Life with a mesa - an on going saga

[Uk Ant]

Last night saw was the first gig with my little mesa express and two cabs (Marshall 2x12 and 1x12) and once set up my thought was 'my, this is really quite a loud set up!' this thought ended as soon as our drummer started thumping the skins.
He really is rather loud our drummer.
The little mesa does just about keep up, but I may have to investigate either using my 60w Ashdown for gigs, or possibly just using the 1x12 with the Mesa and miking the thing up.

 

[d1dsj]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

I know what you mean. Our band never mics the back line unless there's a big in house rig and when I used my Hurricane for a small pub gig it was right on the limit. Even using the boost in the loop didn't help because the thing was max'd out. Sounded great but will only use it again when I know we can mic it up. Tonight I'm going to use the Marshall 2554 with a 1912 cab to see how that goes.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

Ok dude you reached your limit of posting about the same 25w amp!!! I can't keep up with your Mesa Woes. If you want an amp with enough volume get a 50 or 100 watt combo and be done with it.

Your search is over man. Get a Mark V, put EL34's in it and there you go. Then you have all the great tone and volume you need, and power settings to match any situation. It's also small and portable with rollers on the bottom. Problems solved.

It sounds like you're trying to cut a steak with a paring knife. Get a steak knife, cut your steak and enjoy eating it.


https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=195220

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=193735

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=192955

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=192697

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=192651

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

Ok dude you reached your limit of posting about the same 25w amp!!! I can't keep up with your Mesa Woes. If you want an amp with enough volume get a 50 or 100 watt combo and be done with it.

Your search is over man. Get a Mark V, put EL34's in it and there you go. Then you have all the great tone and volume you need, and power settings to match any situation. It's also small and portable with rollers on the bottom. Problems solved.

It sounds like you're trying to cut a steak with a paring knife. Get a steak knife, cut your steak and enjoy eating it.

Mmm, steak.

I do know what you mean mind.
Unfortunately I don't have the finances to just go out and by something like the Mark V.

This is the problem when going from budget chinese made amps to USA/UK made stuff... it's a huge hike in price.

Thus I try and find ways of using this little mesa

 

[phil_104]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

Mmm, steak.

I do know what you mean mind.
Unfortunately I don't have the finances to just go out and by something like the Mark V.

This is the problem when going from budget chinese made amps to USA/UK made stuff... it's a huge hike in price.

Thus I try and find ways of using this little mesa

I'll tell you what man, I had the exact same amp, and the cab you plug it into makes a huge difference when it comes to volume. I played a show plugged into 2 separate 2x12 rectifier cabs, and that could peel the paint off the walls.

Seriously, consider plugging into one of those cabs. For some reason, they are super effective, and project like mad. My drummer is heavy handed, and it worked just fine for me. Marshall cabs on the other hand, never gave me the projection of weight in volume I wanted.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

The other thing to consider is that just because you feel you sound like you're barely keeping up on stage, someone 10, 20, or 30 feet away hears you loud and clear.

 

[cronnin]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

The little mesa does just about keep up, but I may have to investigate either using my 60w Ashdown for gigs, or possibly just using the 1x12 with the Mesa and miking the thing up.

What are your gain/volume settings?

Ok dude you reached your limit of posting about the same 25w amp!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bE8l3YPJHs

I'll tell you what man, I had the exact same amp, and the cab you plug it into makes a huge difference when it comes to volume. I played a show plugged into 2 separate 2x12 rectifier cabs, and that could peel the paint off the walls.

Sensitivity of the speaker inside is of great importance. You will have a lot more noise with 103dB speakers than with 95dB.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

The other thing to consider is that just because you feel you sound like you're barely keeping up on stage, someone 10, 20, or 30 feet away hears you loud and clear.

Comments from the crowd were generally 'can you turn the guitar up... just a bit'.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

Comments from the crowd were generally 'can you turn the guitar up... just a bit'.

Is your cab loaded with V30s?

