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Mesa M6 Carbine Mega-Thread Pt Deux

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#621
Frankie Fender said:
I played through an M6 & M9 and could not for the life of me get them to even start breaking up like my Walkabout did so well. Yeah, to get the tube sounds you desire you are sure going to need some help.
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That's the whole point of these heads IMO, and why I describe the M6 as the 'Mesa for those players who don't like Mesa'. While there is a tube in the pre, it's not like the multi-tube simulstate pre's in the other hybrids. It's more of an Eden or SWR type tube 'flavor' that adds a bit of 'character' while still staying solid state tight, punchy and clean short of cranking the gain all the way up.

This is reflected in the marketing materials and product descriptions in the M6 ad copy.

If you want that classic Mesa 'all tube amp tone' in one of their hybrids, and still want the massive ooomph of the M6 (I can't even imagine the M9), then the Triton is probably the ticket.

IMO and IME.
 
#622
KJung said:
That's the whole point of these heads IMO, and why I describe the M6 as the 'Mesa for those players who don't like Mesa'. While there is a tube in the pre, it's not like the multi-tube simulstate pre's in the other hybrids. It's more of an Eden or SWR type tube 'flavor' that adds a bit of 'character' while still staying solid state tight, punchy and clean short of cranking the gain all the way up.

This is reflected in the marketing materials and product descriptions in the M6 ad copy.

If you want that classic Mesa 'all tube amp tone' in one of their hybrids, and still want the massive ooomph of the M6 (I can't even imagine the M9), then the Triton is probably the ticket.

IMO and IME.
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Agreed, it was an observation in response to his question. I thought the M-class does SS great and would much prefer them over an Eden or SWR if that were my style. They are quite impressive and now I know what all the fuss is about and IMO it is well justified. The M9 is indeed a monster by my definition, however I opted for the Titan and all its wooly tubey goodness. :smug:
 
#623
I guess the question was intended to be if you wanted a strong solid state amp like the Carbine as your foundation but ALSO wanted to option to get a tubey tone on occasion would this amp plus a n effect pedal do it for you?

thanks

MB
 
#625
Frankie Fender said:
Agreed, it was an observation in response to his question. I thought the M-class does SS great and would much prefer them over an Eden or SWR if that were my style. They are quite impressive and now I know what all the fuss is about and IMO it is well justified. The M9 is indeed a monster by my definition, however I opted for the Titan and all its wooly tubey goodness. :smug:
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Ah, sorry! I didn't read back far enough in the thread:)
 
#626
After 29 days of agonizing, multiple rehearsals/ auditions, the Fathom was returned to the store. Don't flame, I'm going to get to the point and I'm ultimately looking for suggestions. This gear is for my kid who is 15. He is a very accomplished player and does a lot of work with some great local bands.

He has a Bassman 150 that he loves with his basses, specifically an Ibanez BTB455QM and this old Boogie Bodies P/J with the old Seymour actives with dip switches.

Trouble is, THAT Bassman tone was never achieved through the Mesa, no matter what. The stack is a Diesel 210 and 115. Curious, we removed the head from the Bassman and plugged into the stack and voila. Same tone.

Not enough volume, though. Make a suggestion please. No arguing and play nice.

Peace.
 
#627
Doufuss said:
After 29 days of agonizing, multiple rehearsals/ auditions, the Fathom was returned to the store. Don't flame, I'm going to get to the point and I'm ultimately looking for suggestions. This gear is for my kid who is 15. He is a very accomplished player and does a lot of work with some great local bands.

He has a Bassman 150 that he loves with his basses, specifically an Ibanez BTB455QM and this old Boogie Bodies P/J with the old Seymour actives with dip switches.

Trouble is, THAT Bassman tone was never achieved through the Mesa, no matter what. The stack is a Diesel 210 and 115. Curious, we removed the head from the Bassman and plugged into the stack and voila. Same tone.

Not enough volume, though. Make a suggestion please. No arguing and play nice.

Peace.
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Are you talking about this: http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Bassman-150-Bass-Combo-Amp?sku=480872 I have this combo, and I agree there's not enough volume.
 
