Mesa M9 mega thread

[Fretless5verfan]

the mesa headcase is heavy, and offers not so great protection, while looking really great.

i carry mine in a 2 space skb hard rack. cools fine, and it's really small and light.

the rear clamp on cover has enough space for all my cables.

IME...

I actually think it offers great protection unless you happen to slam the exposed face/rear of the head exactly the right way to miss the head overhang and side guards. That's incredibly unlikely when you're carrying the head by the handles, and once you open the rack, they are basically offering the same protection more or less. IMHO the headcase offers better protection when in playing position. A famous player using my rig was goofy for a moment and almost took a knob off my carbine with his headstock, but it glanced off the headcase instead because the face of the amp is recessed into it. If it had been in a normal case, i would have been asking Mesa for a new Master Vol lol. To this day I don't have even a scratch on that head and i've easily played 75-100 gigs with it. The headcase is even still clean looking.

YMMV, IMHO, etc. of course.

 

[Genghis Khan]

The M9 Arrived today (23 December), very fast turn around, it arrived at Boogie Hollywood Friday (17 December).
I should point out that my amp didn't overheat or blow or whatever some have done. No problems at all, just a preventive move on my part.
What I notice right off is lid venting and the little internal fan setup. Pics below.
I have to say John at HW Boogie is the man, always clean precise work, bravo John!

 

[Crabby]

Very nice Mr Khan! My updated M9 arrived the day before (Dec 22) at my retailer and I rushed over to pick her up on my lunch break. She was packaged up in a Mesa box and I didn't open it up until I got back to work. To my dismay, when I opened up the box, one of the rack ears was bent back, the paint was chipped and peeling on the front and there were some scratches on the faceplate that were not there before. Not sure what happened but after waiting well over two months for my amp I was pretty bummed out.

But yesterday I received a call from the store and they had procured me a minty fresh and fully updated M9 from another branch and had it waiting for me. I picked her up after work and I have to say, my new M9 seems a lot quieter then the original one despite having two fans. I had almost forgotten how good this amp sounds. Getting her back in time for the holidays was so nice as I won't have to commute into town to pick it up and can enjoy it over the next week. What a machine! great to know that the new ones have all the upgrades my original one was missing. My first one had a serial number under 100 and the new one is in the 600's.

 

[Chef]

yessir, that should be current production. nice.

 

[Chef]

genghis: yessir, that looks like mine inside, and the cover too.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I picked her up after work and I have to say, my new M9 seems a lot quieter then the original one despite having two fans.

You know I thought the same thing, glad I'm not the only one who thinks that the M9 is quieter than before.
I was told a few components were going to be changed to accommodate the second fan so maybe that has something to do with it......or maybe it's some odd coincidental noise canceling between the two fans LOL.
Now I really have to upgrade the 12's in my SWR cabs or I'll blow em.

 

[Crabby]

Quieter is a good thing for sure! I am so happy with this amp. There doesn't seem to be a bad sound in it. Everything is very usable and well thought out.

 

[babebambi]

you two are talking about less noise from the chassis fans, aren't you ... ?

 

[Crabby]

Yes, the fan was quite loud in my original M9 and now that it has dual fans, it seems a lot quieter.

 

[rockstarbassist]

That sucks about your rig! I'm of no help really as I just got my M9 a few weeks ago, and just had my first gig and then rehearsal with it.

The sound is just what I was looking for. The Mesa tone, but with a quicker, more articulate attack, if that makes sense. I loved the MP600, still do, but it never felt "fast" enough for me whereas the M9 is just "there".

I ran it through one 8 ohm PH212 for our show last weekend and it was plenty loud but of course I didn't want to murder everyone and ended up fighting with the stupid FOH guy about actually turning on my monitor and putting bass thru it which he refused, so I just went to GC on Saturday and got another PH212 LOL. Then we had rehearsal at our new spot that night and WOW- both of those cabs paired with the M9 is just ridiculously loud, even against TWO full Marshall stacks and a drummer + PA. I probably had it under the 9:00 mark and it was just crushing. I probably will just use my top cab (I have 'em stacked vertically) for rehearsals since I don't need both and I'm glad I went with the 2xPH212 route instead of the PH412 again just b/c they're so easy to move and one gets plenty friggin' loud.

