Profiling Mesa Dual Rec Preamp and Poweramp only

    I've browsed this forum and wiki and couldn't find the answer, so I apologize if this has been covered already for this specific example -


    I have a Mesa Dual Rec Head and Mesa Cab. I would like my Power Rack Profiler to take the place of the Mesa head. So I would like to profile the preamp and power amp section of the Mesa head. Do I need to run a dummy load for this? Or is there a different way I should do this?


    Can I expect to hear the exact same tone (or pretty close) coming from the KPA Power Rack -> Mesa Cab as compared to my Mesa Head -> Mesa Cab?


    Thanks.

    Hi... zeus (!),


    the short answers to your questions are: yes; and no.


    You'll have to give your poweramp a load (at least 2-3 ohm, but check your manual: many amps want a minimum of 4 ohm), otherwise it could... blow down.
    There are special little boxes for the taks (DI, dummy loads and the like).


    As for the second question, the result will not be the same, because the poweramp works (and sounds) differently when it "sees" different loads (which in this case would be the DI box and the cab). OTOH, the Profiler will not.
    This doesn't of course mean the results won't be good. There will be a difference, which could be considered small or negligible depending on the outcome and the real figures involved.


    The best option (with a least error) would be to profile the whole rig, then use the real cab with the Profiler switching cab off. This way, the profiled poweramp will sound as if it saw the cab... and this signal will be sent by the Profiler to the same cab :)


    HTH

    Use slave out, to get the power amp coloration.
    A speaker must be connected to amp when profiling.
    Have used slaved out profiles from rectifier and my mark 3 with good results using my powered toaster with a guitar cab.

    Quote from Thumas

    Use slave out, to get the power amp coloration.
    A speaker must be connected to amp when profiling.
    Have used slaved out profiles from rectifier and my mark 3 with good results using my powered toaster with a guitar cab.

    That's a great idea. Should be pretty simple to do as well. Thanks for your assistance.

    While it can sound great, it won't sound the same.
    Zeus was asking whether he would get the same exact tone.


    IMO, the closest sound will be got by profiling the whole chain and excluding the cab when playing back.