Triaxis inbound: Is there anything I need to check when I get it?

[TheGreatGreen]

I don't know about what to check for maintenance, and you probably already know this, but the Triaxis very much needs an external EQ to sound its best. The Dynamic Voice control is supposed to emulate a V curve but it sucks ass. It basically emulates a huge bass boost and the most narrow-Q kind of hollowed out notch filtery sounding mid scoop I've ever heard. Leave it at 0 or maybe put it on 1 for a slight low end boost and let an external EQ do the rest of the actual EQ'ing.

 

[midnightlaundry]

I don't know about what to check for maintenance, and you probably already know this, but the Triaxis very much needs an external EQ to sound its best. The Dynamic Voice control is supposed to emulate a V curve but it sucks ass. It basically emulates a huge bass boost and the most narrow-Q kind of hollowed out notch filtery sounding mid scoop I've ever heard. Leave it at 0 or maybe put it on 1 for a slight low end boost and let an external EQ do the rest of the actual EQ'ing.

I always kept it on 5. It is a compromise tho. I think the manual said they programed in an average of what their customers would dial in on the GEQ.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

I always kept it on 5. It is a compromise tho. I think the manual said they programed in an average of what their customers would dial in on the GEQ.

Yeah internally, they split the signal after the distortion stages, so one of the paths is unaffected but the other path gets routed into a preset V curve EQ. The Dynamic Voice control is actually a Mix control between the non-EQ'd and EQ'd signals. It can be okay in very small doses as a supplement for some extra body but it's not great, and the moment the preset EQ curve gets too prominent in the mix, the whole thing goes south. imo unless you're desperate for the most compact rig possible, adding a simple EQ pedal or even another rack EQ for the Triaxis loop will always be the better move.

 

[nightlight]

I don't know about what to check for maintenance, and you probably already know this, but the Triaxis very much needs an external EQ to sound its best. The Dynamic Voice control is supposed to emulate a V curve but it sucks ass. It basically emulates a huge bass boost and the most narrow-Q kind of hollowed out notch filtery sounding mid scoop I've ever heard. Leave it at 0 or maybe put it on 1 for a slight low end boost and let an external EQ do the rest of the actual EQ'ing.

Cool tip, thanks. I don't have an EQ pedal, but I do have an Axe FXIII, so it'll be a large rig, but I'm lucky to be young-ish and hungry enough to cart a small fridge rack unit for practices and the odd gig (that almost never materialises).

 

[DanTravis62]

I don't know about what to check for maintenance, and you probably already know this, but the Triaxis very much needs an external EQ to sound its best. The Dynamic Voice control is supposed to emulate a V curve but it sucks ass. It basically emulates a huge bass boost and the most narrow-Q kind of hollowed out notch filtery sounding mid scoop I've ever heard. Leave it at 0 or maybe put it on 1 for a slight low end boost and let an external EQ do the rest of the actual EQ'ing.

I always kept it on 5. It is a compromise tho. I think the manual said they programed in an average of what their customers would dial in on the GEQ.

Cool tip, thanks. I don't have an EQ pedal, but I do have an Axe FXIII, so it'll be a large rig, but I'm lucky to be young-ish and hungry enough to cart a small fridge rack unit for practices and the odd gig (that almost never materialises).

Both good advice

To sound its best, it needs both an external EQ and a BIG power amp. The key with the EQ is that it has to have enough control to get that gross filtery sound out - so, at least a 10-12 bands and preferably more

Also got the best results with a 2:90 or a coli return, but I imagine anything that's big will work fine

 

[nightlight]

Both good advice

To sound its best, it needs both an external EQ and a BIG power amp. The key with the EQ is that it has to have enough control to get that gross filtery sound out - so, at least a 10-12 bands and preferably more

Also got the best results with a 2:90 or a coli return, but I imagine anything that's big will work fine

Plan on pairing with my Rectifier Stereo 2:100 or VHT 2902. Wish I could get a Simulclass 2:90 though.

