Will Mesa Boogie M9 Carbine sound good at low volume?

big gene · #1 08-06-2011, 02:51 PM

I'm on the brink of picking up a Mesa Boogie M9 Carbine amp. I have played with this amp in a loud band and was pleased with the results. My question is, will I be happy with it playing at a low volume with a small band or does it only sound good when played at a high volume? I'd be playing with 1 15'' JBL speaker at the low volume. I'd like to hear from anyone who has had success with this type of setup.

JimmyM · #2 08-06-2011, 02:52 PM

No reason it shouldn't, unless you only like high volume bass sounds. If the SVT can sound great at a low volume, I see no reason why the M9 shouldn't.

RickenBoogie · #3 08-06-2011, 02:59 PM

+1 it will sound the same, just less loud. It's not necessary to "crank" the gain to get a good tone from this, or most any other bass amp.

rpsands · #4 08-06-2011, 03:03 PM

It sounds good quiet.

Just remember the equal loudness curves...you'll want more bass at low volumes than high volumes to make it sound right

Sartori · #5 08-06-2011, 04:48 PM

I've played an M9 at a store, at low volume. Of course, I cranked the gain, but it sounded great to me.

lomo · #6 08-06-2011, 05:15 PM

Yes Yes, Yes , it will sound superb at any volume IME. The volume taper is steep, however, and the power striking, so be gentle with the master knob :-)

JGR · #7 08-06-2011, 06:58 PM

Unless we are talking about cranking a tube amp, in general the amp volume isn't the issue; it is more a function of the speakers. Most cabs like a little juice to get them to open up, some more than others. You do need a bit of volume to get the power amp working, but with a 115 you should be fine. The volume taper does suck on these though.

bal704 · #8 08-06-2011, 07:03 PM

I had a M6. When playing in my office, just moving the volume knob from 0 to 0.5 (between 0 and 1), started shaking the walls. The volume taper goes from nothing to loud (for a house setting) with just a skosh of turn. I would imagine the M9 would be even louder.

But it sounded damn good.

onegunguitar · #9 08-06-2011, 09:43 PM

I have an M6 and when I use it at home to play at low volumes I just turn the gain down.Works for me and it still sounds great.

big gene · #10 08-07-2011, 05:40 AM

Thank you all for the quick response and advice. The M9 will be mine!

TomB · #11 08-07-2011, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JGR

Unless we are talking about cranking a tube amp, in general the amp volume isn't the issue; it is more a function of the speakers. Most cabs like a little juice to get them to open up, some more than others.... .

+1, ...IME, it's worth trying out cabs at low volumes when buying to make sure you're happy with them. I used a 2X10 for years simply because I couldn't "open up" a 4X10 in the small clubs I was playing. Sorry for the semi-derail

.

Aside from the overdrive issue already menitioned, I expect the M-9 would sound great. It does in the music store, IMO.

**cheezewiz** · #12 08-07-2011, 11:30 AM

The M9 sounds good at ANY volume.

KsPiNeSh · #13 08-07-2011, 12:58 PM

One thing to look out for when considering controlling the M9 volume with the gain is the way the gain interacts with the tone. The Mesa manual touches on this a bit, but IME there is a lot of tonal variation in just that gain knob, and I personally prefer it around 1 - 2:00. You can always have a tech replace the volume pot to make it more usable, because the current master volume taper is darn near useless... goes from 0 to "LOOK AT ME!!" is a matter of millimeters.

That said, I absolutely love my M9

rockstarbassist · #14 08-07-2011, 11:25 PM

Mine sounds great at either at-home or full on gig volumes.