Mesa 200 Buster club

[dukeisdog]

Trying to get a hold of one locally..

Had a seller contact me several months back but he just stopped emailing me, I was SO excited to finally have found one of these! Posted an ad the other day and got a reply for a wedge combo, although I'm sure they're great its just not exactly what I'm looking for. Keeping my eyes open though, would love to get a hold of one.

 

[Matt Dean]

If anyone in the SF Bay Area is looking for a Buster Head, a very clean example is for sale in the TB classifieds... someone buy it and join the club!

 

[bassfuser]

The Tung-Sol tubes sound great.

 

[Matt Dean]

Did a gig tuesday night with the Buster and boy did it sound good... it's gotta be one of the most under rated amps. Too bad Mesa discontinued it. Hopefully, their new Strategy/Prodigy line will deliver like the Buster.

 

[RCCollins]

Did a gig tuesday night with the Buster and boy did it sound good... it's gotta be one of the most under rated amps. Too bad Mesa discontinued it. Hopefully, their new Strategy/Prodigy line will deliver like the Buster.

they look to be VERY different animals. The Buster is basically a high-powered version of a VERY traditional amp design, with a lot of clean headroom for its power. Kind of a hi-fi reinterpretation of a tube amp. The Prodigy/Strategy amps seem designed to meet the demand for an aggressive all-tube bass amp, with the prodigy in particular promising overdriven sounds at relatively low volume.

I don't mean to suggest that the Buster won't get dirty, mind you! It loves a hot signal and plays VERY nice with OD, boost and distortion pedals. My all-time favorite bass OD sound is a G&L SB-1 plugged straight into a Buster...

 

[Matt Dean]

I understand the differences between the new mesa amps and the buster... I just was hoping that they deliver in the satisfaction dept. I was never that satisfied with the m-pulse or carbine series. (I do like the walkabout.)

 

[RCCollins]

Gotcha. I hope they do, too! (But I don't see either of them replacing MY Buster!)

 

[musicman666]

I was hoping to see more pictures in this thread........

 

[Matt Dean]

Gotcha. I hope they do, too! (But I don't see either of them replacing MY Buster!)

I know... the Buster really is that good. I won't be selling mine either. I do like having two amps as I believe in always having a backup at a gig. I currently have a walkabout, which I could imagine selling and moving the cash to help pay for a Strategy to see what that is all about.

But, won't sell my Buster.

 

[slagbass]

I was hoping to see more pictures in this thread........

Let me get that for ya.....
'66P -> Sadowsky Outboard Pre -> Buster -> Hartke 410XL
Yum.....

 

[boamedt]

Any sound clips of these heads or wedges? I finally found a head that sounds great with my cab, but have always wanted one of these for their "clean headroom" as I don't use distortion. I may he able to get one for a good deal but would have to travel a ways just to play through it. I just got a trace Elliot v type 300h

 

[Matt Dean]

Hey, I live in Santa Rosa CA... want to come audition mine?

Matt

 

[chaosMK]

Any sound clips of these heads or wedges?

Here is a clip of me noodling around on a jam I was in the process of developing. I think it demonstrates the bold clean-ness -



If you want tubey clean headroom, this is the head for it. It stays clean way louder than my D180 (a loud little motha) and 6550-loaded Bass 400. If you push Buster! to breakup, you need a big cab to take all that heat and it's a very nasty (good if "nasty" is your thing) jagged breakup without much transition space imbetween.

 

[RCCollins]

If you push Buster! to breakup, you need a big cab to take all that heat and it's a very nasty (good if "nasty" is your thing) jagged breakup without much transition space imbetween.

I haven't found that to be the case. With a little boost, it grinds quite nicely. Only pedal distortion has ever made my Buster sound "nasty"

 

[hennessybass]

I haven't found that to be the case. With a little boost, it grinds quite nicely. Only pedal distortion has ever made my Buster sound "nasty"

I find the same... in my limited gig experience, the Buster has stayed pretty clean, but when I did get it to break up, it was a very soft almost warm fuzzy distortion. Not like a Muff fuzz, but more like peach fuzz on your notes. Very compressed, very even sounding, very warm.

Maybe different tubes?

 

[chaosMK]

Maybe I am just pushing the power section (or even transformer) to breakup! Otherwise my experience is the same... peach fuzz.

 

[hennessybass]

peach fuzz.

Love it.

I can't remember if I had the power section, or the pre cranked up. Maybe both I bet you get different flavors either way.

 

[Badmuthaplucka]

I have the 1x15 combo and I've had the head version too. Regretted letting that one go. It's my secret weapon to Rock/Metal tone. Here's the the thing. I use the Buster as my "Canvas" and I use my pedals as my "Pallet". It kinda the same concept that I saw guitar players use when they use pedals in front of a clean amp like a Fender Twin or Deluxe. The best guitar and bass tones I've ever heard have come from this concept. I use a Tech 21VT bass and a Yamaha Magic Stomp pedal in front of the Buster to capture that SVT punch at a much more manageable package and sound level. This setup lets me punch through the mix using tone rather than volume.

 

[Matt Dean]

Just an FYI... there is a Buster 200 in a Mesa Factory headcase for sale in the Sacramento area... [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[BassManPatsFan]

Thanks for the tip, Matt. You and I seem to have similar taste in amps. I'm currently using a Walkabout with Bag Ends, but just bought a Powerhouse 115 and am planning on another to complete the Mesa stack. After that I'd love to upgrade to a Mesa tube head and I think the Buster just might be the one for me.