I just don't get the boogie

[Deaf Ear]

After recording tons of Mesas, I just don't get em. I've had triples, duals, 2 and 3 channels, modded duals, 2 channel duals from 92, etc. It's the one amp I just can't make sound right. No matter how I dial them in, it always sounds like a chain being drug across concrete or a wasp. I know they're capable of sounding great, cause I've hear them a million times on clips and records, but I've never heard one sound like that in person.

Anyone else ever met an amp they just can't get along with?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

might be the treble pot.
I hate them with treble higher than 12:300/1:00
usually I'm having the treble between 11:0 and 12:00 makes the tone very smooth and chunky, definitely no wasps there.
in fact...everything at noon (on the 2ch) with the bold/silicon settings will give you a CRUSHING guitartone

 

[Deaf Ear]

Everything at noon sounds about right Lasse. You do get crushing tones out of the things for sure. I just can't seem to do it myself. It really is the only amp I have a problem with. The sound I always get it really dry and stale, that or harsh and intolerable. I've got an old 2 channel in here now with KT88s in it, and it sound alright, but still not what I imagine them to be.

 

[Mr.Skull]

might be the treble pot.
I hate them with treble higher than 12:300/1:00
usually I'm having the treble between 11:0 and 12:00 makes the tone very smooth and chunky, definitely no wasps there.
in fact...everything at noon (on the 2ch) with the bold/silicon settings will give you a CRUSHING guitartone

I agree, the trebles can be harsh past 1:00. And a few recto owners I know don't pay enough attention to that presence knob. It's the 'anti-fizz' knob as far as I'm concerned, and it's important to see how it interacts with the amp according to volume and selected channel. Mesa's manual will really open your eyes to how everything in the amp works. (you might be surprised)

 

[Mr.Skull]

Everything at noon sounds about right Lasse. You do get crushing tones out of the things for sure. I just can't seem to do it myself. It really is the only amp I have a problem with. The sound I always get it really dry and stale, that or harsh and intolerable. I've got an old 2 channel in here now with KT88s in it, and it sound alright, but still not what I imagine them to be.

Just curious, which cabs you have tried with them?

 

[Deaf Ear]

Mesa traditional and standard cabs both. I should also note that I can get pretty good rock tones out of them, just not metal.

 

[Deaf Ear]

Hey Lasse, when you say everything at noon, are you also referring to gain and presence? The presence knob really is pretty finicky on these things.

 

[jval]

I'm with you man... I've had moderate success blending a mesa with other amps but never on its own. just can't get it to sound right... not my thing I guess. They just have great marketing... every kid starting a band wants a mesa amp even though they've never heard one first hand.

 

[Zack Uidl]

This might be totally obvious, (sorry if i missed you saying it) but are you using a TS? That makes a huge difference with rectifiers in my experience. I would not record one without it.

 

[Erocku]

I've never liked the 3ch rectifiers. I havent tried a 2ch yet. I've heard that a Tubescreamer makes a big difference too, but never tried recording with a boost. However, I love my Mark III.

 

[Kazrog]

What Lasse said, for sure. Mesa/Boogie puts very powerful EQ sections in their amps, so it's easy to get yourself into some pretty extreme sonic territory fast - in a bad way. Start the controls at noon is the best approach with 90% of amps on the market, especially Mesa/Boogie.

 

[Deaf Ear]

I have both an 808 and a TS9, both do help a lot. I still don't get it though. The one I have in here right now is my favorite I've tracked with though. I reamped some rock through it today and it sounded great, but all the metal stuff I run through it sound SUPER DRY and saggy. I've always thought they sounded better on full power, but the guy it belongs to said you HAD to run tube rectifier with KT88's or it would blow it.

Is it just a really dry amp and I don't like that character?

Here's a rock tone, pretty happy with it for this purpose.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/316466/Mesa Rock.mp3

 

[Zack Uidl]

do you have a clip of it being used for metal?

 

[Deaf Ear]

do you have a clip of it being used for metal?

Yeah, but nothing special. Just some stuff that's still in the tracking phase so there's not much mixing going on.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/316466/Mesa Metal.mp3

Pretty much sums the difference up though on the two sounds. This is with everything at noon and a TS808 through a Jackson with an 81.

 

[RockGuitarX]

Which type of Mesa is used on this clip? Honestly, it sounds like a shitty mic or some blown tubes.

 

[Sloan]

i can relate to this topic as i've been to a lot of live shows where the boogie's pissed me off.

 

[Deaf Ear]

Which type of Mesa is used on this clip? Honestly, it sounds like a shitty mic or some blown tubes.

It's the same one that's used in the rock clip above it. It's a 1992 2 channel dual, the supposed holy grail of boogies. He does have KT88's in it though, but the rock clip sounds great I think. This is how Mesa Boogie's always sound to me, and I've recorded quite a few of them. I even swapped all the preamp tubes with different kinds just to check it out. All variations of the same sounds.

The mic is fine too, it's just a 57, and sounds great with other amps always.

 

[Deaf Ear]

Is every boogie I've ever had in here just messed up?

 

[RockGuitarX]

Besides the fact you've tried so many, I had a friend who had an interesting problem with a Peavey 5150. It sounded great for the first few months and then it started to sound really thin and lifeless. Practice and recording on that amp began sounding very weak. We checked all the tubes, the fuse and tried it with different cabs and couldn't find a problem. Finally I saw the dumbass turn his head on without it being plugged into a cab and that's the way he would warm up the amp and he had been doing it for months. This may not even relate to your case, but you never know. You could have bought a fake SM57 (if that's what your using). That just happened to Kev today... Just like Campbell's soup, so many possibilities.

Hopefully someone with more experience with recording Mesa's can help you out.

 

[Deaf Ear]

Thanks for the reply, but unless the guitar players are ruining their amps before coming in here, I don't think that would be the case. As far as my 57's go, I have two new one's and two from the 80's. Pretty surprising how different they sound, but none of them sound bad or are broken. I really wish I could figure these things out, but they always sound bad to me when I track them.