Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100 Owner's Manual
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Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100 Owner's Manual

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Summary of Contents for Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100

  • Page 1 Owner’s Manual...
  • Page 2 Hello from the Tone Farm Congratulations on your choice of the Royal Atlantic™ RA-100 and Welcome to the Mesa/ Boogie Family! Our 40 year commitment to excellence along with our solemn promise to musicians - to treat each of them as we ourselves would wish to be treated - guarantees you an experience that will make you feel truly justified in your choice.
  • Page 3 PRECAUTIONS & WARNINGS Your MESA/Boogie Amplifier is a professional instrument. Please treat it with respect and operate it properly. USE COMMON SENSE AND ALWAYS OBSERVE THESE PRECAUTIONS: WARNING: EU: permission from the Supply Authority is needed before connection. WARNING: Vacuum tube amplifiers generate heat. To insure proper ventilation always make certain there is at least four inches (100mm) of space behind the rear of the amplifier cabinet.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Precautions _______________________________________________________________________________ 0 Overview ________________________________________________________________________________ 1-3 Before You Start ____________________________________________________________________________ 4 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS & FEATURES MODES: CLEAN, HI, LO ____________________________________________________________________ 5-6 CHANNEL SELECT _________________________________________________________________________ 7 GAIN ___________________________________________________________________________________ 7-8 TREBLE __________________________________________________________________________________ 8 MID ______________________________________________________________________________________ 9 BASS ____________________________________________________________________________________ 10 MASTER ______________________________________________________________________________ 10-11 MULTI-SOAK ON/OFF ______________________________________________________________________ 11 STANDBY ________________________________________________________________________________ 11...

  • Page 5: Overview

    These two Modes in Channel 2 interact with the one set of Tone controls virtually seamlessly and deliver their respective characters with surprising accuracy and detail. This enables you to switch across styles with a minimum of tweaking and a level of compromise that is well worth the trade in simplicity. FRONT VIEW: Royal Atlantic RA-100 Combo CLEAN INPUT...
  • Page 6 (Continued) verview And now back to the news you’ve been waiting for… Multi-Soak™ Channel Assignable Power Soaks. Your ship has come in! While almost everyone loves the raw power, headroom and bold authority of a 100 watt power section pumping away beneath the deck, most of us have trouble finding a venue for all that muscle.
  • Page 7 Well that’s about it for the features of the Royal Atlantic™… now it’s about taking her out for a cruise and seeing what she’ll do in the wide open sea of your creativity. Thanks so much for your interest and support… all of us here at MESA/Boogie value it above all. We know we work for you…...

  • Page 8: Before You Start

    BeFOre YOU STArT: HELPFUL HINTS: Cut the cable tie that holds the AC Power Cord to the Rear Tube Cover and connect it to a Grounded AC wall socket. Connect the Stereo ¼” Footswitch Cable to the Front Panel ¼” jack labeled FOOTSWITCH using the supplied Stereo Cable. Set the amplifier (and at least one speaker cabinet) on the floor you will be standing (or sitting on) while playing to complete the coupling circle that occurs.

  • Page 9: Modes: Clean, Hi, Lo

    FrONT PANeL: C & F ONTrOLS eATUreS THE CHANNELS / MODES: CLEAN CHANNEL: This is the lowest gain of the three Modes in the Royal Atlantic and is based on the classic California “black face” era circuits. It also draws heavily from our MARK I and MARK V Boogie clean modes - where it inherits the sweetness and springy, bouncy attack characteristics.

  • Page 10: Front Panel Controls & Features

    FrONT PANeL: C & F (Continued) ONTrOLS eATUreS LO delivers the classic Brit character and response and is all about versatility. With a gain spectrum that begins with a vintage-inspired clean range (7:00 – 10:30), transitions through a dial friendly zone of tight, percussive, open and dynamic crunch sounds (10:30 –...

  • Page 11: Channel Select

    FrONT PANeL: C & F (Continued) ONTrOLS eATUreS and follow this obvious and simple scheme: If you want to add power section overdrive to an already gained-out sound with the Multi-Watt Soak – Reduce the setting of the GAIN control accordingly. In this way you stand a better chance of arriving at a sound that is a beautiful blend of preamp saturation and power amp overdrive.

  • Page 12: Treble

    FrONT PANeL: C ONTrOLS saturation to keep chords grinding and single notes hanging – but not too much to start compressing the life out of the sound. If you aren’t getting great results in this region for your gain sounds in Channel 2, you may want to look at trying some pickups with a bit hotter output.

