I'm in the same situation. I'm keeping my RH750, but GAS for a M9 to replace my Ashdown MK-500 keeps coming back. Like you I get a bit worried reading about the issues people are having with this amp.
Can't get rid of the GAS though.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Mesa Boogie M9 Megathread: Pt II
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
I'm in the same situation. I'm keeping my RH750, but GAS for a M9 to replace my Ashdown MK-500 keeps coming back. Like you I get a bit worried reading about the issues people are having with this amp.
Can't get rid of the GAS though.
Does the M9 have a normal FX SEND/RETURN setup?
* FX OUT is after the preamp and maybe the EQ
* FX OUT sends a typical line level signal at -10db or +4db
* FX RETURN inserts to the power amp
* Changing Master levels do not affect the FX OUT levels, only changing preamp or EQ does
I ask this as I had a V12 and changes to the master volume crazily changed the FX OUT levels and was maddening, basically made using rack gear impossible. I currently have a 400+ and it outputs some oddball near-instrument level signals, again using normal rack gear is seemingly impossible.
Every other head I've owned has a FX SEND/RETURN that functions as I would expect. Line level signals, master doesn't change the signal to the FX LOOP.
* FX OUT is after the preamp and maybe the EQ
* FX OUT sends a typical line level signal at -10db or +4db
* FX RETURN inserts to the power amp
* Changing Master levels do not affect the FX OUT levels, only changing preamp or EQ does
I ask this as I had a V12 and changes to the master volume crazily changed the FX OUT levels and was maddening, basically made using rack gear impossible. I currently have a 400+ and it outputs some oddball near-instrument level signals, again using normal rack gear is seemingly impossible.
Every other head I've owned has a FX SEND/RETURN that functions as I would expect. Line level signals, master doesn't change the signal to the FX LOOP.
Looking for some help on the serial number issue. I am really wanting to go with the M9 but living in Aus we quite often only have access to old stock. Given the history on this thread I do not want to buy a model pre the fixes they have introduced.
Return for upgrades in Aus wil be a real pain.
I see from earlier that no. 281 was a problem and that Chef has one in the 500's which is ok. Also they are now into the 1000's.
I checked out one today which is no. 481. Can anyone advise if they have an earlier serial number model whcih has the upgrades?
Return for upgrades in Aus wil be a real pain.
I see from earlier that no. 281 was a problem and that Chef has one in the 500's which is ok. Also they are now into the 1000's.
I checked out one today which is no. 481. Can anyone advise if they have an earlier serial number model whcih has the upgrades?
Your best bet is to call Mesa and ask "when production upgrades were finalised, by serial number" or some such thing, I think.
+1.
Make sure you ask them specifically if your amp has the new mods or is an updated amp. I called in to Mesa asking about #281 and was told it "should be fine". Died the next gig a day or two later!
I just picked up #1007 and it was built in July 2011. As a reference point, #281 was made in mid-late 2008.
Good luck but be careful... IMO this is the best sounding bass amp available today.... But if you get a bad one, prepare to be miserable!
Don't get me wrong, I love my M9. But DAMN! This is the 2nd time I've had to send it in for servicing. From out of nowhere, it will just decide to quit in the middle of being played. And, not being "pushed" either. I sent it in for service in April, after the problem reared it's ugly head. At 1st, it would cut out for 3-4 seconds and then kick back in. It progressively got worse, so much so that it decided to quit making sound all together. The Techs at Mesa did some "mods" and repaired a solder trace and sent it back to me. It has been fine til last month. I was playing a gig which consisted of 3 bands. I decided since I was going to be the last to play; that I would let everybody use my amp. Not cool, when you are providing the backline, and it decides to go on holiday during the 2nd act. Fortunately, another local bass player had his Mesa/Boogie 400 plus with him in the car. Switched it out and it saved the day. Hurray! But, *** is up with my amp? Seriously, it's not being pushed hard enough to force it into a protect mode (if there even is such a thing on the M9). Anybody have any ideas/experience like this? Thanks for listening.
Rich
Rich
Rich,
My older M9 (SN 281) did the exact same thing as per the amp in your comments below.
You can see my previous posts a month or so ago earlier in this thread.... I went from loving the head but concerned why it cut out for a second during a low volume basement jam, to being absolutely p!$$ed at it ruining a gig a few days later. As with you, I was barely even pushing the head. Gain was maybe at 10:00 and master was approx 8:00 through a 4 ohm Sadowsky 4x10 cab.
