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Mesa M6 Carbine Mega Thread
- Thread starter Coelho
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Um.........Could someone please explain the "agressive sound" being described here? "Agressively articulate"?Are you referring to distortion?
It is not about distortion. Listen to hardcore tracks where the bass sound is very dry and flat.
- Apr 3, 2003
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- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Um.........Could someone please explain the "agressive sound" being described here? "Agressively articulate"?
No, it has a built in low-mid scoop and upper-mid bump, which makes is very clear and present. It is not distorted.
You can see the preamp frequency response curve in my review.
Tom.
I think when you call an amp a "Carbine" that the description "aggressive" seems to follow naturally. 
I played one of these through a Mesa 6x12 cabinet. Unsurprisingly, the sound was massive. I asked whether the cabinet came with an accessory pack that included two big guys to carry it around. When I was informed that this was not available, that was a deal-breaker.
I played one of these through a Mesa 6x12 cabinet. Unsurprisingly, the sound was massive. I asked whether the cabinet came with an accessory pack that included two big guys to carry it around. When I was informed that this was not available, that was a deal-breaker.
Coelho,
I have had an M6 Carbine, in the stock black and silver trim, for a little over a month now. Just did the cab swap at my gear shop for the originally ordered custom vinyl cab (see this thread for details) http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337173&page=16
I love it to death, so do the drummers and sound companies I work with, and all of the various geetard players absolutely hate it. They have all been forced to re-think their tone because of it.
Cheers,
Mr. BEAR
- Apr 29, 2003
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- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
I tried one the other day with my tri 112 and it was KILLER. I fell in love with it pretty quick actually, it sounded great. usually I don't go for mid presets, and the mute/master is a little unfortunate, but I just really dug the whole package, especially when I AB'd with the F1. I have an LMII, and now I'm pretty set on trading my F1 for an M6 (heh) if any of you guys are interested. 
O.k., thanks for that. I have a Walkabout Scout that I'll never part with. I saw today that my local shop has a Fathom head in (pre name change I guess). I'm headin' down Saturday to check it out. (I feel gas pains coming on....).
I tried one the other day with my tri 112 and it was KILLER. I fell in love with it pretty quick actually, it sounded great. usually I don't go for mid presets, and the mute/master is a little unfortunate, but I just really dug the whole package, especially when I AB'd with the F1. I have an LMII, and now I'm pretty set on trading my F1 for an M6 (heh) if any of you guys are interested.
Damn you Jake.....Now I have to have one. I plan on having the LMII for the clean tone/smaller gigs and the Carbine for the louder one's...I really need to track down one of these amps.
I have enjoyed the basic black and silver combo for about one month now, the orginal order for a custom vinyl cab arrived today. Enjoy or Drool at your discretion
Cheers,
Mr. BEAR
Cheers,
Mr. BEAR
My Carbine came last week. With that a Mesa Scout 1x12. If I start with the Carbine, I have read product reviews and tests done by others and I have become curious about it and when I was in Berlin two weeks ago, I happened to know that it was going to be demoed in a music shop.
The bass player played a six string bass with the Carbine that drove a 4x10, a four string in a 2x15 and Gary Willis bass in a 2x12, all the speakers where Powerhouse. He had pre-recorded music in different styles that he played to. It sounded so good that I ordered the Carbine and and a Scout 1x12.
I have only tried the setup with my 5-string fretless. In conclusion it sounds very articulate, direct and tight o punchy. One thing is clear and that is that you need to tweak the voice control to cooperate in conjunction with the bass, mid and treble. It is suitable for all musical styles I myself play soul, funk, blues and jazz
The reason I bought the Scout speaker was that I want to have a small light box to my trio and the upcoming Rob Allen MB-2 five. But my God, what a surprise, the Scout speaker will be used in many other contexts, it sounds very very good, playing both deep and highly for its size.
I have yet to try it with my fretted 5-string and my Epifani (S1) 4x10. All in all a very good and in your face amp with plenty of power that will sound awesome with most speakers (IMHO)
The bass player played a six string bass with the Carbine that drove a 4x10, a four string in a 2x15 and Gary Willis bass in a 2x12, all the speakers where Powerhouse. He had pre-recorded music in different styles that he played to. It sounded so good that I ordered the Carbine and and a Scout 1x12.
