Amplification: Mesa-Boogie.

[tmidgett]

bass 400 is a pretty good amp, though the graphic eq is a weak spot (as j_h knows)

the supersaturated guitar sound is ably produced by their newer gtr heads, for those who desire it

i have several of their thiele-style bass cabs, and they have served me well over the years. they used shitty little screws to hold in the speakers, but otherwise they are pretty well made.

not crap, i guess, though i wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to recommend anything they make

[j_harvey]

bass 400 is a pretty good amp, though the graphic eq is a weak spot (as j_h knows)

Hey Tim (or anyone else) any recommendations for reducing amp noise? I have started using a Tube Works Real Tube distortion pedal along with the Bass 400 and it makes a lot of noise when I'm not playing. It doesn't matter if the pedal is "on" or "off" it makes an annoying hum whenever the pedal is plugged in and I am not playing. I have tried other pedals and they don't seem to have the same issue, so it's either the Real Tube, or the combination of the Real Tube and the Bass 400.

At the end of practice last night my band mates suggested trying the effects loop on the Bass 400 (which I haven't tried yet). Another thought was to try a different type of tube in the pedal. Any other recommendations?

[tmidgett]

bass 400 is a pretty good amp, though the graphic eq is a weak spot (as j_h knows)

Hey Tim (or anyone else) any recommendations for reducing amp noise? I have started using a Tube Works Real Tube distortion pedal along with the Bass 400 and it makes a lot of noise when I'm not playing. It doesn't matter if the pedal is "on" or "off" it makes an annoying hum whenever the pedal is plugged in and I am not playing. I have tried other pedals and they don't seem to have the same issue, so it's either the Real Tube, or the combination of the Real Tube and the Bass 400.

At the end of practice last night my band mates suggested trying the effects loop on the Bass 400 (which I haven't tried yet). Another thought was to try a different type of tube in the pedal. Any other recommendations?

where do you plug in the pedal?

[j_harvey]

where do you plug in the pedal?

I assume you are talking about electricity? The pedal plugs in to a power strip and then into the wall (I only use the power strip so that the pedal can be further away from the wall). The same wall outlet that the amp plugs in to. The amp plugs directly in to the wall. The electricity in our practice space was installed by Jay Ryan and myself, so there is a chance that it's not...*the best*.

However, I took the pedal and amp on tour in Europe and the same thing happened. Again, the electricity situation was not ideal...we were using a pretty sketchy transformer.

[tmidgett]

where do you plug in the pedal?

I assume you are talking about electricity? The pedal plugs in to a power strip and then into the wall (I only use the power strip so that the pedal can be further away from the wall). The same wall outlet that the amp plugs in to. The amp plugs directly in to the wall. The electricity in our practice space was installed by Jay Ryan and myself, so there is a chance that it's not...*the best*.

However, I took the pedal and amp on tour in Europe and the same thing happened. Again, the electricity situation was not ideal...we were using a pretty sketchy transformer.

it might be crappy shielding or a bad grounding scheme in the pedal

who knows

the effects loop might help. if it's after the preamp, at least you won't be gaining up the pedal noise in the preamp. but it will surely sound different.

[ChristopherM]

You said that you've tried other pedals and they don't seem to have the same issue...so I think that you can be fairly confident in the fact that it's the pedal.

it might be crappy shielding or a bad grounding scheme in the pedal

That's my guess..and I'm leaning more towards the grounding part of that. I've actually heard of these having grounding issues. I'm pretty confident that it's not the tube either...although, if you haven't swapped the stock tube out, you might want to do that...if I remember correctly, it's not the best.

[offal]

Not crap.

I have a Mark IV head that I play through a Thiele cabinet, and it is easily one of the best things I have ever purchased. The quality and versatility of this amp makes my eyes tear up a little. So good, this amp.

I do understand the reaction to the overuse and abuse of the high-gain rectifier series, however. And yeah, they're expensive, but having that much versatility in such a compact package is worth it to me.

[full point]

Crap.

A dual-rectifier is to an amp what a 7-11 is to a grocery store.

[evolu]

a friend works for the UK importer of Mesa Boogie, he says that he hasn't ever taken a Mesa out of the packaging that has worked.
I had a Tri-Axis pre-amp a few years ago, the build quality could be compared to a Yugo, it also sounded like shite mixed with mud (not the glam outfit), I bought a Groove tubes trio instead..... V happy with that.

Would still like a Dual Rectifier though...anyone wanna swap for '63 blonde Tremolux setup?

[oZZma]

Crap based on the price alone.

Those things are just way too goddamn expensive. They would need to sound far better than they do in order to justify it.

An hi-end Ampeg amp is not too differently priced than a Mesa bass amp.
I think they have a fair price in the USA, and a little bit too overpriced in EU.
Anyways I see they get a lot of hate.
I only tried the Carbines (I loved the M9, the most aggressive clean bass tone I have ever heard by far. My current amp is a more affordable and reliable M3), and the Big Block, which sounded quite "lifeless" to me (as someone said).
I have never tried any Mesa guitar amp, I know the association that immediatly comes in mind is with crappy bands like Metallica, but Steve Austin's guitar tone is fucking awesome and he uses a Mesa too (Mark III).
For me NOT crap at all. Some really great amps, some less great maybe.

