Mesa Strategy 400 Question

B

braintheory

Well-known member
Hey guys, so I just got a Mesa Strategy 400 with presence knobs on front and I was comparing running my preamp through that vs the poweramp of my mark iic+ and it seems they sounded almost identical with the eq disengaged on the iic+. The iic+ just sound slightly more aggressive and less headroom, but almost the same. However, when I engaged the eq it sounded monstrous and way more impressive than the strategy with the preamp. Also, the iic+ was quite a bit louder with the same volume settings as the strategy. Is this normal? I would’ve expected the strategy to be louder. Maybe the strategy just has a more gradual volume taper?

Also, how would I connect the preamp from one of my heads to the strategy poweramp? I’m curious now to compare my iic+’s preamp to the strategy vs it’s own poweramp
 
braintheory":1zb6hvsv said:
Hey guys, so I just got a Mesa Strategy 400 with presence knobs on front and I was comparing running my preamp through that vs the poweramp of my mark iic+ and it seems they sounded almost identical with the eq disengaged on the iic+. The iic+ just sound slightly more aggressive and less headroom, but almost the same. However, when I engaged the eq it sounded monstrous and way more impressive than the strategy with the preamp. Also, the iic+ was quite a bit louder with the same volume settings as the strategy. Is this normal? I would’ve expected the strategy to be louder. Maybe the strategy just has a more gradual volume taper?

Also, how would I connect the preamp from one of my heads to the strategy poweramp? I’m curious now to compare my iic+’s preamp to the strategy vs it’s own poweramp
Click to expand...
I used to run my SRG C+ with the line out to an Intellifex then to the inputs of the 400. Sounded gigantic, and better than running the pre out with the send of the FX loop. The line out sounded best to my ears. On the underneath of the chassis you should have a pre out next to the Reverb inputs. That one was the worst of the 3 options. But you should be able to use any amps Send from the FX loop to run the preamp of that amp to your Strategy.
Btw if you have Sylvania 6L6GCs try them...12 I know but damn what a 3D experience.
 
I have a Strategy 400 like yours and added a push pull depth pot for each channel. It sounds massive...or simply add a .002-.005uf cap in series with the yellow wire going to the output jacks...but this isn’t controllable, hence why I use a depth pot.

To connect it to another head, just come out of the amps effects send and into the poweramp. Make sure you keep a load connected to the amp.
 
The graphic EQ in a Mesa Mark is after the effects loop so you're not just comparing power amps. If you ad an active EQ into the equation you're going to get some dramatic changes in tone.
 
So I tried today running my iic+ HRG combo through the strategy. I went from the amp’s send to the strategy’s input, had the combo plugged into its speaker for a load and the strategy into my 4x12 and it didn’t sound right I think. It seemed like the combo’s poweramp was still active (all its volumes still worked and so did the graphic eq) and sounded a little boxy compared to just running the amp by itself. Am I doing something wrong? Or does it seem to you guys like something may be wrong with the strategy? This is the first poweramp I ever owned, so I’m a newb to all things poweramp and preamps. So far, I’m not hearing anything particularly huge or 3D with it though. It seems kinda like a iic+ poweramp and that boxy effect of not having the graphic eq engaged
 
Use the line out on the back panel, that is how I ran my SRG C+ and it sounded much better than any other option. You are reamping the whole C+, not just the pre. Max the line out signal and start the Strategy at a low volume, and have your C+ at a reasonable volume. Slowly bring up the strategy volume to acceptable levels, and then adjust your C+ master as well.
But skip the pre out on the loop and the pre out on the underside of the C+ chassis. Use the line out only.
 
I don't have a Strategy or IIC+ to say for sure, but when running a dry amp into a power amp like that, if it sounds boxy, I'm suspect that the phase of the combo is opposite of the power amp. Someone with more technical knowledge of these specific amps would be able to say for sure, but that's not a terribly uncommon situation. If the boxy sound gets better when getting more physical space between the combo and the cabinet(s) plugged into the Strategy, this could be the problem. It's easy to fix.
 
Just to add that I tried the FX send, then the pre send on the underside first and I had the same underwhelming feeling as you...sounded thin to me. But then I tried the line out, and there it was....the full 3D monster tone I was expecting.
 
Racerxrated":2p8nupco said:
Just to add that I tried the FX send, then the pre send on the underside first and I had the same underwhelming feeling as you...sounded thin to me. But then I tried the line out, and there it was....the full 3D monster tone I was expecting.
Click to expand...
Ok I’ll give it a try. So I go from the line out of my iic+ to the input of the strategy? What if I wanna use the strategy with my amps with fx loops, but no line out jack? Will they also sound boxy?
 
