Mesa M9 Carbine Power Reduced?

[bunkaroo]

I was hoping to give one of these a go at NAMM but it looks like Mesa isn't even on the exhibitor list. Going to just have to put them out of my mind at this point I think. A shame really.

 

[Bassgeer]

Derated to 500 watts. Happy new year.

Cheers, Thanks!

 

[MesaBoogie]

Derated to 500 watts. Happy new year.

The M6 Carbine is indeed 600w output, sorry for any confusion during our update on the M9. Thanks!

 

[MesaBoogie]

I was hoping to give one of these a go at NAMM but it looks like Mesa isn't even on the exhibitor list. Going to just have to put them out of my mind at this point I think. A shame really.

MESA will not be exhibiting at NAMM this year - this will be the 3rd year we haven't attended. If you're familiar with NAMM over the years, its changed quite a bit from the trade show it once was - so we've made the decision not to be a part of the exhibition. We will have a couple of our staff there if needed.

If you're in the LA area, be sure to check one out at an authorized dealer or the MESA Hollywood store. Thanks!

 

[bunkaroo]

Thanks - unfortunately won't be around LA that weekend.

 

[B-string]

The M6 Carbine is indeed 600w output, sorry for any confusion during our update on the M9. Thanks!

Nice the info I offered was from your post which is now missing in action? Don't know what to believe now, I sure won't buy or trust one now.

 

[Dr Greenthumb]

Being a Mesa M9 owner, I gotta say, although I love the tone out of my amp and have never had reliability problems, I would definitely NOT recommend people to spend money on Mesa gear. Lying to customers is no way of conducting business and I'm surprised there aren't more people upset by this. The way I see it, Mesa owes me for the 300w missing from my amp. I paid for a 900w amp and was told I was buying a 900w amp. That is not what I have and Mesa knew it while their dealers kept and keep selling it as a 900w amp.

Not acceptable.

 

[sunbeast]

Nice the info I offered was from your post which is now missing in action? Don't know what to believe now, I sure won't buy or trust one now.

He is a PR man not an engineer, so you could probably cut him a little slack! It is true that the delay in releasing updated info about the M9 was unfortunate for anyone who bought one expecting 900 watts, but I haven't heard much convincing evidence that the M6 has been changed so significantly in a couple years. I have owned 6 different Mesa bass amps over the years and the only time I ever had a hiccup with one was my M6 bought right after they were released- they sent me a new amp immediately that had been updated and I have heard of precious few issues with the updated M6s since (the M9 is a different story- which is probably why they decided to downgrade it to the current reliable M6 specs).

From what I gather they are now just using the same power module for both Carbine amps- possibly the same module used in the now discontinued M-Pulse 600.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

......The way I see it, Mesa owes me for the 300w missing from my amp. I paid for a 900w amp and was told I was buying a 900w amp. That is not what I have and Mesa knew it while their dealers kept and keep selling it as a 900w amp...Not acceptable.

+1. Had I bought an M9 before Mesa changed it's specs, I'd feel exactly the same way. I'm well aware that going from 900 watts to 600 watts doesn't make much of a "perceived" difference in volume, and the amp still has a great tone, but I also factor in dollar per watt when I pay my hard earned dollar for an amp.

I had been interested in the Strategy amp, but at this point, I'll follow the threads to see how it performs in the real world for at least a few years.

I am however very happy with my pair of Powerhouse 212's.

 

[Jackass76]

Late to the game here...sorry everyone...I'm kinda new, been a lurker for years....

I picked up the Mesa M9 Carbine SN#35 just after I first saw it at a local store in 2010. I loved that amp, but thought I got a dud...so, like a dope, I sold it, and have been running my back-up SWR 350X ever since.

It definitly went down due to thermal issues, but it was easily the tightest amp Ive ever had. I was asked by the bartender at the first gig I had it at to turn down a bit because I was shaking the bottles off the rack with just a Mesa 410PH - Thumbs up IMO!!!

Everytime I had an issue with it, Mesa was on top of it. Customer Service at Mesa is #1. If I had known when I got it back the last time that it had the power reduction, and it made the amp bullet-proof I would still be slaying with it. Im the dope who lost out here...

I am going to be upgrading my rig again in a few months because the 350X just doesnt have enough nut for some of the places we play when I have to run stand alone. I will be going back to Mesa. Not sure if it will be a M9 or a BB750. It will depend whats out there and what my ear and bass tells me when the time comes.

My 2 pennys...if its worth anything...

-EvB

 

[BassMonstrum]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but what is people's experience with the M3? I have a GK1001rb-II that is too loud for me and before that I had an Ampeg SVT-3PRO that wasn't loud enough. Where would the M3 Carbine be compared to these heads?

 

[Jim Carr]

Late to the game here...sorry everyone...I'm kinda new, been a lurker for years....

I picked up the Mesa M9 Carbine SN#35 just after I first saw it at a local store in 2010. I loved that amp, but thought I got a dud....Everytime I had an issue with it, Mesa was on top of it...If I had known when I got it back the last time that it had the power reduction, and it made the amp bullet-proof I would still be slaying with it....

Welcome!

I have #34—which was twice upgraded for cooling, but never had the two MOSFETS chopped off, so I wonder if your #35 had the same upgrade path. Do you know?

 

[Jim Carr]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but what is people's experience with the M3? I have a GK1001rb-II that is too loud for me and before that I had an Ampeg SVT-3PRO that wasn't loud enough. Where would the M3 Carbine be compared to these heads?

No worries, except how the heck is an amp with a volume control "too loud," LOL?

 

[BassMonstrum]

No worries, except how the heck is an amp with a volume control "too loud," LOL?

Well, not exactly too loud, but I don't need 700 watts. The volume is barely up, around 8.30 o'clock and that's plentt enough. I feel the amp isn't used to it's full potential.

