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Mesa Titan V12 or aguilar db751

What would you buy?

  • Mesa Titan V12

    Votes: 16 51.6%

  • Aguilar db751

    Votes: 15 48.4%
  • Total voters
    31
villegastx

villegastx

Jul 22, 2016
490
829
46
Garland Texas
#1
I just bought a used mesa Titan V12with a 3 year extended warranty, ($1350) but I dont feel confident, I always read horror histories about it, I don't know if it will be reliable.
Im planing to return it, to buy an aguilar db751 ($1750 used)
An guitar center's associate told me that mesa is way better and I should keep it, but I dont really trust mesa's Titan V12 or carbine M9.
Should I keep my V12 or buy a newer and more reliable db751?
I like vintage and clean tone, I dont gig or play with nobody, just home practice, and I don't have a music style, but, I just like heavy equipment. Mini amps are not for me
 
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#3
villegastx said:
I just bought a used mesa Titan V12with a 3 year extended warranty, ($1350) but I dont feel confident, I always read horror histories about it, I don't know if it will be reliable.
Im planing to return it, to buy an aguilar db751 ($1750 used)
An guitar center's associate told me that mesa is way better and I should keep it, but I dont really trust mesa's Titan V12 or carbine M9.
Should I keep my V12 or buy a newer and more reliable db751?
I like vintage and clean tone, I dont gig or play with nobody, just home practice, and I don't have a music style, but, I just like heavy equipment. Mini amps are not for me
Click to expand...

Has the Titan been back to Mesa for the reliability updates? That should go a long ways towards easing your worries. If you don't know, write down the S/N and give Mesa a call.

I don't know about the DB751's reliability, but I seen have multiple DB750s go down. Also I have seen DB750s go down multiple times. Actually pretty much every DB750 I am aware of has needed to be repaired one or more times. Amp turns on but does not complete the self check and transition to operate. AFAIK none of these amps were abused, but they were toured.

As far as which amp you should get...they are drastically different--apples and coconuts. IMHO base the decision on the features, tone, and feel that you want. IMHO both Mesas are more versatile then the big Aggie. None of these amps can be dialed in to sound exactly the same as the others.

I own an M9 and a Titan. I have never had a problem with either, but I sent both to Mesa for the updates anyway. The M9 was on warranty and I paid the way for the Titan :greedy: because the store that originally sold it was nice enough to confirm the amp was eligible for warranty, but refused to provide proof of purchase :mad:. At least that store is no longer a Mesa dealer :meh:.

Good luck!
 
#6
villegastx said:
It is a black face titan, it should be fine, but I still nervous. Im planing to buy a powerhouse 412
Click to expand...

You can't judge by the color. Mine is a blackface and it was only about 13 months from the original purchase date when I got it.

I was the third owner. I bought the amp in Jul of 2014, and was told it was a late model that was 100% updated, so I didn't look into the status of the updates right away.

I eventually I contacted the guy who sold me the amp to see if he could contact the first owner to get proof of purchase for the warranty. He said the the 1st owner moved away shortly after selling the amp, but he remembered his name and name of the shop where the amp came from.

I called the shop with the original owner's name and approximate purchase date. The shop owner told me the exact purchase date, but said he had to talk to the distributor before he could give me a receipt.

Mesa's policy is, "without a receipt, the warranty starts on the date of manufacture." Mesa's records of the Date of Manufacture put the amp at 6 years old, so it was no longer eligible for warranty without proof of purchase. I called back to the shop several times to try and get the receipt, but the owner kept putting me off and eventually stopped taking my calls. For context the shop is a 2-day drive from my place, or things might have turned out differently.

The update on mine required a new transformer, and replacing a bunch of components in the output section (resistors, diodes, and capacitors and such). They retained the original output FETs. There were a few other changes as well.

To my surprise the Titan sounded significantly better after the update. I didn't notice any change when M9 was done, and that update involved swapping out the transformer and the entire 900W output section for a 600W output section.

Between the parts, labor, and shipping, the total for the Titan update came to $596.84. So IMHO, whether the update is done should a be significant factor in your decision. I would be far less inclined to keep an M9 or Titan that is not updated.
 