Still playing with the Graphic EQ a bit as well as the Voicings (anyone else notice o nthe M9 they don't show the "curves" like on the M6?? ) and will probably incorporate the onboard compressor again actually. I really liked it on the MP600.

All in all, very very pleased but hey, it says MESA on the front so how could I not be?

 

[breanna_reilly]

Hey guys,
I just wanted to see if anyone has any ideas / suggestions regarding an issue I'm having with my beautiful Mesa rig.
A few months ago I purchased the m9 carbine, powerhouse 115 and powerhouse 210 (both 8 ohm cabs). Such a great rig, I love the sounds I can get from it. I upgraded to this from my old rig, Eden WT800C & 410XST, which really annoyed me in the end (blew 2 speakers at a gig, not enough head room).
So I have this amazing Mesa rig now, and I run my Sadowsky UV 5 though it.
Anyway, on a couple of different occasions at gigs while I was playing, the amp has just shut itself off and I have no sound. It soon turns itself back on after a minute or so. The amp itself is not hot, just warm. I run the gain around 12 o'clock, and the master at around 11-12 o'clock.
Would it be shutting off because I'm running it too hard?
I played a New Years Eve gig last week where things got a tad worse. It was actually the count down to New Years. We were playing, and as we counted down from '10', my amp shut off, as I have seen it do before. As you could imagine, this really sucked happening on the count down. So by the time we arrived at '1', and the 'Happy New Year' screaming, my bottom 15 cabinet actually had smoke billowing out of it.
That also really sucked. lol.
I'm in rural NSW, and going to take it to Canberra to the place I bought it from as soon as I can, but I just wondered if anyone has heard of this happening, and also why it would do that?
Thanks.
Breanna.
Invalid Link Removed

 

[Chef]

Breanna:
with all due respect, I can't imagine ever needing to push that rig, that hard....
smoke coming out of the speaker is because you were pushing it hard enough to melt the voice coil, i'd bet.
the early M9's did have some problems as you describe. later models were updated with vented top covers, a second internal fan, and some other things. you should find an authorised mesa service center to get yours up to current spec.
however, you surely need to make a different choice with speakers. i'm not at all surprised that they failed as you used them. you need a speaker choice designed to handle more watts, and something with a lot more cone area to get you where you want to be. two 410's, at a minimum would be a good starting point.

 

[breanna_reilly]

I was pretty much just at the volume I needed to be on stage to match the drummer, guitarist and singer.
I think mine is the newer m9, not the older one as you described. I will check that though.
Ok then, so I need to think about different cabinets. What do you suggest? The reason I chose the set up I did, was so I could move it myself. Being female, I just wasn't able to lift my other 410 by myself. The 115 and 210 cabs are rated at 600 watts each. Would there be another option that would solve the weight/size issue, but also meet the needs as you suggested?
Thanks for your help.

 

[rockstarbassist]

Breanna:
with all due respect, I can't imagine ever needing to push that rig, that hard....
smoke coming out of the speaker is because you were pushing it hard enough to melt the voice coil, i'd bet.
the early M9's did have some problems as you describe. later models were updated with vented top covers, a second internal fan, and some other things. you should find an authorised mesa service center to get yours up to current spec.
however, you surely need to make a different choice with speakers. i'm not at all surprised that they failed as you used them. you need a speaker choice designed to handle more watts, and something with a lot more cone area to get you where you want to be. two 410's, at a minimum would be a good starting point.

Am I reading her initial post right? Just Noon and Noon on the Gain and master? You think that'd be enough to kill both of those cabs?

 

[breanna_reilly]

Yep, gain at noon and master a little below.

 

[Chef]

Yessir, I do, especially if you have a bottom heavy eq!

I've never, ever needed to play my M9 louder than 1 oclock on input gain, and about 9 oclock on the master. I typically use something like an Epi UL410, or some other high end, efficient, lightweight cab.

