NAD Mesa Mpulse 600 & PH212

[dmccombe7]

Finally went for a Mesa rig. I had been planning on buying the new Subway rig but lack of availability to hear this new lightweight gear and the ridiculus prices Mesa charge kept putting me off the idea. At £3k for a full rig its a bit extreme even for me. I then started looking at Mesa gear for sale on BC and ended up buying the Mesa Mpulse 600 from our very own "The Greek" on BC and a very big thanks to Mick for all his help and advice. The PH212 cab i got reduced (ex-demo) from Guitar Guitar.

The amp is heavy but not unlike my GK1001RBii and far lighter than my Ampeg SVT4 Pro that i just sold.

The cab was a bit bigger than i expected and quite heavy at 34Kg but still a one man lift if no other option. Heavy duty removable castors (ingenious idea for locking them in) certainly helps moving it about.

The amp arrived yesterday and i was playing it thru my Berg HT322 cab and it sounded so sweet, smooth and very warm compared to my GK1001RBii. That was it all flat with just a hint of compression. The EQ section on the amp provides a huge variety of tones but none of them come across as harsh or in your face. All very dignified tones and all usable for something or other. I was very pleased with the full Mesa head and Berg cab.

Today the Mesa PH212 cab arrived and on plugging in i found it quite different to my Berg. It has a similar depth but the clarity is far superior. Very bright sounding to the point i took the horn all the way back (off) and it still sounds clean but retains the low end depth. Tried switching the cross-over between the 3 settings and that does make a significant difference too with the horn in mid position. Cab is extremely well built much same quality as my Berg HT322 cab. It would be an ideal cab for slap bassists is what came to mind when i started using the Mesa cab. After adjusting horn i found it a far more acceptable tone for my needs. Deep but still having a very clear mid / hi end. Very nice and i know it will cut thru a mix in any band.

I was using my Fender Precison P/J bass set flat for the test. It sounds just incredible. The cab is 8ohm and i thought that might be a prob but playing in the house the amp running flat was around 1 o clock on Gain and Master at 10 o'clock. It was quite loud but i live in country village in detached house so i get away with ramping them up a bit. From experience with my other gear i think the Mesa rig will be more than enough power for my needs.

Looking forward to next rehearsal when i'll take it along for a wee trial run.

Dave 

Edited October 25, 2018 by dmccombe7

[Steve Browning]

Lovely set-up. You can't ever go wrong with that.

Luckily I got my Subway cabs when they were just expensive and not extortionate.

[TheGreek]

Glad that you're happy with the amp, Dave.

I'd also previously owned a Walkabout and a M9 - this is best of the bunch in my opinion.

The valves give a more vintage, soulful palette and tones are warmer and fuller - more suited to the way I play than the others. This is what I'd been looking for from a Mesa for many years - reminded me of the Mesa I played back in the 80s. 

I'm not gigging - it seemed criminal that something as good as the Mesa was not being used. Given the chance I would probably have favoured my TE AH500 anyway...

I'm glad it's found a good home...I'm taking the Powerhouse 1x15 to be checked over this weekend hopefully.

[dmccombe7]

Depending on how i get on with the cab because its still reasonably heavy i might still end up looking for some 2nd hand Subway cabs but at the moment i'm really loving the depth of tone from this wee rig. Many thanks for your help and advice on BC about the Mesa gear. Its good to know someone with a fair amount of experience of Mesa gear.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Glad that you're happy with the amp, Dave.

I'd also previously owned a Walkabout and a M9 - this is best of the bunch in my opinion.

The valves give a more vintage, soulful palette and tones are warmer and fuller - more suited to the way I play than the others. This is what I'd been looking for from a Mesa for many years - reminded me of the Mesa I played back in the 80s. 

I'm not gigging - it seemed criminal that something as good as the Mesa was not being used. Given the chance I would probably have favoured my TE AH500 anyway...

I'm glad it's found a good home...I'm taking the Powerhouse 1x15 to be checked over this weekend hopefully.

Is your 15 cab 4 or 8 ohm as the 212 cab i got is 600W but its 8 ohms altho to be fair i think that will be more than enough for on-stage monitoring and if bigger gigs i can swap with my Berg HT322.

Let me know how you get on with the cab. I'm quite curious now 

Dave

[Steve Browning]

By the way, your gain/master settings are pretty much my gig level.

[dmccombe7]

That was running it into 8ohm cab  tho. When i sued my Berg HT322 at 4ohm the master was a bit lower probably around 9 o clock.

At those settings on the 8ohm cab things were starting to vibrate on the walls 

I was surprised my wife wasn't thru telling me to turn it down a bit 

Dave

[Al Krow]

15 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Is your 15 cab 4 or 8 ohm as the 212 cab i got is 600W but its 8 ohms altho to be fair i think that will be more than enough for on-stage monitoring and if bigger gigs i can swap with my Berg HT322.

The PH212 really is an excellent cab! It has a punch, clarity and warmth to rival / surpass some of the "best-in-class" rivals. E.g. my PH212 stands up very well against both my VK 210 LNT and my BF SC.

