MESA BOOGIE Owner's Manual
Hello from the Tone Farm ...You, smart player and all around intuitive human, have put your trust in us to be your amplifier company. This is something we do not take lightly. By purchasing and choosing this unit to be a part of your musical voice, you have become part of the Mesa family...WELCOME! Our goal is to never let you down. Your reward is that you are now the owner of a great amp, bred of fine all tube amp heritage...
Precautions OVERVIEW ____________________________________________________________________ 1-4 HELPFUL HINTS _________________________________________________________________ 3 INSTANT GRATIFICATION __________________________________________________________ 4 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES INPUT __________________________________________________________________________ 4 FOOTSWITCH ___________________________________________________________________ 4 DRIVE __________________________________________________
PRECAUTIONS & WARNINGS Your MESA/Boogie Amplifier is a professional instrument. Please treat it with respect and operate it properly. USE COMMON SENSE AND ALWAYS OBSERVE THESE PRECAUTIONS: WARNING: EU: permission from the Supply Authority is needed before connection. WARNING: Vacuum tube amplifiers generate heat. To insure proper ventilation always make certain there is at least four inches (100mm) of space behind the rear of the amplifier cabinet. Keep away from curtains or any flammable objects.
Instruction Manual Overview: Congratulations on your choice of the Lone Star Special as your amplifier and Welcome to the Mesa/Boogie Family! This hand-built instrument was crafted with the finest quality components and designed to provide you with years of musical inspiration and toneful satisfaction. From a glance you can see the Lone Star Special is laid out simply and logically. Its clean, two channel layout provides a platform for ultimate expression with a minimal learning curve.
Overview: (Continued) The power choices range from 30 watts (using 4 x EL84) to 15 watts (using 2 x EL84) to 5 watts (using 1 x EL84), allowing the Special to soulfully cover any situation from mid-size clubs to combo rehearsals to bedroom recording - while always staying in a power-optimized range. The power tube wiring configuration is changed to accommodate these different wattage ratings and offer the sweetest sound and best feel for each of the three choices.
Overview: (Continued) the EFFECTS SEND jack, this output captures the entire sound of the preamp and power section and is generated by padding down the signal at the speaker output. NOTE: Once you have taken a signal from the SLAVE Output - do not go back in to the EFFECTS LOOP RETURN jack. Doing so will create a feedback loop and squealing will occur. That covers the features of the Lone Star Special, so let’s move on to the individual controls and how they interact so you can find your sound.
Overview: (Continued) Instant Gratification Demo Settings SAMPLE #1. Sparkling Clean / Singing Lead CH 1 30 WATTS FT INPUT SW 15 CH 2 DRIVE CLEAN FT.SW GAIN TREBLE MID BASS PRESENCE MASTER ON POWER STANDBY 5 WATTS 30 WATTS THICK 15 MAL NOR P URE C LASS A P OWER OUTPUT LOOP ON SOLO THICKER ON 5 WATTS SAMPLE #2. Roots Clean / Old School Clip CH 1 30 WATTS FT INPUT FT.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) DRIVE: This is the pre-drive control for the high gain preamp in Channel 2. It may be switched out of the circuit, along with its associated tube stages, to create a slightly higher gain clone of Channel 1 in (this bottom) Channel 2. When the DRIVE control is activated (switch left, towards DRIVE), this control operates in conjunction with the GAIN control to meter the amount of preamp drive that will be introduced into the circuit. CH 1 FT INPUT FT.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) THICK / NORMAL / THICKER: This 3 position mini toggle allows you to select between three different voicings. It selects what frequency the Treble control will enhance. By lowering the frequency of the treble capacitor, additional gain in these frequencies is added. This allows you to shape the sound for either sparkling clean sounds, or fatten up the Treble region and thicken the sound for more voice like single note solo sounds.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) GAIN: (Continued) bottom end response. Not yet fully saturated, this region is the easiest place to get a great sound in both channels. This region contains many of the Lone Star Special’s best sounds...especially for soloing due to the crucial blend of an expressive attack combined with ample sustain. CH 1 FT INPUT SW CH 2 DRIVE CLEAN FT.SW GAIN High (2:15 - 5:00) Saturates the signal, enhances and expands low and low mid frequencies.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) MID: The MID control is responsible for the blend of midrange frequencies in the mix and though its effect is not as dramatic as that of the TREBLE control, it plays an integral part in achieving any sound in your Lone Star Special. It is capable of changing the feel dramatically as it blends in a group of frequencies that tend to soften or stiffen the way a sound feels to play.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) MASTER: This control is the master feed from the end of the pre-amp to the driver stage and the Effects Loop. As you can see each Channel is fitted with its own MASTER control, enabling both channels relative volumes to be matched regardless of their extremely different sound styles and gain signatures.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features 30 WATTS / 15 / 5 WATTS: Channel Power Select (Continued) (Continued) offering 3 choices that showcase the two classic wiring configurations per channel! NOTE: At some point in your experimentation with the Channel Power Select switches, try setting one or both of the Channels to 30W and moving the Speaker Load to the OPTIONAL (8 ohm) jack.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) POWER ON: This sideways 2 position toggle switch determines the status of the incoming AC power. During power up it is important that you turn the POWER switch on first and allow at least 30 seconds of warm up time for the power tubes before flipping the STANDBY to the ON position. ON Following this start up procedure will lessen the shock on cold tubes and increase their toneful service life. POWER STANDBY ON STANDBY: Perfect for set breaks...
