Mesa Boogie M9 Megathread: Pt II

[MesaBoogie]

Hi everybody,

Has Mesa Boogie worked out the "bugs" in the M9 ? I know there's more than enough posts on this but I'm curious to hear the latest. I'd prefer to do business with this local company. And I've got to hand it to them for their 5 year transferable warranty - other companies should be so confident in their products.

YES!!! The M9 is rock solid...

*Also, is there any mod that can be be done to the M9 to tame the Master Volume knob from getting so loud so soon ???

Thanks

No mod that we currently offer. I suppose you could change the taper of the pot - there is a lot of power on board, and the Master can be a bit sensitive at times. Thanks!!

 

[jnumme]

YES!!! The M9 is rock solid...



No mod that we currently offer. I suppose you could change the taper of the pot - there is a lot of power on board, and the Master can be a bit sensitive at times. Thanks!!

Agree on both comments, Love my M9 and the master is touchy but you get use to it .

 

[SlickB]

A little bump if svtb15 is in the house??? I think he uses genz and mesa and may comment on the Shuttlemax vs M9

 

[bjelkeman]

What have you passive bass players found to be your sweetspot settings on the m9.

I play hardrock/metal with an Ibanez RB850 (passive) going through a Darkglass B7K, into a Carbine M6 (so think flat graphic EQ on M9). I play fingerstyle. These settings give a very mid-boosted tone, but still enough bass in the mix and good attack.

Gain: 2 o'clock
Bass: 12 o'clock (no deep)
Mid: 2 o'clock
Voice: 4
Treble: 10 o'clock
Master: low (or I overwhelm the rest of the band )

Darkglass BK7, see picture.

Don't normally play bass with a plectrum but with @Darkglassgear B7K and Ibanez RB850, oh that crunch! by Invalid Link Removed, on Flickr

 

[svtb15]

Ive had my M9 out on the road for about 3 months...It is still rock solid...

 

[svtb15]

The SM9.2 is one loud SOB and so is my M9....SM.9.2 seems to have more headroom at 8 ohms than my M9.. At least mine does.
The SM9.2 has near surgical precision in the EQ section.

The M9 has many EQ options with the GEQ and roatary presets. But these amps are two different animals.
The SM9.2 has an out of the box warmth and needs to be tweaked to get a raw rock tone..
Where the Mesa has a raw rock tone out of the box and needs to be tweaked to sound warmer. IMO.|
The low end on the M9 is massive when set flat.. and the SM9.2 needs to have the Global Bass engaged to get that low..I personally like the low end girth the M9 has in native settings.. It reminds me of when i used a full rack system with an old API or Neve Preamp and crown PSA2 poweramp on my bass rig.. The M9 is sort of a rack system in one self contained amp.. the SM9.2 is like a channel strip with its two channels

Both have their sonic signatures and both are equally good in the right environment.
Both amps took me some time to figure out what i like and how to get to that place once again when going form gig to gig and large room to small bar gigs.
The M9 took a little longer with the Rotary EQ. Because i like all of the Rotary settings! All 5 sound great.. And i would mess with them from song to song.. Just to be a tweakeraholic..
The compressor in the M9 is one of the best comps in any head available. Love it.. and i only really use it at times. but it is smooth and quiet!
I like the Combo Nuetrik speaker outs on the Mesa.. It saved me on a backline gig when all they had were older hartke cabs with 1/4" jacks..

These amps are at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum... Both equally great..
But like i said at 8 ohms my SM9.2 has more headroom than my m9... At 4 ohms, i never got to crank either up that loud without the risk of being fired.
M9 is a beast, and will rock the room.. You feel the punch in your chest... It DEF moves some air

A little bump if svtb15 is in the house??? I think he uses genz and mesa and may comment on the Shuttlemax vs M9

 

[gravesbass]

Hi everybody,

Has Mesa Boogie worked out the "bugs" in the M9 ? I know there's more than enough posts on this but I'm curious to hear the latest. I'd prefer to do business with this local company. And I've got to hand it to them for their 5 year transferable warranty - other companies should be so confident in their products.

