Front Panel Controls & Features; Modes: Clean, Crunch, Blues, Burn - Mesa/Boogie Express Plus Owner's Manual

FrONT PANeL: C
THe MODeS
CHANNEL 1
CLEAN:
This is the lowest gain of the four modes in your Express Plus and it is voiced to deliver beautiful sparkling and warm
clean chording sounds. The CLEAN mode has the greatest dynamic range of all the modes as the signal here is not compressed
with any additional gain as are the other three sequentially. Because of this more traditional gain structure, many players that are
looking for a vintage style response from the Express Plus should be at home here. At higher GAIN settings
this mode delivers great old school lead sounds and if you are a player that is reliant on overdrive pedals for a
certain sound (although we greatly encourage you to explore the other three modes – especially BLUES - for
overdriven applications), CLEAN will likely be the best match for retaining more dynamic range.
The taper of the GAIN control is calibrated such that at the lower settings 9:30 - 11:00 the sound will be very bright
and skinny "and" as you approach 12:00 – 2:00 warmth and richness appears and the signal stays clean. From
the 2:30 – 4:30 range a soft fur will begin giving way to a vintage style break-up and finally at its maximum setting (5:30) the signal
will be fairly pushed and overdriven. Keep in mind that these are approximate descriptions of the sound and that your own personal
playing style, guitar, pickups and most of all touch, will determine how this mode reacts at specific settings.
CRUNCH:
This mode excels at higher gain rhythm sounds and though it is quite a bit gainier than the CLEAN mode, it's voiced to
retain as much dynamic range as possible. It cleans up nicely at the lower end of the GAIN control (9:00 – 12:00) and therefore can
be used as an alternate type of clean sound, though it will always retain a bit more aggressive midrange and will not have as much
top end sparkle as CLEAN.
Between 12:00 – 2:30 is where the classic rock rhythm sounds live, especially with humbucking pickups and
mahogany guitars. This is a sound that is overdriven, crisp and urgent, but not overly saturated. From 2:30 on
up to the maximum GAIN setting (5:30), the sound becomes more saturated and begins to get a bit thicker and
creamier. This region is great for solo sounds where more urgency is needed, as it has ample gain but is still
tight tracking and responsive.
Be sure to experiment with the Graphic EQ (try the classic "V" setting) and The PRESET feature in the CRUNCH mode as some
amazing sounds appear as a result of this combination. We tend to like the PRESET set at 12:00 with the GAIN at around 4:00 for
a great rock rhythm sound. Again, these are approximate settings as everyone will have different styles, guitars, pickups and touch.
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ONTrOLS eATureS
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