Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

HetfieldRules

HetfieldRules

New member
Impossible i know....but i am having issues..... i have a Mesa Triple Rec. (150W all Tube) head playing through an 8 ohm Avatar 4x12 w/ celestion 75's ....i am having quite the volume issue for some reason....i find that my amp is not nearly as loud as a Peavey 6150 .... my master volume for practicing is at about 1 oclock....my channel volumes (for distortion) are at around 10 o'clock .... is my amp not as loud simply cause my channel volumes are so low? ...i have the channel volumes where the intructions kinda suggest.....the other reason i ask this is because i was playing a small club....i mean really small.....hole in the wall small....and i was having issues being heard...especially when i go to boost my volume using the solo button....it seems to do nothing....it might only be the terrible acoustics of the place...but i dont know....something just isn't right....i thought Mesa's were stadium worthy.....am i doing something wrong?
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

don't know really, but my guess is that mesa's eq is different and your mids are scooped and your emphasis on the bass and treble is killed by the bass player and cymbals. but just guessing really. i also noticed on few occasions in small club gigs that bass can make a mess when bouncing off the opposite wall. other than that, i have no idea.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

If you bring up your channel volumes it will be a HUGE difference.

Luke
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

Hetfield, that rig should tear your head off.

If you are using pedals or anything in the loop, take it out. Find a guitar cable that you know is good. Plug straight into the amp and turn all your knobs to 5. That should be loud. It may not be your tone but you should be able to hear it. Start turning anything that adds gain or level to your signal up by 1. By the time you hit 7s it should be very loud.

If it isn't you have other issues.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

try running it with the effect loop bypased (knob on back of amp). with the effect loop on the "output" knob affects the volume.

tyr cranking all knobs. if that aint loud ennough then a connection is loose somewhere or something is wrong with your amp or cab or pickups or maby just your cable.



that amp is ****ing loud.



if it sounds loud on its own but gets lost playing with others then you gotta add more mids to your eq
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

i am pluging right into my amp...i have a feeling it's my cable for starters ...my mids aren't completely scooped....they are around 4....i think my issue is my channel volumes....they are set kinda low in the realm of it all....the 6150 has jsut channel volumes....and he is playing at 2 in this bar....so i think me having to be at 6 on my master is a tad obsurd...i am going to jam a bit tonight....i will try changing the channel volumes...i know they make a huge difference....i just dont wanna lose any sound quality by doing so...
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

How old are the tubes? I had trouble believing my little Mesa was actually putting out 50 watts when I bought it. A complete retube cured it.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

I used to own a triple recto. That thing is one of the loudest amps on the planet, louder than you would ever need it to be that's for sure. I could never get the effects loop to work right on mine, so like has been said start there.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

well i dont touch my effects loop...like i said....i go straight in.....as for the tubes.....i bought the amp new in box in September....they aren't that old.....at least i dont think so....
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

Sounds like dying tubes.

I used to run my channel masters at 12:00 (ch1) and 10:00 (ch2) with the output around 13:00. It was plenty loud... and then some.

Anyway, when the tubes start to die you'll start to loose upper end harmonics and cut, then you're tone will get more and more muddy while loosing more and more volume. The first time it happened to me I had the bass on 0 and the mids on full and my tone was still muddy sh*t.

Anyway... try new tubes.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

Does it have power scaling? You might be in 50 watt mode.

I have a peavey 6505+ and it is hellishly loud around 5-8. But I'd think the mesa would roast it alive, given you use enough mids and presence.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

It's the main reason I got rid of my Mesa. The tone was killer when I played alone, but seemed to disappear when playing with a band. Volume could be turned up, but it just seemed like a louder amp not cutting through. I agree with the post about the Mesa EQ.

