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Official Mesa/Boogie 400,400+ Club

#821
Hello fellow 400+'ers!
Im a bassist from Sweden and new on TB. I just sold my M/B Basis M-2000 and i am now looking for a new amp head. Got a decent budget now and I want to get the real deal and settle down ;)
We have a Swedish version of TB and on there everybody is crazy about the M/B 400+. I have now been offered to buy one, well two actually. One is the version with a 6 band EQ wich is the one that is closer to me geographically The other one is further away and has a 7 band EQ. Both same price. I've never gotten a chance to try one but gonna go try a friends 400 tomorrow. So first qustion is: Does anyone know if there is any noticable difference between the two EQ versions? Is one better sounding than the other?
Question number two: I play some kinda Alt-Rock, Funk, Punk/Rock music and do a fair deal of slapping Les Claypool/ Flea style, NOT the Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten kinda slap. I like a raw big sound but also appreciate the modern clean tone of Flea.
You guys think a 400+ would suit me at all or should I look into more SS amps instead of Tube?
I just missed out on a Aguilar db750 that was recommended to me..
 
#822
Melkin said:
Hello fellow 400+'ers!
Im a bassist from Sweden and new on TB. I just sold my M/B Basis M-2000 and i am now looking for a new amp head. Got a decent budget now and I want to get the real deal and settle down ;)
We have a Swedish version of TB and on there everybody is crazy about the M/B 400+. I have now been offered to buy one, well two actually. One is the version with a 6 band EQ wich is the one that is closer to me geographically The other one is further away and has a 7 band EQ. Both same price. I've never gotten a chance to try one but gonna go try a friends 400 tomorrow. So first qustion is: Does anyone know if there is any noticable difference between the two EQ versions? Is one better sounding than the other?
Question number two: I play some kinda Alt-Rock, Funk, Punk/Rock music and do a fair deal of slapping Les Claypool/ Flea style, NOT the Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten kinda slap. I like a raw big sound but also appreciate the modern clean tone of Flea.
You guys think a 400+ would suit me at all or should I look into more SS amps instead of Tube?
I just missed out on a Aguilar db750 that was recommended to me..
Click to expand...
The DB 750 would've been a good buy. They're great amps, but super clean. I think it's almost impossible to get any good tube break-up out of 'em. As far as the difference in EQ on the 400+'s, with the 7 band you get and extra slider in the higher frequencies that adds a little more shimmer and sparkle, especially to harmonics.

Note: I love the 400+! I've owned two. They are amazing amps. However, be careful comparing the 400 to the 400+. The + has a lot more headroom and is a lot cleaner. Also more expensive when it's time to replace tubes. Here's a better way to put it...if you want good tube break-up for a naturally overdriven sound, get a 400. If you want less tube break-up and much cleaner tone, go for the 400+. I personally went with the + for the clean tone, and used pedals for my dirty sound.

Good luck!
 
#824
Melkin said:
Bama Thanks for the tips and good input! So would you rather go for the 7 band EQ version than the 6 band in you liked clean tone?
Click to expand...
Personally, I liked the 7 better just for that extra eq'ing amd the extra shimmer it brought to the top end and harmonics. However, I don't really think you could go wrong with either. There's pedals out there for that too.
 
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#826
Here's my 400 and it's younger relative. It's a killer combo.
image.jpg
 
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#829
Can anyone recommend a cab that would allow me to push my 400 into power tube saturation without blowing drivers or causing structural damage to the building I'm in? I'm trying to get there at a loud but not unreasonable volume level.

Next practice I may try this by using only the fridge and leaving the rest of the rig off, but I'm not sure how to do this for a smaller venue.

Raz
 
#830
Razman said:
Can anyone recommend a cab that would allow me to push my 400 into power tube saturation without blowing drivers or causing structural damage to the building I'm in? I'm trying to get there at a loud but not unreasonable volume level.

Next practice I may try this by using only the fridge and leaving the rest of the rig off, but I'm not sure how to do this for a smaller venue.

Raz
Click to expand...

NV115, perhaps?
 
#837
You know that's right.
Your rig is on point.
My first good cab was a 1516B. I powered it with old GK 400 rb. Always kicked a$$.
I'm stepping it up. This is the second 15 I've owned. I wish I never sold any of the road ready cabs. I'll take the (heavy) pain in the a## issue any day. I I love the way they throw air.
 
#840
Wait a second - five months and no post to the 400 club thread?? We must all be busy. I know I have been, with a daughter in high school now AND color guard (she performs with the marching band so we've been attending football games and running her back and forth to practices and such); my band hasn't played in months but we're gearing up for another performance in December. We did a play at my church for Halloween and tore down our theater today to load the band equipment back on stage (hence this post as I got to fire up the 400 again after months of just letting it sit).

I also have a slave amp powering some of the cabs in our theater rig, but it didn't have any output today so we're sending it off to get looked at. This means that I'll have to turn up the volume of the 400 through an 810 to compensate - yahoo, maybe I'll get it into that 'angry' zone where the output stage just starts to break up. Looking forward to that.

Anyway - hope everyone is safe and getting ready for the holidays. This is my favorite time of year!

Best,

Raz
 

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