Mesa/Boogie Mpulse 600 longevity

[rude-hornet]

I have an mpulse 600 paired with a powerhouse 4x10, both from ~2006. Used heavily for years, then life happened and they sat. I’ve gotten back into playing over the last few years, mostly recording at home, but hopefully will be gigging again soon.

I absolutely love my sound, and I’m not really looking for anything new, but I know replacement parts for this amp can be difficult (impossible?) to find, so I’m starting to worry about it failing.

So the question is: should I “baby” it and limit use to home recording, and pick up something new for daily use, gigs, etc? (yes, this may just be a thinly veiled call for people to convince me to get the 800D). Or, is a failure inevitable regardless of how much I use, so just enjoy it while I have it?

 

[57pbass]

You should contact @agedhorse .
He will give you that absolute information you need.

 

[Wasnex]

Only you can decide whether it's better to baby the amp or crank it like you stole it.

Having a backup is not a bad idea. AFAIK, none of the current Subway amps were designed to emulate the M-Pulse 600. The WD800 is based on the Walkabout, which is a member of the M-Pulse family, but AFAIK not quite the same.

I get the impression that only the factory service team should touch vintage Mesa solid state bass amps. If you are local to the Mesa factory service center, it might be worthwhile to have them do a checkup. They could do a quick cleaning; service the pots, jacks, and switches; make sure the power supply voltages and output section bias are in spec; and inspect critical components for signs of cumulative thermal damage.

You could ship the amp, but of course that adds considerable cost.

The amp may outlast you or it could fail randomly the next time you turn it on. Having it serviced likely increases the odds of a longer life, but it's by no means guaranteed.

 

[rude-hornet]

You should contact @agedhorse .
He will give you that absolute information you need.

I think you summoned him for me?

 

[6thplanet]

I'd use it till it's over. In the mean time, try some new stuff out, it can be very inspiring.

 

[rude-hornet]

Only you can decide whether it's better to baby the amp or crank it like you stole it.

Having a backup is not a bad idea. AFAIK, none of the current Subway amps were designed to emulate the M-Pulse 600. The WD800 is based on the Walkabout, which is a member of the M-Pulse family, but AFAIK not quite the same.

I get the impression that only the factory service team should touch vintage Mesa solid state bass amps. If you are local to the Mesa factory service center, it might be worthwhile to have them do a checkup. They could do a quick cleaning; service the pots, jacks, and switches; make sure the power supply voltages and output section bias are in spec; and inspect critical components for signs of cumulative thermal damage.

You could ship the amp, but of course that adds considerable cost.

The amp may outlast you or it could fail randomly the next time you turn it on. Having it serviced likely increases the odds of a longer life, but it's by no means guaranteed.

Yea, I'm in NY (Hudson Valley) so I'd prefer not to ship it across the country and back. But I do like the idea of just getting a check up.

Does anyone in the northeast have any recommendations on good amp repair/service shops?

Or anyone know if the results here are still valid:

MESA/Boogie®

Locate your nearest Dealer or Repair Center.

legacy.mesaboogie.com

The "legacy" subdomain is throwing me off ...

 

[rude-hornet]

I'd use it till it's over. In the mean time, try some new stuff out, it can be very inspiring.

Yea, I am planning on checking out the WD-800 and 800D (when/if I can find one at a shop). High-school me dreamed of getting a 400+, so this new 800D is calling out to him.

 

[Microbass]

If it's been sat for a while and not turned on for years, then I'd say it's probably find a reputable tech to check it over. Typical things that can occur are dry solder joints and dust build up.
If it gets a clean bill of health I'd rock the snot out of it. My main is amp is from '96 ish and still going strong. Mesa and other top brand amps were meant to be played (and actual use can increase the life expectancy of some components).

 

[agedhorse]

If it works properly, I would leave it alone and just play it. I see too many techs create problems that weren’t there before they screwed with an amp.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

If you've had it that long and not abused it, (and it sure doesn't sound like it...) I'd play that amp as long as it powered up. Definitely check out the new(er) Subway lines. I still gig a first generation MPulse WalkAbout to this day, but I have a D-800 on standby, and a Subway DI+ preamp.

 

[SpiderBass1965]

Play it. Just have a backup handy for your shows, as we all should.

