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Post subject: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:47 pm
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I've been spending a fair bit of time with the Mark V 35 lately and I stood 10 feet back from it today and realized it was beaming at me.
I knew I had a blocker in my parts bin so I went to work on it.
After taking a quick survey I could plainly see the chassis was going to have to come out to remove the speaker.

Newer Boogies have the speakers bolted through the baffle rather than screwed into the baffle like older Boogies.
I like this because it doesn't crush the foam installing the blocker.

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Since I had the chassis out I thought I'd snap a few pix for posterity.
Pretty dense in there.
I doubt there's anything I will be repairing myself on this one.
LOL

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Interestingly this amp comes with a cooling fan, something I was not aware of.

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When reassembling I decided I prefer the look of black cup washers over the stock chrome ones.
I think it looks better.

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I like the Weber Beam Blocker.
I think it's a wonderful product.
Makes stage spill so much easier to manage and doesn't deafen those 3 women that always want to dance right up against the riser.

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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:28 am
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I have a customer bring me a amp with a Beam Blocker, I have to remove it for a repair.
I was not impressed by this beam blocker, I would not install it personally. Like many thing, it is a matter of taste.


Mesa Boogie chassis/ circuits ; I fixed some easy issue on some MB. I don't want to do any work on circuit.
Those amps are a well know as tech nightmare.


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 6:48 am
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Never been crazy about Mesa's, just not my sound. Not a knock on Mesa, I'm an old school guy, Mesa's have always sounded too modern or too polished for me to gas for.

I want an amp shield... Being old school I've just turn the amp to face backward (which has worked fine when the venue is right on top of me)


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:12 am
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Yup the black beauty washers look a lot better!
That is a seriously tight/crammed main board.
This design is much better than a single board layout, with everything mounted to it.
Preamp - output section separation, Potentiometers not mounted to board are money/time savers from a user perspective if repairs are needed.
The tubes mounting directly to the board are still an issue for DIY repair but at least are on two boards.
Enjoyed the pics inside the Mark5 35, thanks.


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:30 am
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This is what you might think these amps are easy to repair, the reality is quite different when you have to put your hands in.


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:41 am
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stratele52 wrote:
This is what you might think these amps are easy to repair, the reality is quite different when you have to put your hands in.
I NEVER said anything about it being easy....but it is better constructed for repair/replacement due to the separate boards and not being mounted to the boards(pots).


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:10 am
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sfceric64 wrote:
stratele52 wrote:
b..but it is better constructed for repair/replacement due to the separate boards and not being mounted to the boards(pots).



Sorry I desagree, put your hand on and you will know, it is a very poor desing.
A picture is not the reality .


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 10:56 am
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Better than beam blockers, get a sheet of black open pore foam 3/4" thick. Cut 4" holes in it over the speaker cones. Mount it behind the grille cloth or even over it for temporary installations.
Where the beam blocker reflects the sound coming from the dome, the foam attenuates treble throughout the cone area while not affecting mids or bass. The hole becomes a virtual radiator for treble with 180 degree dispersion. Its a nice setup when the audience is too close.

While most amp manufacturers have a design philosophy of tried and true circuits, Mesa goes the other direction. Maybe they call it innovation. I call it the wellspring of bad ideas. Especially if you are trying to troubleshoot. Even adjusting bias is problematic.
Stratle and I were discussing this a while back. You can't just change out bias divider resistors because there are other power supply rails coming off the bias rail that would affect those other circuits.
My last Mesa problem was a Nomad that would buzz the relays on power up. Only changing channels would stop it.
Come to find out, the relay/footswitch power supply is derived from the +-3volt DC filament circuit for the preamp tubes. This is further divided down into a -1.8 / +3 volt supplies for the footswitch logic circuit. For no good reason, the footswitch logic is controlled by a led vu meter driver ic.
The lm3914 is a voltmeter ic and needs a very stable supply to operate. It doesn't belong in any tube guitar amp because just a little ripple in the filament supply throws the entire footswitch circuit into an oscillating panic.
Why don't they use standard logic? In the middle of silicon valley, you'd think they could come up with something better than that.
But I see all kinds of wierd circuits in Mesa amps. Must be something they're smoking...


