Mesa M6 Carbine Mega Thread

[Big String]

Hey Dean GK Fusion550 no joke bro

I'm on it, will take a look. thanx Joey

 

[MrBEAR]

Nice to see some of the, more prominent, posters at TB getting a chance to put the M6 Carbine through its paces. Puts the proof in the pudding so to speak and lends credence to the current ad campaign from Mesa touting “Tone Is Tone By Any Name”.

3.8 in-hand / 4.4 on-bench scores from Bass Gear Magazine and a KJung , rare, Ken A+, “ will most likely fuel the fires for bassists” looking for an extremely solid, 24 Lb., SS voice for their tone.

As mentioned elsewhere the M6 Carbine is voiced, out of the box, for electric bass guitar, and much like the Alembic pre-amps, in setting levels practice only, straight up on the tone controls is not necessarily flat.

Once again I would like to suggest that any audition of this amp begin with a request for a look at the Users Manual before plugging in.

Pay particular attention to what Mesa has to say regarding the Gain control, Mid control, and pull deep sections. Straight up = great is one of the EQ profiles in their EQ suggestions section. However straight up = great IS NOT flat by any means.

Cycling the Voice inductors through their settings with everything else straight up will give you an idea about what is happening with regards to EQ but by no means tells the whole story of what is possible.

So far, IME, and even though there are footswitch controls for all of the voice options, I cannot see using more than the Mute and one Voicing selections for on the fly changes live. Although after playing with them this morning I was able to obtain foreseeable use of voicing choices of 2 & 4 against the No Voicing option, (I would still only use the latching footswitches on 2 & 4 and forego the voicing 3 footswitch option as on/off options for the two choices presents less stage clutter), I personally would max out the footswitches at 3 with 2 voicing choices and the mute feature.

Voicing options 1 & 5, the extreme ones, are useable if you tweak and listen, your cab of choice may cry Uncle, however those choices are probably more useful for making an initial bass voice statement on a recording that you are doing for yourself/or band and understand the impact of those choices on the resulting recorded track.

FWIW, pay particular attention to what the initial gain stage has to offer. Mesa states that below 12:00 (noon) there is an inherent scoop voicing while past 12:00 (noon) to 2:00 there is a whole new world of tone that emerges.

I auditioned one, flipped out, and ordered an M6 Carbine Combo the first time I heard it in person. For me this is the Solid State Bass Amplifier I have been waiting for, for more than 20 years , which makes me a very happy and satisfied player.

As always IME & YMMV.

Cheers,

Mr. BEAR

 

[GRoberts]

Very cool post. And you combo is just so freaking cool looking too! I don't think I'd want to lift it in and out of my SUV however. But maybe I could slide it up and in, or slide it out and down. Hmmm.

Can't wait to check one out. I would love to pair an M6 with my Bergie AE410. That probably kicks! (as Tom Bowlus has alluded to!)

Nice to see some of the, more prominent, posters at TB getting a chance to put the M6 Carbine through its paces. Puts the proof in the pudding so to speak and lends credence to the current ad campaign from Mesa touting “Tone Is Tone By Any Name”.

3.8 in-hand / 4.4 on-bench scores from Bass Gear Magazine and a KJung , rare, Ken A+, “ will most likely fuel the fires for bassists” looking for an extremely solid, 24 Lb., SS voice for their tone.

As mentioned elsewhere the M6 Carbine is voiced, out of the box, for electric bass guitar, and much like the Alembic pre-amps, in setting levels practice only, straight up on the tone controls is not necessarily flat.

Once again I would like to suggest that any audition of this amp begin with a request for a look at the Users Manual before plugging in.

Pay particular attention to what Mesa has to say regarding the Gain control, Mid control, and pull deep sections. Straight up = great is one of the EQ profiles in their EQ suggestions section. However straight up = great IS NOT flat by any means.

Cycling the Voice inductors through their settings with everything else straight up will give you an idea about what is happening with regards to EQ but by no means tells the whole story of what is possible.

