Related Manuals for Mesa/Boogie DC3
Summary of Contents for Mesa/Boogie DC3
- Page 1 OOGIE U AL ALIBER Owner's Manual The Spirit of Art in Technology 1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954...
- Page 2 MESA/Boogie circuits that led to the refinement of your new instrument. Feel confident, as we do, this amp will inspire many hours of musical satisfaction and lasting enjoyment.
- Page 3 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: Do not expose amplifier to moisture, rain or water, direct sunlight or extremely high temperatures. Always insure that amplifier is properly grounded.
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Page 4: Table Of Contents
Precautions FRONT PANEL Description and Usage Gain Treble Bass Presence Reverb Master Output Level Graphic EQ Toggle Switches: Rhythm / Lead, On / Standby and Power REAR PANEL Description and Usage Fuse EQ Select FTSW EQ / Reverb FX Loop Send / Return FX Mix Recording / Silent Recording Slave... - Page 5 DC-3 Overview: Your DC-3 amplifier was designed to deliver maximum performance in a format based on simplicity. Its easy to dial nature allows each of the two channels to deliver a wide range of sounds in both clean and overdrive styles. This Dual Caliber uses four EL-84 power tubes to fuel its healthy thirty-five watt power section.
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Page 6: Front Panel
FRONT PANEL: First familiarize yourself with the layout of the Front Panel and locate the Lead / Rhythm switch on the right side of the chassis, next to the Standby Switch. This toggles you between the top (Rhythm) Channel and the bottom (Lead) Channel. If you don’t have the Rhythm/Lead Footswitch connected, this switch will activate the channel switching function. -
Page 7: Gain
GAIN: (Continued) probably a good time to mention that most of the great sounds can be found by setting the GAIN Control moderately, especially in the LEAD Channel. For example, somewhere between thru . Use of moderation here will reduce the likelihood of pesky tube microphonic problems ever occuring, while at the same time making the two channels easier to balance in relative listening volume and effects send signal strength. -
Page 8: Bas:
BASS: (Continued) sounds in this channel. In the LEAD Channel, try setting the BASS Control somewhere between with the amount of Gain and Treble you have dialed up. PRESENCE: These two controls attenuate the upper high end harmonics and control dynamic compression in the power section. High settings produce more sparkle and cut, lending a more open quality to the Channel. -
Page 9: Output Level
MASTER: (Continued) NOTE: When trying to use your DC-3 at extremely low volume levels it will be necessary to reduce the far left Gain control. Once the Masters and Output Levels has been reduced to roughly 1.5 , reducing the Masters or Output Level below this point causes phase interaction that prevents a clean signal from passing through this circuit junction. -
Page 10: Toggle Switches: Rhythm / Lead, On / Standby And Power
TOGGLE SWITCHES RHYTHM / LEAD: This toggle calls up one channel or the other and can take the place of the Channel Select footswitch when there isn’t one handy. RHYTHM LEAD STANDBY POWER DC-3 ALIBER ON / STANDBY: Perfect for set breaks... this toggle switch also serves an even more important purpose. In the Standby position the tubes are at idle so that during power up they may warm up before being put to use. -
Page 11: Rear Panel
REAR PANEL: FUSE: This is the A.C.’s (Alternating Current) main fuse and provides electrical current protection from outside A.C. fluctuations, as well as power tube failure damage. Should the FUSE blow, replace it with the same rating in a slo-blo type package. The domestic U.S. version requires a 2.5 amp slo-blo fuse. -
Page 12: Fx Loop Send / Return
REAR PANEL: (Continued) FX LOOP: SEND / RETURN: These two 1/4" jacks are thae patch point for external effects. The Effects Loop is wired in parallel with the normal signal. Connect the SEND jack to your Effects Input jack. Connect the RETURN jack to the Output jack of your effect. The Effects Loop is a patch point LEAD 1.25A FT SW... -
Page 13: Slave
4X12 cabinets may be 4, 8 or 16 ohms; if you are not sure of the impedance of your cabinet, you may need to remove the rear panel to see what the ohmage of the individual speakers are. Mesa/Boogie SPEAKERS 4X12 cabinets come standard wired to 8 ohms. - Page 14 Sparkling Clean SAMPLE 1 INPUT FOOT GAIN TREBLE SWITCH SAMPLE 2 Pushed Bluesy Rhythm/Solo INPUT FOOT GAIN TREBLE SWITCH Crunch Rhythm SAMPLE 3 INPUT FOOT GAIN TREBLE SWITCH High Gain Lead/Crunch SAMPLE 4 INPUT FOOT GAIN TREBLE SWITCH SUGGESTED SAMPLE SETTINGS BASS PRESENCE REVERB...
- Page 15 INPUT GAIN TREBLE FOOT SWITCH INPUT FOOT GAIN TREBLE SWITCH INPUT FOOT GAIN TREBLE SWITCH INPUT FOOT GAIN TREBLE SWITCH PERSONAL SETTINGS PAGE BASS PRESENCE REVERB MASTER BASS PRESENCE REVERB MASTER BASS PRESENCE REVERB MASTER BASS PRESENCE REVERB MASTER PAGE 11 RHYTHM OUTPUT LEVEL...
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Page 16: Tube Task Chart
Dual Caliber DC-3 Partial View Of Chassis GRAY REVERB WHITE TUBE TASK CHART NOTE: BEFORE CHANGING TUBES FLIP POWER SWITCH TO STANDBY. (Each 12AX7 contains two separate Triodes) 12AX7 EL-84 REAR OF CHASSIS V1A= First Rhythm V1B= First Lead V2A= Second Lead V2B= Third Lead V3A= Fourth Lead V3B= FX Return... -
Page 17: Diagnosing Power Tube And Pre-Amp Tube Failures 13
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...by simply swapping out a pre-amp or power tube! First may we suggest that you set the amplifier up on something so that you can get to the tubes comfortably without having to bend... - Page 18 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;...
- Page 19 BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Part of a continuous series) Here’s a question we often hear: “Why doesn’t Mesa 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 frequent problems I saw was bias controls that were either set wrong or that had wandered out of adjustment due to vibration.
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Page 20: Bias Adjustment: Part Of A Continuing Series, By Randall Smith 15, 16
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 carpetted floor in dry, wintery conditions, your body can become charged with 50,000 to 100,000 volts of static electricity. - Page 21 How much money and trouble that has saved Mesa/Boogie players you couldn’t estimate. Our rigorously tested and hand selected tubes are available at your nearest Mesa/Boogie Pro Center or from us directly. Nobody offers better price, quality or warranty than we do ... so why swerve? Next time we’ll talk about our part in developing the great Sylvania STR 415 type 6 6 and how we’re on the verge of seeing something...
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Page 22: Parts Sheet
FRONT VIEW DC -3 610120 JACK pt# 409124 KNOB pt# INPUT POT pt# POT pt# POT pt# POT pt# 2739 2148 2737 2148 GAIN TREBLE BASS FOOT SWITCH POT pt# POT pt# POT pt# POT pt# 2148 2738 2737 2739 610120 JACK pt# REAR VIEW DC -3... - Page 23 OOGIE The Spirit of Art in Technology Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifier company. We wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.
- Page 24 The Spirit of Art in Technology (707) 778-6565 FAX NO. (707) 765-1503 1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954...