Mesa/Boogie V-1 Bottle Rocket Overdrive

This may be important to V-1 owners and perspective owners.
You can tame this beast by changing the tubes to 12AT7's, 12AY7's or 5751 preamp tubes.
No bias necessary.
Just change the tubes.
I am using NOS 5751's and it is much more controlable and sounds beautiful.
If you want a hotter signal just put the 12AX7's back in or even use one of each or any combination of preamp tubes (12A?7 or 5751).
Makes this one of the most versatile preamp out there.

The Mesa V-1 is sort of easy to use but it takes a bit of understanding how the controls interact with each other and a little bit of understanding about pedal placement(which pedals to place where in the signal chain). With those two things in mind, it should be easy to dail in a pretty smoking sound. The manual is informative and the example settings are a good starting point to getting to know your way around the pedal.

I'm playing a PRS Tremonti SE with a Duncan designed pickup in the bridge position through a Peavey Dual 212 120 watt tube amp. The signal chain is as follows: PRS to Boss NS-2 with a Boss DS-1 in the FX loop to V-1 to amp. In this chain and the V-1 set to liquid gain(that's gain on 1 to full, bass on 10, trebble on 12.5 and output on 9) it was quite noisey until I decided to put the DS-1 in the NS-2 FX loop. After that, it cleared up drastically. Almost dead silence. I should say that I run the gain, bass, and trebble controls on full as a variation of the liquid gain setting and control the resulting sound with my amp's EQ. I have compared this sound to that of Kittie's and Drowning Pool's (sinner album) sound. Bottom line...experiment. Experiment with settings, distortion pedals and tubes(12AX7EH-Electro Harmonics for me right now) depending on your needs for this Pedal.

It's build like a tank but I have not been gigging with it yet. Strictly home use at the moment. I would always have backup tubes for it if anything.

The manual is incedibly helpful and I have not had to call mesa about it yet...knock on wood.

I have been playing for about 10 years and I am always looking for great tone for hard rock and metal and the V-1 delivers. I am saving for a Mesa Single Rectifier but until I have it in my grubby little hands, this rig will definately work and I will certainly use my Bottle Rocket after I get my Recto. If it were lost or stolen I probably wouldn't buy another one. They're 200 bucks a pop and I might as well invest the money in the Recto I want. after that though, hell yeah I'd buy another one. I just wish the damn thing had an on/off switch. Remember kids...unplug it when you're done.

very simple to use, 4 knobs, and trust me you don't need a midrange control. It's worth spending a while on getting used to how the controls interact eg, more bottom n' top gives you more gain.

As a 'tone generator' using this pedal as your distortion it is a little disapointing, there isn't a great deal of gain to give a smooth lead sound tone, it does do a great billy gibbons tone like a broken tweed fender champ on full! but you get a very lose bottom end which makes chords or riffs mushy and for my tastes not enough compression for a lead tone. However, if you keep the gain low and use it as a volume boost for an already gained amp or pedal the tone is glorious, sustain for days and a smooth tone to die for, however this makes it noisey and a pricey pedal for a booster.

It never broke while I owned it but I only had it for a few months, bought a fulltone distortion pro instead, quieter, more versatile and more 'valve' sounding. Every other mesa I've had has been as good.

N/A

Not a bad pedal but only really useful if you are after that really furry tone lacking in defenition, if you already use a valve amp you don't need a valve stage infront of it, I got as good results with a BOSS sd1 which retails at a 10th of the price of this. anyone with a single channel fender wanting to sound like the black keys should try it though otherwise ignore the boogie drool factor and let your ears decide, it may save you some money. Also as a petty problem the in and out jacks are back to front!.

This is an update on my prevous submission.
Been using this unit for about a year.



Takes a little time to dial in what you want.

I normally play through a Marshall tube half stack.
With my Marshall I use this as a preamp and EQ.
I don't need or use it for distortion.
For rehearsals I used a 40 watt solid state Yamaha amp.
Not much on tone.
With the V-1 distortion sounded just like my Marshall.
I have always disliked solid state amps but the V-1 gives them the tube amp sound.
Plus it is very versatile.
I have had Tubescreamers, Metal Zones, Budah etc etc.
Nothing comes close to this thing.