I was lucky to be in a position in which the used M9 was bought from a big retailer that I have a great relationship with. They took the old M9 back, lent me another amp and ordered me a brand new M9 directly from Mesa. My new M9 was manufacturered in July 2011 (SN 1007) and SEEMS to be fine. I say "SEEMS" as I have only had it a couple of weeks. So far it sounds killer and is functioning absolutely perfectly (and as a $1400 head, it should!).
I love everything about the M9, but if this one craps out, I am done with Mesa.... which sucks as I have no idea where I would even look for an amp to replace this tone and crazy headroom!
I hope it lasts many years, but none of the other amps I have played over the years (Fender, Hiwatt, Traynor, Carvin, Orange, TC, Ampeg, Aguilar, Genz Benz, GK, etc, etc.!) have screwed up a gig for me so badly and been so unreliable. My '60's Traynor YBA used to electrocute me, but always produced sound! ;-)
Last point.... did you have the amp returned to Mesa or did a "qualified Mesa tech" do the work? If it is the latter, have it sent to Mesa for the full upgrade. Don't trust anyone but the manufacturer on this one. Too many things need to me fixed/upgraded....
Good luck!
My older M9 (SN 281) did the exact same thing as per the amp in your comments below.
You can see my previous posts a month or so ago earlier in this thread.... I went from loving the head but concerned why it cut out for a second during a low volume basement jam, to being absolutely p!$$ed at it ruining a gig a few days later. As with you, I was barely even pushing the head. Gain was maybe at 10:00 and master was approx 8:00 through a 4 ohm Sadowsky 4x10 cab.
I was lucky to be in a position in which the used M9 was bought from a big retailer that I have a great relationship with. They took the old M9 back, lent me another amp and ordered me a brand new M9 directly from Mesa. My new M9 was manufacturered in July 2011 (SN 1007) and SEEMS to be fine. I say "SEEMS" as I have only had it a couple of weeks. So far it sounds killer and is functioning absolutely perfectly (and as a $1400 head, it should!).
I love everything about the M9, but if this one craps out, I am done with Mesa.... which sucks as I have no idea where I would even look for an amp to replace this tone and crazy headroom!
I hope it lasts many years, but none of the other amps I have played over the years (Fender, Hiwatt, Traynor, Carvin, Orange, TC, Ampeg, Aguilar, Genz Benz, GK, etc, etc.!) have screwed up a gig for me so badly and been so unreliable. My '60's Traynor YBA used to electrocute me, but always produced sound! ;-)
Last point.... did you have the amp returned to Mesa or did a "qualified Mesa tech" do the work? If it is the latter, have it sent to Mesa for the full upgrade. Don't trust anyone but the manufacturer on this one. Too many things need to me fixed/upgraded....
Good luck!
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,613
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
The earlier chapters of the M9 mega thread detail a lot of similar woe. I finally got my M9 sorted out, and still adore it for everything from Reggae to Country, but I always bring a Shuttle 6.0 as a spare.
These responses are convincing me that despite really liking the sound of the amp, it just doesn't make sense for someone outside the US. No practical way I can get the amp back to Mesa for the upgrades, it would need to be their tech in Aus.
The other issue here is the price - I can get a Glockenknlang Heart Rock for the same money - not saying that is better, just saying Mesa are pretty expensive out here. Combine that with the reliability issues and it looks as though I need to reconsider.
Thanks for your comments and help
The other issue here is the price - I can get a Glockenknlang Heart Rock for the same money - not saying that is better, just saying Mesa are pretty expensive out here. Combine that with the reliability issues and it looks as though I need to reconsider.
Thanks for your comments and help
Good morning guys, I need your help.
Last night I hooked up my newly purchased Peavey 810TX 4ohm to my M9 Carbine, of which I already have a Fender 215Pro 4ohm going through it. I played for roughly 5 minutes when I realised I had forgotten to switch my amp to 2ohm. Everything is sounding great still. I switch it to 2ohm and all is great, sounds awesome. I try out a bunch of different settings on my Sansamp BDDI since its a new toy and I want to see what I can get out of it. Still, everything is going great at this point.