 

[GaryM05]

I have nothing to add for what to check beyond the above excellent advice. But a few suggestions as you become familiar with the unit:

- Get ready to become addicted to making screen grabs of every old Petrucci or Hetfield rig rundown where the camera pans over a Triaxis so that you can try to grab their settings

- Watch the Triaxis videos from this guy…he has one for each channel with tips on how to use it:



- Don’t sleep on the lower-gain/Mk1 channels…I’ve had more enjoyment playing with these than with the high-gain ones that usually get the most love. Rhythm green, Ld1 Green and Ld1 Yellow have a ton of variability and satisfying tones to offer, IMO.

 

[napalmdeath]

Id recommend checking to see if it works.

 

[Code001]

What do you mean by channel bleed? You mean the controls for Lead 1 and Lead 2 suddenly become conjoined? That would really suck. I will test thoroughly for this, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Also, how do I check for a phat modded Triaxis V2? Are there phat modded V1s? How do they sound?

Correct. Ld1 should never impact Ld2's gain level. I had that issue on my personal one where Ld1's vol/gain was impacting Ld2's gain. To check if you have a Phat mod, open it up and look for the TX4 daughter board. Look at the top left and see if there are missing parts. Missing parts means it has the mod done to it which makes Ld1 Red sound pretty awful.

Yes, there are V1s with the recto mod. It was an option Mesa would perform for you. There are even V1s with an upgraded MIDI capability to do CC changes, from what I recall. Mesa was more than willing to tweak the shit out of these for customers if you sent it in, so the best way is to open the top cover and look.

 

[Me]

If it's proper proper old one and never been done there's the regulator mod... that's pre-92 though

Thinks this was the reason mine shat its pants once between soundcheck and a gig about 20 years ago and lost all it's patches and I had a mad panic programming new patches as I had no backup.

There's also the battery. Looking at this old photo I have of the inside of mine from aeons ago, I think it had a metal cover over it which is also where the frmware chip goes so you can see what version FW it is.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

Both good advice

To sound its best, it needs both an external EQ and a BIG power amp. The key with the EQ is that it has to have enough control to get that gross filtery sound out - so, at least a 10-12 bands and preferably more

Also got the best results with a 2:90 or a coli return, but I imagine anything that's big will work fine

The TriAxis sounds OUTFUCKINGSTANDING with a 2:90 and a pair of good 4x12s.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

It sucks because the triaxis has a shitload of excellent sounds. This is one of those pieces of gear that desperately needs a re-release with better components and reliability.

And a modernized front access, no membranes please.....

Plus true 12-band Graphic EQ with an alternate parametric EQ.

 

[DanTravis62]

The TriAxis sounds OUTFUCKINGSTANDING with a 2:90 and a pair of good 4x12s.

That exactly was my touring rig back in the day. Two boogie OS cabs.

Sounded righteous.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

They're crazy unreliable these days. Most of it is due to the tantalum caps that are old and at their limit. Expect it to eventually fail. The good news is that, if it is capacitor related, it's totally fixable, and Mesa doesn't charge much to fix it. Don't send it to other techs as they'll charge too much to deal with the insanity that is the Triaxis unless you happen to live in Europe.

Main things to look out for:
* Inability to channel switch
* Lack of gain even with new tubes
* Channel bleed (Ld1 controls should never impact Ld2's sound and vice versa)

Don't fuck up your membrane; there are no replacements. That front input dual gang pot is also no longer made. Handful of other parts inside are no longer made, but they don't fail as much as those stupid yellow tantalums installed everywhere.

If you have a V2 phat modded Triaxis, it's worth getting it reversed. After having both, there are just no real good, usable sounds out of Ld1 Red with the phat mod.

OG No-Phat is the only way to go for me. I wanted a TriAxis because I wanted a next gen Mark experience, not a Recto Bastard....

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

I have nothing to add for what to check beyond the above excellent advice. But a few suggestions as you become familiar with the unit:

- Get ready to become addicted to making screen grabs of every old Petrucci or Hetfield rig rundown where the camera pans over a Triaxis so that you can try to grab their settings

- Watch the Triaxis videos from this guy…he has one for each channel with tips on how to use it:



- Don’t sleep on the lower-gain/Mk1 channels…I’ve had more enjoyment playing with these than with the high-gain ones that usually get the most love. Rhythm green, Ld1 Green and Ld1 Yellow have a ton of variability and satisfying tones to offer, IMO.

The secret to the best tone for me is never max preamp gain. Moderate preamp gain + plenty o' Master Vol and some graphic EQ as needed.