agreed on the overdrive sound. if you use the manual settings and keep the bass/mid/treb knobs under noon, it stays pretty clean. though, if you get that bass past noon and crank the gain the breakup will begin.
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Mesa 200 Buster club
- Thread starter Stevosimpson
- Start date
Chef
In Memoriam
It's gonna have to have a lot a clean power to be a good tool for me.
Harmonic content? Great.
Grit/grind/OD? Bad, for me.
I really like the GK MBFusion a lot; this would have to be "in that ballpark"
Harmonic content? Great.
Grit/grind/OD? Bad, for me.
I really like the GK MBFusion a lot; this would have to be "in that ballpark"
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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I wouldn't be afraid of Buster overdriving. You really have to TRY to make it grunt as opposed to many other bass tube amps which break up easily. You have to set extreme gain settings and/or eq to go to grunt-town with it. Compared with every other tube amp I have used, Buster is the most bent towards quick & clean. I've read that it's similar to the Sadowsky sa200 in this respect (but I've never played the Sadowsky). CAN it get dirty? Sure! Just not as readily as an Ampeg, Orange, Hiwatt or even a Fender tube bass amp.
It's too bad these weren't more ubiquitous amps so you could more easily try before you buy...
It's too bad these weren't more ubiquitous amps so you could more easily try before you buy...
Chef
In Memoriam
I would most likely be using this with 2xBaerML112. I'd think that would be pretty good.
It'll have to be able to hit "MBF500" volume levels; which the Walkabout just won't do, really, and, certainly not do it cleanly.
It'll have to be able to hit "MBF500" volume levels; which the Walkabout just won't do, really, and, certainly not do it cleanly.
scotch
It's not rocket science!
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Never gigged with the Fusion, but if a Buster isn't loud enough for you before audible clipping- then you are playing Madison Square Garden without in ears! ;-)
Chef
In Memoriam
thx!
Chef
In Memoriam
I didn't get my snipe tool set before rehearsal; the head on ebay sold for $580.
Which I would have paid, had I been more on the ball.
Ah well.
Which I would have paid, had I been more on the ball.
Ah well.
Chef
In Memoriam
scotch
It's not rocket science!
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580 is a ridiculous price. I occasionally see Busters for sale Craigslist SF. I'll drop you a line next time I see one.
Chef
In Memoriam
Looks like a Buster 1x15 extention cab is up on E***. They sit under the 1x15 combo just as they should, or quite nice with the head.
Stupid rare - I think this is only the fifth one I've seen, and I've owned three out of that...
Stupid rare - I think this is only the fifth one I've seen, and I've owned three out of that...
scotch
It's not rocket science!
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Scored a great Mesa built grille here on TB! (Thanks, Furious)
I think it classes it up nicely, don't you?
Before:
After:
I think it classes it up nicely, don't you?
Before:
After:
IDK, I sold a very clean Buster head to a fellow TBer (Demon666) a few years ago for close to this price. I guess they could have gone up in price in the past 3 years or so.
I'll join in the chorus and say that the Buster I had was super clean and quick - almost not like a tube amp at all, even thought its a total tube design - Pre/EQ/Power. Like Chef, I want clean and warm tube sound, not dirt or grind. I found the Buster punched like a the 200w tube amp it is, but I did not get the warmth I need from a tube amp, so that's why it got sold.
Playing around with it, I felt like the only time it got distorted at all was with all controls pushed way beyond what I would ever play with. I also found the highly interactive tone controls to be more touchy than I wanted to deal with. I am a Fender tone stack guy all the way, but the Buster controls were way more interactive than I was used to.
