attenuation, you're driving the FX loop send (a part of the preamp circuitry) harder. Not the power tubes.

Thanks for clearing that up..I actually get it now.
So basically.. by pulling volume down via the loop with the EQ, you are limiting the amount of signal going to the power tubes, not giving them a chance to get "hot."

[Sixtonoize]

Correct. :thu:

Although, it DOES drive one tube stage (the FX loop) harder, so it DOES change the overall tone of the amp.

Loop attenuation doesn't work, however, in amps that have IC-buffered loops.

[Sunlit]

You would need a custom cable that converts the mesa 5 pin (or is it a 7 pin) into a standard 1/4" cable. The GT-8 basically just creates an open/closed switch. It could be done but it would be a good amount of trouble and it would only control one of the foot switches. I got The GT8 to work with another amp but it had a ground loop buzz that was painfully annoying.

I have another question. Where should I plug in the Boss GT-8? In the main input line? Or the fx inputs in the back? Which one? Thanks.

[MusicManJP6]

Correct. :thu:

Although, it DOES drive one tube stage (the FX loop) harder, so it DOES change the overall tone of the amp.

Loop attenuation doesn't work, however, in amps that have IC-buffered loops.

One thing this does for my F-30 is to tame the volume knob considerably. Before I could only barley touch it before it went from just short of loud enough to barely too loud. Now I can find a happy medium very easily!

[Will Cyrier]

Although, it DOES drive one tube stage (the FX loop) harder, so it DOES change the overall tone of the amp.



I stand corrected. Thanks for clearing that up for me/us. It makes perfect sense. Sorry for the misleading....

Does anyone have a recommendation for a noise suppressor pedal? I asked about them on the previous page. Thanks.

Will

[mynameistaken]

I have another question. Where should I plug in the Boss GT-8? In the main input line? Or the fx inputs in the back? Which one? Thanks.

Well you have a couple of options. I use mine only for effects so I turn off all the pre-amps and stomp boxes and run it through the effects loop. (Just be careful how much signal you put through the loop as it can make some really end of the world type noises if you do.) turn your output levels way down.

However you can try the 4-Cable method. This allows you to put the stomp box models, pre-amps,compressor, wah in front and then the effects like delay and chorus go through the loop. I personally didn't like this as i thought it colored the tone. :blah:

Or you could just run it out in front of the amp,but that kind of defeats the purpose of the F-50.

Lots of info on the 4CM here, as well as other options.

http://bossgtcentral.com/forum/

[estring777]

Correct. :thu:

Although, it DOES drive one tube stage (the FX loop) harder, so it DOES change the overall tone of the amp.

Loop attenuation doesn't work, however, in amps that have IC-buffered loops.

Changing gears a bit.. I run my DD20 in the loop. occasionally I get a helicopter type feedback sound. In this thread I have read about converting the loop to series as a way to correct this. just wondering if you had and ideas about this..its seems easy to do but will it fix the problem and what am I giving up(besides the FX knob).

Thanks

[Sunlit]

Well you have a couple of options. I use mine only for effects so I turn off all the pre-amps and stomp boxes and run it through the effects loop. (Just be careful how much signal you put through the loop as it can make some really end of the world type noises if you do.) turn your output levels way down.

However you can try the 4-Cable method. This allows you to put the stomp box models, pre-amps,compressor, wah in front and then the effects like delay and chorus go through the loop. I personally didn't like this as i thought it colored the tone. :blah:

Or you could just run it out in front of the amp,but that kind of defeats the purpose of the F-50.

Lots of info on the 4CM here, as well as other options.

http://bossgtcentral.com/forum/


Thanks for the link! Which one would I plug the GT-8 in? FX Send or FX Return (I know that may sound like a stupid question.) And when you say to turn the output level down, you mean the knob on the back of the GT-8 or the "FX-Mix" knob on the back of the F-50? Sorry this is my first tube amp, and I'm so used to just sticking it in the input :) Thanks!

[Joeytpg]

Sup bros...... I have a new baby!

Diezel Einstein 50w head + Framus 2x12 loaded with Celestions Vintage 30

Here are some pics

http://gallery.mac.com/jtpg/100064/IMG_1617/web.jpg

http://gallery.mac.com/jtpg/100064/IMG_1620/web.jpg

And Of course, my boy!

http://gallery.mac.com/jtpg/100064/IMG_1631/web.jpg


I really really like this new amp........ is AMAZING!! for EVERYTHING.....pop/rock/blues/metal.....very very nice amp.

I A/B both of them today, and man....the Diezel is the Diezel but I'm surprised on how nice the F-50 plays man..... It's a VERY nice amp! (I was gonna sell the F-50 so I could afford the Diezel....but after A/B them, they're BOTH staying here...... two very dif. flavors.....and you want that ice cream cone with two flavors in it right?? :cop:

[mynameistaken]

Thanks for the link! Which one would I plug the GT-8 in? FX Send or FX Return (I know that may sound like a stupid question.) And when you say to turn the output level down, you mean the knob on the back of the GT-8 or the "FX-Mix" knob on the back of the F-50? Sorry this is my first tube amp, and I'm so used to just sticking it in the input :) Thanks!


Leave your F-50 mix knob at 90-100%.

This is one way to use the FX Loop for just effects:
GT8 Input to the FX Send
GT8 Mono Out to FX Return

Turn off Overdrives and preamps and be careful the black knob on the back of the GT8 is not set too high. Same with the patch level either. I would start with everything off and just start experimenting with the effects and save the ones you like. I am not expert but the guys on the link I previously posted can answer all your questions and might have some different ways of doing it.

[mrelusive]

here's another little ditty i just did to see how much thicker the mix would sound with a 'bass' in it. The bass (which comes in at around 0:52) is actually distorted guitar with a pitch shift effect on it, and it sounds too uh... bassy...

any tips? should i just break down and buy a bass? this particular pitch shift effect eats up ram like crazy, does anyone have a better bass simulator?

[Sixtonoize]

My $75 bass sounds better recorded than my $1600 pitch-shifted guitar.

There's no substitute for real bass.

[mrelusive]

My $75 bass sounds better recorded than my $1600 pitch-shifted guitar.

There's no substitute for real bass.

sorta what i was thinkin....

[mynameistaken]

My $75 bass sounds better recorded than my $1600 pitch-shifted guitar.

There's no substitute for real bass.

agreed. cheap basses are all over craigslist and they make recordings sound so much better.

[MusicManJP6]

My $75 bass sounds better recorded than my $1600 pitch-shifted guitar.

There's no substitute for real bass.

Amen brother! I did the pitch-shifted guitar for recordings a few years ago and they always sounded 'bumpy' and fake. my $100 bass sounds like gold in comparison...

[MusicManJP6]

I stand corrected. Thanks for clearing that up for me/us. It makes perfect sense. Sorry for the misleading....

Does anyone have a recommendation for a noise suppressor pedal? I asked about them on the previous page. Thanks.

Will

I didn't think twice about what you said about the power tubes cooking with EQ attenuation (which I do with my F-30 now - thanks!) until I red sixtonoize posts. At any rate, I like the tone of it and the better volume control!

As for a noise suppressor - the NS-2 can power additional pedals, so it is tempting. If you have a noisy guitar or high output pickups, you can use the MXR smartgate like I use and it works GREAT. It's one of the first pedals in front of the amp. If you have some noisy distortion pedals and such, you could try the NS-2, or the NF-2 (old boss noise filter), or the iSP at the upper end of the spectrum. I've tried the latter two but not the NS-2.... Hope this helps.

[mudbuddy11]

musicman, hows that bd2 with the mesa?

when you guys record the bass, are you running it through the mesa?

[Will Cyrier]

Thanks Musicman. My purpose is for quieting noisy effects boxes. What did you think of the iSP when you tried it compared to the Smartgate and NF-2?

[riktini]

I've run into a strange phenomenon with my Mesa F50. It seems after re-tubing the entire thing I noticed I have little to no output with the tone controls set to zero and the master up considerably. It might be something other than the tubes as I would have never noticed this before because I would never play around with my tone controls at zero. Is this normal for the F50? Can someone try this on their amp and please let me know. It may have to do with a resistor(at least I think that's what it was)that I had to resolder to the board next to where the power tube socket are. Thanks for any input!

Rick

[Sixtonoize]

My F-100 has no output when the tone controls are at zero...I thought that was the standard. :idk:

[mrelusive]

My F-100 has no output when the tone controls are at zero...I thought that was the standard. :idk:

i believe it is, my f-50 is the same way.

[riktini]

Hey Thanks Guys!

Just wanted to make sure I didn't do something wrong. I went ahead and put SPAX7A preamp tubes in the V1 and V2 position and just the standard 12AX7's in V3 and V4. I'm not sure how much difference it makes as I didn't really do an A/B sound test. But I can tell you it sounds incredible to me. Maybe my tubes were pretty old and I didn't realize it. I bought the F50 new about 4 years ago and have only changed the power tubes once. This time I had to do all of them due to a continuing crackling noise even after replacing the power tubes. It's never sounded better though. I can't wait to take it to practice so I can crank the master up and hear it.

Anyway, thanks again guys, it looks like there is a lot of good info on this thread.

Rick

[NDRU]

I know some Mesa's are made to convert easily from combos to heads, can I do this with my F30?

I like it as is, but might like it better as a head w/ 2x12 cab below it.

[Will Cyrier]

I know some Mesa's are made to convert easily from combos to heads, can I do this with my F30?

I like it as is, but might like it better as a head w/ 2x12 cab below it.

And lighter. I think you can order the "box" for it from Mesa, or build your own.

[NDRU]

And lighter. I think you can order the "box" for it from Mesa, or build your own.

I'm looking for this, but can't find it on their site

[bennintexas]

i was wondering guys, how much do the f-30's head version run used now a days?

[NDRU]

This might be a usful tip:

When I need or want to dial in a new sound, or many sounds as I'm doing now with my new F-50, it helps to have a second reference amp to compare to. Before I bought the F-50 I went to several stores and always had two amps set up. It's amazing what I hear when I do that and is how I zero'd in on the F-50 in particular. Now that I have it at home and immersed in tone tweaking, I'm using my old familiar Hiwatt Custom 50 as a benchmark for comparison. It might just be me but I tend to get tone deaf after listening to the same amp for long periods of time and it helps a lot to have something different to reference.

This is something I just discovered for myself. I have owned my F30 for almost a year or so, and recently picked up a Fender Deluxe Reverb.

While A/B ing them I found I was able to dial in some tones on the Mesa I'd never gotten--particularly on the gain channel, surprisingly. Using the Fender's cranked tones, I discovered low-gain channel two settings that I like a lot.

It also helped on channel 1

[MusicManJP6]

musicman, hows that bd2 with the mesa?

when you guys record the bass, are you running it through the mesa?

The KEELEY BD-2 sounds like butter in the clean channel of the F and works great as a boost at the same settings for the gain channel! It's my favorite pedal on my board...

[MusicManJP6]

Thanks Musicman. My purpose is for quieting noisy effects boxes. What did you think of the iSP when you tried it compared to the Smartgate and NF-2?

The iSP worked great as did the NF-2. The Smartgate works best for a noisy guitar like I said. The NF-2 had a little noise when it clamped down on the signal so I passed on it. I'm not sure if that is standard or not. I was using it in the loop coz my amp at the time was noisy. I think the iSP or NF-2 would work fine after the noisy distortion pedals you are using. I would still try the NS-2 if I were you though...

[Will Cyrier]

The iSP worked great as did the NF-2. The Smartgate works best for a noisy guitar like I said. The NF-2 had a little noise when it clamped down on the signal so I passed on it. I'm not sure if that is standard or not. I was using it in the loop coz my amp at the time was noisy. I think the iSP or NF-2 would work fine after the noisy distortion pedals you are using. I would still try the NS-2 if I were you though...

Thanks mon. :thu:

[MusicManJP6]

no prob. let me know which one you end up going for!

[dtrax]

Whats up, I'm new around here and I wanted to chime in and say I'm officially now part of the F Series crew. I scored an F-30 combo of the 'bay for $499 and received it on Tuesday. It's a killer lil' amp. Here's a pic of my little guy:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/dtrax80/F-30full.jpg

This amp is ridiculously loud and sounds incredible. I play mostly hardcore/metal type stuff and this amp fits the bill perfectly. CH2 + Contour has just the right amount of Recto brutality with the clarity of a Mark IV. I have a 4x12 cab in storage - I can't wait to hear this amp through it. I'm sure the low end will be monstrous.

[ShizzelDizzel]

Congrats dude. Nice price as well. I just hooked my F50 back up after playing a Marshall JVM for a few weeks. Mesa definitely has the 3d girth thing going on. Plus I am running the bass on 9:30 through my Traditional cab vs 3oclock on the Marshall lead channels.

[Lt_Core]

I have a new amp on the way, to compliment my F-50 combo. I traded a Classic 30 and Avatar 212 cab for a Rivera Chubster 40 combo. Should be here on Friday. I haven't used the Avatar for 9 months since our band went to in-ear monitors and the C30 is too vintage sounding for me. I've been dying for an EL-34 based amp and the Rivera has a ton of tone coming out of it.

I won't be dumping my F-50, though. Between those 2 amps and my assortment of pedals. I should be set for awhile.

[Will Cyrier]

I won't be dumping my F-50, though. Between those 2 amps and my assortment of pedals. I should be set for awhile.

I keep telling myself that too! :thu:

[Lt_Core]

I keep telling myself that too! :thu:

I know.....tone is a journey, not a destination :thu:

Somehow my wife doesn't agree...hahaha! She's very supportive and my band's gigs pay for all my toys. Can't complain there.

[MusicManJP6]

CH2 + Contour has just the right amount of Recto brutality with the clarity of a Mark IV.

That's a very accurate description! If the hiss is too much for you, try a JJ retube kit. It makes a BIG difference. It will be quieter, tighter, and crunchier!

[Lt_Core]

That's a very accurate description! If the hiss is too much for you, try a JJ retube kit. It makes a BIG difference. It will be quieter, tighter, and crunchier!

Amen to that! After my JJ retube I noticed the same thing. Love it! I'm a huge fan of the CH2 + contour.

[Will Cyrier]

Where did you guys get your JJ retube kits from? I got one from Eurotubes after I bought the amp in Dec. 2006.

[Lt_Core]

Where did you guys get your JJ retube kits from? I got one from Eurotubes after I bought the amp in Dec. 2006.

Same place! Great service!

[dtrax]

That's a very accurate description! If the hiss is too much for you, try a JJ retube kit. It makes a BIG difference. It will be quieter, tighter, and crunchier!

A re-tube is definitely in the plans, probably a paycheck or two away. First thing I have to do is replace the stock PU's in my RG7... they're ridiculously muddy.

I'm thinking about the 'high gain' kit from Eurotubes. Not that the F is lacking in gain, but I like the idea of having MORE gain! BTW, even with the gain and treble maxed (setting in my pic are what I'm using with my RG7), this amp is relatively quite. Obviously at high volumes it feedsback like a pig, but it just sounds so damn good. :love:

[dtrax]

Congrats dude. Nice price as well. I just hooked my F50 back up after playing a Marshall JVM for a few weeks. Mesa definitely has the 3d girth thing going on. Plus I am running the bass on 9:30 through my Traditional cab vs 3oclock on the Marshall lead channels.