I have only tried the setup with my 5-string fretless. In conclusion it sounds very articulate, direct and tight o punchy. One thing is clear and that is that you need to tweak the voice control to cooperate in conjunction with the bass, mid and treble. It is suitable for all musical styles I myself play soul, funk, blues and jazz
The reason I bought the Scout speaker was that I want to have a small light box to my trio and the upcoming Rob Allen MB-2 five. But my God, what a surprise, the Scout speaker will be used in many other contexts, it sounds very very good, playing both deep and highly for its size.
I have yet to try it with my fretted 5-string and my Epifani (S1) 4x10. All in all a very good and in your face amp with plenty of power that will sound awesome with most speakers (IMHO)
Absolutely best sounding amp that I've ever played (of course that's my opinion... but I've been playing for like 19 years FWIW)... super articulate while still remaining warm. Big but not loose... and OMG is it frigging loud. I played it on like 1 at every show... I think on half volume it would be loud enough for a stadium show without reinforcement. ha
The bad... on the 5th show I used it... it started overheating and shutting down.
Mesa has it now... and I really hope that it's some strange anomaly because I really love that sound. DOH
The bad... on the 5th show I used it... it started overheating and shutting down.
Mesa has it now... and I really hope that it's some strange anomaly because I really love that sound. DOH
Sorry to hear about the shutdown/overheating problem.
I truely hope it is just an anomaly or build oops that is the culprit.
That said major uggh on my part. I have posted the pix of my custom cab build and have not had the time to present a users review, practice, band and personal, plus gigs have been eating away at my personal time and I have not been able to do a review, at least an IMHO style one, as even though the M6 Carbine has a simple controls format, there is a HUGE learning curve I did not expect due to the interactive nature of them.
Anyone that owns an M6 Carbine, and has read the manual, let alone listened with their ears, should know what I am referring to. So much tonal response and change occurs when engaging the pre-sets and interactive tone control the mind boggles. And then there is that sweet spot in the Gain control, between 12:00 and 2:00, that changes the tonal palette in oh so ever small increments. From a scooped tube sound below 12:00 to full on tube tone when set past 12:00.
That said, I have some down time coming up, 43 years of Bass Playing plus keyboard stress on my wrists from system analysis and programming has taken its toll, Carpal Tunnel surgery coming up at the end of the month, so I will have time to compose some thoughts on the M6 Carbine Combo for all to ponder.
Cheers,
Mr. BEAR
That's probably why I love the mesa products. Anything past 12:00 and the tiniest little nudge on the gain gives you completely different tones... and they're all good!
This is all true - the M6 is the first Mesa product I've actually owned, although I've demoed several in the stores. The controls on this amp seem pretty simple, but realistically you need to spend time with the amp and the manual to see everything it can do. I liked it in the store, really liked it at home when I spent some time with the manual, but loved it when I got it to rehearsal and saw the effect of all the controls in a real-world environment. It's perfect for me, and made the whole band sound better IMHO.
IIRC, the bass and treble control have different frequency centers depending on whether you cut or boost the signal. It's something I never thought of, but is very useful. Those two controls, along with the passive mid and the voice control, can give you a pretty wide variety of useful sounds. Add in the impact of the gain knob and you could tweak for days.
I'll try to get some sound samples recorded in the next couple of weeks.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
FWIW, we have a fairly grueling 1/2 power for 1/2 hour test of all amps tested at BGM, and the M6 passed with flying colors. I would definitely think that this situation is an anomaly.
Tom.
Thanks Tom for the enourging information.
IME I would hope that holds as gospel knowing Mesa's reputation for real world implemenation of TONE.
Cheers,
Mr. BEAR
I have been getting tired of carrying my Alembic F1-X/Crest CA-9 rack lately and have been pondering over an M6 Carbine. I would suspect that the Carbine could give me a similar tone and also be more versatile.
Do you think the Carbine could be as warm and sweet as the Alembic?
Do you think the Carbine could be as warm and sweet as the Alembic?
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