[wpmartin1979]

Has anyone tried to use the Mesa Boogie V Twin Preamp (Clean Channel ) to achieve Jerry tone?
I have heard that he played through Mesa amps with JGB in the 80s. I also have heard good things about the V Twin, so just curious.
Thought it could be paired with say a Mosvalve or Carvin DCM or something along those lines.
Hope all is well!

[perljam]

I think that's based on their Dual Rectifier amp which is pretty different than the Mark I amps they used. I know it for it's heavy sounds, but it says it has a clean channel...

[wpmartin1979]

I think that's based on their Dual Rectifier amp which is pretty different than the Mark I amps they used. I know it for it's heavy sounds, but it says it has a clean channel...

Yeah, in my research I read that this unit is considered “the last” of the old Mesa Boogie and everything after it has been more geared towards metal. I think it was made in the 90s. The clean channel is what intrigues me, especially since Jerry had that fatter tone in the early 80s.

[Searing75]

His “fatter” tone in the early 80’s could also be due to the fact that was using Super Distortions in Tiger. He switched to the Super II’s in ‘late 82’ I believe.

[wpmartin1979]

His “fatter” tone in the early 80’s could also be due to the fact that was using Super Distortions in Tiger. He switched to the Super II’s in ‘late 82’ I believe.

Were those the Dual Sounds? There’s just something I like about those JGB shows from 80-81. Would that have been the SDs into the Mark I?

[strumminsix]

Played around with one years ago.

Had a nice, modern MB clean. But nothing JG.

[wpmartin1979]

Played around with one years ago.

Had a nice, modern MB clean. But nothing JG.

It’s interesting to me that a lot of the stuff that Jerry used for his tone is also used for heavy metal style stuff. I mean a lot of gear has such a wide range. I mean the Boss OD-1 and OD-2 can easily be be cranked into heavy distortion territory, yet Jerry used both. Also the Dimarzio pups are a favorite with metal heads.
It seems to me that one could tweak the Mesa to get some great lead Jerry tones (aka Boss pedals) with real tube richness and run it through a clean power amp or even Fender clean channel, as opposed to the relatively “thin” boss pedal tone. One could also change out the tubes for different affect, even tryin a 12AT7 for less gain on the clean or blues channel.
His rhythm tone probably wouldn’t come through at all with the Mesa as that is pretty much Twin>Mc>JBl

I mean it may not be “exact” but I’m thinking of giving it a try, lol. I just don’t see logically why it @wouldnt work. Not trying to recreate the exact Jerry tone but just get close enough to make it sound good (like sparkling clean edge if breakup lead tones).
What the Mesa offers is a real rich tube sound to the tone and that “edge” that Jerry seemed to have in all his gear.
Would only try it if I got a real good price in one though.

[TI4-1009]

I had a Mesa Lonestar Classic that was great for Jerry, but it's based upon a clean Twin design. It did a half dozen other things (like many Boogies) but it's unusual (for MB) to be based on the AB763 circuit. It weighed about as much as a Twin, so-if you're going for Jerry tone- you may as well have the real thing. If you play other stuff too, the Lonestar has more versatility.

[Searing75]

[quote=Searing75 post_id=169121 time=<a href="tel:1609394357" data-original-title="" title="">1609394357</a> user_id=15315]
His “fatter” tone in the early 80’s could also be due to the fact that was using Super Distortions in Tiger. He switched to the Super II’s in ‘late 82’ I believe.

Were those the Dual Sounds? There’s just something I like about those JGB shows from 80-81. Would that have been the SDs into the Mark I?[/quote]

Yes, in 80-81 he was using Dual sounds (Super Distortions). I am not 100% as to when he was utilizing the Boogie with JGB.

[nopunin10dead]

I've owned this pedal since '95. It's the second version with the mini switch on the bottom so you can footswitch from Clean mode to Blues mode, rather than from one of those to Solo mode.

I've been messing around with it the last 2 months after mostly retiring/replacing it about 10 years ago (after using it in a non-Dead cover band). It's always been highly versatile in its range of tones: sparking clean, fat vintage, pushed R&B, sweet blues, stinging blues, juicy hi gain, etc. (the manual has good tips for these). The Clean mode can give beautiful American-style cleans, with plenty of sparkle, and you can increase the Gain to where it gives nice breakup—but this varies quite a bit with the guitar and pickups.

You can get reasonably close to Jerry tone with it. The tone controls are highly interactive. I had stopped using it because I found it to be too dark and it almost always compresses—to me, those are opposite of the classic Jerry tone traits. I dial the Bass all the way out, or add a wee bit. I'm better now at dialing tones; e.g., I'm now better able to adjust Presence for openness over compressed.

The Blues mode is pretty useful, but I don't think it's quite Jerry tone. Switching from Clean to Blues, I have an issue matching the volume and having the gain that I want in each mode. If I set the Gain for that breakup in Clean mode, its presents as fairly high gain in Blues mode—at least, more than I want. There's another pot on the bottom to adjust that mode switching balance. If I balance the volumes, it decreases the gain in Clean mode, which makes it harder to get that breakup. I've experimented with using a lower gain 12AT7 in the Blues mode. It's still a balancing act, and I must adjust for the output of every guitar's pickups (I'm using G&L Skyhawks, Comanches, various ASATs, a Yamaha semihollow with humbuckers...).

