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MSUsousaphone wrote:Hrrrmmmmmm....My Mesa 400 has 16 tubes in it and.....it's just not loud enough for me. I love that Mesa sound, though. Especially the way this rig sounds when it's paired with my Ashly preamp. Motherfucking hate Ampeg sounds. Muddy POSs. But yeah, my Mesa sends 200W to each fEARful 15/6 I have and it just got BURIED, today. I don't really dig other tube brands....thinking I might just go back to SS. Each of those fEARful cabs can handle 750W.....it's like I'm starving them.

warwick.hoy wrote:

MSUsousaphone wrote:Hrrrmmmmmm....My Mesa 400 has 16 tubes in it and.....it's just not loud enough for me. I love that Mesa sound, though. Especially the way this rig sounds when it's paired with my Ashly preamp. Motherfucking hate Ampeg sounds. Muddy POSs. But yeah, my Mesa sends 200W to each fEARful 15/6 I have and it just got BURIED, today. I don't really dig other tube brands....thinking I might just go back to SS. Each of those fEARful cabs can handle 750W.....it's like I'm starving them.

Reading this post and the TB MegaBitch thread; I'm left wondering if there isn't some sort of issue with your setup. You should have plenty of power and the speaker area to dominate a mix. I'm running 300w (albeit with more drivers) and I'm almost too loud and have tone for days.

There is something to consider when running Preamps into poweramps. The Pre needs to have a high enough output impedance to properly drive a poweramp. I mean I; at one point, was running a Sansamp PBDDI into a monstrous SS poweramp and I should have been plenty loud; but I wasn't and I was pretty sure it was a result of the Bass Driver being designed for instrument level as opposed to line level. I put a proper preamp into my rack and BOOM,...there was all the volume I was missing.

I'm not fully abreast on how all that works and I don't know the specs of your gear,....so I can't say for sure,...but I wouldn't overlook that there could be something wrong.

Did you build you fEarfuls? Did you wire you speakers in parallel or series? That could be effecting impedance and overall output from the amp. (again I'm not an expert on this shit).

Going back to your amp setup. Two things you ought to try.

1) A different Preamp if you have access to one (a pedal preamp?). At least see if you can get the volume you need.

2) Research the specs on your pre and your poweramp. Here is some guidance of of bongomania's website that may help you out. Pay particular attention to the section marked impedance.

And @ Ben,...I don't where you guys are picking this up from,...maybe I just don't have a bright enough bass,....but I get more burp and balls and growl than anything else. No ice-pick. I also avoid the use of tweeters. Hate em.

Either way listen to the latest Mecha Shiva tracks and those are the SVT.

While I think it sounds good in a band mix; I will concede muddiness (I'm hearing some good midrange growl though) on the B and lower parts of the E string,...but I also need new strings and good setup. Gonna be a bit till after this Archery gas subsides.

Did you build you fEarfuls? Did you wire you speakers in parallel or series? That could be effecting impedance and overall output from the amp. (again I'm not an expert on this shit).

Going back to your amp setup. Two things you ought to try.

1) A different Preamp if you have access to one (a pedal preamp?). At least see if you can get the volume you need.

2) Research the specs on your pre and your poweramp. Here is some guidance of of bongomania's website that may help you out. Pay particular attention to the section marked impedance.

And @ Ben,...I don't where you guys are picking this up from,...maybe I just don't have a bright enough bass,....but I get more burp and balls and growl than anything else. No ice-pick. I also avoid the use of tweeters. Hate em.

Either way listen to the latest Mecha Shiva tracks and those are the SVT. I think the tone I get works well in a band mix.

I will concede muddiness on the B and lower parts of the E string,...but I also need new strings and good setup. Gonna be a bit till after this Archery gas subsides.

INPUT CIRCUITRY
The Strategy 400 Stereo offers extremely sensitive input circuitry: 0.2 volts will produce full
power when the Level control is turned fully up. This means you can actually plug in many
signal sources directly without needing a preamplifier. The output from virtually any effect
unit is strong enough -- as is any keyboard, CD player, cassette deck... even electric bass
plugged in direct produces full power with incredible tone. Electric guitar needs more tone
shaping to sound right but can still be plugged in direct for testing purposes. When using the
Strategy with a preamp you should turn down the Level controls for best signal-to-noise
performance and easy controllability from the preamp knobs. With the MESA/Boogie Quad
preamp, settings from 2 to 5 are recommended for the Strategy Level controls. With the
Level set at 7, input sensitivity is reduced to 1 volt for full power out. With the Level at 6, 2
volts are needed; and at 5, 3 volts of signal deliver full power. Input impedance of each
channel is 75K ohms which becomes 37.5K when using the Parallel Input jack, still high
enough to be perfectly compatible with virtually any signal source.

monkeydancer wrote:Maybe the 2x12 isn't the loudest cab?

warwick.hoy wrote:I don't know; there may be a mid scoop designed into the tone stack, but the fact that there is a knob marked "Midrange",...and a frequency selector makes me think; not so much.

MSUsousaphone wrote:Hrrrmmmmmm....My Mesa 400 has 16 tubes in it and.....it's just not loud enough for me. I love that Mesa sound, though. Especially the way this rig sounds when it's paired with my Ashly preamp.

bigchiefbc wrote::idk: every single thing I've ever read about Ampegs are that they are mid-scooped, which is why all of the pedals that emulate ampegs are eq'd that way (like the BDDI, the VT Bass, the Cat'bread SFT, etc.)

Mudfuzz wrote:I have both a 400+ and a SVT CL.
Both are nice amps. the Mesa is clearer and more even. and it is my main amp.
The Ampeg is a bit more colored, the mid freq switch does a lot to change where the mids sit and I would not say it is a scooped sound at all.. honky if anything if you don't know how to set the eq.. like anything else..

Waterpilot wrote:

Mudfuzz wrote:I have both a 400+ and a SVT CL.
Both are nice amps. the Mesa is clearer and more even. and it is my main amp.
The Ampeg is a bit more colored, the mid freq switch does a lot to change where the mids sit and I would not say it is a scooped sound at all.. honky if anything if you don't know how to set the eq.. like anything else..

Well, I read it on the world wide web so it's supposed to be true.