REAR PANEL: Controls & Features WARNING: Unplug power before replacing fuse or removing bolts mounting FUSE chassis FUSE POWER WER 120 V~ 60 Hz 2A FUSE 2A SLO BLO LONE STAR First set sound with LOOP bypassed. Then set SEND & OUTPUT to 50% for unity gain. With LOOP IN, adjust SEND to match FX. Use OUTPUT for RETURN level and live volume control. HAND BUILT IN PETALUMA CA.
REAR PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) FX LOOP: Series (Continued) match the volume present before connecting the device(s) to the Lone Star Special. You can check this by simply removing both the cables from the SEND and RETURN simultaneously. 4.) Use the Front Panel OUTPUT control to raise and lower the overall volume as it is essentially an Effects Return Stage volume control. NOTE: It is normal to experience some amount of change to the sound when using the EFFECTS LOOP.
REAR PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) SPEAKER: The Lone Star Special provides one OPTIONAL / 35 WATTS (8 ohm) and two MAIN /30-15-5 (4 ohm) speaker outputs and this enables you to use many different combinations of speaker setups.
FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS SAMPLE # 1 LONESTAR STATE CH 1 30 WATTS FT INPUT FT.SW SW 15 CH 2 CLEAN DRIVE GAIN TREBLE MID BASS PRESENCE 30 WATTS MAL ON POWER STANDBY 5 WATTS MASTER THICK NOR P URE C LASS A P OWER OUTPUT LOOP ON SOLO ON 15 THICKER 5 WATTS SAMPLE # 2 CLEAN CLONES 30 WATTS CH 1 FT SW CH 2 INPUT FT.
FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS SAMPLE # 5 PASS THE SAUCE 30 WATTS CH 1 FT SW CH 2 INPUT FT.SW 15 CLEAN DRIVE GAIN TREBLE MID BASS PRESENCE ON POWER STANDBY 5 WATTS MASTER 30 WATTS THICK ON 15 MAL NOR P URE C LASS A P OWER OUTPUT LOOP ON SOLO THICKER 5 WATTS SAMPLE # 6 BARBEQUE CH 1 30 WATTS FT INPUT FT.
PERSONAL SETTINGS SHEET SETTING # 1 30 WATTS 15 INPUT FT.SW GAIN TREBLE MID BASS PRESENCE P URE C LASS A P OWER OUTPUT LOOP ON SOLO POWER STANDBY 5 WATTS MASTER ON 30 WATTS ON 15 5 WATTS SETTING # 2 30 WATTS 15 INPUT FT.SW GAIN TREBLE MID BASS PRESENCE MASTER P URE C LASS A P OWER OUTPUT LOOP ON SOLO ON POWER STANDBY 5 WATTS 30 WATTS ON 15 5 WATTS SETTING # 3 30 WATTS 15 INPUT FT.
TUBE NOISE & MICROPHONICS You may occasionally experience some form of tube noise or microphonics. Certainly no cause for alarm, this quirky behavior comes with the territory and the Tone. Much like changing a light bulb, you don’t need a technician to cure these types of minor user serviceable annoyances and in fact, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to cure tube problems...
DIAGNOSING PRE-AMP TUBE PROBLEMS: Because your amplifier is an all tube design, it is quite possible that you will at some point experience minor pre-amp tube noise. Rest assured - this is no cause for alarm and you can take care of the problem yourself in a matter of minutes by simply swapping tubes. Let us begin by saying; It is a “very good” idea to keep at least a couple of spare pre-amp tubes on hand at all times to insure uninterrupted performance.