Never played a JVM, but did in the past play an 800 and DSL50. The tone stack on a Marshall is very different than on a Mesa. It seems like Mesa's tone stack actually functions like seperate gain controls per EQ band verses Marshall, which works much more predictably. My only complaint with my F-30 is that CH2 tonestack is very subtle. The bass pot has the most effect, and on my 7 string, i can't really turn it past 9 oclock without it mushing up me. Probably more the PU's fault than the F30, but something I've noticed.

[Ballfuzz]

Hey guys, I currently own a Mesa Studio. I've been wanting to go with something new lately so I have been looking at the dual rectifiers, DSL's and now the F series.

I've heard the F series gets rectifier type distortion?

[MrVisual]

I've heard the F series gets rectifier type distortion?

It's pretty much in between the Rectos and Mark series. Kind of Markish tone with the Recto hugeness. A little smoother and rounder than Mark/Recto.

[Ballfuzz]

Nice...

That sounds pretty good.

Now I only have another amp to add to the list of which amp to get....

F-30/50, DSL, Recto, Mark III.... :(

[mudbuddy11]

the mark IV is the amp I lust after

[MusicManJP6]

I used to have a MIV. It was nice. I had a Roadster as well. It was nicer. My F-30 is the keeper of the three though. It is practical, magical, and PORTABLE!

[mudbuddy11]

really? you liked your roadster better and the f30 even better... I guess its a good thing you've still got the 30. The 50 does not seem portable... its a friggin tank. I cant imagine how heavy a f100 combo is. What did you like about the roadster over the mIV?

[hal9000]

really? you liked your roadster better and the f30 even better... I guess its a good thing you've still got the 30. The 50 does not seem portable... its a friggin tank. I cant imagine how heavy a f100 combo is. What did you like about the roadster over the mIV?The F-100 is 81 lbs, but mine is 67 because I put in neodymium speakers. It's a lot more of a one-hander now, but I prefer to bear-hug the combo for moving.

[MusicManJP6]

really? you liked your roadster better and the f30 even better... I guess its a good thing you've still got the 30. The 50 does not seem portable... its a friggin tank. I cant imagine how heavy a f100 combo is. What did you like about the roadster over the mIV?

The Roadster had better cleans, better reverb, more channels, screaming leads, and brutal rhythms. I could not get all that from the Mark IV for whatever reason. It was just not the amp for me, but it is a really good amp.

The F30 just encompasses what I think of as 'my tone'. I've added a Keeley BD-2 and MT-2 so I have just as many tones as I had with the Roadster and in a cheaper and more portable package. I've got clean (not quite as good obviously but still better than the Mark IV), tweed (using clean channel w/ BD-2), vintage (CH2 w/ or w/out contour), and Modern (clean w/ MT-2). I use the compressor for a sort of solo boost. It adds sustain, and cuts like a knife! I'm just overall more happy with the F30... :blah: OK i'm done. :lol:

[Dann'sTheMan]

Sup bros...... I have a new baby!

Diezel Einstein 50w head + Framus 2x12 loaded with Celestions Vintage 30

Here are some pics

<snip\>

And Of course, my boy!

<snip\>

I really really like this new amp........ is AMAZING!! for EVERYTHING.....pop/rock/blues/metal.....very very nice amp.

I A/B both of them today, and man....the Diezel is the Diezel but I'm surprised on how nice the F-50 plays man..... It's a VERY nice amp! (I was gonna sell the F-50 so I could afford the Diezel....but after A/B them, they're BOTH staying here...... two very dif. flavors.....and you want that ice cream cone with two flavors in it right?? :cop:

Hey Joey,

I like your taste in amps, buddy! The Einstein is my favourite Diezel tonally by far. If I were ever to consider an EL34 based amp, it's probably at the top of my list. It covers similar musical applications to the F-series imho, but with a different tonal approach. Great to have both flavours in the arsenal. :p

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Whats up, I'm new around here and I wanted to chime in and say I'm officially now part of the F Series crew. I scored an F-30 combo of the 'bay for $499 and received it on Tuesday. It's a killer lil' amp. Here's a pic of my little guy:

<snip\>

This amp is ridiculously loud and sounds incredible. I play mostly hardcore/metal type stuff and this amp fits the bill perfectly. CH2 + Contour has just the right amount of Recto brutality with the clarity of a Mark IV. I have a 4x12 cab in storage - I can't wait to hear this amp through it. I'm sure the low end will be monstrous.

Welcome to the brotherhood! dtrax!

I totally agree about your description of the F-series' Recto meets Mark series voicing. For the styles of music you're into, I think you're in for a real treat when you plug in that 4x12! :thu: :cool:

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

I have a new amp on the way, to compliment my F-50 combo. I traded a Classic 30 and Avatar 212 cab for a Rivera Chubster 40 combo. Should be here on Friday. I haven't used the Avatar for 9 months since our band went to in-ear monitors and the C30 is too vintage sounding for me. I've been dying for an EL-34 based amp and the Rivera has a ton of tone coming out of it.

I won't be dumping my F-50, though. Between those 2 amps and my assortment of pedals. I should be set for awhile.

Hi Lt_Core,

Has your Rivera arrived yet? I have a lot of time for Rivera amps. I haven't tried their recent models, but it was a close run thing between my F-50 and the Rivera Suprema. Impressive amps for sure. :thu:

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

The Roadster had better cleans, better reverb, more channels, screaming leads, and brutal rhythms. I could not get all that from the Mark IV for whatever reason. It was just not the amp for me, but it is a really good amp.

The F30 just encompasses what I think of as 'my tone'. I've added a Keeley BD-2 and MT-2 so I have just as many tones as I had with the Roadster and in a cheaper and more portable package. I've got clean (not quite as good obviously but still better than the Mark IV), tweed (using clean channel w/ BD-2), vintage (CH2 w/ or w/out contour), and Modern (clean w/ MT-2). I use the compressor for a sort of solo boost. It adds sustain, and cuts like a knife! I'm just overall more happy with the F30... :blah: OK i'm done. :lol:

Hi MusicManJP6,

Great descriptions - though I may be a little biased of course! :p I agree with MrVisual's description too! :)

In what ways did you rate the Roadster's clean channel above your F-30? And how about the leads? When I bought my F-50, the Roadster hadn't been launched. I did compare it with the Mark IV however, and preferred and chose the F-series. Like you, I've found my tone in these amps, and with my OCD and Dynacomp pedals I'm spoilt for tonal choice. :cool:

Big smiles,

Andy.

[drp555]

Proud F-50 owner here. I've had mine for a couple years, I bought it from a former F-series brother. It was less than a year old and in pristine shape. Thought I'd finally post on this thread, though I think the F-series needs its own forum!

Clips from Andy and others proved very helpful when I was considering a new amp purchase. I was a little wary of buying an amp I hadn't played before,but I'm glad I did. I have been in love with my F-50s clean channel ever since I first played it. And the gain channel ain't too shabby either ;)

I still feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of the tones in this amp. I live in an apartment and only get to open the F50 up when playing out. I will corroborate what I've seen many say: If you want to get the great tones on channel 2, you MUST have the master UP! The 1st time I was able to crank the master on CH2 I was floored.

Currently I'm playing a lot of praise/gospel/bluesy type stuff. I run CH 1 very clean, perfect for chord work, and have found some low gain sounds on CH 2 that sound fantastic for soloing on a strat neck pup.

Here's a pic:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/drp555/DSC00866.jpg

[Dann'sTheMan]

Proud F-50 owner here. I've had mine for a couple years, I bought it from a former F-series brother. It was less than a year old and in pristine shape. Thought I'd finally post on this thread, though I think the F-series needs its own forum!

Clips from Andy and others proved very helpful when I was considering a new amp purchase. I was a little wary of buying an amp I hadn't played before,but I'm glad I did. I have been in love with my F-50s clean channel ever since I first played it. And the gain channel ain't too shabby either ;)

I still feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of the tones in this amp. I live in an apartment and only get to open the F50 up when playing out. I will corroborate what I've seen many say: If you want to get the great tones on channel 2, you MUST have the master UP! The 1st time I was able to crank the master on CH2 I was floored.

Currently I'm playing a lot of praise/gospel/bluesy type stuff. I run CH 1 very clean, perfect for chord work, and have found some low gain sounds on CH 2 that sound fantastic for soloing on a strat neck pup.

Here's a pic:

<snip\>



Hi drp555,

and welcome to the brotherhood! :) I'm thrilled you found my clips useful, and really glad that your F-50 put a smile on your face - in spite of being bought unplayed. :thu:

You've put together a really cool amp collection: Fender, Marshall and of course Boogie - great taste in gear imho. :p

Regarding gain sounds, have you tried attenuating in the loop with a volume pedal or some other stompbox? In my rig, I use my G-Major, and it let's me get those sweet Mesa tones at lower volume levels - perfect for those praise, gospel and blues shenanigans. :cool:

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Joeytpg]

Hey Joey,

I like your taste in amps, buddy! The Einstein is my favourite Diezel tonally by far. If I were ever to consider an EL34 based amp, it's probably at the top of my list. It covers similar musical applications to the F-series imho, but with a different tonal approach. Great to have both flavours in the arsenal. :p

Big smiles,

Andy.


Hey Andy, thanks a lot bud. I really really like this new amp....it covers similar tones than the F-50 as you said, but for example, I like it better for Heavy stuff. In the clean/OD departments, they both rule, just two dif. flavors.

I was going to sell the F-50 to help pay the Diezel, but after I A/B them both, they're just two different and both are too cool to let go of the F-50. :love:

So it's staying here. :thu:

[gregv]

hey guys,

just wanted to say thanks for the info on the MXR 10 band eq. Got a great deal on a mint Eq pedal! I found some great tones and have been able to crank it up lately with the house empty from family for a few weeks. After hearing the amp with the EQ pedal I don't know how I managed without it!! Thanks Again!

Greg

[MusicManJP6]

I really think an EQ in the loop of an F-series is a necessity. It really makes the amp come alive!

Andy - THe Roadster's clean channel is based on the Lonestar's cleans so they were top-notch. They purred beautifully and sparkled effortlessly. The F-50 probably rivals the Lonestar's cleans (from what I've heard), but the F-30's cleans are a step down IMO. Still good, but not AS good as the Roadster's. It is a mix of Roadster and Mark IV cleans in a sense... It works for me though since I don't play clean a whole lot...

[mudbuddy11]

I just built myself an orange squeezer compressor clone, and wow. I love the sound. I found that when I use a compressor, I either dont need my mxr 10-band, or I have to change my radical mid scoop to a not so radical mid scoop. Playing clean, I just use the compressor, and playing mid-heavy gain, I use the compressor and a slight v shaped mid boost, but only on my les paul... the single coil and the burstbucker dont like the 10band anymore.

[pedrozepelim]

As I never posted any pictures, I though I post some now:

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4744/imagem014jm8.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/701/imagem015yx3.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5615/imagem017ok6.jpg

Mesa Boogie F-30 and Laney GH 50L with Framus 2X12 with Vintage 30's: american clean and modern gain on the left, and british crunch and Hi Gain on the right!

[snakum]

The F-50 probably rivals the Lonestar's cleans (from what I've heard), but the F-30's cleans are a step down IMO

I agree on both counts. I've been able to play a LoneStar Classic (6L6s) beside the F-50, and I thought there wasn't much the LSC could do that the F-50 couldn't duplicate. The 6L6 based F-amps have one of the most gorgeous cleans I've ever heard, and I used to own a Dual Showman Reverb with two 15" JBLs. Now THAT was one deep, warm, yet sparkly clean amp
(though the Master Volume distortion was horrid without a pedal).

I loved the F-30's chimey, gritty dirty channel. Those EL-84 were smoking hot when you could crank it and get the power section going. But the cleans weren't what I expected from an EL-84 based amp. Wasn't my cup o' tea.

And among the 6L6 based F-amps, I really preferred the F-50 combo over my F-100 half stack. By far. I know it was basically the same circuit, but even at lower levels I kinda' dug the F-50 for cranked cleans, low crunch distortion, and full-on Contour with pushed mids. It may have been the speakers (V30s vs. Black Shadow), but the F-50 was my all-time fav. I only traded it last weekend because I wanted to try a Ceriatone DC-30. I was considering buying the kit and then saw one local to me for trade. So I traded my beloved little Mesa Monster for a Ceriatone DC-30 with a matching closed-back 2x12 Vintage 30 cab. It was a helluva deal. And it's only temporary ... I'll have another F-50 by Summer, or maybe the 5:50 Express. Still kinda interested in that one.

I'll be back in the Bro' Hood soon! :wave:

[drp555]

Hi drp555,

and welcome to the brotherhood! :) I'm thrilled you found my clips useful, and really glad that your F-50 put a smile on your face - in spite of being bought unplayed. :thu:

You've put together a really cool amp collection: Fender, Marshall and of course Boogie - great taste in gear imho. :p

Regarding gain sounds, have you tried attenuating in the loop with a volume pedal or some other stompbox? In my rig, I use my G-Major, and it let's me get those sweet Mesa tones at lower volume levels - perfect for those praise, gospel and blues shenanigans. :cool:

Big smiles,

Andy.


Hey Andy,
I've tried the volume pedal in the loop thing with other amps and didn't find it very useful. But after looking through this thread, I may just have to try it with my Mesa. I got rid of my volume pedal a while ago, so I think I'll try building one of those master volume boxes like Hal and markmann.

Glad you like my amps. The Marshall was my first "real" amp. Got it used when I was a kid for cheap. The previous owner apparently wanted to get rid of it badly. Eventually I discovered that someone had tried to convert it to a bass amp! No wonder I got a good deal! Got it back to specs, and it's been rocking ever since:cool:

This thread is great; the knowledge and tips that you and others have contributed is fantastic. It may take a year for me to ever make it through the whole thread!

[Si.]

Hi all..

Question on Tubes (probably already answered, but this thread is 300+ pages).

I was at a Jam last night and my F-30 just sounded terrible.. it was put to shame by a Marshall AVT50. I bought it 2nd hand a good few months ago so I've no idea what shape the tubes are in so I thought Id give it a retube. What would people recommend? are the JJs still top of the pile? Also, can anyone in the UK reccomend a place to get them?

[wilg8]

hi evrybody!!

ive never played an f series, but 300+ pages of discussion couldnt be wrong!!! i heard a few of the clips, and ive owned a couple of mesas myself (mark 3, single recto), but they lacked something imo. anyway, when taxes arrive, im pullin the trigger on an f-50 head. ill post pics, reviews, and personal settings asap. Thanx 4 all the useful info everyone!!!!:thu:

[MusicManJP6]

Hi all..

Question on Tubes (probably already answered, but this thread is 300+ pages).

I was at a Jam last night and my F-30 just sounded terrible.. it was put to shame by a Marshall AVT50. I bought it 2nd hand a good few months ago so I've no idea what shape the tubes are in so I thought Id give it a retube. What would people recommend? are the JJs still top of the pile? Also, can anyone in the UK reccomend a place to get them?

I highly recommend JJs for Mesa amps!!! Not sure where you can pick them up in the UK though...