*Also, is there any mod that can be be done to the M9 to tame the Master Volume knob from getting so loud so soon ???

Thanks

The latest and greatest mods fix all the older reported issues. They are ROCK SOLID!!! I beat the Cr*p out of mine and push them and still are performing solid. I wouldn't hesitate to pick one up new or used but if used, get the transferrable warranty.

As for the Master being a little sensitive, you get used to it. Its not that big of a deal considering what you get in return (HEADROOM!!!).

 

[Chef]

The master volume pot just has an odd taper.
It does a lot in the first quarter turn.
It does not keep getting louder and louder, at that same ratio, at least as far as I remember. I don't have one anymore.

 

[jnumme]

The master volume pot just has an odd taper.
It does a lot in the first quarter turn.
It does not keep getting louder and louder, at that same ratio, at least as far as I remember. I don't have one anymore.

Exactly

 

[bjelkeman]

Could it be based on how much the gain is turned up? In other words if you hae really high gain then it won't deliver much more? I have gain at 2 o'clock and I barely touch the master during loud practise, below 8 o'clock. Turning up the master volume increased volume, but it felt like it only did so productively to about 10 o'clock. After that it just felt distorted.

 

[KJung]

The SM9.2 is one loud SOB and so is my M9....SM.9.2 seems to have more headroom at 8 ohms than my M9.. At least mine does.
The SM9.2 has near surgical precision in the EQ section.

The M9 has many EQ options with the GEQ and roatary presets. But these amps are two different animals.
The SM9.2 has an out of the box warmth and needs to be tweaked to get a raw rock tone..
Where the Mesa has a raw rock tone out of the box and needs to be tweaked to sound warmer. IMO.|
The low end on the M9 is massive when set flat.. and the SM9.2 needs to have the Global Bass engaged to get that low..I personally like the low end girth the M9 has in native settings.. It reminds me of when i used a full rack system with an old API or Neve Preamp and crown PSA2 poweramp on my bass rig.. The M9 is sort of a rack system in one self contained amp.. the SM9.2 is like a channel strip with its two channels

Both have their sonic signatures and both are equally good in the right environment.
Both amps took me some time to figure out what i like and how to get to that place once again when going form gig to gig and large room to small bar gigs.
The M9 took a little longer with the Rotary EQ. Because i like all of the Rotary settings! All 5 sound great.. And i would mess with them from song to song.. Just to be a tweakeraholic..
The compressor in the M9 is one of the best comps in any head available. Love it.. and i only really use it at times. but it is smooth and quiet!
I like the Combo Nuetrik speaker outs on the Mesa.. It saved me on a backline gig when all they had were older hartke cabs with 1/4" jacks..

These amps are at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum... Both equally great..
But like i said at 8 ohms my SM9.2 has more headroom than my m9... At 4 ohms, i never got to crank either up that loud without the risk of being fired.
M9 is a beast, and will rock the room.. You feel the punch in your chest... It DEF moves some air

Sounds like they have the bugs pretty much worked out with the M9. That is great. IMPRESSIVE head.

Regarding your comparison, which I did (although with the M6 and not the M9), my guess is, a lot of what you are experiencing has to do with your cabinet capabilities. The M9, as you state above, puts out a MASSIVE amount of deep low end that can bring most cabs to their knees (especiailly small cabs like 112's and 210's and 115's, that tend to be 8ohm boxes). Actually, my Markbass F1 was louder than the M6 through my Bergantino AE410 at the time, since when you cranked the M6 with that massive low end, the drivers eventually exceeded their mechanical capabilities with the M6, whereas the more controlled low end of the F1 just kept getting louder.

