TRANSATLANTIC TA-30 IN DEPTH VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

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HaggertysMusic

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Our latest video features the brand spanking new TA-30 Head. I am really digging this amp! I LOVE the 40 watt mode, especially on the Hi 1 mode. 30 watts class A is even more vox-ish in channel one, and the spring reverb makes all the difference in the world.

Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lzhO0z2TBo

Questions, comments & suggestions welcome!
 
Thanks! I love your demo vids. I have serious interest in a TA-30, so I found this very helpful.

There seemed to be a good deal of amp noise when the Volume (preamp?) was boosted. I noticed you adjusted guitar volume before and after playing. Was this due to your close proximity to the amp or the room? I've read where others have observed this from the TA-15 (noise), and was wondering if this is inherent in the amp.

Observations (well, you asked!):
1) Give a view of the footswitch
2) Leave the amp settings on the screen while playing.
3) How about some time with a Strat/single coil guitar?
4) What speaker(s) are you using?

Thanks again!
 
dodger916 said:
Thanks! I love your demo vids. I have serious interest in a TA-30, so I found this very helpful.

There seemed to be a good deal of amp noise when the Volume (preamp?) was boosted. I noticed you adjusted guitar volume before and after playing. Was this due to your close proximity to the amp or the room? I've read where others have observed this from the TA-15 (noise), and was wondering if this is inherent in the amp.

Observations (well, you asked!):
1) Give a view of the footswitch
2) Leave the amp settings on the screen while playing.
3) How about some time with a Strat/single coil guitar?
4) What speaker(s) are you using?

Thanks again!

Thanks for watching. I did have to stay on top of my vol knob to help with noise. Moving further away from the amp certainly would have helped this some, but there will always be noise in a high gain amp when the master volume is cranked. This is probably more noticeable on lower wattage amps because we tend to run the volume really high.

If you're running channel 2 in Hi1 or Hi2, I think the sweet spot is about 1/4 - 1/3 up on the gain control with the boost engaged. This not only sounds the best (to me) but also keeps the noise in check, and you can hit the front end of the amp with a boost or overdrive to get more saturation when you need it.

About single coil guitars:
We would almost need to dedicate an entirely different video to that because each sound would be different. That certainly isn't out of the question, but it is a lot of time and resources to make a video like this happen. I guess my thoughts are, almost everyone will know how a custom 24 sounds, and can extrapolate from there how other guitars will react differently. The same can be said of the Strat. But which type of guitar will the majority of players be using? I really don't know the answer to that question, so I just picked the custom 24 and went with it. :D We may very well do some videos with a strat style guitar... I'm thinking when we get the TA-30 combo in that would be a good time to try it. Thank you for the suggestion!

Speakers:
The cabinet was a 4x12 Rectifier Straight, loaded with Vintage 30's. It was mic'ed with a Royer R-121 into a True Systems P-SOLO Ribbon Preamp. With that mic and preamp, what you hear on the recording, is what we heard in the room. :D
 
Rkorn said:
Does it do high gain?

Did you watch the video? That will give you a good idea of what the amp is capable of. I don't think it's a good choice for metal, if that's what you mean by high gain.

The Transatlantic is all about vintage tones. Vintage vox, vintage fender, vintage marshall, vintage boogie. It nails those classic sounds from the 60s and 70s. It's not a modern high gain amp like a Rectifier, Mark V, or Stiletto by any means.
 
That sounds really good. I really like all of the sounds you were getting. I was looking at getting an Electra Dyne but I might have to hold off and see how the RA sounds.

Is the Royal Atlantic supposed to be a souped up 100W brainchild of the TA15/TA30?
 
b0nkersx said:
That sounds really good. I really like all of the sounds you were getting. I was looking at getting an Electra Dyne but I might have to hold off and see how the RA sounds.

Is the Royal Atlantic supposed to be a souped up 100W brainchild of the TA15/TA30?

The Royal Atlantic is unique unto itself, according to what my Boogie sales rep has told me. You can bet we'll be doing a video on it as soon as it comes through the door.
 
