Mesa/Boogie Buster Bass 200 Head

I have been playing bass for many years, and I play everything from aggressive distorted pick bass, to slap, to smooth finger style. My mainstay bass is a custom Fender Jazz that I rebuilt, but I've played many others through this head, and they all sound amazing!

In terms of power, I don't understand what everyone is fussing about, This has far and beyond outpowered any head that I've ever had. SM-900, SWR 750x, GK 1001 RB, Ampeg SVT 4 pro. As you can see I've been into the hybrid amps until this point. None of them have had the beautiful tone of this amp at such high volumes. I've never turned it past half, and we play LOUD.

This head doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles like some other amps, but that's what's so beautiful about all tube heads. They don't need it! I had an SM-900 which some say is one the mose diversely featured amp, and it doesn't even come close in my opinion to the Buster.

As I mentioned above, the sound of this head is so stellar I sometimes can't help but smile like an idiot when I play through it. I have it hooked to a Mesa Powerhouse 1000, and the two together are a match made in heaven! I have NEVER played a show where at the end, every single other bass player(and often guitar players too)didn't come up to me and RAVE about my tone. It has been described as: crushing, beautiful, crazy, perfect, unbeatable. I am being 100% serious when I say that there is no head that I have ever heard better that this one. A good friend and frequent show mate of mine has an orange AD200, and Orange 810. My rig is noticibly better, even to untrained ears. SAVE YOURSELF THE MONEY, and ditch the SVT, the AD200, the Fender 300, and get one of these.

These heads are no longer in production which sucks in the event it breaks. However, I bought this head used from a friend who bought it used from who knows, and it has NEVER skipped a beat. The wiring, and internals of this amp are perfectly matched with the tube setup, and the result is just pure worry-free bliss.

Never had to deal with them.

As I mentioned above, I have been playing for a while and during that time I have tried almost every head that is worth trying. This is the first head that I've kept longer than 2-3 months. I've had it for over a year and I play through it at full steam many times a week. Anyone reading this review, ignore everything negative you've heard about this head and get one. They are relatively inexpensive when you find one on Ebay, and they are worth twice what they go for. If this head was stolen, I would without blinking get another one.

i am not sure when the amp was made. i would guess around 2002. one chennel unless you have the footswitch then you can use both e.q. settings. also has a blendable effects loop that i will never use. i wish i had the factory footswitch other than that it has all the options i need. i like it simple. i use this amp for practice any size show and shortly to be recorded with. it is only 200 tube watts but it is perfect. i just ditched my svt for this lesser wattage amp.

i have recently moved to a g&l L2000 and it sounds great. it has the vintage overdriven bass tone at a reasonable volume. at the same time it is much more clear than any vintage amp. i use a ampeg 8x10 cabinet. i also play a rickenbacker 4003 and a jazz bass they all sound great. i play mostly rock/pop although it would sit just right in a harder variety of music too. it is a hair noisy but i wouldnt notice unless i was recording. nothin major my single coil basses are the problem. i run it alittle less than half volume. it is clean when playing moderatly then the harder i dig in the more breakup i achieve. in the mix it sounds very smooth nothng harsh about it.

i trust this amp alot. when i bought it the tags were still on it! i will gig this amp without a backup for sure.

from what i have read it seems mesa can go either way. i have not had to deal with them so i can not say. i think if you treat people like human beings the cusomer service would be alot better. not to mention all the sh*t these amps go though at guitar center! and shipping!

i have been playing bass about ten years.. i have owned three different svt's one v4-b a marshall jubilee 600 and many others. i would difinatly buy it again. i love the sound and the weight. 50lbs or so beats the 90lbs the svt's are. i hate that i dont have a footswitch but thats my fault. also i wish the cord unpluged easer for when i get a road case for it. if you see one of these give it a shot you might like it!

Got the simple 3-band 'knob' eq as well as a more complex multi-band graphic eq. Switch on front to engage/disengage/footswitch graphic eq. Stuff on back is pairs of 4 ohm/8 ohm speaker outputs. Direct out (XLR). Speaker mute. Effects loop has blend knob. Master and volume controls (you can get a nice grinding overdrive if you want).

This is a pretty simple setup when you compare it to all the fancy complicated amps that are out there. I like that you don't need a degree (or the manual) to understand it.

I use a warwick corvette and bass collection (p-bass), both passive. Run the head into a 4x10 eden cab. I play in a band that does covers and originals. The sound is very good, really the best setup I've heard so far...and I just happen to have it in my possession. :-)

You get a bit of the natural tube compression, which is nice. No complicated attack/release mumbo jumbo to fiddle with. This is a good amp if you're the plug 'n' play type of person. If you want a bunch of knobs/switches/wing-dings to play with, look elsewhere.

