I mean it is, for the most part. The Monoblock is pretty cool but honestly sounds kind of similar to the Terror Bass but seems to lack a bit of depth and thickness the Orange gives.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
Best studio recordings of the D-180:
Fathomless - Onward
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Live recordings:
Stephen Michael and the Rickety Van Band - Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan cover, obviously)
The 5th Child - Long Live the Night
I used it in my old black metal band, too, but there aren't any good recordings of that. The 5th Child is the doom band I was in before Catapult the Dead, and has gone inactive as the guitarist and I are both busy, and also need a new drummer.
I use the graphic EQ only in metal stuff, never in the folk/rock band.
Please forgive my awful, sloppy playing.
Fathomless - Onward
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Live recordings:
Stephen Michael and the Rickety Van Band - Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan cover, obviously)
The 5th Child - Long Live the Night
I used it in my old black metal band, too, but there aren't any good recordings of that. The 5th Child is the doom band I was in before Catapult the Dead, and has gone inactive as the guitarist and I are both busy, and also need a new drummer.
I use the graphic EQ only in metal stuff, never in the folk/rock band.
Please forgive my awful, sloppy playing.
I've seen and heard about enough dead VT22s/V4s that I'll likely never buy one, even though a V4 would probably be exactly what I need 
Still interested in the D-180 but I think I'd have to try it out in person, which will likely never happen haha.
Yeah. I posted my clips to help, but there is a lot to be said for trying something in person.
Try a 400 or 400+ and drive it into distortion. That is what the D-180 sounds like most of the time.
I bought mine sight unseen, but from another TBer. I bought it partly because I knew I could probably flip it if I didn't like it.
@Sartori that 5th child video has some great bass tone. What's the whole signal chain?
Thanks.
Signal chain:
Modded Peavey bass (Rickenbacker high-gain pickup and BadassII bridge installed) -> Boss TU-2 -> Mesa D-180 amp -> Sunn 2000S 2x15 (with EV 15B drivers)
Very simple. No pedals in that rig except the tuner.
Last edited:
my buddies favorite amp and he has quite the collection 
. I missed it till I got the univox, now Im all better 
Yeah, I hear that. The sound of a tube amp especially is a lot different on a clip than when you're actually playing it. I don't remember how much shipping was for mine. The dude may have included shipping, actually.
Definitely all over the place. Mine was $800. I could have probably gotten a better deal if I waited. It's a bit difficult to tell, because unlike SVTs, there aren't always a bunch for sale, as there really aren't that many of them. They weren't made for very long before being replaced by the 400. I wish Mesa had kept the current-limiter feature.
The more I read about them the more I like the idea of getting one... there's one in the classifieds for $725 shipped and it has new tubes. Seems like a pretty good deal, plus I recognize that guy's name for being a person who takes good care of his gear: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/mesa-boogie-d-180-tube-head.1091621/
What's the current-limiter?
What's the current-limiter?
I'd wait for one with the graphic EQ, personally. The rotary controls are a Fender type tone stack, and so the mid knob is utterly useless (to me).
On the metal clips I posted, I'm using the graphic.
The current limiter is the D-180's weird master-volume. It basically controls volume by limiting the current to the power tubes, apparently. Set at 10 it's essentially disengaged and you control volume with the channel volume knob. I never use it this way. Setting at less than 10 gives you overdrive tones at quiet volume, I guess because the tubes are still being hit with full voltage or something. I don't completely understand it, but it's a fairly unusual setup. That's why it has such a reputation for distortion.
That feature wan't repeated on the 400 and the 400+, which is why, in addition to the increased power (at least if the 400 is running 6550s... as it's no more powerful than the D-180 when you run it with 6L6s), they don't have the same reputation for overdrive that the D-180 has.
Honestly I probably wouldn't use the graphic EQ much if at all. I kind of like the fact that it's incredible straight forward haha.
Reading through the manual now. The current limiter thing is pretty neat. So you get a nice powerful tube amp for gigging but can also get the same tone at lower volume for recording. I dig it.
Hahaha manual says this amp can sound like a "minor holocaust." I'm sold.
Hahaha manual says this amp can sound like a "minor holocaust." I'm sold.