Racerxrated":12cj72q3 said:
Use the line out on the back panel, that is how I ran my SRG C+ and it sounded much better than any other option. You are reamping the whole C+, not just the pre. Max the line out signal and start the Strategy at a low volume, and have your C+ at a reasonable volume.
Click to expand...

Mesa line outs put out a ton of signal, even with the amp master low. I would absolutely not max the line out signal. Start with all levels low and go from there.
 
thegame":1znl5lnc said:
Racerxrated":1znl5lnc said:
Use the line out on the back panel, that is how I ran my SRG C+ and it sounded much better than any other option. You are reamping the whole C+, not just the pre. Max the line out signal and start the Strategy at a low volume, and have your C+ at a reasonable volume.
Click to expand...

Mesa line outs put out a ton of signal, even with the amp master low. I would absolutely not max the line out signal. Start with all levels low and go from there.
Click to expand...
I never had a problem with it, sounded clear without any unnatural distortion. But I probably started with the signal low, and ended up just maxing it with no issues. It's been a while.
 
braintheory":3i40c7xs said:
Racerxrated":3i40c7xs said:
Just to add that I tried the FX send, then the pre send on the underside first and I had the same underwhelming feeling as you...sounded thin to me. But then I tried the line out, and there it was....the full 3D monster tone I was expecting.
Click to expand...
Ok I’ll give it a try. So I go from the line out of my iic+ to the input of the strategy? What if I wanna use the strategy with my amps with fx loops, but no line out jack? Will they also sound boxy?
Click to expand...
Yup, just line out to the input of the Strategy. Keep the outputs low initially and bring them up slowly. If you have FX you can run the line out to the Delay, then out to the Strategy. Your output will be controlled by three sources..the Line out, the Master of the C+ and the Strategy so you'll have to juggle with these three to find the best combo. To my memory the way I had it set up was Strategy at 5, Line out maxed, and the C+ at 0 then bring up to taste. Usually at 2 I'd be shaking the walls..2 on the C+ with the others set as described.
As far as your other amps, you'll have to experiment and see how it sounds. You can always buy a line out box ie Suhr and use that with your other amps. If you get uncontrollable feedback drop the volume on the Strategy a bit.
 
Racerxrated":3cex7c2g said:
thegame":3cex7c2g said:
Racerxrated":3cex7c2g said:
Use the line out on the back panel, that is how I ran my SRG C+ and it sounded much better than any other option. You are reamping the whole C+, not just the pre. Max the line out signal and start the Strategy at a low volume, and have your C+ at a reasonable volume.
Click to expand...

Mesa line outs put out a ton of signal, even with the amp master low. I would absolutely not max the line out signal. Start with all levels low and go from there.
Click to expand...
I never had a problem with it, sounded clear without any unnatural distortion. But I probably started with the signal low, and ended up just maxing it with no issues. It's been a while.
Click to expand...

Juggling 3 volumes, and having 2 of them at inconvenient locations, it'd be easy to overlook one being set too high. Eventually something will go poof. Several Mesa manuals recommend low settings of slave out, especially.
 
thegame":j76kls8j said:
Racerxrated":j76kls8j said:
thegame":j76kls8j said:
Racerxrated":j76kls8j said:
Use the line out on the back panel, that is how I ran my SRG C+ and it sounded much better than any other option. You are reamping the whole C+, not just the pre. Max the line out signal and start the Strategy at a low volume, and have your C+ at a reasonable volume.
Click to expand...

Mesa line outs put out a ton of signal, even with the amp master low. I would absolutely not max the line out signal. Start with all levels low and go from there.
Click to expand...
I never had a problem with it, sounded clear without any unnatural distortion. But I probably started with the signal low, and ended up just maxing it with no issues. It's been a while.
Click to expand...

Juggling 3 volumes, and having 2 of them at inconvenient locations, it'd be easy to overlook one being set too high. Eventually something will go poof. Several Mesa manuals recommend low settings of slave out, especially.
Click to expand...

:dunno:
I can only tell you my experience, and for the rig to have decent output, esp from a 400w amp, the line out had to be at least 6-10 to send a decent signal. I'm sure I started low, but eventually came to that conclusion. I had the rig for 2 yrs and ran it that way at some gigs(that's a ton of gear to haul but it was fun!) and every week at home multiple times without any issues.
 
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