mesa maverick questions! and amp questions in general.

Ok a few more guestions.
1. Have you experienced that these amps run hot? Can they be modded to have a bias knob? Also can amps running hot cause noise?

2. What are some other things that cause noise? Im still getting some hiss at louder volumes. Perhaps this is just the nature of class a amps? Chime in maverick owners!

Power section of AC30 Vox, Maverick, Matchless DC30, Bad Cat (don't know the model) will run hotter than your usual A/B amps.

I was considering putting a fan on mine, Maverick.

As for hiss, noise, mine is no more noisier than you usual Boogie. But not where its gets really obnoxious. Even my single coil Strat sound is not that noisey [sic]. I've experience some really noisey amps and some of the blame is the pickups. Could be power tubes or preamp tubes.

Check with your local amp tech (that you could trust).

Do you mean physically hot or hot bias?
Your Mesa power section will typically be very cold biased.
Whether or not it gives-off a lot of HEAT is completely different and really has nothing to do with bias "heat".
Is it hissing more than your other amps/mesas? With nothing plugged-in to the input?

The smaller 1 x 12 combos had a fan. Chassis mounted next to the rectifier.

bleachedfan said:

Ok a few more guestions.
1. Have you experienced that these amps run hot? Can they be modded to have a bias knob? Also can amps running hot cause noise?

2. What are some other things that cause noise? Im still getting some hiss at louder volumes. Perhaps this is just the nature of class a amps? Chime in maverick owners!

Click to expand...

1. Class A amps are designed to run noticably hotter than a Class AB amp. The amp is most likely cathode biased, and if so will not have a bias supply at all.

Have a read here:
http://mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/ClassA-WebVersion.htm

2. Does the amp hiss without the guitar plugged in? High gain & treble settings will always introduce hiss. Are there any other "noises"?

Dom

I have a 2x12 Maverick and I ran into the noise problem when I first bought it. I called Mesa service and was told that was the way it was designed. Although a little annoying I found if I dial up the the volume and the master the sound will go away.
I also installed NOS RCA 7189A power tubes and kept the boogie pre-amp tubes. Not only does the noise go away it has a great sound. I use a fender strat with single coils and a Les Paul with HB's.