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d1469d
New member
Any love for the Mesa Triaxis Preamp ? Got one on the way. Just wondering about the good the bad the ugly. Thanks
midnightlaundry
Well-known member
Played one for a long time. What do you wanna know?
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d1469d
New member
The pros and cons of the preamp ? What did you like/dislike about it ?
midnightlaundry
Well-known member
Dynamic Voice is preset. I always kept it on 5, and tuned around that.
The 2:90 is great with it, but at low bedroom volumes, the Deep function has an audible hum. I always ran Deep and Modern.
Loved the programability. Can't beat that.
The 2:90 is great with it, but at low bedroom volumes, the Deep function has an audible hum. I always ran Deep and Modern.
Loved the programability. Can't beat that.
P
psychodave
Well-known member
I dig mine. I don't like the dynamic voicing. I use a custom made EQ.
audiomichael
Member
Love my Triaxis. It REALLY works nicely with the 2:90 power amp. IMO it has some of the best lower gain tones avail.
sandman
Well-known member
That preamp has always intrigued me
S
sapphireskiss
Member
Had the V2(non fat) and the 2:90 with 2 rectifier 4x12's. I actually used LD1 red (Recto) for my rhythm and leads, because it fit the tone of the band I was in. The cleans are really nice also. I would have kept that rig but it was too much after I got out of gigging.
NewWorldMan
Well-known member
The Triaxis is awesome. I've owned many of them over the years, and I still have 2 of them right now that I plan on keeping. I've got a very late '92/early '93 that was originally a V1 and was updated to V2 with the TX4 board as soon as it was available (very early rendition of the board) as well as a late '94, also a TX4 with no Fat Mod. They both sound great and slightly different from one another. Like psychodave above, I don't like the DV and use a custom EQ with mine as well.
rsm
Well-known member
phat mod or not?
Mine has the phat mod. I dig it, it was my preamp in my old G-system rig, and I used a Two Notes Torpedo CAB as my power amp/cab/mic. so many tones in this rig, and they sounded great in a 4U rack.
I'm keeping my TriAxis; back in the day I was a big ADA user (still have my #1 MP-2) - I had the full rig, with 4 cabs, power amp, 2 MP-1's, MQ-1, and 2 MP-2's,...and a complete ADA bass rig.
I sold my Marshal JMP-1 / JFX-1 last year.
TriAxis and MP-2 are keepers, unless the going price is too good to ignore
I don't use them much anymore, but I would miss not having them.
edit: these days, the only preamp that sees any use is my Engl E530 that is part of my Engl rig.
Mine has the phat mod. I dig it, it was my preamp in my old G-system rig, and I used a Two Notes Torpedo CAB as my power amp/cab/mic. so many tones in this rig, and they sounded great in a 4U rack.
I'm keeping my TriAxis; back in the day I was a big ADA user (still have my #1 MP-2) - I had the full rig, with 4 cabs, power amp, 2 MP-1's, MQ-1, and 2 MP-2's,...and a complete ADA bass rig.
I sold my Marshal JMP-1 / JFX-1 last year.
TriAxis and MP-2 are keepers, unless the going price is too good to ignore
I don't use them much anymore, but I would miss not having them.edit: these days, the only preamp that sees any use is my Engl E530 that is part of my Engl rig.
Tone Monster
Well-known member
Non phat mod versions sound the best IMO
LanierP
Active member
Love mine, and yes the 2:90 is great to pair up with it. I also have a simul 395 that I liked even better with it sonically, but the additional weight of the 395, as well as the extra rack space, made me switch back to the 2:90. I had a small issue with mine and had heard that others also had it. It felt with switching from say the lead red channel to the green channel (clean). There would always be a volume jump in the lead channel before it switched over to the green. It did this all night at a gig and I was about to do a Pete Townsend on it with my guitar I was so frustrated. It only does it when switching from Lead red to green clean. I dialed in a nice sound on the yellow channel for cleans that was ok, (not as crisp and clean as the green) and that solved the problem, but I never further investigated the issue; only saw that there were a few other guys on some forum I dont recall that also had the problem.
This actually caused me to switch up rigs, and now the Triaxis sits quietly unpowered, collecting dust.
Anybody ever hear of this or experience this with their Triaxis? I mean, we are talking like a 5db jump as it went from distortion to clean, and the jump was on the distortion side of the channel switch.
Other than this, I love this thing. Great sound and cool to see a lot of dudes still playing these.
Len
This actually caused me to switch up rigs, and now the Triaxis sits quietly unpowered, collecting dust.
Anybody ever hear of this or experience this with their Triaxis? I mean, we are talking like a 5db jump as it went from distortion to clean, and the jump was on the distortion side of the channel switch.
Other than this, I love this thing. Great sound and cool to see a lot of dudes still playing these.