 

[Kael]

I main a walkabout head which is sorta like the mpulse 600, sorta not. I mean, it was an mpulse head, but it sure sounds different to my ear. I like it enough that when it went down I bought a second while it was in the shop. Now I have two functioning walkabout heads that get the call 100% of the time while my thunderfunk head has sat idle for the past 3 years or so. I do not foresee replacing either of these heads anytime soon as I've grown addicted to their tonal qualities.

 

[Wasnex]

I main a walkabout head which is sorta like the mpulse 600, sorta not. I mean, it was an mpulse head, but it sure sounds different to my ear. I like it enough that when it went down I bought a second while it was in the shop. Now I have two functioning walkabout heads that get the call 100% of the time while my thunderfunk head has sat idle for the past 3 years or so. I do not foresee replacing either of these heads anytime soon as I've grown addicted to their tonal qualities.

The BB750 and Titan V12 are also members of the M-Pulse family. But like the Walkabout, also have a different personality than the 360 and 600.

 

[agedhorse]

M-Pulse was just a "technology name" based on MOSFETS, though it was retired for the Carbine series (there may be a few M3's that still use the M-Pulse name however)

 

[MCF]

I have an mpulse 600 paired with a powerhouse 4x10, both from ~2006. Used heavily for years, then life happened and they sat. I’ve gotten back into playing over the last few years, mostly recording at home, but hopefully will be gigging again soon.

I absolutely love my sound, and I’m not really looking for anything new, but I know replacement parts for this amp can be difficult (impossible?) to find, so I’m starting to worry about it failing.

So the question is: should I “baby” it and limit use to home recording, and pick up something new for daily use, gigs, etc? (yes, this may just be a thinly veiled call for people to convince me to get the 800D). Or, is a failure inevitable regardless of how much I use, so just enjoy it while I have it?

I’d get the new 800D for peace of mind and keep using the MPulse too.

 

[Element Zero]

Played on an M-Pulse 600 plugged into an SWR Goliath SR 610 cab for a few years almost 20 years ago now lol. It was pretty monstrous.

 

[js1]

I have an MPulse 600. It's a great amp, and sounds incredible, especially with one of the original Powerhouse cabs. But, for most of my gigs, I'll bring my Class D amps and Subway cab. Need that light carry at the end of a night. Considered selling the MPulse, but what I could get for it was so little that it wasn't worth it.

So if yours dies, it won't cost much to replace it if that's what you want to do.

Mine did fail at one point, and output MOSFETs needed to be replaced. It was just within the 5 year warranty period, fortunately.

 

[sunbeast]

If the weight doesn't bother you, I'd just keep rocking it until issues arise (if ever). Having a backup is great too, and an excuse to have something with a bit of a different flavor- but there's not a huge market value for those older heavy amps anymore (unless its a tube head or maybe an Aguilar DB750/1) so no point IMO in babying it unless you feel absolutely tied to its specific unique flavor for recording purposes (and in that case it may well still work as a direct recording pre even if you had Mosfets blow out in the power section). FWIW, I've been rocking the same Mesa Walkabout as a backup and small-gig amp consistently since 2009 and it's been my main amp for the last 5 years without issues. I don't have any intentions to retire it until it dies, at which point I may well track down another. I haven't tried the 800D yet, but I do have a WD-800 that does a pretty good Walkabout-type sound and might work for you to get in the ballpark of the 600 too (I still prefer the Walkabout overall to the WD-800, but I've also been using the Walkabout for a long time so I am biased and the WD definitely has some clear tonal and functional advantages too). IIRC, the 600 had a noticeably fatter low-end girth inherently than the Walkabout, I suspect the WD could be dialed into something similar but overall might be a tighter kind of sound with more midrange-focus

 

[s_wood]

I’d get the new 800D for peace of mind and keep using the MPulse too.

I love MB Subway line, and I own and 800D+, TT800, and WD-800. I also own and love MPulse 600 and the Titan V-12. None of the Subways sound much like the MPulse 600, unfortunately. The MPulse 600 was uniquely voiced. The closest tone to the MPulse 600 that I’ve ever heard is the GenzBenz Streamliner.

My hope is that someday AgedHorse and MB gives us a modern Class D take on the MPulse 600. One can always dream…

 

[agedhorse]

The M-pulse 600 wasn’t a big seller, it may have been too heavily voiced for the market. The Walkabout was much more popular, probably by a factor of 5 or 10.