Mesa OUT, Reeves IN............

[rockbobmel]

I really tried to love the Mesa 400+, changing pre tubes, speaker cabs, EQ settings.  I just couldn't get the baked in mid range out-- or should I say, lack of lows in.  I kept going back to my SS Ashdown or GK800RB.   I have always been in love with my Sunn 2000S but it is 30" wide making it way too goofy for top of cab use.  That's one reason I went for the Mesa-   the profile.    I had a chance on a DR201, but it was not an original and I got cold feet.... plus it's 27.5" long and 75 lbs.  So a minty used Reeves C225 came up and I grabbed it.   Now the wait for FEDEX....   
This thing is supposed to "have it all" from what I have read.  And it's 59 lbs and 24" wide to fit most standard cabs.
The guy said it has  TAD KT88 tubes in it.   I think they were swapped out.  I think Reeves shipps with JJs.  It was bought in 2015 so maybe that's what was around then??  Don't know. 

[amptech]

I really tried to love the Mesa 400+, changing pre tubes, speaker cabs, EQ settings.  I just couldn't get the baked in mid range out-- or should I say, lack of lows in.

Did you try the 12AU7 P/I conversion? Search this forum, PBG has written good 'papers' on Mesa amps and is the best resource I can think of when it comes to this particular amp.

The guy said it has  TAD KT88 tubes in it.   I think they were swapped out.  I think Reeves shipps with JJs.  It was bought in 2015 so maybe that's what was around then??  Don't know.

Not much to choose from anymore, in bass amps or HI-FI I'd recommend SED KT88's (the real Winged 'C'/Svetlanas from St.Petersburg, Not the Svetlana/SED's sold in the US by New Sensor Corp.) but they are out of production since 2012. And now crazy expensive. I have distribution rights for them, but cannot get them anymore - the last stock of these were sold to a well known HI-FI manufacturer. They are really good, last long, can take high anode/screen voltage, and are capable of producing really good bass - tight all the way down. I'd rather put in used SED's than new chinese/slovakian in a demanding application like you describe.

That said, JJ can sometimes sound good, any tube can. But of all tubes today, JJ's are most prone to rapid breakdown. I'm speaking now of their power tubes; their preamp tubes are good if you find non microphonic ones and like their sound.

TAD is not a favourite either, they use the same chinese KT88's as everybody - but there are many different ways of selecting tubes.
I think quantity goes first in the TAD camp, but you can certainly find good TAD's and hope they last.

Get current production Shuguang's from a trusted rebrander/selection with warranty, bias safe, and you're good for a few years.
I'm obviously biased  when it comes to tubes, but try not to promote my brands on this nice forum, but if you need more specific
brand/rebrander info/advice you can always, uh.. PM me

[doombass]

Yes SED's are good but getting rare and expensive. I've been happy with TAD's tubes so far. I retubed my Orange AD200B MK2 (6550's), Hiwatt DR201 (KT88's) as well as built the TAD 150WSB amp kit all using their "Premium" tubes. Time will tell if their testing procedure is worth the extra cost.

[rockbobmel]

I did the 12AU7 driver swap. It did what  it was supposed to do but did not change the baked in sound of the amp much at all.   I tried all the tewaking and eq on-off , knobs in-out, etc.

To give you an idea of my ear,  Many say how much they loved the PV VB-2.  I hated it!  I got a set of 6CA7s for it and still yuck.  Sounded like a guitar amp to me.   
I also picked up a  PV AlphaBass with original 6L6GS tubes in it.  It gets me half way there, but I am a big fan of the Sunn 2000S.   That's what I call a bass amp.!
Hopefully, the C225 is the giging answer.   

[doombass]

I have a Peavey VB2 and it sure is a different beast compared to the DR201 and AD200B. I'm not sure I'd say it has a guitar amp sound. I'd rather say it has it's own sound which you can't really dial away. It can sound quite close to an Ampeg SVT but it will never be like the forementioned british amps, which let the bass guitars do their thing without putting a rug over them so to speak. Probably the Reeves with the Hiwatt heritage will do the same. I'm pretty sure you'll be satisfied once it arrives.

[Dave W]

To each his own. I don't find my Bass 400+ to be that way at all. What cab(s) are you using?

[rockbobmel]

To each his own. I don't find my Bass 400+ to be that way at all. What cab(s) are you using?

Didn't matter.......... Berg NV215, Eden D410 XLT, Ag GS112s, Musicman RH115, Bag Ends 115s .....

