MESA BOOGIE RACKMOUNT Owners Manual The Spirit of Art in Technology 1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 USA
Hello from the Tone Farm... ..You, 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 pre-amplifier and by choosing this wonderful unit, 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 archetypal guitar pre-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.
RACKMOUNT TABLE OF CONTENTS FRONT PANEL Overview V-Twin Hook-Ups Set Control - Quick Set-Up Front Panel Mini Toggles CONTROLS Volume Treble Midrange Bass Presence Master Mix & Mix Master REAR PANEL Instrument Inputs Footswitch Effects Loop Main Outputs Record Out Headphone Out External Channel Select Power On & On / Lift A.C. Receptacle.
OPERATING INSTRUCTION OVERVIEW: CONGRATULATIONS on your purchase of the V-TWIN as your choice of rack mount pre-amplifiers! This one space wonder is the perfect adddition to any system. From a simple two or three space rack, to the world class coliseum size rig utilizing multiple pre-amps, the V-TWIN will likely become a favorite right away. In the studio it will become invaluable to you for capturing great direct to tape sounds fast and effortlessly.
OVERVIEW: (Continued) At this time, we would like to remind you that for any rack guitar system to sound amazing, it must not only have a great pre-amplifier such as the one you have just purchased...it must be combined with a musically warm and expressive power amplifier that is tuned to the needs of the guitar as well ! May we humbly suggest trying one of the three all-tube power amplifiers that we have worked for years developing specifically for this application.
V-TWIN SET UP FOR RECORDING POWER ON HEADPHONE OUT EXTERNAL CHANNEL SELECT RECORD OUT MAIN OUTPUT EFFECTS LOOP 50% OUTPUT L L RETURN FOOTSWITCH SEND L INSTRUMENT INPUT FX AUTO SOLO SOLO 1 SOLO 2 CLEAN 1 SOLO 3 CLEAN 2 LEVEL CLEAN 3 R MIX R FOOT 100% R SW.
As we mentioned earlier, each channel of theV-TWIN contains three different Modes voiced for different styles of playing.
CONTROLS: VOLUME: (GAIN) INPUT This is by far the most powerful control in the pre-amp. It not only determines the V-TWIN'S overall Gain amount, shape and sensitivity...but it is also a powerful Tone control. Generally speaking, whatever is dialed here ultimately determines the V-TWINS' personality. Set low, GAIN it allows cleaner, brighter sounds with enhanced dynamic response, especially in the higher frequencies. Set high, the whole personality of the channel becomes darker, fatter and more overdriven.
BASS: This control blends in the lower frequencies, and its effectiveness, again, depends on the setting of the TREBLE Control. It should be set with moderation, as extreme settings in either low or high directions can produce an unbalanced tone.
This control is the pan pot for the MIX MODE. It is responsible for the blend of the SOLO and CLEAN Channels when MIX: the MIX function is called up, either via the Footswitch or when both channels MANUAL / FOOTSWITCH Front Panel mini toggles are set to the MANUAL position. ( Clean Channel = CLEAN, Solo Channel = SOLO.) INPUT GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE BASS MIX PRESENCE MASTER SOLO SOLO CHANNEL 1 3 This control allows any blend of the two channels to be used when in MIX.
REAR PANEL: POWER ON HEADPHONE OUT EXTERNAL CHANNEL SELECT RECORD OUT MAIN OUTPUT EFFECTS LOOP 50% OUTPUT L L RETURN FOOTSWITCH SEND L INSTRUMENT INPUT FX AUTO SOLO ON / L IFT SOLO 1 SOLO 2 SOLO 3 CLEAN 1 CLEAN 2 CLEAN 3 0% LEVEL R R FOOT 100% MIX R SW. AUTO CLEAN CH The Instrument Jack located on the Rear Panel and to the far right is just one of two Instrument Jacks that are provided on the V-TWIN.
RECORD OUT: HEADPHONE OUT These jacks provide direct stereo interfacing to recording or live mixing consoles. They faithfully reproduce both SOLO both SOLO and CLEAN Channel sounds similar to those you are accustomed to hearing from your power amp and speakers. The output level is L L L determined by the Front Panel MASTER Control setting. At extreme settings it may be possible to R R R overload the console's input circuit. Medium MASTER Control settings are probably sufficient for most situations.
SAMPLE SETTINGS V -TWIN C L E A N C H A N N E L Squeaky Clean MIX LEVEL GAIN FOOTSWITCH TREBLE CLEAN MIDDLE 1 3 BASS PRESENCE MASTER POWER CLEAN CHANNEL 2 Fat Vintage Clean MIX LEVEL GAIN FOOTSWITCH TREBLE CLEAN MIDDLE 1 3 BASS PRESENCE MASTER POWER CLEAN CHANNEL 2 Super Scooped Clean MIX LEVEL GAIN FOOTSWITCH TREBLE CLEAN MIDDLE 1 3 BASS PRESENCE MASTER POWER CLEAN CHANNEL 2 Pushed Clean MIX LEVEL FOOTSWITCH GAIN TREBLE CLEAN MIDDLE 1 3 2 BASS PRESENCE MAS
SAMPLE SETTINGS V -TWIN S O L O C H A N N E L Sweet Blues INPUT GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE SOLO CHANNEL BASS 1 PRESENCE MASTER 3 MIX SOLO SOLO CLEAN FOOTSWITCH 2 Vocal Lead INPUT GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE SOLO CHANNEL BASS PRESENCE MASTER 3 1 MIX SOLO SOLO CLEAN FOOTSWITCH 2 Searing Lead INPUT GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE SOLO CHANNEL BASS PRESENCE MASTER MIX SOLO 1 3 SOLO CLEAN FOOTSWITCH 2 Grinding Crunch INPUT GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE SOLO CHANNEL BASS PRESENCE MASTER 3 1 2 MIX
GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE POT # 592739 BASS SOLO 2 POT # 592379 SWITCH pt# 592151 LED pt# 592151 SOLO POT # 592739 PRESENCE MASTER FRONT VIEW V-TWIN RACKMOUNT JACK pt# 618102 INPUT POT # 592737 3 POT # 592149 2 POT # 592151 1 KNOB pt# (all 7 knobs) 408112 SWITCH pt# 592151 SOLO CHANNEL SOLO 1 CLEAN 1 EXTERNAL CHANNEL SELECT SOLO 3 V-TWIN LOGO pt# 800039 GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE BASS POT # 592737 PRESENCE MASTER LENS pt# 703786 LENS NUT pt# MIX LEVEL POT # 592739 CLEAN CHANNEL SWITCH pt#
MESA BOOGIE The Spirit of Art in Technology Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifier company. We wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.
