Owner’s Manual
Hello from the Tone Farm ...You, smart player and intuitive human, have put your trust in us to be your amplifier company. This is something we do not take lightly. By choosing this instrument to be a part of your musical voice, you have become part of the Mesa family...WELCOME! Our goal is to never let you down. Your reward is that you are the new owner of an amp, bred of fine all tube heritage...benefiting from the many pioneering and patented Mesa circuits that led to the refinement of your new model.
PRECAUTIONS & WARNINGS Your MESA/Boogie Amplifier is a professional instrument. Please treat it with respect and operate it properly. USE COMMON SENSE AND ALWAYS OBSERVE THESE PRECAUTIONS: WARNING: EU: permission from the Supply Authority is needed before connection. WARNING: Vacuum tube amplifiers generate heat. To insure proper ventilation always make certain there is at least four inches (100mm) of space behind the rear of the amplifier cabinet. Keep away from curtains or any flammable objects.
Table of Contents Precautions________________________________________________________________________________ 0 Overview_________________________________________________________________________________ 1-3 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES TUNER OUT________________________________________________________________________________ 3 PASSIVE/ACTIVE SWITCH_ ___________________________________________________________________ 3 INPUT SELECT____________________________________________________________________________
Operating Instructions Overview: Congratulations on your choice of the Big Block TITAN V-12 as your amplifier and welcome to the MESA/Boogie Family! First we would like to thank you for trusting us with your tone and choosing us as your amplifier company. This is something we never take for granted and we are here for you should you ever need help.
Overview: (Continued) The TITAN doesn’t rest on the laurels of its massive power alone, Tone, versatility and unlimited shaping power abound in the dual channel footswitchable preamp. Two identical all-tube preamp channels taken from our intuitive Big Block 750 are voiced such that minimal shaping is needed to achieve a warm musical blend. When it’s time to craft your own signature sound, this preamp can take you anywhere you wish to go quickly and effortlessly.
Overview: (Continued) Finally, two punched grille vents serve as intake vents for the heat that is forced out of the two mosfet power blocks by the cooling fan. NEVER BLOCK THESE VENTS! NOTE: BLOCKING THE INTAKE VENTS WILL CAUSE OVERHEATING AND LEAD TO INTERRUPTED PERFORMANCE OR EVEN DAMAGE TO YOUR AMPLIFIER. Now that we have an overview of the TITAN, let’s look at the specific functions of the individual controls and features.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) CHANNEL SELECT: This three position mini toggle provides manual access to the TITAN’s two preamp Channels when you’re in the studio or you just don’t want to bother with connecting the footswitch. The upper position (toward the CH1 LED) activates Channel 1, the middle position labeled “FTSW” activates the Footswitch (when connected) and the lower position (toward the CH2 LED) activates Channel 2.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) GAIN: (Continued) As the GAIN control is increased past 12:00 a richer, more “well-rounded” voice becomes dominant and headroom starts to diminish in increments until eventually, a tube overdrive sound appears as the 12AX7 input tube is driven into saturation. The region between 12:00 and 2:30 is where the classic, warm tube sounds reside and within this narrow band you will discover a world of tone.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) ACTIVE MID: In addition to the passive style MID control, the TITAN features an ACTIVE MID circuit that allows further accentuation of specific midrange frequencies across a wide band. This wider band covers the spectrum from high bass/low mid all the way through to high mid/low treble frequencies.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) TREBLE: (Continued) This active shelving TREBLE control completes the rotary tone control string to create a powerful and extremely accurate network to use as your fundamental platform.
FRONT PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) POWER: (Continued) setting, extended periods of full volume operation or in the rare instance of the other internal protection circuits not catching a short in time. If the circuit breaker trips, turn the POWER and STANDBY switches to their OFF (down) positions and reset the breaker by pushing it all the way back in.
REAR PANEL: Controls & Features A.C. RECEPTACLE: This IEC connector accepts the supplied power cable for the TITAN. When connecting, make sure it is securely fitted into the socket so that vibration or a stray foot behind the backline can’t work it loose and interrupt your performance. NOTE: The TITAN draws close to 18 amps of current (and possibly more in a mismatched 2 Ohm scenario) when used at its highest output levels.
REAR PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) SPEAKER OUTPUTS: These are the Speaker Outputs for the TITAN and these jacks accept both standard ¼” and Nuetrik locking SPEAKON type plugs. The full 1200 watts of power is available when using a 4 ohm speaker load and the SPEAKER IMPEDANCE switch set to the 8/4 ohm position (switch up). This is the suggested configuration. With an 8 ohm speaker load and the impedance switch set to 8/4, your TITAN will produce approximately 600 watts of clean power.
REAR PANEL: Controls & Features (Continued) GROUND LIFT, POST/PRE, DIRECT OUT: (Continued) the XLR Output to a console, try lifting the ground (switch left) on the circuit. This will usually (but not always) remedy most ground loop type noise from the signal path. Sometimes it may also be necessary to lift the A.C. Cable Ground also by using a 3-2 ground adapter to achieve a quiet signal path. NOTE: Ground loops can occur in many places in a complex signal path.
FACTORY SAMPLE SETTINGS Round Warm R&B / Purring Edge PAGE 12
PAGE 13
DIAGNOSING PRE-AMP TUBE PROBLEMS: At some point it is quite possible that you will experience some kind of minor pre-amp tube noise. Rest assured - this is no cause for alarm and you can take care of the problem yourself in a matter of minutes by simply swapping tubes. It is always a good idea to keep at least a couple of spare pre-amp tubes on hand at all times to insure uninterrupted performance.
DOMESTIC PT# 790425 EXPORT PT# 790430 AC RECEPT.
