A question about the Mesa BB 750 and 400(+)

Flipper43 · #1 03-23-2010, 02:45 PM

Hi guys. I just sold off my M/B Big Block 750 head because i needed to pay some bills. I've brought up topics like this in the past, but this time it's a more specific, urgent need of help. I've always wanted a bass 400+ or 400 from Mesa, but i could never get the money to buy one, and when i had some money, there was never one in my price range.
I'm considering buying a 400+ or a 400 (which ever one pops up at the right price first), but i don't know if i should just buy another 750 or a titan. Is it worth all of the maitenence of the 400(+)? I've heard it on records before, and it has godly tone. I like it the best when it's cranked up and dirty. I got a good tone out of my 750, but never played around with the distortion channel because i was running an RBI for my distortion into a seperate cab. So, to those of you who've had experience with the OD channel on the 750, can you get something that sounds like this tone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IP27...eature=channel (you can hear the bass come in behind the guitar at around 22 seconds.)

He told me that he used two Mesa 400's (cranked) going into 2 1x15 cabs for this. Soshould i just not get another 750? I mean, i just don't want to have to drown out my band (a 3 piece) to get an overdriven tone out of the 400 or 400+. All of my basses are active, so if i were to plug that into the passive channel, and run it with only one of my MB PH 115 cabs, could i get an nice, fat OD tone out of it fairly soon? I could always just hook up a second cab when i need it...

Any input guys? Sorry, i know that there's a lot of threads like this, but i've read almost all of the mesa 400 and 400+ threads that i could find.

tomas_almeida · #2 03-23-2010, 02:50 PM

I can't help you, but THAT TONE IS FANTASTIC! It's tone I've been hearing in my head for a lot of time! Now I know what amp I need to save for!

Flipper43 · #3 03-23-2010, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomas_almeida

I can't help you, but THAT TONE IS FANTASTIC! It's tone I've been hearing in my head for a lot of time! Now I know what amp I need to save for!

I know, TAD was the best band ever. I know the bassist, and when he told me about the gear he used for that song, i kind of felt stupid for not geussing it was something Mesa related. Just for the record, if you're going to get one of those amps (between the 400 and 400+), just note that he took out the original tubes in his 400's, and put in 12 6L6's. These are the standard tubes in the 400+'s, so i would look for that.. that's probably what i'll be doing as well. I bet if you just keep the master volume down, and adjust the normal volume controls, that could give you some distortion at a reasonable volume.

The thing that i love the most about that tone in particular (out of his numerous tones) is that it makes the whole band sound so crushing. It blends in with the guitar and fattens it up.

Randall · #4 03-23-2010, 03:07 PM

Sounds a bit like Helmet. He used a 400 I believe.

Flipper43 · #5 03-23-2010, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randall

Sounds a bit like Helmet. He used a 400 I believe.

Seems like the amp of choice for many bands, huh?

suraj · #6 03-23-2010, 03:14 PM

Wow that tone is actually quite awesome..!!
BUT is it just me or it lacks some low end..:-S
I mean it sounds really really good in the mix, but just when it enters in the song without the drums, it sounds kinda thin and the drum sound covers up for the low end and punch. Like the bass and the kick are not exacly sounding one. I wish the bass boomed along with a kick like an explosion and still had that awesome cranked tone its doing in the mids..!!

I have the same amp by the way

Mesa 400
No comments on it yet till it gets a complete retube, recap and a new Mesa cab

stingray96191 · #7 03-23-2010, 03:17 PM

Don't know what your pricerange is, but i have a Mesa 400+ for sale right now for $875 shipped in the continental USA. It is a fantastic amplifier.

Flipper43 · #8 03-23-2010, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suraj

wow that tone is actually quite awesome..!!
BUT is it just me or it seriously lacks some low end..:-S

Maybe it's your speakers (or headphones)

I geuss it lacks a little low end, but it has the right amount, imo.

Flipper43 · #9 03-23-2010, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingray96191

Don't know what your pricerange is, but i have a Mesa 400+ for sale right now for $875 shipped in the continental USA. It is a fantastic amplifier.

Man, if it had been a few months in the future i probably could've afforded to buy that. :[

I'll find one though, I hope all goes well with your situation. When were you diagnosed?

Calaverasgrande · #10 03-23-2010, 03:24 PM

The 400/400+ is capable of much more overdrive than that. If you want a similar tone at reasonable volume I'd get a 400 and run it hard into one 15. It'll work a lot harder than a full stack to sound loud enough.

suraj · #11 03-23-2010, 03:25 PM

Like i just editted, the mix is wonderful...but the bass should have the bottom end boom with the kick..
I think that can only be done by having two rigs..!!
a tube rig for a cranked tone, and a high powered solid state rig giving the overall tone strength and a huge low end..!!

Flipper43 · #12 03-23-2010, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calaverasgrande

The 400/400+ is capable of much more overdrive than that. If you want a similar tone at reasonable volume I'd get a 400 and run it hard into one 15. It'll work a lot harder than a full stack to sound loud enough.

Noice. I geuss within a few months of saving (if i can get off of unemployment and find a job!) i'll be able to get one. I can't wait! Even if it's a long time in the future, i'll be sure to update you guys with pictures and opinions and everything once i get it.

Feel free to keep the thread going though, everyone. Anyone want to hear more awesome distorted bass tones from the master? (Kurt D. Heh)

Caca de Kick · #13 03-23-2010, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flipper43

just note that he took out the original tubes in his 400's, and put in 12 6L6's. These are the standard tubes in the 400+'s, so i would look for that.. that's probably what i'll be doing as well. I bet if you just keep the master volume down, and adjust the normal volume controls, that could give you some distortion at a reasonable volume.