Using a fEARful 15/6 (one of the few cab executions that can pump out serious volume in that 40hz region), the M6 (much less the M9) walked all over both my Streamliner and my Shuttle Max 9.2 regarding absolute volume and low end at 8ohms... not even close. Kind of shocking actually!

However, +1 that the SM9.2 will actually seem louder through the vast majority of bass cabs out there, since they will compress like heck with the massive, uncontrolled low end of the M9/M6. So, in a way, you are absolutely correct, just not for the reasons you think (IMO!).

I actually greatly prefer the more even, tighter Shuttle Max 9.2 myself. Much better control of the low end, plenty big when you expand the hi passing/bass boost with the variable lo boost know, and much sweeter, less aggressive top end that is much easier to control. That being said, the M9 is a screaming, nasty beast!

 

[SlickB]

Thanks for the comparison everyone. Y'all the best!!!

 

[dukeorock]

I actually greatly prefer the more even, tighter Shuttle Max 9.2 myself. Much better control of the low end, plenty big when you expand the hi passing/bass boost with the variable lo boost know, and much sweeter, less aggressive top end that is much easier to control. That being said, the M9 is a screaming, nasty beast!

Not sure I have a strict preference, but as it's been said, these are both top tier amps, and very different from one another

I've got a ton of shows in on the Genz 9.2...crazy versatile and a great doubling amp...totally unique in all its functionality and under 7lbs!!!

The Mesa amps, to my ears have a certain girth and punchiness no other amp quite has, though perhaps a bit trickier to tame. Mesa recently sent me an M6 to try out and though it was a really cool amp, the M9 and Strategy are at the top of my list to road test

 

[svtb15]

I will need to get my hands on a Strategy one way or another... BLISS

 

[smeet]

Hey all. I have Lomo's M9 on its way to me as we speak. I currently use a 15/6/1, which I understand to be a great match. How about the Baer ML212? I haven't heard one, but has anybody tried it with the M9? Does the combo create too much upper mids? Is it a good fat rock sound?

 

[dukeorock]

Hey all. I have Lomo's M9 on its way to me as we speak. I currently use a 15/6/1, which I understand to be a great match. How about the Baer ML212? I haven't heard one, but has anybody tried it with the M9? Does the combo create too much upper mids? Is it a good fat rock sound?

I think it has a great rock bass sound, but that's me

 

[smeet]

So I just unpacked the M9, and as everybody says, it's a hammer, especially through my 15/6/1. Clear as a bell and scary loud. I can't wait to try it with a band.

I A/B'd the M9 with the ShuttleMax 9.2. The M9 is much bigger sounding, in terms of its native voice. It's also much brighter, making the SM9.2 sound almost muted in comparison. When I engage the LF boost on the SM9.2, there is more low end, but it feels more hi-bass rather than the deep/wide low end of the Mesa. The attack of each note is much clearer with the M9. I couldn't crank either of them. I'm sure either one will be enough for all my gigs. I get the feeling the M9 will be more suited to a ROCK sound, we shall see if it can cut through a mix and sound fat without getting boomy.

So far I'm very happy with both amps. I hope the M9 doesn't blow up on the gig... It's fully updated and in a 4-space rack case so hopefully cooling is no problem.

How does the Titan compare to the M9? A bit more tubey and soft, a whole lot more tubey, more fat in the mids, ... ?

 

[andrew]

I think it has a great rock bass sound, but that's me

That's definitely not just you.

 

[svtb15]

The thing that i like about the MESA gear is its full round and smooth extended Lows.. No other amp really does that unless you use a rack system.. I got similar deepness with my old Crown PSA2 and NEVE module... But the M9 does that in 2 spaces...

 

[Jim Carr]

The M9 does do classic lead sled tone (for me a Crest CA6/A R T tube channel strip rack system). I guess it is the absence of distortion, no HPF, the pre-amp contour(s), and plenty of headroom. What people think is "bright," I hear more as neutral, compared to the baked in low mid bump, HPF, and LPF of most heads, tube or hybrid/SS.