  • Page 13: Gain

    FrONT PANeL: C Continued ONTrOLS MID: The MID control in the Royal, while very powerful, acts a little more like a standard tone control and doesn’t have quite the massive global shaping power of the VOLUME and TREBLE controls. However, its setting does impart a strong character on the sound of all three Modes.

  • Page 14: Bass

    FrONT PANeL: C Continued ONTrOLS BASS: Much like the MID, the BASS control responds like a typical Tone control and blends in a fairly wide slice of rich bottom end to round out the sound. Internal switching that occurs when the different Modes are selected re-voices the frequency and amount of bass present for each circuit.

  • Page 15: Master

    FrONT PANeL: C Continued ONTrOLS it does. However most all the “vintage non-master” amplifiers they are seeking to emulate have discrete resistors in that place in the circuit anyway to adjust or “tune” the output of the preamp to the power section sensitivity. The MASTER is nothing more than a variable resistor that offers an infinite range of settings possibilities and makes the amplifier many times more versatile with no sonic penalty.

  • Page 16: Fuse

    PANeL: C & F ONTrOLS eATUreS Royal Atlantic RA-100 Combo C A U T I O N ! W A R N I N G ! Unplug power to service chassis. Unplug power to change fuse. CHANNEL ASSIGNABLE MULTI-SOAK ™...

  • Page 17: H.t. Fuse

    reAr PANeL: C & F (Continued) ONTrOLS eATUreS NOTE: WARNING! Never grab the Power Tubes after playing with your bare fingers – especially when the MULTI-SOAK ATTENUATORS have been used! TUBES WILL BE EXTREMELY HOT AND CAN CAUSE SEVERE BURNS. THE CHASSIS AND SWITCHES CAN ALSO BECOME VERY HOT.

  • Page 18: Reverb

    reAr PANeL: C & F (Continued) ONTrOLS eATUreS REVERB: This duo of switches allows engagement and control of the RA-100’s lush all-tube Reverb circuitry. The Reverb section of the RA-100 features a True Bypass that routes the signal completely around the Reverb tube stages and all associated circuitry as well as a pre-selectable Reverb Defeat switch that enables you to assign the Reverb to specific Channels/Modes.

  • Page 19: Speakers / Impedance Select

    reAr PANeL: C & F (Continued) ONTrOLS eATUreS SPEAKERS / IMPEDANCE SELECT These two ¼” female phono jacks and Impedance Select toggle switch are the SPEAKER OUTPUTS for the Royal 100. If you are familiar with our amplifiers, you will likely wonder why there is a switch to select either the 4 or 8 ohm speaker taps –...

  • Page 20: Sample Settings

    FOOTSWITCHABLE SAMPLE SETTINGS Bright Clean, Tight Crunch, Brit Lead CLEAN INPUT HI-LO 100W POWER FTSW CLEAN MULTI-SOAK ™ MASTER-HI TREBLE MIDDLE BASS GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE BASS MASTER-LO GAIN MASTER FTSW STANDBY Punchy Clean, Edge, Urgent Lead CLEAN INPUT HI-LO 100W POWER FTSW CLEAN...
  • Page 21 INDIVIDUAL MULTI-SOAK™ SAMPLE SETTINGS Power Drive Clean CLEAN CHANNEL ASSIGNABLE MULTI-SOAK ™ -8db -8db -8db 100W -12db -4db -12db -4db -12db -4db -16db -16db -16db 100W 100W 100W POWER CLEAN MULTI-SOAK ™ MIDDLE GAIN TREBLE BASS MASTER STANDBY LO Power-Solo INPUT HI-LO CHANNEL ASSIGNABLE MULTI-SOAK...

  • Page 22: User Settings

    USER SETTINGS INPUT HI-LO CHANNEL ASSIGNABLE MULTI-SOAK ™ -8db -8db -8db -12db -4db -12db -4db -12db -4db -16db -16db -16db 100W 100W 100W FTSW CLEAN CLEAN MIDDLE MASTER-HI GAIN TREBLE BASS MASTER-LO FTSW INPUT HI-LO CHANNEL ASSIGNABLE MULTI-SOAK ™ -8db -8db -8db -12db...
  • Page 23 USER SETTINGS CLEAN CHANNEL ASSIGNABLE MULTI-SOAK ™ -8db -8db -8db 100W -12db -4db -12db -4db -12db -4db -16db -16db -16db 100W 100W 100W POWER CLEAN MULTI-SOAK ™ TREBLE MIDDLE BASS GAIN MASTER STANDBY CLEAN CHANNEL ASSIGNABLE MULTI-SOAK ™ -8db -8db -8db 100W -12db...