If I were in a band that required more than that, it'd need to come thru PA support, as more than that is going into territory where I need earplugs, and being able to actively hear well to accuratley blend myself into vocals and instuments in the mix, and maintain entertaining dynamics becomes unapproachable...to me...ymmv, of course.

Breanna, I totally get the need for cabs you can readily move yourself.
There are quite a few nice ways to combine lighter weight with lots of cone area anymore.
The Fearful-style 15/6/horn type three way cabs...run two, add one of the subs, a pair of 12/6/horn...these are "build it yourself, or have a contractor build them," and not storebought, at this time.
Epifani UL410 or UL610
Bergantino AE410 or 212
Genz Benz Uber line

You might need pair of any of the above to meet you Db needs, and they're all fairly different flavors, so it would really be nice to audition them before buying.

You might want to start a separate thread and ask some "lightweight, hi power, hi spl" speaker questions.....

 

[rockstarbassist]

Wow, good to know! Granted, as I stated in my initial review post, with my Gain at Noon and the Master at about 8:30 I'm deafening our room through the PH212 stack, so makes sense.

 

[breanna_reilly]

Oh, I forgot to mention. The amp and 210 cab are both fine, no probs. It's just the 115 box.

 

[babebambi]

Hey guys,
I just wanted to see if anyone has any ideas / suggestions regarding an issue I'm having with my beautiful Mesa rig.
A few months ago I purchased the m9 carbine, powerhouse 115 and powerhouse 210 (both 8 ohm cabs). Such a great rig, I love the sounds I can get from it. I upgraded to this from my old rig, Eden WT800C & 410XST, which really annoyed me in the end (blew 2 speakers at a gig, not enough head room).
So I have this amazing Mesa rig now, and I run my Sadowsky UV 5 though it.
Anyway, on a couple of different occasions at gigs while I was playing, the amp has just shut itself off and I have no sound. It soon turns itself back on after a minute or so. The amp itself is not hot, just warm. I run the gain around 12 o'clock, and the master at around 11-12 o'clock.
Would it be shutting off because I'm running it too hard?
I played a New Years Eve gig last week where things got a tad worse. It was actually the count down to New Years. We were playing, and as we counted down from '10', my amp shut off, as I have seen it do before. As you could imagine, this really sucked happening on the count down. So by the time we arrived at '1', and the 'Happy New Year' screaming, my bottom 15 cabinet actually had smoke billowing out of it.
That also really sucked. lol.
I'm in rural NSW, and going to take it to Canberra to the place I bought it from as soon as I can, but I just wondered if anyone has heard of this happening, and also why it would do that?
Thanks.
Breanna.
Invalid Link Removed

You must be pushing your rigs really hard, given that you've blown a 410xst with a WT800; and now possibly the PH cabs too. Sorry about your NYE gig.

I had use my M9 with 2x HT115 (8ohm 400w) with both gain and master at noon with very good result, even thou the head was a little hot. Maybe your bass has much stronger signal, or you are boosting a lot (too much?) on your EQ.

If the head is not hot but shut off, it is very likely that the speaker(s) had short out. May be you should consider adding more cab(s). Seeing that you smoked the PH115, you may consider adding two more identical cabs to your surviving PH210 (you can look up the benefit of using identical cabs). Still ok to move by a girl because it's modular. I use between 1x to 4x HT115 depending on volume needed, and the M9 can power the stack because it is 2 ohm stable. I only need help when stacking that fourth cab on the top.

 

[John D Harris]

I was pretty much just at the volume I needed to be on stage to match the drummer, guitarist and singer.
I think mine is the newer m9, not the older one as you described. I will check that though.
Ok then, so I need to think about different cabinets. What do you suggest? The reason I chose the set up I did, was so I could move it myself. Being female, I just wasn't able to lift my other 410 by myself. The 115 and 210 cabs are rated at 600 watts each. Would there be another option that would solve the weight/size issue, but also meet the needs as you suggested?
Thanks for your help.

Check out the Bergantinov AE410 + AE210 or a pair of AE212.