This may just be late night craziness, but I'm currently only in one very casual band and moving across country soon- so can't really justify lugging around 2 big tube heads at the moment! The D-180 was one of the first amps used by Cliff Burton (just had to throw that in there for reference! 
). They are getting harder and harder to find- maybe a half dozen at most will come up on Ebay in a year (I haven't seen one for sale in quite a while). They will inevitably become even harder to track down now that Mesa no longer makes an all-tube bass head. The ideal bass amp for me would be all the features and preamp of the D-180, but with the increased headroom of the 400+....sigh......
Just got it back from Lord Valve (aka Fat Willie of NBS Electronics here in Denver) who did a complete checkup, replaced the power cord (had a loose ground prong), and put in a new matching sextet of Svetlana 6L6s (one of the best current production 6L6s available), and Sovtek 12ax7s and JJ 12at7s. Never had any issues apart from the loose ground prong on the power cord, and a couple blown cheapo Sovtek tubes that were in the amp when I bought it a couple years ago. Running beautifully now- the fan can be a little loud, but can be turned off (or replaced for $30 at most, never really bothered me!). Cosmetically it has paint scratching and rack rash typical of an amp over 25 years old- nothing specifically worth mention. Been in a cheap but functional rack bag since I got it (will come in rack).
For those that aren't aware, the D-180 was the predecessor to the Bass 400 and 400+ amps (similar EQ, but with half the power of the 400+. It has 6 6L6s vs. the 400+s 12), but with a few features that make it way more unique...It is a 2 channel amp, but the gain from Channel 1 cascades into channel 2 giving a highly adjustable range of preamp tube overdrive (the D-180 was designed to be used with bass or guitar, and the first channel with the cascading gain is the "guitar channel", however sounds great for bass too on many settings- do a search on TB or Google to hear people rave about the overdrive on this thing!). Plugging into Channel 2 (the "bass channel") bypasses the cascading gain effect.
The other very unique feature is the Master Volume- unlike other Master Volumes that just lower the volume, the Master on the D-180 acts as a "voltage regulator" to the power tubes- turning down not only lowers volume, but also increases power tube saturation/overdrive. This means you can get that really creamy/mushy power tube overdrive at ANY volume (I've been using this amp as a practice amp at my room at home and can get the sound of my cranked 400+ at volume levels that don't even wake my housemates at 2am!). Combining the cascading preamp channels with the power tube drive offers an almost endless array of overdrive options.
It has an even better clean tube tone though! Keeping the Master at 10 and adjusting volume using the Channel 2 volume with the EQ flat gives the most beautiful, clear, full, tubey-goodness tone of any amp I've ever owned (think Fender Bassman, but with way more headroom). The tone from this amp is much sweeter to my ears than my 400+ with the EQ flat- clearer and much more manageable. If It is the perfect recording amp because you can get this amazing clean tone or any array of overdrive tones at any volume level, which makes recording full on tube overdrive much more manageable in my experience.
I'm looking to trade for a fairly small(ish), light(ish) solid-state head with decent volume and a tubey tone that would be a good reliable backup amp to my 400+ when I'm in a serious touring band again.
NOT CURRENTLY FOR SALE
Some trade possibilities (+ or - money as needed!):
Mesa Big Block 750
Mesa MPulse 600
Thunderfunk TFB550
Aguilar AG500
Genz Benz GBE600
Genz Benz GBE750
or shoot me some other ideas
I don't really want to do this at all (this thing is worth keeping for the insanely sweet clean guitar tone alone- without even getting into the clean and overdriven bass tones!), but I also dread the idea of moving hundreds of miles without cutting a lot of extra weight first (I inherited a wicked collector/ pack-rat complex, so music gear is only one of many places I'm trying/needing reluctantly to cut back on before I move). I can't see myself ever getting over the massive headroom of the 400+, so the D-180 is the odd-man out (although I could easily change my mind about that one overnight- wouldn't be the first time!).
