Mesa Boogie Recto | Demo & Fitting a Mod Board | The Mesa POP syndrome

Mesa Boogie Recto | Demo & Fitting a Mod Board | The Mesa POP syndrome | & Foot Controller Secrets

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The Mesa Boogie Recto whatever model you have might well 'pop' when you change channels either with or without the foot controller. It's a problem that's been with many of the models for years. But now one engineer at Tubes and Stuff has created a modification board that can reduce the inherent 'POP' dramatically. Here I show the board, install it & also offer some advice regarding problematic foot control channel change issues. Thanks also to 'Burn Back Time' for his input too which was actually invaluable.
Index:
0:00 Start
0:12 The Floor Pedal issue & fix
1:15 Info from viewer Burn Back Time & Alex @ Tubes and Stuff
2:00 Bold & spongy voltages & the switch
3:33 The foot switch demo in bold & spongy mode
6:12 Diode mod and the relay responsible
7:24 The pedal problem in a nutshell - use bold!
7:40 Demo of the 'pop' when changing channels
8:30 The pop mod board
8:57 Install & test the pop board in the amp
10:00 Closeup installation: Fix the board in
11:31 Print the instructions!
13:38 Revision D Mesa Rectifier board and variation from later
boards
15:48 Mute switch wiring
17:39 NOTE: A mod I did to reduce the hum
18:38 The first test - BANG!
19:43 How I fixed the problem!
22:52 The test after the mod
23:53 Summing up & conclusions
26:22 The resistor that drops the voltage to relays in spongy/bold
modes
What you will learn:
Is the recto a great amplifier for guitar?
When is the modification available?
The demo amp looks old?
So is pop an ongoing issue?
What's the story about 'spongy' mode?
Will you be able to fix this problem?
Do I need to be qualified to do this - best to be safe?
After many modifications to the triple recto shown I turned my attention to the incessant 'popping' that happens when I change channels on the amp. After scanning around for a while I found a company called Tubes & Stuff on Reverb that had actually addressed this problem with a mod board. Great news.
So here is Alex's details @ Tubes and Stuff if you want to research this board further:
This email address: TubesAndStufff@gmail.com (note the extra 'f')
A Reverb listing: reverb.com/item/36524681-chan...
and Alex made a video all about the mod: • Silent Channel Switchi...
One thing is that Alex is also a very friendly guy and I'm sure that he would love to hear from you so don't be shy :)
Now then, if you have heard of the 'pop' problem before and you solved it then do come and tell me what you found... I'm all ears :)
I also show (at the start of this video) a problem about the foot controller where I was having many problems - and I show what I learned
about the amp in question and issues with relays - watch the video for that.
I also cover the exact problem I was having in an earlier video here: • Mesa Boogie Rectifier ... and I have a playlist on the whole series of refurbishing this amplifier here: • Mesa Boogie Amplifiers...
Hope you like it all. Just so you know:
All parts were bought by me personally - an ordinary user and owner of this amplifier and I was not given anything - it's a totally genuine review of what I bought from Tubes and Stuff and what I did to improve the amp. As an ordinary user my experience with any buying or use is exactly what yours might be.
If you are not a qualified engineer that has experience of working on tube or valve amps with up to 500 volts or more inside then do NOT attempt these modifications as there are very high voltages inside all valve and tube amplifiers, but you are more than welcome to watch what I did with my amplifier.
Remember I'm an 'old dog' but that fact alone might tell you that I have had lots of practice over the years that helps to keep me safe.
Visit www.tonymckenzie.com for more incredible reviews or my KZfaq channel tonymckenziecom
(c) A B McKenzie and tonymckenzie.com 2020-21
All Rights Reserved. All Trade Marks Acknowledged
#mesarectifierproblems #channelpop #floorpedalchannelswitch #tonymckenziecom

Пікірлер: 29

@tubesandstuff7055 3 жыл бұрын

Great content as always Tony! This was a fun project to work on with you. A few more thoughts on all this: - I'm selling version 2 of the mod now. It doesn't have the green+yellow wire, so it won't hum. In general, there are fewer wires and things to install with version 2. - I watched the Guitalogist video where he said run it in spongy. He was using a 2 ch rectifier, which doesn't have relays. For the 2 Ch amps, he's right. For the 3 ch amps... well we all saw what happens there.

