M6 Carbine Bass Head from Mesa?

[ThirtyOver]

Really interested in purchasing this amp head in a few weeks. It is the only amp brand that literally every video or review/talk alot session I have seen sounded great. But as of yet I haven't actually tried it myself so who knows.
Kinda wondering if some of you have actually played or own one will give me a better idea of its dependability and overall sound? We play classic and hard rock with a dash of metal thrown in. This amp should work awesomely going by the specs and video reviews.

[chubfarm2001]

You will not be disappointed at all. I got mine on from a fellow TBer this past summer and it is amazing. I play in a party cover band, a country cover band, and an original metal side project. It covers any sound I need. The older ones should be upgraded, but if it isn't Mesa will give it the upgrades it need free of charge. Then you will have an amp that just wont quit.

[ThirtyOver]

Originally Posted by chubfarm2001

You will not be disappointed at all. I got mine on from a fellow TBer this past summer and it is amazing. I play in a party cover band, a country cover band, and an original metal side project. It covers any sound I need. The older ones should be upgraded, but if it isn't Mesa will give it the upgrades it need free of charge. Then you will have an amp that just wont quit.

I've read something about these "upgrades" ...you know what these entail? But im planning on buying new so Im guessing that wouldn't be a concern. At the moment I cant afford to buy the head and a cab so I will have to run it through my Acoustic cabs till I can purchase a cab for it as well. Then Ill have my main and backup rigs.

Particularly wondering how nice that pull deep function sounds. Video reviews dont do anything true justice!

Plus I have read a number of people saying that upgrading the pre amp tube/tubes? will give an even better sound.....but this would be my first amp with a Tube so Im kinda lost on that one.

[Matt Lake]

I actually don't like the pull deep bass. It cuts out some frequecy and boosts lower frequency. It seems like it kind of leaves a void in a certain area. It has plenty of better bass tones by turning the gain to 1 or 2 oclock and boosting the bass a little past noon too. This amp will end your quest for more bass. But it has so much punch it could easily blow your acoustic speakers so be careful. I play it through an Ampeg 8-10 at church in a big room and I still can't turn the master volume past 9:30 without getting told to turn down. With the SVT all knobs were set to noon. With the Mesa everything is set to noon except the master is between 9 and 10. Major punch from these. I really like it.

[ThirtyOver]

Originally Posted by Matt Lake

I actually don't like the pull deep bass. It cuts out some frequecy and boosts lower frequency. It seems like it kind of leaves a void in a certain area. It has plenty of better bass tones by turning the gain to 1 or 2 oclock and boosting the bass a little past noon too. This amp will end your quest for more bass. But it has so much punch it could easily blow your acoustic speakers so be careful. I play it through an Ampeg 8-10 at church in a big room and I still can't turn the master volume past 9:30 without getting told to turn down. With the SVT all knobs were set to noon. With the Mesa everything is set to noon except the master is between 9 and 10. Major punch from these. I really like it.

Any comments on how well the tube based overdrive capabilities are on this amp?

[Baird6869]

Make sure you buy one with the upgrades done. Upgrades include bigger heat sink, more venting, etc. This is VERY important.

I owned 2 M9s and they both died on gigs. I no longer use Mesa M6/9 series amps. I still use a Mesa D180, but twice burned was too much for me... Especially with a $1600 amp.

[Matt Lake]

Umm....I can't really say. I've only had mine a couple months (also from a fellow TBer)and I get the sweet tone I need for classic rock without going past 2 on the gain. Sorry. I know I turned the gain higher when I first got it but haven't turned it to that area again. It's just such a good sounding amp that I really haven't tried to get more overdrive out of it. I do spend a little time tweaking the tone depending on the feel or sound for some classic songs. I like the no.2 tone setting which is a little mid cut a little bass and treble boost but my bandmates like no. 3, the flat setting for more clarity of my notes. This amp is head and shoulders above the tube preamp in my Hartke 3500 I was using. Much nicer sound.I think I like the tone better than the SVT also, even though it's a solid state power amp section. I had tried a Genz Benz Streamliner 600 after reading reviews and watching clips but couldn't make the sound work for me. It's a crap shoot if you can't actually hear an amp in person. Good Luck.

[Primakurtz]

Just to throw in another option - the M3 is awesome. Hellaciously loud, and the tube overdrive is really good. Doesn't get too hot, either. I prefer it to the M9 I had. I play in a very loud hard rock band, and it is plenty.