[llllllllllllllllllllllll]

Great speaker cabinets. I have a 4x12 halfback with closed back 2x12 EVs and openback 2x12 Celestion 80 style speakers. It sounds magnificent with certain amps. Heavy.
J. Mascis used a Mark I on the first Dinosaur album. Dude from Godspeed uses a Rectoverb live. A Mesa Boogie made its way on to Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden - I’m assuming it’s on that wild slide solo but who knows. Stones did not sound bad when they were using them, and Ronnie Wood still sounds good with them but obv. that was after their heyday.
D-180 bass amp was pretty badass but I prefer Traynor or Ampegs.
I played a Studio 22 before that sounded good, but I never tried to use the lead channel in a band context or anything.
Mesa sort of doesn’t get much credit as a cool brand but I’m sure you’d be fine with one if you stayed away from the nu-Metal amps.
Oh, and Steve Von Til.

[llllllllllllllllllllllll]

The thing about the cabs is you can get them cheapish locally, but otherwise you kind of have to buy them from Guitar Center at least in America or you will be fucked on shipping. I’ve had two Diesel 1x15s I bought for less than $250 each, and that halfback I could make a nice profit on if I sold the speakers out of it.

[oZZma]

Any experience with the Mesa Powerhouse cabs? I'm looking for a couple used, fhey are quite affordable and seem solid

[biscuitdough]

Great cabs and build quality. The Mark IIb combo I had had a sweet spot that was almost impossible to find and that wasn't all that sweet. Rectifiers are fine for what they do.

I doubt I'd buy another, but they're good amps.

Not crap, big waffle for the ones that have the truck bed toolbox look.

[llllllllllllllllllllllll]

Any experience with the Mesa Powerhouse cabs? I'm looking for a couple used, fhey are quite affordable and seem solid

Probably going to be pretty good but the Diesel series with EV 10s, 15s, or an 18 are out of this world if you can scrounge one up in your area. The 15s are the most popular bass cabs on this forum. Electro Voice cabs are made with a similar Thiele design if you can find those as well. They sound good for pretty much any rock bass sound, so you’re not limited to a Jesus Lizard/Shellac sound with them either.

[oZZma]

Any experience with the Mesa Powerhouse cabs? I'm looking for a couple used, fhey are quite affordable and seem solid

Probably going to be pretty good but the Diesel series with EV 10s, 15s, or an 18 are out of this world if you can scrounge one up in your area. The 15s are the most popular bass cabs on this forum. Electro Voice cabs are made with a similar Thiele design if you can find those as well. They sound good for pretty much any rock bass sound, so you’re not limited to a Jesus Lizard/Shellac sound with them either.

Currently I can only find 2x10 Diesels in my area, but I'm not in a rush to buy immediatly... I was looking for two 1x15
Do they have a tweeter? The Powerhouse has one and it would be cool for me, I have quite a trebley kind of sound

[oZZma]

Double post, sorry!

[Speedie]

My rack mounted 100W Dual Rec was an absolute monster in many ways.

.Cost me a fortune
.Was catastrophically loud before it sounded good
.Blew an output tranny and cost me another national debt (Thanks to Ben Adrian who found me a replacement)
.Did one thing, and one thing only, really well. Big ol' Dirty rock and metal.


I sold it and bought a 30W 2x12 AD30 Orange. Best Amp I have ever owned.

My ex bass player bought a brand new Big Block Titan V12. That thing was a heap of shit. Under warranty , pop, no signal. At a gig, Pop! Smoke out of it. He went back to is 15 year old rack mount Peavy deal, which had never even been opened.

Crap.

[llllllllllllllllllllllll]

Do they have a tweeter? The Powerhouse has one and it would be cool for me, I have quite a trebley kind of sound

The thing about these EV speakers is that they have a wonderful presence peak that’s very musical, especially when you’re using the treble boost on an amp like the V4 or SVT. Eminence Deltas are a kind of modern replacement for those EVs, but they are missing something in the high end and seem like they have a little more midrange or something. I was able to compare the two at band volume years ago.
If I’m not mistaken I think some Electro Voice cabs do have tweeters, but the Diesels I’m familiar with do not. Unless you want something very specific I don’t really think they’re necessary, but you can definitely dial in that sort of clicky treble if you wanted to.

[oZZma]

Do they have a tweeter? The Powerhouse has one and it would be cool for me, I have quite a trebley kind of sound

The thing about these EV speakers is that they have a wonderful presence peak that’s very musical, especially when you’re using the treble boost on an amp like the V4 or SVT. Eminence Deltas are a kind of modern replacement for those EVs, but they are missing something in the high end and seem like they have a little more midrange or something. I was able to compare the two at band volume years ago.
If I’m not mistaken I think some Electro Voice cabs do have tweeters, but the Diesels I’m familiar with do not. Unless you want something very specific I don’t really think they’re necessary, but you can definitely dial in that sort of clicky treble if you wanted to.

thanks!!