Excellent condition all-tube 200-watt head. I’d be happy with it if I played with a quieter drummer but as it is I need more power for the songs where I need a clean tone. Being all–tube, the tone breaks up nicely. With the master on 10 and gain on 5, EQ relatively flat it just nails those rootsy rock and blues tones. It responds well to both my passive Precision and active Jazz. The way the gain changes the apparent transient response is very real, not just Mesa marketing hype. For example at a gain of 4 it’s laid back, at 6 it’s pushing – pretty useful. The EQ is a subtle yet tasty version of the Fender tone stack – I never heard a bad tone out of it. And although I like mids it sounded good with them at 5ish so it’s not too scooped like a lot of the fender style front ends. The graphic 5-band’s EQ points are well chosen and it works great for switching from fingerstyle to slap.
The previous owner put an extra long power cable on it that is convenient but still fits tucked in the back. He also put JJ tubes in it that look new. It has white chicken head knobs which I don’t think are original but are a nice upgrade as they make it easy to see your settings on a dark stage. I never tried the direct out but everything else is flawless so I suspect that is too.
Here’s the thread from the previous owner with pics. That was about 2 weeks ago so nothing has changed.
Mesa Buster head FS/FT
It comes with the nicest head case I’ve ever seen which probably accounts for the excellent condition of the head. SKB, lightweight with tons of foam padding, two nylon straps to keep it snug, 3 handles, two wheels and a pop-out handle to make moving it a cinch. I never knew anything like this existed or I would have got one for my SVT.
My time with new heads seems to be getting shorter and shorter. I’ve owned the Buster for less than a month and only gigged it once. I like it better than any other tube head I’ve owned (2 SVTs, Mesa 400, Fender 135) but I’d like it a lot better if it had a 1000 watt SS power section. I’m looking for $650 or a trade for a head or pre/power setup with at least 400 watts plus or minus cash. Of particular interest are Thunderfunk, GK, B-1500 and Mesa but others will be considered. A poweramp in the 800-1400 watt range would work for a partial trade. I'm also looking for a 1x12 or other small cab or combo. Local deals are preferred but I’ll ship at your expense.