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Yes I thought it was great and I learned a lot really. It's great to know that you continue to move this design forward, there is no doubt its a clever little piece for sure... I like it because this triple amp has without it a much louder pop and with the mods a far more manageable low volume channel change. Thanks for the info on Guitologist too... very interesting. I do however I think might have an answer for this on this amp. When I bought the amp it was a 120v USA version and I purchased a brand new PT from Mesa in the USA via the dealerships in the UK. However, they did say that the original PT was no longer available... but the multi-watt one would fit and work fine. Needless to say I wired that as a 240v primary, and connected the other wires to the header (as mesa do for international amps). My voltages are seemingly low when in spongy (as I might expect) but I think that this amp would operate at 230v primary in thus boosting the voltages marginally.. both in the spongy and the bold settings. It's pretty obvious that the amp is only just under voltage I think because of the oscillations of the relays. The 230v + 10% is remaining well below the 270v of the MOV and I doubt that the 230v winding with 240 through it will damage the amp simply because every man and their dog of amp makers do that often for the UK amps. And of course is a low percentage difference... say 4%. I'm going to look at that and see where those voltages lie and whether it will be within reason re voltages in the amp. Highly likely I'll post it back on here... Thanks for the help on the installation of the amp and good to know you're on the ball with the project. If you come up with any more do let me know... and stay safe there...

@aipsong 3 жыл бұрын

Great follow up - I probably wouldn't have your patience, and certainly not the soldering technique. Your videos are a real treasure for those that can't just throw money at a problem. Only downside - now you won't be able to play POP music!

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Very kind words... but man did I cringe at that one :). Brilliant and stay safe.

@garyz0611 3 жыл бұрын

Another great tutorial on how to fix or modify an amp

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

These can be boring and unless someone has the amp or similar could be a waste of time, but there are really so many rectifier and Mesa amps out there I thought it might be useful to someone. They were certainly interesting to see and the foot pedal is a really strange issue that only showed on spongy mode. Scary!. Stay safe and thanks for watching. I'll be getting back to something better :)

@burnbacktime 3 жыл бұрын

This was a good vid Tony. It definitely made a big difference in the channel switching. Cheers!

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Yes I think it did also. You know another guy just got me thinking. On the pedal not working on the 'spongy' mode. I replaced the PT with a UK 240v one from Mesa and they did say that the transformer original was not available but the current one would work fine. I bought it, installed it and its currently using the 240 primary in (which really it should). But my guess is that if I flip that primary input to 230v then its highly likely that the 'spongy' will then make the minimum voltage needed for that mode. Even at 230v in it's still within the tolerance needed for here. Maybe mesa were not quite right when advising me that the 'multi-watt' PT would have no problem... from my thinking I think it does... low internal voltage at 240v. I might try that and just make a vid if it solves the problem. Thanks for watching and stay safe... and remember you were the start of the logic for the 'spongy' thing... indeed a good pointer if ever there was one.... stay safe.

@burnbacktime 3 жыл бұрын

@@tonymckenziecom I'm sure if you used the 230 volt tap you would be just fine. Most definitely Mesa must have engineered some +/- tolerance into the design. Well, at least one would hope.

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Well, 230v with +10% of the sum = 255.3v approximately and the MOV for 240v use is around 270v so all should be OK and the 270v is really the ceiling of input voltage because that's the original MOV value for 240v... my thinking is that it will be fine... the 5150 III comes UK with 230 set (as so may amps do) and they all seem fine. But I'll check further.

@bluesingmusic3443 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you sorted the hum out. A little shielding can work wonders!

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Well... the shielding 'sheath' was there but it was not grounded to anything. One viewer added that it needed grounding and that's the way I have used that cable historically, but it did work which I suppose in itself was interesting. In the end it worked fine anyway and what I liked about this mod, is that if at some stage you no longer want it in the amp you could pull it out easily and return the amp to original. I also noted that the 'multi-watt' versions (dual and triple rectifier) are designed in a different way and are unlikely to suffer as these earlier ones do... probably will be in a later video somewhere :). Stay safe.