Yes and yes.

I have old 400, I can take out my 6550 tubes and out in a set of 6L6 for more gritty saturation much sooner.
But yeah, you can also keep the master down and crank the input up to push into distortion easier.

suraj · #14 03-23-2010, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calaverasgrande

The 400/400+ is capable of much more overdrive than that. If you want a similar tone at reasonable volume I'd get a 400 and run it hard into one 15. It'll work a lot harder than a full stack to sound loud enough.

So your saying a 15 is an inefficient speaker..??

stingray96191 · #15 03-23-2010, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flipper43

Man, if it had been a few months in the future i probably could've afforded to buy that. :[

I'll find one though, I hope all goes well with your situation. When were you diagnosed?

I don't remember the exact date of my diagnosis. But i had my last surgery in July of last year and have been on dissability since then. My diagnosis was probably two months later. I have gonethrough 7 weeks of radiation, And just finished my 8th week of Chemotherapy. Im hoping to be able to get back to work sooner than later, but so far it doesn't look like the treatment has been working.

Hopefully someone needs my amp.

Erin

Flipper43 · #16 03-23-2010, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suraj

Like i just editted, the mix is wonderful...but the bass should have the bottom end boom with the kick..
I think that can only be done by having two rigs..!!
a tube rig for a cranked tone, and a high powered solid state rig giving the overall tone strength and a huge low end..!!

This is true. he did a good amount of tones using two rigs, but some of the songs that really demonstrate the use of the clean/ distortion blend can't be found online. But, these songs were from a previous album of theirs, and both of them (especially the second one) are split rigs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3uZHf09bNM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydWdbUT1300

I agree that it would have sounded a little bit better if it came in with a boom with the kick, but he did get a pretty awesome tone that locked in with the drums and had great definition at the same time. It's important to note though, he used two of the same amps into the same cabs with the same settings at once to obtain this tone. That can make a subtle but big difference.

Flipper43 · #17 03-23-2010, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stingray96191

I don't remember the exact date of my diagnosis. But i had my last surgery in July of last year and have been on dissability since then. My diagnosis was probably two months later. I have gonethrough 7 weeks of radiation, And just finished my 8th week of Chemotherapy. Im hoping to be able to get back to work sooner than later, but so far it doesn't look like the treatment has been working.

Hopefully someone needs my amp.

Erin

Man, that's horrible. I hope you can beat it. I'm sure someone will buy it soon, those amps are always sought after.

Flipper43 · #18 03-23-2010, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caca de Kick

Yes and yes.

I have old 400, I can take out my 6550 tubes and out in a set of 6L6 for more gritty saturation much sooner.
But yeah, you can also keep the master down and crank the input up to push into distortion easier.

Now i know why he replaced the 6550's with 6L6's.. hahaha. And that sounds easy enough. I always thought doing something like that would hurt the amp, but i geuss not. Awesome.

derridiandrift · #19 03-23-2010, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flipper43

Is it worth all of the maitenence of the 400(+)? ... He told me that he used two Mesa 400's (cranked) going into 2 1x15 cabs for this.

I can offer a bit of assistance. First, I would say no, the 400+ is not worth the extra maintenance. 12 power tubes is just way too much to deal with for that tone. On the other hand, the 400 uses fewer tubes and it's a great sounding amp. In my VERY BIASED opinion, the 400 is a better amp, largely because you can use 6550 tubes in it. I think that the 400 is worth every penny of maintenance you'll need to spend to keep it running. But keep in mind that power tubes don't necessarily have to be changed as often as some others might recommend. If you're touring the world and playing every single night for years on end you might want to replace the power tubes after a couple of years. But if you have good tubes in the amp, you're using the amp on weekends, and the amp is running properly, you'll probably need to replace caps before the power tubes wear out.

My irritation with Mesa is their stupid fixed bias system that is designed only to keep you buying Mesa brand tubes.

I've not owned a BB750, so I can't comment on any experience with it. But I know that every solid state amp I've ever owned (including the fantastic MPulse 600 and SVT4Pro) has left me wanting more. YMMV, of course.

There's an opinion. I hope it helps.

Flipper43 · #20 03-23-2010, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derridiandrift

I can offer a bit of assistance. First, I would say no, the 400+ is not worth the extra maintenance. 12 power tubes is just way too much to deal with for that tone. On the other hand, the 400 uses fewer tubes and it's a great sounding amp. In my VERY BIASED opinion, the 400 is a better amp, largely because you can use 6550 tubes in it. I think that the 400 is worth every penny of maintenance you'll need to spend to keep it running. But keep in mind that power tubes don't necessarily have to be changed as often as some others might recommend. If you're touring the world and playing every single night for years on end you might want to replace the power tubes after a couple of years. But if you have good tubes in the amp, you're using the amp on weekends, and the amp is running properly, you'll probably need to replace caps before the power tubes wear out.

My irritation with Mesa is their stupid fixed bias system that is designed only to keep you buying Mesa brand tubes.

I've not owned a BB750, so I can't comment on any experience with it. But I know that every solid state amp I've ever owned (including the fantastic MPulse 600 and SVT4Pro) has left me wanting more. YMMV, of course.

There's an opinion. I hope it helps.

Thanks, man. I never see the original 400's floating around anymore, though. If it's a better amp in your opinion, and in many other people's as well, then i will try to find one. But, again, they're pretty rare compared to the 400+. Thanks for the help! It's greatly appreciated.