mesa 400+ VS titan v12 (make your choice)

[Mr. BassmanPT]

this is just my curiosity.. what is "your" amplifier? please do not ask me what i am looking for, this is about you and not me!

i have a titan v12 and i am pretty happy with it, best amplifier i have ever heard.. however, i see plenty of you praising the old tube 400+.

if you could only have one, which would you choose?

i reckon these are two different animals and that is why i made this topic.

please vote, i am really curious to see how this will turn out to be. i will not vote as i cannot say nothing about the 400+ other than what i saw and read on the internet.

[bassboysam]

I'll take tubes every time. Sold my 400+ because I needed to thin out the herd, but it was a cool amp.

[NecroticImbecil]

Only sold my 400+ because I had a D-180 that could get the tone I liked from the 400+ and some tones the 400+ couldn't. Among their solid state amps, the only one I've liked was the M-Pulse head. Don't know why the others don't appeal to me, but that was my impression.

[KramerBassFan]

IMHO, you just can't beat a full tube power amp.

[incubus2432]

The v12 is a fantastic head but I wouldn't sell my 400+ to get one. Both are fantastic but the 400+ just does what I need better.

[gravesbass]

Totally different animals..... Tubes are warmer and ss/mosfets are tighter/quicker.... Both great amps!

[BassBob1]

i didn't answer the poll because i have never played the v12. i have played the 400+ quiet a bit at a place that i go to jam frequently. I do think it is a great amp and does a more typical rock sound very well. The sound of the 400+ just isn't me. I would like to try a v12 though. I seem to always favor ampeg but i'm always looking to see if i like anything better.

[BillJarrett]

400+, but then I'm slightly biased.

Although I did play a v12 as well as an M-Pulse before settling on the 400+. I just dug the tone better.

It's sad they're discontinued. =(

[Mr. BassmanPT]

the titan is losing 12 to 1. i thought this was going to be closer.

[gravesbass]

I have owned both and gigged the hell out of them. The Titan is a GREAT amp.... Its all in what you prefer. Tube or Solid State. Best bet is find a store that has old stock and try both together.... probably wont be available tho.

[Calaverasgrande]

I prefer the 400 or 400+. It is kind of a toss up though. The V12 has a tube pre - solid state power. It sounds pretty tubey for what it is (being a mesa of course). The 400+ runs its power section very conservatively. It doesnt get quite the tube grind out of the power that the 400 non plus does. Even there I'd say both the 400 and 400+ are very close to SS sounding sometimes. They can have pretty fast bottom end as well as cutting edgy sound if you run the master up and the gain down with the EQ set flat. The V12 has the overdrive for each channel (and two channels!) so there is that.
Also, in interest of full disclosure, the bass 400/400+ and some D180 have transistors in the graphic eq section. So if the graphic is on, you aren't 100% tube!
I voted 400+ but if I was in a really loud fast band with both clean and dirty bass parts I would likely go for the V12, just for the ability to run two 4 ohm cabs at obscene levels and footswitch channels and overdrive.

[garmenteros]

I owned a 400+ and had the bb750 which is basically a lower wattage v12, and although both were awesome amps, I am a tube guy at heart.

[Krügmeister]

i couldn't decide... so i got both

[kosmicwizard]

I am also a tube guy, I own a 400 (non-+), I voted for the titan because of the options and the ability to get dirty, which I feel the + doesn't do as well as the non-+. Cheers.

[rockstarbassist]

I just sold my 400+, but if I had to get rid of my M9 and choose between the + or the V12, I'd go with the V12 which I had and gigged for a while. Great amp. The perfect "cover" rig.

[Mr. BassmanPT]

great point of views here, keep them coming. i voted titan to help it to level up a bit lol

[Rezdog]

Greetings from the North,

Peavey VB-3. ALL TUBE 300 Watts & only 37 pounds!

And no I don't own one but if I did go Peavey......

Rezdog

[Caca de Kick]

Originally Posted by Krügmeister

i couldn't decide... so i got both

That doesn't sound like a bad idea....

[paganjack]

I voted for the 400+ I just prefer tubes. That head is plenty versatile for my needs too. Also, getting to push it into power tube distortion...there is nothing quite like it.

[Mr. BassmanPT]

i wonder why it has been discontinued if it is that good. No sarcasm in this sentence.