Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster Amp Owner's Manual
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Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster Amp Owner's Manual

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Summary of Contents for Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster Amp

  • Page 1 Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 2 Hello from the Tone Farm ...You, smart player and intuitive human, have put your trust in us to be your amplifier company. This is something we do not take lightly. By choosing this instrument to be a part of your musical voice, you have become part of the Mesa family...WELCOME! Our goal is to never let you down.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    ROADSTER Table of Contents Precautions ___________________________________________________________________________________ 0 Overview____________________________________________________________________________________ 1-2 Getting Started ________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Helpful Hints ________________________________________________________________________________ 3-4 FRONT PANEL: MODES: Ch 1 & 2 CLEAN________________________________________________________________________________ 5 Ch 1 & 2 FAT___________________________________________________________________________________ 5 Ch 1 TWEED ___________________________________________________________________________________ 5 Ch 2 BRIT _____________________________________________________________________________________ 6 Ch 3 &...

  • Page 4: Precautions

    PRECAUTIONS & WARNINGS 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: WARNING: EU: permission from the Supply Authority is needed before connection. WARNING: Vacuum tube amplifiers generate heat. To insure proper ventilation always make certain there is at least four inches (100mm) of space behind the rear of the amplifier cabinet.

  • Page 5: Overview

    Congratulations on choosing the Congratulations Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster as your amplifier and welcome to the Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster as your amplifier and welcome to the Mesa/Boogie Family! By Mesa/Boogie Family! By Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster Mesa/Boogie choosing this all-tube hand-built instrument you have taken a step into the future of guitar amplification, for as you can see at a glance, the Roadster is more than just an amp.

  • Page 6: Overview

    Overview: (Continued) This allows the Roadster to be many amps to many players and roam confidently between extremely Roadster to be many amps to many players and roam confidently between extremely Roadster different musical styles while retaining the ability to focus in on any one and offer a multitude of great sounds for a specific genre. For example, a Blues player might dial up 1 &...

  • Page 7: Getting Started

    Getting Started: 1.) After unpacking the amplifier remove the plastic webbing from all of the tubes (including the preamp tubes behind the row of power and rectifier tubes) and make sure all tubes are seated firmly in their sockets. 2.) Install the 5U4 Rectifier tubes (if they are not already in place) by bending back the spring steel tube clamps just enough so that the base of the tube will have to barely push the clamps out of the way as they go in.
  • Page 8 Helpful Hints: (Continued) 7.) The PRESENCE control determines a lot about the voicing of gain sounds. Set lower it will fatten and compress single note sounds and lend a liquid feeling to the strings in the 3 modes of Channels 3 & 4. Set higher it will add cut and brightness to the sound and can be useful in keeping Bass response tight, especially at high GAIN settings when searching for crunch rhythm sounds.

  • Page 9: Ch 1 & 2 Clean

    CHANNEL MODES: CHANNELS 1 & 2: CLEAN This is the lowest gain circuit of the Roadster’s twelve modes and is optimized for producing bal- anced pristine clean sounds.This mode is duplicated in CHANNEL 2 as it is extremely useful for many different applications.

  • Page 10: Ch 2 Brit

    CHANNEL MODES: (Continued) CHANNEL 2: BRIT This mode appears in CHANNEL 2 only and, as the name implies, was inspired by the great sounding amps of the 50s’ & 60s’ that were built in Great Britain.These classic amplifiers were basically “upside down Leo circuits” but none the less had a signature sound all their own, due largely to the fact that they were powered by the pentode available to them at the time…the Euro style EL 34.

  • Page 11: Ch 3 & 4 Modern

    CHANNEL MODES: (Continued) CHANNEL 3 & 4: MODERN Aggressive. This is the word that best describes the menacing power of the Roadster’s most rebel- lious of all modes and appears in its original form in CHANNELS 3 & 4. A take no prisoners, crushing assault of top end cut and lightning fast response creates a sound of unparalleled aggression that has set a new standard for hard core sounds.

  • Page 12: Treble

    CONTROLS: (Continued) NOTE: NOTE: NOTE: Due to the Roadster’s extreme gain potential, the highest regions of the GAIN control may possibly push the pre-amp tubes Roadster’s extreme gain potential, the highest regions of the Roadster’s past what they can handle, producing microphonic squealing. While we screen and test the tubes your amplifier was shipped with and the tubes in your amp passed our rigourous test, we can’t predict how the tubes will respond over time exposed to extreme gain settings.Your tubes are warranted for a period of 6 months under normal use, but you can save yourself the present and future inconvenience of having to deal with annoying microphonic tube problems by simply using a little common sense...Don’t turn the...