[snakum]

I was at a Jam last night and my F-30 just sounded terrible.. it was put to shame by a Marshall AVT50. I bought it 2nd hand a good few months ago so I've no idea what shape the tubes are in so I thought Id give it a retube. What would people recommend? are the JJs still top of the pile?

I can't speak for Marshall or Fender, becasue I sold all mine long before I discovered JJs, but for every Peavey, Mesa, Ceriatone, and Laney amp I've used them in, JJs really did smooth out the sound (with a full JJ retube) and were reliable as hell. Not every amp is as affected by a tube swap as the Peavey Classics (tube changes can make a huge diff in those C30s/C50s, imho), but the difference is certainly there and almost always easily discernable. I always thought of JJs as "smooth and reliable".

A word about the AVT50, (here comes a can o' worms :D ) contrary to popular belief - and I can be a tube snob, myself sometimes :freak: - many solid state offerings can be decent gigging amps with the right speaker and guitar. I've read very positive comments right here on HC from a boutique amp maker about Peavey's Transtube amps (and they are pretty good). And I personally thought the old Roland Blues Cube 3x10, the Tech21 TradeMark 60, and the Line6 Vetta were pretty darn good. And I have heard good things about the AVT series amps (I think it was the AVT), as far as solid state goes. It ain't never gonna match the tube awesomeness of the F-50 at gig volumes, and it will never feel like a tuber, but it probably makes a helluva backup. :wave:

[Joeytpg]

As I never posted any pictures, I though I post some now:

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4744/imagem014jm8.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/701/imagem015yx3.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5615/imagem017ok6.jpg

Mesa Boogie F-30 and Laney GH 50L with Framus 2X12 with Vintage 30's: american clean and modern gain on the left, and british crunch and Hi Gain on the right!

Hey man, I got the same cab! :thu:

[pedrozepelim]

Hey man, I got the same cab! :thu:

Yeah, I know.
Mine arrived in the same day you posted your Diezel photos.
This one still sounds bad.
I used to have my Laney connected to the F30 speaker and it sounded realy good.
The speakers, on this one, need to be breaking in.
It's cheap, it has vintage 30's, it can be close or open back, so it's great!
It's ugly has hell, but I'm planing to change the grill cloth (as soon as I find an "how to" on the net).

[Will Cyrier]

As I never posted any pictures, I though I post some now:


Mesa Boogie F-30 and Laney GH 50L with Framus 2X12 with Vintage 30's: american clean and modern gain on the left, and british crunch and Hi Gain on the right!

Those are some great pics. Nice lighting. Is that in your studio?

[Joeytpg]

Yeah, I know.
Mine arrived in the same day you posted your Diezel photos.
This one still sounds bad.
I used to have my Laney connected to the F30 speaker and it sounded realy good.
The speakers, on this one, need to be breaking in.
It's cheap, it has vintage 30's, it can be close or open back, so it's great!
It's ugly has hell, but I'm planing to change the grill cloth (as soon as I find an "how to" on the net).

Yeah I know what you mean....it sounds kind of harsh, but for the money, you can't beat it! :P

Do you use it as a closed back or as an open back? Mine is closed.

[pedrozepelim]

Those are some great pics. Nice lighting. Is that in your studio?


No, Will, just my room (wich is where I play and record, so I supose it is...)

[pedrozepelim]

Yeah I know what you mean....it sounds kind of harsh, but for the money, you can't beat it! :P

Do you use it as a closed back or as an open back? Mine is closed.

I use it as a close back. I never even try it as a open back. I think this type of amp goes better with a closed back.

How is that Diezel working for you? What type of tones are you getting/looking with it?

[dulcetpine]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280210014492&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:Watchlink:middle:us

check it. would the f-100 fit in there? just curious.

[Joeytpg]

I use it as a close back. I never even try it as a open back. I think this type of amp goes better with a closed back.

How is that Diezel working for you? What type of tones are you getting/looking with it?

I'll try it as an open back soon.

Well the Einstein is an amazing amp man.... I really really dig it. It's awesome to hear it next to the F-50 because they're two totally dif. beasts. The voicing on each is VERY different, which I like a lot.

I play a lot of stuff (mostly pop-rock) but I jam on a lot of Metal tunes for fun, so the Diezel is amazing at this (better than the F-50 if you ask me) But that growl the F-50 has for Hard rock is amazing.

[MusicManJP6]

Add a Keeley MT-2 in front of your F-50 and you'll sh!t a brick! I get some brutal metal tones out of my F-30's clean channel with the Keeley MT-2 in front... :thu:

[Whoaitsjesse]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the whole forum and a proud owner of the F-50 combo for the past year or so, but I do have one true reason for coming here; I need serious help with my tone! I've always played marshalls and vox and this is my first Mesa and I have to say, finding the right tone is really hard. I've been trying all I can but I just can't find a happy medium for the distortion, but the clean is perfect. Here's just a run down of the gear I'm using through the F-50:

Nothing in the Loops
NS-2 through the guitar (To get rid of hum and feedback from high gain)
Gibson SG faded stock
Mexican Fender Strat stock

When my friend brought his ESP LTD Viper with active 81/85 EMGs in it, it deffinitly did sound far better with the distortion than either of my main guitars so if its the pickups I dunno.

And that's basically it for now. I've tried playing with the EQ for hours and I just honestly can't find that sweet spot and a lot of the members on here who have the same amp are getting amazing tone out of their amp (and I'm mostly impressed by the member who has the youtube account JTPG)

Although I've been playing for about 8 years and am 18 now, I've never been huge on amp equipment and just liked it simple, but I've also been recording for the past few years and playing more and more shows so I really want to get the best tone I can out of this amp because I know it's possible.

I know this is a huge post for someone who just came but I'm kind of desperate to get that sweet tone out of the amp. I just haven't been happy so far so if anyone can help me out and give me some advice including maybe some adjusted settings to try, some pedals that will clean up the tone, or even some changes to the guitar set up it'd be really appreciated. If I missed anything feel free to ask and thanks everyone!

[ErikHoppy]

Hey Andy, thanks a lot bud. I really really like this new amp....it covers similar tones than the F-50 as you said, but for example, I like it better for Heavy stuff. In the clean/OD departments, they both rule, just two dif. flavors.

I was going to sell the F-50 to help pay the Diezel, but after I A/B them both, they're just two different and both are too cool to let go of the F-50. :love:

So it's staying here. :thu:

If you change you mind, let me know! I'd grab that F-50 from you!

[pedrozepelim]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the whole forum and a proud owner of the F-50 combo for the past year or so, but I do have one true reason for coming here; I need serious help with my tone! I've always played marshalls and vox and this is my first Mesa and I have to say, finding the right tone is really hard. I've been trying all I can but I just can't find a happy medium for the distortion, but the clean is perfect. Here's just a run down of the gear I'm using through the F-50:

Nothing in the Loops
NS-2 through the guitar (To get rid of hum and feedback from high gain)
Gibson SG faded stock
Mexican Fender Strat stock

When my friend brought his ESP LTD Viper with active 81/85 EMGs in it, it deffinitly did sound far better with the distortion than either of my main guitars so if its the pickups I dunno.

And that's basically it for now. I've tried playing with the EQ for hours and I just honestly can't find that sweet spot and a lot of the members on here who have the same amp are getting amazing tone out of their amp (and I'm mostly impressed by the member who has the youtube account JTPG)

Although I've been playing for about 8 years and am 18 now, I've never been huge on amp equipment and just liked it simple, but I've also been recording for the past few years and playing more and more shows so I really want to get the best tone I can out of this amp because I know it's possible.

I know this is a huge post for someone who just came but I'm kind of desperate to get that sweet tone out of the amp. I just haven't been happy so far so if anyone can help me out and give me some advice including maybe some adjusted settings to try, some pedals that will clean up the tone, or even some changes to the guitar set up it'd be really appreciated. If I missed anything feel free to ask and thanks everyone!

Hi, and Welcome!

Had the same poblem as you and for the same reasons. Mesa's are very dificult to EQ, and even when you think you got it right, the next day you think that it is still the same s**t.
Tryed everything: change guitars, pickups, settings, pedals, loop attenuattion, you name it. The thing that has really change my life (and I wasn't willing to even try it, because like you I like it simple and didn't wnat anything in the loop) was an EQ pedal. I payed 1300€ for this amp and a 50€ pedal in the loop made the whole difference. Try it, seriously!
Go to the first page of this thread, use the setting in there for reference, insert the EQ in the loop and tweak them both!
I got mine with a little (very little) cut on the mids and a little boost in the low-mids area. It takes some of the meat of the tone, but it sounds really good, focus, and rich!

[MusicManJP6]

pedrozepelim hit the nail on the head with the EQ pedal in the loop recommendation. An EQ makes an F-series amp come to life!

[Mrmot]

An EQ makes an F-series amp come to life!

most amps come to life when you plug an eq in the loop.. it's amazing that people change guitars, pickups and amps to achieve a certain tone when (IMO) just an eq in the loop can make such an amazing difference.. of course, the amp has to have a good fx-loop (which Mesa is notorious for), i remember plugging an eq in the loop of a TSL602 combo and barely could hear a difference, even when i did drastic changes like -15 db @ 800 Hz :freak:

[Whoaitsjesse]

most amps come to life when you plug an eq in the loop.. it's amazing that people change guitars, pickups and amps to achieve a certain tone when (IMO) just an eq in the loop can make such an amazing difference.. of course, the amp has to have a good fx-loop (which Mesa is notorious for), i remember plugging an eq in the loop of a TSL602 combo and barely could hear a difference, even when i did drastic changes like -15 db @ 800 Hz :freak:

So EQ is the route to go? I guess I'm gonna go buy myself an EQ pedal this weekend, thanks everyone. :) And ya, I was completely ready to put some new pickups in, try out some new guitars, and if worst came to worst, buy a new amp if it was gonna take too much money.

Anyways, GE-7 or something else?

[Lt_Core]

So EQ is the route to go? I guess I'm gonna go buy myself an EQ pedal this weekend, thanks everyone. :) And ya, I was completely ready to put some new pickups in, try out some new guitars, and if worst came to worst, buy a new amp if it was gonna take too much money.

Anyways, GE-7 or something else?

I used to use a GE-7 with my F-50. Now I use an MXR 10-band EQ. What an amazing difference! I love it. I think it's the best EQ stomp out there.

[MusicManJP6]

I used to use a GE-7 with my F-50. Now I use an MXR 10-band EQ. What an amazing difference! I love it. I think it's the best EQ stomp out there.

Yeah, I have the MXR 6-band and like it alot. I've not tried the 10-band because of space restrictions on my board. I would not recommend the BOSS GE-7 unless it's a modded one (Keeley, or Monte Allum). I've heard it is noisy in stock form.

[Mrmot]

I would not recommend the BOSS GE-7 unless it's a modded one (Keeley, or Monte Allum). I've heard it is noisy in stock form.


I had the boss ge-7 and it wasn't noisy at all.. i currently have additional eq's but will prolly buy some, maybe ge-7 again, or the MXR 10-band or maybe a Rane parametric eq :love:

[Dann'sTheMan]

Hey Brothers,

I hope you're all having a wonderful festive season. My festive season got a whole lot better at the top end of this week (Dec 24) when I decided to pull the trigger on a particularly sweet E.J. Strat.

As I touched on earlier, there are some pretty keenly priced E.J. Strats here in Japan, and I had pretty much made up my mind that I would have to pick one up. All the cheaper ones were in the Black colour, because they simply aren't as popular as the other colours. At first this put me off too, until I started thinking about changing the pickguard, and then I realised having a black body would actually be my favourite option - I'm a huge fan of how black bodies and white pick-up covers look with tortoiseshell or anodized gold pickguards. :)

I've named her Adwoa (pronounced Adjua - after a Ghanaian lass I once dated), and she covers the ground in my sonic arsenal where I want a bridge and bridge+middle single coil sounds. It's also a much more vintage voiced Strat and being Alder+Maple should compliment beautifully my Ash+Rosewood Charvel. Without further ado, here are some piccies of the new lass in my stable - looking perfectly at home on the tatami mats. :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2254/2141080844_afb537574a.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2025/2140316727_d264b1b8dd.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/2140295881_14c18bbd3a.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2152/2141080464_c6362aac94.jpg


I look forward to rockin' her with my F-50 in the New Year. Hope you all have a wonderfully musical New Year too! :thu:

Big smiles,

Andy.

Hey Brothers,

Well this Easter (Happy Easter to you all by the way), I finally got around to pimping my latest guitar with a brand new pickguard. I also took the opportunity to address the significant noise floor that afflicts the EJ Strat with a copper shielding job.

Here are a few piccies of Adwoa in her new guise, and I'm also thrilled by the look - she's every bit as classy and good looking as I had hoped. Furthermore, the shielding has worked brilliantly to banish the noise in positions 1, 3 and 5 (2 and 4 are already hum-cancelling), so she sounds great too in all 5 positions. Rock on! :P

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2260/2355427371_abd583850d_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2361/2355421331_2d46443afb_d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2087/2355423749_b3be575d02_d.jpg

Big smiles,

Andy.

[mynameistaken]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2260/2355427371_abd583850d_d.jpg

Did this cut down the AC noise?

[lovED]

Andy,
You're strat is EPIC.
Looks really good.
I envy you because i would never want to afford that, and I could never play something that good looking.
ED

[Dann'sTheMan]

<snip\>

Did this cut down the AC noise?

Hi mynameistaken,

The short answer is yes, mains hum is much reduced in the audio output, as are other types of interference.

The long answer is also yes, but it's worth highlighting that it works differently to a "hum bucking" approach. The "hum bucking" approach assumes that interference will get into the audio circuit, and uses an electronic engineering principle called common mode rejection to get rid of the interference later on. The approach used here, uses the electronic engineering principle of shielding to try to prevent interference getting into the audio circuit in the first place. The single coils and control circuitry work in a conductive copper bubble that is grounded, and external interference cannot easily break into that bubble/into the audio path.

The noise in positions 1,3 and 5 is now pretty much unnoticeable in my music room (I'll let you know if it works similarly well under stage lights). The result, authentic single coil tone, without the noise. :thu:

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Andy,
You're strat is EPIC.
Looks really good.
I envy you because i would never want to afford that, and I could never play something that good looking.
ED

Hi ED,

Thanks, and yes, it's certainly a great looking and uncommon strat - I personally don't mind playing good looking instruments - it gives the audience something decent to look at. :p

Regarding cost, remember that the EJ strat is actually a production line model, so I actually ended up paying around 1500 US bucks for it - not bad for a pro instrument. The pickguard was about 40 dollars (an authentic Fender '57 model), and the copper shielding another 20 bux plus a bunch of time to do a careful job. Interestingly, amongst my 5 guitars, only my Charvel strat cost me less.

Adwoa is fast becoming my main guitar. Believe all the positive praise you've heard about the EJ strat - if you can get on with the neck, it's one of the best sounding guitars anywhere. She certainly gets on well with my F-50. :D

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Joeytpg]

just beautiful andy! that guitar is SEXY!

need some clips/videos now!

[Dann'sTheMan]

just beautiful andy! that guitar is SEXY!

need some clips/videos now!

Hi Joeytpg,

Thanks my friend. I look forward to recording her and hearing how she compares to my Charvel (I really like how that guitar records). In the room, the Fender sounds very different: more raw, more strident, and with more of that maple snap and zing.