  • Page 24: Diagnosing Tube Problems

    TUBE NOISE & MICROPHONICS: You may occasionally experience some form of tube noise or microphonics. Certainly no cause for alarm, this quirky behavior comes with the territory and the Tone. Much like changing a light bulb, you don’t need a technician to cure these types of minor user serviceable annoyances and in fact, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to cure tube problems...by simply swapping out a pre-amp or power tube! First may we suggest that you set the amplifier up on something so that you can get to the tubes comfortably without having to bend...
  • Page 25 DIAGNOSING PRE-AMP TUBE PROBLEMS: Because your amplifier is an all tube design, it is quite possible that you will at some point experience minor pre-amp tube noise. Rest assured - this is no cause for alarm and you can take care of the problem yourself in a matter of minutes by simply swapping tubes.

  • Page 26: Bias Adjustment Article

    BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Part of a continuing series) BEAM- CONFINING An Article written by Randall Smith that ELECTRODE CATHODE we thought you might find interesting. GRID ..SCREEN GRID ..
  • Page 27 BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Continued) control grids. Voltage and current are NOT the same. Current is the AMOUNT of electricity, the “quantity” — and is measured in amperes. Voltage is the degree of electric charge — like the “pressure” to use the old water analogy. Let me illustrate how different voltage and current are: When you scrape your feet across a carpeted floor in dry, wintery conditions, your body can become charged with 50,000 to 100,000 volts of static electricity.
  • Page 28 How much money and trouble that has saved MESA/Boogie players you couldn’t estimate. Our rigorously tested and hand selected tubes are available at your nearest MESA/Boogie Pro Center or from us directly. Nobody offers better price, quality or warranty than we do ... so why swerve? Next time we’ll talk about our part in developing the great Sylvania STR 415 type 6L6 and how we’re on the verge of seeing something...

  • Page 29: Speaker Impedance Matching And Hookup Guide

    MESA/Boogie amplifiers can handle 4 and 8 ohms effectively. Never run below 4 ohms in a tube amplifier unless you are absolutely certain that the system can handle it properly; this can cause damage to the Output transformer. A few amplifiers can handle 2 ohms effectively without damaging them ( for example the MESA’S Bass 400+ ).
  • Page 30 SPEAKER IMPEDANCE MATCHING & HOOK-UP GUIDE: (Continued) PARALLEL: When wiring in parallel, the resistance of the speakers decreases. Two 8 ohm speakers wired in ( hooked-up ) Parallel results in a 4 ohm load. It’s easy to calculate the effect of a resistive load when all the speakers are all the same resistance. It is really not suggested to wire different resistive load values in Parallel ( 8 and 4, 16 and 8 etc.
  • Page 31 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier Partial back view of amplifier 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 Ohm Cabinet Partial back view of some Mesa amp 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 4 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet...
  • Page 32 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier Partial back view of amplifier 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH CORRECT MATCH Partial back view of amplifier Partial back view of amplifier...
  • Page 33 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM SERIES BOX 8 Ohm 8 Ohm 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH Partial back view of amp Partial back view of amplifier CORRECT MATCH 8 OHM...
  • Page 34 WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM SERIES BOX 8 Ohm 8 Ohm 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH Partial back view of amplifier 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM...

  • Page 35: Feature Article: On Pentodes, Triodes & Irishmen By Randall Smith

    ON TRIODES, PENTODES & IRISHMEN: With apologies to Friends and Relatives from the Emerald Isle - who will make their appearance soon enough - the humor which follows is dedicated to the memories of Spec McAuliff and Fae (Rafael) McNally, two of the True Greats. As their numerical references suggest, the terms Diode, Triode and Pentode indicate the number of elements within the vacuum tube i.e.
  • Page 36 ON TRIODES, PENTODES & IRISHMEN: (Continued) Thus a diode tube - one with a cathode and an anode - is mostly used to rectify alternating current into direct current by passing it without restriction, but in one direction only. This also explains why closing time is strictly enforced at Irish pubs: During normal operation, the traffic flow is similarly unimpeded and uni-directional toward the bar and this process rectifies the work-day negativity.
  • Page 37 PENTODES: (Continued) Thus the proper cocktail waitress - visible through the louvers - is scantily clad so as to be all the more effective at reinforcing the attractive influence of her bar and by being located in between the door and the bar, she serves as bait to lure customers past the door’s negative influence.

  • Page 38: Tube Task Chart - Royal Atlantic Head

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  • Page 39: Tube Task Chart - Royal Atlantic Combo

    PAGE 35...

  • Page 40: Part Sheet - Head

    PAGE 36...

  • Page 41: Part Sheet - Combo

    PAGE 37...
  • Page 42 NOTES...
  • Page 43 ® ®...
  • Page 44 ® 06/07/11...

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