#629
Part three will come at the 1000 post mark, or some 370-ish posts from now...

More power, bassman tone: you might like the mesa walkabout, but you might want to try a bmax-t or alembic preamp, and poweramp of your choice. Both of those are built using the Fender Tone Stack philosphy...as is the Mesa 400+...
 
#630
Chef said:
Part three will come at the 1000 post mark, or some 370-ish posts from now...

More power, bassman tone: you might like the mesa walkabout, but you might want to try a bmax-t or alembic preamp, and poweramp of your choice. Both of those are built using the Fender Tone Stack philosphy...as is the Mesa 400+...
Click to expand...

It depends what Bassman he is talking about. He referred to the Bassman 150, the solid-state 150 watt combo with a 12" speaker. This is the amp I have and it does not have the Fender tone stack. He could be referring to the all-tube Fender Bassman also. In that case, you are right.
 
#632
If that bassman 150 is the tone you just gotta have, and it has some sort of line out...just get a power amp to add to it and call it good.
 
#634
Doufuss said:
Ryan, you hit the nail on the head. It is the solid state Bassman 150 combo.

We also tried the Bassman 250 head with some cabs in the store, but no go.

Sorry about the thread hi-jack, this is my last post here
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Interesting, I have been running this amp for about a year and a half now, and I don't find anything special about the tone. It is certainly transparent and warm, and sounds good by itself, but in a live mix it doesn't have enough punch or volume. I'm currently saving up for a more powerful amp...

I'm curious, why didn't you like the Bassman 250?
Chef said:
If that bassman 150 is the tone you just gotta have, and it has some sort of line out...just get a power amp to add to it and call it good.
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It does have a line out in the front with a pre/post button. It would be a waste IMO to get a power amp because the 12" 4 ohm speaker wouldn't be able to handle much more power than 150 watts. You could use another cab(s) with a power amp, and use the Bassman 150 as a pre.
 
#638
tombowlus said:
Yup. You can read more about it, Invalid Link Removed, if you like. :cool:

Tom.
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That GC thing is really surprising. I understood that it got quite ugly when Mesa pulled out of GC a year or so ago (or maybe it was a bit longer).

Man, that will make it tough for all the mom and pops selling Mesa gear. There's a wonderful little shop in St. Louis that recently ordered a massive amount of Mesa gear due to it no longer being available at the big box stores. So much for that!
 
#639
KJung said:
That GC thing is really surprising. I understood that it got quite ugly when Mesa pulled out of GC a year or so ago (or maybe it was a bit longer).

Man, that will make it tough for all the mom and pops selling Mesa gear. There's a wonderful little shop in St. Louis that recently ordered a massive amount of Mesa gear due to it no longer being available at the big box stores. So much for that!
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I think that's only typically true if the big box stores can kill the smaller stores on price, and unless Mesa is changing their pricing policy, that can't happen, so maybe it's really just about making it easier for folks to buy Mesa gear when they don't have a "local" dealer. Remember there was that whole thing about dealers supposedly breaking some (albeit not rigidly enforced) rule about shipping their products?

Anyway, time will tell, but I think the fixed pricing policy should hopefully make a big diff here.
 
#640
Vic said:
I think that's only typically true if the big box stores can kill the smaller stores on price, and unless Mesa is changing their pricing policy, that can't happen, so maybe it's really just about making it easier for folks to buy Mesa gear when they don't have a "local" dealer. Remember there was that whole thing about dealers supposedly breaking some (albeit not rigidly enforced) rule about shipping their products?

Anyway, time will tell, but I think the fixed pricing policy should hopefully make a big diff here.
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Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. The shop I'm familiar with has seen much more Mesa sales since they became the only store in town carrying them. When GC has a wall full, that will unfortunately divide the small pie in any given city.

That being said, it might be a good move for Mesa. However, given the delivery delays posted here, it doesn't seem like they have massive excess capacity to fill a much bigger distribution network. So, that, and the nightmare they seemed to have the GC previously seems to make this a strange business move to me, unless they are going to overseas production on some stuff (which I would doubt).
 
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