I will certainly get around to recording her, but I'll probably wait until my G-Major is back from (another) repair. I bought an HD camcorder recently, so that would be a good excuse to upload some home shot video. :p

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Joeytpg]

Hi Joeytpg,

Thanks my friend. I look forward to recording her and hearing how she compares to my Charvel (I really like how that guitar records). In the room, the Fender sounds very different: more raw, more strident, and with more of that maple snap and zing.

I will certainly get around to recording her, but I'll probably wait until my G-Major is back from (another) repair. I bought an HD camcorder recently, so that would be a good excuse to upload some home shot video. :p

Big smiles,

Andy.

great andy! I'll be waiting for that video!

but wait for the Gmajor? c'mon buddy, give us a little video....... I like dry tones too! :D

[ZZi]

Please, would You be so kind and send me copy this schematics to
zzi(at)seznam(dot)cz ?
I thank You very much

[ZZi]

Sorry, can not upload more than 5 files. How do I get the PD'F files of the schematics in my signature so you all can have a look at it?
Otherwise ask me and i will mail it to you.

Hi, I'm looking for this schematics for long time. Please can You send me to zzi(at)seznam(dot)cz
I thank You very much

[Mrmot]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/kriskross179/Picture033a-1.jpg

hi elk, that's some classy looking rig :thu:








intentional typo :p;)

[ejk]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/kriskross179/Picture033a-3-1.jpg

[ejk]

hi elk, that's some classy looking rig :thu:








intentional typo :p;)Thanks:thu:

[Tommi Inkila]

Hey bros, long time no see!

I've been really busy with Scenery Channel and my studies, a.k.a. the plan B.

Some of you may remember my tone search and as a part of it I borrowed a single rectifier. :shocked: :mad: :p

Take a listen how it sounds here: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1937776

Eventhough the F is really versatile I may have to use many amps on our next CD... since my vision of the album is even more diverse... whatever that means :thu:

[mudbuddy11]

wow tommi, thats some killer tone. still using the g major for all your effects?

[Tommi Inkila]

wow tommi, thats some killer tone. still using the g major for all your effects?
Thanks buddy!

Yeah, I use G-Major live, but for the recording I go dry and add the effects in the mix. The delay on the clip is Cubase 4's stereo delay. I probably forgot to mention that.

[ErikHoppy]

Should I jump on this or what?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-F-50-Combo_W0QQitemZ200212330196QQihZ010QQcategoryZ4337 4QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Will Cyrier]

Should I jump on this or what?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-F-50-Combo_W0QQitemZ200212330196QQihZ010QQcategoryZ4337 4QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I paid $750 for my used F-30 2 years ago at Guitar Center.

[MusicManJP6]

Will - that's a good price for an F-50 IMO. I just sold my F-30 for $650 here locally. Which brings me to my next point. I'm out of the brotherhood... :cry:

BUUUUUT - I'm sticking with Mesa still and grabbing a Rect-o-Verb combo this weekend. If i'm lucky, i'll be able to cop some of those nice tones Tommi was able to get out of his buddy's single rec... :rawk:

[LaidBack95]

Hey all, I too am a proud owner of an F-50. It's my first tube actually. Got it right around Christmas.

Anyway I got bored today and decided to google "F-50" and found this awesome thread. I read most of it and learned a lot I didnt even know. This is my first post here on HC, but hopefully the first in a long list on this thread.

Peace

[Joeytpg]

welcome to the brotherhood man. Start playing that awesome amp and post some clips/videos ASAP :)

[LaidBack95]

Well first off, I live away at school, about an hour and 15 minutes from home. Not too far. But since I live in the dorms, there is NO way in hell that I will be able to get away with this beast in here. I can barely put my cruddy 30 watt behringer solid state past 4 or 5 without getting a knock on the door. Oh how I miss my amp. I actually go through withdrawls.

As for clips, hopefully my band will be recording soon. Since my only other way to record is with an 8 track. And because the amp doesn't live with me I have yet to find MY tone.

Which brings me to my next question, has anyone here paired up the F-50 with the BBE Sonic Stomp; and if so, how were your results?

[mynameistaken]

Which brings me to my next question, has anyone here paired up the F-50 with the BBE Sonic Stomp; and if so, how were your results?

Don't waste your money on the Sonic Stomp. Get a good EQ to put in the loop and you will be set. MXR, Boss, or whatever. Do it now!

[LaidBack95]

So it isn't really as good as everyone says it is? Or is it but I would just be better off with an EQ?

[guitarman_nebr]

i tried the BBE Sonic stuff with the first generation modeling amps. it basically acted like a presence control. it also had a weird digital sound if it was driven too hard. (that was real easy to do) i haven't used one since. most cases i have read where people like the BBE Sonic is with Line 6 or Behringer gear where the tone is pretty muddy. the Sonic unit can help clear things up......not my cup 'o tea...............

However, i did put an EQ in the effects loop of my F-100 and that really is a required addition!!! the amp sounds incredible when the EQ is dialed in. it helps just as much at lower levels as well. highly recommended.

[LaidBack95]

Hmm....alright. You might have just saved me and my other guitarist. We were thinking about both buying one each. he has the Mesa Express 5:50 btw.

How is the MXR 6 band EQ? I'm not really looking for much of a tonal difference but mostly to tighten up my low end. I am kinda going for a sound between Tool and Opeth (assuming you guys know who I am talking about :p)

[mynameistaken]

Hmm....alright. You might have just saved me and my other guitarist. We were thinking about both buying one each. he has the Mesa Express 5:50 btw.

How is the MXR 6 band EQ? I'm not really looking for much of a tonal difference but mostly to tighten up my low end. I am kinda going for a sound between Tool and Opeth (assuming you guys know who I am talking about :p)

MXR is fine.

I found my tone by cutting the 200hz and boosting the 100z. I also cut a little of my mids and boost my highs just a tiny bit. Lots of thump and clarity!!!!!! But do what sounds good to you.

[guitarman_nebr]

you won't be sorry for the EQ. it does tighten up the low end and you can add that top end sizzle at just the right frequency.

[pedrozepelim]

I also recomend the EQ pedal, but only on the lead channel. I just cut the mids a little bit and boost the low mids also a little.
Not on the clean channel!

[MusicManJP6]

I'm another advocate for the MXR 6 band EQ in the loop of the f-series. It brought my F-30 to life (when I had it). I cut the mids SLIGHTLY (the two middle sliders), left the next to last sliders on both sides at zero and boosted the first and last sliders just a little. It really helped out tremendously! My settings sounded fine on the clean channel too....

[LaidBack95]

Heh, this thread is amazing, you guys answered my question about what settings before I asked. The tighter low end thump is what I am looking for. I have my perfect clean channel setting already but its only the OD channel. I basically leave the contour on at all times.

So raise the bass frequencies and SLIGHTLY raise the treble and SLIGHTLY lower the mids? And I do understand that you mean slightly, eventhough I play some high gain stuff, I understand the importance of the mids.

**EDIT**: Also where in the loop-chain do you think I should put the EQ if i get it? after the effects or before? Right now I only have a chorus in the loop and a tuner in front of the amp, but I'm going to be getting a delay soon too and throwing that in after the chorus.

[bfrance]

Hello all,

Long-time Mesa fan here who has been kicking himself ever since he sold his Studio .22+ about 4-5 years ago! The good news is, I'm rejoining the family:

I just scored a F-50 combo that I should have in the next week or so!!! :thu:

I'm only on page 47 of this monster thread so far, but I had to share, I'm stoked!!!

-Ben

[MusicManJP6]

Heh, this thread is amazing, you guys answered my question about what settings before I asked. The tighter low end thump is what I am looking for. I have my perfect clean channel setting already but its only the OD channel. I basically leave the contour on at all times.

So raise the bass frequencies and SLIGHTLY raise the treble and SLIGHTLY lower the mids? And I do understand that you mean slightly, eventhough I play some high gain stuff, I understand the importance of the mids.

**EDIT**: Also where in the loop-chain do you think I should put the EQ if i get it? after the effects or before? Right now I only have a chorus in the loop and a tuner in front of the amp, but I'm going to be getting a delay soon too and throwing that in after the chorus.

I say SLIGHTLY because the EQ is much more powerful in the loop than in front of the amp. It can very easily boost your volume (or cut the volume) if you boost/cut too much. BUT, you can use the volume difference to your advantage and use it as a 'boost' for leads. So, you could slide all the sliders down a little (in the slight V position or whatever shape you find to your liking) and kick the EQ ON to decrease the volume for your rhythm tone and when you turn the EQ OFF it brings all the frequencies back to zero and effectively bumps the volume up for your leads. I did this for a while with great results. I wanted a scooped rhythm tone (hence the slight V shape) but preferred the EQ pedal off for leads - it just sounded more natural and less compressed for leads that way.

Place the EQ first in the effects loop followed by your effects. you want the effects to effect the signal from the EQ not the EQ adjusting the frequencies coming from the effects. You'd surely get some weird/harsh results that way - although that might be what you are after!

[mynameistaken]

I want a single button footswitch just for changing channels AND i want the light to work. Could I get something like this to work? Anybody done this?

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/7/1/7/250717.jpg

[LaidBack95]

Hmmm...well considering I am mainly a rhythm player and only rarely solo, it is still a great idea. I will have to take it into consideration. Thanks a lot guys!!! Great thread...just awesome.

[MusicManJP6]

Hmmm...well considering I am mainly a rhythm player and only rarely solo, it is still a great idea. I will have to take it into consideration. Thanks a lot guys!!! Great thread...just awesome.

You can always get the EQ and then set it and forget it and just leave it on all the time!

[LaidBack95]

Yea, that is pretty much i was going to do.

[babyslapmafro]

hey all. i'm looking to add an amp to my studio setup. all i have at the moment is my vox ac30cc but i am interested in trying out an f30 (based strictly on what i've read, yet to play one).

sorry if this is a dumb question but is it safe to say that the f30 and ac30 are nowhere near being similar amps? i ask because they are both powered by el84's and 12ax7's in some sort of combination. (vox has the addition of the gz34 i might add).

will i be able to get tones out of the f30 that i could never get out of my ac30 and vice versa. and what makes that possible?

thanks a lot in advance for the help.

[ErikHoppy]

Hey all,

I found this thread a few years ago, have read up on this amp, and have been GAS'ing for an F-50 ever since I heard all the amazing sound clips and everything else this thread has to offer!

Well, I am pleased to announce that I am OFFICIALLY part of the Mesa F-Series family!!!

I just finished a deal for a F-50 Wide-body combo!

I've gone threw many an amp in my short life so far, but I have a pretty damn good feeling that this puppy will stay with me for a long while!

Just wanted to say thank you to all who have participated in the thread!

[LaidBack95]

to babyslap: Yea the F-30 is completely different from the AC30. different voicing and much much more gain on tap. I don't think you will be disappointed.

To Erik: I just joined too man, but I've had the F-50 for a few months. But welcome, and congrats on the amp.

[hal9000]

Hmm....alright. You might have just saved me and my other guitarist. We were thinking about both buying one each. he has the Mesa Express 5:50 btw.

How is the MXR 6 band EQ? I'm not really looking for much of a tonal difference but mostly to tighten up my low end. I am kinda going for a sound between Tool and Opeth (assuming you guys know who I am talking about :p)Welcome! This is my most Tool-esque clip: http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Reflective_F-100_20th.mp3

For tight bass on channel 2, turn the bass down to 9:00 or so. This clip was recorded with treble @ 9:00 and mids @ 3:00, which is more British sounding than some would think the F-series can muster. If you do include an EQ in the loop, the MXR 10-band is great. You can then turn the bass down to 0, and add it back in the loop. Personally, I like a boost @ 125 Hz and 5 kHz with the parametric in my G-major and generally drop 750 Hz a few dB. If you ever get a chance to play with a parametric EQ, you'll find exactly what your ears want to hear with a bit of tweaking. I find that the 5 kHz boost adds a righteous amount of anger to the tone. :)

[lovED]

babyslampfro:

The band I play guitar in recorded recently. I did one track with an F-100 head and another track with an AC30 with a Vintage 30 and a Heritage 30. The sounds weren't similar but very complimentary. The AC30 is very responsive. The gain is comensurate to your playing more with an AC30 while the F-Series gain is right in your face ALL the time. The AC30 cleans are chimey and not quite as clean as the F-series can get.
ED

[lovED]

www.myspace.com/sharpshooterde

[LaidBack95]

Thanks Hal for that input and nice recording. I love the delay, is that off the G-Major? Next time I go home mind if I steal those EQ settings? Minus the G-Major and the MXR 10 band...

But anyway I went to 2 Guitar Centers the other day and tried out the MXR 6 band and liked it. But I also tried out the Sonic Stomp again with the EQ running right a long side of it. Unfortunately I played it on a Twin Reverb (never thought I'd say something like that lol, but you guys know what I mean) so it wasn't quite the same, but I got a great sound out of it.

Anyway, I think that I am just going to go with both. I don't really see any harm, because if I don't like it, GC has their whole 30 day bring-it-back-if-you-don't-like-it deal.

[beyondthislife]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking about getting a delay pedal to use for high gain lead tones and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a pedal that works well with the F-50. Cheap is always a plus.

[snakum]

I honestly thought the Bad Monkey was as good with the F-50 as anything else. Even better than many pedals costing three or four times as much.

[Will Cyrier]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking about getting a delay pedal to use for high gain lead tones and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a pedal that works well with the F-50. Cheap is always a plus.

I prefer a delay pedal that has a tap tempo function. Currently I use a Line 6 DL4 modeler, but it takes up a lot of real estate on my pedal board (and I don't use all of its functions). The new Boss (DD-6?) is compact, and has a tap tempo function built in. If you plan on using a lot of effects in the future, look into a processor like the G-major or a floor unit like the Boss GT8. I have a Vox Tonelab SE that I use on occasion. What's cool about it is that I can set the delay tempo AND control the delay/dry signal mix with one of the continuous controllers. Good luck.

[mudbuddy11]

ive got the marshall echo pedal and i think it sound fine.

[colorbars]

I have an F-50 head on the way and want to use it with my Marshall 1960av cab. As you know the F-50 has one 8 ohm speaker jack and two 4 ohm speaker jacks (to be used with two 8 ohm cabs). The Marshall cab is 16 or 4 ohms mono and 8 ohms stereo. So do i have to use two speaker cables from the two 4 ohm jacks to the 8 ohm stereo jacks on the Marshall or is there another way???

the back of the Marshall cab looks like this .......

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/5/4/7/494547.jpg

thanks for your help in advance!

[glow]

I have an F-50 head on the way and want to use it with my Marshall 1960av cab. As you know the F-50 has one 8 ohm speaker jack and two 4 ohm speaker jacks (to be used with two 8 ohm cabs). The Marshall cab is 16 or 4 ohms mono and 8 ohms stereo. So do i have to use two speaker cables from the two 4 ohm jacks to the 8 ohm stereo jacks on the Marshall or is there another way???


Yes, you could use two speaker cables as you described.

But why don't you just use a single cable, set the cab to mono and go from 4Ohm on the cab > 4Ohm on the amp ... Seems to me, it's the easiest way...

