A Mesa 800D feature I didn't think I would care about

[Ben Clarke]

I've had my newish 800D out a few times, and have been really satisfied with how it powers a single Bergantino NV115 for small venues. I'm pretty sure I'm going to let my M9 Carbine go once I am sure I haven't found something I don't like about it - they're voiced differently, and I would miss some things about the M9, but it just checks so many boxes that I like checked. I might to try to land it at a venue I frequent as a house amp, but I'm starting to digress...

So tonight a newer project of mine, a rock band that jams, hit the road to a small town dive that had hosted them years ago - the owner and the core crowd are super into live music, and they showed up with big energy, so much so that we gave them an extra 30 minutes on an already late show for us. digressing again...

The point is that it's a tiny place, and I decided to forgo my pedal board entirely to make sure I could locate myself without it complicating that. I have a clip tuner, but it's getting pretty old, so I had picked up a Peterson Strobostomp Mini, and have loved the upgrade in accuracy and ease.

So I figured I would just bring the pedal tuner, sit it on top and use the tuner output of the 800D. Then I was thinking about potential scarce power (I was right), and didn't really want to pack a wall wart and deal with another AC line.... then...

USB.

I noticed the Peterson has a USB power input, and the 800D has an outlet. I had only figured I might use it on a tour when my phone was inconvenient to charge, or it had gotten away from me.

I wasn't sure the tuner was meant to be powered by it, maybe just firmware or calibration use? But I checked the website and it's meant for powering the pedal.

It worked perfectly. I don't think I'll use it often that way, but I was really pleased to find a well thought out feature on two products that solved a Plan B problem for me in the most convenient way.

 

[Slevage]

I've had my newish 800D out a few times, and have been really satisfied with how it powers a single Bergantino NV115 for small venues. I'm pretty sure I'm going to let my M9 Carbine go once I am sure I haven't found something I don't like about it - they're voiced differently, and I would miss some things about the M9, but it just checks so many boxes that I like checked. I might to try to land it at a venue I frequent as a house amp, but I'm starting to digress...

So tonight a newer project of mine, a rock band that jams, hit the road to a small town dive that had hosted them years ago - the owner and the core crowd are super into live music, and they showed up with big energy, so much so that we gave them an extra 30 minutes on an already late show for us. digressing again...

The point is that it's a tiny place, and I decided to forgo my pedal board entirely to make sure I could locate myself without it complicating that. I have a clip tuner, but it's getting pretty old, so I had picked up a Peterson Strobostomp Mini, and have loved the upgrade in accuracy and ease.

So I figured I would just bring the pedal tuner, sit it on top and use the tuner output of the 800D. Then I was thinking about potential scarce power (I was right), and didn't really want to pack a wall wart and deal with another AC line.... then...

USB.

I noticed the Peterson has a USB power input, and the 800D has an outlet. I had only figured I might use it on a tour when my phone was inconvenient to charge, or it had gotten away from me.

I wasn't sure the tuner was meant to be powered by it, maybe just firmware or calibration use? But I checked the website and it's meant for powering the pedal.

It worked perfectly. I don't think I'll use it often that way, but I was really pleased to find a well thought out feature on two products that solved a Plan B problem for me in the most convenient way.

So the tuner only needs 5V.

 

[Ben Clarke]

So the tuner only needs 5V.

They convert the voltage as needed internally. It also has a standard 9V jack that I had been using until last night.

USB 2.0 at 5V is 500ma - supplying roughly 300ma at 9V, it's plenty for the 85ma Peterson current draw.

 

[monsterthompson]

Makes me wonder what you could power with a myvolts ripcord.

MyVolts

 

[jthisdell]

Who hasn’t set up for a gig and realized their phone was dying?

 

[DuluthDank]

This amp has a fender tone stack right? Or am I misremembering?

 

[Jason Bonilla]

This amp has a fender tone stack right? Or am I misremembering?

Nah, got the tone stack from the old Mesa 400 bass amps. The type where if all your frequency controls are at zero, you get no output.

