Overview - Mesa/Boogie Express series Owner's Manual

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Congratulations on choosing one of the Express models as your amplifier and welcome to the MESA Family! These amplifiers rep-
resent the latest generation of a time-proven circuit that has been evolving over the last 22 years. With inspiring Tone and a layout
that's intuitive and easy to navigate, it's no wonder this model has become one of our most popular line of instruments.
We use the term instrument literally because you will quickly come to rely on the myriad of truly Expressive sounds in your amp as
it becomes an integral part of your tone and your individual voice. Feel confident that, just like a fine musical instrument, we hand-
crafted your all-tube amplifier here in Petaluma, California adhering to a code that is centuries old...where patience and scrutiny
are guiding every step on the way to excellence.
Both Express models use the same super versatile, tone-packed preamp featuring two fully independent Channels, each of which
contain two style enhanced modes to choose from when creating your footswitching preferences. Channel 1 hosts the blooming
low-gain sweetness of CLEAN or the snarling mid-gain percussiveness of CRUNCH and covers the rhythm territories. Channel 2
offers a different face to mid-gain with the howling honesty of BLUES or a high-gain adventure through the searing layers of molten
harmonics in BURN. Together these two inspiring modes invite years of solo exploration.
These stylistically opposing modes in the two Channels enable your Express to roam many different genres of music with complete
legitimacy. The R&B, Roots or Blues minded player would find themselves at home with Channel 1 set to CLEAN and Channel 2
set to BLUES, while the Rock, Metal or Punk influenced guitarist would likely prefer switching between CRUNCH and BURN. This
ability to reconfigure the Channels and morph personalities creates a Jekyll/Hyde platform from where any classic or modern tone
you are aiming at can be found in seconds. The ability to adapt is part of what defines a classic instrument.
To add to the soul-power of these four modes, each Channel boasts an assignable/footswitchable CONTOUR mode with its own
blend control, allowing you to dial in specific amounts of this dynamic EQ circuit for each of your footswitchable sounds. The size-
enhancing sound of this preset curve has been the result of polling thousands of happy customers over our 38 year history and
finding most all of you want a bigger, crisper sound with less mids. The classic MESA Graphic EQ Mid-Dip "V" curve has become
FRONT VIEW: Express 5:25
CLEAN
CRUNCH
GAIN TREBLE
BLUES
INPUT
BURN
REAR VIEW: Express 5:25
Operating Instructions
™
MID BASS REVERB
™
CH 1
FT
MASTER
SW
CH 2
PAGE 1
ON
O
ON
F
F
FT SW
POWER
5 WATT
CONTOUR
CLASS A
STANDBY
ON
O
ON
F
F
FT SW