Mesa/Boogie ELECTRA DYNE Owner's Manual
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Mesa/Boogie ELECTRA DYNE Owner's Manual

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Summary of Contents for Mesa/Boogie ELECTRA DYNE

  • Page 1 Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 2 How- ever, what’s really gratifying is that you will be finding new and inspiring sounds years after the price of admission has faded from memory and the ELECTRA DYNE continues to unveil its true worth.
  • Page 3 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 4: Table Of Contents

    SPEAKER IMPEDANCE MATCHING AND HOOKUP GUIDE _____________________________________ 27-32 FEATURE ARTICLE: ON PENTODES, TRIODES & IRISHMEN by Randall Smith ____________________ 33-35 TUBE TASK CHART - ELECTRA DYNE HEAD ___________________________________________________ 36 TUBE TASK CHART - ELECTRA DYNE COMBO _________________________________________________ 37 PART SHEET - HEAD _______________________________________________________________________ 38...

  • Page 5: Overview

    At a glance you can see that the control layout of your Electra Dyne is straightforward and simple. This was intentional and a prime directive in the design goal. What you don’t see is that when you select one of the three Modes on the MODE SELECT mini-toggle you are completely reconfiguring the circuit architecture and in fact, selecting separate and complete amplifiers! These are interfaced to the control’s separate...
  • Page 6 SPEAKER IMPEDANCE is selected via a Rear Panel mini toggle and provides for two 8 Ohm or two 4 Ohm jacks. Standard MESA cabinets are either an 8 or 4 Ohm load. To use the Electra Dyne with 16 Ohm loads, connect them using the 8 Ohm position. When using two 16 Ohm cabinets, also connect them to the 8 Ohm jacks.

  • Page 7: Before You Start

    BeFOre YOU STArT: SAMPLE SETTING: Here’s a quick setting that will give you a quick tour of the basic sound of the Modes in the Electra Dyne. VOLUME TREBLE BASS PRESENCE MASTER INPUT FT. SW. FT. SW. CLEAN STANDBY Simul-Class...

  • Page 8: Overview

    TREBLE or PRESENCE controls. Now that you have an overview of the features of your Electra Dyne, let’s get specific with the modes and controls to help you better understand how to get the sounds you are looking for and apply them to your music.

  • Page 9: Front Panel Controls & Features

    CLEAN: This is the lowest gain of the three Modes in the Electra Dyne and is based on the classic California “black face” era circuits. It also draws heavily from our MARK I and MARK V Boogie clean modes - where it inherits the sweetness and springy, bouncy attack charac- teristics.
  • Page 10 VOLUME control and tour through some great mildly-saturated Blues sounds (1:30 – 3:00) and finally, wind it up all the way to a burning vintage lead voice (3:15 – 5:30). VINTAGE LO is possibly the most iconic sound in the Electra Dyne and various renditions of this circuit are probably the most recorded sounds in Classic Rock and Roll.
  • Page 11 Some like the result and for those we are pleased that such a quick remedy is available. This will not cause any harm to the Electra Dyne and is a perfectly fine solution.

  • Page 12: Volume

    VOLUME: This is the most powerful control in the Electra Dyne and its setting determines the style and personality of all three Modes. It meters the gain in different tube stages depending on the Mode called up and sets Input headroom - which determines whether the sound will be clean or overdriven.
  • Page 13 FrONT PANeL: C Continued ONTrOLS VOLUME - CLEAN MODE: In the CLEAN Mode the element uses a very gradual (slow) taper that allows higher settings before the gain reaches a point where soft clip or break-up occurs. This allows you to run the knob higher and achieve a sound in both the Vintage LO and HI Modes that will have enough gain to saturate the notes for crunch rhythm and lead –...

  • Page 14: Treble

    Tone control string to work in harmony. Like most of the controls in the Electra Dyne, the TREBLE utilizes a ganged pot with two discreet elements so that the CLEAN Mode can have its proper value and taper independent of that needed for the VINTAGE LO and HI.
  • Page 15 This will not damage your amplifier and can be remedied with a simple tube swap, but it is annoying. The Electra Dyne is tested for this three times in different parts of the building process before it is passed and shipped. However tubes are an ever-changing element of the magic in your amp and can change overnight or over time.

