Mesa D-180 for 500, should i buy?

thrashcomics · #1 10-03-2010, 11:25 PM

i found a d-180 on cl in la. i live in sacramento. i spoke with the guy on the phone today and he is willing to ship it. is that a good price? also, he said he recently had it serviced and was told by the people at the mesa store that his was a second gen and that the channels did not cascade, is this true?

on that note do you need to plug into both inputs in order to getr the channels to interact?

thanks in advance.

JimmyM · #2 10-03-2010, 11:43 PM

don't know about the channels, but for $500 you'd be crazy not to get it...unless of course you don't like the d-180

thrashcomics · #3 10-03-2010, 11:48 PM

im thnking im gonna pull the trigger on this. i just sold my marshall 4x12 and wes gonna drop that cash on a deposit for a mesa 2x12 powerhouse but those are not impossible to find.

bassteban · #4 10-03-2010, 11:54 PM

Get it- get it NOW.

paganjack · #5 10-03-2010, 11:55 PM

do it

thrashcomics · #6 10-04-2010, 12:11 AM

well i emailed and texted the guy and said i wanted it for sure.

rnilson · #7 10-04-2010, 06:40 AM

I think you'll be happy. I have the Mesa Buster which is much like the D-180 and it is a great amp.

anderbass · #8 10-04-2010, 06:44 AM

I have an early production D-180, It has the cascading preamps but no EQ section. As far as I know the only difference in the second generation D-180's was the addition of an EQ section.

The Mesa D-180 manual seems to say they all have the cascading feature: http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/D-...ower%20Amp.pdf

I never heard of a non cascading D-180 but I suppose its possible, you sure its not a M-180 poweramp?

thrashcomics · #9 10-04-2010, 06:46 AM

Did the m1?0 have a graphic eq

tombowlus · #10 10-04-2010, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

don't know about the channels, but for $500 you'd be crazy not to get it...unless of course you don't like the d-180

+1 This is an awesome head IME/IMHO, but not for everyone.

Deluge Of Sound · #11 10-04-2010, 08:58 AM

Doooooooo eeeeeeeeeeit!

d180fuzz · #12 10-04-2010, 09:09 AM

Hey Thrash - $500 is definitely a fair (and quite reasonable) price for that amp. I've seen a couple on ebay go for around $900.

I've also never heard of a D180 that didn't have the "cascading channels" feature, only "EQ" and "non-EQ" versions. There are, however, some variations among them regarding the preamp tubes; some take all 12AX7s, some are a combo of 3 each of those and 1 12AT7. Assuming you buy it, you may find a Dymo label inside the amp noting the tubes and their positions.

To use the "cascade" feature, you plug only into INPUT 1 - this is the "cascading" channel. INPUT 2 is the "clean bass" channel (although it can get REAL DIRTY if you fiddle with the unusual MASTER VOLUME knob on this amp - another unique feature of this amp).

fu22ba55 · #13 10-04-2010, 09:12 AM

Another +1

$500 is a fair price for this amp.

Mine had the graphic EQ, and the channels still cascaded (wired in series)

To be honest... I think you'll find just channel 2 adequate (it gives you plenty of grind & fuzz) Using the cascading channels in my experience was only really suitable for guitar... for insane, dual-rectifier sounding distortion.

$500 is a good price in either case.

bassteban · #14 10-04-2010, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrashcomics

Did the m1?0 have a graphic eq

If you mean the M180, I don't believe it had any tone controls, just overall level- IIRC it's an all-tube power(only)amp.

Jefenator · #15 10-04-2010, 09:28 AM

I absolutely love my Mesa Bass 400 (next after the D-180, no cascading channels). The tone controls aren't always the easiest - they're like the classic "Fender" tone stack but modified for better "presence". It's the most dynamically responsive amp I've ever used and it fills out a noisy bar like nobody's business.

If I had a chance to get another Mesa from that era in good shape for $500, I would definitely go for it.

Caca de Kick · #16 10-04-2010, 09:58 AM

Yeah I'd jump on that in a heartbeat. I used to have a D180 as a backup to my Bass 400, and like a fool I traded it off and wished I stiill had it.
Mine was an '86 had the graphic eq and it still had the cascade in channel 1, but honestly as much tube grind that I go with I never used channel 1 on the D180.

Randall · #17 10-04-2010, 10:47 AM

If it works that is a great price for a D-180. I have the EQ version and would guess that it has been modded if it does not allow channel cascade. Using channel 1 and 2 together you loose a lot of lows but you can use the graphic to boost them if you wish.

P.S. Google and you shall find the user manual on line that explains all the features.

thrashcomics · #18 10-04-2010, 11:02 AM

Thanks guys. Im buying it as soon as i get paid.

thrashcomics · #19 10-04-2010, 11:25 AM

Thanks guys. Im buying it as soon as i get paid. How is the guitar channel? Are talking santana or hetfield?

Also while ive got you, avatar 212neo vs mesa ph 212

stingray56funk · #20 10-04-2010, 11:28 AM