The amp giant’s new line features four products that will enhance your tone and optimise the performance of your amp, whilst preserving the integrity of your signal. The new buffer line comprises of the Stowaway Input Buffer, the High-Wire Dual Input/Output Buffer & Boost, the Clearlink Output Buffer & Line Driver and the Clearlink Converter/ISO Transformer.
The Stowaway is Mesa’s first offering. The compact and 100% discrete Class-A input buffer is designed to fix an array of input challenges. These challenges are caused by issues such as impedance loading and mismatching, unpredictable changes in guitar pickup or sound character as a result of varying effect pedals’ input impedance and interconnecting cables’ capacitance. The Stowaway will deliver the stable, consistent load an instrument needs to sound as intended.
The High-Wire serves as a dual buffer and combined line driver and addresses both input and output challenges in the same compact chassis. Between instrument and pedals, it provides a stable, consistent load for a guitar’s pickups, ensuring that the signal arrives at the first pedal intact. From pedalboard to the amplifier, the High-Wire buffers the signal, ensuring optimum impedance loading and performance, while also allowing for increased signal levels for extra long cable runs via the built-in line driver feature.
Aimed at line driving issues, the Clearlink Line Driver is designed to go between the last pedal on a pedalboard and the input of the amp. It’s capable of sending either a balanced or unbalanced signal that compensates for losses in guitar tone quality due to increased capacitance in long cable runs. When combined with a Stowaway input buffer, the Clearlink Send forms an “effects loop” for the instrument-to-pedalboard-to-amp signal chain that will reclaim the integrity of sound through buffering, impedance matching or boosted levels.
Finally, the Clearlink Receive ISO/Converter is Mesa’s big-stage solution for all instruments where signal must travel longer than 15 to 20 feet. It’s most common application is receiving a buffered and balanced signal through XLR cabling from its companion product–the Clearlink Send. Upon receiving the signal at the tail end of a pedalboard, the Clearlink Receive converts the XLR balanced signal back to a ¼” unbalanced signal, appropriately matched for feeding an instrument amplifier input. With the ability to isolate and convert from most pro signal sources, the Clearlink offers a solution that is in high demand for the gigging musician, recording artist or savvy guitar technician.
For more details on the range of Mesa/Boogie products, head to proaudio.com.au