MESA BOOGIE The Spirit of Art in Technology 1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 USA
Hello from the Tone Farm... YOU, the smart player and all around intuitive human, have put your trust in us to be your amplifier company. This is something we do not take lightly. Our reward is that we've made a classic amplifier and by choosing this amplifier, you have become part of the MESA family...Welcome! Our goal is to never let you down. Your reward is that you are now the owner of an archetypical guitar amp bred of fine all tube amp heritage...
Your MESA/Boogie Amplifier is a professional instrument. Please treat it with respect and operate it properly. USE COMMON SENSE AND ALWAYS OBSERVE THESE PRECAUTIONS: Do not expose amplifier to moisture, rain or water, direct sunlight or extremely high temperatures. Always insure that amplifier is properly grounded. Always unplug AC power cord before changing fuse or any tubes. When replacing fuse, use only same type and rating. Avoid direct contact with heated tubes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Precautions FRONT PANEL Description and Usage Page # 0 1 Volume 2 Treble 3 Mid 3 Bass 3 Reverb 4 Master 4 Output Level 4 Toggle Switches 4 Power 4 REAR PANEL Description and Usage 5 Fuse and Ground Select 5 Footswitch / Reverb 5 Rectifier 6 Send & Return 6 FX Mix 6 Slaving 7 Rhythm Voice 7 Channel Select 7 Speaker (impedance matching) 7 Factory Sample Settings & Personal Settings Tube Maintenance Tech Talk, an article by Randall Smith, President of
Operating Instructions Overview: Your MAVERICK amplifier was designed to deliver maximum performance in a format based on simplicity. Its easy to dial nature allows each of the two channels to deliver a wide range of sounds in both clean and overdrive styles. The MAVERICK uses four EL84 power tubes running Pure Class A and a 5AR4 Rectifier tube to fuel its healthy thirty-five watt power section. We are pleased by its surprising headroom, yet truly musical “clipability” when pushed.
FRONT PANEL: First familiarize yourself with the layout of the Front Panel and locate the LEAD/RHYTHM switch on the rear right side of the chassis. This switch allows you to select either the top (RHYTHM) channel or the (LEAD) channel. If you don’t have the RHYTHM/LEAD footswitch connected, this switch will activate the channel switching function.
FRONT PANEL (Continued) TREBLE: As with most guitar amplifiers, the TREBLE control is the strongest of the three rotary tone controls. Its setting on the MAVERICK determines the blend and strength of the MIDDLE and BASS controls. Set high, it is the dominant control, mini-control, minimizing the amount of MID and BASS that would be possible in the mix. Set low, the TREBLE INPUT becomes the recessive control and a warmer, darker blend is produced. Dial with care.
FRONT PANEL (Continued) REVERB: The MAVERICK has an individual REVERB control per channel. This enables different amounts of the rich ALL TUBE REVERB to be mixed with the dry signal of each channel. It is normal for INPUT extreme settings of the REVERB control to slightly alter alter the character of the channel as the voicing of the REVERB circuit becomes more dominant in the mix.
REAR PANEL: CLASS A POWER BRIGHT RHYTHM SLAVE REV. FT SWITCH A OFF B VACUUM TUBE SOLID STATE (NORMAL) (HI PWR) RECTIFIER GROUND SEND CHAN. SELECT FUSE 2A SB RHYTHM VOICE 1A FAT RETURN LEAD SPEAKERS 0% 10 0 % FX MIX MESA BOOGIE LTD. HANDBUILT IN PETALUMA, CA. FX LOOP 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM FUSE: This is the A.C.’s (Alternating Current) main fuse and provides electrical current protection from outside A.C. fluctuations, as well as power tube failure damage.
REAR PANEL: (continued) RECTIFIER: This patented switchable feature allows you to select between two different types of rectifiers for different sounds and feel. It first appeared on our Dual Rectifier Solo Head and is, in fact, part of the magic behind the whole Dual Rectifier series of amplifiers. It has since found its way into some of our other products as well, such as the TREM-O-VERB, BLUE 1A ANGEL and now the MAVERICK.