You can find any information you'll probably ever need on this subject here: F-Series User Manual (http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/F-Series.pdf) (starting on page 19)

BTW, I've owned my F-50 for almost a year now, and it's my first post to this thread (iirc)... I would just like to thank all the contributors for this incredible amount of useful information!!! :thu:

[hal9000]

I have an F-50 head on the way and want to use it with my Marshall 1960av cab. As you know the F-50 has one 8 ohm speaker jack and two 4 ohm speaker jacks (to be used with two 8 ohm cabs). The Marshall cab is 16 or 4 ohms mono and 8 ohms stereo. So do i have to use two speaker cables from the two 4 ohm jacks to the 8 ohm stereo jacks on the Marshall or is there another way???

the back of the Marshall cab looks like this .......

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/5/4/7/494547.jpg

thanks for your help in advance!Set the cab for mono, and plug into the 4 Ohm jack with your speaker cable. The other side of the cable should go into one of the 4 Ohm jacks on the F-50 and you'll be fully matched.

[estring777]

Welcome! This is my most Tool-esque clip: http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Reflective_F-100_20th.mp3

For tight bass on channel 2, turn the bass down to 9:00 or so. This clip was recorded with treble @ 9:00 and mids @ 3:00, which is more British sounding than some would think the F-series can muster. If you do include an EQ in the loop, the MXR 10-band is great. You can then turn the bass down to 0, and add it back in the loop. Personally, I like a boost @ 125 Hz and 5 kHz with the parametric in my G-major and generally drop 750 Hz a few dB. If you ever get a chance to play with a parametric EQ, you'll find exactly what your ears want to hear with a bit of tweaking. I find that the 5 kHz boost adds a righteous amount of anger to the tone. :)



So for you guys that use the MXR in the loop to help your crunch sound, what do you do for the clean sound?
If you have a tune that has some channel switching in it..Clean>dirty>clean>dirty....?
Do you leave the EQ on all the time or tap dance within the channels?

[Alchemist]

hey fellas, I'm looking to get a simple (but good) delay pedal for my loop..... my EHX SMMH doesnt play nice with my F30 loop, I need something that will.... what are you guys using?

[Mrmot]

short clip i just recorded with my f-50 combo, just testing the tone monster (i hope monster cables won't sue me for using this word) :cop:
contour, gain almost maxed, treble 12:30, mids 09:00, bass 10:30, master 12:00 and using hal9000's fx-loop "mod" with the fx-mix pot barely turned up (85% or so)
Edwards E-LP-98LTC with a JB on the bridge, drop-B tuning (:lol:), slight post-eq, mostly cuting off some mids cause the JB is very mid-heavy..
http://www.box.net/shared/we5bblw08s

whaddya think?

[ErikHoppy]

Questions fella's,

I got my F-50 combo over a week ago, UPS damaged the cab in shipment and I'm in the middle of starting a claim.

In all honesty, I think the UPS damage is more than just cosmetic, because this amp is not impressing me very much.

I tried all the settings suggested in this forum, and it just sounds not that great... granted, I'm only at about volume 3, but it doesn't sound like the clips that Tommi Inkila has. I love his tone btw, so this is making me think the amp is muffed up.

Also, the direct sound is GOD AWFUL. I thought this amps direct tone was supposed to be pretty good. Well, mine sounds like a shitty gorilla amp when going direct... has no definition, is muddy as hell, and is just crap.

So, what, are my pre-amp tubes shot? Also, the reverb doesn't work.

I've been in touch with the seller, and he claims everything was in perfect working order before he shipped it, so did UPS kill my amp? They definitely dropped it, cause the external damage is a cracked cabinet. And the box is beat to shit.

So, what should I do? Should I add a full check up by a tech, and all new tubes to the claim amount, or should I fight to get a full claim of $700?

I'm really bummed about this.

[Progdude]

Questions fella's,

I got my F-50 combo over a week ago, UPS damaged the cab in shipment and I'm in the middle of starting a claim.

In all honesty, I think the UPS damage is more than just cosmetic, because this amp is not impressing me very much.

I tried all the settings suggested in this forum, and it just sounds not that great... granted, I'm only at about volume 3, but it doesn't sound like the clips that Tommi Inkila has. I love his tone btw, so this is making me think the amp is muffed up.

Also, the direct sound is GOD AWFUL. I thought this amps direct tone was supposed to be pretty good. Well, mine sounds like a shitty gorilla amp when going direct... has no definition, is muddy as hell, and is just crap.

So, what, are my pre-amp tubes shot? Also, the reverb doesn't work.

I've been in touch with the seller, and he claims everything was in perfect working order before he shipped it, so did UPS kill my amp? They definitely dropped it, cause the external damage is a cracked cabinet. And the box is beat to shit.

So, what should I do? Should I add a full check up by a tech, and all new tubes to the claim amount, or should I fight to get a full claim of $700?

I'm really bummed about this.

Full check up. I really think it's more than just cosmetic if you tried the settings posted in here and cranked it to 3, it should at least sound decent to even the most strict tonewhores if it's working fine, and well, if the reverb doesn't work you should swap out the tubes and see if it changes it.

[andershoeg]

hey fellas, I'm looking to get a simple (but good) delay pedal for my loop..... my EHX SMMH doesnt play nice with my F30 loop, I need something that will.... what are you guys using?

Carl Martin Delayla XL, or Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay. Both works well in the loop of my f30
b.r. andershoeg

[mudbuddy11]

I've got the marshall echohead, and I think it works really well. I had the digitech delay, and I didnt like the 'arificial' sound I got out of it. The marshall is nice and warm.

So,,, a question of my own... I dont like the mesa reverb, and I've been using my echohead as a reverb for far too long, I want to have a delay back in my chain so I'm looking at the carl martin mentioned above....

can anyone recommend a good REVERB pedal for this amp? would anyone recommend switching out the tank? Why does this reverb sound so bad and a fender sounds so good?

thanks all
keep rockin

[estring777]

So for you guys that use the MXR in the loop to help your crunch sound, what do you do for the clean sound?
If you have a tune that has some channel switching in it..Clean>dirty>clean>dirty....?
Do you leave the EQ on all the time or tap dance within the channels?



Little Help???

[mudbuddy11]

I dont know if I am going to be any help... I use my eq to get more of what I think is a more 'authentic' PAF type tone.. with my les paul. I leave it on all the time because it works in both places. With the cleans it sound more 'mid cut' and on the gain channel I think it sings better. I use a mid cut v-pattern, but here's where it gets funky.

When I use the compressor, I dont seem to get anything out of the eq. I'm thinking that I'm getting out the eq, the sound I also pretty much get with an orange squeezer clone, but then again its only on my les paul. My washburn has a truer paf type pickup(bb3) and an american fender single coil, and they dont like the eq. They sound so good by themselves, they actually sound a little worse with the settings I have. Now whos to say those are 'THE SETTINGS' to have.... well... I do.

I bet the metal players have a shape on their eq that is totally different from mine. It probably does not work well with the clean channel tho.

just my 2cents...

on a happy, like its christmas-kind-of note, I'm getting an octron through the mail in a few days. New toys to drive my neighbors mad. Looking for the octave DOWN!!!!!!!! I wanna make the mesa 12" cry for mercy.

oh... and just figured out I can run my little fender champ as the stereo amp off of my marshall echohead. My echohead is in the mesa loop so the master volume acts as the master to both amps, once I get it dialed in. It is soooo cool. soo fun... They sound perfect together, especially on the clean channel...

back to playing.

[babyslapmafro]

Hey guys. I'm going to pick up an F-30 and I just have a general quesiton about speakers.

I have an avatar 2x12 contemporary cabinet (8ohm mono closed back) and was wondering what speakers would work well as a starting point for this amp. I would like two seperate speakers in the cabinet. any suggestions welcome.

thanks

[LesPaulCustom79]

Tweak, tweak, tweak, and then tweak again.

[eddie.perez]

Has anybody here tried out the Roadster cab with V30's and C90's on a
F-100 Head. Do you guys think it's a good matched.


I've been loving my head ever since I changed my preamp tubes. It sound much more sweeter.:thu:

[eddie.perez]

I dont know if I am going to be any help... I use my eq to get more of what I think is a more 'authentic' PAF type tone.. with my les paul. I leave it on all the time because it works in both places. With the cleans it sound more 'mid cut' and on the gain channel I think it sings better. I use a mid cut v-pattern, but here's where it gets funky.

When I use the compressor, I dont seem to get anything out of the eq. I'm thinking that I'm getting out the eq, the sound I also pretty much get with an orange squeezer clone, but then again its only on my les paul. My washburn has a truer paf type pickup(bb3) and an american fender single coil, and they dont like the eq. They sound so good by themselves, they actually sound a little worse with the settings I have. Now whos to say those are 'THE SETTINGS' to have.... well... I do.

I bet the metal players have a shape on their eq that is totally different from mine. It probably does not work well with the clean channel tho.

just my 2cents...

on a happy, like its christmas-kind-of note, I'm getting an octron through the mail in a few days. New toys to drive my neighbors mad. Looking for the octave DOWN!!!!!!!! I wanna make the mesa 12" cry for mercy.

oh... and just figured out I can run my little fender champ as the stereo amp off of my marshall echohead. My echohead is in the mesa loop so the master volume acts as the master to both amps, once I get it dialed in. It is soooo cool. soo fun... They sound perfect together, especially on the clean channel...

back to playing.


Correct me if i'm wrong, but you are saying that you use an orange squeezer as a compressor?:confused:

[crazytrain]

short clip i just recorded with my f-50 combo, just testing the tone monster (i hope monster cables won't sue me for using this word) :cop:
contour, gain almost maxed, treble 12:30, mids 09:00, bass 10:30, master 12:00 and using hal9000's fx-loop "mod" with the fx-mix pot barely turned up (85% or so)
Edwards E-LP-98LTC with a JB on the bridge, drop-B tuning (:lol:), slight post-eq, mostly cuting off some mids cause the JB is very mid-heavy..
http://www.box.net/shared/we5bblw08s

whaddya think?

I'll tell ya what I think! F series Mesa's are monsters and that little clip proves it,the tone was monster,the growl was monster,good shit! I love my F-100!

[mudbuddy11]

yeah its a clone of the original dan armstrong orange squeezer. It works pretty darn well, too.

[mudbuddy11]

https://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=7&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=19&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=45

this is the orange squeezer clone... cheap... put it together yourself for 45 bones

[mudbuddy11]

or i'll but one together for ya for 75, shipped

[mudbuddy11]

I will PUT one together....

[dtrax]

Whats up... I did two quick clips of my F-30 running direct w/ some cab sim software. I can't record live (apartment), so direct is my only option. The signal path:

Ibanez RG7321 (stock) -> Mesa F-30 (stock) -> Record Out -> mBox

Settings on my F30:

CH2 + contour
Gain: 3:30
Treble: 3:00
Mids: 10:00
Bass: 8:00-8:30
Reverb: OFF
Master: 9:00


Hardcore/metal diddy. (http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6491347)

Metal-ish Irish tune (http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6491339)

The sound overall isn't too bad for direct/sim. It does lack a bit of 'umph', but it's usable for demos. Let me know what you's think. Thanks!

[opultaM]

Welcome! This is my most Tool-esque clip: http://www.64graphics.com/clips/hal9000_Reflective_F-100_20th.mp3

For tight bass on channel 2, turn the bass down to 9:00 or so. This clip was recorded with treble @ 9:00 and mids @ 3:00, which is more British sounding than some would think the F-series can muster. If you do include an EQ in the loop, the MXR 10-band is great. You can then turn the bass down to 0, and add it back in the loop. Personally, I like a boost @ 125 Hz and 5 kHz with the parametric in my G-major and generally drop 750 Hz a few dB. If you ever get a chance to play with a parametric EQ, you'll find exactly what your ears want to hear with a bit of tweaking. I find that the 5 kHz boost adds a righteous amount of anger to the tone. :)


I haven't been in here in a couple months. Glad i stopped by and heard this. Sounds great!

I just got a Timefactor and will be trying with my F100 soon. I'll let you all know

[mudbuddy11]

dtrax, those both sound great. I didnt think the line out worked that well to record, do you use a di box?

[Nooner]

What is a good price for a clean F30? Thanks in advance!

[Will Cyrier]

What is a good price for a clean F30? Thanks in advance!

I paid $750 for a used F30 from Guitar Center over 2 years ago.

[dtrax]

dtrax, those both sound great. I didnt think the line out worked that well to record, do you use a di box?

Thanks man. :thu: Nope, no DI. Just straight into my mBox, set to the 'inst' input. I must say though, without cab sim software, the direct sound isn't very usable. I used the SimulAnalog JCM900 set to channel A (clean tone) for cab sim BTW.

[dtrax]

What is a good price for a clean F30? Thanks in advance!

Got mine for $499 + shipping off the 'bay 2 months ago.

[opultaM]

Thanks man. :thu: Nope, no DI. Just straight into my mBox, set to the 'inst' input. I must say though, without cab sim software, the direct sound isn't very usable. I used the SimulAnalog JCM900 set to channel A (clean tone) for cab sim BTW.



Where you get that? I agree it sounds pretty good. :thu:

[dtrax]

Simulanalog Guitar Suite (http://www.simulanalog.org/guitarsuite.htm)

Glad you guys are liking it. Obviously cab sim lacks the depth/airyness of mic'ing up the amp, but I hope this helps some people that are looking for a decent way to record some demos direct. That said, this is still the F-Series thread, so I don't want to go too off topic.

[mrelusive]

Simulanalog Guitar Suite (http://www.simulanalog.org/guitarsuite.htm)

Glad you guys are liking it. Obviously cab sim lacks the depth/airyness of mic'ing up the amp, but I hope this helps some people that are looking for a decent way to record some demos direct. That said, this is still the F-Series thread, so I don't want to go too off topic.

dude.


thanks! i've been drunk-riffin for like an hour using this cab sim...

[opultaM]

No Mac version...FAIL

[dtfan4ever]

It's my first post here. I just got an F-30 today. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me since I'll be reading this thread for a while to see what y'all have found out about this tone monster.

[Lt_Core]

I might get kicked out this thread but my upgraded Mesa F-50 wide-body combo has been relegated to "back-up amp" status at gigs. Haven't had it on in over a month.

It has been replaced by a Rivera Chubster 40, which is a tone machine. No need for attenuation either with the Rivera as it sounds great at bedroom levels and ear-splitting gig levels. Fender cleans (Blackface, Deluxe, etc.) through heavy Marshall JCM800 gain. It's all there in an unassuming little combo. Better effects loop, IMHO.

I traded a Peavey Classic 30 and Avatar 212 cab straight up for the Rivera. Killer deal! I thought I was going to use it as a practice amp but it's a taken over the #1 gigging amp title.

I still love my F-50, as it was my entry into tube amp-land from the digital world. I have learned so much on this thread about the F-50 and tube amps in general so thanks to all who helped me out over the past couple of years.

[mrelusive]

I might get kicked out this thread but my upgraded Mesa F-50 wide-body combo has been relegated to "back-up amp" status at gigs. Haven't had it on in over a month.




define "upgraded"

[NDRU]

I'm having an issue with my F-30, maybe one of you experts can help me!

I noticed the left power tube's plate was glowing after the sound got kind of fizzy & quiet.

I replaced the tubes w/ some new Mesa EL84's, and the new tube glowed also, but only slightly. I switched them around, and the same tube glowed--this time on the right instead of the left. So I assumed the tube might be defective and returned it.