  • Page 13: Mid

    CONTROLS: (Continued) MID: (Continued) filled-in with a focused mid attack appearing rather quickly. As you would guess, the feel starts to change - becom- ing more resistant. Above this region the MIDDLE control could be used to compensate for either weaker pick-ups or for times when a specific deficiency is produced by either an extremely high setting of other tone controls, or a physical anomaly in the room.

  • Page 14: Master

    CONTROLS: (Continued) MASTER: This control is the master feed from the end of the pre-amp to the driver stage and the Effects Loop. As you can see each Channel is fitted with its own MASTER control, enabling the four channels relative volumes to be matched regardless of their extremely different sound styles and gain signatures.The MASTER control makes possible a wide range of sounds through its ability to use very low Gain sounds at high volumes and conversely, high Gain sounds at low volumes and everywhere between.

  • Page 15: Output Control

    CONTROLS: (Continued) SOLO: This control is an additional output control wired in parallel with the main OUTPUT that you can pre-set to a higher level and then switch to during performances. A simple idea that adds amazing potential to virtually any sound in the amplifier. Like the OUTPUT control, SOLO gets its signal from the EFFECTS RETURN jack and therefore it is only in the signal path and active when the EFFECTS LOOP is set to LOOP SYSTEM IN.This control may be used to step out for a solo or to compensate for other volume drops created by various...

  • Page 16: Rear Panel

    REAR PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES REAR VIEW : COMBO Roadster REAR VIEW: Roadster Combo CH 4 CH 3 CH 2 CH 1 HANDBUILT LEVEL CH 2 CH 3 IN PETALUMA CALIFORNIA, USA POWER FUSE WER FUSE NORMAL 120 V~ 60 Hz SPEAKERS CHANNEL REVERB...

  • Page 17: Channel Strips

    REAR PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES (Continued) CHANNEL STRIPS: These 4 clusters of switches and controls house the specific features that can be pre-assigned per individual channel. Once you have deciphered one, you have learned the Roadster’s secret and are ready to roll, for they are simply repeated Roadster’s secret and are ready to roll, for they are simply repeated Roadster’s for the 4 channels.

  • Page 18: Fx On / Fx Off Switches

    REAR PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES (Continued) FX ON / FX OFF SWITCH: This mini toggle switch in each Channel Strip assigns the Series EFFECTS LOOP and determines its status in the signal path. Once the LOOP has been engaged, its Channel specific status is sent to the Front Panel FX LOOP LED indicator that sits between the pairs of Channels for at-a-glance monitoring of its status.

  • Page 19: Using The Fx Return As A Power Amp Input

    REAR PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES (Continued) PATCHING EFFECTS: (Continued) You will find the FX LOOP a welcome feature for all rack type processing and when good quality You will find the cables are used and kept to a length of 3 feet or less, you will notice very little if any degradation in the sound of your Roadster. NOTE: Because the FX LOOP is wired in series with the main signal, it is very important that you choose processing devices that are of professional grade quality from reputable manufacturers.In a series configuration, your amplifiers sound will depend on the integrity of the processor’s input and output stages, because you have inserted something into the heart of the most sensitive place in your amplifier.

  • Page 20: External Switching

    REAR PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES (Continued) USING THE FX RETURN AS A POWER AMP INPUT: (Continued) NOTE: When using the Roadster’s EFFECTS RETURN jack as a Power Amp Input, the input sensitivity will be most “normal” in CHANNELS 1 and 2. For increased power sensitivity you may choose the incredibly sensitive CHANNEL 3 or 4 MODERN mode. This will increase the power section input sensitivity by an order of ten.

  • Page 21: Fuse And Serial Number

    REAR PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES (Continued) FUSE: This is the A.C.’s (Alternating Current) main fuse and provides 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 4 amp Slo-Blo fuse.

  • Page 22: Factory Sample Settings

    FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS: CHANNEL 1 SETTING #1 Versa Clean CLEAN DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON TWEED GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER CLEAN RECTO TRACKING WATTS BRIT CHANNEL 1 SETTING #2 Spank CLEAN DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON TWEED GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER CLEAN...
  • Page 23 FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS: CHANNEL 2 SETTING #1 Skinny Skank CLEAN DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON TWEED GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER CLEAN RECTO TRACKING WATTS BRIT CHANNEL 2 SETTING #2 Rhythm Mix CLEAN DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON TWEED GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER...
  • Page 24 FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS: CHANNEL 3 SETTING #1 Purring Blues VINTAGE DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON MODERN GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER VINTAGE RECTO TRACKING WATTS MODERN CHANNEL 3 SETTING #2 Smooth Grind VINTAGE DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON MODERN GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER...