I turn off the head for about 10 minutes or so and when I turned it back on it sounded like total crap. Both cabs were farting like crazy and the signal was very weak, the master was at 7 Oclock which was crazy loud before I turned off the amp. At that point Im thinking that the 810 has faulted so I unhook it to see what it sounded like with my 215 on its own. Same thing is happening. So I re-hooked the 810 to the amp and try running the Sansamp from the back of the head as opposed to the front. Im thinking that something might have gone wrong with the preamp in the M9. It sounds better, the cabs arent farting out as much anymore but Im not getting the tone I was at the beginning.
I unplugged the Sansamp and plug it into the front of the amp again to see what is happening. Its farting a little less but Im not getting the tone I was getting when I started. The tone is very muddy even though I havent touched the settings on the head nor the Sansamp.
In the past with my 215 on its own I had the master volume at 7 Oclock and my bass volume about half and it was very loud but after everything went wrong last night, I had the Master at noon and my bass at max volume and it wasnt nearly as loud. I was getting drowned out by the 2 guitar players that werent even at their usual playing volume.
Im might not be explaining it wright so I hope you guys can understand what Im trying to explain. Is it possible that I broke something in the amp because I didnt set it at 2ohms from the beginning? What do you guys think is wrong?
This M9 was fully upgraded last year as per the previous owner.
Thanx in advance.
Last night I hooked up my newly purchased Peavey 810TX 4ohm to my M9 Carbine, of which I already have a Fender 215Pro 4ohm going through it. I played for roughly 5 minutes when I realised I had forgotten to switch my amp to 2ohm. Everything is sounding great still. I switch it to 2ohm and all is great, sounds awesome. I try out a bunch of different settings on my Sansamp BDDI since its a new toy and I want to see what I can get out of it. Still, everything is going great at this point.
I turn off the head for about 10 minutes or so and when I turned it back on it sounded like total crap. Both cabs were farting like crazy and the signal was very weak, the master was at 7 Oclock which was crazy loud before I turned off the amp. At that point Im thinking that the 810 has faulted so I unhook it to see what it sounded like with my 215 on its own. Same thing is happening. So I re-hooked the 810 to the amp and try running the Sansamp from the back of the head as opposed to the front. Im thinking that something might have gone wrong with the preamp in the M9. It sounds better, the cabs arent farting out as much anymore but Im not getting the tone I was at the beginning.
I unplugged the Sansamp and plug it into the front of the amp again to see what is happening. Its farting a little less but Im not getting the tone I was getting when I started. The tone is very muddy even though I havent touched the settings on the head nor the Sansamp.
In the past with my 215 on its own I had the master volume at 7 Oclock and my bass volume about half and it was very loud but after everything went wrong last night, I had the Master at noon and my bass at max volume and it wasnt nearly as loud. I was getting drowned out by the 2 guitar players that werent even at their usual playing volume.
Im might not be explaining it wright so I hope you guys can understand what Im trying to explain. Is it possible that I broke something in the amp because I didnt set it at 2ohms from the beginning? What do you guys think is wrong?
This M9 was fully upgraded last year as per the previous owner.
Thanx in advance.
I live in Canada and sending an amp to California isn't a big deal. Austrailia? Different story likely.
Unless your M9 would be a newer version and the store you bought it would loan you an amp if yours needed service, I would go Glockenklang personally. Just me, but shipping a bulky head half way across the word for service seems to be a PITA!
Unless your M9 would be a newer version and the store you bought it would loan you an amp if yours needed service, I would go Glockenklang personally. Just me, but shipping a bulky head half way across the word for service seems to be a PITA!
Thanks to everyone for all the comments about my M9 posting. When I had my amp repaired the 1st time, i sent it to the factory repair guys out in Petaluma, California. I was somewhat comforted When I spoke to Rich and found out that there were updates available to address my problem. I thought I was gonna be GTG. Apparently, not. Like the Zepplin song says, " going to California". At least I was able to see it reached it's destination yesterday (man the holidays really screwed me there). Plus, Mesa isn't open on Fridays. Hopefully, I'll get a call from Rich within a few days, with good news. Thanks again everybody.
Rich
Rich
rockstarbassist
Inactive
If I had a guitar/amp shop in SoCal, I wouldn't be open on Fridays either!! 
I will have had my M9 going on a year next month. I haven't owned an amp this long in my life, IIRC. Flat out pwns.
I will have had my M9 going on a year next month. I haven't owned an amp this long in my life, IIRC. Flat out pwns.
If I had a guitar/amp shop in SoCal, I wouldn't be open on Fridays either!!