Wouldn't you know it, the same thing happened! The new new tube glowed first in the left socket, then the right when I switched them. It's a slight glow, but definitely there. The sound is fine, but I don't want to play it!

I feel like I must have blown something, but I'm just not sure.

[Lt_Core]

define "upgraded"

Full set of JJ Tubes from Eurotubes and a Jensen NEO 100 speaker both made huge differences. Not massive mods but enough to make me smile :)

[Tommi Inkila]

Hey bros,

I'm still searching for every tone possible for our next cd/promo. This time I tried Mark IV... it seems that there will be Single Recto, Mark IV and F50 on our next musical adventure :D

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?p=27875807&posted=1#post27875807

Sorry for not participating the lounge more... at the moment I'm very busy with my studies and recording and testing different tones :freak:

[mudbuddy11]

tommy, how do those mesa's stack up to one another? I've been wanting to discuss(in this thread) how the F series can be considered a budget amp, and how its so cheap compared to other mesa amps. Probably different animals, but is their tone stack similar? What are you getting out of those other 2 amps that you cant get from your F?

I've heard nothing but good things about the dual rec and the mark IV... 2 amps I would pursue if I had more money(or skill). I've heard almost all good things about the F. Anybody have any input? Why is the F $800 and the mark IV is around $1700? I understand the mark is WAY more amp, but is it really?

And the reverb... lots a people bitch about how the reverb sucks. Anything I can do? should i drop in a fender 2 spring?

[Tommi Inkila]

tommy, how do those mesa's stack up to one another? I've been wanting to discuss(in this thread) how the F series can be considered a budget amp, and how its so cheap compared to other mesa amps. Probably different animals, but is their tone stack similar? What are you getting out of those other 2 amps that you cant get from your F?

I've heard nothing but good things about the dual rec and the mark IV... 2 amps I would pursue if I had more money(or skill). I've heard almost all good things about the F. Anybody have any input? Why is the F $800 and the mark IV is around $1700? I understand the mark is WAY more amp, but is it really?

And the reverb... lots a people bitch about how the reverb sucks. Anything I can do? should i drop in a fender 2 spring?
Hmm...

I think that in the end F-series is very straightforward amp, both tone and construction wise. It seems that Mesa builds every series for different tones in mind. Rectos for modern tones, Stiletto for British tones, Lonestar for clean and blues etc. None of their amps can cover it all. F-series is somewhere in the middle with easy setup and simple but still gorgeously working tone. It's often said that the F is somewhere between recto and mark... and that's probably true. It just doesn't have as aggressive grind as recto has or as complex and fat tone as Mark has. Those amps are built from the beginning to achieve those tones.

For everyday use and live purposes the F just simply works. No fuzz or extra tweaking. When playing live I believe that nuances that recto or mark produces are easily lost and in many places can sound worse than the F.

I personally don't feel that I'm lacking with F when playing live but for recording purposes it quite doesn't catch the "extremities" of recto and mark. The other reason I'm looking for other amps for recording is that it just happens that F's tone's character competes with our singer's voice.

So since the recto and mark are more complex amps construction-wise the more expensive price might be justified. It comes to question do you really need those little differences in tone. It's just like between $1000 and $3000 guitars. I think that after $1000 the price doesn't bring that much to the table, it's just the nuances.

Same thing about the reverb, do you think that you need something extra? I personally like more complex reverbs like hall reverbs. So I use G-Major for that and all the other effects I might (or at least I think I) need.

Hopefully there's something reasonable on the lines above :)

[mudbuddy11]

THAT... is an answer. Thank you very much. I have to say that I'm overall pretty happy with my F. I dont like the reverb, and I've been using my echo pedal there, and I want it back as an echo, so I've been on the search for something that sounds ok.

I had just had a thought that mesa might be cutting corners with this amp to make it more affordable, but thanks to tommy, I see the light. just no added bells and whistles. I would like to try a mark. there was a mark III combo on ebay for $550 a couple days ago, almost bought it.

Thanks again.

[Tommi Inkila]

THAT... is an answer. Thank you very much. I have to say that I'm overall pretty happy with my F. I dont like the reverb, and I've been using my echo pedal there, and I want it back as an echo, so I've been on the search for something that sounds ok.

I had just had a thought that mesa might be cutting corners with this amp to make it more affordable, but thanks to tommy, I see the light. just no added bells and whistles. I would like to try a mark. there was a mark III combo on ebay for $550 a couple days ago, almost bought it.

Thanks again.
No problem!

I'm glad if I could help :)

[LaidBack95]

Hey all,

I haven't posted here in a while, but I would like to throw an update in along with a few questions. Now that I am home from school with the rest of my band, got a few, but very productive, practices in and have found a studio, it appears we will be attempting to record within the next month or so.

As for the questions, it has to do with my pedal board and what it will become. As of right now it only consists of the F-50 footswitch, EHX Small Clone and the Planet Waves pedal tuner. Today I found my old DigiTech RP200a pedal. I have been hesitant not to use it with the Mesa because I didn't want to make it sound all digitally. Well, I surprised myself; it didn't sound half bad at all. Now I only used the RP for compression and delay, but still, I would like a more professional set up as I don't like using multi-effects as much. So I was thinking:

Mesa F-50 footswtich (already have)
Planet Waves Tuner (already have)
EHX Small Clone (already have)
BBE Sonic Stomp
MXR Super Comp
Ernie Ball VP Jr Volume pedal (for the tuner out option and I like volume swells)
TC Electronics Nova Delay
ISP Tech Decimator (if i have any cash left over)

All this will be built onto a piece of cut and measured plywood I am going to put some outdoor carpeting and velcro on. It is going to then be placed in this old suitcase I found in the attic (size permitting). I asked the guys in GG&A on Ultimate-Guitar the same question, but I'd like to hear from you guys here as well.

Sorry for the wall of text, but yea...I like to talk. lol

**EDIT** I also will not be getting all of these at the same time. I just started working one job and I start my second one in about a week, just to let you all know. AND I am debating whether or not to use the RP when I am in the studio, what do you guys think?

[dtrax]

I personally would stay away from the BBE. I've used the rackmount sonic maximizer in the studio and while it's affect kinda cool at first, I became irritated with it after a while. Who knows though, the pedal may be kinda cool? That said, I'd add an EQ pedal to the list as well.

As for going to the studio, I'd suggest using the simplest signal path when cutting a record. For example, if you're recording distorted rhthym parts, just plug straight into the F50. If you only need the chorus for clean parts, plug it in only when laying down those tracks, etc. etc... FX are cool for live use and generally the signal degration (sp?) isn't as noticable. But in the studio, signal quality is magnified, so taking out all the bullsh!t will yield a better tone.

That's my 2 cents. Cheers.

Hey all,

I haven't posted here in a while, but I would like to throw an update in along with a few questions. Now that I am home from school with the rest of my band, got a few, but very productive, practices in and have found a studio, it appears we will be attempting to record within the next month or so.

As for the questions, it has to do with my pedal board and what it will become. As of right now it only consists of the F-50 footswitch, EHX Small Clone and the Planet Waves pedal tuner. Today I found my old DigiTech RP200a pedal. I have been hesitant not to use it with the Mesa because I didn't want to make it sound all digitally. Well, I surprised myself; it didn't sound half bad at all. Now I only used the RP for compression and delay, but still, I would like a more professional set up as I don't like using multi-effects as much. So I was thinking:

Mesa F-50 footswtich (already have)
Planet Waves Tuner (already have)
EHX Small Clone (already have)
BBE Sonic Stomp
MXR Super Comp
Ernie Ball VP Jr Volume pedal (for the tuner out option and I like volume swells)
TC Electronics Nova Delay
ISP Tech Decimator (if i have any cash left over)

All this will be built onto a piece of cut and measured plywood I am going to put some outdoor carpeting and velcro on. It is going to then be placed in this old suitcase I found in the attic (size permitting). I asked the guys in GG&A on Ultimate-Guitar the same question, but I'd like to hear from you guys here as well.

Sorry for the wall of text, but yea...I like to talk. lol

**EDIT** I also will not be getting all of these at the same time. I just started working one job and I start my second one in about a week, just to let you all know. AND I am debating whether or not to use the RP when I am in the studio, what do you guys think?

[LaidBack95]

Thanks dtrax, I'll just go right into the F-50 when recording. To be honest the few songs of ours we are doing, I don't use my chorus or delay, so it works out.

As for the Sonic Stomp, the guys over at UG (as well as here in the past and you now) have turned me away from it. Along with the ISP, as I do not get any feed back now, and I dont use crappy cables. So the only thing I am really on the fence about now is the EB Volume Pedal.

[sundogkid]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/hal9000sF-SeriesAuditionSettingsrevA.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/afraiddave/hal9000GigRig11_7_05RevB.jpg
http://www.quiklok.com/200x200/sku_BS_317.jpg



Is there a site where you can build your own diagrams similiar to this?

I know for my car forums, we have some dream sites, to build and customize cars.

Anyone?

I'd love to lay out some rigs.

[eddie.perez]

I personally would stay away from the BBE. I've used the rackmount sonic maximizer in the studio and while it's affect kinda cool at first, I became irritated with it after a while. Who knows though, the pedal may be kinda cool? That said, I'd add an EQ pedal to the list as well.

As for going to the studio, I'd suggest using the simplest signal path when cutting a record. For example, if you're recording distorted rhthym parts, just plug straight into the F50. If you only need the chorus for clean parts, plug it in only when laying down those tracks, etc. etc... FX are cool for live use and generally the signal degration (sp?) isn't as noticable. But in the studio, signal quality is magnified, so taking out all the bullsh!t will yield a better tone.

That's my 2 cents. Cheers.

Why does everybody have a problem with the BBE rack maximizers and the ISP decimators. Can you guys explain why?

I use a fat strat through a Gt-8 processor and leave the BBE last in the chain in the F-100 fx loop. The BBE doen't mess with my tone at all. It gives me the right amount of detail and presence for all my modulation effects. It makes my effects sparkle while keeping my f-100 and strat tone alive with out any altering. The maximizer might just have two knobs, but it took me alot of tweeking to get it right for my set up. My countour and presence knob don't go past 10 o' clock. The isp decimator is another great. It doesn't suck my tone. Keep in mine that I only use this for live situations.


Other than that. I walk into guitar center on saturday looking for something new and realized that the Mesa lonestar has the most amazing clean tone I've ever heard. This amp gives all those fender amps competition. Peace out brothas. :wave:

[dtrax]

Why does everybody have a problem with the BBE rack maximizers and the ISP decimators. Can you guys explain why?


If you dig your BBE (can't comment on ISP stuff) that's cool. But, IMHO, the best tone comes from the simplest signal path. Sonic maximizers may have their uses; just not in my experience, hence why I don't recommend them. They sound artificial. I prefer an organic tone. Different strokes for different folks.

[hal9000]

Is there a site where you can build your own diagrams similiar to this?

I know for my car forums, we have some dream sites, to build and customize cars.

Anyone?

I'd love to lay out some rigs.You can always go to http://www.guitargeek.com/ as long as you're aware of the copyright clauses in their usage statement.

As far as what you've seen from me, no, there isn't anywhere you can go to get this kind of art, except my computer. :) If you haven't had the chance, check out my portfolio: www.64graphics.com. There are a few other rigs there and I have some in my sig as well.

[LaidBack95]

Well, the lead guitarist in my band has the Sonic Stomp. Maybe I will try it out with my amp (He has the Express 5:50) next practice. Plus I just found a EQ setting (straight in, only pedal I'm using is the planet waves tuner). Its Bass and Treble at like 4 o'clock and Mids at like 1 o'clock. Gives it a good metal yet "not so scooped" tone. Now I'm kinda GASsin for a MXR EQ to see what else I can do. So much GAS so little money....:(

[lovED]

As of late i haven't even been putting my tuner pedal in front of my amp.
I take out my cord to tune then put my guitar STRAIGHT into my amp.

dtrax, i think you and i are on the same (very organic) page.

ED

[eddie.perez]

If you guys want to put a tuner in front of the amp. Use the Peterson strobostomp in full bypass mode. It will give you a natural sound or should I say "organic" for all you tonal vegeterians. There is no difference with this pedal.

Anything you use in front of your amp has to be a true bypass device. OD's, Wah pedals, all that good stuff. Stuff like this cost money but it's worth it because it won't suck your tone out at all. got it. dtrax and lovED.

[eddie.perez]

punk sucks!!!:bor:

[dtrax]

If you guys want to put a tuner in front of the amp. Use the Peterson strobostomp in full bypass mode. It will give you a natural sound or should I say "organic" for all you tonal vegeterians. There is no difference with this pedal.

Anything you use in front of your amp has to be a true bypass device. OD's, Wah pedals, all that good stuff. Stuff like this cost money but it's worth it because it won't suck your tone out at all. got it. dtrax and lovED.

Thanks for the tips. :blah:

[dtrax]

As of late i haven't even been putting my tuner pedal in front of my amp.
I take out my cord to tune then put my guitar STRAIGHT into my amp.

dtrax, i think you and i are on the same (very organic) page.

ED

I feel you man. :thu:

[Mrmot]

i did a smallish brutal video with my F-50, no boost, no post-eq or something like that. Just guitar->amp, recorded with my cellphone, pretty low volume, something like loud bedroom levels

Guitar is an Edwards E-LP-98LTC with a JB on the bridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7MCgoNLc0

[eddie.perez]

I feel you man. :thu:

Monkey see, Monkey do.

[pedrozepelim]

i did a smallish brutal video with my F-50, no boost, no post-eq or something like that. Just guitar->amp, recorded with my cellphone, pretty low volume, something like loud bedroom levels

Guitar is an Edwards E-LP-98LTC with a JB on the bridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7MCgoNLc0

That tone is SICK!!!
What settings did you use? Where was the Master?

[liquid]

Hey everyone. I've had my F50 amp for a few years and one finally blew. I needed to change them anyways. Any recommendations on brand or type? I'm clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff. I play a heritage 535 (gibson 335 model) and play mostly jazz, funk and soul styles.

[Mrmot]

That tone is SICK!!!
What settings did you use? Where was the Master?

thanks! :)

settings were:
in o'clock
gain: 1
treb: 12:30
mid: 12
bass: 12

the volume up front was set at around 12:00, but i used the fx-mix master volume method (invented by hal900 ;) ) to lower the volume with the fx-mix pot, and it was barely turned up

[lovED]

Monkey see, Monkey do.


I thought this was a brotherhood?
lovED

[lovED]

punk sucks!!!:bor:

No it doesn't.

[lovED]

Funk sucks.

[eddie.perez]

If you own a strat, you got to know how to play some funk, and blues. It's a must.

[Dann'sTheMan]

I thought this was a brotherhood?
lovED


Hi Guys, and eddie.perez and lovED in particular,

I know it's fun to sometimes trash talk on the internet, but can I humbly ask that posts in this thread stay constructive. We ARE a brotherhood, and one of the amazing things about this thread is that it has stayed largely on topic, and is packed full with literally thousands of useful constructive posts. I think we should all recognise this achievement and its significance and maintain the spirit of the thread.