[Jim Carr]

I fell in love with the M6 the first time I tried it. I wanted one so badly, but could only find a used M9. Wow. Even after the heartbreak of a couple of trips back to Mesa for "thermal upgrades," I am still crazy about it.

[groovaholic]

The M6 is a VERY loud, forward, direct sounding amp.

I absolutely LOVED mine but had to sell it to have enough money to bring to closing on my house.
I will own another one some day.

But IMO; it does NOT overdrive easily or all that gracefully...

What's ironic about that is I went on a quest for an amp that would emulate an overdriven tube amp and ended up with an M6 instead -- but the tone of the M6 was just so RIGHT THERE and immediate; I couldn't stop playing through it.

Others have mentioned the upgrades. Essentially, it's all about cooling; from what I gather, the MOSFETS would run hot and cause the amp to go into thermal protect mode. The upgrades involved a second fan and a vented cover.

Keep the master low and read what the manual has to say about setting the gain.

But the amp won't disappoint you, and you WILL have enough volume.

[KsPiNeSh]

Originally Posted by ThirtyOver

Any comments on how well the tube based overdrive capabilities are on this amp?

It's a clean machine - don't expect to get usable OD tones from this amp. That said, it's arguably one of my favorites all time, and after owning both an M6 and M9 I kept the M9.

[CL400Peavey]

To the OP:

What cab are you planning on using with your future amp? IMHO that is more important to your over all sound than the amp. I would decide on the cab first, then audition amps with your cab and bass.

[Chef]

I had both the M6 and M9.
Frankly, I see "more amp for the money" with the M9.
The graphic eq and compressor were really helpful to me in making that amp work for me; the small diff in price was worth having those features.

They're both very clean amps and don't do grit well. Crank the input and they do add some harmonics, but their OD (what there is of it) isn't a strong point. There are better amps for that, or, pedals.

[husky123]

Yep agreed with all about the OD. For me, after 12 noon on the input gain of my M9 gave me good harmonics but the "OD" after that became harsh and mostly cuts peoples heads off. The clean headroom in unbelievable from both the M6 and M9 and dirt pedals (ala B3K) do outstandingly well in front of the amp.

[echoSE7EN]

My old M6 is the only piece of gear I wish I hadn't sold. But, I thought the grass was greener...it wasn't. Still thinking about replacing it (or getting an M9) one of these days.

[ThirtyOver]

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

To the OP:

What cab are you planning on using with your future amp? IMHO that is more important to your over all sound than the amp. I would decide on the cab first, then audition amps with your cab and bass.

Have tried an array of different cabinets and 4x10's seem to sound better to me. So I am kinda leaning towards a powerhouse 4x10 (although some people have mentioned that Bergantino seem to do a better job with the Mesa amps than Mesa cabs do) So Im figuring that I will get a head now and than spend the next year shopping around for a cab. I want it to be right. So I appreciate all the "I wish I hadnt of sold that cab/amp for whatever reason" stories...what others view as a mistake is more telling than "oh that amp sounded great!"
My Acoustic 200 watt head and 4x10 have been plenty to do every show we have done inside or out of bars. So until we end up doing some larger gigs, I dont think I need more than a 410.

And about the OD. I dont use distortion at all. But after playing on a few tubes amps at GC a few weeks ago I could tell how easily it would be to get some nice dirty as all hell sound out of them. Was wondering if the Mesas will do that as well. Videos dont do justice. I have been looking at the M9 as well. But at those levels it could shred both my Acoustic cabs without even warming up first I think. Leading me to an immediate purchase with another crap load of money for a cab that can handle it. And then I would have a dream set up. But when my wife leaves Id probably have to sell it and that would make me cry. The M6 specs put it right in line with the max my cabs should be able to take to as long as im not thrashing at full volume all the time I should be good for awhile till I can purchase a solid cab for it.

[ThirtyOver]

And to be honest Im actually more interested in the Mesa Walkabout Scout 15 inch combo.

But I know that my 15 inch Acoustic sounds like crap by itself IMO. The 4x10 sounds alot better.

But for that kinda money who knows....probably the best thing since cavemen learned they could make music by hitting cave women on the head with dinosaur bones.

[Chef]

Comparing the Mesa Walkabout Scout 15 to you Acoustic really just isn't fair to either.
I've done a ton of gigs with a Walkabout and a Mesa 115; it's uber high quality stuff.

Now, the M6 and Walkabout are about as different from each other as one can get, so, you're gonna have to think on that some, for sure.

[ThirtyOver]

Well Thanks for the replies. Got alot of things to look into still.