Help! Amp Problems

Hey guys!

I bought a used Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier 50 watt Solo Head and a Marshall 1960A cabinet to go with the head this past Saturday.
Right now, I am running a Jackson Randy Rhoads with the EMG ZW set installed.

Before I bought the half stack I had a Line 6 Flextone II 2x12 XL, and I still have it.

I am having trouble getting a good distortion tone with a warm full bite to it. I am considering bringing the Mesa back and trying something else.

Opinions please, or settings that will give me my desired tone
Thanks guys

Rob

Its most likely something simple that your looking over...What do you have all your settings at on your amp?

Output 9 o clock
Master 9 o clock
Presence 10 o clock
Bass 5 o clock
Mids 1 o clock
Treble 1 o clock
Gain 2 o clock

modern and vintage mode the same+

I have no experience with Mesa amps , but from what I hear , you've gotta spend sometime tweeking to get a decent sound from it.

You must immediately pack that damn POS amp and send it to:

Hairbndrckr
9820 SE ***
Ocala, FL ***** LOL

You must be kidding me man, the Mesa Recto sound is one of the most emulated distortions next to the Marshall JCM 900... Even the Line 6 you have emulates it...
The only possible way that beast won't crank out the fuzz is if the tubes are completely shot. Is the amp new or used?

used...ill try new tubes but i got it sounding pretty good right now so maybe not

Originally posted by DisposableHero
Output 9 o clock
Master 9 o clock
Presence 10 o clock
Bass 5 o clock
Mids 1 o clock
Treble 1 o clock
Gain 2 o clock

modern and vintage mode the same+

There's your problem right there. That's not going to work for anything.

Depending on the pickups (I've never used those) try something like-
bass: 5
mids: 4-6
treble: 4
gain: start at 1 and turn up when you get the eq set
And turn the presence down if you want a warm sound.

I'm kinda guessing with those because I've never used that type of amp, but it shouldn't be hard to get something that sounds better than 5/1/1. Mesa is definitely a tweakers amp, I would play with it for as long as possible before making a decision.

And, if all else fails, check the tubes.