So far, IME, and even though there are footswitch controls for all of the voice options, I cannot see using more than the Mute and one Voicing selections for on the fly changes live. Although after playing with them this morning I was able to obtain foreseeable use of voicing choices of 2 & 4 against the No Voicing option, (I would still only use the latching footswitches on 2 & 4 and forego the voicing 3 footswitch option as on/off options for the two choices presents less stage clutter), I personally would max out the footswitches at 3 with 2 voicing choices and the mute feature.

Voicing options 1 & 5, the extreme ones, are useable if you tweak and listen, your cab of choice may cry Uncle, however those choices are probably more useful for making an initial bass voice statement on a recording that you are doing for yourself/or band and understand the impact of those choices on the resulting recorded track.

FWIW, pay particular attention to what the initial gain stage has to offer. Mesa states that below 12:00 (noon) there is an inherent scoop voicing while past 12:00 (noon) to 2:00 there is a whole new world of tone that emerges.

I auditioned one, flipped out, and ordered an M6 Carbine Combo the first time I heard it in person. For me this is the Solid State Bass Amplifier I have been waiting for, for more than 20 years , which makes me a very happy and satisfied player.

As always IME & YMMV.

Cheers,

Mr. BEAR

 

[MrBEAR]

Very cool post. And you combo is just so freaking cool looking too! I don't think I'd want to lift it in and out of my SUV however. But maybe I could slide it up and in, or slide it out and down. Hmmm.

Can't wait to check one out. I would love to pair an M6 with my Bergie AE410. That probably kicks! (as Tom Bowlus has alluded to!)

I can only imagine but I trust Tom's call on the AE410 pairing.

At 110 Lbs., give or take a couple, I have no problem hoisting that combo in and out of the trunk of a Ford Five Hundred alone or even better with help. Up or down, sliding with the skid molding, into/out of an SUV would be a piece of cake.

Once it is up/down, from the conveyance of choice, the handle and roller blade wheels are so easy to use portability is no longer an issue.

Cheers,

Mr. BEAR

 

[J.Wolf]

BTW. I forgot to give a post gig report from the other day.

So um....... this amp absolutely killed in a blues funk setting (with the rig I posted on the previous page). I thought it sounded amazing, but what really blew me away was the number of people who commented on my tone that night. Everyone in the band unanimously thought that it was the best sounding rig far and away for that style of music that I have showed up to a gig with. Really it was the soundmen and the audience members comment's that hit home. The soundman thought it was the perfect bass tone, even the bassplaying doorman wanted to come check out the eq settings, he thought it sounded so good. My amp was roaringly loud with the master on 3, and the EW didn't fart once..

so there you have it, directly from the horses mouth. Can't argue with that.

I was in tone heaven on that gig, thats for sure.

 

[GRoberts]

Was that the M6/AE410 rig?

What is "EW" didn't fart once? Missed me.

BTW. I forgot to give a post gig report from the other day.

So um....... this amp absolutely killed in a blues funk setting (with the rig I posted on the previous page). I thought it sounded amazing, but what really blew me away was the number of people who commented on my tone that night. Everyone in the band unanimously thought that it was the best sounding rig far and away for that style of music that I have showed up to a gig with. Really it was the soundmen and the audience members comment's that hit home. The soundman thought it was the perfect bass tone, even the bassplaying doorman wanted to come check out the eq settings, he thought it sounded so good. My amp was roaringly loud with the master on 3, and the EW didn't fart once..

so there you have it, directly from the horses mouth. Can't argue with that.

I was in tone heaven on that gig, thats for sure.

 

[CaptainWally]

Was that the M6/AE410 rig?

What is "EW" didn't fart once? Missed me.

EW= El Whappo

I wonder if my Bergie stack would crack one off w/ that.

 

[Big String]

You guys are killing me.... I've called around to see if there is one to audtion with my AE410. None yet.

 

[CaptainWally]

You guys are killing me.... I've called around to see if there is one to audtion with my AE410. None yet.

It's weird how difficult Mesa makes it to get a hold of their products, IMO.

 

[Big String]

It's weird how difficult Mesa makes it to get a hold of their products, IMO.

Certainly seems that way.

Anyone care to take a stab at a M6 vs. DB750
Both are mosfet equipped ...

 

[MrBEAR]

BTW. I forgot to give a post gig report from the other day.

