New Member - just snagged a Heartbreaker!

Greetings all.

I'm new to the board (first post! 8) ), and new to Mesa Boogie. I just picked up a Mesa Heartbreaker, s/n HRT00258, at GC for $599 + tax, total $650 out the door. Bought it spur of the moment on a whim, after a quick demo near closing time. Seemed it would probably go out the door pretty quick if I didn't snag it, so I took a chance.

Disclaimer: I've never been a Mesa fan, leaning towards the vintage Marshall/Fender side of things. I have a nice collection of amps including a Marshall JCM-800 2204 halfstack (V30 cab), a 65Amps SoHo (head/2x12 cab), and a '61 Gibson G20T combo. So you can see where my tastes lie.

At first glance the Heartbreaker seemed like a killer deal, but a bit of research suggests that's a good price but not stellar - esp. given the fact that the amp didn't come with casters or footswitches, and the speakers are not the original MB Black shadow C90's. A previous owner replaced the originals with Celestion G12T-75's.

So, I have thirty days to decide whether I'm gonna keep this sucker!

I've run her through the paces through all of my cabs and the internal speakers, compared her to the other amps, and I've come to the following conclusions thus far:

- I love the "Love" (clean) channel. Great Fenderish cleans, huge sounding, very nice. Lots of headroom with 4x6L6's, not so much with 2xEL-34's I have currently loaded.

- I really like the voicing on the "Lust" channel. I can be tweaked pretty well into Marshall territory. And after reading many posts complaining of the darkness of this amp, I've tweaked it enough to know that I can make this amp painfully bright with the right settings - the secret is in each channel's "Master" knobs. The higher you run these, the brighter she gets!

- The G12T-75 speakers in this amp actually don't sound too bad if tweaked properly, but I'm sure that I can get a better tone with different speakers. My research seems to indicate many people like the original speakers - I have no idea how they might sound of course. But I know the amp sounds best through my 65Amps cab, loaded with a Cele gold and a 70th Anni G12H-30!

- What I don't like is the harshness on the gain channel. Even dialing the amp down and getting into the darker zone, ear fatigue is a problem. And this is true with all of my cabs. The JCM800 2204 ironically is overall a brighter amp, but is never harsh and I can play at high volumes for hours, even through my extremely well-broken in V30 cab.

- The reverb is absolutely useless. The amp is an early serial number, and some posts suggest that there are two versions.

- Overall, the amp sounds really good but is currently not a match for the JCM-800 in the Brit tone department. The JCM-800 just manages to have a raw juiciness that the Heartbreaker can't match. But the Heartbreaker is infinitely more versatile, and I really appreciate that.

Anyway, I'm going to continue to explore this amp's capabilities. I know some (Monsta-Tone and a couple others) have found some great mods. I have experience in this area and might try a couple of these as well. As I mentioned above, the early serial number of my amp suggests the reverb is the first rev, and the reverb on this amp is terrible.

A quickie crappy clip, excuse the uninspired playing...

http://tonecentral.net/gearpics/Heartbreaker_1.mp3
('59 Les Paul reissue, Burstbucker 2&3 pickups, straight in)

And finally, a few pics of this beast...

Don't kid yourself, you got a GREAT deal on that amp! Enjoy it!

Congrats! Do you always run the amp with just two power tubes as in the pic? I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the difference of two tubes vs. four.

formisano said:

Don't kid yourself, you got a GREAT deal on that amp! Enjoy it!

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Thanks. I'm enjoying it as we speak.

Ken j said:

Congrats! Do you always run the amp with just two power tubes as in the pic? I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the difference of two tubes vs. four.

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I've had the amp one week, I threw the 2 x EL-34's in there on Friday.

I just switched back to the 4 x 6L6's that came with the amp. I think it sounds better with the 6L6's, so they'll stay for now.

