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Mesa m6 Carbine vs. Mesa Big Block 750

akane2

akane2

Sep 28, 2008
104
0
www.catalinarock.com
#1
Hey guys, i know theres tons of stuff about the Carbine here on tb, but i wanted to know which most people prefer. I would like a straight up answer the carbine or the big block?

I have a carbine right now, and sometimes it just isnt warm enough for me, and boy does it sound boomy at times! The "deep" switch just seems like a horrible (peavey-like) feature that really doesnt help the sound unless your going for muddy aweful-ness.

Anyways... i noticed there arent a whole lot of touring bands with M6 bass players? But ive seen tons of Bigblocks out there.

So which is better in terms of eq, and features? plus... do you think i could trade my fathom for a bb750?
 
#2
I'm very familiar with both.

VERY different products, with the BB750 being very warm, tubey and growly, with the ability to do a really driven, hard distortion if you so choose. The BB750 is meant to emulate an all tube amp as closely as possible with a hybrid IMO, and is the snarliest, grindiest of the Mesa hybrid line.

The M6 will BURY the BB750 volume and low end-wise at 4ohms. My guess is, they would be closer at 2ohms, but I never A/B'd at that impedance. The M6 is, as I've described it before, 'the Mesa amp for those who don't like Mesa amps'. While it is very warm and musical, it is MUCH more solid state sounding than tube, and has a very modern feel and tone... big open low end, but very crisp and clean up top.

EQ power is about the same and is quite similar, with the BB750 having simple bass, mid and treble controls and an extra band of active semi-parametric mids, and the M6 replacing that semi-parametric mid control with a multiple level mid boost and cut 5 way switch.

Both are great for what they are, but are very different.

IMO and IME.
 
#5
If you're going to do it, I'd go for the Titan. I didn't care for the BB750, but recently got a chance to demo the Titan and it was an awesome head - since the preamps are the same, I'm guessing the bigger power section of the Titan makes all the difference. The M6 will bury the BB750 in the volume department.
 
#10
RHCP250 said:
Not to thread-jack or anything, but where does the M-Pulse600 sit in this mix?
Click to expand...

Much fatter, warmer, bloomier and tubier than the M6, and much wider, cleaner, smoother and fatter than the more mid aggressive BB750. It's louder than the BB750 into 4ohms, but the bloomier, wider low end and smoother upper mids and top end make it not quite as aggressive and punchy as the M6.

So, it's really a different thing, and IMO would appeal to those who love the sound of an all tube amp run totally clean. I find the MPulse600 a bit fussy with cab matching, due to that very big, extended low end(similar to matching an all tube amp with a cab).

The MPulse600 (edit: fixed typo) has, by far, the most powerful EQ section of the bunch, along with an on-board compressor. So, regarding EQ, it's somewhat similar to the M9, which replaces the multi bands of semi-parametric EQ on the MPulse with a graphic EQ.
 
#11
I have a BB750 as my primary amp and agree with pretty much all that's been said above. The volume consideration at 4ohms seems to be the general complaint with it, and for that reason a lot of people like the big-brother V12. For me, the V12 is overkill and I don't need that kind of volume with the venues I play.**

I play a very wide open straightforward brand of rock. I dial in a mostly clean sound and add a little grit with the footswitchable overdrive. It emulates a cranked tube amp better than any non-tube amp, and its pretty much indestructible. The EQ options are limited, but I am a less is more kind of guy.

As for the Carbine; its a great amp. They are so different, though, that really the question is more about you and what you like as opposed to what we like.

** One last thing: Its worth noting that the 750 has a slave out with level control, so adding a power amp to the rack is very easy. FWIW.
 
#20
Old thread but I figured I'd chime in since I just A/B'd these amps.

The Carbine stuff is super clean. Very quick/fast, but to me it sounded thin and no amount of EQ warmed it up enough for me.

The BB750 was warmer, but still very fast/punchy/tight. It's designed for "rockers". It has a richness that the Carbine doesn't have.

I must say I'm a tube lover and just came back from my local Mesa dealer looking for a Walkabout tone, but louder. So I'm a bit biased toward the warmer glow of the BB750.
 

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