  • Page 25: Factory Sample Settings

    FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS: CHANNEL 4 SETTING #1 Atlantic Blues VINTAGE DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON MODERN GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER VINTAGE RECTO TRACKING WATTS MODERN CHANNEL 4 SETTING #2 Stripped Grind VINTAGE DIODE 100 WATTS FX ON MODERN GAIN TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER...

  • Page 26: Diagnosing Tubes & Tube Maintenance

    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 27 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.
  • Page 28 BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Part of a continuing series) BEAM- An Article written by Randall Smith that CONFINING ELECTRODE we thought you might find interesting. CATHODE GRID ..SCREEN ..GRID PLATE .
  • Page 29 BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Continued) control grids. 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 carpeted floor in dry, wintery conditions, your body can become charged with 50,000 to 100,000 volts of static electricity.
  • Page 30 How much money and trouble that has saved MESA/Boogie players you couldn’t estimate. MESA/Boogie players you couldn’t estimate. MESA/Boogie Our rigorously tested and hand selected tubes are available at your nearest MESA/Boogie Pro Center or from us directly. Nobody MESA/Boogie Pro Center or from us directly. Nobody MESA/Boogie offers better price, quality or warranty than we do ...

  • Page 31: Speaker Hook-Up & Impedance Matching Guide

    MESA/Boogie amplifiers can handle 4 and 8 ohms effectively. Never run below 4 ohms in a tube amplifier unless you are absolutely MESA/Boogie amplifiers can handle 4 and 8 ohms effectively. Never run below 4 ohms in a tube amplifier unless you are absolutely MESA/Boogie certain that the system can handle it properly;...

  • Page 32: Speaker A Speaker B

    SPEAKER IMPEDANCE MATCHING & HOOK-UP GUIDE: (Continued) PARALLEL: When wiring in parallel, the resistance of the speakers decreases. Two 8 ohm speakers wired in ( hooked-up ) Parallel results in a 4 ohm load. It’s easy to calculate the effect of a resistive load when all the speakers are all the same resistance. It is really not suggested to wire different resistive load values in Parallel ( 8 and 4, 16 and 8 etc.
  • Page 33 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier Partial back view of amplifier 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 Ohm Cabinet Partial back view of some Mesa amp 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 4 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet...
  • Page 34 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier Partial back view of amplifier 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH CORRECT MATCH Partial back view of amplifier Partial back view of amplifier...
  • Page 35 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM SERIES BOX 8 Ohm 8 Ohm 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH Partial back view of amp Partial back view of amplifier CORRECT MATCH 8 OHM...
  • Page 36 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM SERIES BOX 8 Ohm 8 Ohm 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH Partial back view of amplifier 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM...

  • Page 37: Feature Article: Irishmen, Pentodes & Triodes By Randall Smith

    ON TRIODES, PENTODES & IRISHMEN: With apologies to Friends and Relatives from the Emerald Isle - who will make their appearance soon enough - the humor which follows is dedicated to the memories of Spec McAuliff and Fae (Rafael) McNally, two of the True Greats. As their numerical references suggest, the terms Diode, Triode and Pentode indicate the number of elements within the vacuum tube i.e.
  • Page 38 ON TRIODES, PENTODES & IRISHMEN: (Continued) Thus a diode tube - one with a cathode and an anode - is mostly used to rectify alternating current into direct current by passing it without restriction, but in one direction only. This also explains why closing time is strictly enforced at Irish pubs: During normal operation, the traffic flow is similarly unimpeded and uni-directional toward the bar and this process rectifies the work-day negativity.
  • Page 39 PENTODES: (Continued) Thus the proper cocktail waitress - visible through the louvers - is scantily clad so as to be all the more effective at reinforcing the attractive influence of her bar and by being located in between the door and the bar, she serves as bait to lure customers past the door’s negative influence.

  • Page 40: Parts Sheet

    PAGE 36...
  • Page 41 OOGIE The Spirit of Art in Technology Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifier company and we wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.
  • Page 42 The Spirit of Art in Technology (707) 778-6565 FAX NO. (707) 765-1503 1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 09/18/06...

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