Mesa Signature Amp for James Hetfield. theory analysis

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IronSean said:
Possibly. Could also be a test amp or prototype. Maybe he was helping them tune an internal gain setting on the TC-50 before it released and they gave him one to find the sweet spot on a knob that would eventually become a fixed resistor. (same as the Mark V has the Volume knob on the lead channel fixed, at 7.5, or the JP-2C as 4 fixed values to choose between). Being a prototype/test amp would explain why it's larger than usual (more room to work inside) and have exctra knobs for things that aren't final. Then perhaps he kept it because he know it could make sounds no stock amp ever would.

Or I present Theory E: It's just the Volume knob(input gain), like older Mark series amps had, for adjusting both gain controls like you could on a IIC+-IV.

As much as I'd love for there to be a JH Mesa I'm inclined to agree with the prototype theory. Specifically, helping them determine the 'magical spot' for Vol 1 to go into either the V or the JP2C. I'm betting the JP given the V volume was lower than what James used to, and probably still does, set it to.

It's also no secret that Petrucci's goal sound is Metallica and Puppets album which he talks about when discussing his tonal options in the JP.

The manual also mentions polls from artists and c+ afficianados when determining some of the internally preset settings
.
Screen%20Shot%202017-07-12%20at%2010.31.58%20pm_1.png


Doubt there's anyone better to help them determine how to achieve it. Although, I'd love to be wrong on this.

The other knobs may be experimenting with the new pull presence and shred frequencies.
 
Thaymz said:
IronSean said:
Possibly. Could also be a test amp or prototype. Maybe he was helping them tune an internal gain setting on the TC-50 before it released and they gave him one to find the sweet spot on a knob that would eventually become a fixed resistor. (same as the Mark V has the Volume knob on the lead channel fixed, at 7.5, or the JP-2C as 4 fixed values to choose between). Being a prototype/test amp would explain why it's larger than usual (more room to work inside) and have exctra knobs for things that aren't final. Then perhaps he kept it because he know it could make sounds no stock amp ever would.

Or I present Theory E: It's just the Volume knob(input gain), like older Mark series amps had, for adjusting both gain controls like you could on a IIC+-IV.

As much as I'd love for there to be a JH Mesa I'm inclined to agree with the prototype theory. Specifically, helping them determine the 'magical spot' for Vol 1 to go into either the V or the JP2C. I'm betting the JP given the V volume was lower than what James used to, and probably still does, set it to.

It's also no secret that Petrucci's goal sound is Metallica and Puppets album which he talks about when discussing his tonal options in the JP.

The manual also mentions polls from artists and c+ afficianados when determining some of the internally preset settings
.
Screen%20Shot%202017-07-12%20at%2010.31.58%20pm_1.png


Doubt there's anyone better to help them determine how to achieve it. Although, I'd love to be wrong on this.

The other knobs may be experimenting with the new pull presence and shred frequencies.


I like this theory a lot. Definitely could be a prototype for something interesting, i also think about the fact of the differences in james and Johns settings being quite similar but very different. I definitely think this is gonna be a JH amp or updated mark series with that volume to give that grind that Metallica is so famous for.
 
Hetfield's rig was the first to have 2 GEQ's! A Rectifier/Mark amp is sofa king cool of an idea, I agree. I didn't think that the amp in the video was really a prototype, just James messing around.
 
Markedman said:
Hetfield's rig was the first to have 2 GEQ's! A Rectifier/Mark amp is sofa king cool of an idea, I agree. I didn't think that the amp in the video was really a prototype, just James messing around.

Ill be honest here. When I saw metallica live back in June, the tone sounded wayyyyyyyy different than when it did even two years ago. Way more punchy and immediate. Less Diezel, more mark series. It kind of makes me wonder if his sound is back to using the more mark series than diezel. The sub lows of the VH 4 are not there. So that brings me to the idea that what we saw in that video could be what he modeled most of his tone after for his live sound using Axe FX. Just a theory, and also the more I think about the amp the more a volume 1 knob sounds right.
 
These settings are taken from their amps at a show...

Kirk:
TS9 Settings:
Drive: 1:00
Tone: 2:00
Level: 1:00

Kirk:
Stiletto:
ch1:
100w/50w: 50w
master: 4:00
pres: 4:00
bass: 3:30
mid: 2:00
treble: 3:30
gain: 9:30
mode: (clean)

ch2:
100w/50w: 50w
master: 11:30
pres: 9:00
bass: 5:00
mid: 11:30
treble: 10:00
gain: 2:30
mode: (gain)


Kirk:
Dual recto:
OR:
master
presence: 2:00
bass: 2:30
mid: 8:30
treble: 3:30
gain: 10:00

RD:
master
presence
bass: 12:00
mid: 10:00
treble: 1:00
gain: 1:30


James:
Triple recto:
OR:
master: 9:00
presence: 3:00
bass: 12:00
mid: 1:00
treble: 1:00
gain: 9:00

RD:
master: 10:00
presence: 1:00
bass: 12:00
mid: 11:30
treble: 1:00
gain: 12:00
 
stephen sawall said:
These settings are taken from their amps at a show...

