Mesa Dual Rec tone help

[screamingdaisy]

Rang them up, said just pop them in and they will be fine, and they are, haven't really cranked it yet, but will do soon

Has anyone done the pulling 2 power valves out thing?

I only need my master at 9 oclock at practice and would like to crank the amp more, just wondering if it still sounded descent?

Pulling the two tubes out is fine.  It sounds a little bit compressed, but it won't make a large difference to the overall volume......either way it's still a loud as f*ck amp.

[AdamB]

So a thicker sound?

That would be good :)

[AdamB]

Cheers screamingdaisy, just read your post from page 2

I have EH gold 12ax7's in the preamp now, they sound pretty good, better than what was in, which was, a harma, a mesa, and 3 no names on at all?!?!

At 10 oclock, literally, everything in the room shakes!! And it pretty much over powers my drummer as we practice in a small room

The settings ibanez for life gave me work perfectly with my rebel yell, it has a very tight, fast bottom end, not as big as my 5150 II, but i'm glad to get rid of that farting i mentioned

[AdamB]

Also, where in the uk can i get a thd hotplate (8 ohm) from?

Cheers

[screamingdaisy]

Also, where in the uk can i get a thd hotplate (8 ohm) from?

Cheers

No idea (I'm in Canada), but I run a pair of them with mine (I have the Recto Pre/2:100 version).  They're no maracle workers (ie, the won't make your 100w amp sound stellar at bedroom volumes), but they are great for knocking a bit off the volume, and you'll make alot of friends among soundmen.

[AdamB]

Yeah, it won't be for bedroom use, more band practice situations, so a good purchase?

mixed reviews on harmony central

[screamingdaisy]

Good purchase.

From my experience of reading posts on the internet alot of people buy them thinking it'll still give them good tone at crushing levels of attenuation.  When used conservatively (-4 or -8 db) it sounds fine.  When used at -12db you start to loose some of the effects of slamming your speakers so hard.  Below -16 you're on your own....sometimes it'll sound all right, others it'll sound really squashed.  It depends in a large part on your amp settings as to how -16 and below sounds.

One thing to remember is that it's basically removing headroom......ie, how loud you can go before your power tubes break up.  This is good when you're trying to get your lead channels into their "sweet spot", but it also removes headroom off your clean channel, so you may find it harder to get a really loud clean tone as you're basically taking a 100w amp and bringing it down to somewhere in the region of 40w* or less.

* That 40w figure is a guess....don't quote it as scientific fact.

[HTH AMPS]

(Slagging Watford Valve for not telling the whole story then not telling the whole story yourself?  The brass of some people.  :roll: )

don't know what you're talking about, just trying to steer the thread starter in the right direction rather than have him waste money on overpriced rebranded valves (Mesa & Watford).  If you weren't trying to be a smart arse  you'd realise that.  

My recommendations are based on amps I've serviced and repaired, what are yours based on? - what you've read on the internet? (sorry if I don't hold your opinion with much weight).

 :twisted:

[screamingdaisy]

My recommendations are based on amps I've serviced and repaired, what are yours based on? - what you've read on the internet? (sorry if I don't hold your opinion with much weight).

 :twisted:

If you're so right, why are you on the defensive?

 :lol:


How about you justify your stance by telling adammato why I'm wrong instead of tooting your own horn with some silly attempt to undermine my opinion.

[HTH AMPS]

My recommendations are based on amps I've serviced and repaired, what are yours based on? - what you've read on the internet? (sorry if I don't hold your opinion with much weight).

 :twisted:

If you're so right, why are you on the defensive?

 :lol:


How about you justify your stance by telling adammato why I'm wrong instead of tooting your own horn with some silly attempt to undermine my opinion.

I think it's only natural that I'd defend myself when you chose to single out my post and take issue with it.  'Why' you have a problem with what I said is not apparent - maybe you should explain.

I hardly think my statements that both Mesa and Watford (among others) rebrand valves and charge way over the odds can be viewed as anything other than trying to steer the original poster in the right direction.  I for one would rather pay less for exactly the same product, but thats just me - I don't need the brand names.

How about you tell me why you posted this...

(Slagging Watford Valve for not telling the whole story then not telling the whole story yourself? The brass of some people. Rolling Eyes )

 
What is the 'whole story' you refer to?