You got a smokin deal!I paid ALOT more for mine.
Get some 6v6's too.Lots of great Deluxe sounds in there.
It took me a long time to figure out all the sounds in the HB.
Not too much you can't get with a lot of tweeking.Mk1 tones galore.
The tweed sounds are nice too.75's will give you a much brighter
tone than the Black Shadows.Don't mod this amp it's great as it is.
The channel masters also control the fx loop level,keeping the gain
channel master and the the level controls seem to deliver the best
tones all around.

I bought mine for $600 + shipping and thought that was a great deal!


As for the Marshall tones, I would suggest trying 4 EL-34's or 4 6V6's.
I'm currently running mine with 6V6's and love it! The cleans are really sweet and chimey!
I have done an SLO conversion on mine to the Lust channel and this really smokes with the 6V6's and the 2 Weber California speakers that are in my combo!


As for the ear fatigue, I would be willing to bet it's the speakers. I really liked my last Heartbreaker with the stock C-90's, but the Weber Californias just flat out ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats! As others said, you got a fine deal, well within FMV, so don't sweat the price.

Here are some comments-
The reverb is a weak spot on the amp. Talk to Monsta-Tone about his reverb mod, which is a huge improvement.
Talk to Monsta-Tone about his Lust channel mods- he mentioned his SLO mod. He also has a JCM900 mod which I have and which has a HUGE improvement on the Lust channel.

I am using G12-T75's in a Marshall 2x12 sealed oversized cabinet. They rock. I had been using V30's and they were spiky with this amp. So, don't rush on the speakers until you get your tones dialed in.

As someone else mentioned, 4 tubes at full power setting does have a big effect on the vibe of the amp. Not so much the volume, but it is richer, rounder, fuller. So, use four tubes and try the various combinations of ful/half power, full/tweed power and the bold/curvaceous settings. There are some huge variations in the feel and vibe of the channels.

Lastly, as Monsta-Tone mentioned, 4 6v6's are a great way to go. I had him put a quad in and I am really enjoying the vibe. Plus, it knocks the power down so you can drive the amp a little harder at moderate volumes.

You have a great amp there. One of the real "sleepers" in Mesa's history. Enjoy!

Hey Andy,
You've got the Webers in a HB combo right?
I run my HB head through a closed back Marshall 2x12 oversized cab. It has the Cel G12-T75's that this fellow has. They totally rock in my closed back cabinet, but that is their primary use- closed back in a marshall cab. You have a point that they might not fare as well in a combo. Good point.

Yes, I would highly recommend putting some C90s back in there, and run a quad of 6l6s in it, before doing any other mods to it. It's a sweeeet amp! I would be using one right now if it weren't for the fx loop not being a serial loop.

Supertgtr said:

Yes, I would highly recommend putting some C90s back in there, and run a quad of 6l6s in it, before doing any other mods to it. It's a sweeeet amp! I would be using one right now if it weren't for the fx loop not being a serial loop.

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It does have a Series Loop!

Axeplyr,

You got a good deal on your HB and it is in beautiful shape!! I paid more than that for my combo and heads (I've owned 3 HBs). Monsta-tone (Andy) did the reverb mod and the JCM 800 Mod on the Lust channel for me, with both mods greatly improving an already top-shelf amp. With the reverb mod alone I can do Dick Dale surf music if I wanted to (but don't)! You can swim in the reverb now, versus needing to dime the reverb before. :lol: FWIW, I'm running 4 EL34s and agree that 4 tubes give the amp a fuller sound.

