Mesa Boggie 400+

[Billygoat]

I bought the SVT 2-Pro a couple months ago which is essentially a rackmount all tube SVT with some added tone controls and a drive knob. I absolutely love it with my new Sterling HH. The low end response is more than I could ever need. I was seriously considering the 400+ before buying it and spent a great deal of time playing it in the store. I found the mesa to sound too sterile. Honestly, it almost sounded like a solid state head. It just didn't have that rolling thunder, natural compression tube sound. I think the Ampeg tends to lean towards rock and metal but could certainly be used for funk. I turned the 400+ up really loud and it just didn't dirty up like I expect a tube amp to. I absolutely love Mesa stuff and really wanted to like the 400+ more because I was buying the Mesa Powerhouse 1000 cab and wanted the head and cab to match but I had to go with my ears and my ears chose the Ampeg. I must say that I do not enjoy the weight of the Ampeg but it's worth it.

I would strongly suggest that you A/B the 400+ with an SVT before making your decision. Both are amazing amplifiers but one may suit your taste a little better.

 

[corrosiontrav]

The other thing about the Mesa that I think frustrates alot of people is that the Eq tone stack is set up wierd. It's set up like Fender Bassman. Meaning flat is actually like MIds at 8 and Bass and Treble set at zero.

Which is completely odd for most people. I messed with the 400+ for a long time before findign settings that were better than passable.

The other thing to remember is you can run both channels at once with an AB/Y box or set it up like a 2 channel, which again takes even more time and tweaking to set up.

It's also a head that responds differently to different cabs. I really don't like it all that much mated up with Mesa cabs. I prefer to put it with Ampeg cabs, I get more dirt that way, but I have been limited to whats around me to what I could try out as well. I would love to try it out with some boutique cabs and see what I get.

Anywho, Tajue, don't be afraid to tweak the knobs and pull out pots. Just wrtie down setting you like to go back to them. There are some that get VERY close to the sound of Ampeg SVT-CL in there.