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 1:33 pm
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I've been playing guitar for 50 years.
Electric guitar for 47 years.
This Mark V is my 5th Boogie.
6 if you count the Road King but it was a MESA.
I have never had a single problem beyond tubes with any Boogie I've ever owned.
My other Boogie has some marking on the board (which you've already seen) from the previous owner but it has not failed despite seeing a lot of use and apparently some abuse as well.
No, wait. I replaced a worn out standby switch once.
It had not failed; I just didn't like how it felt.
I performed that task myself without incident or difficulty.
I can certainly see how the density and complexity of the circuitry might make them an amp tech's nightmare but that has never confronted me.

Modern Fender amps may be easier to work on but then again, maybe they need to be.
Just saying.

As for the guy above who thinks they're all too modern sounding, I would ask if he had any experience at all with an actual Boogie.
I could possibly agree with his sentiments if the comment was limited to those amps bearing the MESA Engineering logo but Boogie labeled amps are quite capable of producing seriously delicious old school tone.

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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:33 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
I could possibly agree with his sentiments if the comment was limited to those amps bearing the MESA Engineering logo but Boogie labeled amps are quite capable of producing seriously delicious old school tone.

Considering the original Boogie amps were simply hotrodded Princetons.

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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:17 pm
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Mesa owners are some of the most sensitive.. type one off remark and "oh it's on!"

Yep, not heard one Mesa I personally cared for... again.. not a knock on Mesa. Amp preference is subjective (we all know this.. so try not to get offended)


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:34 pm
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It's only "on" in your mind.
I simply asked a question and then stated an opinion that was counter to your own.
If you're allowed to state an opinion then so am I.

I will ask the question again .... have you tried a Boogie?
I mean an amp with the actual "Boogie" logo, not the MESA Engineering logo?
I ask again because you keep lumping all Mesa amps together like they are just different colours of the same shirt.
I assure you they are not.

Just like you lump me into one pot with all other owners.
Oh, yes. I am sooooooo sensitive.
LOL

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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:35 pm
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I gotta say the old Boogie is one of the only combos that I enjoyed the sound of the overdrive channel with no pedals.
When you make the distinction between Boogie and Mesa Engineering, could you expand on those differences and timelines?
I worked on an old Bassman 6g6a head that had Mesa Engineering stickers on it. Back then,I assumed it was old work. They took the feedback loop out of the input stage and put a nickel laminated output transformer and Mesa power tubes. It was a high gain powerhouse, but I never found out if it was a one-off or a production model.


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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:32 pm
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I guess I thought it was obvious.
Maybe it's obvious to me because I'm kind of a light duty Boogie guy (I'm not hard core Boogie, just a moderate enthusiast) and other people don't notice because they're not looking as closely because they don't care.

It has always been my observation that amps labelled Boogie have old school Boogie tone and those which are labelled MESA Engineering have other tones.
Sometimes they are the modern Recto sounds.
Sometimes they are a new extension of an old hot-rod-mod.
Sometimes they are a design the company isn't traditionally known for, like the Lonestar Special.
Sometimes they blend the old with the new.

All the Mark amps have always had, somewhere in them, the ability to mimic the earliest Marks, frequently one of the II models and sometimes more than one.
As I understand it, my Mark mimics the IIB, the IIC+, the IV and also two interpretations of Fender; BF & Tweed.
And yes, there is also an "extreme" voice which roughly approximates Recto tone, which I never use.
I don't know how much more old school anyone could expect than that.

Besides the Mark series of amps I believe the only amp currently available that is labelled Boogie is the Fillmore series, which Boogie markets as a return to old school tone.
They've built it in a way similar to the Rivera approach in which you don't really have a clean channel and a dirty channel.
You have two single channel amps in one box.
The difference is that Rivera attempts to provide a single channel Fender with a single channel Marshall, where the Fillmore supplies two identical single channel amps ... in the flavour of old school Boogie.
I think it's an interesting approach and I would like to try one sometime.

I don't know with 100% certainty that my interpretation (which is also a kind of unwritten common knowledge) is the official word on why the company labels some amps Boogie and others MESA but I can't ever remember seeing an example that proved my interpretation wrong.

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Post subject: Re: Beam Blocker Install
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 10:05 am
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Thank you. That clears up alot.


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