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Mesa Strategy and Prodigy discontinued. Also PH cabs.

#562
hennessybass said:
Not seeing any on ebay or reverb... don't know how much money you might be able to save by really searching and waiting for a used one anyway.
Click to expand...

Found one on Reverb for $82 + $30 for shipping- from the Netherlands!!!

I just ordered a new one from Mesa....
 
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#563
Not affiliated, but I (kind of) know a guy in Austin selling a Prodigy with a custom road case, foot switch, cable, extra set of mesa power tubes, and two extra pre amp tubes for 1K.

Not sure that he would ship - maybe on your dime. He's willing to take reasonable offers or looking to trade for a USA made Fender.
 
#564
hennessybass said:
Not affiliated, but I (kind of) know a guy in Austin selling a Prodigy with a custom road case, foot switch, cable, extra set of mesa power tubes, and two extra pre amp tubes for 1K.

Not sure that he would ship - maybe on your dime. He's willing to take reasonable offers or looking to trade for a USA made Fender.
Click to expand...

He posted on a private FB group for Austin bass players.
 
#565
hennessybass said:
Not affiliated, but I (kind of) know a guy in Austin selling a Prodigy with a custom road case, foot switch, cable, extra set of mesa power tubes, and two extra pre amp tubes for 1K.

Not sure that he would ship - maybe on your dime. He's willing to take reasonable offers or looking to trade for a USA made Fender.
Click to expand...

I think I just saw that on Reverb, too.
 
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#569
MikeBass said:
Is there a way to mod a non-“Boost” model Prodigy to have the boost?
Just curious.

Guess could always just drop a clean boost pedal in front.
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I don't believe so, IIRC the PCB is different.
 
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#570
48FA7DCD-8355-4C9C-A3F8-C13E10971D86.jpeg
Some Prodigy porn.....
 
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#571
agedhorse said:
I don't believe so, IIRC the PCB is different.
Click to expand...

Heeeeeyyyyy... @agedhorse
I do have a question though.....what’s the voltage that runs to the footswitch???
Love the idea of the tuner jack on the footswitch- smart!! Wondering if there’s enough voltage going out to it to power a tuner pedal.
 
#572
MikeBass said:
Heeeeeyyyyy... @agedhorse
I do have a question though.....what’s the voltage that runs to the footswitch???
Love the idea of the tuner jack on the footswitch- smart!! Wondering if there’s enough voltage going out to it to power a tuner pedal.
Click to expand...
In general, you don't want to power the tuner pedal from the amp's power supply because that's a sure way to introduce a ground loop between audio ground and power ground, tuners rarely introduce noise because they are a floating device that self-references to whatever ground the tuner out is referenced to. Introducing another ground opens up the potential for a ground loop in a fairly sensitive part of the circuit. Besides, the voltage is too high anyway.
 
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#573
agedhorse said:
Just going to jump in here to say that both the Strategy and Prodigy are really hot rodded amps and it's becoming more and more difficult to get consistent quality production KT-88 tubes that can handle the high voltages and currents that are necessary under the wide variety of real world conditions that these amps see in the wild (and getting more and more difficult every day it seems) . They are an expensive tube (especially a set of 8), and when reliability suffers the costs of replacements can get pretty high awfully quickly. Since our warranty is both long and liberal (as many of you are aware of, and some of you have taken advantage of), it has just become impractical to continue with such a costly, almost custom build type amp. There are some still available throughout the dealer network, as well as showing up on the TB classifieds. The warranty is transferable, so if you want one just keep your eyes open.

As far as the Powerhouse cabinets, the days of players seeking out 100+ pound cabinets is coming to a close. Absolutely nothing wrong with the speaker, just that tastes have changed away from this to cabinets like the Subway and similar lighter weight more compact cabinets. There are plenty of new and used PH cabinets out there so there's certainly no shortage plus we continue to stock all the repair parts and warranty service should it be necessary.

Don't worry though, I am always working on new designs and listening closely to what Talkbass players are looking for, as you all seem to be ahead of the curve more than anywhere else. Now's your chance to speak up! ;)
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I would sure like to see a 50 watt Mesa tube head.
I think that would be the ticket for us old people who don't need 465 watts but still want the Mesa tube sound in our garages!
 
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#574
MikeBass said:
Is there a way to mod a non-“Boost” model Prodigy to have the boost?
Just curious.

Guess could always just drop a clean boost pedal in front.
Click to expand...

If you bought the footswitch, then there's the solo you can use as a boost.

I have both the first series Strategy and Prodigy without the boost, and can't think of why I would need that anyway.
 
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#576
Good lord this damn thing is LOUD!!!
Even half power is loud as hell!!!

Ok.....couple of questions....
Got a brand new footswitch from Mesa, when I press any buttons, and there’s any signal present, I get a “pop”. No pop when there’s not a signal present.

Also, and I think I know this answer, but when switching from standby to on, you can hear some noise. Not loud or anything, but noise like some rumbling and maybe a little static. Doubt I’d ever notice it on the gig. Noticed it in my practice room.
I’m thinking power tubes....and judging from exactly how dirty this thing was, my guess is the tubes are stock (2013 build date on the amp).
There was a good layer of dirt/dust on everything inside the amp. Took a good half hour of cleaning easily.

So, thoughts on the above??
 
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#577
Probably nothing to do with the tubes. In fact, if the existing tubes are operating correctly and bias correctly, leave well enough alone.

When interrupting signal without the use of RoHS banned parts, the pops are due to the inherently fast and complete switching times of these devices. We used to use LDR devices, but this is no longer possible due to the banned substance Cadmium Sulfide (even though the amount was minuscule). Slowing the switching down is impossible where we use relays and has side effects when using FETs. At any practical volume, the switching noise should be quite low.
 
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#578
agedhorse said:
Probably nothing to do with the tubes. In fact, if the existing tubes are operating correctly and bias correctly, leave well enough alone.

When interrupting signal without the use of RoHS banned parts, the pops are due to the inherently fast and complete switching times of these devices. We used to use LDR devices, but this is no longer possible due to the banned substance Cadmium Sulfide (even though the amount was minuscule). Slowing the switching down is impossible where we use relays and has side effects when using FETs. At any practical volume, the switching noise should be quite low.
Click to expand...


Well ok then!
Just saved me a few hundred $$ on tubes!!!

I didn’t do the auto bias thingy on it. Don’t know if it’s necessary from what I could gather from the owners manual.
I was going to take it to the local self proclaimed tube amp guru here in town. Small time guy, Bruce Egnater. He hasn’t done much- Supposed to know a bit about tube amps..... ;) and have it just gone through and given a check up.
 
#580
Tubes do drift. So when I got mine a couple weeks ago (its a very early unit too), I pulled the tubes and I use Deoxit to clean the tube pins and the tube sockets. I also set the bias per instructions, and it rocked the whole weekend, no strange noises. The tubes in it were perfectly fine.
 
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