Need Some Insight on the Mesa Boogie V-Twin Pedal

I've got a vtwin, but I have not tried it infront of my bivalve yet. I can put up some sound clips if you would like. What kind of tone are you going for?

If you are looking to get a recto type tone, then the vtwin would provide that. If you just want a bit of a push, I'd go with an OD pedal rather than a distortion box. The MI Audio blues pro is kicking some ass for me, and that's what I would suggest for an OD pedal.

 

For me, it's become the world's most expensive headphone amp, cause that's about all I use it for. Even then, only on the clean channel w/pedals for OD.

I experimented extensively with tubes, and currently have the weakest ones I could find in there, but the 'solo' tone is still way too thick & distorted for my taste.

When I was using it with my amps, the huge jump in volume when switching from clean to solo was difficult to work around even after I adjusted the clean gain trimpot.

MO, there's a lot more versatile, cheaper pedals out there, but it does look too cool.

It's kinda like the Dunlop univibe, in that if it sounded as good as it looked, it'd be killer.

 

I've had a V-twin for over 10 years. For guitar I like the blue channel the best. I agree that the red channel is very thick and compressed with guitars. These days I use the V-twin on my bass pedalboard. It is awesome for bass od and distortion where it's thickness is a good thing. I can get a bit of cut if I want and it doesn't kill any of the low bass.

J.T. Pedals Valveboy is similar to the V-twin. It was designed by a guy that used to work for Boogie. To my ears the lead channel on the Valveboy is less compressed and more responsive than the red channel on the V-Twin. Sadly, the low gain channel on the Valveboy isn't as usefull for me as the blue channel on the V-Twin.

The Mesa-Boogie store in Hollywood carries both of these pedals.

 

You want an SIB Varidrive, not a v-Twin! The varidrive is actual tube distortion, whereas the v-twin is diode clipping. I like the v-twin a lot, especially the extensive eq section, but like others, the volume jump between the blue and the red channel is more than I like. I also found that I could dial in one or the other channel, but not both.

The varidrive is cheaper, but you do need to put in a less gainy tube to keep it from being overly buzzy. I always recommend a nos Mullard 12AT7.

 

You might try one of these...http://www.tubester.com/index.html

 

Hey, Glynn, it would be great if you could put up some sound clips!

 

Ok, here's a clip done at moderate volume, so the cops dont roll up. I'll be able to do a cranked version this weekend.

PRS w/EMG's->V-twin (stock tubes)->Bivalve (High cut off, volume 12:00, treble 2:00, bass 12:00, attitude 9:00, hotplate on 10:00, lo-v, stock 12ax7's and GT 6l6's for the power section.

 

Thanks a lot, glynn. I think it must be one of the best super high gain tones i've heard. Seems like an awesome pedal.

 

Fernando: Thanks! I think the v-twin is great for getting a recto tone out of a non boogie amp. It also gets a pretty good tone via recording from the mixer outs.


DARTHWOLFGANG: Cool, I hope it works out for ya!

 

My amp only has one channel that's good for crunch. I was thinking of getting a VTwin for pristine clean and recto. I would run it directly into my effects return. Does it do a good job with clean?

 

Also, you might want to check out the BJF Dyna Red or the George Lynch Time Machine Boost.

 

okay, time to play devil's advocate:

i had the V-Twin and hated it. it was the worst sound i've ever heard coming from my amplifier. it buzzed horribly, was always on the verge of feedback and had a horrible hiss evident in the red channel which i was not ever able to dial out.

however... i know a guitar player that used one for a long time with a Peavey Wolfgang whatever, one of those EVH guitars, and he seemed to tame the V-Twin very well.

prognosis... i think you need humbuckers to capture the full essence of the pedal. it won't do anything with single coils except for eff up your sound.

i'm not hatin' on anybody who likes them. like i said, i've heard great things from the V-Twin, but never from a strat.

 

The volume boost was corrected on newer models. Make sure you get one with the compartment on the bottom which allows access to a switching option to control the volume bump.

I had an older one and did a modification to minimize the volume difference. Also replaced that cheesey plastic switch with a toggle. It really tamed the unit. It sounded great with a SS Fender Princeton Chorus amp I had at the time.

Not sure what happened to either piece of equipment


After hearing Glynn's clip I want another V-Twin!

 

I bought a VTWIN in the early 90s and sold it when I got into boutique amps last year. I was an awesome pedal. I used it mainly for practice and recording direct into a board, something it does extremely well. Alone into a board, it sounds like a half stack Mesa. I don't think I would ever use it in a live situation....kinda a one trick pony unless you are willing to bend down and tweek the knobs between songs or when you switch channels . Plus it chews up a lot of real estate on a pedal board.