 :?

[screamingdaisy]

 :?

Before we start pulling each others hair, let me say that the original comment was half meant, half toung-in-cheek.

Anyway....

ahem... Pot, Kettle, Black.  Watford Valves don't physically manufacture any valves.  Last time I checked they were just rebranding JJ valves under their 'Harma' name.  The brass of some people :roll:

They are also the kings of 'spin' - what they say about biasing isn't strictly true. You don't need to rebias your Boogie IF you get the coorect graded valves from Boogie which are invariably Chinese-made pap. Oh, and this also assumes that the matching of the valves does not drift out of spec (which most valves do).

Boogie basically tell you half of the story (the good half).

You slag Watford and Boogie for telling half the story, yet you don't tell the other half.....that he can go to most larger tube venders and buy tubes that fall within Mesa's specs without the extra cost of rebranded tubes.

You also call call Mesa the 'kings of spin', when you're putting your own spin on things with the Chinese comment.

If you know your way round an amp it's easy to modify the bias supply to alter the bias voltage 'range'.

In 'fixed' bias amps such as Boogies you can install a variable resistor in order to dial in the bias for a specific set of valves.

Alternatively, you can pay well over the odds for Mesa-branded valves that are typically Chinese-made and pop them in the amp, voila!!! (instant compromised tone)

So in order to save a few $$$ on tube swaps someone is going to pay a tech to modify their amp, and then pay a tech to bias it every time they re-tube?  How, excactly, is this supposed to save someone money?  Usually I recommend http://www.thetubestore.com, but that's in North America and I don't know who to recommend in the UK/Europe.

[HTH AMPS]

You slag Watford and Boogie for telling half the story, yet you don't tell the other half.....that he can go to most larger tube venders and buy tubes that fall within Mesa's specs without the extra cost of rebranded tubes.

I slag off (as you put it) Mesa & Watford because they rebrand valves and put a hefty markup on them.  These valves can be bought elsewhere for much cheaper.  

As for the Mesa-spec thing, see below.

You also call call Mesa the 'kings of spin', when you're putting your own spin on things with the Chinese comment.

I don't think I'm spinning anything by saying that Chinese-made valves are largely cr@p - I think any other tech you talk to would agree.  Chinese-made valves are responsible for most of the repair jobs I get on amps - the last Single Recto I had in required major rewiring due to burnt-out components around the output valve bases and arced valve sockets.

So in order to save a few $$$ on tube swaps someone is going to pay a tech to modify their amp, and then pay a tech to bias it every time they re-tube?  How, excactly, is this supposed to save someone money?  Usually I recommend http://www.thetubestore.com, but that's in North America and I don't know who to recommend in the UK/Europe.

Firstly, each amp is different (even if you take a dozen of the same amp), plugging in these magically pre-selected valves will 'work' but if you want the amp to sound the best it can, you need to tune the bias in.

Secondly, it is very common for both the matching and bias point to shift when the (output) valves are new.  This requires re-setting the bias - if you use these pre-selected sets then they may be running too cold (tone will suffer) or too hot (may burn the valves out and damage other components when they fail).  

I'm sure you'd rather get your amp biased correctly so it'll run reliably rather than take your chances.  Anyway, a bias job should only cost you £10 or £15 tops and a tech will generally give the amp a once over while setting the bias.

Does that explain where I'm coming from?

 :twisted:

[screamingdaisy]

Does that explain where I'm coming from?

 :twisted:

Yes.  Though I dissagree with you on some points we're all entitled to our opinons....particularily since most of what I dissagree with can be summed up as "personal choice".

 :twisted:  :twisted:

[AdamB]

Sorry to get you guys in an arguement!

I'm trying to find a music store that sells the thd hotplate so i can try before i buy, it's mostly to use so i can record an album with next month with the best tone!

Damn uk companies are cr@p!!!!

[HTH AMPS]

Yes.  Though I dissagree with you on some points we're all entitled to our opinons....particularily since most of what I dissagree with can be summed up as "personal choice".
 :twisted:  :twisted:

(unsurprisingly) I disagree with you on that point (personal choice) but I think I've said all I want to say on the subject.

as for a hotplate, I would advise you to find a store where you can try one out - you may find it counterproductive to the tone you want with an amp as gainy as the DR (imo).

 :twisted: