New mesa Prodigy

drbassman · October 14, 2013, 02:40:16 PM

Well, I've never wanted to be the first to buy something right out of the factory. I like to know the bugs have been worked first. Thanks for the review of the Mesa-construction.

Psycho Bass Guy · October 14, 2013, 02:52:52 PM

BTW, I cleaned up my previous post and copied and embedded from my own stash the relevant photos to make things less confusing. I'm sure Tom Bowlus wouldn't mind me using his Photobucket, but I don't want to impose, and I removed the Sadowsky shot from Talkbass. Even though they were less than fair with me and have volumes of my tech data posted without my consent that I cannot remove, I won't bogart their bandwidth.

I still want to give a MAJOR shout out to the Peavey VB-2. It's pretty much the same volume as the Traynor, but more versatile tonally, and a little cleaner according to those who have A/B'ed them.

Pilgrim · October 14, 2013, 04:38:08 PM

Bill...I get the feeling that you're on a perpetual amp search....?

drbassman · October 14, 2013, 05:22:32 PM

Quote from: Pilgrim on October 14, 2013, 04:38:08 PM
Bill...I get the feeling that you're on a perpetual amp search....?

Well, I wouldn't say perpetual. Just looking for the one that gets inside my head and grabs me for good. Kinda like how I feel about my ThunderJet.

drbassman · October 15, 2013, 08:22:40 AM

Seriously considering the Traynor, but the Peavey is in second place right now.

Nocturnal · October 15, 2013, 08:42:00 AM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on October 14, 2013, 02:52:52 PM
I still want to give a MAJOR shout out to the Peavey VB-2. It's pretty much the same volume as the Traynor, but more versatile tonally, and a little cleaner according to those who have A/B'ed them.

Can the Peavey VB-2 get dirty sounding? I don't mean a gnarly distortion but a gritty edge to the sound? I have thought about getting one of those a few times but never pulled the trigger.

Psycho Bass Guy · October 15, 2013, 04:27:00 PM

The Peavey VB-2 has the single most intuitive and useful preamp I've seen in ANY bass amp. It can replicate the basic tone of just about EVERY tube bass amp out there. It sounds like nothing Peavey, or any one else for that matter, has ever put out. To contrast it with another good Peavey tube bass amp, the Classic 400, the VB-2 is like a blank slate while the Classic 400 sounds like what it is, a "Peavey-ized" SVT, regardless of preamp or channel settings. The VB-2 will do what you're asking and then some.

drbassman · October 15, 2013, 08:37:57 PM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on October 15, 2013, 04:27:00 PM
The Peavey VB-2 has the single most intuitive and useful preamp I've seen in ANY bass amp. It can replicate the basic tone of just about EVERY tube bass amp out there. It sounds like nothing Peavey, or any one else for that matter, has ever put out. To contrast it with another good Peavey tube bass amp, the Classic 400, the VB-2 is like a blank slate while the Classic 400 sounds like what it is, a "Peavey-ized" SVT, regardless of preamp or channel settings. The VB-2 do what you're asking and then some.

If i don't win the Traynor, I'll look at the peavey.

Nocturnal · October 15, 2013, 10:28:20 PM

Doc, there is one on TB for sale right now. I would love to buy it but can't right now.

drbassman · October 16, 2013, 05:53:01 AM

Quote from: Nokturnal on October 15, 2013, 10:28:20 PM
Doc, there is one on TB for sale right now. I would love to buy it but can't right now.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll look into it.

drbassman · October 16, 2013, 06:18:04 AM

Quote from: Nokturnal on October 15, 2013, 10:28:20 PM
Doc, there is one on TB for sale right now. I would love to buy it but can't right now.

Gone already!

drbassman · October 16, 2013, 01:34:29 PM

The HOG has a Prodigy so I'll be checking it out tomorrow.

drbassman · October 17, 2013, 02:15:27 PM

Slipped in today and couldn't help myself. Played it through a Mesa powerhouse 2x15 stack (like the one I bought for the club a couple weeks ago -2 1x15 cabs-thump thump) and I was blown away. So much more presence and depth compared to my SS Mesa and the MMs. Head room too is a plus.

I feel like I need to join GAS anonymous. I told myself it was too new, too expensive, too overhyped etc., etc. After looking at the 5 year warranty and knowing HOG will always back it up, I plunged. But I just realized today that I have become my dad. When he went looking at new cars, he always came home with one. He never window shopped, ever. It's awful when you become your parents!

I've had great experience with all of my Mesa stuff. The kicker for me is the 5 way switch and the head room. You can jump between these really nice freq settings from boomy to hi-freq nasal with a flip of the switch. You still have the other controls you can enhance things more with. I wish I was better at listening and discerning the fine differences in tone like some of you guys. I just found the combo of this amp and those heavy duty 15's to be a powerful and pleasing sound. I'm playing it at home with my cheapo Ampeg 15 cab and it's working well thus far. It'll go to practice next week. Well I'll stop blabbering for now and report back more after I've had more time on it.

Psycho Bass Guy · October 17, 2013, 07:30:46 PM

Congrats! I sincerely hope Mesa has some winners on its hands with its new tube bass amps. The move to KT88's for power is encouraging; A single KT88 has a higher plate current capability than a pair of 6L6GC's which translates into a bigger bottom and more clean lows. Even if the amp still continues in Mesa's 'overrated naming' tradition, it's going to have a bigger low end and more punch at its 'weight' in the watts it does provide.

drbassman · October 17, 2013, 07:55:17 PM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on October 17, 2013, 07:30:46 PM
Congrats! I sincerely hope Mesa has some winners on its hands with its new tube bass amps. The move to KT88's for power is encouraging; A single KT88 has a higher plate current capability than a pair of 6L6GC's which translates into a bigger bottom and more clean lows. Even if the amp still continues in Mesa's 'overrated naming' tradition, it's going to have a bigger low end and more punch at its 'weight' in the watts it does provide.

Thanks for all of the pointers, it helped. The sound of this amp with two 15s is really nice. It's like you can hear the notes breath. Like I said, I'm not good at discerning but the sound just grabs me. It approaches the sound in my head that the Mesa M pulse 600 put in there years ago. That's a good thing for sure.