Mesa/Boogie SOLO 50 manual

1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 USA The Spirit of Art in Technology OO GI E B M ESA Owner's Manual[...]

Gr eetings F rom The Home Of T one YOU, the 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 . Our reward is that we ’ ve made a classic amplifier and by choosing this amplifier , you have become part of the Mesa family ...W elcome! Our goal is to never [...]

PRECAUTIONS: OVERVIEW: ____________________________________________________________________________ 1 INST ANT GRA TIFICA TION (3 DEMONSTRA TION SETTINGS) __________________________________________________________ 2 CHANNEL / MODE SELECT : RHYTHM CHANNEL: CLEAN & PUSHED ___________________________________________________ 3 LEAD CHANNEL: VINT AG[...]

YOUR AMPLIFIER IS LOUD! EXPOSURE TO HIGH SOUND VOLUMES MAY CAUSE PERMANENT HEARING DAMAGE NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE: Refer service to qualified personnel. Always unplug AC power before removing chassis. EXPORT MODELS: Always insure that unit is wired for proper voltage. Make certain grounding conforms with local standards. Do not expose ampl[...]

Overview: Congratulations on your choice of the SINGLE RECTIFIER 50 . Y ou have purchased a handbuilt instrument of the finest quality and craftsmanship. A unique blend of yesteryears’ black magic power section design combined with our race-shop approach to fine ly tuned, high gain pre-amp circuitry leaves the RECT -O 50 standing alone...instantl[...]

P AGE 2 FRONT PANEL: First familiarize yourself with the layout of the Front Panel. Next, remove the footswitch from the transport pouch located ins ide the cabinet ( combo ) and connect it to the proper jack. RECT -O-VERBS use a DIN jack located on the rear of the chassis directly behind the label FOOTSWITCH. SOLO 50 HEADS use a 1/4 jack on the ri[...]

Each channel of your amplifier contains two different Modes of operation that may be selected depending on your application. In this way you may decide to use the channels for their most obvious sounds or with the flick of a switch - invert the channels for th e opposite sound style. The voicing of the modes is accomplished by rerouting and reconfi[...]

BASS: P AGE 4 As with most guitar amplifiers, the TREBLE control is the strongest of the three rotary tone controls. Its setting on the RECT -O 50 determines the blend and strength of the MIDDLE and BASS controls. Set high, it is the dominant control, thus minimizing the am ount of Mid and Bass that would be possible in the mix. Set low , the TREBL[...]

These are controls that work in the power section to reduce attack and brightness. They work on a different frequency than the TREBLE control, and depending on the mode chosen and the amount of Gain dialed up, can sound higher or lower than the T reble frequency . In the RHYTHM mode it dials in sparkle and shimmer , letting clean sounds cut through[...]

OUTPUT: SOLO: This control determines the overall output volume level of the amplifier . After the GAIN controls have been set for the desired sound style and the two channels levels have been balanced with the channel MASTER controls, the OUTPUT control allows you to change the playing level by adjusting a single control. The OUTPUT control is als[...]

SOLO, a pre-settable boost in overall levels is possible on the fly ...giving you some control over your levels when it’s time to step out. Engineers may give you a bit of a frown the first time you use it...but isn’t it time you heard yourself. It might even prevent them from punishing you with the dreaded monitor or sidefill version of your t[...]

The total power consumption for the RECT -O 50 is 2.5Amps @ 120 V olts. Thus, a 15 Amp circuit (which is what most house circuitry is wired with) is adequate. Make sure the Euro style A.C. power cord is firmly seated in the power receptacle before powering up the unit. Always connect the A.C. cord to a 3 terminal grounded socket. If none are availa[...]

P AGE 9 Sensitivity to speaker mismatching in regards to ohmage differences is low , hence no damage to the amplifier will occur . Howeve r, very low ohmage loads will cause the power tubes to wear faster . The RECT -O 50 (combo only) is equipped with a Celestion Custom 90 single 12 inch - 8 Ohm speaker , but as you can see, other speaker configura[...]

P AGE 10 FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS HEAD VERSION SHOWN SAMPLE 1 Sparkling Clean SAMPLE 2 Pushed Bluesy Rhythm / Solo: Both Channels SAMPLE 3 Blues Lead: Both Channels SAMPLE 4 High Gain Lead / Crunch: Both Channels MASTER GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS INPUT FT.SW CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE SOLO OUTPUT MASTER GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS INPUT FT.SW [...]

FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS COMBO VERSION SHOWN SAMPLE 1 Sparkling Clean SAMPLE 2 Pushed Bluesy Rhythm / Solo: Both Channels SAMPLE 3 Blues Lead: Both Channels SAMPLE 4 High Gain Lead / Crunch: Both Channels P AGE 1 1 MASTER GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT MASTER GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS CLEAN PUSHED MODERN V[...]

P AGE 12 SOUND 1 SOUND 2 SOUND 3 SOUND 4 PERSONAL SETTINGS PAGE HEAD VERSION SHOWN MASTER GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS INPUT FT.SW CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE SOLO OUTPUT GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS INPUT FT.SW CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE SOLO OUTPUT MASTER MASTER GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS INPUT FT.SW CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE SOLO OUTPUT [...]

SOUND 1 SOUND 2 SOUND 3 SOUND 4 PERSONAL SETTINGS PAGE COMBO VERSION SHOWN P AGE 13 GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT LEAD RHYTHM GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT GAIN MASTER PRESENCE[...]

SOUND 1 SOUND 2 SOUND 3 SOUND 4 PERSONAL SETTINGS PAGE COMBO VERSION SHOWN P AGE 14 GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT LEAD RHYTHM GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT GAIN MASTER PRESENCE[...]

SOUND 1 SOUND 2 SOUND 3 SOUND 4 PERSONAL SETTINGS PAGE COMBO VERSION SHOWN P AGE 15 GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT LEAD RHYTHM GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT GAIN MASTER PRESENCE BASS TREBLE MID INPUT CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE OUTPUT GAIN MASTER PRESENCE[...]

P AGE 16 R ECT-O-VERB SOLO 50 6L6 6L6 PARTIAL VIEW OF LARGE TRANSFORMER 12AX7 REAR OF CHASSIS (HEAD VERSION) NOTE: POWER TUBES ARE HOT ! BEFORE CHANGING TUBES TURN POWER SWITCH TO OFF AND LET COOL OR USE A RAG FOR PROTECTION. TUBE TASK CHART Description of Tube Functions V1A= Input Stage V1B= 2nd Stage (Rhythm & Lead) V2A=3rdStage Rhythm V2B= 3[...]

P AGE 17 Y ou may occasionally experience some form of tube noise or microphonics. Certainly no cause for alarm, this quirky behavior com es with the territory and the T one. 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 cu[...]

Because your amplifier is an all tube design, it is quite possible that you will at some point experience minor pre-amp tube no ise. 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 tu bes. Let us begin by saying; It is a “very good” idea to keep at least a couple [...]

P AGE 19 NOTE: An article written by Randall Smith that we thought you might find interesting. Here’s a question we often hear: “Why doesn’t M esa put bias adjustments in their amplifiers?” Well, there’ s a short answer and a long answer to this question. The short answer is that during my 12 years of repairing Fenders, one of the most fr[...]

V oltage and current are NOT the same. Current is the AMOUNT of electricity , the “quantity” — and is measured in amperes. V olt age is the degree of electric charge — like the “pressure” to use the old water analogy . Let me illustrate how different voltage a nd current are: When you scrape your feet across a carpetted floor in dry , w[...]

Some of the other recommended biasing, “methods” — such as -”.. tubes running red hot, increase the bias .. sounds harsh and ru ns too cool, turn it down ...” are guesswork at best. Luckily , one of the great things about tube amps is that they can usually s tand some abuse without causing any real harm ... at least not immediately . But [...]

P AGE 22 INPUT FT.SW CLEAN PUSHED MODERN VINTAGE POWER ON ON STANDBY GAIN TREBLE MID PRESENCE BASS MASTER SOLO OUTPUT LEAD RHYTHM SLAVE OUT WARNING: Unplug power before replacing fuse or removing bolts mounting chassis. F U S E F U S E POWER FUSE 2.5 A SLO BLO 120 V~ 50-60 Hz 2.5 A 10% 1 0 0 % FX MIX RETURN SEND EFFECTS LOOP WARNING : To reduce ris[...]

The Spirit of Art in Technology OO GI E B M ESA Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifie r company. We wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.[...]

1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 USA Phone: (707) 778-6565 FAX: (707) 765-1503 The Spirit of Art in Technology[...]