Kirk:
TS9 Settings:
Drive: 1:00
Tone: 2:00
Level: 1:00

Kirk:
Stiletto:
ch1:
100w/50w: 50w
master: 4:00
pres: 4:00
bass: 3:30
mid: 2:00
treble: 3:30
gain: 9:30
mode: (clean)

ch2:
100w/50w: 50w
master: 11:30
pres: 9:00
bass: 5:00
mid: 11:30
treble: 10:00
gain: 2:30
mode: (gain)


Kirk:
Dual recto:
OR:
master
presence: 2:00
bass: 2:30
mid: 8:30
treble: 3:30
gain: 10:00

RD:
master
presence
bass: 12:00
mid: 10:00
treble: 1:00
gain: 1:30


James:
Triple recto:
OR:
master: 9:00
presence: 3:00
bass: 12:00
mid: 1:00
treble: 1:00
gain: 9:00

RD:
master: 10:00
presence: 1:00
bass: 12:00
mid: 11:30
treble: 1:00
gain: 12:00

For some context to that above post:

These settings were posted by Monty-Jay (so trustworthy, he had the largest, most accurate collection of live and studio Metallica gear online for ages before he stopped maintaining the website hosting).

It's also from 2005, so over a decade ago and are relevant related to their live sounds at the time but not so much now.

I'm also not entirely sure what it has to do with this thread on the weird prototypey amp at Metallica HQ.

Sourced from here: https://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?39794-Hetfield-amp-Hammett-s-Stiletto-Recto-Settings
 
Monty told me he wrote down the settings when looking at the amps. It did not come from photos. The reason I posted it is several post in this thread discuss this topic.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Metallica is using AxeFx live now.
 
stephen sawall said:
Monty told me he wrote down the settings when looking at the amps. It did not come from photos. The reason I posted it is several post in this thread discuss this topic.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Metallica is using AxeFx live now.
See but the thing is with that, im talking about last june, with a new album and they use blended axe FX models. That definitely was their recto settings but, the thing is that their tone has changed a lot since then. Much less sub low frequencies that are very present in the Recto series/Diezel amps. What I was proposing is that their Axe rig is modeling the amp in the background of the video we were talking about.
 
stephen sawall said:
Monty told me he wrote down the settings when looking at the amps. It did not come from photos. The reason I posted it is several post in this thread discuss this topic.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Metallica is using AxeFx live now.

To be honest though I have used these settings and they sound absolutely phenomenal on the recto series in a live mix.
 
stephen sawall said:
Monty told me he wrote down the settings when looking at the amps. It did not come from photos. The reason I posted it is several post in this thread discuss this topic.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Metallica is using AxeFx live now.

I didn't say he got them from photos :p

I just wanted to explain to people who might stumble upon this thread without context where they came from, what era they're from, and that the source is about as reputable as you can get with Metallica Gear and Settings info.
 
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads%2Fnext-mesa-amps.1881306%2F

Page 3 and the fourth post down.
 
barryswanson said:
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads%2Fnext-mesa-amps.1881306%2F

Page 3 and the fourth post down.

Oh ****, two new amps assuming this guy is correct. Maybe the one that will make a few people happy would be a James Hetfield sig with channel blending/ or built in chorus. That would be WILD. Maybe its something completely different and amazing. I don't really know, but i want it.
 
It was about a year ago I sat down with Randy and there was three amps being developed. The Triple Crown is already released. I asked about the Hetfield amp... There isn't one being developed that we discussed. But he made it very clear anything is possible.
 
stephen sawall said:
It was about a year ago I sat down with Randy and there was three amps being developed. The Triple Crown is already released. I asked about the Hetfield amp... There isn't one being developed that we discussed. But he made it very clear anything is possible.

I would be inclined to ask if there is anything in the mark direction that is coming out but I dont know if that can be disclosed. I am kind of hoping that what we see in that in that picture is a new mark with a higher internal volume preset, less compression and some nifty little features. If there was a Hetfield amp I would in fact lose my mind. Im hoping you are lying and just saying that to cover it up. But ya know we will have to wait and see.
 
thediavlo said:
stephen sawall said:
It was about a year ago I sat down with Randy and there was three amps being developed. The Triple Crown is already released. I asked about the Hetfield amp... There isn't one being developed that we discussed. But he made it very clear anything is possible.

