You shouldn't have. Mesa amps are notoriously difficult to dial. Too many people rage sell them before doing enough trial and error with the knobs. The 2C is a Mark 2C+ reissue...pretty much the amp that put aggressive high gain tone on the map.
How to get AGGRESSIVE with an Archon
- Thread starter elvis
- Start date
You shouldn't have. Mesa amps are notoriously difficult to dial. Too many people rage sell them before doing enough trial and error with the knobs. The 2C is a Mark 2C+ reissue...pretty much the amp that put aggressive high gain tone on the map.
I never completely warmed up to them because of how they don’t act like other guitar cab speakers. And not because they couldn’t sound good, but because I couldn’t play them like other speakers. It’s a little disconcerting! Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing speaker and it can do several things exceptionally well, but it will never act like a greenback or old Jensen. One of mine is prominently displayed in my Boogie combo being used as a full range flat response system for my Kemper. With the 5-band graphic EQ, it does a really good job. And with several of the old Marshall profiles, it is weird hearing pre-Rola sounds coming from a Mesa combo and an EV12L. I would never discourage anyone getting an EV Thiele cab...they are something special...but I have no idea how it would match with an Archon.
elvis
Hamfisted String Banger
I've owned almost every amp mesa has released in recent years. I tweaked on the JP for a year. They are great amps, but not for me. I still like the rectifier and have a mini rec I'll never sell. I loved the F50 as well. No rage quit, I prefer simpler.
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
That was the boat I was in, as well.
D
Deleted member 5962
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After 5 years of Mesa, it almost seems to easy to make the Archon sound great. What's better is, how easy it is to go from one type of great tone to another completely different one. It takes seconds, not minutes or hours
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
Sorry, homey....gotta say...one more time...I told you so!
I actually feel a little guilty that I sold you my MkV.....but just a little....
D
Deleted member 5962
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No guilt there, bro. I needed that amp. It was my dream amp. I now know that I may have bonded better with a Mark IV, or several versions of Mark III. And now I KNOW what amp is even better for me.
But I have some nice trade bait. And no BS, it really is a great amp.
But I have some nice trade bait.
And no BS, it really is a great amp.
elvis
Hamfisted String Banger
Got a new 7-string. Playing it through my newly-aggressive Archon is HEAVEN.
D
Deleted member 5962
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Come on bro, don't make me say "Pics or it's a Hello Kitty Uke. 5 string version."
What did you get?
What did you get?
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elvis
Hamfisted String Banger
You asked...
elvis
Hamfisted String Banger
It's unfortunate that PRS doesn't have a core 7. But probably it's not the best use of their time.
On the topic of speakers, one thing that rarely comes up is the physics of the output section of the amp and the cabinet desgin, and their impacts on what we hear when swapping speakers and going for tone.
For example, if we have two V30's in a cabinet of any sort, the output section of the amplifier will "see" a certain type of load. But when we swap one of of those speakers out for something different (same ohm rating but different power handling), the power section is going to "see something different. Same goes for the impact of cabinets (ignoring open baked cabs on this thought). So two identical speakers will impart the same pressure inside the cab. But what happens to the "weaker" of the speakers when the phase draws the cone inward? Can the "weaker" speaker travel as far inward due to the pressure of the "stronger" speaker pushing it back out? Is the power applied to that speaker fully utilized? How does it impact the output section of the amp?
And things like this actually keep me up at night.....and I have to tell myself to shutup and just play my rig in the morning!
For example, if we have two V30's in a cabinet of any sort, the output section of the amplifier will "see" a certain type of load. But when we swap one of of those speakers out for something different (same ohm rating but different power handling), the power section is going to "see something different. Same goes for the impact of cabinets (ignoring open baked cabs on this thought). So two identical speakers will impart the same pressure inside the cab. But what happens to the "weaker" of the speakers when the phase draws the cone inward? Can the "weaker" speaker travel as far inward due to the pressure of the "stronger" speaker pushing it back out? Is the power applied to that speaker fully utilized? How does it impact the output section of the amp?
And things like this actually keep me up at night.....and I have to tell myself to shutup and just play my rig in the morning!
elvis
Hamfisted String Banger
Some of this is captured in the impedance vs frequency spec of the speaker. But it also changes with SPL and cab design. It's so complicated that I just try stuff and then wind up going back to my recto 2x12 with V30.
TroyBaer
Really knows where his towel is.
I recently added a second 2x12 cab to my Archon/SE212 rig, a Port City Wave 2x12 with Eminence Wizard and Governor speakers. The difference between the two cabs as you go off-axis of them is striking. As you move from side to side in front of the Port City cab, you get this almost chorus-like "swirl" effect because of the intermodulation of the sound waves coming from the two different speakers and the slot port on the front of the cab, whereas with the SE cab and its two identical speakers, it just gets louder or quieter.
D
Deleted member 5962
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I've got a buddy with a 1x and 2x Port City cab and he raves about both of them
