Helpful Hints
We have provided within the CabClone IR’s 16 IR Presets, the very best, most accurate captures of our most popular MESA Cabinetry
recorded in a world class studio environment using the most iconic combinations of microphones.
Sound, like color, is subjective. No two artists hear or see things alike. With the vast number of listening environments, including
headphones, monitors — be they recording or Live PA — we feel we’ve provided something for almost any need and every style in the
Factory loaded Presets. From cabinetry that excels at open sounding, transparent cleans, to vintage-voiced open-back cabs that sing
and howl for semi-saturated Blues overdrive, to closed-back 2x12s and Quad Boxes that chunk and grind for gained-up, Heavy Rock,
there’s a cabinet and a voice for everyone here in the CabClone IRs 16 Presets. Spend the time matching up your different sounds to
the included Presets and you will quickly realize what a powerful tool you’ve chosen for trouble free DI recording and Live applications.
Use caution when setting the Master Volume on your amp. While the CCIR can handle up to 150 Watts, setting the amp extremely
loud is usually not the best approach to obtaining great Tone. Setting the Master Volume all the way up will generally sound less
desirable and mean that you sacrifice most of the control over the character and response you’ve dialed in with the preamp. It will
also wear out your power tubes faster, the same as if the amp were connected to a speaker. In most cases, you’ll find the sweet spot
is somewhere between 11:00-2:00 on the amp’s Master Volume. In that region you’ll be introducing plenty of power section color and
fullness, but you will still retain much of the preamp’s control over the sound and the response. When the power section is driven to
full clip, the sound you’ve dialed up on the preamp’s controls will be overshadowed by the power section’s behavior, good or bad.
The firmware inside the device includes many error detection mechanisms. When an error is detected, the red clip LED will blink an
error code. To reset the error, unplug and reconnect the power supply, or push the Boot switch located through a small hole on the
bottom of the unit.
Since so many of the interfacing connections are located on the Rear Panel, unlike other MESA Operating Guides/Manuals, we will
start on the Rear Panel to help you get your CabClone IR connected properly for your chosen application. The Top Panel where the
Controls are located is very simple to look at and even simpler to operate, so we’ll jump up there in just a moment, but first, let’s get
the CCIR connected so you can begin to enjoy its inspirational and convenient MESA cabinet captures.
Rear Panel (Interface Connections)
Let’s run through the connections and Inputs Outputs starting Left To Right:
INPUT: LINE
This ¼” phono Input accommodates a Line Level signal. This signal could be derived from a preamp, but a more
appropriate application would be to use an amplifier’s Slave Output. Slave Outputs generally, at least on MESA products, have the
entire tube signal chain incorporated including the power amp. HOWEVER, in this scenario you MUST have a load on the Host Ampli-
fier (a speaker cabinet connected) since the Internal load will NOT be accessed unless your SPEAKER OUTPUT on the amplifier is
connected to the FROM AMP SPKR OUT jack. (The LINE Input and FROM AMP SPKR OUT Input cannot be used simultaneously).
INPUT: FROM AMP SPKR OUT
This Input accepts a 1/4” phono cable (use a quality unshielded cable, shorter is better) from
your amplifier’s SPEAKER OUTPUT and provides the signal by which the IRs are triggered. When your amplifier is connected to this
jack an internal reactive load is automatically connected (in the impedance version of the CabClone IR you selected) to protect your
amplifier’s output transformer. The load will remain connected until such time a ¼” phono cable is connected to the adjacent OUTPUT
labeled TO SPKR, at which time the load is disabled and the cabinet you have purposefully connected becomes the amplifier’s load.
(The LINE Input and FROM AMP SPKR OUT Input cannot be used simultaneously).
OUTPUT: TO SPKR.
This ¼” phono jack provides the feed to your speaker cabinet of choice for live monitoring of your ampli-
fier. Once you have fed the CabClone IR the Speaker Output from your amplifier, the output signal is forwarded on, unaffected, to
your enclosure of choice. Once a cable is inserted into the TO SPKR Output jack, the Internal load is disabled. Therefore, the Imped-
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