Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

frankfalbo

frankfalbo

In Fluence Y'all
Just thought I'd share...

I was just down in the sound room with an artist of ours, who likes his V-Twin. Even though I was here when we released the TT Mayhem, it was designed before I got here. I was shocked at how the Mayhem could nail the "solo" tone of the V-Twin. I realize the V-Twin is a totally different pedal, and the Clean/Blues side is not attainable with the Mayhem, but it was pretty surprising to me anyway.

Maybe I'll make a clip A/B'ing the two while the V-Twin is out.

I had a V-Twin myself years back, but I also have a Mesa Quad preamp, and I didn't really find myself making use of the V-Twin. When I did, it was for warming up cleans, and the Blues channel, hardly ever the Solo channel.
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Be very careful in a Duncan pedal vs Mesa pedal discussion...I know you're simply talking tone but build quality and then price will soon come into play and I hate to say it but a Mesa V Twin, like it or not will last LOTS of gigs and long tours...I wouldn't put money on a Twin Tube Mayhem lasting more than a few months on the road...
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Physically, there's no comparision, really. The V-Twin is a 12AX7 pedal, and build is totally different. I'm just saying it was a pleasant surprise. The guy that was here set up the V-Twin to the settings he likes, and then the Mayhem came right along side of it in the A/B test.

Someone who wants a V-Twin likely wants it for ALL the sounds it makes, and perhaps the direct recording out/phones, the channel switching, etc. The Mayhem is not a V-Twin substitute, but since I never really spent much time with the Solo channel when I owned mine, it caught me by surprise.
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

If a twin tube mayhem sounds like the "red" channel of a V-twin then I guess the Mayhem I had was very broken... because they sounded nothing alike. Wasn't even close... and I was really hoping that it would be similar.

They've both got a lotta gain... I'll give you that much.
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Jeez tough crowd. Remember I'm not saying this as "the guy who works for Seymour Duncan" or as an attempt to sell more Mayhems. Now I HAVE to make sound clips monday to show you what I was hearing. It was through a Marshall 4x12 and both the Triple Rec clean channel and the JCM800 low input "clean" sound.

This artist usually uses Mesa Rectos. He uses the V-Twin when he has to use Marshall amps, so that was the point of the comparisons.
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Sometimes the truth can be brutal...

All i'm saying is that I've personally had less then good results with Duncan pedals. I love their pickups but I no longer use their pedals and no longer suggest them to friends...I used to suggest them all the time but have been left with egg on my face one time to many.
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

It's the Clean/Blues side of the V-Twin that I really like. I've used it to just warm up a solid-state amp, and it's perfect for that.

But then, I'm a "nice" guy....and I certainly don't need any more "mayhem" in my life. LOL!

:cool2:

Bill
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Jessie Sammler said:
What will most likely break down on the Twin Tube?
Click to expand...

the guy who invented fire said:
Sometimes the truth can be brutal...

All i'm saying is that I've personally had less then good results with Duncan pedals. I love their pickups but I no longer use their pedals and no longer suggest them to friends...I used to suggest them all the time but have been left with egg on my face one time to many.
Click to expand...

I can't speak for the Mayhem, but the Classics were always going through tubes and switches. While the TTC was working it sounded great, but the 2 I had stayed dowm more than they worked............
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

I was with Frank when we were A/Bing the Mayhem pedal with the V-Twin. Actually, an artist named Satyr from the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon was doing the playing. He uses a V-Twin on the road. The Mayhem really did sound dead-on like the V-Twin.

As it turned out, Satyr ended up walking away with a Twin Tube Blue, which -- for him -- worked better than both the Mayhem and the V-Twin. Interesting, huh?
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

it would appear to me that the moral of this story is simple:
SD need to make a sturdy little valve pre-amp unit (240V australian delivery) in a metal box with a sweet warm clean channel and a dirt channel that gets really dirty, and send it to me for testing against my v-twin that sounds awesome but needs a transformer to run
:deal:

seriously though:
> people love the v-twin because it's versatile, sounds good and doesn't break
> people are saying the SD pedals sound good and are versatile but break
> what's stopping SD making a valve pre-amp that doesn't break?

in the immortal words of dick jones, "good business is where you find it"
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

I hear what you are saying Frank. I have no business with it being a Tele into a Vibrolux Reverb kinda guy. I'd still like to try one cranked through a 4x12 and a bucker guitar!

Also how does a Duncan pedal break in bedroom jam sessions? That must be some outta control jammin. I have never broken any of my Duncan pedals in my music room. Come to think of it I havent never even had issues on the few gigs I have played. hmmmm...
 
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Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Jessie Sammler said:
What will most likely break down on the Twin Tube?
Click to expand...

Well, the volume pot on my TT mayhem broke after maybe 8-9 months of light use... left my house maybe 3 times to travel across town in its box. Gave full output even if fully counterclockwise in the "off" position. To their credit, when I called Duncan they shipped a new one under warranty which sounded identical to the first pedal...

But shortly after getting the original Mayhem I called two of my friends who are full-time players, one of whom owns a V-twin and we put 'em head to head into the same amps, a couple of vintage Fenders. Blackface combos & my '61 blonde bandmaster.

Nobody felt that the V-twin & the Mayhem were equal...

The Mayhem had a very loose, fuzz-like bottom end and the overall texture of an early '80s RAT (which was also on hand) while the V-twin was very tight & percussive.

Though, none of us are Norwegian metal players... the guy who owns the V-twin plays a lot of jazz & fusion gigs. As for the chugga-chugga... it was more like Tony Iommi playing Sweat Leaf vs. Napalm Death.

Hmmmm...
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

are satyricon still doing those clean instrumental passages between summoning demons and burning churches? :joke:
he'd use the clean channel IIRC
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

I unfortunately also have to echo the sentiment that my V-twin eats the TTM up. I really tried to like the TwinTube, but the V-Twin was overall clearer in tone yet more over the top in attitude.

That said the V-Twin can be flavored to suit by swapping tubes ( don´t I think the TT can, or?), I have a buddy who´s V-twin sounds very loose and warm compared to mine, much more laid back vibe... So it´s really a bit hard to compare in the first place without having the V-twin used in the shootout..

But the V-twin is also almost literally built like a tank, thick steel plate and even a second sheet of even thicker "armor" over the area that´s gonna get kicked hardest and most often... the recessed knobs are also near impossible for a stagediver to break or tweak.

As much as I want to like the mayhem, my V-twin is staying right here ;)
 
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Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Zerberus said:
I unfortunately also have to echo the sentiment that my V-twin eats the TTM up. I really tried to like the TwinTube, but the V-Twin was overall clearer in tone yet more over the top in attitude.
Click to expand...

That's a fairly accurate description...

In our little shootout the TTM was murky & buzzy. It just wasn't even close... two totally different sounds.
 
Re: Mesa V-Twin vs. Twin Tube Mayhem

Thanks for the clips frank... quite interesting indeed... I like what I heard from the blue too...

Now I gotta figure why I can't get my V-twin to sound that heavy...
 
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