I use it on gigs and at jams and it has never failed me.
It is an absolute necessity.
Built like a Tank!

No need for it.

I play jazz, blues, new and old rock, country.
Been playing longer than you are old.
If it were stolen I would want another one.
But they are getting harder to find and prices have more than doubled in the past year.
For me this is the best of the best.
I don't care foe Mesa Boogie amp sounds and this is by no means made to sound like a Boogie.
Although it could if you wanted it to.
Only thing I don't like is the 12 volt wall wart.
You could easily get it mixed up with a 9 volt transformer and that would be trouble.
I put colored electrical tape on it so I won't mistake it for another.
Not only is this thing great for your sound it is also collectable.
I can already get double what I paid for it just after one year.
I have had my Marshall since the 80's and I love it.
But I don't love loading and unloading it at gigs.
It might just be time for a dreaded solid state amp.
Maybe not! :-)

Buy a V-1 Bottle Rocket.
You'll love it.

4 knobs and a footswitch. Easy!
Changing the tubes is also no hassle on this pedal.

I run this pedal through various other pedals (i.e delay, tremolo, on and on) into my Twin Reverb reissue. The tone on this is great in my opinion. I'm a "pedal head" and constantly am looking for the next best sound whether it be a distortion pedal or a delay. I must say I've be impressed with this one.

On the downside of this pedal, I constantly am fighting with feedback problems. If I stand in certain places in relation to my board the feedback goes away and in others it's really bad. Tried a billion different settings but it may just be the nature of the pedal. I'm giving it a 9 here just for that but everything else is solid.

But overall a very sweet grab. Considering they don't make these anymore it makes it more of a hot buy.

Hasn't died yet. Solidly built. Wont ever leave my pedalboard.
Withstands me smashing on it night after night.

Never dealt with thier Customer Support.

I play instrumental music mostly in my band (best compared to Mogwai meets Refused). Works for what I want it for.

If it were lost or stolen I would be heartbroken and would right away try and find another one. Of course being it as they no longer make these it may become harder to find one in the coming years if mine got lost/stolen.

The easiest way to get a great overdrive sound.

This pedal is ideal for those who like warm and sweet lead sounds and don't want to spend a fortune.It's a perfect companion for any amp that has a great clean channel(it isn't recommended to use it with an amp's lead channel)and it is also very versatile(it can do anything between blues,jazz fusion,rock,jazz etc.).I have been using it in home with a Mesa/Boogie Caliber 50.+ combo amp(a combo amp that has a fantastic clean channel but a loud vintage lead channel for home use)and the results have always been great.Although now I'm changing my combo amp to a rack-system,this lovely pedal will always be a part of my setup.

You can always depend on such a wonderful pedal.

Never contacted the company.

If your amp has a great lead channel,then there is no reason to buy such a pedal.But if you use your amp's clean channel only and want some great overdrive sounds without changing your whole setup,then this is the perfect purchase for you.Comparing it to other distortion/overdrive pedals,I thing it is the winner.

No problem here. Easy to use.

Very smooth and warm compared to solid state pedals which generally have a harsh midrage edge, which I suppose may be due to the difference between odd and even harmonic distortion, tubes vs trans. Things that I found needing improvement. The gain comes on like gangbusters with the slightest increase in this control, so it makes it difficult if you want just a little dirt if you are playing blues. Mesa needs to extend the bottom range of this control so that you have a range of smooth dirt and not just one position. The second thing is that there is no treble to speak of. In fact the control is more a treble cut from the normal amount of treble in the straight throught signal. So you really cant get that high end bite and attack, like an Albert Collins sound. Mesa needs to make this control a treble boost. Third is that there is no overall gain in the pedal unless you adjust the gain to where it is a grunge fuzz. At low settings on the gain control, the output needs to give you more than an 1:1 over the input signal so you can get a lead vs rhythm volume. So, I would say I am somewhat dissapointed in its performance for my needs. I still need other pedals to get the highs and gain for lead, which makes me wonder why I want to use this pedal at all. I dont want to have to step on three buttons to take my leads. Why couldn't Mesa get this right?
If anyone finds any mods for this pedal, let me know at bluesboyrand@yahoo.com...thx

Robert Rand

Built like a brick....as always for Mesa

None. You have to pretty much deal with an authorized dealer. You cannot deal with anyone from Mesa. I've looked at all sites. And if you call the numbers, they give you the nearest dealer.