Totally!
Gigged my brand new M9 last night and it killed. It definately DIDN'T destroy my gig like my old POS M9 that died last month!
Big, cavernous room that is usually a sonic nightmare. Also has a hollow stage that is usually a problem. I played my '69/'72 Jazz and my '74 Precision thru my Sadowsky SA410 cab.
I loved how I sounded and received more complements last night on my tone than I have in ages.
My only little issue is that my highs were getting a bit lost on the stage mix but that was likely due to me standing beside a huge powered bass bin and 3 feet in front of my amp. Apparently sounded great in the crowd.
So the M9 is a keeper and likely the only amp I will own for a very long time (unless it flakes out like the last one!).
P.S. One bit of advise for anyone that thinks they "need" an amp as powerful as a M9.... IMO, unless you are playing arenas and huge outdoor festivals, this amp is overkill for the vast majority of gigging bassists. For the weekend gigging bassist like me, the amp will likely never be pushed near it's full potential. Last night I had gain at 10:00 and volume between 8:00 and 9:00 (with a loud 4x10) and my ears are still ringing! It is a friggin' loud head. If the EQ section isn't a requirement, buy a M6 or maybe even a M3!
Big, cavernous room that is usually a sonic nightmare. Also has a hollow stage that is usually a problem. I played my '69/'72 Jazz and my '74 Precision thru my Sadowsky SA410 cab.
I loved how I sounded and received more complements last night on my tone than I have in ages.
My only little issue is that my highs were getting a bit lost on the stage mix but that was likely due to me standing beside a huge powered bass bin and 3 feet in front of my amp. Apparently sounded great in the crowd.
So the M9 is a keeper and likely the only amp I will own for a very long time (unless it flakes out like the last one!).
P.S. One bit of advise for anyone that thinks they "need" an amp as powerful as a M9.... IMO, unless you are playing arenas and huge outdoor festivals, this amp is overkill for the vast majority of gigging bassists. For the weekend gigging bassist like me, the amp will likely never be pushed near it's full potential. Last night I had gain at 10:00 and volume between 8:00 and 9:00 (with a loud 4x10) and my ears are still ringing! It is a friggin' loud head. If the EQ section isn't a requirement, buy a M6 or maybe even a M3!
Sweet: nice to ehar the new unit is kickin' for you.
Two notes:
1) It's not necessarily about the power, but, the tone. And, the feature sets.
I didn't need more power than the M6, but the graphic eq, and the compressor were really helpful to me; bpth in terms of tone, and controlling the big phat low end these have. I pretty much always trim the low end with the lowest two of the graphic sliders.
2) try reversing your gain structure sometime, and run input gain at noon or one oclock, and master at 9 oclock or so. You might like the extra harmonic content you get.
3) couldn't hear the highs? Man, the M6/9 is one of the brightest amps I've ever played.......................
Two notes:
1) It's not necessarily about the power, but, the tone. And, the feature sets.
I didn't need more power than the M6, but the graphic eq, and the compressor were really helpful to me; bpth in terms of tone, and controlling the big phat low end these have. I pretty much always trim the low end with the lowest two of the graphic sliders.
2) try reversing your gain structure sometime, and run input gain at noon or one oclock, and master at 9 oclock or so. You might like the extra harmonic content you get.
3) couldn't hear the highs? Man, the M6/9 is one of the brightest amps I've ever played.......................
More of a function of my guitard mixing my FOH sound himself likely. Stage monitors were bassy but a bassist friend in the crowd told me I sounded great.
Great point on the compressor. I am loving it. More useful than the comp on many other amps I have owned.
Thanks for the gain structure advice..... I will give that a shot.
Chef said:
Hey Chef,
I agree about the M9-M6. I know that Mesa says it's the same amp. But I have gone into the Mesa Store in Hollywood and listened to the M6 and the M9 side by side and the extra headroom in the M9 definitely sounds better. Even the guys in the store agreed. The M6 sounded good, but it was a little looser sounding and more rubbery. The M9 has more speed, focus and authority, and the compressor is the icing on the cake for me.
So, the power in terms of volume is IMO not a factor between both amps, but in terms of sound and feel and natural compression from hitting the amp a little harder from all those 300 extra amazing Boggie watts, I think makes a huge difference. It's worth the extra money for what you get from the M9. And for whats out there from other American made companys or made anywhere else for that matter. It's very fairly priced...
