What's your amp's sweet spot

[Jared macneill]

So recently I have been doing a lot of experimenting with my old Mesa. For years I always complained how I couldn’t get the old girl to get that natural breakup you can easily get with a smaller tube amp.

One of the benefits of my new place is when I was doing the renovation is we put sound bars along the walls and ceilings. So there is decent sound proofing here.
I asked the one above me if he could hear me and he said no so now to the point of this post.

After several years with my Mesa wanting to give up on it I finally found the amps sweet spot the other night and it’s like just “wow is this what the big deal with these old mesas is about”

I have me amp settings as follows
Volume 1: 6
Treble: 5.5
Bass: 8
Middle: 5
Master 1: 1
Gain boost : pulled
Lead master: 1
Lead drive: 7.5
Reverb: 10.

On Rhythm channel the Mesa is crystal clear nice and bight with a rich low end that doesn’t overpower the highs .

On the lead channel is where the amp really changes like a “ wow moment “ the amp became really thick and bold and completely opposite of the rhythm channel.

When you lightly pick it is still clear and is nice and bluesy . And when you do bend the amp starts to break up and a harder strum and you have that natural break up I like.

I just can’t get over the difference in the guild and how the amp reacts to it after the pickup upgrade.

 

[GAD]

Man, those TV Jones look great in there!

That's a great old amp, but yeah - they like to be loud.

 

[Jared macneill]

Man, those TV Jones look great in there!

That's a great old amp, but yeah - they like to be loud.

Thanks and yeah the TV Jones where 100% worth it.and yeah it does loves to be loud.

 

[Neal]

My ‘55 Gibson GA-9 sounds best pegged.

It has a volume knob. That’s it.

 

[jp]

That's a great looking setup you have, and I would think that the Guild matches well with your MB Mark series. Congratulations on finding the a sweet spot. I've found it can take a long time to find one.

Mesa's are so infinitely tweakable, and the slightest turn of a knob can get drastically different results, especially when considering the interaction of the regular EQ with the graphic EQ. Some models are definitely easier to dial in than others, and it has also been my experience that they all sound better when cranked.

I picked up a lot of tips by messing with the manual's settings and chatting with Grailtone/Boogie Board members. They have some crazy knowledgeable people there.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

At 11!

 

[Walter Broes]

Sweet spots and the volume they come with is why I have seven different non-master volume tube amps

 

[jp]

Sweet spots and the volume they come with is why I have seven different non-master volume tube amps

Hah! Honestly, I eventually got tired of it. I think Boogie's are quality amps for those who like them, but also, I'm too old to have time to infinitely tweak. :C)

I'm down to a SF Fender Deluxe, a VoxAC15TBX, and a grab-and-go Fender Rivera Super Champ, which I'll probably sell soon too.

 

[GAD]

Sweet spots and the volume they come with is why I have seven different non-master volume tube amps

And one of the reasons I finally went mostly digital. Also I couldn't lift the 2x12 like I used to.

 

[Rambozo96]

I think Joe Bonamassa (can’t stand the guy but he speaks truth here.) said something about using the right amp for the room in question. For smaller rooms like a bedroom, bathroom (just an example, doubt many jam spaces are in peoples bathrooms.), or smaller rooms in general a small 5 watt or less will work fine, maybe a Princeton type job for the living room or the garage but I found with larger amps like the old 120 watt Peaveys and the higher wattage Musicman’s I had a rough time getting the same tone I did at 1-3 as when I ran them almost fully open. I eventually got tired of the bigger amps and bought a 1973 Alamo Embassy (weird 5w hybrid variant of the Fender champ with tremolo, give the JFET loaded SS/hybrid stuff a chance, you’ll be surprised.) that breaks up or goes full blown cranked up crunch without getting a visit from the cops. I think Skip that does the tube amp podcast also dove into this where some dude calls in about his Twin/AC-30/50-100 watt high gain job sounds kinda lackluster in their apartment but great when they can crank them. Too much amp for what you’re doing. Despite this I still keep a 30 watt converted tube PA head and a Fender 2x15 handy.

 

[GAD]

There's no doubt that a big tube amp is never going to sound right in a small space if you want to keep your hearing/sanity/marriage. I had a '63 Bassman with 2x12 and it sounded glorious cranked up outside, but inside even with the best attenuator money could buy it just didn't move the air the way it did at volume.

After that I built a tweed 5E3 Deluxe clone. It was like 13 watts and still too loud when it was cranking. That's when I decided that since my playing is 99% in the house with about 10% of that being recording for reviews that I just don't need a real amp any more. Since the AxeFX is designed to produce the sound of a cranked amp at any volume and that absolutely works for me while I'm home and recording, it's a much better solution for me than any tube amp. On the rare occasion when I do play in front of people, the 1000-watt FRFR PA speaker delivers more than enough volume for anything I need it for. And it still raises the hairs on your arms when it's loud and dialed in right.

Plus I get the sound of something like 50 different amps and all the components combined weigh less than just the head of my Bassman and I'll never go back to a big amp.

I do still have my Tweed Champ clone that I built, because it's just a great little amp.

 

[Default]

In my case, "standby".

 

[Westerly Wood]

When I was in a rock band back in ‘97, I had a fender reverb amp. It was so loud. In practice space I wound kept it at 3-4 volume. It still kicked butt over my band mates carvin solid state. It was awesome. I kept it there at venues too as they just mic’d it. So tgat amp never needed to go above 4. lol.

That amp ruined my ears. My favorite amp was a Marshall solid state 30 watt amp when I was in another rock band in Tucson. That amp I loved. Had this killer delay foot switch. I had a fender Stratocaster at tine, they paired real nicely.

Finally, no one did vibrato like Ampeg. I had a vintage Ampeg amp way back when. And a Gibson les Paul studio guitar. That was a brilliant pairing.

 

[crank]

I traded in a 40 watt Fender Hotrod Deluxe that had a great mostly clean with a bit of breakup around 4-6. Traded it for a 15 watt Fender Blues Jr. so I could get a decent tone at a lower stage volume for which my singer thanked me profusely. It was always run through the PA system.

I also have a 60 watt Music Man that I occasionally drag out for a bar gig where I will not be in the PA mix. I think I usually run that around 6. Both amps have master volumes though and I do not always run them wide open.

Tone wise I tend to go around 4 on treble 5 or 6 on mid and 7 on bass. Usually 2 on reverb. Music Man has a great Tremelo.