Talk with Andy, he won't lead you wrong! Have fun with a killer amp (and get yourself a good chiropractor if you plan to move it often) :lol:

Matt

I have had my Heartbreaker for about two weeks. I got lucky in that it looks brand new and I believe the seller when I was told it was used very minimally. Not one scratch on the leather corners and the speaker grill is tight and stiff still. So far, of the six amps I have (and 3 are Mesas), this is swiftly becoming my favorite. I just ordered some Winged - C 6L6 power tubes rated in the 18-19 [Mesa Green] spec and 2 variations of the TAD 12AX7 tubes. Was thinking about going to EL34 at the next power tube change down the road. Monsta-Tone has given me some feedback on the mods and if I can come to ship this amp and be away from it for that period of time I may be having the reverb mod done first. But after getting it dialed in, even to be without it for 4 hours seems too long [and there is my shipping fear of the darn thing being damaged in transit]. Maybe Monsta-Tone will develop a step-by-step kit for us tinker savvy folks. :wink:

As far getting a great deal, while the price was great for me with it having all the extras [pedals, casters, and a good set of tubes] it is like my motorcycles. If the product exceeds my needs in every way then it becomes priceless to replace.

Dennis

I decided to go with a quad of 6v6s in mine too and very much prefer it to the EL34's.

Matt

The reverb is absolutely useless.

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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


It's pretty easy to fix!



Here is how I run mine:
HB Combo
2 Weber California 8 ohm speakers wired in series
SLO/Tremoverb mod on Lust channel
Master Volume Bypass on Love channel
Reverb mod
JJ E-34L's
Mixed preamp tubes, JJ, GT, Mesa, Sovtek

I'm a gain freak! So, the SLO mod really makes me like this amp! The JCM was very juicy too though and sometimes I wish I had 2 of them so I could switch back and forth between the JCM modded one and the SLO modded one!

I still can't decide if I like the 6V6's or the EL's better. The EL's really open up the SLO mod. Temple12 has an SLO modded one too and he really likes it!


These are great amps for the price. I haven't seen a newer Mesa in years that compares to the build quality or simplicity of design!

I haven't spend any time tweaking tube lineups or anything, and lets face it Mesa Russian "A"s could hardly bring out the best in any amp.

Given that limitation, though, I always thought that the Ch1 cleans were good, the Ch1 lead a real good example of a clear liquid Mk tone.

Ch2 has always been a dog though, and while I will be investing about $300 in new preamp tubes to see how I can do on tweaks, I fully suspect I'll be modding Ch2 to a vintage Marshall circuit. I'm not sure JCM800 will do it for me, thinking early 70's JTM may be a better match for my ear.

Anybody know if I can go JTM with a few R & C swaps with this circuit? Seems like I'll have an extra gain stage that I won't know how to contend with.

You could do the JTM on the low gain setting and soup up the high gain setting too.
I've had a few guys ask about a JTM mod, but haven't done one yet.

Is the SLO mod voiced like a Rectifier? I have a Dual Rec Solo Head and don't need redundancy.

Well....sort of, but not entirely.

It is loosely based on a Recto, but I think it stays tighter. It doesn't have quite as much gain as a 2 channel recto, more like a Tremoverb.
The difference is that the clean channel is sweeter than the Recto and the Reverb is great afterward.

The voltages in the amp are different, so it will never truly be the same as a Recto.

You could PM temple12 to get a better description. He plays his way more than I get to play mine.

Or, you could call and I can demo the HB with the SLO mod vs. the Tremoverb.
My new cell is 5754962609. I haven't had time to update the website yet.

Well more in the Heartbreaker saga. My tubes came in and I set this up with Winged-C 6L6 rated at 19 perfect match. I used a balanced TAD for V5. Due to not being able to count (an arithmetically challenged moment), I need one more TAD. So for now the other tubes are V1, V3, & V4 are TADs and V2, V6, & V7 are Gold tipped JJs, not for any reason other than they were on sale. My serial number is HRT-00991. The reverb while extremely good does have to rolled a little more on the pot then I am used to but much better than it was before I put in this tube set. Overall, the sound is great now. Of course, I thought it was good before; how much I learn with this amp.

Monsta-tone, my faceplate & chassis is black. Does the serial number suggest a Rev B?

Axeplyr, looks like the Heartbreaker has a lot of hidden capability. I am going to play with using the Love channel for lead and the lust for rhythm. How is your Heartbreaker doing since you went back to the full 6L6 set?

Dennis