Mesa/Boogie II - Manual (Page 10)

PAGE 6
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features
(Continued)
THICK / NORMAL / THICKER:
This 3 position mini toggle allows you to select between three different voicings. It selects what
frequency the Treble control will enhance. By lowering the frequency of the treble capacitor, additional gain in these frequencies is added.
This allows you to shape the sound for either sparkling clean sounds, or fatten up the Treble region and thicken the sound for more voice
like single note solo sounds. Spend some time experimenting with this switch as it can be crucial
to attain the lead sound you are searching for as well as allowing you to cop the vibe of several
classic amp styles.
NORMAL is the best choice for clean chording and traditional blues style single note solo sounds.
In this position the highest frequencies are passed through with the best balance between the
three tone controls gain wise. In other words, the gain of the Treble region is in line with that of the
Bass and Mid. Here the most sparkle and shimmer will appear and a beautiful blend will be easy
to achieve for all your clean work. The
NORMAL selection will also let the true character of your
individual guitar shine through more than the gain enhanced character of the other two choices.
When searching for identifi able signature sounds, NORMAL would be the best choice for traditional “black face” style clean or clipped
sounds due to this lack of alteration of the classic treble frequencies.
THICK lowers the frequency of the Treble region while keeping the gain closer to that of the THICK THICK NORMAL setting. This selection fattens the
upper region and smears the line between Mid and Treble to achieve a more robust, throatier sound. THICK is the best choice when THICK THICK
searching for classic British style response for either chording or overdriven sounds. You might think of it as a “plexi” switch.
THICKER lowers the Treble frequency even further and adds considerable gain in that region. It can enhance high gain solo work by
saturating the sound and covering up fret buzz, weak pickups or other nuances that will appear as holes in a high gain lead sound. It
allows you to retain focus at extreme gain settings while at the same time reducing the dreaded buzziness that can appear with certain
guitars or speaker choices. This setting has appeared in various clothing on virtually all MESA amplifi ers through the years and is classic
Boogie. THICKER is the choice for the trademark singing sustain that has long been associated with our amplifi ers.
GAIN:
This control adjusts the predominant gain stage in each channel’s circuit with the function and taper being optimized for each This control adjusts the predominant gain stage in each channel’s circuit with the function and taper being optimized for each
individual channel. Remember that your Lone Star Special is really two amplifi ers built onto one chassis, so though each channel looks
identical, the GAIN control for each channel comes in a different place and adjusts a different point in that channel’s circuit.
In most guitar amplifi ers, and especially in all-tube circuits, the GAIN control is the most
powerful control in the preamp. It shapes the overall style and character of the sound and is
responsible for whether the sound is clean, overdriven or anywhere in between. In your
Lone
Star Special the GAIN control is even more powerful. It not only determines the amount of
drive, but also acts as an integral part of the tone control string as well.
To simplify the GAIN controls’ role in shaping the overall tone of the sound we will look at it
in two ways - 1) alone and 2) in conjunction with the tone controls.
1) By itself the GAIN control has basically three tonal regions -
Low ( 7:00 - 11:00 ) provides the cleanest, least saturated sounds and in this region the sound will be brighter and contain more upper
harmonics lending a three dimensional character to the sound.
Middle (11:15 - 2:00) enhances the saturation and replaces some of the upper harmonics with a richer, warmer quality and a fuller
INPUT
FT.SW
DRIVE
CH 1
FT SW
CH 2
THICK
THICKER
CLEAN
NORMAL
INPUT
FT.SW
DRIVE
CH 1
FT SW
CH 2
THICK
THICKER
CLEAN
MAL
GAIN
NOR