Mesa/Boogie Bass Prodigy, Owner'S Manual

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The PRODIGY begins with BRIGHT, NORMAL and ACTIVE INPUT Select choices feeding an all-new tube preamp that borrows
subsections from our CARBINE hybrid architecture. This design allows increased control over a broad spectrum of frequencies
and incorporates active BASS and TREBLE controls with increased shaping power - while retaining the sweet, musical blend of
our traditional passive MID control. In addition to these we’ve included a reworked-for-tubes version of the CARBINE’s 5-position
rotary VOICE feature that allows notching or enhancement of specific midrange regions in addition to bass and treble frequency
boosting. The VOICE feature puts you instantly in iconic stylistic realms – from elastic, mid-scooped Thumbing to articulate, mid-flat
Fingerstyle, to the Classic metallic, scooped American Pick sound – with a flick of a switch. The ability to jump right to these classic
“curves” makes re-voicing on the fly in performance situations a snap, is also footswitchable, and adds immensely to the PRODIGY’s
versatility.
Control over the Tone would be incomplete – at least in our minds – without control over the power as well. So the PRODIGY gives
you two choices as to how to utilize the power section. As wattage ratings are often misleading and irrelevant to volume when it
comes to describing tube power, the PRODIGY offers FULL and HALF power settings on the MULTI-WATT™ switch. Each of these
choices has a distinct tonal color and persona, with FULL delivering the maximum punch, authority and headroom. HALF can deliver
some valuable and surprising mid to lower power applications for tube-driven Bass while still offering plenty of volume for a lot of live
situations. An important collection of vintage-inspired sounds await you here in HALF POWER ranging from round and warm, to
edgy, to clipped and growling – depending how you dish it out from the MASTER, all the sounds in HALF POWER beg to be recorded.
A MUTE/PLAY/SILENT RECORD switch allows convenient Front Panel muting for instrument changes, silent tuning or recording, or
any time where signal muting is needed. An AUTO-MUTE circuit is fitted to the Speaker Jacks to protect the transformer and power
tubes if no speaker is connected and is indicated by the same Front Panel LED triggered by the mini-toggle MUTE/PLAY/SILENT RE-
CORD switch (Red LED ON = MUTE). The SILENT RECORD setting allows you to safely mute the signal at the Power Amp and use
the Prodigy preamp (including processing in the EFFECTS LOOP) to record using the D.I. OUTPUT without sound from the Speaker.
The Rear Panel D.I. OUTPUT signal can be derived from either PRE (your instrument) or POST (the entire preamp) with the Front
Panel D.I. Switch. The D.I. OUTPUT signal strength is controlled by the Front Panel D.I. LEVEL located at the far right side of the
Chassis next to the SOLO™ Control. And a valuable D.I. LIFT switch can float the Circuit Ground from Chassis Ground to reduce
noise into the Console when the Ground references are different.
The PRODIGY incorporates our SOLO™ feature that has become so popular on our guitar amplifiers, which gives you a pre-settable
and footswitchable boost for any time you want to feature a specific part or section in a song. The SOLO control can also be used to
compensate for an instrument with a lower output due to weaker pickups.
Jumping to the Rear Panel you are greeted with the EXTERNAL SWITCH jacks which make the PRODIGY compatible with virtually
any switching system’s architecture. These provide for external control of the MUTE, VOICE and SOLO™ features with a master
(usually midi) switcher or with any separate “tip to ground” latching-type switch logic.
From there we find the buffered Series EFFECTS LOOP that allows seamless interfacing of your high quality outboard processing.
Remember that this sensitive point between preamp and power section is an important Tone stage. Try to use outboard processing
of the same caliber as your amplifier. Ignoring this advice will likely result in compromised sound. The Loop is a critical junction/
impedance crossroads point between preamp and power and to put inferior foreign objects in the signal path here will produce Tone
of the lowest common denominator.
Next you’ll find a pair of jacks for the TUNER Output and the SLAVE Level. The TUNER output captures your instrument and preps
it for the long journey to the front of the stage or just upstairs to the top of your amp. The SLAVE provides an output for capturing the
sound of both preamp and power section for use in connecting your preamp and power section tonality to additional power sections
and cabinets for truly coliseum grade rigs.
Overview: