Mesa/Boogie THROTTLE BOX Owner's Manual

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS:
• Read these instructions.
• Keep these instructions.
• Heed all warnings.
• Follow all instructions.
• Do not use this apparatus near water.
• Clean only with dry cloth.
• Be sure to use only properly rated power adaptors or
universal power supplies (pedal board power supplies)
with appropriate attention paid to proper voltage, am-
perage and ground schemes. Improper voltage/amper-
age being provided to the pedal may cause poor tone,
inconsistent performance, damage to the unit or all of
the above. Proper voltage, amperage and grounding
specs are supplied at the end of this manual.
• REPLACE THE BOTTOM LID after battery replace-
ment or switch adjustment before the unit is used.
Some electronic parts inside are static sensitive and
Owner's Manual
can be damaged from even a small static charge from
contact with carpet or other conductive surfaces. To do
an A/B comparison between BOOST and NORMAL
with the bottom removed – play the unit upside down.
DO NOT SET A POWERED UNIT "CONTROLS UP"
ON A METAL (or any) SURFACE WITH THE BOTTOM
REMOVED!
Congratulations on your choice of MESA/Boogie and welcome NOTE: The internal battery is switched to an "ON" state
to the MESA Family! The same passion for excellence, commit- (drawing voltage) by a switching element in the INPUT jack.
ment to quality and dedication to customer satisfaction is pres- To prolong battery life, disconnect the cable from the ¼"
ent in each and every product we make in our one- and-only INPUT jack whenever the unit is not in use.
shop in Petaluma, California, U.S.A. Rest assured that the very
same people that hand-build the finest amplifiers in the world NOTE: If you wish to leave the INPUT connected perma-
built your pedal and you have access to the same resources nently – as in a pedal board scenario – it is advisable to
for help that all our customers do. Call on us anytime and enjoy! power the unit with an external 9V power supply. When an
external (plug-in) AC 9-volt power supply is used to power
the unit the DC Receptacle on the pedal automatically dis-
THROTTLE BOX™ connects the battery to avoid battery wear and preserve its
useful life. If you are going to use external AC power either
for long periods or permanently in a pedal board set-up,
The THROTTLE BOX is all about GAIN. This beast serves
remove the internal battery to prevent (forgotten) battery
up Rock and Metal with cut and aggression but retains the
corrosion.
signature warmth and organic sonic quality found in all our in-
struments. While its main strengths lie in the heavier sounds,
the THROTTLE BOX is also versatile and the lower region of
OUT:
the GAIN control should not be overlooked for Classic Rock This 1/4" phono jack is the OUTPUT for the device.
Connect the OUTPUT to the Input of your amplifier - or the
or howling Blues - both rhythm and lead. The middle range of
INPUT of the next device in line in your pedal board.
the GAIN control delivers tight, stinging Modern Crunch with
plenty of attitude and percussion. And when you put this pedal
to Metal, the upper one-third of the GAIN control unleashes a NOTE: A Word on Cables... Always use shielded instru-
Heavy Rock hot-rod that's blistering with both gain and searing ment cables of the best quality and shortest length possible
top-end harmonics. when connecting these types of devices. This will minimize
degradation of your sound, particularly high frequency
roll-off, due to the added capacitance in longer lengths of
cable. We recommend no more than 18-20 feet total (Input
FEATURES & CONTROLS
and Output combined) between your instrument and the
termination at the INPUT of the amplifier. If you must use
IN:
This ¼" phono jack is the Instrument Input for the de-
longer cable lengths, you might consider the use of a Buffer
vice. Plug the Output of your guitar into this jack with a shielded
or Line Driver to keep the tonal integrity intact. While these
cable of good quality. The jack is a switching type jack and the
change the sound slightly, it will usually be preferable to
circuit is turned on when a cable is inserted. When the circuit is
top end roll-off. And yes – those little 4" interconnects count
activated by inserting a cable, the internal battery is being used
too, so count them in your cable length.
to power it – so be sure to unplug the cable from the INPUT
when it's not in use.
The middle range (10:30 – 1:30) offers the most useful
LEVEL:
This is the master output level and it controls the
region of gain that begins to saturate but still retains a dy-
amount of signal provided to the host amplifier. It can be
namic punch that keeps notes expressive and tight. This
used either to balance levels to compensate for high GAIN
works well for both Rhythm and Solo work across many
settings - so that no jump in level occurs when switched
styles of music.
out of BYPASS. Another application is higher LEVEL set-
tings to purposefully send a hotter signal to the host amp
The high range of the GAIN control (1:30 – 5:30) is all about
and "slam" the input stage for increased clip, drive or gain.
thick saturation. This region will be the obvious choice for
extreme Rock, Metal and Heavy styles yet, should not be
overlooked for searing sustain in single-note soloing.
LO/HI:
The LO/HI switch incorporated into the GAIN
circuit creates two different gain regions or saturation
amounts. LO works great for Crunch or clipped chording
MID-CUT:
and medium gain solo sounds. HI provides an increased
TONE control, the THROTTLE BOX incorporates a MID
level of saturation that is better suited for really heavy Rock
CUT control that scoops out the midrange for the classic
/ Metal rhythm styles and smoldering single note lead work.
Boogie "V" EQ curve. This has been an essential ingredi-
Try the LO Mode with the BOOST bypassed for the best
ent for the many Artists that have employed this power-
balance when searching for lower to mid gain sounds (see
ful tool on our amplifiers for decades to get some of the
BOOST section later in this manual). The balance between
heaviest sounds around. This control works backwards
low end and top end will be more in-sync and even, mak-
from what you might be used to with Tone controls. As you
ing the sound sweeter and more dynamic. Check out the
increase the control you are increasing the "cut" and cutting
HI Mode with the BOOST engaged for high gain applica-
out more mids – until at the maximum setting (5:30) there
tions where you need thunderous, tuned low-end for Heavy
is hardly any midrange left in the signal path.
styles.
TONE:
GAIN:
This control determines the amount of gain (over-
incorporate individual TREBLE and BASS controls. It
drive) in the signal path.
provides simple, global adjustment of the entire range of
frequencies with one control – but your ear may perceive it
Set low (8:00 – 10:30) it produces a range of subtle over-
as most active on the amount of high frequencies present
drive that's soft and furry, yet featuring the classic mid-
in the mix. A setting of 12:00 represents a "flat" setting
punch associated with these types of circuits. This range
with highs neither boosted or cut. Increasing the TONE
is great for pushed and clip-threshold rhythm sounds and
control past 12:00 boosts a broad band of high frequen-
to add a slight bump for Blues solo sounds.
cies. Decreasing the TONE below 12:00 cuts (rolls off) the
same spectrum of high frequencies.
In addition to the standard "blend-type"
This control is found on devices that do not