Mesa/Boogie BASS STRATEGY Eight:88, Owner'S Manual

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Congratulations on your choice of the BASS STRATEGY Eight:88™ and welcome to the MESA/Boogie
®
Family! First, we would
like to thank you for choosing us as your amplifier company and trusting us to help create your musical voice. This is something we
never take for granted and you’ll find that we are here and ready to assist you should you ever need help. Our goal is to help you sound
your best at all times! We feel confident that your new amplifier will bring you many years of reliable service, rewarding inspiration and
create for you a newfound freedom to express your music.
You have chosen an amplifier bred of a fine all-tube heritage and this model is our testament to Tube Bass Tone. Its forefathers can
be traced back to the very first MESA amplifier ever built, the MESA 450 Bass Head. In fact, the first 5 MESA amplifiers built in the
Lagunitas mountain shack were Bass amps…a piece of trivia little known and overshadowed by our overwhelming notoriety for guitar
amplification. But we’ve always loved the Bass, and have—since day one—been committed to elevating its stature through our art
form. The bloodline for MESA bass continued with the first rack-mount chassis bass amplifier in 1980, the D-180. The mid-eighties
saw the introduction of the BASS 400 and later in 1988, the BASS 400+ with its stunning Pitch, Punch and Power delivered by an
additional 6 x 6L6s to bring the total to twelve 6L6s in the mighty power section.
The 400+ went on to become a classic used by the world’s most talented Bassists for two decades. Paul McCartney, Mark King,
Stanley Clark, Jack Blades, Michael Anthony, Blasko and Bootsy Collins, are but a few of the international stars that put the 400+
center stage to anchor the band during its 20 year build cycle. Those iconic amps still bring top dollar when you can find one changing
hands on the pre-owned market. While MESA has since pioneered an entire line of tube-driven mosfet amplifiers that shored up our
place in the Bass market, the discontinuation of the 400+ left a gaping hole in the world of tube Bass amp offerings.
Tone Freaks Rejoice! The BASS STRATEGY Eight:88 is the next step in the MESA All-Tube Bass Amp Bloodline. Vastly improved
Tone, features, dial-ability, portability, packaging and control over the entire spectrum make the STRATEGY—and its little brother the
PRODIGY Four:88—an iconic step forward in Bass amplification. With an all-new tube preamp, a 5-position Rotary VOICE Selector,
our 9-Band Graphic Equalizer, patented Multi-Watt 3-Way Selectable Power, Footswitchable SOLO and VOICE control, Rear Tuner
Output, and an all new, high output power section utilizing eight KT-88s—the STRATEGY is THE big horsepower, big venue tube
Bass Amp for the new millennium.
Operating Instructions
INPUT
MAINS
FUSE
EXT
SWITCHING
LOOP
EXT
SWITCH
HAND BUILT
IN PETALUMA,
CALIFORNIA U.S.A.
TUBE GUIDE
3 x 12AX 7 8 x KT-88
BASS STRATEGY
VACUUM TUBE
AMPLIFIER
FOOT
SWITCH
USE
WITH
TWO
8 Ω
CABS
4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM 2 OHM 2 OHM
D.I. OUT MUTE
SOLO
V
OICE
EQ
SLAVE
LEVEL
RETURN
SEND
TUNER
SLA
VE
POWER
ON
ON
STANDBY
D.I. LEVEL SOLO
EQ 0
EQ IN
EQ FS
HALF
FULL PWR
LOW PWR 33Hz 80 150 300 600 900 2K 5K 8K
D.I. PRE
POST
CAUTION! WARNING!
D.I. LIFT
GROUND
PATENTED
6,724,897
h
10 A
SLO
BLO
120 V~
60 Hz
10 A
USE
WITH
TWO
4 Ω
CABS
GAIN BASS MID TREBLE VOICE MASTER
™
™
3
2 4
5 1
+ -
SPEAKER
MUTE ON UNLESS SPKR IN
OUTPUT
NORMAL
B
R
I
G
H
T
A
C
T
I
V
E
Eight:88
HOME OF TONE ®
®
MUTE
SIL. REC.
P
L
A
Y
REAR VIEW: BASS STRATEGY
FRONT VIEW: BASS STRATEGY