Mesa Titan Problem?

Mr. BassmanPT · #1 11-30-2011, 12:41 PM

all tone shaping settings are at 12, overdrive channel is disabled. the bass is active so the channel is also active. the channel volume is at 7, the overall volume is at 9. i am playing at my room now with a mesa powerhouse 412@4ohm.

the volume is not loud at all and i am hearing a slight distortion from my ken smith bass. if i increase the output to 12, the volume is perfectly acceptable for training in my bedroom but i hear lots of distortion.

also of note is that i cannot play "clean and loud". loud without distortion in my sound is not possible. i know tubes give you some dirt but i think this is too much dirt. i also think it plays too low for so much power... my guitarist with a 50 watt tube amp gives me a hard time setting a clean sound and compete with his stage volume. how can an amplifier with so much power only play dirty when pushed a bit more?

is this normal? i changed basses, cables, everything. been reading about it and some users are reporting that mesa found a problem with transistors or something (these were fried) and had to replace the whole power section.

i do not have a way to compare heads so any comments will be helpful for me. my titan is an early silver faced model without the top vented lid.

regards

bassgod0dmw · #2 11-30-2011, 12:50 PM

When was the last time you changed the batteries in your bass?

Have you tried using the head on the passive setting?

Mr. BassmanPT · #3 11-30-2011, 12:58 PM

the bass is fine as it plays fine in my combo. and it does it with my other smith bass. passive even distorts more

babebambi · #4 11-30-2011, 01:08 PM

Where did you set your gain?
Upload a photo so we can see all the settings

bassgod0dmw · #5 11-30-2011, 01:10 PM

Are all of the numbers you give o'clock?

Not, it is not normal. You should be able to get a very clean tone if it's dialed in correctly. Tubes can give you some dirt, but they are very capable of great cleans as well.

I would still swap the battery in the bass. Start with the easy & cheap stuff. Have you tried different cables? Both instrument and speaker cables...

Are you plugging straight into the amp, or do you have something else in the signal chain?

Mr. BassmanPT · #6 11-30-2011, 01:10 PM

all tone shaping settings are at 12, overdrive channel is disabled. the bass is active so the channel is also set to active. the channel volume is at 7, the overall volume is at 9.

with setting like that, the sound has a slight distortion.

i am setting the gain to 12, below 12 the overall output is low so i set the gain at 12 and this brings the distorted sound.

Mr. BassmanPT · #7 11-30-2011, 01:13 PM

bassgod0dmw · #8 11-30-2011, 01:25 PM

Maybe I'm missing something here, but you're using channel 1...right?

You say the channel volume is at 7, and the overall volume is at 9? Exactly what controls are you referring to? In Mesa lingo...

You should be concerning yourself with Gain and Master. The solo and OD stuff shouldn't apply, unless you are using the OD (which you are not) or using the solo boost...

Also, the manual isn't exactly clear if the CH.1 OD / CH.2 OD controls still function whether the overdrive is switched on or not. Have you tried turning it down, since the CH.1 is set fairly high?

Mr. BassmanPT · #9 11-30-2011, 01:46 PM

using channel 1.

the channel volume is the second from the right to left, top row.

the overall volume, master in this case, is the last one in the right, lower row.

the 2 knobs for the overdrive are not engaged so this has nothing to do with them,

note: just noticed the passive mids are at 13 and not 12.

edit: i am playing straight into the amplifier... cables are fine too.

babebambi · #10 11-30-2011, 01:53 PM

That should not give you distortion at all.

Try these thou...
Lower the gain, increase ch vol to get the desire loudness
Try the other input
Try the same setting on ch 2
Switch FX loop to by pass
Clean all jacks

Or it could be the pre tube related
Re-sit tubes
Switch out if you have spare

If still unable to find the culprit,
You need to patch into various point on the signal chain in the amp
Will talk about that later

bassgod0dmw · #11 11-30-2011, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmaranhao

the channel volume is the second from the right to left, top row.

I'm just not understanding what this means. Can you please just say what the actual label of the control is?

To me, the 2nd knob over from the left is the OD Level...the 2nd knob over from the right is the Master.

If you're talking about the OD Level, it should make any difference if you've got the OD switched off. Just in case they do still happen to impart some sort of tone, have you tried turning them down?

babebambi · #12 11-30-2011, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassgod0dmw

I'm just not understanding what this means. Can you please just say what the actual label of the control is?

To me, the 2nd knob over from the left is the OD Level...the 2nd knob over from the right is the Master.

If you're talking about the OD Level, it should make any difference if you've got the OD switched off. Just in case they do still happen to impart some sort of tone, have you tried turning them down?

The four knob on the right.
Solo, and master - effect both channel, it is the final gain stage
Ch. master 1 & 2 - effect each channel independently

The four knob on the left controls only the distortion.
In the off position, it has no effect to the sound.

Mr. BassmanPT · #13 11-30-2011, 02:06 PM

babebambi, i just set the gain to 7.

it plays low so i increase both the channel volume and master volume, both go to maximum. it gives a distorted sound and I AM IN MY BEDROOM, it is loud but NOT THAT loud at all.

the other channel is the same thing. i am not using effects loop, the bass goes straight into the input jack. the amp is like this since i bought it so it does not need cleaning.

i do not have tubes. i will take it to the store as this is still under warranty. but i wanted to avoid sending it to USA to mesa repair service, i will be without my amp for quite some time.

another problem is when i turn it on, and while in standby, after a few seconds a pop comes out of the speakers. when i shut the amp down it also gives me a pop.

bassgod, you read it wrong. i said the knobs from the RIGHT TO LEFT

i set both knobs of the OD to minimum, no effect on sound at all as it is disengaged.

i do not have a head like this one to compare. i am so sad, this amp has a very nice meaty sound. but when "pushed" it distorts

babebambi · #14 11-30-2011, 02:08 PM

One more thing to try.
Turn solo off, and to lowest.

Mr. BassmanPT · #15 11-30-2011, 02:14 PM

it is not that as well.

Bassorama57 · #16 11-30-2011, 02:22 PM

I've had a Titan for several years. My friend, you do definitely had a problem - if I had my amp on your settings it would blow my head off in a confined space such as your bedroom.
I've had the following issues with mine over the years, as I've noted in other posts:
- MOS-FET chips "wiggling" loose from the board. That causes power loss, distortion, etc. They simply wiggle loose over time & corrode.
- O/D tubes go bad - cheap and easy to replace.

babebambi · #17 11-30-2011, 02:23 PM

You didn't comment on whether you tried the other input, so I put that on the list again

FX jacks has switch, if the switch is dirty, it can cut the signal in and out.
Just because it's new to you, doesn't the unit is manufacture yesterday.
It can get dirty all the same. Also you didn't comment whether you switch to bypass on the FX

Next you can try plugging the bass straight in the FX return
That will determine whether the distortion is from the pre or the power section

Edit for more
Try turning the OD on and off
I have heard about unit with the OD switch wired backward.

Mr. BassmanPT · #18 11-30-2011, 02:31 PM

the fx is bypassed.

the bass is now plugged into the send as into return it does not output any sound.

it still plays with distorted sound so this has nothing to do with the tubes correct? it is a power section problem right?

plugging directly into send invalidates the front bypass switch purpose though. it still plays with this bypass on or off.

Mr. BassmanPT · #19 11-30-2011, 02:32 PM

bassorama, did my description fit in your past experiences with the titan?

babebambi · #20 11-30-2011, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmaranhao

the fx is bypassed.

the bass is now plugged into the send as into return it does not output any sound.

it still plays with distorted sound so this has nothing to do with the tubes correct? it is a power section problem right?

plugging directly into send invalidates the front bypass switch purpose though. it still plays with this bypass on or off.

To clarify
When you plug in FX return, effect loop should be on rather than bypass