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Mesa/Boogie Official Club Thread...Part #2

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#421
I ran my M9 last night into my pair of Mesa PH115 cabs and then compared them with my Epi UL-2 410. The Mesa cabs are very open and wide but still have good cut and definition. The Epi cab was less efficient and very compressed sounding in comparison. I expected the Epi cab to be tighter but sounded a bit dull and thin compared to the Mesa 115's.

This little comparison may not be of much use but it re enforced my belief that the Mesa 15 cabs are some of the most gorgeous sounding cabs out there! The Epi 410 is no slouch and of course weighs on about 56 pounds but its the 2 115 cabs that really put a smile on my face!
 
#422
Thanks, Vic. Your opinion is based on experience with the individual components, so that's exactly what I'm looking for.

I'd agree that the Epi heads are best suited to Epi cabs, at least in my experience.

Most of my rig is geared toward jazz/acoustic music. I'm pretty much convinced the Mesa gear is what I want, though I'm still open to other ideas (GK and GB are both top contenders).

Thanks for the feedback.



Vic said:
I'd recommend the M6(Fathom) head first. Sounds to me like you're gonna' end up with the 215/M6 combo eventually anyway, so this is really more about the order in which to purchase them both... the "migration path".

The reason I say M6 first is because I think the M6/2xUL112 rig will sound MUCH better than the Epi502/215 rig. IMHO(!), the 502/215 would just be too big and boomy. I've never really liked the Epi heads because they seem weak in the mids to me, and lack enough EQ controls to adjust for it. Given the right cabs, it's not really a problem (and I think the UL112's are fine), but I'd think a 215 cab would be the exact wrong cab to attach to a 502.

Again, IMHO!
Click to expand...
 
#423
lowfreqgeek said:
Thanks, Vic. Your opinion is based on experience with the individual components, so that's exactly what I'm looking for.

I'd agree that the Epi heads are best suited to Epi cabs, at least in my experience.

Most of my rig is geared toward jazz/acoustic music. I'm pretty much convinced the Mesa gear is what I want, though I'm still open to other ideas (GK and GB are both top contenders).

Thanks for the feedback.
Click to expand...
No problem.

Here's some other feedback I'll give you, now that you've mentioned music/style...

The M6 is still kind of a big/wide sounding head when set "flat" (tho this is NOT to say scooped!), BUT, IMHO, it has a LOT more flexibility than the 502 to get a much tighter and yet still very full sound. I even did some recent testing with this and it just shined. I might even go out on a limb and say, once you get the M6, you may decide you don't need that big uber-heavy 215.

I hooked my M6 up to the most scooped cab I have (my Epi S1 UL310). Man, I can't tell you enough how nicely that cab opened up when I fed it a little more juice from the M6 vs most of the other "500W class heads" I've owned (and still own.) And when I adjusted it a bit to tighten up the cab and add a little punch... holy cow! Your 2xUL112 stack should fare at least as well for your style of music, and they may surprise you how "loud" they can get when you feed them a tighter signal from a head that gives you more of that kind of control (like the M6 can.)

Further, if you really want "grunt" without "boom", all you need to do is drop the bass control a little, and use one of the "bump" profiles. That adds a lot of gain to the chain, but that's easily compensated for by just turning the input gain down accordingly.

Keep in mind the EQ controls on the Mx heads are NOT symmetrical. They do different things in boost vs cut mode. This takes a little getting used to, but once you "get it", it makes a lot of sense and gives you a surprising amount of very useful control with the least number of knobs (I LOVE simplicity!!).

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Mesa 215 is a great cab, but once you plug that M6 into your 112's, you may be pleasantly surprised enough to say "cool... done", and you also get to save your back in the process. :)
 
#424
Vic said:
No problem.

Here's some other feedback I'll give you, now that you've mentioned music/style...

The M6 is still kind of a big/wide sounding head when set "flat" (tho this is NOT to say scooped!), BUT, IMHO, it has a LOT more flexibility than the 502 to get a much tighter and yet still very full sound. I even did some recent testing with this and it just shined. I might even go out on a limb and say, once you get the M6, you may decide you don't need that big uber-heavy 215.

I hooked my M6 up to the most scooped cab I have (my Epi S1 UL310). Man, I can't tell you enough how nicely that cab opened up when I fed it a little more juice from the M6 vs most of the other "500W class heads" I've owned (and still own.) And when I adjusted it a bit to tighten up the cab and add a little punch... holy cow! Your 2xUL112 stack should fare at least as well for your style of music, and they may surprise you how "loud" they can get when you feed them a tighter signal from a head that gives you more of that kind of control (like the M6 can.)

Further, if you really want "grunt" without "boom", all you need to do is drop the bass control a little, and use one of the "bump" profiles. That adds a lot of gain to the chain, but that's easily compensated for by just turning the input gain down accordingly.

Keep in mind the EQ controls on the Mx heads are NOT symmetrical. They do different things in boost vs cut mode. This takes a little getting used to, but once you "get it", it makes a lot of sense and gives you a surprising amount of very useful control with the least number of knobs (I LOVE simplicity!!).

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Mesa 215 is a great cab, but once you plug that M6 into your 112's, you may be pleasantly surprised enough to say "cool... done", and you also get to save your back in the process. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks again, Vic.

I played through an M6/PH410 last week and REALLY liked the sound. In fact, I'd say it was almost exactly what I need for this new band I'm in. Part of that is the cab, but I'm certain a good portion of that is also the M6.

I love the Epifani for a lot of the music I play - that's why I have it, but I just can't get 100% behind the sound for this alternative/punk thing. I've had the 502 a LOT longer than that band...

I've been using a VT Bass with the Epifani, but I'm really interested in the Mesa stuff, based on the rig I played last week. Starting with the M6 (or an M9) is probably a good place since the Epifani cabs do so well (IMO) with just about any amp I've ever put through them.

Then again, a big old boat-anchor 215 does look mighty impressive...
 
#425
can I join?
9_UjA.jpg
 
#437
So, the Fathom arrived this afternoon.... unpacked it, set it up on my Diesel 115, plugged it in to the strip I plugged the M-Pulse into and MBUZZZZZZZZZZ. I dinked with the volumes on my pickups (single coils), turned around, lifted the ground, messed with other switches and knobs; no change.

So, I grabbed an extension cord and tried a different outlet (yes, my house does have crappy wiring). And voila! No buzz. So, my first observation is the Fathom is sensitive to the quality of electricity it receives.

The rest of my observations follow the norm for M6 owners, cut and definition for days... tons of uber clean low end... and it gets loud fast.

I don't notice any significant hiss, so that does not seem to be a problem.

It will definitely take some getting used to after playing a M-Pulse 600 for the past few years, but I want more cut and definition when playing live (something I've been missing with the m-pulse).

So, I plan to keep it, use it and evaluate it for a few months before coming to a final judgment as to whether it's an amp for me.
 
#440
Calaverasgrande said:
If you know something I dont know please do share! My old bass 400 is getting pretty threadbare, if Mesa is seriously gonna re-enter that market I will have to start saving up. Again.
Click to expand...

They are definitely thinking about it, but there are no firm plans (that I am aware of). I keep putting my two cents in, though. :D
 
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