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Mesa Carbine users... M6 vs. M9? Subway amps?

P

P_Basser

Jul 19, 2023
116
166
#1
Hello all!

I have a hopefully very simple question... I have an M9 that has been my main gigging amp since I got it around 14 years ago. I keep trying to replace it, but it being the amp I learned on and what I've grown accustomed to, I just always find myself coming back to it. I had mine warranty repaired and downgraded to the 600 watt power amp.

So my question is, if I do not use the graphic or the compressor on the M9, will I be missing anything going to an M6?

And a second follow up question, if I am looking to really just replace my Carbine with a lighter weight option, which Subway head should I go with?

Thanks in advance!
 
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#2
Subway D-800+, probably with the bright switch on and the voicing control around 9-10:00 or the bright switch off with the voicing between 10:00 and 12:00 depending on which voice you use on Carbines.
 
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#3
agedhorse said:
Subway D-800+, probably with the bright switch on and the voicing control around 9-10:00 or the bright switch off with the voicing between 10:00 and 12:00 depending on which voice you use on Carbines.
Click to expand...

I have the tweeter off on my Powehouse 4x10, and set the voicing to flat or sometimes the first mid pushed notch depending on the room
 
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#4
P_Basser said:
I have the tweeter off on my Powehouse 4x10, and set the voicing to flat or sometimes the first mid pushed notch depending on the room
Click to expand...
Then try with the bright switch off or on, and the voicing control set at ~9:00, maybe with a couple dB of high mid bump around 4-5kHz should get you there.
 
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#5
agedhorse said:
Subway D-800+, probably with the bright switch on and the voicing control around 9-10:00 or the bright switch off with the voicing between 10:00 and 12:00 depending on which voice you use on Carbines.
Click to expand...

This ^

I went from an M6 to the D800+ with the settings above for the past seven years into a SW115 + SW112 and I couldn't be happier with it for what I play.
 
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#7
IMO the D-800+ should satisfy most Carbine users unless you tend to go with extreme Carbine settings. Power, punch, and voicing versatility are all there in the D-800+ when compared to the Carbines. To my ear there is a little more refined edge to the SW sound over the Carbines but the speed, articulation and note clarity/definition are very similar.
 
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#8
My good friend has a perfectly fine M9, (600watt), two Rumble 210s, and two Avatar 126's.
Usually for gigs he'd run the M9 with one Rumble 210 & one Avatar 126.
He wanted to lighten his amp/rackmount load, so he just last week bought a D-800+, then decided to also get a Subway 210/115 stack.

Took the full Subway rig to band practice, (hard rock & metal cover band) and everyone in the band remarked on his clearer, punchier tone.

The only thing he was having a tough time wrapping his head around was where the D800+ Input & Master knob positions needed to be vs where he'd usually run the M9.
Happy camper.

I asked him to take pics of the tone control positions on both amps, and if I get them, I'll share them here.
 
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#9
Spector2112 said:
My good friend has a perfectly fine M9, (600watt), two Rumble 210s, and two Avatar 126's.
Usually for gigs he'd run the M9 with one Rumble 210 & one Avatar 126.
He wanted to lighten his amp/rackmount load, so he just last week bought a D-800+, then decided to also get a Subway 210/115 stack.

Took the full Subway rig to band practice, (hard rock & metal cover band) and everyone in the band remarked on his clearer, punchier tone.

The only thing he was having a tough time wrapping his head around was where the D800+ Input & Master knob positions needed to be vs where he'd usually run the M9.
Happy camper.

I asked him to take pics of the tone control positions on both amps, and if I get them, I'll share them here.
Click to expand...
The gain and especially the master volume control tapers were addressed on all of the new Subway amps at the request of many Carbine users here on TB.
 
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#11
Spector2112 said:
My good friend has a perfectly fine M9, (600watt), two Rumble 210s, and two Avatar 126's.
Usually for gigs he'd run the M9 with one Rumble 210 & one Avatar 126.
He wanted to lighten his amp/rackmount load, so he just last week bought a D-800+, then decided to also get a Subway 210/115 stack.

Took the full Subway rig to band practice, (hard rock & metal cover band) and everyone in the band remarked on his clearer, punchier tone.

The only thing he was having a tough time wrapping his head around was where the D800+ Input & Master knob positions needed to be vs where he'd usually run the M9.
Happy camper.

I asked him to take pics of the tone control positions on both amps, and if I get them, I'll share them here.
Click to expand...
As agedhorse mentioned, the Carbine control tapers are somewhere between annoying and really frustrating. Just breathing on the Carbine controls can make a noticeable impact on volume. The entire SW series has linear pot tapers that allow for precise, progressive adjustments throughout their entire rotation. You still get all the power, but with almost surgical control.
 
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#12
Al Kraft said:
As agedhorse mentioned, the Carbine control tapers are somewhere between annoying and really frustrating. Just breathing on the Carbine controls can make a noticeable impact on volume. The entire SW series has linear pot tapers that allow for precise, progressive adjustments throughout their entire rotation. You still get all the power, but with almost surgical control.
Click to expand...
Yep, and I wish more amps were this way.
 
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#14
agedhorse said:
Then try with the bright switch off or on, and the voicing control set at ~9:00, maybe with a couple dB of high mid bump around 4-5kHz should get you there.
Click to expand...
HOLY SHNIKES!!! Dooooooooooood THANK YOU! Absolutely RIPPIN' tone. Crankin the input so the O/D light just barely blinks is friggin deadly. Ooooooh man.
 
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#15
baxter_x said:
To me it was much worse than that. I really wonder what went through their heads when designing those amps.
Click to expand...
I have no inside knowledge but always imagined that the design discussion went something like:

...maybe we could just do a three way switch with "Volume Off", "Ton of Volume", and "Unbelievable Volume" settings...at which point someone suggested that people will expect a volume knob on the amp but that the knob could easily work the same way...

It could have also been a deliberate feature to intimidate guitar players who wanted to get into a volume war with the bass player...quickly pointing at the control knob position when the Carbine was already screaming would be enough to make most guitar players to simply give up thinking you still had 3/4 of the volume knob rotation left in reserve.

On a positive note, those of us who love and play/played the Carbines obviously found enough reasons to overlook that design quirk. :thumbsup:
 
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#18
Wasnex said:
I find the Master irritating because I am pretty much a basement dweller. However, I doubt the overly aggressive Master would be a problem gigging in the environment the Carbine was intended for. Might be a problem for jazz combo though :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...
True to some extent, but when developing the Subway line this was one of the things TB members consistently asked to be addressed on any new Mesa amp.
 
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#19
Wasnex said:
I find the Master irritating because I am pretty much a basement dweller. However, I doubt the overly aggressive Master would be a problem gigging in the environment the Carbine was intended for. Might be a problem for jazz combo though :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...
I could agree but that master was way too much. And to mute the amp, you had to pull that very master!
When pushing it back you knew two things: you would end up with a weak sound or deafaning sound ....
It ruined such a great amp.
And I don't even mention the effect loop after the master.
 
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