We are all united by Mesa's stealth amp, and it is clearly a versatile musical tool. The fact that it can turn a hand to punk, funk, prog metal or even gospel is something to be revelled in. I'm glad I can rub shoulders with all kinds of musicians in this thread, including world class players. This is one of the great aspects, I think of being a music lover - even when a particular style of music may not be to your subjective taste, you can still appreciate the passion that other musicians put into music making. I personally feel this is more cool, than putting them or their taste down.

I hope this post is taken in the constructive spirit in which it is meant, :)

Big smiles,

Andy.

[estring777]

If you guys want to put a tuner in front of the amp. Use the Peterson strobostomp in full bypass mode. It will give you a natural sound or should I say "organic" for all you tonal vegeterians. There is no difference with this pedal.

Anything you use in front of your amp has to be a true bypass device. OD's, Wah pedals, all that good stuff. Stuff like this cost money but it's worth it because it won't suck your tone out at all. got it. dtrax and lovED.

This is very misleading. Very few pedals are "true bypass." And I dont think you would want ALL your pedals TB either. What you really need are a few good buffers in front. Most tuners are good buffers as well as some OD/tubescreamers.

[Will Cyrier]

This is very misleading. Very few pedals are "true bypass." And I dont think you would want ALL your pedals TB either. What you really need are a few good buffers in front. Most tuners are good buffers as well as some OD/tubescreamers.



I agree. I've found that the pedals I use don't suck my tone enough to make me want to remove them from my chain. The chain is: HBE Compressor Retro--->Original Crybaby Wah--->Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer--->ProCo Rat (vintage)--->Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeller--->F-30 or Blues Jr. depending on my mood that day. I sometimes run the DL4 in the Mesa's loop and use the Mesa's multiple channels. I haven't found a particular pedal's bypass wiring to be a problem. If the pedal sounds like crap (Danelectro Fab tone, etc.), I don't use it!

Going back a little in the thread about recording...I agree with Dtrax that minimizing preamp effects should be the goal-unless they are critical to your style. I prefer delay and mod effects post anyway. Just my two cents.

Will

[pedrozepelim]

Hey, hal900, if I pay you the materials, the making and the shippment, can you make me one of those things to lower the volume in the loop?

[gdwill2u]

Hi Guys, and eddie.perez and lovED in particular,

I know it's fun to sometimes trash talk on the internet, but can I humbly ask that posts in this thread stay constructive. We ARE a brotherhood, and one of the amazing things about this thread is that it has stayed largely on topic, and is packed full with literally thousands of useful constructive posts. I think we should all recognise this achievement and its significance and maintain the spirit of the thread.

We are all united by Mesa's stealth amp, and it is clearly a versatile musical tool. The fact that it can turn a hand to punk, funk, prog metal or even gospel is something to be revelled in. I'm glad I can rub shoulders with all kinds of musicians in this thread, including world class players. This is one of the great aspects, I think of being a music lover - even when a particular style of music may not be to your subjective taste, you can still appreciate the passion that other musicians put into music making. I personally feel this is more cool, than putting them or their taste down.

I hope this post is taken in the constructive spirit in which it is meant, :)

Big smiles,

Andy.

:thu: you're a class act Dann

[eddie.perez]

This is very misleading. Very few pedals are "true bypass." And I dont think you would want ALL your pedals TB either. What you really need are a few good buffers in front. Most tuners are good buffers as well as some OD/tubescreamers.


My believe about true bypass is that thier circuitry are made so that when the effects are not in use thier tone wont be affected. How could this be misleading. Anyways this is out of the the topic and i'm sticking to my believes.

[eddie.perez]

Hi Guys, and eddie.perez and lovED in particular,

I know it's fun to sometimes trash talk on the internet, but can I humbly ask that posts in this thread stay constructive. We ARE a brotherhood, and one of the amazing things about this thread is that it has stayed largely on topic, and is packed full with literally thousands of useful constructive posts. I think we should all recognise this achievement and its significance and maintain the spirit of the thread.

We are all united by Mesa's stealth amp, and it is clearly a versatile musical tool. The fact that it can turn a hand to punk, funk, prog metal or even gospel is something to be revelled in. I'm glad I can rub shoulders with all kinds of musicians in this thread, including world class players. This is one of the great aspects, I think of being a music lover - even when a particular style of music may not be to your subjective taste, you can still appreciate the passion that other musicians put into music making. I personally feel this is more cool, than putting them or their taste down.

I hope this post is taken in the constructive spirit in which it is meant, :)

Big smiles,

Andy.


My respects Andy.:thu:

[estring777]

My believe about true bypass is that thier circuitry are made so that when the effects are not in use thier tone wont be affected. How could this be misleading. Anyways this is out of the the topic and i'm sticking to my believes.

Hey Eddie..I agree this is off topic. Just do a google search on true bypass pedals. While they do exsist,its typically not in the form that you usually think of.

[babyslapmafro]

other than headroom. what is the biggest difference between the f-30 and f-50.

sorry if this question has been tackled before.

[lovED]

Hi Guys, and eddie.perez and lovED in particular,

I know it's fun to sometimes trash talk on the internet, but can I humbly ask that posts in this thread stay constructive. We ARE a brotherhood, and one of the amazing things about this thread is that it has stayed largely on topic, and is packed full with literally thousands of useful constructive posts. I think we should all recognise this achievement and its significance and maintain the spirit of the thread.

We are all united by Mesa's stealth amp, and it is clearly a versatile musical tool. The fact that it can turn a hand to punk, funk, prog metal or even gospel is something to be revelled in. I'm glad I can rub shoulders with all kinds of musicians in this thread, including world class players. This is one of the great aspects, I think of being a music lover - even when a particular style of music may not be to your subjective taste, you can still appreciate the passion that other musicians put into music making. I personally feel this is more cool, than putting them or their taste down.

I hope this post is taken in the constructive spirit in which it is meant, :)

Big smiles,

Andy.


Truth.
lovED

[Mrmot]

Hi Guys, and eddie.perez and lovED in particular,

I know it's fun to sometimes trash talk on the internet, but can I humbly ask that posts in this thread stay constructive. We ARE a brotherhood, and one of the amazing things about this thread is that it has stayed largely on topic, and is packed full with literally thousands of useful constructive posts. I think we should all recognise this achievement and its significance and maintain the spirit of the thread.

We are all united by Mesa's stealth amp, and it is clearly a versatile musical tool. The fact that it can turn a hand to punk, funk, prog metal or even gospel is something to be revelled in. I'm glad I can rub shoulders with all kinds of musicians in this thread, including world class players. This is one of the great aspects, I think of being a music lover - even when a particular style of music may not be to your subjective taste, you can still appreciate the passion that other musicians put into music making. I personally feel this is more cool, than putting them or their taste down.

I hope this post is taken in the constructive spirit in which it is meant, :)

Big smiles,

Andy.

:thu:

While I generally like this entire forum, sometimes the sheer amount of offtopicing pisses me off (altho i too contribute to that ;)), this thread is simply amazing, so full of very constructive and useful information. Two thumbs up! :thu::thu:
Enough of my offtopicing!

[dtrax]

other than headroom. what is the biggest difference between the f-30 and f-50.

sorry if this question has been tackled before.

Well, the major difference is the power section. EL84's with the F-30, 6L6's with the F-50. I own an F-30 and don't have any problems with headroom, although I don't play live (no need to crank it up in my apartment). I have had the opportunity to crank on a few occassions and there's very little poweramp distortion on the clean channel. CH2 can get a bit 'farty', but to me it sounds more like speaker breakup than PA saturation. If I ever do start playing shows again, I'll bring my 4x12 cab along for extra low end.

Other than that, the F-50 combo has a C90 speaker while the F-30 has a V30. As far as I know, all F-series amps use the same preamp design, just the variances in their power section make them differ. Generally, they all sound pretty similar.

[dtrax]

I just got done messing around with some more direct recording and wanted to share. The song is Faith No More's 'Ugly In The Morning'... a killer song when they played it live. Anyways, it needs bass and vocals, but it's cool for a demo. If anyone wants to lay down some bass or vocals, let me know. :thu:

Here 'tis. (http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?section=id&value=1579)

Gear:

Carvin DC127 w/ Tonezone Bridge PU -> Mesa F-30 combo (direct out) -> mBox. I used SimulAnalog cab sim software.

F-30 settings:

CH2 Contour
Gain: 4:00
Treble: 3:00
Mid: 11:00
Bass: 9:00

[rummy]

I'll be joining y'all soon. Mine's on its way! :D

[ErikHoppy]

I have a chance to snag an F-50 combo in driving distance, in my price range, but I'm really wondering if it will work not only for gigs, but also recording and practicing IN my DORM ROOM.

Obviously, this amp is loud, which is a concern for practicing in my room. How does the direct input sound? Could I plug direct into my laptop, and practice through my monitors to achieve a decent sound at an acceptable volume?

Thanks!

[rummy]

If you go to the first post of this thread, you can see Dannstheman's clips. He recorded one Mic'd, and the other using the direct out. THe clip is called until you suffer some, I believe.

[mrelusive]

I have a chance to snag an F-50 combo in driving distance, in my price range, but I'm really wondering if it will work not only for gigs, but also recording and practicing IN my DORM ROOM.

Obviously, this amp is loud, which is a concern for practicing in my room. How does the direct input sound? Could I plug direct into my laptop, and practice through my monitors to achieve a decent sound at an acceptable volume?

Thanks!

Do it and don't look back. At first i was very disappointed when i got my f-50 head in the mail and tried the direct out... back then i didn't know how much difference speaker cabinets made. Recently, i've rediscovered the direct out and with some tweaking, the sound is very decent through it, definitely useable for practice and such at low volumes. But then again, so is the f-50 itself... For recording with the direct out, check out this thread about cab impulses (http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1991366) and you'll be sittin pretty.

[rummy]

Got mine today! Paid $700 shipped for a F50 head that is in pristine condition. Tweakin' time! :D

[mrelusive]

speakin of cab impulses... i started a thread over here (http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2002291) asking for tone criticism... the guitars tone is the F-50's direct out using some cab impulses. VERY useable... even more so than i originally thought. be sure to check it out and gimme some tone / vocal tips!

[Will Cyrier]

So I've been having a blast reading this thread from the very beginning and am very impressed at how this brotherhood took off. I also am amazed that 6221 posts later we're still on track and in love with our F-series. I'm planning on recording some clips of my F-30 to contribute in the upcoming weeks (time permitting).

I have a question about power supply and signal noise. I got a pedal train for Christmas and decided to get a "One Spot" power supply for my pedals. Now I've noticed the noise before, but today I finally decided to do something about it. I'm hearing a faint whistle-like/whinny noise; especially in my gain channels. This noise is obviously augmented when I increase gain with my Rat, Tube Screamer, and/or HBE Compressor pedals.

I removed all pedals from my chain and eliminated the noise I was hearing. Then I added pedals one by one. I found that when I run my pedals off battery power only, I don't have the noise I'm hearing but who want's to worry about batteries, especially when their pedals are mounted to a frame?

So my question is...would a Furman power conditioner clean up this noise so I can still use my One Spot? Or should I look into other power supply like voodoo labs, etc? Someday I would like to have both, but I'm looking for near future fixes and or drastic reductions in unwanted noise. I guess another option would be a gate pedal, but I'd rather eliminate the issue and not just mask it. Oh yeah, the noise is present when my guitar's volume is OFF. Thanks dudes.

Will

[Will Cyrier]

How do I know how many watts my amp requires for power? 120V on a 15amp circuit.

[hal9000]

How do I know how many watts my amp requires for power? 120V on a 15amp circuit.Power = Current x Voltage. For instance, my F-100 draws a maximum of 4 Amps @ 120 V (Based on the Slo-Blo fuse rating). Therefore, 4 Amps x 120 V = 480 W.

[hinrich]

Hmm...

I think that in the end F-series is very straightforward amp, both tone and construction wise. It seems that Mesa builds every series for different tones in mind. Rectos for modern tones, Stiletto for British tones, Lonestar for clean and blues etc. None of their amps can cover it all. F-series is somewhere in the middle with easy setup and simple but still gorgeously working tone. It's often said that the F is somewhere between recto and mark... and that's probably true. It just doesn't have as aggressive grind as recto has or as complex and fat tone as Mark has. Those amps are built from the beginning to achieve those tones.

For everyday use and live purposes the F just simply works. No fuzz or extra tweaking. When playing live I believe that nuances that recto or mark produces are easily lost and in many places can sound worse than the F.

I personally don't feel that I'm lacking with F when playing live but for recording purposes it quite doesn't catch the "extremities" of recto and mark. The other reason I'm looking for other amps for recording is that it just happens that F's tone's character competes with our singer's voice.

So since the recto and mark are more complex amps construction-wise the more expensive price might be justified. It comes to question do you really need those little differences in tone. It's just like between $1000 and $3000 guitars. I think that after $1000 the price doesn't bring that much to the table, it's just the nuances.

Same thing about the reverb, do you think that you need something extra? I personally like more complex reverbs like hall reverbs. So I use G-Major for that and all the other effects I might (or at least I think I) need.

Hopefully there's something reasonable on the lines above :)

Hey, it's been a while since I posted. I have to comment on this from my own experience. I almost gave up on my f30 after complaints from my band but I kept hearing great mod ideas so I tried a couple out and found that the fake attenuation (10 band MXR EQ through the FX loop) made my sound. But attenuated or not, I really needed the EQ to shape the tone because the amp's tone controls just didn't cut it. I've had my F30 combo for over 2 years now and I just can't get a tone I like out of it bare.

So my own conclusion is, the F is definitely an entry level Mesa amp so you need to add the EQ to shape the tones because there's just no control (unless you prefer the raw sound which I don't). I think Tommi hit the nail on the head when he said that it's a straightforward amp both tone and construction wise.

For me, the easy mod was so worth it, I ended up buying a second F30 for the rehearsal studio (and my bad back) so now I'm the proud owner of 2 (for the price of 1 rectifier!) lol

[Sixtonoize]

So my question is...would a Furman power conditioner clean up this noise so I can still use my One Spot? Or should I look into other power supply like voodoo labs, etc? Someday I would like to have both, but I'm looking for near future fixes and or drastic reductions in unwanted noise. I guess another option would be a gate pedal, but I'd rather eliminate the issue and not just mask it. Oh yeah, the noise is present when my guitar's volume is OFF. Thanks dudes.

Will

Will - The problem is the 1spot. It's a transformerless power supply, which means that it uses transistors to regulate and convert the voltage from 120vAC to 9vDC. The whistling sound you hear is the switching noise from the regulating transistors.

[Will Cyrier]

Will - The problem is the 1spot. It's a transformerless power supply, which means that it uses transistors to regulate and convert the voltage from 120vAC to 9vDC. The whistling sound you hear is the switching noise from the regulating transistors.

Thanks Sixtonoize. I have since transfered all my pedals back to my much larger, bulkier SKB PS-45 pedalboard/power-supply and the whistling sound went away. I bought the Pedal Train Jr. so I could have a smaller footprint on a space limited stage and purchased the 1-Spot for it's price. Basically I wasted 40 bucks I could have put toward a Pedal Power or DC Brick since I can't return the thing now. Oh well...

