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Post by sasquatch on Apr 11, 2010 13:42:37 GMT -5
I bought a mesa lonestar about a month ago . It sounded good ,however the clean sounded kinda dry and the bottom end farted out like all mesa's.Then I did a bias mod on the amp . replaced the load resistor with a bias pot so that I can adjust the bias and man what a difference . Now the clean is a shimmery as any fender and the gain channel rocks . It even fixed the farty bottom end . Honestly I haven't played my QR hardly at all since . I was amazed at how cold the mesa was biased . It was running at about 30%. Its still apples and oranges though . The mesa can't sound like the QR and the QR can't sound like the mesa the voicing is completely different . The mesa has a thick rich sound to it that I have been looking for . It lacks the clarity of the QR though. Yeah... I was a Boogie guy for years. They were the only amp I used. First a MKIII, then MKIV (head for gigs, and combo for home practice or small gig), then a Single Rec and a Dual Rec before trying a few others and ultimately buying a Quick Rod. You're definitely right as far as the apples to oranges thing. The Mesas have a lot more front end compression and saturation. The closest thing Mesa has to a Marshall type amp is the Stiletto series, but to me, they still sound more Boogie than Marshall. The mod you did for the bias sounds really cool. I never considered trying anything like that. I really love my QR though and can't see myself playing anything else out live with my band for right now. It just has the muscle and attitude I've not found in any other amp. Boogie did just release a little "lunchbox" type amp (like the Orange and Vox models) that I'm really considering as a home practice / take out the local jam night type thing possibly??? We'll see.
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Post by brokenfusion on Apr 11, 2010 14:55:32 GMT -5
Splatter what kind of tubes were in it when it was that cold? **Supposedly** thats why you are supposed to use Boogie tubes because they(Boogie tube testers) select only tubes that are in the correct range. Just wondering if they were boogie tubes that that were running that cold. I had a DC 5 i was going to Bias mod but got a steal of a deal on the Stiletto so i just sold it off and never bothered. I had a Mark IV before that and did not like it at all. I spent about 16 hours with that amp,and all i did was twist knobs looking for a sound i liked. The stiletto I have experimented with but I can pretty much set it and forget it,much like the Quick Rod.
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Post by splatter on Apr 11, 2010 20:19:55 GMT -5
Splatter what kind of tubes were in it when it was that cold? **Supposedly** thats why you are supposed to use Boogie tubes because they(Boogie tube testers) select only tubes that are in the correct range. Just wondering if they were boogie tubes that that were running that cold. I had a DC 5 i was going to Bias mod but got a steal of a deal on the Stiletto so i just sold it off and never bothered. I had a Mark IV before that and did not like it at all. I spent about 16 hours with that amp,and all i did was twist knobs looking for a sound i liked. The stiletto I have experimented with but I can pretty much set it and forget it,much like the Quick Rod. It has mesa 6l6s in it . Any time you get an amp with a fixed bias its gonna be biased cold . I just couldn't believe how cold it was . mesa says that the fixed bias is for maint free performance its actually to sell mesa tubes . as cold as it was biased I would say you could put just about any tube in it safely .
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Post by splatter on Apr 11, 2010 20:22:45 GMT -5
I bought a mesa lonestar about a month ago . It sounded good ,however the clean sounded kinda dry and the bottom end farted out like all mesa's.Then I did a bias mod on the amp . replaced the load resistor with a bias pot so that I can adjust the bias and man what a difference . Now the clean is a shimmery as any fender and the gain channel rocks . It even fixed the farty bottom end . Honestly I haven't played my QR hardly at all since . I was amazed at how cold the mesa was biased . It was running at about 30%. Its still apples and oranges though . The mesa can't sound like the QR and the QR can't sound like the mesa the voicing is completely different . The mesa has a thick rich sound to it that I have been looking for . It lacks the clarity of the QR though. Yeah... I was a Boogie guy for years. They were the only amp I used. First a MKIII, then MKIV (head for gigs, and combo for home practice or small gig), then a Single Rec and a Dual Rec before trying a few others and ultimately buying a Quick Rod. You're definitely right as far as the apples to oranges thing. The Mesas have a lot more front end compression and saturation. The closest thing Mesa has to a Marshall type amp is the Stiletto series, but to me, they still sound more Boogie than Marshall. The mod you did for the bias sounds really cool. I never considered trying anything like that. I really love my QR though and can't see myself playing anything else out live with my band for right now. It just has the muscle and attitude I've not found in any other amp. Boogie did just release a little "lunchbox" type amp (like the Orange and Vox models) that I'm really considering as a home practice / take out the local jam night type thing possibly??? We'll see. I've had a few boogies myself . F30 ,F50,2- nomads ,and a road king . I never really cared for any of them . The f series was the best of the bunch but none of them really did it for me . I tried the lonestar after seeing the Andy Timmons video and I'm glad I did .
