Important Note About Power - Mesa/Boogie Formula Pre Owner's Manual

attributes. Directing the emphasis early on in the R & D process toward the recording environment, this new reactive circuit captures
the sound - but even more importantly the feel - of a great head and cab set-up.
To assist in seamless interfacing of outboard signal processing for either live or recording applications we have included a Stereo
Parallel Effects Loop with a Mix control. The Send is mono and the Returns appear as Left and Right 1/4" phone jacks. The loop
handles both line and instrument level signals depending on the settings of the channel Masters, as they control the Sends' level
strength, with line level being the preferred choice. Both the Main and Recording Outputs are fed by the effects loop so that when
recording direct with your live effects set-up you will retain the processing you are familiar with in the signal sent to the console.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before we go much further, we would like to take a minute to talk about power. Your new Formula Pre-Amp was
designed with the utmost consideration given to ensuring that, while it delivers the versatility of three distinct channels, it retains all the
warmth and expressiveness of its tube heritage. Rack separates have been criticized in the past as not having the same vibe or soul
as self-contained guitar amplifiers. While we view this as a gross generalization, we do subscribe to the idea that any system is only
as strong as its weakest link. Many players accidentally get into rack guitar with products that concentrate on effects, processing and
programmability, leaving the actual sound of the amplified guitar itself as an afterthought. Usually these stories end with the sale of
said gear at a considerable loss and a lingering bad taste for rack gear.
Most likely this is how the separate component world got its negative reputation among some players. Those of us who have used
tube rack gear for years know that just as much tone and far more versatility is available with these separate component systems...as
long as you follow the golden rule of rack mount guitar. Thou shalt use tube power and tube power only! This is the secret. A great pre-
amp is essential, but it is only half of the equation. The expressive nature of an all-tube power section is crucial to achieving the
amazing tone and feel, and when comparing separates to self-contained amplifiers this is often overlooked.
For this reason, we strongly recommend that you use your new Formula with one of our four Mesa/Boogie all-tube stereo rack
mount power amplifiers. These handbuilt rack classics have been the power behind most touring and recording artists for the last
decade - and in fact it was the ancestors of these amps, that first introduced guitarists to rack mount power back in 1982 with the M-
180 and M-190 mono blocks. These beasts were the power behind L.A.'s first big session rigs in the early 80's.
Since then, Mesa has led the rack guitar revolution by going stereo, incorporating switchable voicing options and steadily shrinking
the packages from four to three to two and finally now, down to an unbelievable one space for the spicy little Stereo 20/20. All these
power amplifiers have been designed to give the rack player every measure of tone and nuance found in a self-contained amplifier
and more. So save yourself the time and aggravation and try one of these companion instruments first and you'll never miss that
combo again.
STEREO SIMUL-CLASS 2:NINETY - 2 Space / 90 Watts per channel / 8 x 6L6
FIFTY/FIFTY STEREO
20/20 STEREO
COLISEUM 300 STEREO
All these power amps are a perfect match for the Formula and each one of them was designed with a style of player and venue
combination in mind. Obviously the two more extreme wattage arenas found in the lower power 20/20 and the higher power Coli-
seum 300 have a slightly narrower window of appeal. The 20/20 finds its home in the studio, small clubs and as a slave to bigger set-
ups while the Coliseum is the big guns for the larger venues or heavier styles. The two middleweight amps, Simul-2/90 and Stereo
50/50 are the most popular, versatile and economical pound-for-watt. Therefore we will use these as the reference when we speak
of tone and settings throughout this manual. While we used all of the above amplifiers during the R & D process, our favorite amp has
always been the Simul-Class 2:Ninety for its silky warmth for solo sounds and sparkling scoop for clean playing.
Now that we have that bit of important info out of the way, let's hook up the Formula to the power amp and run through some possible
sounds in the three channels.
The choices are (In order of popularity);
- 2 Space / 50 Watts per channel / 4 x 6L6
- 1 Space / 20 Watts per channel / 4 x EL84
- 4 Space / 150 Watts per channel / 12 x 6L6
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