Congratulations, Don, for yet another excellent video. Chapeau, man! :)
 
Do you have noise (sort of a hum-hiss) from the reverb/fx circuit ? This has nothing to do with the gain setting or any other controls except when this circuit is on (and it increases when turning the reverb control).
 
b0nkersx said:
That sounds really good. I really like all of the sounds you were getting. I was looking at getting an Electra Dyne but I might have to hold off and see how the RA sounds.
+1. I have an ED and like it a lot, but not enough to replace my Mark IV. I'm hoping the TA-30 will be a versatile, reliable, light-weight gigging option to the Mark IV (and Mark IIs). Maybe use one or the other as a back-up amp?
 
GuyB said:
Do you have noise (sort of a hum-hiss) from the reverb/fx circuit ? This has nothing to do with the gain setting or any other controls except when this circuit is on (and it increases when turning the reverb control).

Our videos tend to pick up a little extra noise due to the lights, but I haven't noticed the problem you're describing!
 
GuyB said:
Do you have noise (sort of a hum-hiss) from the reverb/fx circuit ? This has nothing to do with the gain setting or any other controls except when this circuit is on (and it increases when turning the reverb control).

Same problem here with that circuit (on this thread and elsewhere).
Called Mesa Boogie Customer Service and left a message yesterday, going so far as to put the phone up to the front of the amp and turn the mini-toggle on & off: it was silent off and noticeable when on. A few new owners have opted to get one/two new 12AX7's to solve it with mixed results. Maybe it comes with the "territory" of a bright EL-84-based amp or something else. I'm sure that they'll have some sort of answer, but when I miked it in the studio with a Sennheiser 421 or SM-57: it was still there. :^(
 
guitardr said:
GuyB said:
Do you have noise (sort of a hum-hiss) from the reverb/fx circuit ? This has nothing to do with the gain setting or any other controls except when this circuit is on (and it increases when turning the reverb control).

Same problem here with that circuit (on this thread and elsewhere).
Called Mesa Boogie Customer Service and left a message yesterday, going so far as to put the phone up to the front of the amp and turn the mini-toggle on & off: it was silent off and noticeable when on. A few new owners have opted to get one/two new 12AX7's to solve it with mixed results. Maybe it comes with the "territory" of a bright EL-84-based amp or something else. I'm sure that they'll have some sort of answer, but when I miked it in the studio with a Sennheiser 421 or SM-57: it was still there. :^(

A customer I just shipped a TA-30 head to is experiencing the same issues you guys are describing. I'm working with Mesa/Boogie right now to try and get an answer, either an explanation or remedy. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something.
 
Well here is the answer I received from Mesa/Boogie:

"This is actually somewhat normal for the TA-30's. The higher the reverb
is turned up, the more hum you will hear. The heads will have a tad
more hum due to the proximity of the reverb tank right next to the
transformers in the amp. This is usually the same scenario for any of
our amps that have reverb. No matter what, once you turn the reverb
control up, you will normally hear more hum. Some amps are just more
noticeable than others.

For most guys that use moderate reverb settings in a live gigging
situation, it's usually never an issue. However, customers that use the
amp at lower volumes in there studio/bedroom and have the reverb cranked
all the way up will be the ones that hear this the most.

There is obviously always a chance that it's the reverb tube causing
more noise than it should in V5 or V6, or that something happened to the
reverb tank in transit.

If the customer has further concerns you can definitely have him contact
us directly in customer service. Then we can further diagnose the
symptom with him over the phone while he has the amp in front of him."
 
GuyB said:
Thanks for this info, I appreciate.

Same here...
A small price to pay compared to a mid-60's JMI AC30 I had for a while: great sound but heavy & nowhere near the features of the TA-30...

The amount of noise is small for live gigging even while miked; but it was "there" when being miked in the studio yesterday. Customer Service at Petaluma must be busy: I left a message w/ my phone & e-mail & have not heard a thing yet. Let's all stay on the forum and compare notes as we find our way with this amp.
 
guitardr said:
GuyB said:
Thanks for this info, I appreciate.

Same here...
A small price to pay compared to a mid-60's JMI AC30 I had for a while: great sound but heavy & nowhere near the features of the TA-30...

The amount of noise is small for live gigging even while miked; but it was "there" when being miked in the studio yesterday. Customer Service at Petaluma must be busy: I left a message w/ my phone & e-mail & have not heard a thing yet. Let's all stay on the forum and compare notes as we find our way with this amp.

Good idea. For me, I sent Mesa's message to the "authorized tech" at the store where I bought the TA30. I'll report on what he will say.

Maybe we should start a new thread on the TA30 reverb problem because we are hyjacking HaggertysMusic's thread here.
 
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