Mesa-Boogie MARK II-B User Manual

MARK II-B

OPERATING MANUAL

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Congratulations! You have purchased the finest musical instrument amplifier that modern
technology and old world craftsmanship can produce. Nothing has been spared in terms of cost
or care to make this unit the most versatile, most reliable, and best sounding amplifier available.
The MESA/Boogie itself is more like a fine musical instrument than a piece of commercial gear,
and as such it will continue to reward you richly as you gain more practiced in its use. With only
reasonable care it should last a lifetime and, as experience has shown, a well kept Boogie will
maintain or increase in value as it ages.

Here is a list of controls and features and sample settings to help you gain familiarity with your
new amplifier. You are encouraged to experiment every way possible with speakers, controls
and external effects; your Boogie has been made virtually foolproof so damage in the event of
accident or misuse is quite unlikely. First, plug the AC cord into a wall socket and turn the Power
switch ON. It is not always necessary to have the three pin power plug grounded, and in some
situations (such as multiple-amp setups) a ground float adaptor may reduce line buzz. The
Ground switch located on the amplifier rear panel should be set to the middle position and
switched to right or left only when buzzing line conditions warrant its use. With the amplifier on
STANDBY, plug the footswitch box into the lower front panel jack using the cord supplied,
though any cord will work. If the red LED indicator on the footswitch box does not light up, press
the footswitch, also check that all five pullout switches on the control knobs are fully pushed in.
When the red LED is lit, the amplifier is in the Rhythm mode (Red=Rhythm). Set Volume 1 to
about 7 and Master 1 to about 2. These are the two gain controls used primarily for rhythm
playing. Generally you will want to run the Volume 1 control as high as possible without causing
unwanted distortion, in order to have available the most possible sustain when switching into the
Lead mode. The Master 1 will control the playing loudness without changing the tone. The Bright
switch pullout on the Volume 1 control has less and less effect as the control is turned up higher
and will have no noticeable effect from about 8 to 10. Set the Treble control to about 7. When the
knob is pushed in, the tone control equalization is similar to that on old Fender™ amplifiers;
when pulled out, the Treble control frequency center point is shifted downward to give a more
robust sounding mid range. Treble Shift, when pulled, is automatically switched on in Lead
mode to give a hotter, fatter lead sound. Set the Bass and Middle controls to about 2 each. The
Master 1 control (already set to 2) also incorporates the Gain Boost pull switch which can be
used for adding extra bottom to the amp's tone as well as a slight increase in gain.

The Lead Drive controls the amount of overdrive sustain and distortion; set it to about 8. The Pull
Lead switch built into this control performs the same function as the footswitch, namely triggering
the relay. You will see the LED indicator on the box go out when the Lead Drive knob is pulled.
The Lead Master controls the playing loudness in the Lead mode - set it to about 2. The Pull
Bright on this control only has effect on the Lead mode and not the Rhythm mode, and adds gain
and sustain as well as brightness. So, to summarize briefly: Volume 1 and Master 1 regulate the
gain and the loudness of the Rhythm mode, Lead Drive and Lead Master regulate the overdrive
distortion and loudness of the Lead mode where Volume 1 still provides the initial signal
strength. Or, in other words, the amp uses two volume controls for Rhythm (Volume 1, Master 1)
and three volume controls for Lead (Volume 1, Lead Drive and Lead Master). Please note,
however, that the Master 1 is always active in the circuit and will limit the maximum volume of the
Lead mode when it is set too low. With only a little practice you should be able to work these
controls to provide just the right rhythm tone and just the right lead tone with the loudness of both
independently adjustable by the Master controls. So hit the Standby and go ahead and try it!

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