[Granny Gremlin]

Did you try the 12AU7 P/I conversion? Search this forum, PBG has written good 'papers' on Mesa amps and is the best resource I can think of when it comes to this particular amp.
Not much to choose from anymore, in bass amps or HI-FI I'd recommend SED KT88's (the real Winged 'C'/Svetlanas from St.Petersburg, Not the Svetlana/SED's sold in the US by New Sensor Corp.) but they are out of production since 2012. And now crazy expensive. I have distribution rights for them, but cannot get them anymore - the last stock of these were sold to a well known HI-FI manufacturer. They are really good, last long, can take high anode/screen voltage, and are capable of producing really good bass - tight all the way down. I'd rather put in used SED's than new chinese/slovakian in a demanding application like you describe.

That said, JJ can sometimes sound good, any tube can. But of all tubes today, JJ's are most prone to rapid breakdown. I'm speaking now of their power tubes; their preamp tubes are good if you find non microphonic ones and like their sound.

TAD is not a favourite either, they use the same chinese KT88's as everybody - but there are many different ways of selecting tubes.
I think quantity goes first in the TAD camp, but you can certainly find good TAD's and hope they last.

Get current production Shuguang's from a trusted rebrander/selection with warranty, bias safe, and you're good for a few years.
I'm obviously biased  when it comes to tubes, but try not to promote my brands on this nice forum, but if you need more specific
brand/rebrander info/advice you can always, uh.. PM me

The Sunn forums are near unanimous about the JJ KT88s specifically being the best new prod option, and long lasting, at least in Sunns.  Then again Sunn did not run super high plate voltages. They also say vintage GE 6550s are the absolute best, but also most expensive.

There is a guy on ebay with a massive inventory selling NOS military surplus Teslovak (not JJ) KT88s (extra thick glass for durability) and I have them in my Sunn 1200s (same chassis and power section as the 2000s).  Had them in there about a year now.  replaced the original GE 6550s which were done.  The KTs are bassier than the 6550s, but the midrange bite and cutting power of the GEs is deserving of the hype.

I get the unhappiness with the Mesa tho.  I feel the same about modern (have not played enough with vintage) Ampeg stuff and just about anything into a modernish 4x10 - there's a midrange thing I hate and can't seem to dial out.

I'm with rockbobmel on the vintage Sunn love.  Amazing amps.  I kinda regret selling the similar vintage Solarus I fixed up; it was great when you didn't need all 4 power tubes and the fx on it sounded a bit better than my 1200s.  The dude who bought it from me did some stupid mods and is now trying to flip it in the local classifieds for $400 more than he paid me (citing mod/repair expenses, including the cap job I did).  He basically ruined a great sounding amp trying to make it sound like a Marshall.

[Dave W]

Didn't matter.......... Berg NV215, Eden D410 XLT, Ag GS112s, Musicman RH115, Bag Ends 115s .....

What can I say? I have two EV-equipped Mesa 1x15s. You ought to ask my neighbors about the lows, even coming from my concrete basement.

[Granny Gremlin]

Didn't matter.......... Berg NV215, Eden D410 XLT, Ag GS112s, Musicman RH115, Bag Ends 115s .....

How do you find the 2000s into the MM 115RH?  That's pretty much my rig.

[rockbobmel]

That combo is beautiful!  The MM has a PV BW15 in it.  Also,  The Ashdowm ABM500 sounds amazing through it.

[amptech]

That combo is beautiful!  The MM has a PV BW15 in it.  Also,  The Ashdowm ABM500 sounds amazing through it.

One of my RH cabs is a 115 - with a reconed EV15L. Haven't found a tube amp that sounds bad with it, usually hook up with a MM HD One Thirty (and a RH 112 cab) but like it with my '73 Superbass too.  I have a big transistor G-K bass amp on the workbench as we speak, even that sounds fine with the RH 115. Good cab!

[rockbobmel]

I would use it more, but I have a hard time fitting it in my back seat because of the dimensions.

[Granny Gremlin]

Hatchback life, yo!  The 115RH is my main gigging cab (not gonna hump more than 1 cab to a bar or club).

I had a reconed EV in there before, great combo but it got fatigued out (possibly when I let a bud use it to run his synths through) - went for something new and threw in an RCF L15-554 and loving that too.  Tried an Altec in there previously and didn't like it; little too lean and more guitary as regards midrange response.  The RCF is in the EV neighborhood but tighter.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The Reeves will certainly be much closer to "Sunn-land" while having a better upper-midrange punch. You're not imagining that Mesa gets thin in the extreme lows. All of Mesa's tube bass amps have the Fender tone stack but roll off below 80 Hz to keep the bottom from getting too woolly. It's a combination of the preamp voicing and undersized output transformers. Mesa's 400+ OT is tiny compared to most 200 watt tube amps. They have a great sound, but big clean beef ain't it. You like Ampeg punch and that's not what the Mesa does, so I totally see what you mean. Hiwatt/Reeves lends itself to preamp tone VERY well. My Trace Elliot VA/VR amps are quite similar to Hiwatt.