 

[lug]

I bought an amp with a built in tuner. At the time, it bore no weight in my decision. Now it's one of my favorite features!

 

[6thplanet]

Powering my tuner is why I put a 9V output on my amps. Then I make a combo cable to run to it. I don't know why every amp manufacturer doesn't include that feature. Cool that Mesa went with USB.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I've had my newish 800D out a few times, and have been really satisfied with how it powers a single Bergantino NV115 for small venues. I'm pretty sure I'm going to let my M9 Carbine go once I am sure I haven't found something I don't like about it - they're voiced differently, and I would miss some things about the M9, but it just checks so many boxes that I like checked. I might to try to land it at a venue I frequent as a house amp, but I'm starting to digress...

So tonight a newer project of mine, a rock band that jams, hit the road to a small town dive that had hosted them years ago - the owner and the core crowd are super into live music, and they showed up with big energy, so much so that we gave them an extra 30 minutes on an already late show for us. digressing again...

The point is that it's a tiny place, and I decided to forgo my pedal board entirely to make sure I could locate myself without it complicating that. I have a clip tuner, but it's getting pretty old, so I had picked up a Peterson Strobostomp Mini, and have loved the upgrade in accuracy and ease.

So I figured I would just bring the pedal tuner, sit it on top and use the tuner output of the 800D. Then I was thinking about potential scarce power (I was right), and didn't really want to pack a wall wart and deal with another AC line.... then...

USB.

I noticed the Peterson has a USB power input, and the 800D has an outlet. I had only figured I might use it on a tour when my phone was inconvenient to charge, or it had gotten away from me.

I wasn't sure the tuner was meant to be powered by it, maybe just firmware or calibration use? But I checked the website and it's meant for powering the pedal.

It worked perfectly. I don't think I'll use it often that way, but I was really pleased to find a well thought out feature on two products that solved a Plan B problem for me in the most convenient way.

Agreed, very useful feature.

 

[agedhorse]

This amp has a fender tone stack right? Or am I misremembering?

This is more or less correct.

Nah, got the tone stack from the old Mesa 400 bass amps. The type where if all your frequency controls are at zero, you get no output.

Which is based on the Fender tone stack, though it’s further updated from the Bass 400.

 

[skier 913]

I bought an amp with a built in tuner. At the time, it bore no weight in my decision. Now it's one of my favorite features!

It seems like it would be one of the most convienient and important features, I would love to see this incorporated in all amps and combos of the future if possible

 

[Jeff Scott]

So the tuner only needs 5V.

The AC adapter for my Stoboflip puts out 5V for the tuner, so this seems very consistent on the part of Peterson.

 

[walkbassman45]

I've mounted my Peterson Strobe HD tuner using the tuner jack and USB power on the 800D and when I switch on the amp, I can tune and play. I leave it on running.

 

[Jim Kernan]

I do the same with the WD800 and the Mini.

 

[TimB1226]

In ancient times, amps used to have “convenience” AC outlets for powering anything. It’s a shame they no longer do that, especially with the ubiquity of pedals.

 

[agedhorse]

In ancient times, amps used to have “convenience” AC outlets for powering anything. It’s a shame they no longer do that, especially with the ubiquity of pedals.

Because when an accessory outlet is included, it changes how the product is categorized from a safety regulatory framework. It becomes an expensive hassle pretty quickly.

 

[TimB1226]

Because when an accessory outlet is included, it changes how the product is categorized from a safety regulatory framework. It becomes an expensive hassle pretty quickly.

Have regulations changed since the Fender blackface/silverface era, or as recently as my Tech 21 Trademark 60, to make things prohibitively expensive?

 

[Jeff Scott]

Have regulations changed since the Fender blackface/silverface era, or as recently as my Tech 21 Trademark 60, to make things prohibitively expensive?

The Tech 21 Trademark 60 goes back to the last century.

 

[agedhorse]

Have regulations changed since the Fender blackface/silverface era, or as recently as my Tech 21 Trademark 60, to make things prohibitively expensive?

Yes, very much.