I will say that running a clean boost (e.g., a Tim) before the Clean mode sounds absolutely glorious to give that breakup. (I haven't tried using Solo mode at almost no gain to see it that works at all, but the Solo mode has cascading gain stages and a truckload of compression....)

And, I was watching Richard Thompson and band on Austin City Limits circa 2000 and RT used one for his solo drive. So, it's nothing to sneeze at. But I'm sure he's not using it today.

It has outputs on the back that allow you to run it direct into a PA for an amp-free setup, or direct into a board for recording. There's a rackmount version that contains two discrete units with more voicing switches (it IS a Mesa), and you can even blend the units.

I'm running it before a 50-watt 6L6 Electroplex Rocket (incredible amp), and I think headroom helps. I struggled more with it into an 18-watt 7591A Ampeg Reverberocket 2.

I feel that it's a versatile tone tool, good for a wide range of styles, but it's a big and heavy piece of kit, and today we have so many smaller, better-sounding options for getting Jerry tone without all the futzing.

[wpmartin1979]

I've owned this pedal since '95. It's the second version with the mini switch on the bottom so you can footswitch from Clean mode to Blues mode, rather than from one of those to Solo mode.

I've been messing around with it the last 2 months after mostly retiring/replacing it about 10 years ago (after using it in a non-Dead cover band). It's always been highly versatile in its range of tones: sparking clean, fat vintage, pushed R&B, sweet blues, stinging blues, juicy hi gain, etc. (the manual has good tips for these). The Clean mode can give beautiful American-style cleans, with plenty of sparkle, and you can increase the Gain to where it gives nice breakup—but this varies quite a bit with the guitar and pickups.

You can get reasonably close to Jerry tone with it. The tone controls are highly interactive. I had stopped using it because I found it to be too dark and it almost always compresses—to me, those are opposite of the classic Jerry tone traits. I dial the Bass all the way out, or add a wee bit. I'm better now at dialing tones; e.g., I'm now better able to adjust Presence for openness over compressed.

The Blues mode is pretty useful, but I don't think it's quite Jerry tone. Switching from Clean to Blues, I have an issue matching the volume and having the gain that I want in each mode. If I set the Gain for that breakup in Clean mode, its presents as fairly high gain in Blues mode—at least, more than I want. There's another pot on the bottom to adjust that mode switching balance. If I balance the volumes, it decreases the gain in Clean mode, which makes it harder to get that breakup. I've experimented with using a lower gain 12AT7 in the Blues mode. It's still a balancing act, and I must adjust for the output of every guitar's pickups (I'm using G&L Skyhawks, Comanches, various ASATs, a Yamaha semihollow with humbuckers...).

I will say that running a clean boost (e.g., a Tim) before the Clean mode sounds absolutely glorious to give that breakup. (I haven't tried using Solo mode at almost no gain to see it that works at all, but the Solo mode has cascading gain stages and a truckload of compression....)

And, I was watching Richard Thompson and band on Austin City Limits circa 2000 and RT used one for his solo drive. So, it's nothing to sneeze at. But I'm sure he's not using it today.

It has outputs on the back that allow you to run it direct into a PA for an amp-free setup, or direct into a board for recording. There's a rackmount version that contains two discrete units with more voicing switches (it IS a Mesa), and you can even blend the units.

I feel that it's a versatile tone tool, good for a wide range of styles, but it's a big and heavy piece of kit, and today we have so many smaller, better-sounding options for getting Jerry tone without all the futzing.

Did you see that I switched out the tubes with lower gain 12AT7 tubes.? Have you tried this?This really mellowed out the gain for both channels but especially the blues channel, this was key to making it work. I agree that it is a bit heavy and cumbersome.

[nopunin10dead]

Ah, I didn't realize you had gotten one! Yes, I did see that. That's a good option. I switched out both channels to 12AT7s a long time ago, because my style didn't need all that gain (except that one time I covered Santana...). These past 2 months, I've tried 12AX7 in one channel and 12AT7 in the other (both permutations), trying to balance volume and gain between Clean and Blues to get what I want. Tube quality makes a nice difference in this pedal also.

[wpmartin1979]

Ah, I didn't realize you had gotten one! Yes, I did see that. That's a good option. I switched out both channels to 12AT7s a long time ago, because my style didn't need all that gain (except that one time I covered Santana...). These past 2 months, I've tried 12AX7 in one channel and 12AT7 in the other (both permutations), trying to balance volume and gain between Clean and Blues to get what I want. Tube quality makes a nice difference in this pedal also.

I also used it with a MosValve 962 power amp which has a high treble output and a presence control that extenuates high frequencies very well, so that could also add to the overall tone. I found the Carvin DCM amps to be darker than the Mosvalve. What type of power amp do you use?

[nopunin10dead]

I also used it with a MosValve 962 power amp which has a high treble output and a presence control that extenuates high frequencies very well, so that could also add to the overall tone. I found the Carvin DCM amps to be darker than the Mosvalve. What type of power amp do you use?

I don't have a power amp, either rack or pedal. I haven't gone that direction, yet.... I'm running it into my 50-watt amp.

[wpmartin1979]

I also used it with a MosValve 962 power amp which has a high treble output and a presence control that extenuates high frequencies very well, so that could also add to the overall tone. I found the Carvin DCM amps to be darker than the Mosvalve. What type of power amp do you use?

I don't have a power amp, either rack or pedal. I haven't gone that direction, yet.... I'm running it into my 50-watt amp.

That could make a big difference as I was using it strictly as a preamp