Hey Mike, always great, but the Lead 2 Red is not Recto based...it should be a kind of a Mark III. The Recto should be the Lead 1 Red, even if it changes a bit from version to version...
@@BigHairyGuitars the lead one red is listed as just a" british voiced amp tone" in the manual, i guess not a copy of any mark amp. i never used the lead one red, as the volume and density is just a fraction of the other channels.
Rhy-Green=Vintage Fat Rhythm Lead 1 - Red = Classic British Lead Rhy-Yellow=Modern Bright Rhy Lead 2 - Green = Mid Gain MK IV Lead Lead 1-Green=Vintage Mark 1 Lead Lead 2 - Yellow = Classic MKII Lead (MK II-IV) Lead 1-Yellow=Gain Boost MK I Ld. Lead 2 - Red = Searing MKIII Lead
Hey, just wanted to say I am now a happy owner of your BHP Trix pack. I bought it this morning about 5:00 AM and 9 hours later I am still going ham with it. Every profile is fantastic. Great job with that one.
Hey man, thanks for doing all these vids of older preamps. I used the ADA, JMP1, and Triaxis throughout the 90's. I just downloaded your Kemper profiles. It's been a blast messing around with them in that format....They sound like I remember. So fun!!
Thanks for the video. I have the Triaxis / Simul90 and have been neglecting it for some time now. I gigged with it years back all midi baby. This just reminds me that I need to use this tool in my recordings a lot more. So glad I've never let it go.
Thank you doing this! I've had both the Tri-Axis and 2:90 for years. Incredible the amount of tone that can be achieved. That used to be my rig in a country band! lol
ive heard some great country tones come from that amp, not to mention others in the boogie family and even Engl, so im not surprised....when i was younger i was definitely surprised.
I bought 6U rack with the 1U power supply protection, Triaxis and Simul Class 2:90 power amp in OUT OF THE BOX condition for £1500!!! I don't know what version it is though. It was on ebay and the guy who bought it paid £6000 for the whole lot but then had kids and lost interest in guitar. He even delivered it to my house as he lived only 1 hr away. I use it for my rock band with two 2/12 cabs. The other guitar player was as green as snot when I wheeled it in and it totally dominates the room. He has a JCM Marshall which is good but not refined by comparison. What I love about it is the low end is endless without any wooliness. I also love the fact I can switch through power amp settings for depth, headroom or half power ect. I got a real bargain as tatty Trixais are going for £1250-£1500 these days. I cloned it with a Kemper but it doesn't have the air and feel.
Some killer Petrucci brother Micahael!! Favorite part of your channel is the very cool history - you never disappoint, my friend! Clean channel sounds amazing.
Dear Sir. The tone here is amazing. Your channel is fantastic too. I really like your videos, you have a very personable style. I hope personable is a real word.
Absolutely the best preamp I've owned, then it would be the Hughes & Kettner Axcess. Great tones here Michael! As our your Triaxis profiles. And yes it is HUUGE and HEAVY.
Lead 1 and Lead 2 are separate controls because of the way the logic works, it would been more complicated to have 1 control and the memory too know what the setting is at when switching between lead 1 and lead 2. So it is that way so you can set each differently and it wouldn’t change when changing channels. It was a very smart device for it’s time and the switching was really cool. Hope that makes sense.
YEEEEEEEEEEEES! Sounded fantastic, especially the spanky stuff at the end with the tele. Also, I have my Tri and MP-1 stacked in my rack in the same order you do. This is getting weird.
Looking for Triaxis sounds and I found you here Leon!! I love to see experienced ppl like you and in this case Michael, to be in love with our Almighty Triaxis!!
Thank you for this video for now making me wish I hadn't got rid of my Triaxis / 2:90 setup! 😢😢 The Triaxis is a supremely fantastic preamp! 05:26 Very good point. Each programable parameter setting is unique to each patch, and you can't have 2 or more modes operating at the same time. Don't know what they were thinking - they should have made use of that inactive parameter to maximise the units sound potential.