How do you guys "order" your stomp boxes? Right now I have mine as:

Crybaby wah--HBE Compressor--TS9--Rat--MESA F-30--Loop Attenuation--Flanger--Line 6 DL4

Should I maybe switch the Compressor with the Crybaby? Any other suggestions? If and when I get a pedal tuner, where should that go (I'm looking at the new Korg Pitchblack).

[schnarf]

Anybody interested in buying a great condition F-30? I'm selling because I'm downsizing to an Axe-FX. It's in fantastic condition -- no dings or scratches, and comes with footswitch, tubes, and spare tubes, as well as a really sturdy ATA road case. I'm asking $700 + shipping. If you want, I'll also throw in a custom switching cable I made, like the one shown in this thread, to let you switch the F-30 with an external switching unit.

If you're interested, send me a PM.

[jdkornel]

I recently tried running my Line 6 DL4 delay in the loop of my F100. I started with the effect level (on amp) up around 90% and as soon as I turned the pedal on the volume was gone ... just a faint sound. I didn't know what was happeneing so I tried turning back the effect level (on amp) and as I did the amp volume came up. So i had to turn the effect level off (0) on the amp in order to get and sound ?!?!? kind of defeats the purpose.

Why is that? It is just that pedal because I run a Boss EQ in the loop as a solo boost and it works great!

I know that line 6 says no loops but I also know of guys who do it? What gives here.

[Will Cyrier]

I recently tried running my Line 6 DL4 delay in the loop of my F100. I started with the effect level (on amp) up around 90% and as soon as I turned the pedal on the volume was gone ... just a faint sound. I didn't know what was happeneing so I tried turning back the effect level (on amp) and as I did the amp volume came up. So i had to turn the effect level off (0) on the amp in order to get and sound ?!?!? kind of defeats the purpose.

Why is that? It is just that pedal because I run a Boss EQ in the loop as a solo boost and it works great!

I know that line 6 says no loops but I also know of guys who do it? What gives here.

My DL4 works great in the loop of my F-30 and I run my FX level (amp) as high as it goes. Did you double check all of your connections and power supply? (silly question, sorry) That's the only thing I can think of as your signal is somehow not making through the delay pedal. The faint sound you hear is the amp's share of the parallel loop (10% of the signal). Does the pedal work in front of your amp? I hope this helps.

Will

[rummy]

What tubes do you guys use? I want to try the SEDs after reading all the praises. I have tried the JJ 6L6GCs in a different amp in the past, but they weren't anything special. I'm wondering if the SEDs are worth the extra $$$. If not, I might just get the Ruby direct replacements.

[Will Cyrier]

What tubes do you guys use? I want to try the SEDs after reading all the praises. I have tried the JJ 6L6GCs in a different amp in the past, but they weren't anything special. I'm wondering if the SEDs are worth the extra $$$. If not, I might just get the Ruby direct replacements.

Try doing a search within this thread about tubes. I've found a couple of suggestions within the first 15 pages recently. I have JJ's in V1 and V2 and the stock Mesa's in the others (F-30 w/ EL84s)

[rummy]

Try doing a search within this thread about tubes. I've found a couple of suggestions within the first 15 pages recently. I have JJ's in V1 and V2 and the stock Mesa's in the others (F-30 w/ EL84s)

I read this entire thread, thanks.
Any other recommendations? :wave:

[opultaM]

I just got done messing around with some more direct recording and wanted to share. The song is Faith No More's 'Ugly In The Morning'... a killer song when they played it live. Anyways, it needs bass and vocals, but it's cool for a demo. If anyone wants to lay down some bass or vocals, let me know. :thu:

Here 'tis. (http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?section=id&value=1579)

Gear:

Carvin DC127 w/ Tonezone Bridge PU -> Mesa F-30 combo (direct out) -> mBox. I used SimulAnalog cab sim software.

F-30 settings:

CH2 Contour
Gain: 4:00
Treble: 3:00
Mid: 11:00
Bass: 9:00


nice recording!

Unfortunately, the Dude in your avatar looks too much like Nickelback

[jdkornel]

My DL4 works great in the loop of my F-30 and I run my FX level (amp) as high as it goes. Did you double check all of your connections and power supply? (silly question, sorry) That's the only thing I can think of as your signal is somehow not making through the delay pedal. The faint sound you hear is the amp's share of the parallel loop (10% of the signal). Does the pedal work in front of your amp? I hope this helps.

Will


Works great out front, but of course on channel 2 doesn't sound too good. Could it be the effect level on the pedal not high enough? My thought was that the amp effect level should be cranked and then control the effect level with the pedal?

I will try it again tonight and see what I get.

[Will Cyrier]

Works great out front, but of course on channel 2 doesn't sound too good. Could it be the effect level on the pedal not high enough? My thought was that the amp effect level should be cranked and then control the effect level with the pedal?

I will try it again tonight and see what I get.

"Could it be the effect level on the pedal not high enough? My thought was that the amp effect level should be cranked and then control the effect level with the pedal?"

That's very likely. I usually run the mix knob on my DL4 anywhere between 9 and 12 o'clock and the mix knob on my amp as high as it will go.

I quit using the DL4 out front because when I set it to sound good with the clean channel, it overpowered the dirty channel. So I run all my delays and modulations POST distortion--doing this has worked great for me.

Will

[red99frc]

Hello everyone! I recently purchased an F30 and love the amp. Can someone explain the difference in having a parralel or series effects send/return mod, how does it affect the routing? I have been running an old SPX90 out of the efffects send/return jacks but every time I turn up the amp it wants to clip the SPX. Will doing the mod help eliminate this problem?

Bob

[Will Cyrier]

Anyone interested in a Vox Tonelab SE? PM me if you are.

Will

http://www.voxamps.co.uk/tonelab/tonelab_se.asp

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s82/willc_photo/TLSE_full.jpg

[estring777]

Dave, welcome to teh forum and the F-series brotherhood! :)

That's my drawing, and I made it based on the manual. The manual is incorrectly marked 100%. It should be 90%.

Lots of people have asked about the series FX loop mod and it's actually quite simple. There are two wires that change place, so it should only take a few minutes if you're handy with a soldering iron. If not, it should be $25- $50 for a tech to do the same. I attached the mod from Mesa.

BTW, I use a G-Major with my F-100 and the parallel loop has never bothered me. Now, I don't do any volume swells from 0-100%, but I do tune on stage and that last 10% isn't that loud. Perhaps setting the GT-8 up using the 4-cable method will allow you to get the control you need without modding the amp? If your volume pedal is out front in the FX routing, rather than after the loop, it will affect the whole signal, or you could simply mute the GT-8's output upon entering tuner mode.

Just did this mod for use with my DD-20...WOW what a difference. Fixed all the false feedback issues I was having. Easy fix to do and it worked!

Thanks!!!!
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20857131&postcount=4092

[Tommi Inkila]

Hi bros!

Our first album is now listenable online, go to our site and drop by on the topic... http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?p=28739136#post28739136

I'm hoping to finish our promo in 3 weeks. It will be quite Mesa tour-de-force; Single Recto, Mark IV and F50. :)

[hahavishnu]

hello there folks...this is my 1st visit to the LOUNGE (thanks hal for opening the door)...i recently purchased what i believe to be one of the very last new F100 heads :) it is certainly the last one here in scotland....i also bought a 2x12 3/4 back boogie cab (surprisingly there were only 2 cabs available in the UK at the time ) ...the reason i opted for the F100 is THE CLEAN SOUND....my guitars are a 2002 (a great year for standards) GIBSON les paul standard with BAREKNUCKLE MULE pups and a 2005 GIBSON les paul special (h/b) with BAREKNUCKLE BLACK DOG pups.my 1st of many questions is....i have read conflicting reports on how the clean channel responds to OD and distortion pedals.....what do you guys think, does the clean channel handle pedals well?

[Sixtonoize]

I think that both channels take pedals well. I like to crank up the gain on the clean channel to where it breaks up when I dig in, and hit it with either A) my Boss OS-2 (for a crunchy rhythm tone) or B) my EHX LPB-1 (for a smooth/fat lead tone)

[pedrozepelim]

hello there folks...this is my 1st visit to the LOUNGE (thanks hal for opening the door)...i recently purchased what i believe to be one of the very last new F100 heads :) it is certainly the last one here in scotland....i also bought a 2x12 3/4 back boogie cab (surprisingly there were only 2 cabs available in the UK at the time ) ...the reason i opted for the F100 is THE CLEAN SOUND....my guitars are a 2002 (a great year for standards) GIBSON les paul standard with BAREKNUCKLE MULE pups and a 2005 GIBSON les paul special (h/b) with BAREKNUCKLE BLACK DOG pups.my 1st of many questions is....i have read conflicting reports on how the clean channel responds to OD and distortion pedals.....what do you guys think, does the clean channel handle pedals well?

Hi! Congrats!
This is my 2nd boogie. My first was a Caliber 50+. Hated pedals. I bought and sold a ton of them.
I got the F30. Just like you I bough it because of the clean channel, and I can honestly say that it is far superior than the caliber.
Some pedals I end up not selling I tryed them into the F30 and got great results with them (except the one that sounded good with the Caliber- a H&K Tubefactor). The F series, in the 2nd channel, to my ears are all or nothing: you go from no gain to too much gain in no time. (although Dann's the man got some great low drive clips on page one, but I don't know how I never got that tone). So I was forced to use od pedals for low gain. I got a Ibanez TK999 Tube King that works great. I sild a Barber Direct Drive a few months ago, not because it sounded bad, but because I want less gain. So I order a LTD wich would be here next week. TS9 worked fine, and so did the OD3 from Boss. I also ordered a BB Preamp, wich should be here next week. Oh, I forgot: MI Audio Crunch Box, I didn't like it one bit,
The thing is, more important than the amp I think its the speaker. I don't Know what cab you bought, but I think C90's hate pedals.

[hahavishnu]

hi pedro...shit!.....i'm sure the speakers ARE C90s (boogie 2x12 3/4 back tuned cab)

[pedrozepelim]

hi pedro...shit!.....i'm sure the speakers ARE C90s (boogie 2x12 3/4 back tuned cab)

Well, maybe will work for you. Tone is a matter of personal taste.
Also you have to consider a lot of other factors: guitars, pickups, stings, location, settings, pedals, etc, etc...

I've heard many that feel the way I feel abou c90's and I've heard many who love them.

Try searching here in the forum and in the Mesa Boogie Forum.

[Will Cyrier]

Hi Hahavishnu,

My Mesa F-30 sounds great with my Ibanez TS9 and my ProCo Rat pedals.

Will

[endrithius]

Hey would anybody out there in F-series land want to trade a combo for a head? I really want a head and I am willing to move to an F50 head from my F-100 combo. I need a head and a 2x12 so if anybody has anything, I'm up for a trade.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Hi bros!

Our first album is now listenable online, go to our site and drop by on the topic... http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?p=28739136#post28739136

I'm hoping to finish our promo in 3 weeks. It will be quite Mesa tour-de-force; Single Recto, Mark IV and F50. :)

Hi My Friend,

Can't wait! Let us know when we can order your new album! :)

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

Hmm...

I think that in the end F-series is very straightforward amp, both tone and construction wise. It seems that Mesa builds every series for different tones in mind. Rectos for modern tones, Stiletto for British tones, Lonestar for clean and blues etc. None of their amps can cover it all. F-series is somewhere in the middle with easy setup and simple but still gorgeously working tone. It's often said that the F is somewhere between recto and mark... and that's probably true. It just doesn't have as aggressive grind as recto has or as complex and fat tone as Mark has. Those amps are built from the beginning to achieve those tones.

For everyday use and live purposes the F just simply works. No fuzz or extra tweaking. When playing live I believe that nuances that recto or mark produces are easily lost and in many places can sound worse than the F.

I personally don't feel that I'm lacking with F when playing live but for recording purposes it quite doesn't catch the "extremities" of recto and mark. The other reason I'm looking for other amps for recording is that it just happens that F's tone's character competes with our singer's voice.

So since the recto and mark are more complex amps construction-wise the more expensive price might be justified. It comes to question do you really need those little differences in tone. It's just like between $1000 and $3000 guitars. I think that after $1000 the price doesn't bring that much to the table, it's just the nuances.

Same thing about the reverb, do you think that you need something extra? I personally like more complex reverbs like hall reverbs. So I use G-Major for that and all the other effects I might (or at least I think I) need.

Hopefully there's something reasonable on the lines above :)


Hi Brothers,

I personally think Tommi raises an interesting point here about where the complexity lies in the F-series. I agree with him that the Rectos have more aggressive grind, and that is where they specialise; and similarly the Mark series have a fat and complex lead tone - another speciality.

To my ears, the 6L6 F-series have a specialty in just breaking up clean tones - something I personally feel is unsurpassed in other Boogies (although both the Lonestar and Express have brought a lot more control to this area). I also feel the F-series have a speciality, with the right kind of lower gain pick-up, in saturated lead tones (I'm thinking of the kind of tone I used in my "From This Moment" clip).

Both the Recto and the Mark series have established themselves with their signature tones, and I'd be naive to think the F-series could outdo them in those areas. However, there are tonal areas where I feel neither the Recto nor the Mark series can outdo the F-series. And it was these tones that made the F-series my preferred amp line from Mesa - that's why I chose my F-50 over say a Mark IV combo or a Rectoverb when I was shopping all those years back. :)

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

I just got done messing around with some more direct recording and wanted to share. The song is Faith No More's 'Ugly In The Morning'... a killer song when they played it live. Anyways, it needs bass and vocals, but it's cool for a demo. If anyone wants to lay down some bass or vocals, let me know. :thu:

Here 'tis. (http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?section=id&value=1579)

Gear:

Carvin DC127 w/ Tonezone Bridge PU -> Mesa F-30 combo (direct out) -> mBox. I used SimulAnalog cab sim software.

F-30 settings:

CH2 Contour
Gain: 4:00
Treble: 3:00
Mid: 11:00
Bass: 9:00

Hi dtrax,

Sounds great! :thu: I'm really impressed with these results from a cab sim! Great job! Please let me know if you're happy for me to include the link in the Clip Archive at the start of the thread (this goes for anyone else posting F-series clips - just PM me the details I'll need for the Clip Archive and I'll add them in),

Big smiles,

Andy.

[Dann'sTheMan]

hello there folks...this is my 1st visit to the LOUNGE (thanks hal for opening the door)...i recently purchased what i believe to be one of the very last new F100 heads :) it is certainly the last one here in scotland....i also bought a 2x12 3/4 back boogie cab (surprisingly there were only 2 cabs available in the UK at the time ) ...the reason i opted for the F100 is THE CLEAN SOUND....my guitars are a 2002 (a great year for standards) GIBSON les paul standard with BAREKNUCKLE MULE pups and a 2005 GIBSON les paul special (h/b) with BAREKNUCKLE BLACK DOG pups.my 1st of many questions is....i have read conflicting reports on how the clean channel responds to OD and distortion pedals.....what do you guys think, does the clean channel handle pedals well?

Hi hahavishnu,

and welcome to the F-series brotherhood - it's great to have another Brit here in the Lounge. I hope you have as much fun here as I do. :)

Regarding your question, I'm not really a pedal kind of guy, but I'm blown away with how my Fulltone OCD sounds with my F-50 combo (6L6 amp with C90 speaker). The F-series clean channel certainly loves this pedal... :thu:

Big smiles,

Andy.