Controls are interactive.
Takes a little time to dial in what you want.

I did not buy this unit for overdrive or distortion.
I use it as a tube preamp.
Guitar is a Guild Blues 90.
I have a Class A 15 watt Kendrick amp that only has one preamp tube.
It will overdrive the power section nicely but I have no control over the preamp section.
The V-1 gives me what I want.
I also use it as a bass preamp with a Stingray bass through a Marshall tube stack.
Does a great job there.
Don't need rack preamp/EQ/compression any more.
I would not consider this as a distortion device.

Well built

n/a

Been playing a very long time.
For me it is one of the most useful devices on the market.
It will boost volume, add tone and smooth out bass response on a bass rig.
Adds another preamp section to my Class A guitar amp.
I use it for gigging and jamming.
It is also a back saver because it replaces much of my bass gear.
I play rock, blues, jazz & country.

Very easy.

The first thing you notice is how dark the sound is and how much bass is present. Like, woah, what do i need so much low end for. Very Mesa.
This unit seems to feature some serious high-end roll-off, which makes solo parts sound closer to so-called "woman tone". It is also the reason for pedal being VERY (and I mean very) quiet for an all-tube overdive. But it also makes the sound a bit dark, unlike, say, a Recto, which makes it a little difficult to locate in a mix when the other guitar is being ran through a Marshall, for example.
Bass response is hilarious. I thought I was going to say good bye to my small 50w combo (classic 50) when i cranked the bass. The low end seems to be quite defined, but that changes greatly from amp to amp; I don't really like the way Bottle Rocket sounds through Marshalls, it seems to lack something.
The compression is ludicrous, indeed. Not that it's a bad thing. You won't have to go past 12 o'clock on the gaing knob, which is good news in my book.
As I said before, this overdrive sounds bassy and quite dark all the time, and "Treble" control doen't help much. However, it is a very nice "dark and bassy" feel, I'd rather use this then a unit thin and piercing tone.

It seems to be sturdy.

This is a very cool pedal, which gives you an option of having a very Mesa sound without going berserk with gain. I do recommend it. Also, some people insist on the fact that it's a pure overdrive, incapable of going past heavy blues. That's not true. It does sound midrangey, but you can go from Santana to Staind with it, depending on your guitar and amp settings.

A no-brainer. You plug in, you adjust the settings, and you play. How
hard is that?

I use this with my Stick (both bass and melody), as well as an
electric cello (sweeeeet), and an electric upright bass (again,
verrrry sweeeet).

This is the first overdrive/distortion pedal in its price range that
didn't neuter the sound of the bass. In fact, it highlights the sound
a bit so that when it's in overdrive mode, the EUB, with a bow, sounds
unbelievable.

A tank (a Mercedes tank, to be specific). I've used it at gigs, in the
studio, and in rehearsals, without a single problem.

Can't offer an opinion here, since I've never had to call MB. From
what others have said, though, it sounds as though MB Support falls
into that magic category shared by a select few companies (in my
experience, Alembic and SWR are two others), that actually take the
calls, spend the time, and earn the respect and admiration of their
customers.

I play improv music, and the overdrive sound that I get from this beast
fits into the sound of the band like a natural. For myself, I've been
playing almost thirty years, and until the Bottle Rocket had not found
a suitable bass overdrive unit that didn't either neuter the sound, or
neuter my wallet. The Bottle Rocket has done neither.

If it were stolen, I'd definitely replace it - fast! If it were lost,
same thing, but I'd probably never own up to being stupid enough to
let it out of my sight for that long.

The only thing I'd replace it with, aside from another of its kind,
would be a V-Twin rackmount preamp, or perhaps a SWR Interstellar
Overdrive preamp (but again, with the 'Stella, we're talking about a
msjor bump in the price range).