You're a bad man Michael, a bad man. I'm sitting on some savings and have always had a desire to won one after missing out on a used unit when someone ursurped me a while ago. Someone was selling a 50/50 power amp over here in Norway, but one channel wasn't functional. Which seems like a lot of work to fix if I don't know a Boogie savvy tech. Great vid, thanks
Yea, seems like Scandinavia is not the best place in the world to find gear, and on eBay prices go fairly high. However, here in Italy we have this site where people put intrument-related announcements and sometimes prices are very low. Check this out. www.mercatinomusicale.com/ann/search.asp?kw=mesa+fifty+fifty&rp=&ct=&ch=&mc=&gp=2&st=&p1=&p2=&rg=&pv=&vt=&pc=&sg=&pn=&ob=prezzo and as always, be careful when you make online deals. Cheers mate.
I actually owned a triaxis twice....paired with the 2:90. I actually went back to my modded Soldano SP-77 both times (several years apart). I felt like the tri was not as dynamic as the Soldano. I did really like it, though.....diggin’ the vids.
My tone through Mesa sims or otherwise (at least on my AX8) have all benefited from dialing back the bass. It seems counterintuitive but it just seems to be what the guitar wants. I think we hear it in isolation and think it sounds shrill or weak but in a mix with a band it's more in line with what the guitar should be as part of that and also helps it cut through more. I've also been way more generous with my mids.
When I had a Triaxis, the Ld 2 Red was identical to my Mark III. Ld 1 Red was the Recto but only the second version had it that I’m aware of. I think there were three versions. The other two didn’t sound as good as the Recto in my opinion.
If I was Petrucci with his settings there in a magazine, I'd change one of them to something super weird just to screw with people :D I was too young to pick one of these up but I did GAS for this sound. I was sad when it was finally discontinued a couple of years ago. Hopefully a reissue one day!
Great video! The Triaxis is just a phenomenal Preamp and I’m jealous lol! BTW, I just noticed that Rivera TBR 1-SL and it seems to be staring at me straight in the eyes lol! Are you doing a video on it as well? I hope! Anyway, great channel! One of my top favorites for sure! Keep up with the good work!
Hi Michael! since you have worked with John Sykes on Bad Boy Live, there was a period around 1994 or so when John used Mesa Triaxis preamps with the pcm 41 to sort of achive his 1987-1989 Whitesnake/Blue Murder sound. Could you do an episode like that?
I've had a Triaxis for 15+ years and it is by far my favorite. Lead 2 Red is NOT Recto though, Lead 1 Red is the Rectifier curcuit. The manual describes the Lead 2 Red as a more British EL34 type sound (which I take as code for Marshall).
I swear that was altered Dream Theater in the beginning, got a hard on. Really appreciate the length of this video. Very interesting that the graphic curve voicings are also blend and not just full on depending on the "preset". There's no wondering why this preamp is so god damn expensive even 30 years later second hand. You can get a new marshall head for same or less (given that I'm talking in europe)! Today something like mk 5:25 or petrucci might be a really nice alternative for this. Also what! That HUUUUUGE Rivera in the rack! And there's some interesting blue thing on top as well. This is the worst kind of teaser ;)
I dont think these exist anymore without dents and dings and scratches, I got one about 6 years ago, use about the same settings you had dialed up, less dynamic voice though not a huge scooped fan. They sound great though, i have the 2:90 as well, and on stage cranked up, they are awesome. p.s just started using the half power for smaller shows and the modern mid.. the deep is way way way too much bass for my rig,lol
My Triaxis has a Plexi card in it. It sounded wonderous especially with the 2:90 Power Amp. It is the cleanest sound like crystals or you can break it up in so many ways and for the IIC+ the mids are so complex and grainy it can cover almost anything. I have a Sparkle Drive pedal which you can set to allow original tone through and then add your own Ibanez Tube Screamer or 808 type just to blend.
I feel like this preamp gets a bad rep due to the ‘dynamic voice’. Try turning it to Zero/OFF and use an external EQ (parametric is best imo) after the output or in the FX loop. I think it returns that ‘openness’ and dynamics that people seem to say is missing.