There's been some hub-bub about the interactive eq. I happen to like it. I don't really use it that much, though. Most of the time I leave the knobs about in the middle and just use playing technique to create tonal changes. The amp is very dynamic in this sense and almost playful in its organic touch response.

Some people on here like to knock tube amps down for their inherent lack of reliability. To me, that's kind of like knocking ice cream for melting on a summer day.

I usually try to carry a sansamp with me for backup.

Haven't had any problems with it. I've done about 30 gigs with it over the past year. It's pretty damn heavy. It's one of those things where you really don't want it to be your only amp...the weight plus the tubes tends to offset the kick-ass tone. So on smaller gigs, it's easier to take a solid state combo amp. Also to note: I only use the amp for gigging...at practice I use a solid state amp, thereby extending the life of lil' Buster's tubes.

Overall I rate this amp very highly. It's easy to use, sounds great with little effort, and it's got that oh-so-special 'hey I own an expensive tube amp' vibe.

If it got lost or stolen, I'd probably eventually try to get another one...it's pretty damn expensive, and will likely only get more expensive since they don't make them any more.

The thing that most amp manufacturers don't want amateur bass players to know, though, is that amps as powerful as this are so loud that you will typically blow the doors off of places like "Joe's Bar". You will achieve vast, vast, headroom. The bar owner might actually elect to not have your band back after finding ripe deposits in his pants.

Conversely, if you get booked at a bigger "real" venue where you might have a chance to really open up the amp, they will typically have a plethora of monitors and mains for you to hear yourself with, thereby effectively turning your fancy bass rig into nothing more than a really expensive monitor. Plus, the snobby soundguy will probably keep telling you that your stage volume is too loud....so bye-bye tasty tube tones.

So, I would suggest adding a switch to give the option of knocking down the output to something like 50 watts. But obviously Mesa isn't making these anymore, so if you just have to have a tube amp then you might want to consider looking for one that has variable wattage outputs (or get several cabs with different impendances). A hotplate might also work, but that's just one more thing you'll have to lug around.

I needed to add my opinion to the mix after seeing some bad reviews of this amp. First of all, the active eq works very well. It provides "unity gain" which is a good thing, ask any pro sound man. You can dial in virtually ANY tone with this amp, it's just that you get your volume from the volume controls and the tone from the tone controls... go figure! As for the features, it has what you need and not a lot of frills. The effects loop is well thought out and there is a speaker bypass which allows you to play the amp without a speaker attached. THis is great for recording but I think anyone that powers up any tube amp without a load across it is just plain crazy.

This is the best sounding amp I have ever owned. Period. I bought it used and had some micorphonics issues early on but when I replaced the tubes (3-12ax7 - Groove Tubes, and 6 6l6's - Genuine Mesas), I was literally blown away at the tones I could get. I played it through both an Ampeg and Hartke 4x10's and preferred the Hartke because I felt it had just a bit more clarity on the bottom end but that's a different review. I play a Jazz fretless, Precision fretted, and a Warwick Corvette for the modern tones and slap stuff. I use a Sadowsky DI/Preamp and that's it. My sound is absolutely right where I want it to be and I am getting compliments for tone from everyone that hears this baby. It is whisper quiet in between songs and don't be fooled with the 200 watt rating, I put this next to my 400 watt Peavay and it is considerablly louder and tone is consistant throughout the whole range of power.

It's a tank and I sold my Peavey about a month ago. I have never known a Mesa/boogie to fail without warning. They are as reliable as they make. I cant honestly give a 10 to any tube amp though, hence the 9.

Never needed it

I have been playing all my life and have always wanted a Mesa Boogie. I literally stole this one because it made some noise before the tubes were replaced. If it was 10 pounds lighter I would be very happy but I will not trade this amp for any other. There is nothing like an all-tube Boogie for your bass. They are out of production so if you can get one of these, you will be one of the lucky ones. Grab it at any reasonable price. Trust me on this.

The best feature on this head is the 7 band,foot switchable EQ.But what is it worth when the three "interactive" tone knobs seem to cancel each other out makeing it impossible to get a good high-mid-low blend.If your gonna mess with footswitches the amp should have a two channel dirty/clean feature.The FX loop is well thought out and 200 watts of tube power should be enough for rehearsal and medium venues.ONLY reason I give a decent rating here is the combo wedge model w/2x10's,not the model I have here.Spkrs are angled upward 25 deg<>.GREAT design.Hearing myself was a problem till I got a slant face fender 410 cab.Supprised more spkrs are not designed that way.