  • Page 16: Mid

    FrONT PANeL: C Continued ONTrOLS sweetly and doesn’t “gack” on dynamic plucks of the string. This will usually occur with most guitars in the narrow 11:45 – 12:15 range. When this balance is achieved it is possible to roll back on the guitar’s volume pot and have a nice blend for cleaner work. Higher gain chording sounds can tolerate slightly higher (12:30 –...

  • Page 17: Bass

    FrONT PANeL: C Continued ONTrOLS Passing the 1:00 mark unleashes the brash attitude pent up in the MID frequencies and top end joins the party in a big way. Here is where you look for the most forward and aggressive attack over a wider range than that of TREBLE control. The feel on the strings will become less forgiving and your playing will be put under a microscope - mostly in the time domain.

  • Page 18: Presence

    Modes equally - making them brighter or darker in unison. It allows you to tune the whole character of the Electra Dyne for different rooms and audience densities with one knob and add cut when...

  • Page 19: Standby

    The POWER switch utilizes a 3 position toggle that acts as a dual function switch controlling the flow of AC main power to the Electra Dyne and also offering a choice of wattage in the Simul-Class Power section. The OFF position is in the center and is marked by a small “O”...
  • Page 20 CRITICAL: BIAS switch setting must match the tube type in use at all times! Now that you have a grip on the controls and features of the Front Panel of your Electra Dyne, let’s get familiar with the Rear Panel and its features.

  • Page 21: Fuse

    EFFECTS LOOP: The Electra Dyne incorporates an internal EFFECTS LOOP to handle the interfacing of outboard process- ing. This circuit is a patch point between the preamp and the power section and it is wired in series with the dry (unaffected) signal.

  • Page 22: Reverb

    This jack is a duplicate of the Front Panel Stereo FOOTSWITCH jack so that cables can be routed to the Rear Panel for use in a Rack Chassis version of the Electra Dyne or when the head is mounted in a custom rack.

  • Page 23: Speakers: 8 Ohm / 4 Ohm

    An impedance matching switch provides the ability to select between 8 and 4 Ohm loads. This switch may be use to select an impedance during operation with no harm to the amplifier and it is also fine to use your Electra Dyne with a mismatched load for different tonal character and feel. CLEAN LEVEL...

  • Page 24: Clean Level

    reAr PANeL: C & F (Continued) ONTrOLS eATUreS CLEAN LEVEL This control provides a “trim” for the output level of the CLEAN Mode Only. It allows you to balance the footswit- chable level of the CLEAN Mode with the VINTAGE LO and HI Modes when you are using the amplifier at lower MASTER settings in smaller venues such as small clubs or at home.

  • Page 25: Gain Trim

    CLEAN mode will not be clipped and bloated. Now that we’ve covered the features and operation of your Electra Dyne it’s time to enjoy the best part…the sound and feel! We wish you many years of inspiration, fulfillment and musical satisfaction from your new Electra Dyne.

  • Page 26: Diagnosing Tube Problems

    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 Article

    BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Part of a continuing series) BEAM- CONFINING An Article written by Randall Smith that ELECTRODE CATHODE we thought you might find interesting. GRID ..SCREEN GRID ..
  • 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. Our rigorously tested and hand selected tubes are available at your nearest MESA/Boogie Pro Center or from us directly. Nobody offers better price, quality or warranty than we do ... so why swerve? Next time we’ll talk about our part in developing the great Sylvania STR 415 type 6L6 and how we’re on the verge of seeing something...

  • Page 31: Speaker Impedance Matching And Hookup Guide

    MESA/Boogie amplifiers can handle 4 and 8 ohms effectively. Never run below 4 ohms in a tube amplifier unless you are absolutely certain that the system can handle it properly; this can cause damage to the Output transformer. A few amplifiers can handle 2 ohms effectively without damaging them ( for example the MESA’S Bass 400+ ).

  • 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 8 Ohm Cabinet 16 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: On Pentodes, Triodes & Irishmen 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: Tube Task Chart - Electra Dyne Head

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  • Page 41: Tube Task Chart - Electra Dyne Combo

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  • Page 42: Part Sheet - Head

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  • Page 43: Part Sheet - Combo

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  • Page 44 NOTES...
  • Page 45 ® ®...
  • Page 46 ® 08/05/09...

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