Have the opportunity to grab either of these for a similar price, playing through a GK Neo 8ohm 2x12. Mostly playing rock and metal - which would you choose? Leaning towards the Mesa, since I've always loved the Carbine I used to play through at a practice place a while back, but I have no idea how the BB750 compares.
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Mesa Big Block vs Peavey VB-2?
- Thread starter MatrixClaw
- Start date
I haven't played a VB2.
The BB750 is a very cool amp IMHO. But I wouldn't pay a premium for it.
I have the BB750's big brother, the Titan V12. The BB and Titan share the same preamp design. The voicing is pretty different from the Carbine. I have an M9 which is clean with huge lows and aggressive high mids. To my ears the Titan is warmer/more mid focused and it lacks the extreme LF extension of the Carbine. The Titan has full lows, but it's not super deep like the Carbine. The Titan was intended to be very tubey and it has a switchable drive circuit that is based on the Mesa Bottle Rocket.. The drive circuit has it's own baked in voicing that further accentuates the low mids.
AFAIK the BB750 is even more tubey than the Titan because it has a smaller output section. The BB750 is rated 280W at 8 ohms, 550W at 4 ohms, 750W at 2 ohms. Some users felt the BB750 was weak and needed to be run at lower impedance to make good power. I believe it's no longer recommended to run them at 2 ohms due to reliability issues. Also, if the BB750 has problems, getting it repaired may not be possible due to lack of suitable replacement parts. I believe it's a fairly challenging amp to work on, so if a repair is to be attempted it really should be sent back to Mesa for factory level service.
The BB750 is a very cool amp IMHO. But I wouldn't pay a premium for it.
I have the BB750's big brother, the Titan V12. The BB and Titan share the same preamp design. The voicing is pretty different from the Carbine. I have an M9 which is clean with huge lows and aggressive high mids. To my ears the Titan is warmer/more mid focused and it lacks the extreme LF extension of the Carbine. The Titan has full lows, but it's not super deep like the Carbine. The Titan was intended to be very tubey and it has a switchable drive circuit that is based on the Mesa Bottle Rocket.. The drive circuit has it's own baked in voicing that further accentuates the low mids.
AFAIK the BB750 is even more tubey than the Titan because it has a smaller output section. The BB750 is rated 280W at 8 ohms, 550W at 4 ohms, 750W at 2 ohms. Some users felt the BB750 was weak and needed to be run at lower impedance to make good power. I believe it's no longer recommended to run them at 2 ohms due to reliability issues. Also, if the BB750 has problems, getting it repaired may not be possible due to lack of suitable replacement parts. I believe it's a fairly challenging amp to work on, so if a repair is to be attempted it really should be sent back to Mesa for factory level service.
Great write up "Wasnex"! I have both of these, the Titan and the BB750. Great heads, but in previous threads its been mentioned that getting reliable vertical MOSFET transistors will be an issue, as the source who made them has discontinued them. I'll play mine till they can't be played and then, hopefully some source will have started producing them again. I don't know much about the Peavey VB-2, but since it is a All Tube amp, I would probably say it's replacement parts are available if needed and you'll need a reliable Tech too.
The BB750 is a great head for rock and metal. Hell, it's a Mesa! I sold mine because I needed super clean bass and the 750 couldn't do super clean. If you ever played a GK and liked the GK growl, you'll probably like the BB750.
The carbine has nothing in common with the BB750. However it has much more in common with the GK. I always felt my M9 was pretty much the same as a GK amp.
Also, as mentioned earlier, watch out if you chose the Mesa. In case it needs to be serviced, many parts are not available anymore.
For all those reasons I think you should chose the GK.
The VB-2 was very mid-forward in my experience. I think you’ll be much happier with the Mesa for your purposes.
Thanks for all the help! I really like the idea of a tube bass amp as I'm mostly a guitarist and I'd guess that thing probably sounds awesome for guitar, too, but they also seem to be more difficult to get rid of if I don't like it. Most of the ones available online have been sitting for a year or longer. If I'm valuing both around $4-500, I'd think the BB750 would be the better value and is also an amp I'm fairly certain I'll like?
I had a GK 1001RB-II for years and loved it, but it never quite had the weight of any of the Mesa amps I've played.
I had a GK 1001RB-II for years and loved it, but it never quite had the weight of any of the Mesa amps I've played.
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Definitely the Mesa
Had the VB-2 and it did have the notorious fuse issue which totally borked it. Not a bad amp, but I'd still say the Mesa is the superior choice.
Had the VB-2 and it did have the notorious fuse issue which totally borked it. Not a bad amp, but I'd still say the Mesa is the superior choice.
I have the VB-2. Figure add my input and love for the amp since others have not commented about it. As others have said it can be mid forward, but I run tetrode 6CA7 power valves which tame the mid range and accents the lower end more.
This can be solved by putting a T1.6A up to a T2.0A fuse for the HV (F2). Unfortunately the issue was not discovered till after production. Service centers were given the bulletin but tech continued to put in the T1.5A in.
The other issue was to remove the 10k resistors tying the negative bias supply to the suppressor grid (pin 1) of the power valves. This also came as a service bulletin after the amp kept eating the HV fuse. I'll spare you the tech reasons but for reliability take those resistors out. Instead tie the pin 1 suppressor grid to pin 8 cathode (ground) which is how the majority of EL34 amps are designed. Any competent tech can handle these fixes.
This all comes directly from Bobby Baldwin and John Fields, the original engineers who designed the VB-2 who are friends of mine.
This can be solved by putting a T1.6A up to a T2.0A fuse for the HV (F2). Unfortunately the issue was not discovered till after production. Service centers were given the bulletin but tech continued to put in the T1.5A in.
The other issue was to remove the 10k resistors tying the negative bias supply to the suppressor grid (pin 1) of the power valves. This also came as a service bulletin after the amp kept eating the HV fuse. I'll spare you the tech reasons but for reliability take those resistors out. Instead tie the pin 1 suppressor grid to pin 8 cathode (ground) which is how the majority of EL34 amps are designed. Any competent tech can handle these fixes.
This all comes directly from Bobby Baldwin and John Fields, the original engineers who designed the VB-2 who are friends of mine.
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That is good to know, in case I come across a deal on one that's definitely a consideration if it can be fixed for good. Thank you for the (very thorough) info!
