Mesa/Boogie M-Pulse 360 Head

This amp was made in 2003, right after the changed the guts so the power conditioners are better. The direct out on the back is really handy for live and studio purposes. It has a 2 tube pre-amp, and solid-state power section. 360 watts, you don't need more than that.

I use a 4-string brawley KB-24 with EMG style pickups. I also play an active 5-string fender jazz. The cab I use is an Ampeg 6x10. The sounds from this amp range from basic r&b scooped sounds, thick rock, and snappy funk. Its very quiet, no extra noise.

It's a Mesa, so it won't break down anytime soon. And if it does, I live 15 minutes away from the main factory in Petaluma (lucky me)

See above.

I've been playing in bands for about 2 years now, and this is the best amp I've ever used. With this amp, I don't need to buy any more equiptment for a long, long time. Highly, Highly recomended from a gigging players stand-point.

I have been playing bass for 16 years and have tried many amps
I own a pulse 360 and it sounds amazing! Every gig I play people come up and say shit man that sounds great! Everyone wants my sound!

I play an '95 epiphone with 18v p-j emgs for pickups. I use a svt410hlf ampeg cabinet. The sond is great. It can make any sound for any stlye. Some less bright basses sounded muddy on this amp. I think instument and amp should firtst be tested before purchase.

It has failed 2 times in one year. The input jack on the active side is shorting. Mesa got me to fix it myself becuase I don't trust the techs in edmonton becuase they could not fix it right the first time.
They also sent me $200.00 us in free stuff, (shirts, tubes, parts)
free shipping and everything, Took care of my problems very well and
I fixed it and it works fn great!

1 year
GREAT SERVICE!!

I wish it was louder!! The 600 was 2600 can. before tax!!
WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!

Made 2001 in U.S.A. Mesa's attempt to copy what SWR and other companies have been doing for years. Pretty versatile as far as sounds but still nothing close to an all-tube amp like the SVT-II or Bass 400+. It has more features than most consumers will use but there are the essentials except for a mute or standby switch. It has enough power for most situations although I don't think it would hold up against a Triple Rectifier.

I spent 3-4 hours in the store with the amp playing through a new 4x10 Mesa and a MIA P-bass, a Warwick Thumb, a MIA J-bass, and a Music Man 5 string. They all sounded good but I liked the Warwick the best through it. It's not as hi-fi as an SWR or Eden and not as colourful as an SVT or Bass 400+. I didn't like the Parametric EQ as much as the plain bass, mid, and treble controls. A LOT of lows with the EQ but I really couldn't get the right amount of mids or treble out of it so it was really muddy. The EQ controls were very interactive with each other making it almost impossible to find a sound I liked because once I had the right amount of bass I'd have to mess with the treble and mids and then after I did that I'd have to go back and readjust the bass again and so on. The overdrive sucked on it, I'm not sure if it was because of a bad tube or because of the MOSFET power amp but it was just a bunch of harsh fuzz, nothing near the warm overdrive of an all-tube amp. The compression would probably be better left out of this unit because it made the bass too overbearing and made the amp clip at a low volume.

Probably pretty reliable since it's a Mesa and there are only 2 tubes in it but I don't know for sure.

I only played with it a couple of times in the store but that's not to say I didn't give it a fair amount of time to shine. I tried out a couple of really good basses with it and all kinds of different EQ settings but nothing sounded as good as just the plain, no strings attached, sounds; which can easily be had for a lot less than $1K. I mean, why spend $1K when you can get as good or better sound and reliability from an Ampeg B2-R for $580 and you don't have to worry about a single tube? Maybe if I had days to spend messing around with the EQ and compression I could have found the perfect sound (to my ears) but I didn't find it so I tried out the Mesa Bass 400+ instead (which is now sitting in my rack and I highly recommend to anyone - a used one can be found for about the same price as the 360).

AMAZING! This is the nicest bass amp of its class. Ampeg and SWR have lost to this competition. It has footswitcheable compression, effects loop, parametric EQ, and solo volume setting. The compressor on this amp is fantastic; no unwanted noises, but cool compression effects can be achieved with some tweeking. It also has a great line-out and slave. The parametric EQ is 5 band: 40Hz, 120, 400, 1.4K, and 6K. Each parametric frequency also contains its own independent gain control so you can basically pin point any frequency you want. The regular EQ has gain, bass, mid, and treble. The compressor has threshold and ratio. The amp is powered by 5 MOSFET tubes, witch in my mind are better than vacuum tubes because they aren't as much of a hassle, they don't break as easy, and the difference in tone is microscopic.

With the 5 band parametric EQ and independent gain controls for each frequency, you can achieve just about any tone and sound you can fathom. The compression works flawlessly. It's also quiet and never makes weird noises like cheaper compressors. Mesa Boogie really didn't sacrifice anything when they installed that compressor. I am playing the head through an SWR goliath III and an Ernie Ball Stingray. It sounds sweet. And the effects loop is crisp, clean and causes no unwanted volume changes.

It's brand new so I really can't make a judgement on its reliability.

Don't know, but it has a one year warranty.

It's a beautiful sounding amp. The perfect package. Not to bulky or heavy: 2 rack spaces. For the size and wattage of the amp it pumps out a lot of sound; way more than the ampeg and SWR models of similar class. The only amp I'd prefir over it would be the 600 watt model, but I couldn't afford it and this one will suffice perfectly for my needs.