ShaolinLambKiller wrote:nice rig, not a fan of mesa, but it all looks very nice.
LOL, two not a fan of Mesa's in a row.
I know, it's not cool to own them anymore. I've had mine since it was ordered new in '96, and love it even more than when I got it. I've modded it, personalized it (ordered a custom head-shell from Mesa to convert from a combo to a top mount head, I doubt you'll ever see another T-Verb like it anywhere), experimented with different rectifiers, and learned the effects of running it hotter vs colder bias, with or without variac, tried 6L6's and EL34's, and now run the power section sometimes through a 6550 power section with huge trannies that sounds absolutely punishing. Kinda makes me question why Mesa never released a Rectifier with 6550's and heavier iron. I don't think they could have kept up with demand it they did.
There's not a tone out there I can't cop with my rig now between the amps, my pedals, and cabs. Once I add the midi controller this week it will all be instantaneously switched too.
I'm an admitted Mesa fan-boi, particularly Mk IIb-Mk IV and the first few years of 2 channel Rectifiers, hence the '96 Tremoverb. But I love lots of stuff. Love Marshalls, Matamps/Oranges/Whites, Laneys, old Ampegs (I almost got a VT22 instead of the Mesa 4x12, but I don't really need 3 100 watt tube amps at this time), Sunns, Fenders, etc...
Technically that's like 3/4 of my rig above. I've also got a second head (KMD XV100SD) with 4 x 6550 that is slaved to the Mesa's preamp split stereo via my Chopper and Echolution 2D, with a half-stack on each side. Shit sounds immense, and can nail a huge variety of tones. From as heavy as you could ever want to the sweetest cleans and all spots between.
I also don't run my Tremoverb like most would. Loaded with Mullard, RFT, and GE preamp tubes, EL34 running at ~35 ma on SS diode setting. I crank the treble and mids on both channels (OJ clean, Red to Vintage High Gain usually), roll off the bass some (a little below noon on the high gain, about noon on the clean), and set the presence based on how hard the place I'm jamming sounds. I keep the gain below noon most of the time, with the loop active master set high for max clean headroom, and channel masters to taste for volume/grind. The Mesa on it's own sounds incredible through the Fane/G12H cab. Great chewy midrange grind, warmth, punch, and clear smooth treble. Add the other power section and cab and shit's downright glorious.
I also spent a lot of time and coin to track down the specific speakers I wanted to pair. Now I just need to add some alnico SRO's, and a pair of Fane Studio 12L's in my two currently empty cabs (T-Verb combo cab, and Boogie halfback 2x12 I sealed up the top on) and I'll be done.