So um....... this amp absolutely killed in a blues funk setting (with the rig I posted on the previous page). I thought it sounded amazing, but what really blew me away was the number of people who commented on my tone that night. Everyone in the band unanimously thought that it was the best sounding rig far and away for that style of music that I have showed up to a gig with. Really it was the soundmen and the audience members comment's that hit home. The soundman thought it was the perfect bass tone, even the bassplaying doorman wanted to come check out the eq settings, he thought it sounded so good. My amp was roaringly loud with the master on 3, and the EW didn't fart once..

so there you have it, directly from the horses mouth. Can't argue with that.

I was in tone heaven on that gig, thats for sure.

If by 3 (three) you mean 9:00 I can hear what you were hearing. I have yet to go past 9:00, even outdoors with FOH support, since the M6 Carbine is so articulate and punchy. Until now I have never been able to hear and feel an on on-stage presence, from my previous bass rigs, anywhere near what I have now.

It is rather intimidating to the rest of the band, and at the same time as supportive of them, but most of the time I have found a need to lower the on-stage volume and add some bottom when running without FOH because of the upper mid punch that the M6 Carbine offers up, and presents to the dance floor.

The upside is that the guitar players I work with have removed the bottom end from their tone so they too can be heard as well as I am.

Win/Win in my book.

Also like WolfBass1025 every FOH BE, especially female (they really do have better hearing abilities than dudes), has been extremely receptive of the tone output (pre & post EQ DI) and interested in the M6 Carbine EQ as well. Life is good with the Mesa M6 Carbine in the mix.

Cheers,

Mr. BEAR

 

[J.Wolf]

If by 3 (three) you mean 9:00 I can hear what you were hearing.

Yes, thats what I meant, 9:00. Its freakin loud, but I think as you said, alot of that perceived volume comes from the articulate present nature of the amps voicing. I could see how it being too bright and crispy for some..... enter the fatdrive

 

[MrBEAR]

Yes, thats what I meant, 9:00. Its freakin loud, but I think as you said, alot of that perceived volume comes from the articulate present nature of the amps voicing. I could see how it being too bright and crispy for some..... enter the fatdrive

Too Cool!

Being able to reference what others are obtaining out of this incredible amp is helpful.

Have you visited what the M6 Carbine is capable of at the 12:00 to 2:00 gain settings yet?

I have found that even 7:00 - 7:30 on the master is still bone jarring when the gain is in that area and the EQ is appropriate to the smoothed out tube tone generation. (referring to the scooped voicing below 12:00 as described in the Mesa M6 Carbine Manual)

Cheers,

Mr. BEAR

 

[asherthemachine]

contemplating getting another svt-cl. talk me out of it. is this is better choice? better being a relative term

 

[tombowlus]

Certainly seems that way.

Anyone care to take a stab at a M6 vs. DB750
Both are mosfet equipped ...

I could have sworn that I had remarked on that exact comparison already....

 

[Big String]

Yes, thats what I meant, 9:00. Its freakin loud, but I think as you said, alot of that perceived volume comes from the articulate present nature of the amps voicing. I could see how it being too bright and crispy for some..... enter the fatdrive

Wolf
so.. I take it the M6 "delivered" what the LMII didn't ?
If you'd care to elaborate I'd appreciate it for one.

Bear,
Thanks for all the useful info. thumb!

 

[Big String]

I could have sworn that I had remarked on that exact comparison already....

Prolly. I'll see if I can dig it up or are you referring to the pm?
I save most of my pm's but still fish for other commentary. It's sort of a G.A.S.X for me.

 

[KJung]

I could have sworn that I had remarked on that exact comparison already....

Me too

 

[KJung]

Wolf
so.. I take it the M6 "delivered" what the LMII didn't ?
If you'd care to elaborate I'd appreciate it for one.

I would think if you dig the F1 and LMII, you would dig this head. It's clean and has that aggressive mid thing (more similar to the F1 than the LMII). It's 20 pounds heavier and about 4 times the size... and it puts out a bit more oomph as you would expect.

 

[Big String]

Thanks guys.
Admit it, you love to comment even if it's a re-question.