Mid; Bass; Master - Mesa/Boogie Formula Pre Owner's Manual

CONTROLS:
(Continued)
MIDDLE:
This rotary control determines the blend of midrange frequencies in the mix. It is not as powerful as the TREBLE control
and therefore, its setting is not as crucial to the blend of most sound styles. Generally speaking, a more resilient, forgiving and easy
IN FT.SW.
RECORD
LO GAIN
HI GAIN
M B
ESA OOGIE
To help lessen this effect when high MID settings are in order you can try increasing the BASS control slightly. There is substantial
added GAIN to be had at the top end of this control (between 2:00 and 5:00) and this range can be useful for adding some clip to the
Green (Rhythm) channel when the front end GAIN control is also set high. Using the pull "BOOST" mode of the Green channel, this
upper range of the MID control allows further saturation of the sound for more liquid or voice like single note lead work. As mentioned
earlier, the lower channels' MIDDLE control is shared by both LEAD 1 and LEAD 2. In general, use moderation with this powerful
control. Most of the amazing and balanced sounds in the Formula are found with this control, somewhere in its middle range. Like the
GAIN control, there is added gain to be had at the top end of this control can be useful...especially for enhancing the GAIN of Channel
1 for crunch or solo sounds.

BASS:

This is responsible for the blend of low frequencies in the mix and its effectiveness largely depends on the setting of the
TREBLE control. It is last in the signal path and therefore a smaller amount of signal is fed to the BASS when there is a high setting
IN FT.SW.
RECORD
LO GAIN
HI GAIN
M B
ESA OOGIE
to run the BASS a little lower to avoid a flubby character in the pick attack. A good rule of thumb might be ; the higher the GAIN - the
lower the BASS...because contrary to many manufacturers guitar circuits, your Formula gets fatter - not buzzier - as the GAIN i s
increased.

MASTER:

These control the output balance of the three channels and allow a wide range of GAIN settings to be played at many
different volume levels. As you have probably noticed there are three of these controls; one at the end of each row of controls and one
BASS
TREBLE

MID

GAIN
that is to determine the amount of signal fed to the EFFECTS SEND jack. Set low, they produce roughly the equivalent to an
instrument level ( smaller / weaker ) signal. Set high the signal is basically a line level ( bigger / hotter ) signal and should be plenty to
drive pro quality processing devices.
To effectively remove the MASTER from the circuit of any channel, you may run them all the way up for a different character and use
the final LEVEL control to adjust the listening volume. However, keep in mind that this will probably overload the Input stage of any
processor you might have in the loop. While it is a great trick for different sounds it makes interfacing effects and switching across the
channels quite difficult and might be reserved for times when you only need one sound at a time.
to play feel is obtained by setting the MID in its lower regions (7:00 to 10:30).
Higher settings (11:00 to 3:00) will add punch and definition, especially in higher
GAIN sounds where it tends to focus the overdrive more closely on the notes.
TREBLE MID
GAIN
Extreme settings (3:00 to 5:00) can make the feel a little stiffer and clunkier so
you may want to keep this in mind when dialing.
GAIN TREBLE MID BASS
under the LEAD 2 GAIN control over on the right side
of the GRAPHIC EQ . There is no real right or wrong
setting for these controls, but again the most balanced
MASTER
sounds are found in the middle ranges of the spectrum
( 9:30 to 2:30 ) and this is our idea of a preferred set-
ting. These controls also perform another function and
of the TREBLE in place. To obtain the maximum performance from the
BASS control try using a range of TREBLE settings between 10:00 and
2:00. Not only does this range allow plenty of signal to make it to the
control, but it just so happens to be where the TREBLE reacts most fa-
vorably and musically. For certain clean sounds in Channel 1 you may
deviate from this scheme to achieve more breath or a warmer jazz sound.
For higher GAIN solo sounds in any of the three channels you may need
PAGE 6
GAIN
RHYTHM ON
O
U
LD
EQ
T 1
LD2
P
FT
IN
SW
U
AC
LEAD 2
T
Formula Pre
MASTER