Mesa/Boogie Tone-Burst Owner's Manual

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS:

• Read these instructions.
• Keep these instructions.
• Heed all warnings.
• Follow all instructions.
• Do not use this apparatus near water.
• Clean only with dry cloth.
• Be sure to use only properly rated power adaptors or
universal power supplies (pedal board power supplies)
with appropriate attention paid to proper voltage, am-
perage and ground schemes. Improper voltage/amper-
age being provided to the pedal may cause poor tone,
inconsistent performance, damage to the unit or all of
the above. Proper voltage, amperage and grounding
specs are supplied at the end of this manual.
• REPLACE THE BOTTOM LID after battery replace-
ment before the unit is used. Some electronic parts
inside are static sensitive and can be damaged from
Owner's Manual
even a small static charge from contact with carpet or
other conductive surfaces. DO NOT SET A POWERED
UNIT "CONTROLS UP" ON A METAL (or any) SUR-
FACE WITH THE BOTTOM REMOVED!
FEATURES & CONTROLS
Congratulations on your choice of MESA/Boogie and wel-
come to the MESA Family! The same passion for excel-
lence, commitment to quality and dedication to customer

IN:

This ¼" phono jack is the Instrument Input for the
satisfaction is present in each and every product we make
device. Plug the Output of your guitar - or an upstream
in our one- and-only shop in Petaluma, California, U.S.A.
pedal's Output - into this jack with a shielded cable of
Rest assured that the very same people that hand-build
good quality. The input jack is a switching type jack and
the finest amplifiers in the world built your pedal and you
the circuit is activated by inserting a cable (even with the
have access to the same resources for help that all our
footswitch off). Once plugged in, the internal battery is be-
customers do. Call on us anytime and enjoy!
ing used to power it – so be sure to unplug the cable from
the INPUT when it's not in use.
TONE BURST™
NOTE: The internal battery is switched to an "ON" state
(drawing voltage) by a switching element in the INPUT jack.
The TONE BURST offers a virtually transparent gain range
To prolong battery life, disconnect the cable from the ¼"
usually associated with devices in the Clean Boost cat-
INPUT jack whenever the unit is not in use.
egory. There is enough additional gain here to boost the
signal of your guitar to the threshold of clip and beyond. If
NOTE: If you wish to leave the INPUT connected per-
you are searching for an Overdrive device that can sub-
manently – as in a pedal board scenario – it is advisable
stantially boost your instrument's gain, audition our GRID
to power the unit with an external 9V DC power supply.
SLAMMER™ or the more fully featured FLUX-DRIVE™
When an external (plug-in) DC 9-volt power supply is used
and THROTTLE BOX™ pedals.
to power the unit, the DC jack on the pedal automatically
disconnects the battery to avoid battery wear and preserve
The range of the GAIN control on the TONE BURST shines
its useful life. If you are going to use external AC power
for helping single-note lines pop out of a dense mix or for
either for long periods or permanently in a pedal board
adding edge and attitude to rhythm parts. You can also use
set-up, remove the internal battery to prevent (forgotten)
the LEVEL control to introduce additional gain and push
battery corrosion.
the first stage in your amplifier for a vintage-inspired clip.
This device features separate Tone controls for TREBLE

OUT:

This 1/4" phono jack is the OUTPUT for the device.
and BASS regions and these can be used to color the
Connect the OUTPUT to the Input of your amplifier - or the
boosted signal and further accentuate your boosted or
INPUT of the next device in line in your pedalboard.
showcased parts. If you don't want additional frequency
enhancement, simply set the Tone controls to 12:00 and
NOTE: A Word on Cables... Always use shielded instru-
the instrument's signal will remain virtually unchanged and
ment cables of the best quality and shortest length possible
provide a nearly transparent boost.
when connecting these types of devices. This will minimize
degradation of your sound, particularly high frequency The high range of the GAIN control (1:30 – 5:30) offers the
roll-off, due to the added capacitance in longer lengths of most useful and varied boost and drive options. For chord-
cable. We recommend no more than 18-20 feet total (Input ing, this region adds bite, attack and punch. For single
and Output combined) between your instrument and the notes, higher GAIN settings add cut and help solos stand
termination at the INPUT of the amplifier. If you must use out in a mix. For any style, this range pushes the amplifier's
longer cable lengths, you might consider the use of a Buffer input past the threshold of clip.
or Line Driver to keep the tonal integrity intact. While these
change the sound slightly, it will usually be preferable to
top end roll-off. And yes – those little 4" interconnects count

BASS:

This control works in tandem with the TREBLE
too, so count them in your cable length.
control to adjust low frequencies. Set low (7:30 – 12:00)
the sound will be skinny, tight and percussive. The higher
range (12:00 – 5:30) introduces rich, full low end that

LEVEL:

This is the master output level and it controls the rounds out the sound and adds low-end thump. Heavier
amount of signal provided to the host amplifier. It can be pick attack with higher BASS settings may produce a slow-
used either to balance levels to compensate for high GAIN er, less articulate feel as you "drag around" the extra lows.
settings - so that no jump in level occurs when switched
out of BYPASS. Another application is higher LEVEL set-
tings to purposefully send a hotter signal to the host amp

TREBLE:

and "slam" the input stage for increased clip, drive or gain.
quencies present in the mix and – unlike devices with just a
TONE control - allows you to fine tune the high frequencies
separately from the low frequencies. The TREBLE control

GAIN:

This control determines the amount of gain (over- makes up half of a more comprehensive tone control circuit
drive) in the signal path. that offers greater flexibility over the entire frequency spec-
trum. Set low (7:30 – 12:00) the sound will be darker, more
Set low (8:00 – 11:00) is the least useful of the GAIN rounded and seemingly compressed. The upper range
control's range. Low GAIN settings will require the LEVEL of the TREBLE (12:00 – 5:30) brings in the cut, bite and
control be increased dramatically to achieve unity gain more open top-end to create a sound that is bright, tight
compared to the pedal bypassed. and aggressive.
The middle range (11:00 – 1:30) offers subtle and tasteful
increases of boost and gain. GAIN settings in this range

AC POWER:

can add a dynamic punch that keeps notes expressive and
the pedal is the External Power Supply Jack and it accepts
tight. This works well for both Rhythm and Solo work across
the male plug from a standard 9-Volt DC" wall-wart" power
many styles of music.
supply. When installing your unit into a pedal board utilizing
a universal power supply (multi-output pedal board power
This control adjusts the amount of high fre-
This standard female DC Receptacle on