@bluesingmusic3443 3 жыл бұрын

@@tonymckenziecom same here, in aircraft we always grounded the shields to coaxials, shielded pairs, etc. Uncle Doug was using shielded wire, without grounding it for inputs, etc. That's why I figured the shield wasn't grounded. I was suprised when Uncle Doug didn't grd the shields, then he explained how the shield was there to cut down RF (as it used to be called) but that's exactly why we grounded the shields. It's been over 40 yrs since my Basic Electricty & Electronics, & US Navy Aviation Electrician School.(One would think I'd remember mire than I do about it, after 1 1/2 yrs of schooling, not to mention F-14 school.(never used hardly any of the theory the 8 years I was involved in it. It was always wiring, or components. Usually wiring, as we installed some advanced systems for that time.) One guy I worked with said he was hired Temporarily in 1948 to install VHF Radios 🤤 sa8d they were the newest tech going. Then he added, in 1981, I've been working here temporarily for over 25 years! Btw his payroll number (they were successive) was 00270! Mine was in the 45000s! LoL.

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Often I would ground just one end and that does make a massive difference. In this case I was surprised it still reduced the hum... but there you go. It might have been inducing hum FROM this cable to others? Ha I still call it RFI in some of the stuff I do which involves radio transmission and interference. Ha hired for that long I guess he was really permanent. It's a weird thing how 'jobs' have mutated over the years and people these days come and go it seems more often for sure.

@Twobarpsi 3 жыл бұрын

Great video and tutorial!

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks... these can get boring I know. But I wanted to create at least a pointer for anyone that gets this sort of problem. Thanks for watching and stay safe.

@Twobarpsi 3 жыл бұрын

@@tonymckenziecom very complicated, but your work is very tidy!

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Not really if you think of it as a sort of puzzle but you know it has an answer to it :) I like to do it all but some of it is beyond what I know - I'm not really an electronics engineer. While I have been involved in technology my abilities don't really go to design and technician levels of this stuff... I know others that do though :)

@vk3fbab 3 жыл бұрын

I've seen the same behaviour running a nomad 100 with a Variac down too low. That is quiet relays and oscillations of the channel switching once it got to a critical point. Of course I knew it was voltage because I was intentionally starving the primary of juice. I haven't looked at the schematic for your amp but my heartbreaker has a spongy and bold mode. From memory it changes taps on the primary of the transformer to increase the number of turns to lower the voltage on the secondary. Would have expected this to be right from the factory.

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Yes I guess that would do it. This amp also has a 'spongy' and bold mode. Bold is 280 volts and spongy about 200 if I remember correctly. Yes it does use primary windings on the PT. In fact on this amp I purchased a UK transformer from mesa - and BTW the transformer for this exact amp is no longer available (fancy that) so they supplied one from a current triple rectifier (probably multi watt) but the voltages etc. seemed correct when I checked it all out. I guess I could throw the 230v primary on there rather than the 240v primary on and maybe that could boost the internal voltages to where they should be? Maybe I'll look at that at some stage. In any case the amp plays perfect on bold where my guess is that most guys would have it set. Great points that jogged my memory a little and that could be a solution for it. Thanks for the post - useful I'm sure, and for watching.... Stay safe.

@whosethebest Жыл бұрын

Great Video. Do you think it's workable for roadking II? the pop is crazy loud which Make me so desperate

@tonymckenziecom Жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure that it would work in a Road King II. I did own one but more recently sold that amp - but a brilliant amp for sure. Had I kept it I would have fitted the midi conversion and it really quietens down the popping. Check with the maker from the text of the video as Alex is a very friendly guy. Thanks for watching.

@Twobarpsi 3 жыл бұрын

Please do a Dual vs Triple sound test!

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Indeed I could (and will) do that but the dual is a multi-watt. I could do a dual, triple and road king II :) Stay safe and I'll be back...

@tonehammer7276 3 жыл бұрын

Hmm my 2 Channel Triple Rev G doesnt pop...the 3 Channel i had did, but only if i did not press each footswitch button once before flipping the Standby switch to on. After that, no issues

@tonymckenziecom 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks fore the info - it seems that some do and some don't maybe a roll of the dice... or particular age (this was rev D I think about 2004) maybe. But that floor pedal no flipping right when on spongy has to take the biscuit really. I never saw that before although I have seen faulty foot switches on MK IV. Thanks for posting and stay safe.

@tubesandstuff7055 3 жыл бұрын

2 channel rectifiers don't use relays, so they don't have the pop issue. MOST of the 3-ch amps don't pop either, but the few that do are really annoying.