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Post by kabala on Apr 12, 2010 7:43:32 GMT -5
I've kinda learned over time I'm not a 'sparkly clean' player, so that makes the cleans on the Quick Rod a non issue, just think I prefer using the ole lower gain/guitar volume rolled back thing instead these days, even when recording. That said, I still like having some variety, be it for adding harmonies, doubling rhythms, etc. I have a Laney GH100L for those odd but essential complimentary tones with my Splawn. Its especially nice for the semi clean stuff I mentioned (running it w/6L6 tubes).
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Post by DonaldDemon on Apr 12, 2010 8:09:37 GMT -5
Nice, kabala. I was very, very close to buying that same exact amp years ago when I was looking for a new head. I thought it had a pretty good sound. For cleans and lower gain stuff I usually stick to my Rivera. Unfortunately I love a fat Fender clean and the PM doesn’t do that. Luckily the Rivera does. I also have this Roland Blues Cube-60 that I bought to run cleans on stage but I can’t be bothered to set up two amps so it’s for sale.
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Post by strungup on Apr 13, 2010 0:59:21 GMT -5
I bought a mesa lonestar about a month ago . It sounded good ,however the clean sounded kinda dry and the bottom end farted out like all mesa's.Then I did a bias mod on the amp . replaced the load resistor with a bias pot so that I can adjust the bias and man what a difference . Now the clean is a shimmery as any fender and the gain channel rocks . It even fixed the farty bottom end . Honestly I haven't played my QR hardly at all since . I was amazed at how cold the mesa was biased . It was running at about 30%. Its still apples and oranges though . The mesa can't sound like the QR and the QR can't sound like the mesa the voicing is completely different . The mesa has a thick rich sound to it that I have been looking for . It lacks the clarity of the QR though. The closest thing Mesa has to a Marshall type amp is the Stiletto series, but to me, they still sound more Boogie than Marshall. Boogie did just release a little "lunchbox" type amp (like the Orange and Vox models) that I'm really considering as a home practice / take out the local jam night type thing possibly??? We'll see. I think the Electra Dyne has more of a marshall vibe to it. The transatlantic is a cool amp I wish it had a loop. It can get a decent british flavor to it as well.
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Post by shreder75 on Apr 13, 2010 7:49:28 GMT -5
just a blackstar HT-5..that and my QR and my two cabs...that be all
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Post by Tone Ranger on Apr 13, 2010 11:53:42 GMT -5
Carvin Legacy head. Great cleans + smooth distortion. peavey 6505+ 1x12 combo for smaller gigs. Lot's of pedals!
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Post by SmokinPaul on Apr 14, 2010 6:54:27 GMT -5
A Tech21 Trademark 30, my PS and 4 cabs....plenty!
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Post by speedemon on Apr 26, 2010 19:08:01 GMT -5
Yeah,
I only have the QR now, but had plenty in the past. QR is the only I amp I have played where you just plug the guitar in and rock out. If you are from the "M" for England camp, everything from NorCal is gonna disappoint you. Had a pair of JMPs (78 and 9) a mild version of the Splawn tone IMO. Had Marshall valvestates, a good choice if you are very poor! Nest amp is a Randall MTS system, surprisingly good sounds for an "everything" amp.
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