Poor man's Mesa

woody357 · #1 09-26-2010, 12:35 PM

What is out there when you want that Mesa tone or close to it, but don’t have Mesa money?(head)

anderbass · #2 09-26-2010, 01:04 PM

What Mesa amp tone are you going for?
(I own a couple different Mesa models that sound completely different from each other)

woody357 · #3 09-26-2010, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anderbass

What Mesa amp tone are you going for?
(I own a couple different Mesa models that sound completely different from each other)

Fat low end that hits you in the chest. I don't want just bunch like GK, I want the fatness also. I used a Big Block a few weeks ago and was in luv. My cabinet will give me the sound(PS410), and I do like my GK 800rb (old one) but it really doesn't have that fat tone.

anderbass · #4 09-26-2010, 01:54 PM

I never played any of the solid state powered Mesa's but If you want a fat tone kinda similar to your old V4B (but louder and on a budget), I'd suggest you haul your GK rig to a shop that sells Sansamp VT pedals and try one into your front end first, and then also try it into its Effects Return jack to completely replace the GK's preamp.

birminghambass · #5 09-26-2010, 02:05 PM

The GK Fusion has a TON of natural low end.

hasbeen · #6 09-26-2010, 02:32 PM

Have you thought about buying Mesa....used?

Deluge Of Sound · #7 09-26-2010, 03:07 PM

Doesn't Tech 21 make a character pedal based on Mesa?

That might be one to check out--if it does exist, and works as well as the VT bass, then you'll probably find what you need right there.

edit: looks like they make two, the US Steel, and the California:
http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sa...terseries.html

woody357 · #8 09-26-2010, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Doesn't Tech 21 make a character pedal based on Mesa?

That might be one to check out--if it does exist, and works as well as the VT bass, then you'll probably find what you need right there.

edit: looks like they make two, the US Steel, and the California:
http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sa...terseries.html

I think that is the VT Bass pedal.

Deluge Of Sound · #9 09-26-2010, 03:44 PM

No, the VT bass is modeled after Ampegs... (hence the name VT, as in SVT).

lbwdog · #10 09-26-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Doesn't Tech 21 make a character pedal based on Mesa?

looks like they make two, the US Steel, and the California:
http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sa...terseries.html

Those appear to be designed for guitar. At least that's what I get from reading the descriptions.

pnut166 · #11 09-26-2010, 03:56 PM

Anything in the L6 XT Live suitable ?

Deluge Of Sound · #12 09-26-2010, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbwdog

Those appear to be designed for guitar. At least that's what I get from reading the descriptions.

I bet you're one of those people who think you can't use guitar pedals with bass, either.

woody357 · #13 09-26-2010, 05:49 PM

The Samsamp are nice, but at the price I could just save my money and get something that will give me the sound I am looking for, thanx for the suggestions though. The GK MB Fusion looks promising, nice price, three tubes in the preamp, and a little more power than I have. I wish I could hear one with the cabinet I want to use it with.

rpsands · #14 09-26-2010, 05:58 PM

Most guitar pedals wind up attenuating the low end or screwing it up in some fashion, or emphasize the wrong eq points.

On the upside, that is easy for a good tech to fix. Modding a pedal for bass is not too expensive in most cases.

lbwdog · #15 09-26-2010, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

I bet you're one of those people who think you can't use guitar pedals with bass, either.

Mighty condescending of you. Your post tells me a lot more about you than my post could ever tell you about me!

Anyway, I was just pointing out that those pedals were not created to replicate a Mesa bass amp.

Deluge Of Sound · #16 09-26-2010, 06:57 PM

Sorry for that--rereading it, that post comes off a bit snippier than I'd meant to. You're absolutely right that they're not intended to replicate a Mesa bass amp, but they may still give the OP what he's looking for.

On the other hand, I don't know how well the GK Fusion would fix the problem -- I'd imagine that amp (regardless of the presence preamp tubes, which says absolutely nothing about the tone) sounds much different than the Big Block.

Sartori · #17 09-26-2010, 07:20 PM

How different are Mesa bass amps from Mesa guitar amps?

Mine was intended as both. Not sure if that means anything.

KramerBassFan · #18 09-26-2010, 07:23 PM

Randall Amplification.

IntrepidCellist · #19 09-26-2010, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sartori

How different are Mesa bass amps from Mesa guitar amps?

Mine was intended as both. Not sure if that means anything.

My Mesa F-30 guitar head (30w, 2 EL84s) sounds KILLER for bass through my 2x12. It's obviously a bit short on headroom, but the clean and distortion sounds are great and can be very similar to a Bass 400 that I tried a while back.

Sartori · #20 09-26-2010, 08:00 PM

I mean, obviously my D-180 is no triple rectifier, but it was meant originally for both bass and guitar, and does sound pretty good for guitar. Whether it sounds similar to other Mesa guitar amps, whether its guitar sound is typical for them, I have no idea.

If it is, I can see a Tech 21 character pedal modeled on Mesa guitar amps working quite well for bass.

Also, IIRC, JimmyM sometimes uses their British character series pedal for bass and says it sounds pretty good.