LONE STAR SPECIAL V 1 A B V 2 V 3 A B COOLING FAN EL-84 5Y3 NOTE: POWER TUBES ARE HOT ! BEFORE CHANGING TUBES TURN POWER SWITCH TO OFF AND LET COOL OR USE A RAG FOR PROTECTION.
SPEAKER IMPEDANCE MATCHING & HOOK-UP GUIDE: IMPEDANCE: Wiring up speakers to provide the most effective load and making sure that all of them are in phase will help in creating the best sound possible. This is not too difficult, as long as you understand a few things about loading and how to connect your speakers to provide an optimal resistive load. MESA/Boogie amplifiers can handle 4 and 8 ohms effectively.
SPEAKER IMPEDANCE MATCHING & HOOK-UP GUIDE: (Continued) PARALLEL: When wiring in parallel, the resistance of the speakers decreases. Two 8 ohm speakers wired in ( hooked-up ) Parallel results in a 4 ohm load. It’s easy to calculate the effect of a resistive load when all the speakers are all the same resistance. It is really not suggested to wire different resistive load values in Parallel ( 8 and 4, 16 and 8 etc.
WIRING SCHEMES...
6 WIRING SCHEMES...
WIRING SCHEMES...
WIRING SCHEMES...
BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Part of a continuing series) NOTE: An article written by Randall Smith that we thought you might find interesting. CATHODE ( ) GRID ( , ) SCREEN GRID ( ) Here’s a question we often hear: BEAMCONFINING ELECTRODE ( ) .. ..... .... . ... . .... PLATE ( , ) “Why doesn’t MESA put bias adjustments in their amplifiers?” Well, there’s a short answer and a long answer to this question. Structure of a 6L6 / 5881 Beam Power Pentode.
BIAS ADJUSTMENT (Continued) Voltage and current are NOT the same. Current is the AMOUNT of electricity, the “quantity” — and is measured in amperes. Voltage is the degree of electric charge — like the “pressure” to use the old water analogy. Let me illustrate how different voltage and current are: When you scrape your feet across a carpeted floor in dry, wintery conditions, your body can become charged with 50,000 to 100,000 volts of electricity.
BIAS ADJUSTMENT (Continued) Some of the other recommended biasing, “methods” — such as -”.. tubes running red hot, increase the bias .. sounds harsh and runs too cool, turn it down ...” are guesswork at best. Luckily, one of the great things about tube amps is that they can usually stand some abuse without causing any real harm ... at least not immediately.
ON TRIODES, PENTODES & IRISHMEN: A look into the inner workings of the Vacuum Tube With apologies to Friends and Relatives from the Emerald Isle - who will make their appearance soon enough - the humor which follows is dedicated to the memories of Spec McAuliff and Fae (Rafael) McNally, two of the True Greats. As their numerical references suggest, the terms Diode, Triode and Pentode indicate the number of elements within the vacuum tube i.e. two, three or five.
ON TRIODES, PENTODES & IRISHMEN: ( Continued ) Thus a diode tube - one with a cathode and an anode - is mostly used to rectify alternating current into direct current by passing it without restriction, but in one direction only. This also explains why closing time is strictly enforced at Irish pubs: During normal operation, the traffic flow is similarly unimpeded and uni-directional toward the bar and this process rectifies the work-day negativity.
ON TRIODES, PENTODES & IRISHMEN: ( Continued ) PENTODES: (Continued) Thus the proper cocktail waitress - visible through the louvers - is scantily clad so as to be all the more effective at reinforcing the attractive influence of her bar and by being located in between the door and the bar, she serves as bait to lure customers past the door’s negative influence.
CH 1 ALL KNOBS pt# 408015 591047 POT pt# 591047 POT pt# 593794 POT pt# 591278 POT pt# 591048 POT pt# 581739 POT pt# SW MASTER POT pt# LONE STAR POT pt# POT pt# REVERB BRIGHT ALL - TUBE AMPLIFIER 30 WATTS 5 WATTS 5 WATTS SWITCH pt# 607313 LOOP ON 591047 POT pt# SOLO P URE C LASS A P OWER OUTPUT 591047 POT pt# SOLO FAN ON SWITCH pt# 600631 HOLDER: 703850 LENS: 703782 BULB: 703047 POWER STANDBY MAIN OUT FOR 30-15-5 WATTS SPEAKERS SWITCH pt# 600631 OPTIONAL ON ON POT
NOTES:
MESA BOOGIE The Spirit of Art in Technology Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifier company and we wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.
The Spirit of Art in Technology (707) 778-6565 FAX NO.