Thank you for reminding me about ohm rating, though - I got in touch with the retailer a while back and they confirmed with Mesa  that mine was the 4 ohm version (i.e. 2 x 8 ohm speakers in parallel), which allows the full 600W through from my Mesa M6 head - I guess that makes very good sense in a standalone combo housing. I need to update my ad to include that key point (and please excuse shameless plug on your thread Dave!):

 

[dmccombe7]

No probs. Happy to pass on the help i've had from all of you guys on the Mesa gear.

Just ordered a new padded canvas cover for it from local manuafacturer Hotcovers. They make some great covers in canvas or vinyl. They have the contract for Blackstar and Barefaced  i believe. Not overly expensive IMO for the fantastic quality you get. I bought their covers for my Markbass rig few yrs ago and was very impressed.

Worth a look if you are in the market for a cab or amp cover. 

Dave

[Steve Browning]

17 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

No probs. Happy to pass on the help i've had from all of you guys on the Mesa gear.

Just ordered a new padded canvas cover for it from local manuafacturer Hotcovers. They make some great covers in canvas or vinyl. They have the contract for Blackstar and Barefaced  i believe. Not overly expensive IMO for the fantastic quality you get. I bought their covers for my Markbass rig few yrs ago and was very impressed.

Worth a look if you are in the market for a cab or amp cover. 

Dave

Thanks. I need one for my Walkabout. The first ones had a flimsy slip cover.

[Al Krow]

On the subject of Hotcovers: this is what my Markbass combo looks in its excellent Hotcovers' suit...

Edited October 27, 2018 by Al Krow

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

On the subject of Hotcovers: this is what my Markbass combo looks in its excellent Hotcovers' suit...

I went for the canvas as i tend to find vinyl can scuff quite easy but have to say it does look more professional looking in the vinyl.

Dave

[Al Krow]

1 minute ago, dmccombe7 said:

I went for the canvas as i tend to find vinyl can scuff quite easy but have to say it does look more professional looking in the vinyl.

Dave

Fair enough. Maybe I've been handling my gear far too carefully 😀 but I've just checked and my vinyl Hotcover on that combo is pretty scuff free after 4 years of service!

[dmccombe7]

26 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Fair enough. Maybe I've been handling my gear far too carefully 😀 but I've just checked and my vinyl Hotcover on that combo is pretty scuff free after 4 years of service!

I'm like you and really take a lot of care with my gear when its just me that's moving it but i've been in bands where others have helped me take gear to either car or van and they just don't take the same care as myself.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Well that was the new rigs first outing at a band rehearsal today. Left the settings as they were at home with parametric OFF, Bass at 1 o'clock, Mid at 11 o'clock and Treble at 12. Compressor just on when playing harder. Gain at 1 o'clock and Master Volume at 9 o'clock. Cab is 8ohm PH212 so amp only putting out 300W but that was far more than i needed.

At rehearsal with a full band with gtr and keys playing Glam covers Master Volume up to 10 o'clock. Found the mids not cutting thru so brought that back to 12 and had to cut the bass back a touch too. Ended up everything running flat. Switched in the Parametrics and cut the 30Hz point from mid point at 12 o'clock down to 11 and WOW what a tone.

The bass was full with lots of depth and my Jazz still had some nice mids altho i might add a touch more mid next time just to see how that sounds.

All in all i think this is the sound i've been looking for and i came home still beaming about my tone. Tubiness warmth and depth. Not boomy but just nice and rounded. Suits the type of music i'm playing in my current band of 70's Glam covers.

Able to load and unload my gear on my own altho 2 man lift on the cab is a bit easier. Got my cab cover from Hotcovers couple of days ago and its perfect. Fantastic quality at a great price.

Think this will be my Gigging rig for this band.

GAS has gone...........for now anyway. 

Dave

 

[keving]

I have one of these and agree that it is a great amp but it was a long time before I read the manual properly and found out about the unusual eq controls.   The bass and treble are active but the mids are passive only, so when the control are all set the flat the response is nothing like flat.

[dmccombe7]

26 minutes ago, keving said:

I have one of these and agree that it is a great amp but it was a long time before I read the manual properly and found out about the unusual eq controls.   The bass and treble are active but the mids are passive only, so when the control are all set the flat the response is nothing like flat.

I better read the manual then. What exactly do you mean. I've always assumed with everything at 12 o'clock it was flat. Am i missing something. I did quickly run thru the manual but in all fairness it was more a quick glance to see what everything was and did.

Dave

[Steve Browning]

Yes. The Boogie eq has always been a sensitive beast and the controls all interact too.

Back in 1988, when I got my Bass 400, I actually stopped using it for a short while because I couldn't figure it out. After a while I decided to persevere and it paid off. It does take a while to get to grips with the way it all works but it soon becomes automatic - and very worthwhile.

Whenever I read a thread where people say it didn't sound right I remember how long it took me to get to grips with it. I have always maintained (and still do) that any Boogie amp is capable of producing exactly the sound you want. Whether or not you can find it is down to you!!