Mesa/Boogie TransAtlantic TA-30 Owner's Manual page 15

FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features
modern circuitry. Perhaps this is why other builders rarely – if ever - attempt it. We took the challenge and are able to get the two
extremely different styles of circuits to co-exist beautifully - and after much toil - have removed 99% of the objectionable idiosyncrasies
created out of this tricky melding of opposites. For that last 1%... like we do, you will probably find the amazing palette of sounds and
stylistic flexibility of this combination well worth the minor occasional distraction.
CUT (knob pushed in):
frequencies allowed to pass in the power section of Channel 1. It works backward of most controls in that when it is increased (clock-
wise) you are increasing the "cut" of the high frequencies and therefore the sound is becoming darker and less
bright. This takes some getting used to if you haven't used one of these circuits before. It really is like a reverse
NORMAL
PRESENCE control and if you think of it as such, it may help you in navigating the possibilities found here.
TOP BST
The taper of the pot used in the CUT control is a very slow one and was chosen because it is rare that you will use
40W
FT
SW the control at its very highest (most rolled-off) setting. This way there is more fine resolution available to allow you to
30
PULL
CUT / MASTER
dial in just the right amount of "cut". The only time you might find the extreme high region of the CUT appropriate is
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for fat single note solo sounds where it can remove huge amounts of sizzle and make things sound fat and round.
PULL MASTER (knob pulled out):
ingenious "mod" to the original "vintage" architecture and incorporates a pull pot that, when engaged, transforms
the CUT into a MASTER volume control. When the MASTER function is engaged, the CUT is preset automatically
NORMAL
to a setting of around 1/3 or in other words - 11:00 and this may not be altered as long as the control is pulled out
and the MASTER is active.
TOP BST
40W
FT
NOTE: If this setting just will not work for you and you need to use the MASTER ACTIVE mode for most of your ap-
SW
30
PULL
CUT / MASTER plications, call us and we can send you a part for a nominal charge that - when installed by a competent technician
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at your expense – can either increase or decrease the "preset CUT setting" when your MASTER is active. Please
work with this a while before calling us to do this though... this preset value was arrived at through extensive testing with many types
of players and you may be surprised that while the CUT is not adjustable in this scenario, it works well for most sounds and styles.
This feature greatly enhances the flexibility of Channel 1 and allows you to, unlike the original, use these sounds for an extremely
wide array of both classic and modern sounds. It also allows you to create many more footswitchable Channel matches than would
have otherwise been possible. And as for the purists you may come across who - in probable jealousy – try to point out the original
version's urgency, openness and dynamic character, you can politely agree, smile and then walk over and push in the MASTER and
ask them if they want to try your "vintage" rendering.
When you need the old-school response of the original "no-master" circuit - and the gain versus volume issues that inherently arise
from this scenario are not a problem - the original vintage architecture can't be beat. But when you need independent control over
both gain and volume, there is little doubt that whatever the (miniscule) tonal trade-off for this stripped "no-master" approach is easy
to overlook when it comes with the incredible flexibility it grants in return.
This push-pull control is only found in Channel 1 and is responsible for determining the blend of high
As mentioned in the VOLUME/GAIN control description, the CUT control is fitted with an
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