Look at them Road cabs! In great shape, too!
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Mesa 200 Buster club
- Thread starter Stevosimpson
- Start date
Before you drop some serious cabbage, take it to a boogie authorized center, they charge a flat rate plus parts. My buster wqs all jacked up when the fool I bought it from shipped it in a carboard box with no padding whatsoever. I took it to a “renowned” expert here in LA who bilked me out of 400 bucks, and the thing still was t right. I took it to boogie and they charged me 50 dollars flat fee plus about 20 in parts. Amp has been going like a champ for last 6 years. I’m sure their flat rate has gone up, but that is still the deal. Doesn’t matter if its 2nd hand, if they made it, they will fix it.
I was considering a trip up to where they make them in Petaluma, but it's just far enough away to be impractical; their rates also have indeed gone up quite a bit. The next closest authorized service place has a mixed reputation, with general agreement that they take a long time; their days and hours certainly don't line up with mine. So I'm hoping my friend's recommendation comes through for me here.
Thousands of dollars tied up in gear.....$1.50 invested in beer. Priorities of a bass player..
A wedgie Buster in Minnesota, USA just came up on reverb. Better get on it before I have my cousins go get it for me!
Put me in the club folks, great amp!
I'm using the Avalon U5 straight to ’effects return’ on a current (and probably too loud) project, as I'm striving for clean, punchy - and this thing kills!
I've used the buster on its own with an EA NL210 for blue grass and jazz gigs - never disappoints!
The Powerhouse 2x15 is a fantastic match, too.
I'm using the Avalon U5 straight to ’effects return’ on a current (and probably too loud) project, as I'm striving for clean, punchy - and this thing kills!
I've used the buster on its own with an EA NL210 for blue grass and jazz gigs - never disappoints!
The Powerhouse 2x15 is a fantastic match, too.
Hey guys. I’m planning on retubing two of my busters. I found a Mesa 400+ JJ tube set and it would be a lot cheaper than buying two separate sets. Is there any reason this wouldn’t work?
That should work for power tubes at least. How many 12AX7s in the set? You would need six.
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I’m not worried about the preamp tubes. Those are fine. They will just be a bonus, it will still wind up being cheaper going this route.
Do you plan to do the work yourself? Do you know how to adjust the bias? I don't have schematics for these amps, so I can't say if their factory bias settings are identical. If the tubes are not biased to the proper range, it will be necessary to rescale the bias supply. This is done by replacing a resistor or installing a potentiometer so the bias is adjustable.
You could ask the tube vendor if the tubes can be graded to work in a Buster. Or if you Buster already has a mod for adjustable bias, you should be good to go as long as you have a way to measure tube current so you can adjust the bias to the proper range.
You should learn what fixed bias means my friend, it does not mean the bias cannot be adjusted.
Here's a link: What Is Biasing?
Most bass amps use fixed bias instead of cathode bias, but the bias is adjustable. Vintage Mesa amps are a bit of an exception. The bias is set to a specific voltage value at the factory by selecting a bias scaling resistor, and then you need to run tubes that are graded to run in the amp. If you choose to run tubes that are not properly graded for the amp, they will work fine, as long as you adjust the bias as I said in the previous post.
So before you buy a set of tubes for a Mesa 400+, I suggest you call the tube vendor and ask if the tubes can be graded for a Mesa Buster. If they can't answer your question, assume the bias supply in your amp will need to be adjusted. If you are not the original owner of the amp, it would also be a good idea to confirm that an adjustable bias mod has not been installed, as this is a very common mod.
Yeah. I know all that. Never said it couldn’t be adjusted. Just said it wouldn’t need to be. All mesas to my knowledge are biased the same for the tubes they sell. That’s why they suggest you replace with Mesa brand tubes. My amp does not have a bias mod, so when contacting the tube supplier as long as they know it’s for a Mesa it’s a non-issue. I just confirmed this today through other means so I guess I answered my own question. Just thought there might be some others in this thread that may have confirmed my thoughts.
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Loving this PH1000 Buster L2K rig. Sounds mean as phuc!