Len
shredhead7
Active member
I have one that I've had since 99. I really like it and when I step away from it for a while and return I love it. Mine is V2, non phat. To be honest, LD1 Red is not a good sounding voice IMO anyway, so it's a non issue with the version that you have. LD2 is where it's at all day long. Vintage Mesa Mark Series tones. They are pretty similar in sound, with LD2 Red having slightly more grind, while Yellow has a little looser feel and green is in the middle. Look up Petrruci's touring rig video from a year and a half ago, where he has the triaxis out again. Steal that preset, which is built around LD2 Red, for a great, tight rhythm crunch. They need to push some air to really appreciate the tone. I usually use LD2 Yellow or Green for leads, also using different Petrucci settings there as well (they're all over the net). You are not going to get Recto distortion. The distortion is still thick and liquidy, but it's not an easy amp to play. You will notice your playing weaknesses and there isn't enough gain on tap to cover that. With that said, there is plenty of gain once your playing comes around and you will be rewarded with a great sounding rig.
The key take a ways are: Like most Mesa's, the eq section works in series and adds distortion as you turn each one up. The preamp has way too much bass, so keep that setting lower than treble and mid, always. A good start is 5-6 treble, 5-7 mid, and 2-4 bass. The DV setting isn't bad, 3-5(max), most settings work great with it set at 3. It's a preset eq curve that creates a deeper V, the higher the setting. The higher the DV settings, the lower the bass settings need to be. Gain around 7-8 and master usually around 6-8.
The cleans are amazing.
Put a fresh set of tubes in it as well as your power amp. I had a 50/50 power amp for years and after not using it for a few years (let a friend borrow it), fired it up and thought it sounded like shit. I replaced the power tubes and it still sounded lifeless. Cracked up the case and discovered two preamp tubes that hadn't been changed in the 12 years that I owned it. Replaced those, holy shit, it kills now.
The key take a ways are: Like most Mesa's, the eq section works in series and adds distortion as you turn each one up. The preamp has way too much bass, so keep that setting lower than treble and mid, always. A good start is 5-6 treble, 5-7 mid, and 2-4 bass. The DV setting isn't bad, 3-5(max), most settings work great with it set at 3. It's a preset eq curve that creates a deeper V, the higher the setting. The higher the DV settings, the lower the bass settings need to be. Gain around 7-8 and master usually around 6-8.
The cleans are amazing.
Put a fresh set of tubes in it as well as your power amp. I had a 50/50 power amp for years and after not using it for a few years (let a friend borrow it), fired it up and thought it sounded like shit. I replaced the power tubes and it still sounded lifeless. Cracked up the case and discovered two preamp tubes that hadn't been changed in the 12 years that I owned it. Replaced those, holy shit, it kills now.
shredhead7
Active member
LanierP":32xav5mm said:
I never had that issue, but I did have an issue where the midi stopped working altogether and I had to send it in to be serviced. They replaced the board and few other parts while it was there and it was back to good as new. With that said, the phantom power has since stopped working (no biggie just power at the floor board), and occasionally, the midi will stop working, which requires a reboot. I usually do a test as soon as I setup, and after it's working, it's never stopped working mid gig. I would guess that your issue is related to the midi board inside, where it's changing certain parameters first, rather than at the same time. Look into the midi settings, and make sure everything is back to default or omni; meaning mapped 1-1, 2-2, etc...I know that it can do a lot of Continuous controller things, that are maybe screwy.
Piero the Guitarero
Member
shredhead7":3pfyejbm said:
posted this a while ago in a german forum.
I really dig this feature, Triaxis is the only piece that can "morph"
a clean sound into highgain territory. No other machine can do that
J
JemmyPaeg
New member
I loved all the ones I've played in the past. Very nice units.
skoora
Well-known member
They sound great and then you play through a head and forget about the Triaxis. I would like one for the fun factor but it can't beat the dynamics, attack and grunt of an all-in-one head. It also sounds better to me if you run into a heads power section rather the into a power amp. Sounds pretty good using a Marshall for power. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them but I've never played through a pre/power rack setup that beats a head.
The best rack pre I've heard so far is the Mesa studio or quad into a head's loop return. Those did sound rather good.
The best rack pre I've heard so far is the Mesa studio or quad into a head's loop return. Those did sound rather good.
shredhead7
Active member
Piero the Guitarero":12673w40 said:shredhead7":12673w40 said:
posted this a while ago in a german forum.
I really dig this feature, Triaxis is the only piece that can "morph"
a clean sound into highgain territory. No other machine can do that
That's a great gif. Even using just the volume knob on the guitar, these clean up to spanky clean from a roaring distortion. Amazing really how well they clean up. But you're right, for shear controllable power, they are unmatched in the tube/analog world.
ob1clyde
Member
Ive always heard really good things, but havent had a chance to play one myself. Let us know how it goes since youll have a fresh new experience! congrats man.. Midi is one of those things, its great when it works!
4406cuda
Well-known member
I love the Triaxis. To get the most of it, it should be paired with a 2:90 to take advantage of the 3 extra voices the 2:90 offers.