PM me with any questions, concerns, specific picture requests, etc
Thanks,
Karl
). They are getting harder and harder to find- maybe a half dozen at most will come up on Ebay in a year (I haven't seen one for sale in quite a while). They will inevitably become even harder to track down now that Mesa no longer makes an all-tube bass head. The ideal bass amp for me would be all the features and preamp of the D-180, but with the increased headroom of the 400+....sigh...... Just got it back from Lord Valve (aka Fat Willie of NBS Electronics here in Denver) who did a complete checkup, replaced the power cord (had a loose ground prong), and put in a new matching sextet of Svetlana 6L6s (one of the best current production 6L6s available), and Sovtek 12ax7s and JJ 12at7s. Never had any issues apart from the loose ground prong on the power cord, and a couple blown cheapo Sovtek tubes that were in the amp when I bought it a couple years ago. Running beautifully now- the fan can be a little loud, but can be turned off (or replaced for $30 at most, never really bothered me!). Cosmetically it has paint scratching and rack rash typical of an amp over 25 years old- nothing specifically worth mention. Been in a cheap but functional rack bag since I got it (will come in rack).
For those that aren't aware, the D-180 was the predecessor to the Bass 400 and 400+ amps (similar EQ, but with half the power of the 400+. It has 6 6L6s vs. the 400+s 12), but with a few features that make it way more unique...It is a 2 channel amp, but the gain from Channel 1 cascades into channel 2 giving a highly adjustable range of preamp tube overdrive (the D-180 was designed to be used with bass or guitar, and the first channel with the cascading gain is the "guitar channel", however sounds great for bass too on many settings- do a search on TB or Google to hear people rave about the overdrive on this thing!). Plugging into Channel 2 (the "bass channel") bypasses the cascading gain effect.
The other very unique feature is the Master Volume- unlike other Master Volumes that just lower the volume, the Master on the D-180 acts as a "voltage regulator" to the power tubes- turning down not only lowers volume, but also increases power tube saturation/overdrive. This means you can get that really creamy/mushy power tube overdrive at ANY volume (I've been using this amp as a practice amp at my room at home and can get the sound of my cranked 400+ at volume levels that don't even wake my housemates at 2am!). Combining the cascading preamp channels with the power tube drive offers an almost endless array of overdrive options.
It has an even better clean tube tone though! Keeping the Master at 10 and adjusting volume using the Channel 2 volume with the EQ flat gives the most beautiful, clear, full, tubey-goodness tone of any amp I've ever owned (think Fender Bassman, but with way more headroom). The tone from this amp is much sweeter to my ears than my 400+ with the EQ flat- clearer and much more manageable. If It is the perfect recording amp because you can get this amazing clean tone or any array of overdrive tones at any volume level, which makes recording full on tube overdrive much more manageable in my experience.
I'm looking to trade for a fairly small(ish), light(ish) solid-state head with decent volume and a tubey tone that would be a good reliable backup amp to my 400+ when I'm in a serious touring band again.
NOT CURRENTLY FOR SALE
Some trade possibilities (+ or - money as needed!):
Mesa Big Block 750
Mesa MPulse 600
Thunderfunk TFB550
Aguilar AG500
Genz Benz GBE600
Genz Benz GBE750
or shoot me some other ideas
I don't really want to do this at all (this thing is worth keeping for the insanely sweet clean guitar tone alone- without even getting into the clean and overdriven bass tones!), but I also dread the idea of moving hundreds of miles without cutting a lot of extra weight first (I inherited a wicked collector/ pack-rat complex, so music gear is only one of many places I'm trying/needing reluctantly to cut back on before I move). I can't see myself ever getting over the massive headroom of the 400+, so the D-180 is the odd-man out (although I could easily change my mind about that one overnight- wouldn't be the first time!).
PM me with any questions, concerns, specific picture requests, etc
Thanks,
Karl