Sounds as meaty as any of the latest Borg boxes out right now. It would stand to reason if we loved the tones of our favorite bands from that era, we'd still enjoy using the gear which made it.
I'll be damned if I use a plugin to get my sound.... Recordings were done fine before they ever existed, and shouldn't I play live with what I recorded with if I can??? But how would shows look with all the guys plugging into laptops????
I have used the ADA Mp1, 2 of them for years, they were great. I always wanted the TriAxis and the 2:90.. There definitely is a lot to digest, the get into everything. I am glad, I found my Mesa Nomad 100. I am very happy with that amp, especially combined with the Two Notes Torpedo Captor 8 and the Empress ParaEQ.
@@rikardocarvalho I love the ADA Mp1. I still have them. They need overhauling to reduce noise. I am just not wealthy to buy whatever I want all the time.
@@rikardocarvalhoI have back up data for my presets. I still think the ADA MP1 as an important piece of gear. I am just going to develop a new rack based on Synergy systems now.
I bought mine new in the early ‘90’s. Gotta get into the manual to among other things, make sure you have the gain value set properly on LD1 Red. It was originally 6.0 but may have changed to 6.5 with the Phat Mod. If that isn’t evidence enough to convince one to read the manual, one is on one’s own. ;-)
I've had my Triaxis since '94 but never got the 2 ninety power amp. I just used a Peavey 50/50. Maybe I'll have to start keeping an eye out for a 2 ninety.
Hey Mike, The reason why the LD1 and LD2 are separate is because they have different gain settings, LD1 is the Recto Gain Settings, and LD2 is the MK Gain Settings.
Hey Mike, great job in there. I'm about to get a Triaxis and wonder how it sounds without any amp. Just the pre connected to a cabinet simulator straight to my audio interface. Does it changes in terms of sound or is it pretty the same thing? (I know the character of 6L6 tubes is part of the chain but...i would like to get just the preamp right now if it is a good investment. What's your thought about the "only pre" choice?
I have one and use it without poweramp (just output into soundcard + impulses). I wonder how much poweramp affects the final sound because mine doesn't sound like yours at all :)
Proper video. Have u tried the Adrenalinn III? pretty complex lil $400 box u should check it out. Also, can u do a video on the B.K. Butler Real Tube II, Baz from Bolt Thrower told me that's what they used on For Victory and Marty Friedman & Mustaine used them for leads on the Countdown To Extinction sessions and tour; it sounds gnarly to say the least. Cheers!
So how does all this fit together..y’all wants your high output humbuckers that’s open wide sounding ...and simultaneously rolling the bass off...just wondering maybe high output single coils could do the same...with little punch of bass
The distortion yeah it’s sick everyone knows but those cleans, oof!!!! Quite possibly the most rich, balanced and premium sounding lead sound of any amp in the history of the world.
I bought one after they were just released to replace my quad pre amp. I sold it around 6 months later. It was undeniably more flexible, but was just not as good, sonically. Same power amp you are using, but just did not have the high gain balls the quad had. Tone stack, and eq seemed to be set on a different frequency curve, and just could not get that brutal tone i was used to with the quad.
I have the lead 2red recto one. Sounds more than great at low to mid volume at home through my Marshall 9200 but I cant get it to sound good at high volume playing with my band. Even with gains and treeble way low it is is just ear piercing.
Fantastic tone👍, i own a Triaxis , but what i notice Is a huge White noise ... I connect the Preamp directly ti the PowerAmp SECTION off my Bluguitar AMP1. Can you tell me the signal chain of this demo(there are some hum REMOVAL or noise gate?)? I ca Hear the noise when you don't play but i don't Hear amy of the noise i Hear when not playing... I see the volume Is 2 on output, amy other info are possible ? Thanks, Andrea
Stop it, MIchael. Just stop it! My wishlist for cool/vintage gear that I haven't thought about or seen in years is quickly surpassing my wallet's abilities.... Seriously though, great vid, as always!
