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Mesa Boogie Basis M2000! Good buy?

J

Jyyzor

Oct 5, 2011
7
0
34
Sydney, Australia
#1
Hi all! This is my first post on talkbass! I hope to start using the forum a lot more since getting the iPhone app :)
Anyway I have a question, I currently use a Peavey TNT 115 combo and am in need of an upgrade, I have the oppurtunity to purchase a Mesa Boogie Basis M2000 for the great price of $1000 (I think it's a great price at least :s), which is what I want to ask, am I getting a great deal and will I be impressed with this amp? My research is telling me yes but a seccond oppinion would be great, as all my musician friends only play guitar haha.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Mesa Boogie Basis M2000 bass amplifier
 
#5
It's a great performer. LOTS of features and lots of balls. Try to get it for less. Make sure the foot pedal is included. Had one that I paid $1700 USD for new in the late '90s. So I know the thing well.

Is it a good amp? YES! Was it overpriced? TOTALLY!

Seems like that's a lot for a used amp that was never wildly popular and has been out of production for a number of years. If it's cheap enough, though, it can be a steal on the used market.
 
#6
Fuel is around $1.30-1.40 per litre.

The features are what caught my eye, I have been shopping around for a new bass amp for a while, and everything brand new is $1800 + for a decent brand and that is only including a pre-amp in some cases -_-
That sad thing is, I think I would be able to pick one up in America for a lot cheaper, but living here makes it a bit difficult.
The person I may be buying it off bought it without a pedal, said they never mentioned one so If i were to get it I would eventually like to track one down, just to make the most of the features.

I'm a person who is very picky when it comes to sound, this seems to offer a large range and variation of sounds. But I dont want to buy it then have people laugh at me for paying that amount, I dont know what to do.
 
#8
I dunno, they usually go for US$ 600-700 (usually including the footswitch). The footswitch alone is going to be tough to find. Those go for like $200 here too if you can even find them, which is rare.

It's a really cool amp, there are a lot of good tones in there, but I could never quite find "THE" tone in there .
 
#9
Ah I see, that may be problem then.
I sent him a msg asking him to drop it a few hundred so just a case of waiting to see what he says.
Because it seems like such an impressive amp, and for the price I really dont think I will be disapointed!
If only a larger majority of gear was that cheap here haha.
Also! Silly question but I am a technical noob, would I be able to run the M2000 through a Peavey TNT 115 until I get a new cab/cabs? Maybe not the best sound or anything but as long as it doesn't fry it haha.
 
#13
I like a lot of controls, and that amp sure has 'em. So I fiddled around with a new one for about an hour in a guitar shop once. I thought, "Wow! With all this EQ and two preamps, there's not going to be a tone in the world I can't get." Well, for the life of me, I couldn't get "my tone" or any others that sounded good to me.

If it had lived up to my expectations, I would have bought it. Man, all those knobs, switches and faders really turned me on. The tone did not. YMMV.
 
#14
My experiences with the M-2000 are similar to Munji's - it's actually my least favorite Mesa head... Also, it *seems* like there's alot of possibilities for unreliability, although I don't know of it having a back track record...

In short - overly complicated, and so-so tone, IME/IMO... I very much prefer the M-pulse 600, Big Block 750, or the Carbines...


- georgestrings
 
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#15
So if you wanna know anything about it let me know. Bought it for $320 bucks on Ebay. Sent it back to the factory and they fixed any issues it had for another 300 dollars. Since it cost $1300 new in the 90s I consider the cost reasonable. Don't spend over 500-600 dollars.
 
#17
Everyone commenting on price needs to understand the OP is in Australia and Mesa gear is super expensive there compared to the states.


I used to run an M-2000 and loved it. It's a super versatile amp that can be really useful if one is mindful of all it can do. It has a lot of power and the mosfet power section sounds wonderful. I used to run a Modulus Quantum 4 into mine, as well as a 68 P-bass. With it having two separate preamps, one tube and one solid state, I was able to completely EQ and set gain levels for each individual bass. I used the solid state preamp with the Modulus and the tube preamp with the 69 P and I would switch between the preamps with the foot switch whenever I switched basses.

They're an excellent buy here and I've been looking to pick another up. The only issue I ever had was a loose ground inside that just needed a screw tightened to fix. I definitely wouldn't buy it without the foot switch however. Without it you can't switch between channels and EQ on the fly, which would take out most of the versatility of the setup.

I never had a problem getting a ton of great tones from it personally.



Michael
 
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#18
Probably outdated post and may be not usefull to the original poster, but may be of use in future byers.
I got mine 17 years ago, and got married to it ;)
Amazing piece if gear. Rock solid construction, been on the road for years, once a rigger droped it from a truck back, thankfully it was protected in a rack box, nothing but a dend front panel.
Never had a problem with it, unless a blown fuse.
Last 6 years, it is switched on for 8 hours a day. No complains.
Soundwise, I toured for many years playing almost every cool piece on the top end of the gear list that is around the globe.
I would change it to absolutely nothing. I use it with it's matched pair of cabinets, one loaded with a 15" EV and the top one with two 10" EVs plus HF driver.
All players that hooked a bass on it, fell in love with it. Some confessed that lost their sleep over the produced sound.
The only con I would say is it's complexity. Two preamps, two EQs and two individual compressors, two bright switches (one for each preamp) make this amp far from plug and play.
Give it time to understand what switch is affecting what part of your sound, and you 'll never regret it.
Would I change it to some fancy new amp? Absolutelly not.
Would I buy another one if stolen? If I could n't pay the ransome to get my old one back, absolutely YES !!!
 
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#19
M-2000 is freaking amazing... Working in a music store, I've played everything! This amp has the versatility to get the sound you are looking for and the flexibility to use different basses easily. Also you can patch out individual channels to be switched via MIDI, so if you are using addition processing like me (ART nightbass) you can create just the right combination and change with one tap of MIDI pedal. To echo most, it does take a little time to get it right. The manual does an amazing job of walking you through the learning curve so you can see just how each preamp sounds independently and then together. It has been rock solid for the past 15 years. Every time I think of getting something new ,"better", lighter, I just spend an hour playing with the settings again and that "want" goes away. There is really NOTHING on the market that compares. and the boys at MESA are first rate and have extraordinary service, even if it just to answer a question or two....
 
#20
I know this is an old thread but thought it might be useful to comment for others who might be considering getting one.

I bought my M2000 about 15 years ago from a full time professional bassist who used it as his main gigging amp. Since I got it, I've been using it about 12 hours per week for practice in my home studio, plus about 20 gigs per year. Never had a single problem.

Some have said this amp has a lackluster tone. Perhaps. But I've found that it's necessary to spend a lot of time, spread out over multiple uses, to experiment with the vast array of knobs, buttons, and sliders to get a good feel for what the amp is capable of. Fiddling with it for just an hour and concluding it doesn't sound good isn't giving it a chance to even scratch the surface of tonal possibilities.
 

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