I would be inclined to ask if there is anything in the mark direction that is coming out but I dont know if that can be disclosed. I am kind of hoping that what we see in that in that picture is a new mark with a higher internal volume preset, less compression and some nifty little features. If there was a Hetfield amp I would in fact lose my mind. Im hoping you are lying and just saying that to cover it up. But ya know we will have to wait and see.
When we talked no.... The other two amps are different than anything they have done before.

Keep in mind these are floating ideas. Anything is possible. Believe me many of us would love to see a Hetfield amp...
 
stephen sawall said:
thediavlo said:
stephen sawall said:
It was about a year ago I sat down with Randy and there was three amps being developed. The Triple Crown is already released. I asked about the Hetfield amp... There isn't one being developed that we discussed. But he made it very clear anything is possible.

I would be inclined to ask if there is anything in the mark direction that is coming out but I dont know if that can be disclosed. I am kind of hoping that what we see in that in that picture is a new mark with a higher internal volume preset, less compression and some nifty little features. If there was a Hetfield amp I would in fact lose my mind. Im hoping you are lying and just saying that to cover it up. But ya know we will have to wait and see.
When we talked no.... The other two amps are different than anything they have done before.

Keep in mind these are floating ideas. Anything is possible. Believe me many of us would love to see a Hetfield amp...

For sure, the question is what would that be. something that they had never done before could be so many things, but also so little. They have some of the best and most advanced Amplifiers on the market. Are we forgetting the release of the Rossette too? so one more left?
 
I think the only downfall to a Hetfield signature amp is that Hetfield himself would be the person least interested in it. Or at least the least interested in the version we all want.

The JP-2C came about in no small part because John insisted on them doing a remake, because he loved that particular amp so much and wanted more. And wanted newer equivalents to use on tour without risking his classic ones. John also still mostly favors the sound he's used his whole career.

James, on the other hand, went down totally different tonal rabbit holes, different amps and sounds, and his modern tone is nothing like it was a decade ago, let alone 30 years ago when he was making THE CLASSIC SOUND that the fans would want from a signature amp.

So John really wanted an amp, that looked and sounded just like the amp fans of him would want, and pushed for it. James seems less interested, and if he did want an amp he would probably want something that isn't at all what the fans want, and instead it becomes Mesa bugging him to make one on behalf of the fans that he might not even want to use much.

That's my Debbie-Downer two cents worth of rambling on why my hopes aren't high :(
 
IronSean said:
I think the only downfall to a Hetfield signature amp is that Hetfield himself would be the person least interested in it. Or at least the least interested in the version we all want.

The JP-2C came about in no small part because John insisted on them doing a remake, because he loved that particular amp so much and wanted more. And wanted newer equivalents to use on tour without risking his classic ones. John also still mostly favors the sound he's used his whole career.

James, on the other hand, went down totally different tonal rabbit holes, different amps and sounds, and his modern tone is nothing like it was a decade ago, let alone 30 years ago when he was making THE CLASSIC SOUND that the fans would want from a signature amp.

So John really wanted an amp, that looked and sounded just like the amp fans of him would want, and pushed for it. James seems less interested, and if he did want an amp he would probably want something that isn't at all what the fans want, and instead it becomes Mesa bugging him to make one on behalf of the fans that he might not even want to use much.

That's my Debbie-Downer two cents worth of rambling on why my hopes aren't high :(

I totally agree with you. But there has been one amp that was a staple of his sound for the longest period of time and that was the IIC++. He used one on Master, Justice, TBA, Death Magnetic, and Hardwired. Probably the only reason he didnt have one during KEM and RTL is because they were not available yet. But still that is over half of their albums and if you add the years of the mark sound being used close to 3/4 of the bands existence. That the only fact that keeps me semi-hopeful. I also feel like the years he got rid of that sound, he has said himself was the U2 version of Metallica. not something he really cares for anymore. His mindset could be completely different. If mesa made him an amp that was perfect for him to use for albums, and throw it in the Axe for live i feel like he wouldnt care as much at that point. That thick percussive tone is what drove their 2 most recent, and 3 most popular albums as a base and it was blended on other occasions to fill what he was looking for tonally. Just like he has his own pickups and guitars now, it only makes sense for him to complete the set. But like we say you never know. He knows what he wants and we don't. I just want it so much because I feel like it would sound WICKED.
 
thediavlo said:
For sure, the question is what would that be. something that they had never done before could be so many things, but also so little. They have some of the best and most advanced Amplifiers on the market. Are we forgetting the release of the Rossette too? so one more left?
Rossette is not one of the two. They are for electric guitar.
 

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