Thinking about buying a studio pre

I've been looking at tons of info on the studio pre and I think I'd like to get one to go along with my 50/50 power amp.I have an ADA mp2 which has been great for the past few years, but I'm not playing in a band anymore and I'm looking for something simpler for home use, the studio pre sounds great, plus they aren't to expensive.
I've seen some complaints about the reverb being kind of sketchy, is it really that bad?, I saw one post saying to disconnect the reverb circuit, can't it just be dialed down?.I have an effects unit if it's really that bad and I'm not a heavy reverb kind of guy anyways.
Any differences between rev 1 and 2 that i should know about?, how do you tell between the 2?
Anything I should ask before purchase?, I guess I'll have to get one off ebay,craigslist... since I never see them, so are there any known issues I should look out for?.
How do you know if the amp needs to be recapped?, I don't want to buy an almost dead preamp which will need to be sent out right away unless the price is right.
If anybody knows of one 4/s please PM me, I lurk here daily.

masher said:

I've seen some complaints about the reverb being kind of sketchy, is it really that bad?, I saw one post saying to disconnect the reverb circuit, can't it just be dialed down?.

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I got my studio pre a couple of years ago and thought the reverb was a bit wimpy; I'd stick it on 10 and it was still barely there. I opened up my amp and saw that while the 12ax7s had obviously been changed the reverb tube was a very old-looking Mesa tube, probably the original. I replaced it with a new electro-harmonix tube and the difference was astounding, HUGE reverb with massive long decay. Truly excellent!

For the record the pins of the original tube were horrendously tarnished. I took a wee file to them to scrape off all the crap and the tube works fine (I stuck it in a more accessible combo amp I built to function-test it). I may stick the tube back in the Studio to see the difference but am in no hurry as the E-H tube sounds great.

Incidentally the Studio can produce an insane range of tones, I'm not evenb scratching the surface with mine, I've sort of set-it-and-forgot.

Have fun!

check out the quad there not that much more,I run mine through a 50/50 plenty of tones mark IIC+ mark III I rarely use the high power switch on my 50/50 low power is real sweet.

I'd be open to a quad also, but you don't see as many around.How many rack spaces does it take?, it looks like at least 4.I see the pre is in the high 3-5+ range these days, I'm not sure how much quads go for, any ideas?.

It takes 3 rack spaces just hang in there and watch the bay I paid $500 for mine but I've seen them go for cheaper. I was in the same shoes as you, I was looking for a studio but found a quad for only 100 bucks more. Either way both are great paired with a 50/50.

jonamojo said:

It takes 3 rack spaces just hang in there and watch the bay I paid $500 for mine but I've seen them go for cheaper. I was in the same shoes as you, I was looking for a studio but found a quad for only 100 bucks more. Either way both are great paired with a 50/50.

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2Sp

If you find a Studio Pre for a decent deal, I'd say there's no reason to hold out for a Quad unless you're sure you need four different sounds accessible via footswitch. The Studio Pre is a wonderful, wonderful piece of gear. Only way I'd part with mine is if somebody offered me twice what it's worth, and then I'd turn around and buy two more.

I love my Studio Pre. I have it paired with a 20/20 and I'm thrilled with it.
I would really like another one as a spare and to set up with other sounds.
I know most would say get a quad but I like the controls spread out a bit and since my rig isn't moving around I could live with the extra cords running around.
First post here on the board, Howdy everyone!

The studio pre is a great piece. The only reason I sold mine was because I got a MKIII. I never had any issues getting great cleans and lead tones out of it at the same time. Some people did, but not me. I replaced the reverb tank in mine with a retro-fit one from MojoTone, and it really made a huge difference for the better.

I liked my studio pre a lot when I had it. Still the best clean tones I've ever had from a rack. I would hold out for a quad if it were me personally looking to buy again- just for the added flexibility.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions, I got lucky, a studio popped up and I grabbed it.I thought about the quad, but I had my heart set on the pre. and I'm very happy so far.
Wow is all I can say, I'm really happy with the way it sounds.It was sent with 1 grove tube, 1 eh, and 2 jj's and an eh for reverb.Pretty much stock, but it looks like they repaired the input jack recently, it must have spun and broke the solder joint.
It took a bit to get a grasp of how the controls work, and how subtle changes on the lead will alter the cleans, but I have a great mix now.
I do have a few questions for you seasoned folks out there.
I noticed yesterday that when in standby with power amp on, lead and rhythm will bleed through at a very low volume.Is that normal?
I've got it set up right out of pre output into 50/50.
Also the amp is dead silent in rhythm, and really quiet in lead, but there is a subtle roar in the background when lead drive is up past 7 w/ volume off on guitar.It sounds like a jet way off in the distance.

I've been reading a lot and found most suggest recapping all amps after 10 years.This one was built in 93 according to the transformer.
I'm not great with a soldering iron so I'm not going to attempt to do it, is this something I should send back to Mesa to do?, I do have some great repair shops around the area, but what would you guys suggest?. Should I have the ldrs done at the same time?.
I read Mesa will give it a once over, and make sure it sounds as good as it should, where as I don't know if a local shop would just do the job, plug it to make sure it works and that's it.
Thanks.

Glad you're enjoying it - I love mine to bits!

It seems you have quite a mix of tubes in there, mine are all GTs (came with them). If you ever decide to swap the positions to see what happens to your tone please report back too.

Re: your Qs:

Mine bleeds through a little when in 'Standby' too. I believe this is due to the fact that the switch cuts the signal at the 'effects send' stage. I find it quite a useful diagnostic that your signal path is all working without blowing eardrums.

My lead channel gets noisy too (I have the gain jacked). I use a noise gate though so am not too fussed by this and cannae be arsed getting it re-capped at the moment. Mine was built almost exactly 22 years ago - dates on circuit boards are March and April 1990 so I think it's bearing up pretty well for its age (just like me ).

Happy playing!!

I get a little bit of signal bleed when mine is in standby as well. I wouldn't worry about it. I've never heard any recommendations of recapping after 10 years--20 or 25 maybe, if the piece hasn't been played much during that time, but 10 seems like overkill to me. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Dull roar sounds to me more like the sign of a noisy tube somewhere in the mix. If you can't resolve the problem by experimenting with tubes, and it's not just the normal noise you get from a high-gain amp we're talking about, then it might be time to think about having it serviced. Whether you feel like your local guys can handle it or not is a decision you have to make. Certainly the guys at Mesa will have more intimate knowledge about the preamp than anybody else.