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Mesa M9 mega thread

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#601
The gig tonight went great and the M9 / Uber 410 sounded amazing - Even though I had to run it on idle (Gain just past noon and master about 8 O'clock). My guitarist said that this is the best sounding rig that I've had - and I've had plenty in the 7 years that we have played together. He said that he could hear all of my notes clearly and I can get pretty high up the fretboard at times. I'm still a little unsure about my compressor settings though. :confused: I guess it's working for now , but I still think I need some tweaking to do yet.
 
#602
For me, I use the compressor "just to make the low notes same size as the upper register notes."
In other words, if you're happy with G/D/A strings, but E/B are getting too bloomy/boomy or stand out as being much bigger than the rest, that's when I use the compressor to keep them from doing that. I'm not any kind of slapper, so using it for that isn't my thing.

I keep threshold at 9am, and use ration to determine how much the compressor is working. Generally, that's at 9 or 10 oclock, but last gig I did with it was a loud band, playing a old, very hot G&L L1000 with flats on it. That bass is a freakin' hammer, and I had ration up to 12 noon, where the click detent is, to keep the E string from causing too much speaker excursion at stupid volumes.

Hope that helps, my use may not be typical, etc.
 
#603
Chef said:
For me, I use the compressor "just to make the low notes same size as the upper register notes."
In other words, if you're happy with G/D/A strings, but E/B are getting too bloomy/boomy or stand out as being much bigger than the rest, that's when I use the compressor to keep them from doing that. I'm not any kind of slapper, so using it for that isn't my thing.

I keep threshold at 9am, and use ration to determine how much the compressor is working. Generally, that's at 9 or 10 oclock, but last gig I did with it was a loud band, playing a old, very hot G&L L1000 with flats on it. That bass is a freakin' hammer, and I had ration up to 12 noon, where the click detent is, to keep the E string from causing too much speaker excursion at stupid volumes.

Hope that helps, my use may not be typical, etc.
Click to expand...

Same here... light barely flashes when I dig in on the A, D, and G, but very useful for the B and E. I usually run at 9:00 and 9:00 with my active basses.
 
#605
Hey - Thanks guys! I've never had an amp with a built in compressor , and I'm not a pedal guy so I'm very green when it comes to compression. I tried a couple different pedals (none of the compression pedals) , but ended up selling them right away. I feel if that if I can't achieve a certain sound with my amp - I don't need it. I just like the sounds that come from my amp without effects - especially the M9 / Uber 410 combination!
 
#606
Just a post gig bump to say:
The Mesa M9 continues to be the one head I know that will make *every single bass I own* shine, effortlessly.
It delivers heft, clarity, punch, and a top end sheen that just can't be beat; period.

Yessir. Love it.
 
#608
Chef-I know you're not very into the fEarful thing, but have you heard the M9 through one? It seems like my LDS 15-6 and that head were made for each other. TBer Lookiel was over last month for a little GTG and he brought his AE212 and we had a bunch of gear....but the M9 -nEarful is what left him GASing. Still makes me smile. I was A-Bing it with a GB smax 9.2 through that cab and could not get the smax to sound exactly like the flat M9. Any idea what freq I should try cutting or boosting to do that? KsPINESH?
Seems to me I should be able to get that 9.2 to be a decent mimick.
 
#609
I had an LDS 15/6 for a while yes, and it was the only cab I ever played that made the M9 feel short on power; like at 8 ohms, it just wasn't enough to push that cab into being happy.
But, I didn't like that cab for other reasons as well...
I, personally, didn't care for the feel of that 18Sound mid-driver which always sounded harsh to me, and mine didn't have a horn, which just always makes me cranky:)

If I were doing a Fearful 15 again, I'd probably do two Em Alpha 6's, "even though that's not 'The Way'..."
I've had those before, and liked them lots better.

Someday, I will have a 12/6/1. The 4 ohm thing should help scenario A, and the horn thing will help, versus the not horn thing:)
 
#610
lomo said:
I was A-Bing it with a GB smax 9.2 through that cab and could not get the smax to sound exactly like the flat M9. Any idea what freq I should try cutting or boosting to do that? KsPINESH?
Seems to me I should be able to get that 9.2 to be a decent mimick.
Click to expand...

Supposing you want the GB to sound like voice 3 on the M9. I would begin with all three global filters engaged on the GB.
 
