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Mesa Boogie M9 Megathread: Pt II

#501
I have an older M9 that I have only ever used with my Hartke AK 410 cabinet (turned out that i never needed anything louder, yet). It has never failed or shut down on me, but I have never had to push it uber loud with 2 cabs (I have a second AK-410 as well). I wanted huge headroom and the option of driving two 410's without ever having to worry about power, so I bought the M9.

My question: Is the Thermal Shutdown problem a hit or miss chance thing with each head before the mods, or a matter of "it definitely will happen when you push the head too much for power"?? Love the head, I just hate to have to "wait and see" if it will shutdown, just when I need it most. Reliability is absolutely critical to me, which is another reason why I bought Mesa (I have a Walkabout Scout too).
 
#503
bobalu said:
I have an older M9 that I have only ever used with my Hartke AK 410 cabinet (turned out that i never needed anything louder, yet). It has never failed or shut down on me, but I have never had to push it uber loud with 2 cabs (I have a second AK-410 as well). I wanted huge headroom and the option of driving two 410's without ever having to worry about power, so I bought the M9.

My question: Is the Thermal Shutdown problem a hit or miss chance thing with each head before the mods, or a matter of "it definitely will happen when you push the head too much for power"?? Love the head, I just hate to have to "wait and see" if it will shutdown, just when I need it most. Reliability is absolutely critical to me, which is another reason why I bought Mesa (I have a Walkabout Scout too).
Click to expand...

bobalu - the issues with the M9 don't affect all units, far from it. However, it happened enough that we made the changes needed for rock solid reliability. There are many units out there that get slammed, on tour, all over the country - with no issues. But if its something that you begin to experience, or concerns you - you can call our Service Dept for the necessary updates. Thanks!
 
#505
Checked in with Mesa about my M9 had the power reduction mod before I sell it and email from Kris says "your amp does not need the lower sensitivity mod update, but it may need another update.* I would recommend giving us a call" and talk to Rich. I tried call but their phones were down Kris wrote. I will try again later and report. Anything else, other mods I should ask about a buyer might want to see in a for-sale listing ?
 
#506
What's the deal with the mods? I keep seeing a lot of posts about 'em. My M9 is in the 900's on the serial number. I've never had any issues with mine, but if someone could please explain, and let me know if I need to be concerned about getting these mods on mine, or if they already have them.

Thanks
 
#510
MesaBoogie said:
bobalu - the issues with the M9 don't affect all units, far from it. However, it happened enough that we made the changes needed for rock solid reliability. There are many units out there that get slammed, on tour, all over the country - with no issues. But if its something that you begin to experience, or concerns you - you can call our Service Dept for the necessary updates. Thanks!
Click to expand...

MB, thanks so much for your response, I really appreciate it and it gives me some peace of mind.

Chef & svtb15, thanks to you both for chiming in with your experiences, that's good to hear.
 
#511
+1
I also have a walkabout which i am in LOVE with, and an Mpulse 600.. another beauty...
All of them are ROCK solid amps.. Before i get a strategy i First want to find a 400+ to round out my mesa collectibles:)

bobalu said:
MB, thanks so much for your response, I really appreciate it and it gives me some peace of mind.

Chef & svtb15, thanks to you both for chiming in with your experiences, that's good to hear.
Click to expand...
 
#512
The 400+ was my first serious amp. That thing was beautiful, however it sucks when it's time to replace tubes as it has 12 and the price tag was usually about $350. I dunno if it was just mine or what, but in my six years of owning it, I replaced the tubes three times. Two more times and I would've paid for the head again. The thing is, if one tube goes out, you pretty much have to replace them all. That's why I sold it and got the M9. I hated to, but I just couldn't afford that kinda of upkeep every couple of years. I have found the M9 to be more versatile and powerful than the 400+, and a lot lighter too. About the only thing it doesn't do is get that gritty sound you can get from tube amps. However, there are plenty of good preamps and/or pedals that can fix that problem.
 
#513
Bama said:
The 400+ was my first serious amp. That thing was beautiful, however it sucks when it's time to replace tubes as it has 12 and the price tag was usually about $350. I dunno if it was just mine or what, but in my six years of owning it, I replaced the tubes three times. Two more times and I would've paid for the head again. The thing is, if one tube goes out, you pretty much have to replace them all. That's why I sold it and got the M9. I hated to, but I just couldn't afford that kinda of upkeep every couple of years. I have found the M9 to be more versatile and powerful than the 400+, and a lot lighter too. About the only thing it doesn't do is get that gritty sound you can get from tube amps. However, there are plenty of good preamps and/or pedals that can fix that problem.
Click to expand...

With the Bass 400+, if one tube goes out you should replace the pair that contains the tube that failed...not all of the tubes! Otherwise, Bass 400+ owners usually get many years out of a tube set. Thanks!
 
#514
Well I guess it was just lack of knowledge maybe, cause I knew that tubes were paired together, but for some reason I was under the impression that each pair was also paired with the others, or maybe the guy replacing them was trying to get over on me.??? Let me ask you guys this then...

... Mesa has released a new tube bass amp, the Strategy, which is pretty much an M9 with an all tube power section, plus a few other bells and whistles I've even seen complained about on here such as, having the voicing knob be foot-switchable. Anyway, that amp costs $2400 and I definitely can't afford that, but it really made me miss the 400+ even more. If you guys were me and had the M9, would you sell it for the 400+ or keep it?

* I know this question is really a matter of opinion, but I was just curious what you all thought. *
 
#516
Bama said:
Well I guess it was just lack of knowledge maybe, cause I knew that tubes were paired together, but for some reason I was under the impression that each pair was also paired with the others, or maybe the guy replacing them was trying to get over on me.??? Let me ask you guys this then...

... Mesa has released a new tube bass amp, the Strategy, which is pretty much an M9 with an all tube power section, plus a few other bells and whistles I've even seen complained about on here such as, having the voicing knob be foot-switchable. Anyway, that amp costs $2400 and I definitely can't afford that, but it really made me miss the 400+ even more. If you guys were me and had the M9, would you sell it for the 400+ or keep it?

* I know this question is really a matter of opinion, but I was just curious what you all thought. *
Click to expand...

Haha...well, this one really IS a matter of opinion!
 
#517
The M9 and 400+ are just about as different as they can be.
If you're trying to choose between those two, you have some deeper thinking to do than tube vs hybrid, IMO....:)
 
#518
Chef you seem to pretty be well versed on things, and I already know your opinion of the M9 based on past posts in the thread, but what's your opinion of the 400+?

I really love my M9, but there's just somethin' about the 400+ that I really miss. I dunno if it's just the warm tube sound or what that I liked better. I guess if I had to put my finger on it, it just seems so much more organic and in your face than the M9 IMO.

* All opinions are welcomed and wanted on this matter. *
 
#519
I'll agree with that^^^

I'd still have a 400+ if I could get it to stay clean enough whilst being loud enough.
The other part of why I got rid of mine was it was not good at all for double bass, for me.
Whereas the Walkabout was really good for double bass, for me.
 

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