Replaced it with a Marshall JCM 800. My band said they could easily hear me, and at a lower volume.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

HetfieldRules said:
i am pluging right into my amp...i have a feeling it's my cable for starters ...my mids aren't completely scooped....they are around 4....i think my issue is my channel volumes....they are set kinda low in the realm of it all....the 6150 has jsut channel volumes....and he is playing at 2 in this bar....so i think me having to be at 6 on my master is a tad obsurd...i am going to jam a bit tonight....i will try changing the channel volumes...i know they make a huge difference....i just dont wanna lose any sound quality by doing so...
Click to expand...

Gain unity dude, its the nature of a master volume amp - just double check operation by doing everything else in this thread so far, then.....

Turn the master all the way up and use the channel post as the volume and I bet it will be pretty loud at a "low" level.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

arbiter said:
don't know really, but my guess is that mesa's eq is different and your mids are scooped and your emphasis on the bass and treble is killed by the bass player and cymbals.
Click to expand...
That was my thought as well. Mids are key to getting a guitar to cut through a mix.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

another vote for new tubes. the tubes that come stock in those amps aren't exactly known for being the best out there. that amp should be tearing your ears off. even though it doesn't sound like they're that old, you still shouldn't rule it out. tubes can be like light bulbs...sometimes they'll last years and years before they burn out, and other times the things will fry as soon as you flick the switch.

are you positive that you're matching the impedence of the cabinet correctly? i once had a 16 ohm cabinet with an amp that only had 4 and 8 ohm outputs. in a pinch, i had to run the head at 8 ohms into the 16 ohm load, and it lost a lot of volume that way. on the offchance you're running that 8 ohm cabinet off the 4 ohm output by accident, i can imagine it would create a similar situation.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

Does your amp have a knob on the back for effects loop volume? My Road King did. Even if you don't have anything plugged into the loop, if the loop itself is turned on then that knob will have an affect on the output volume of the amp.

Other than that, the advice already in this thread is great. Yes, the amp should be crazy loud. Yes, you need a healthy dose of mids if you want to be heard - ESPECIALLY in a two-guitar band.

I'm in the same band situation except I play a Splawn and the other guitarist uses a Dual Rec, and we've taken great care and time to balance our mids respectively so we both sound good, can be heard, and aren't stepping on each other frequency-wise. Anyone can do it and it's worth the trouble.
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

okay thanks guys i will double check my effects loop knob.....as for ohms....i know i am matching that up right...i had the cab built for 8 ohms.....in reguard to the new tubes....i have been thihnking about replacing them....only thing is i have never done it beore...should i take it somewhere to have them re-done....or is it a matter of just taking out and putting in....i have heard that stock mesa tubes are...well.....blah....
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

on a triple rec, it's just a matter of buying tubes that have the same rating as the ones that are in there currently, since the bias is fixed. on the power tubes themselves, they should say STR ### (for example, the stock tubes in my amp said STR 430), which is just the badge that mesa prints on them so you know which rating to replace them with. if you want to switch to a different brand, get a hold of bob at eurotubes.com. i've never bought from him personally, but he's supposed to be pretty good at hooking you up with this kind of stuff.

also, don't hesitate to try EL34's in there if you're having problems cutting through the mix. i prefer the sound of EL34's in any of the rectifier amps over the 6L6's that come in there, kinda pushes you into hot-rodded marshall territory but still maintains that rectifier sound.

replacing the preamp tubes much more simple, it's just a matter of popping the old ones out and popping the new one's in.

hope that helps :)
 
Re: Mesa Not Loud Enough?!?!?!?!

HetfieldRules said:
i am pluging right into my amp...i have a feeling it's my cable for starters ...my mids aren't completely scooped....they are around 4....i think my issue is my channel volumes....they are set kinda low in the realm of it all....the 6150 has jsut channel volumes....and he is playing at 2 in this bar....so i think me having to be at 6 on my master is a tad obsurd...i am going to jam a bit tonight....i will try changing the channel volumes...i know they make a huge difference....i just dont wanna lose any sound quality by doing so...
Click to expand...

my channel volumes are almost maxed out, maybe 80% on my amps and i use the master to controll it... crank those channel volumes
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top