Maybe I have this thing sitting on the wrong cabinet.I've tried a sunn 410h and a fender 410 pro(emminence spkrs),even into a mesa 410 and I CANNOT get a good tone no matter what bass I try(fender urge,fender jazz,musicman stingray,all active,my vintage guild starfire or fender mustang.Try as you may to take the mud out of the lows and your left with no balls.Try to notch the mids to take the nasal out and there's no punch.Try to get the highs to sing out and you get tinny harshness.Could be good for some styles?Not mine.A tube amp should be HARD to get a BAD tone,like my trusty fender tube head which sounds good with any of the above basses or cabs.I just crank it up,tweek 3 knobs a few seconds and get great tone easily.OK I never ran the fender into the mesa cab,but you get the jist.A tube amp should not be this much work.

Tube amps do need maintainence.This head is just a loaner for backup purposes so I rarely use it and luckily have not needed it much.It has very few hours on it,butI believe the tubes are from China,low quality,expensive and you have no choice unless you modify the amp to accept non mesa 6L6's.Most techs I've talked to don't think very highly of these amps,but I have heard of some happy owners that have never had a problem.The construction does seem durable.A locknut on the input jack spun off before a gig so I had to take one off another jack.Plastic jack body and nut seem cheap and should have been loctited to begin with.

I have called mesa and a real human usually picks up!The techs seem nice and helpfull.They are located in N.Cal and my friend has taken things in direct for servicing without a problem. Can't say much more.The way they force you to use their tubes is very weasle like.

I have been playing to varying degrees for 20+ yrs although serious about bass for 2 yrs.I play in one heavy surf band and another eclectic/hard rock trio,both very original so I am not trying to sound like someone else.In my opinion this amp is a waste of 200 watts.I'd take my old fender bassman 135 over this without question.Way better tone at<half the cost.Amp is a loaner so if stolen I would have to pay for worthless junk.As soon as I get another fender for backup or a sunn 300T I am takeing this back to my friend and telling him."Thanks anyways."This is just my opinion, others might like this amp for some reason I don't understand.

The features in this amp are well enough explained in the other reveiws so I won't regergatate the same info. This amp is extremely versitlie, just by adjusting the pre amp volume you can get that "stand up bass sound" kinda like pauls in the early beatles or by cranking the pre amp you can get the over driven tube growl that most bass players under 50(no offense to the older gentlemen that could get his to overdrive?) try to get with their solid states.

I use an ernie ball sringray 5 string, the kinda of music we play is mostly rock or "modern rock". Reading a couple of the reviews that were not good forced me to stick up for my baby. This amp cranks bottom line. There is a lot that goes into your bass sound your bass your amp your cab. I use the heavy birch mesa desiel cab 4-10. I have tried to find a bass amp to give me that dark tube growl and this is the only bass amp I have ever played peroid. To the review which said spend $200 more to get the mesa 400+ doesn't really know what he is talking about. I owned the 400+ for two years before the buster, and guess what, I cranked the preamp to ten on that monster and no growl no overdrive just that classic tone which the buster can easily do, but I wanted more more growl more overdrive more balls in general and the 400+ no matter how great of an amp it is just can't get that overdrive. It is a 400 watt amp and 400 watt amps just don 't overdrive. the buster overdrives easily so you can see my horror as I read the review of the guy who is "tech" who couldn't get distortion out of the buster. The reason I bought it is because it is the only amp i have ever played that I can get that overdrive. Also to compare the buster with a Crate, is the most ridiculis thing I have ever heard. I highly don't that guy is really a tech, sounds like someone who got a lemon and is bitter. If any one is thinking of buying one try to locate one and play it. You will be sold as I was.

I have serviced the tubes regularly which is the case with any tube amp, great tone comes with the territory. Ihad to replace a toggle switch in the back but that is because I carelessly broke. This is a very reliable amp, I am very rough with my gear, this is built like a tank.

I have never used custumer support for repairs but I have mesa on my speed dial and have had many conversations about my tone and when i order my mesa tubes.

I have owned a seventies ampeg SVT, the mesa 400+, and some worthless solid state amps. This amp is the greatest kept secret in the bass amp world. The 200 watts is more than enough power for those of you who think that watts=volume which it doesn't. I will never own anything but the buster(except maybe for a old vintage orange) but if its black sabath tone you seek than this is the amp.

The active tone controls are a bad idea. They do not work on this head. When you turn up the treble it kills the bass tone. You just can't add bass and mid and treble with out it all workihg against each other. It has a graphic eq. that you must use to get any sort of true low end out of the head.