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

I'll tell you what man, I had the exact same amp, and the cab you plug it into makes a huge difference when it comes to volume. I played a show plugged into 2 separate 2x12 rectifier cabs, and that could peel the paint off the walls.

Seriously, consider plugging into one of those cabs. For some reason, they are super effective, and project like mad. My drummer is heavy handed, and it worked just fine for me. Marshall cabs on the other hand, never gave me the projection of weight in volume I wanted.

Sensitivity of the speaker inside is of great importance. You will have a lot more noise with 103dB speakers than with 95dB.

I'm considering speaker upgrades, possibly starting with the Marshall 1912. Thing is I have no idea what so ever what the sensitivity is of the speaker in there already.

I'm not planning on new cabs for the foreseeable future as they have a tendency to be a bit pricy, plus mesa stuff is not that common.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

Is your cab loaded with V30s?

No, although they are on my shortlist of possible replacements.
The 1x12 has a G12-B (which only seems to appear in the 1912 cab)
The G12's in the 2x12 are entry level ones, but are better than the made for marshall specials they replaced.

 

[cronnin]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

16 Ohm amp output > 16 ohm cabinet

4 Ohm amp output > 4 Ohm cabinet

What would be difference in sound/volume?

 

[some_dude]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

No, although they are on my shortlist of possible replacements.
The 1x12 has a G12-B (which only seems to appear in the 1912 cab)
The G12's in the 2x12 are entry level ones, but are better than the made for marshall specials they replaced.

V30s are really f*ckin' loud. They can be a little harsh on their own, but in a band mix they cut.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

Midrange is a guitarists' friend. Use more mid oriented speakers like Vintage 30s and EQ the Mesa with less lowend and use more midrange to cut through. Midrange is where you'll sit in the band mix so use that to your advantage. The key isn't always to just change the volume knob from 10 to 11, it's about finding where your instrument fits in the mix and making your gear make that happen.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

In all seriousness though, maybe another speaker can add just the edge of volume to get you where you need to be. I don't know how it works technically but I have heard that high powered speakers are also louder. And what about those 7189 tubes? They have higher voltages so maybe that means more output??? I don't know if that does anything for volume. Maybe it does. I think those are equivalent to the el84.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

Midrange is a guitarists' friend. Use more mid oriented speakers like Vintage 30s and EQ the Mesa with less lowend and use more midrange to cut through. Midrange is where you'll sit in the band mix so use that to your advantage. The key isn't always to just change the volume knob from 10 to 11, it's about finding where your instrument fits in the mix and making your gear make that happen.

I'm already using a good amount of the mid range to get the tone to cut through.
Friday night I think I tried almost every possible variation in gain, master volume (past 12 it just drives the power tubes more rather than giving anymore volume), bass, treble, mid. Sounded good, and you could hear it, but was just lacking weight of sound.
As I'm unlikely to have any spare cash till after my next gig I thinking I'll try miking the thing up through the vocal PA... gotta be worth a try.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

As I'm unlikely to have any spare cash till after my next gig I thinking I'll try miking the thing up through the vocal PA... gotta be worth a try.

This is really the best option. If the vocal PA is good enough for your singer - it should be good enough for you.

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

I thought the Mesa's are generally loud.
I used a JCM900, 100watts in a small auditorium for a ad-hoc gig.
Guess what ?
I couldn't hear myself but the audience could.
They said my amp was too loud, but I couldn't hear myself a thing.
Prolly you may wanna use one of your cabs as a monitor speaker towards yourself.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

I used to play out with a rack rig powered by my Marshall 20/20 20w per side stereo power amp. I didn't have to turn it up anywhere near all the way for pub gigs.
Doesn't the Express have a switch that takes the wattage down to 5 or 10 watts? I'm sure you did, but in case you didn't, make sure it's on the 25 watt setting.
If you like the tone but it's not loud enough, don't get rid of the amp. Mic it. That's better than getting a louder amp that doesn't sound good.

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Life with a mesa - an on going saga

More speakers equals more volume usually, so add a 4x12 to the mix and have a good time with it.