REAR PANEL: (continued) SLAVE: This 1/4" jack and control provide a signal derived from the speaker jack. Perfect for using the MAVERICK as a master pre-amp, or additional power amps may be connected for more power when needed. Some players use this to derive an FX Send Signal and go to other amps for their wet sound. SLAVE NOTE: Once a signal is taken from the SLAVE, it can not be inserted back into the FX Loop Return jack or a feedback loop will occur.
SUGGESTED SAMPLE SETTINGS Rhythm / Sparling Vintage SAMPLE 1 INPUT FOOT SWITCH VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS REVERB ON STANDBY POWER MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL SAMPLE 2 ON PURE CLASS A POWER Pushed Rhythm / Blues Solo INPUT FOOT SWITCH VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS REVERB ON STANDBY POWER MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL SAMPLE 3 ON PURE CLASS A POWER Low Gain Blues Lead INPUT FOOT SWITCH VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS REVERB ON STANDBY POWER MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL SAMPLE 4 ON PURE CLASS A POWER Rock So
PERSONAL SETTINGS PAGE PERSONAL SETTING 1 INPUT FOOT SWITCH VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS REVERB ON ON STANDBY POWER MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL PURE CLASS A POWER PERSONAL SETTING 2 INPUT FOOT SWITCH VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS REVERB ON ON STANDBY POWER MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL PURE CLASS A POWER PERSONAL SETTING 3 INPUT FOOT SWITCH VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS REVERB ON ON STANDBY POWER MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL PURE CLASS A POWER PERSONAL SETTING 4 INPUT FOOT SWITCH VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS RE
DIAGNOSING POWER TUBE FAILURES: You may occasionally experience some form of tube noise or microphonics. Certainly no cause for alarm, this quirky behavior comes with the territory and the Tone. Much like changing a light bulb, you don’t need a technician to cure these types of minor user serviceable annoyances and in fact, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to cure tube problems...
DIAGNOSING PRE-AMP TUBE PROBLEMS: Because your amplifier is an all tube design, it is quite possible that you will at some point experience minor pre-amp tube noise. Rest assured - this is no cause for alarm and you can take care of the problem yourself in a matter of minutes by simply swapping tubes. Let us begin by saying; It is a “very good” idea to keep at least a couple of spare pre-amp tubes on hand at all times to insure uninterrupted performance.
BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Part of a continuous series) NOTE: An Article written by Randall Smith that we thought you might find interesting. CATHODE ( ) GRID ( , ) SCREEN GRID ( ) Here’s a question we often hear: “Why doesn’t Mesa put bias adjustments in their amplifiers?” Well, there’s a short answer and a long answer to this question. BEAMCONFINING ELECTRODE ( ) .. ..... .... . ... . .... PLATE ( , ) Structure of a 6L6 / 5881 Beam Power Pentode.
BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Continued} Voltage and current are NOT the same. Current is the AMOUNT of electricity, the “quantity” — and is measured in amperes. Voltage is the degree of electric charge — like the “pressure” to use the old water analogy. Let me illustrate how different voltage and current are: When you scrape your feet across a carpetted floor in dry, wintery conditions, your body can become charged with 50,000 to 100,000 volts of static electricity.
BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Continued} Some of the other recommended biasing, “methods” — such as -”.. tubes running red hot, increase the bias .. sounds harsh and runs too cool, turn it down ...” are guesswork at best. Luckily, one of the great things about tube amps is that they can usually stand some abuse without causing any real harm ... at least not immediately.
FRONT VIEW: MAVERICK POWER SWITCH pt# 601073 STANDBY SWITCH pt# 601073 INPUT JACK pt# 618100 KNOBS for controls pt# 408020 HOLDER pt# 703900 BULB pt# 703047 INPUT POT # POT # POT # POT # POT # POT # 592739 591148 592737 591148 592151 592737 VOLUME TREBLE MID BASS REVERB MASTER POT # POT # POT # POT # POT # POT # 592792 592738 592737 592739 592151 592736 ON ON STANDBY POWER POT # FOOT SWITCH 592738 OUTPUT LEVEL PURE CLASS A POWER RED LENS pt# 703782 KNOBS for controls
MESA BOOGIE The Spirit of Art in Technology Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifier company and we wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.
The Spirit of Art in Technology (707) 778-6565 FAX NO.