I have played rock and roll bass for 40 years. I have worked in PRO AUDIO in television,owned an SVT aamp in 72,own at least 15 tube amps and know how to service them,bias them,modify them etc. No matter what I did or tried I could not get the BUSTER head to generate any true low end. I have EV B4-10 cabs that will go to 36hz. The BUSTER head just can't generate any warm tube tone. That's why I got rid of mine.

I had arcing between pin 3&4 on one of the tube sockets. Carbon build up.If you looked inside the BUSTER amp it looks just like a CRATE AMP. The same caps,resistors,tube sockets etc. The POTS were better quality on the BUSTER but most of everything else was the same as the Crate.

Yea, you can get it serviced pretty much any where and believe me you need it.

I have 3 TRAYNOR YBA-3 amps. They are from 67-69 old style with a choke. No master volume. The are the best. One has JJE34L's. One has KT-88's and one is modified and has the original SVT tube 6146W.
I added a 100 miliamp 200 volt tranny to drive the screens with these tubes. They can only take max 250 volts on the screens. These heads can be set up to some degree like Marshalls, Sunn, or Ampegs.
Hand wired and running 525-540 volts depending on output tubes and biasing. They can be tweaked endlessly.
My honest opinion is that if the BUSTER head was 50lbs heavier it would make a swell boat anchor. No if it was stolen I would not replace it. It would be a load off my mind.

The features are fairly basic, but for bass how many fancy gizmos do you need to sound good? Many of the bass amps that are considered to be the best in their field have just the same amount of features as this amp. It does have an Direct Out which is nice for recording and live performances. It also has an effects blend knob but I dont use any because I love the way this amp sounds!

I use an Ibanez Bass and it sounds good with it. It is warm and slightly vintage sounding. It can sound like the bass tone in Led Zeppelin or very funky and twangy like Victor Wooten. I love the diversity of the tone and I really would not consider any other amp.

I have owned this amp for 6 years and have had to do absolutely no maintnence or repairs on it. Bottom line, its tough.

Never had to deal with mesa boogie but I have heard horror stories.

I would not play any other amp than this. It sound great when I plug my 19th Century German flatback string bass into it also. This amp is absolutely supreme.

This head is your basic head. One input, 7 band eq, the works. This head is all you need. I played a 400 before, but had to get rid of it for money. When i saw this on ebay, i decided to give it a try. I love it!

I play this head with my stingray and 79 p bass. Both sounds really good. I play it through an ampeg 810. let me just say, it sounds great. I love the gain. I crank this thing, i can't get over it. it's my baby.

I've had it for two month. This thing is rugged. The tubes have some age, but are still in good shape. The head was sadly dropped one day, but it still worked wonderfully. Talk about rugged!

Haven't had to deal yet...

I've been playing for 8 years. I love this thing. I'd would have to buy it again if it got stolen. I don't think i'll want another head. I've played every head you can think of. i lolve this thing. I wouldn't change a thing about this head.

Basic features. Bass, mid, treb, gain, master vol, graphic eq.
I love the effects loop on this amp. It has a blend control so you can blend between wet and dry. This is perfect for distortion or overdrive. This way you get some nice top enp distortion and retain your lows. Other than that it is cut and dry.

I use a G&L L-2500 5 string, a 60s Fender jazz with EMGs, and a 60s Eko hollow body. I run the amp through several cabs. For practice I use a custom cab with an 18" speaker. For gigs I use either my 1975 Fender 2x15 bassman cab or my Ampeg 4x10 hlf. My band covers several styles of music from rock to funk to punk. The amp by its self has a limited range of tones. It has an "earthy" or dirty feel, think Larry Graham. It is also great if you want a woody up right tone. Not quite what most modern players would want. However, when I put a Tech 21 sans amp bass driver and an Aphex bass exciter in my signal chain the amp realy came to life. My chaine goes: bass- boss octave- visual sounds H2O- Aphex bass exciter- Sansamp bass driver- ART tube compressor- amp, with a Proco rat and a Danelctro Fab Tone in the effects loop. With the bass driver and aphex the amp is very close to a SVT. I can dial in just about any tone I need. The Aphex adds a ton of low end an clarity. The buster is rather quiet for an all tube amp. I keep it cranked and unless the horn is all the way up on the ampeg there is realy no noise.

I have had the amp for about 3 months with no probs at all.
The buster is built like a tank. It is an all tube amp so I
give it a 7.

I have not needed them yet.

I love this amp. I bought it as a back up and it has become my main amp. It is a little too expensive new. As another review said, for a few more bucks you can get an Ampeg Svt or a Mesa 400+. However, if you find one used the amp is a great buy. I would also invest in a bass driver or Aphex if you want more variety. If the amp was stolen or lost I would get another one if I could find a used one.