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Mesa M6 Carbine Mega Thread
- Thread starter Coelho
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hey guys quick question. Im playing at a pretty large venue tomorrow and its the first time i have used my Fathom in such a place. I will be going into the House PA also, so what volume should i keep the DI at? I know you can change it, but what are the benefits?
I have not played the 1001RB but I have had the original 1000RB as well as a 200RB as a preamp and an 800RB. I was able to get a very good Duf Mckagan type tone from welcome to the Jungle. Very versitile. Old school to grinding rock.
Vic,
Need some help man. You know I tried the HS210/AE210 combo this weekend (Thanks BTW) with several different heads (Mesa BB750, Aguilar DB659/QSC, and Eden 405) and the Eden Berg combo was just heaven. Warm but still articulate and fast. Since your a big proponent of the Eden 405 can you do a quick comparison for your buddy. I tried one of the M6 Carbines through a Mesa 410 and only spent about 5 minutes with it, which I know is not enough to get an accurate measure of its tonal options, but my first opinion was too bright and not enough low end. I thought this might go well with the Epifani UL410, but thought it might be too aggressive through the berg stuff (since I play over the bridge pickup, Tom).
Thanks
Need some help man. You know I tried the HS210/AE210 combo this weekend (Thanks BTW) with several different heads (Mesa BB750, Aguilar DB659/QSC, and Eden 405) and the Eden Berg combo was just heaven. Warm but still articulate and fast. Since your a big proponent of the Eden 405 can you do a quick comparison for your buddy. I tried one of the M6 Carbines through a Mesa 410 and only spent about 5 minutes with it, which I know is not enough to get an accurate measure of its tonal options, but my first opinion was too bright and not enough low end. I thought this might go well with the Epifani UL410, but thought it might be too aggressive through the berg stuff (since I play over the bridge pickup, Tom).
Thanks
My feeling is just the opposite on this. The M6 I've spent some time with is HUGE on the low end, and if anything, lacks a low mid push. I would guess this head would be way too wide for the 410UL (just guessing there). It seems like a dream voicing with the newer, tighter voiced Berg cabs like the AE or HS line.
However, again, this head is NOT your father's Mesa. It is bright, quick, and quite solid state sounding to me.. hence quicker, brighter, cleaner than what most would consider the 'Mesa tone'.
I'm with Vic on the volume thing.. simply stunning, and the low end is as big and full as anything I've ever heard. If I ever needed a true 'lead sled' sort of thing (which I don't), this would be the head I would consider. While not lightweight (around 35 pounds in a lightweight rack), it's a heck of a lot lighter and smaller than the Glock HR and DB750, and seems to put out, if anything, more wump.
One thing I did notice (I again spent some time with the M6 at Gravity strings this weekend) is that the tone shaping still has that very 'interactive' thing going on like the other Mesa's (in other words, a little bit of tweak on the mids versus the bass control TOTALLY changes the amp's voicing... many times to the negative). However, it sounds darn good flat, and that mid boost and cut control is very nice in the 'one click to boost' mode if you like it punchy and grindy, but still quick sounding.
The more I play this head, quite frankly, the less GAS I have for one (since I'm pretty happy with my current collection of heads). However, if I was playing in a more rock oriented context and had someone to roadie my rig, I'd specify the M6 with the Mesa 610. My gosh, what an aggressive but still articulate rig. The Mesa 610 was so heavy I couldn't even easily tilt it back to check the weight!
I don't know what the Mesa 610 wieghs but, my NV 610 I'm sure isn't quite as heavy. Anyone tried the Carbine with one of these cabs yet?
Chef
In Memoriam
If I'm gonna carry that much weight, it's gonna be in the form of a cheerleader.
I like my cheerleaders around a 110 pounds thank you!
+1
Always a good starting point anyway, and they'll tell you if you need to tweak it.
If I'm gonna carry that much weight, it's gonna be in the form of a cheerleader.
toooooo funny LOL
I gotta' go 1/2 and 1/2 with Ken on this.
I'm with him that there's plenty of rich low end coming from this head.
Where we disagree is it not working well with the UL410. I will give him this, tho... in one venue I did cut the bass control a little, but not too much. mostly tho, I left it flat. Cory, you know what ITB is like... loud and crowded, so punch is critical if I'm gonna' do more than just add mud. The M6 was an effortless setup. It just sounded great with only minor tweaks. In fact, so great, I'm not sure I'd ever use any of the profiles.
That said, I can ALSO see it working fantastically well with the Bergs. There's so much meat and potatoes and range coming from this head I'd be surprised, really, if it didn't sound good with almost anything.
IMHO, there are only two "downfalls" to this head...
1.) Weight... with todays technical advances, a 24 pound head is kinda' heavy.
2.) Limited EQ... while this heads tonal base is so close to my sound, the limited EQ is not at all an issue, however, if the head was not based as close to someones tone, it'd be a limitation. Thing is, for me, that's a moot point anyway. My rule of thumb is, if I plug into a head and I find myself immediately turning knobs to try and "fix" something, I unplug and move on. It's just that simple. There's enough choices out there that it should never be the case that you can't find a head that doesn't start out sounding great to you "flat".
Thanks Vic,
I want to say my time with it was not sufficient so I still reserve judgment on it until I can spend some more time with it. Vic, Don't give it back untill I can hear it thru the HS210/AE210 combo this week. Overall is it as warm as the Eden 405? I really find the Eden 405 to be really warm sounding, better than the LMII (IMHO) and with sweeter mids. The sound guy thought I was using a tube pre, but was baffled becuase of the quickness/clarity. So if the Mesa can do this with more power/headroom and a mute that works the DI, I might to pick one up. The local Mesa dealer is a great guy and actually attends the same church as me so giving him so biz would be great.
I want to say my time with it was not sufficient so I still reserve judgment on it until I can spend some more time with it. Vic, Don't give it back untill I can hear it thru the HS210/AE210 combo this week
. Overall is it as warm as the Eden 405? I really find the Eden 405 to be really warm sounding, better than the LMII (IMHO) and with sweeter mids. The sound guy thought I was using a tube pre, but was baffled becuase of the quickness/clarity. So if the Mesa can do this with more power/headroom and a mute that works the DI, I might to pick one up. The local Mesa dealer is a great guy and actually attends the same church as me so giving him so biz would be great.
PM sent.Thanks Vic,
I want to say my time with it was not sufficient so I still reserve judgment on it until I can spend some more time with it. Vic, Don't give it back untill I can hear it thru the HS210/AE210 combo this week
Yes, it does all this.
I didn't A/B the 405 to the M6, so I can't say how similar/different they are other than to say I like them both equally, which is saying a lot.
I think that might have more to do with its low center of gravity than its weight. It is a heavy cab, no doubt about it, but I think the lower center of gravity makes it harder to move than anything else.
My 810 which weighs about 40 lbs more is a lot easier to move because it tilts back so easily because of the higher COG.
I'm all for the higher weight in mesa cabs though... it's all for a good cause. Check out the first page of this catalog... it goes over the internal construction. There is definitely a lot of thought going into these cabs.
http://mesaboogie.com/catalog/Acrobats-AUG07/BassCABS-p74-79.pdf
The 610 sounds totally, completely killer. Again, if I was playing a very loud rock type gig in a band situation (where I know I could get help with the schlep), I'd be ALL over that rig. For my playing style, it wouldn't really make sense, but +1 to your comments of quality and great tone. They look great also. And, nice to see they went throught the trouble of getting the right impedance drivers to make it a 4ohm cab versus 2.67 or whatever. Very nice all the way around.
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