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#10
villegastx said:
I just bought a used mesa Titan V12with a 3 year extended warranty, ($1350) but I dont feel confident, I always read horror histories about it, I don't know if it will be reliable.
Im planing to return it, to buy an aguilar db751 ($1750 used)
An guitar center's associate told me that mesa is way better and I should keep it, but I dont really trust mesa's Titan V12 or carbine M9.
Should I keep my V12 or buy a newer and more reliable db751?
I like vintage and clean tone, I dont gig or play with nobody, just home practice, and I don't have a music style, but, I just like heavy equipment. Mini amps are not for me
Click to expand...
I've had an M9 for the last ten years - played it through the powerhouse 4x10 and the fender pro series 1x15 just because I couldn't afford another mesa cab at the time. I had to replace the preamp tube once and that's the only issue I ever had with the M9. The 900 watt version. Best amp I ever owned hands down. Reliable, powerful, versatile. Best sound I've ever heard. Now I'm old and downsized to the TT-800. Haven't played it out yet because of covid crap, but so far from what I've heard of it in my garage/studio - it's one mean amp, just like it's older brethren. Keeping the M9 just because I wouldn't dream of parting with it. Mesa rules.
 
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#11
Im not sure what lateral mosfets Mesa Used but that was the source of the problem.

Lateral Mosfets have some perks to performance and better thermal issues.

Problem is when you run many devices in parallel for high powered amps.
The laterals are more prone to oscillate. Its usually just one or 2 that go unstable
And then current sharing goes to heck.

So one mosfet will usually cook itself to death and usually take out the current sharing resistor as well.

The DB750 is worse in my opinion
12 laterals with all of them sharing one resistor.
Probably the worst way to make a lateral mosfet amp.
Maybe better.
You have to make the gate resistors almost twice as high as normal
and prey they dont oscillate.
I hate laterals, and have seen countless snobbery preferring them
As we watch them oscillate and go into current sharing nightmare.

wouldn't and haven't been interested in either amp.
Repaired a 750.
Easy fix, some cables and the tube was unseated from being transported
 
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#12
I decided to keep my mesa, I will look around for a 4x12 powerhouse, and will buy an aguilar db751 as soon as I find a used unit.
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#13
I’ve owned both DB751 and Titan (x2)

I bought my first Titan when they first came out, I think 2006. That one had a melt down, but I had it repaired under warranty by the Australian distributor. It worked fine after that, but I sold it to try other amps. Sound was incredible.

I won a used 751 from eBay for crazy cheap (by Oz gear standards) in 2012ish. Mint amp, looked like new. No problems ever, amazing power and heft in the power section but it never sounded any good to me. I kept it for a long time hoping to find it’s sweet spot but never did.

Second Titan is a black faceplate with the dual fans and vented top cover. It sounds even better than the first for whatever reason, and hasn’t had a hiccup in the 3 or 4 years I’ve owned it. I still own this one, and will until it (hopefully never) fails me. The Titan is only 30lbs, which for its size and power is still very lightweight to me. Like you, I haven’t got on with any class D amps.

Hope some of that helps, congrats on your Titan V12!
 
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#15
Sirfishalot said:
Is there anything special about the channel two of these Titan amps or does it just allow you to have another bass plugged in at the same tome? I tried one today at my local GC and it sounded amazing! Do the other smaller, less expensive and much lighter TT-800 and WD-800 come close to this behemoth?
Thanks

JayT
Click to expand...
Both channels are the same.

upload_2021-10-16_16-33-50.png


This is a channel switching amp. Two tubes are always in the circuit and the tone and gain controls are toggled between channel 1 and channel 2. You can use the amp with two instruments, but it's not possible for both channels to be active at the same time.


There are two additional tubes that are brought into the signal path if you engage the OD circuit on the active channel.

The OD circuit is closely related to the Mesa Bottlerocket MESA/Boogie® (mesaboogie.com)
sj561zrxsmacjjehsxhm.jpg


The OD circuit has a bit of a baked-in EQ tone, so it it effects the sound regardless of whether you dial up the gain or not.

It's very easy to dial in significantly different sounds with each channel. If you want to use channel switching, I suggest buying an amp that includes the footswitch.
fc.ttn_003__80563.1479514975.jpg



I have not played any of the Subway amps. To me the Titan has a unique sound and feel that I have not experience in any other amp, except the Mesa BB750 which is essentially a lower-powered, single channel version.

This model does need a factory reliability update that is quite expensive. If you are interested in buying the amp, I suggest calling Mesa with the S/N to make sure the update has already been done. Otherwise budget about $600-$650 (total) to pay for shipping and the update.
 
#16
Is very hard to find the Titan's footswitch. I replaced my Titan V12 with a WD800. I never found a footswitch, the last one available on reverb sold over 4 years ago.
Im very happy with my WD800, but I still using powerhouse cabs PH210, Im just not sure if I should go with with a set of subway 112 or 115
 

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