 

[tombowlus]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but what is people's experience with the M3? I have a GK1001rb-II that is too loud for me and before that I had an Ampeg SVT-3PRO that wasn't loud enough. Where would the M3 Carbine be compared to these heads?

You may find our Link Removed helpful.

 

[BassMonstrum]

You may find our Link Removed helpful.

Interesting. So your saying there's very little difference between the M3 and M6 in perceived loudness and powa?

 

[tombowlus]

Interesting. So your saying there's very little difference between the M3 and M6 in perceived loudness and powa?

Alan did the M3 review, and I did the M6 review (back in issue #1). I did spend some time with the M3, and I do recall that the M6 was noticeably louder. Not night and day, but louder. I did not gig with the M3, though, so I can't really say if you'd notice the difference on the gig. My guess would be sometimes yes, sometimes no, depending on the gig (room size, stage volume, PA support, etc).

 

[MesaBoogie]

Interesting. So your saying there's very little difference between the M3 and M6 in perceived loudness and powa?

A doubling of wattage equals an increase by approximately 3db of output power. Thanks!

 

[B-string]

Hi All,

Sorry for the late reply - with the release of our new Recto-Verb 25 and the impending release of the Bass Strategy, I've been off the forums the last few days and am just getting caught up with these threads.

In an effort to address and improve field reliability in our M9 Carbine Amplifiers, our service and production team instituted some changes over time to further insure its reliability. Some of those changes had an effect on the overall output. Regrettably, there was a disconnect between them and our marketing, which is being corrected and updated now.

The M9 output for current production units is approximately 600 watts.

The reduction of output from 900 watts to 600 watts amounts to a reduction of output power by 1.5 dB in the M9 Carbine. To put this in a different context, it takes a DOUBLING of wattage to obtain a 3dB INCREASE in output power.

In our listening tests and gigging experiences, even with reduced output, the M9 continues to provide more than ample power to drive any single or multi-speaker/cabinet configuration.

For a short period of time, M9 Carbine amps between serial number 1275 and 1435 included a lowered driver sensitivity, which reduced the perceived output. Increasing the driver sensitivity (and the perceived output) on these units requires replacement of just 4 components in the driver circuit. This simple change is fully covered under warranty and can be facilitated by your local repair station or by making arrangements for direct repair with the Mesa Factory in Petaluma.

We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion and remain dedicated to Tone, Reliability and Customer Satisfaction. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mesa Customer Service via phone or the email contact options listed below – or – Direct Message “MesaBoogie” here on TalkBass. We look forward to answering your questions and addressing any concerns.

Mesa Customer Service
Monday-Thursday - 9AM-5PM
707 778 6565

Email - [email protected], OR -
http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/info.html

Hey guys, just joined the page, been reading posts on here for a long time. All the recent M9 postings of Mesa changing it to 600w got me thinking. Last year summer 2013 I bought a new M9 carbine, the first one I ordered was damaged from shipping (dent in exterior housing) but i used it until my new replacement arrived. One interesting thing I did notice was that the first M9 that I had (the one with shipping damage) had a very low overall volume (having to turn volume up to about 12'oclock vs. the new replacement unit I have being super loud at only 9' o'clock volume.

Both M9's were in the serial number range of 001275-001435 in which all or maybe only some have possibly stated "low driver output", I called Mesa today and one guy told me that my unit would need to be sent in for upgrade because it was within that serial number range, then i was forwarded to another gentleman that stated to me that because the new replacement unit was perceived to be louder than the first damaged unit i received then my new unit must already have the updated components even though it is within the supposed "low driver volume serial# range" but yet he could not verify or tell me how to verify if it was updated or not. ...so as of now I'm wondering and waiting to hear back from Mesa to see if my unit is 900w version or 600w version and if it currently has all updated components.

I also hope to find out when exactly this official change took place and what was the first serial # that was an official 600w unit. I am very pleased with my M9 now, but not knowing these things frustrates me, is there any components anyone knows of to look for under the hood to know if its updated? the cooling fan does sit sideways inside the unit vs the old style of being mounted in the back. Is the mosfet count different on updated versions? I will keep you guys updated when i hear back from Mesa.

I don't know what that quote above means anymore. Good luck getting a straight answer. Seems these were being sold as 900 watt amps for sometime after the output wattage change.

 

[Jackass76]

Welcome!

I have #34—which was twice upgraded for cooling, but never had the two MOSFETS chopped off, so I wonder if your #35 had the same upgrade path. Do you know?

Hey Jim, sorry for the delay getting back on here...been a little busy around here this week.

Not sure if it actually did have the power reduction and the MOSFETS removed, and at the time, i never thought to look into it...its been over 2 years since I let it go.

I just demoed a BB750 with a PH210 and PH410 stacked up (basically what my plan is for a new rig) this past weekend, I love the tone I got out of it with minimal effort, just wish i had my KH4 along with me. When I move on my next amp, I plan to add a PH210 and a M6, M9, or a BB750 after demoing them out for a bit. They are all amazing amps, so the choice is going to be tough. I think it also depends what I can find when the time comes.

Back to the discussion - I think the reduction in power is negligible in the big picture...the M6 and M9 are 600W, and BB750 is 550W all at 4ohms...realistically, it comes down to features and tone...not power rating...any of these will SLAY...given your cabinet selection. I am more of a tool over reliability and stability then with being so loud that I scare the people out of the venue or rip drivers apart. I guess my point is, if Mesa decided that by reducing the power output from 900W to 600W to make the M9 an extremely versatile AND reliable amp, then I agree with making the switch...the average dope like me is never going to play anywhere where you will have the amp pushing at full power - if the venue is that big, they will have house sound, and you will be DI'd anyway.