#611
lomo said:
I was A-Bing it with a GB smax 9.2 through that cab and could not get the smax to sound exactly like the flat M9. Any idea what freq I should try cutting or boosting to do that? KsPINESH?
Seems to me I should be able to get that 9.2 to be a decent mimick.
Click to expand...

Hmm... Pull Deep engaged or no? With the Pull Deep engaged, my GBE 1200 will have little in common with my M9 - they're in the same neighborhood, but the 1200 is much more forward and biting and can't touch the depth of the M9's low end. Without it, they are much more similar, but the overall tone of the GBE 1200 is rougher and more "solid state" to my ear. Haven't used the 9.2 myself, but to match Voice 3 I would try maybe engaging the LF Extend, backing down somewhere in the 200-250 Hz range, backing down some high mids, and backing down a bit of treble.
 
#612
I'm talking flat without the deep engaged-I never use that. For lack of better explanation, I simply cannot get the 9.2 to "hit as hard" as the M9. No matter, it's the M9 that plays out anyway :-)
 
#613
lomo said:
I'm talking flat without the deep engaged-I never use that. For lack of better explanation, I simply cannot get the 9.2 to "hit as hard" as the M9. No matter, it's the M9 that plays out anyway :-)
Click to expand...

Gotcha. I'd like to try a 9.2 myself, but I really have no reason to as the SL 900, GBE 1200, and M9 cover every tone I like. I've considered looking into the 9.2 as a replacement for my GBE 1200, but the 1200 pounds like a hammer and I didn't get that same feel from the Max 12 I tried out. Maybe someday :)
 
#614
KsPiNeSh said:
Gotcha. I'd like to try a 9.2 myself, but I really have no reason to as the SL 900, GBE 1200, and M9 cover every tone I like. I've considered looking into the 9.2 as a replacement for my GBE 1200, but the 1200 pounds like a hammer and I didn't get that same feel from the Max 12 I tried out. Maybe someday :)
Click to expand...

After a good long A/B, the 9.2 is FS. The tone of the M9 pleases me far more. Once again, I feel the little extra weight is worth it. Volume wise the M9 buries the 9.2, even accounting for volume taper. Into my 8 Ohm LDS 15/6 I can dime the master on the 9.2 (with gain set generously) without earplugs. With the M9, my head is exploding before the master hits noon and the head still has room on the master-it can and would get much louder. The M9 also hits heavier and thicker, no matter how I eq the 9.2. A watt is a watt.....and then there are dragon watts:bassist::p:cool:
 
#615
More or less, I cam up via:
Bassman 50; Bassman 100, Bassman 135, Dual Showman, MusicMan HD150, SVT...a progression of power and weight, ending at nearly 100lbs for 300 watts.
Then I went thru various three and four space pre/power setups; some of which were well over 2000 watts, and nearly all of which were pretty bulky and fairly heavy.
Then, a few others like Thunderfunk and WT800b.

So, the M9 seems very much like "a microamp" in both size and weight compared to nearly any of those; and it terms of tone, tonal flex, and nearly limitless horsepower that ''feels like nearly limitless horsepower even at idle," well, the M9 just can't be beat.

At least not yet. Does the future hold something better?
I dunno, but the bar is awfully high at this point.
 
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#617
I run my M9 depending on the venue thru 1 or 2 newer design PH 4x10's, and let me tell you when I am using both cabs I can do some serious demolition work. I came to the M9 from a 400+ mostly because of the weight factor. At first I was worried I would regret the change, but in just a few minutes playing around with the M9 I knew I would never look back. I play some of our stuff with a pick, and some of it I finger pick so I mostly adjust my tones with the bass and mid rotary's and the compressor. This amp also has given me the best finger picking tone ever, something I have had trouble dealing with on previous amps. For the first 2 weeks I had it I just sat there playing and tweaking and getting so many different tones, it was amazing. Definately the best amp on the market:bassist:
 
#619
Yeah, I love my M9... The footswitch won't toggle the eq anymore though. I guess I'll send it in to Mesa for a repair. Anyone else have this problem?

I really have to find a good place to open this amp up though. If I push it past 9'oclock on the master volume one more time I fear I may get evicted from my apartment building. :)
 
#620
Thinking about moving from BX1500 to an M9! Actually the M6 is probably enough, but I like the extra features of the M9. Any disadvantages with the M9 at all in playing at various levels? I'll be running through an Epi UL410 - good pairing? These are quiet amps? I could go two cabs when needed, but my only other cab is an 18"... not sure if that would be adviseable.
 
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