Talk me out of dropping a G on a Mesa 400+. They’re just so cool and I’m an OG tool fan. But I have a sneaking suspicion that I might regret it. Thank you.
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Asking to be talked out of buying bass gear in a bass forum. 
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We have a reputation to maintain.
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That is an old as f tube amp, right?
What is the sound you want to get out of it? Couldn’t you get that sound and much more out of a modern platform, lets say a Boss Katana Bass Head, which can give you more options?
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You’re probably right. However, are there no subtle bass tones, tones in their raw form, that are better than others? Is there no juju?
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Talk you out of GAS? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahehehehhehehehehehehehehehehoooohoooohoooohooo. You can’t be serious!
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Well, it is but, but WD 800 hybrid only a couple of hundreds more and you get Mesa and kick Katana’s A$$ doing it, 
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Here’s my attempt to talk you out of it.
He asked, so no body gets to set me on fire for talking trash about tube amps.
Yes, there is Juju in tube amps that you don’t get from a solid state amp. It depends on whether you like the Juju it provides. If you can find a tube bass amp to play, I highly suggest doing that before buying one.
Some people prefer tubes, some don’t. I love the sound of guitar through a tube amp. However, to me, bass gains a mushy quality at lower sound levels on a tube amp. I’ve never had a chance to test one at high volume to see if this makes a difference.
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Yep, you need to crank it up to let the tubes work. If you wanna play on low volumes you kinda need an attenuator. Same goes for guitar tube amps.
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Exactly, that’s how I treat the tube amp, like a Turbocharger. Takes time to spool up but it loves the revs.
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I was looking at the new Vox amp heads and they have a switch letting you set them at full/half/quarter watts for playing at lower volume so you still get the warmth of the tubes. Beautiful amps.
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Options like that are great. Vox makes amazing amps. The hybrid bass amp I once had from Vox might been the warmest tone I got out of an amp.
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but tone is in the fingers, not…
oh forget it, get the amp.
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I’m an old tube amp juju kinda guy, but I know completely well that it is irrational, and that you can get any tone you want with a modern, basic bass amp and an EQ. However, there is one wild card that you can only account for on a personal level, and it’s fluid, changing day to day, and that is: does it motivate you to play? Does seeing it behind you make you feel cooler and confident in what you’re about to play?
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This is more important than most people realize.
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the most important really
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well said and absolutely. if you’re happy that’s all that really matters.
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