That's the one then. If you don't like it or it's not enough power you can sell it. If you don't get it you will probably just keep chasing 'that' sound.
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Help Deciding between Mesa and GK Amp Head
- Thread starter Giubaloo
- Start date
I think you've nailed it there!
It's like comparing a StingRay to an L-2000; both of them are classic designs, but one is more instantly identifiable and the other is more versatile.
To circle back to the OP, I'd say that both Mesa and GK make great amps.
The GK is going to have that distinctive GK tone.
The Mesa is going to be more flexible.
There is no wrong answer - but you'll probably prefer one over the other.
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My advice is always to think not only in terms of your current needs but also in terms of your potential needs in the future. If there is any chance that some day you might want to add a second (matching) cabinet, I would make it a priority to get an amp that will go down to 2 ohms given that your current cab is 4 ohms.
I wouldn't use a 350-watt amp for anything. Every amp I own is 800 or 1k watts. I have no use for anything smaller. For practice I use a computer, a 4-channel mixer and headphones. The days of practice amps is long gone. Rehearsals are an Epifani UL310 paired with either one of my Mesa D-800+ heads or I might decide to bring out one of my Epifani UL901 heads.
But if all you got is a 350-watt head. and it will do 2ohms. Hell ya I'd run a pair of 212s or 410s. The more speaker you have the fuller your sound. Amps shine with more load.
I have a gig tonight. HUGE stage. Of course, I have a high output head. We know that already. And with 4 ohm cabs we know the amps will put out full power (800 watts) into any of the cabs I would bring. And be plenty loud enough. But running a matched pair of cabs brings the magic. A 350-watt Mesa head. I would think, would sound glorious through a matched pair of Subway 212s. Even 410s.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,779
- 40,469
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
Actually the D-350 will not support anything lower than a 4 Ohm load. All the other SW amps do support 2 Ohm operation though.
This is great advice, and unless you REALLY do not foresee any chance of playing with a loud band, it's advice that might steer you away from either the D-350 or the Legacy 500.
The D-350 is rated 350 Watts @ 4 Ohms / 175 Watts @ 8 Ohms
Per the manual, the Legacy 500 only does full power at 2.7 ohms - so OP could only add an 8 ohm cab to his current 4 ohm cab - looks like there is current limiting that reduces available power at 2 ohms:
190W @ 1% THD+N, 8Ω
300W @ 1% THD+N, 4Ω
450W @ 1% THD+N, 2.7Ω
300W @ 1% THD+N, 2Ω
The D-800 and Legacy 800, on the other hand, both do their rated power into 4, 2.7, or 2 ohms.
Gotta say. Even though it’s probably taboo.
The new GK line really disappointed me.
And I was a die hard GK groupie. I started early with the 400b and the 4412h cabs. Straight into the 400rb and then the 800rb.
Best amps GK ever made.
Don’t know what their thinking at GK now. The new line blows. IMHO.
Sorry.
The new GK line really disappointed me.
And I was a die hard GK groupie. I started early with the 400b and the 4412h cabs. Straight into the 400rb and then the 800rb.
Best amps GK ever made.
Don’t know what their thinking at GK now. The new line blows. IMHO.
Sorry.
Just wanted to say thank you again to everybody who has been weighing in, all of this information is incredible helpful to an amp noob like me. I will say this, the chance of this amp being played in front of anybody other than myself in my apartment is pretty much 0. If I did end up going the GK route I would have no problem paying the extra $100 for the Legacy 800 vs the Legacy 500, I just think an amp that powerful would be overkill for what it would be used for in my situation.
Another thing I wanted to address was the comment I made earlier about the GK sound clips I've heard sounding like what I envision my bass tone to sound like. I've only seen watched a couple of videos of the Mesa and none of them were playing a more aggressive style of music, so it's not that the Mesa *can't* replicate that sound I'm imagining in my head, it's just that I haven't seen it myself. I have watched a few videos of older models (like the D-800+) which I assume have similar tonal characteristics. I wanted to add that caveat because at the end of the day I've never played either of these amps in person before so I can't say for certain which one sounds better to me personally, just that the GK videos I've seen definitely seem to be catered more to the style of music I'm into.
Another thing I wanted to address was the comment I made earlier about the GK sound clips I've heard sounding like what I envision my bass tone to sound like. I've only seen watched a couple of videos of the Mesa and none of them were playing a more aggressive style of music, so it's not that the Mesa *can't* replicate that sound I'm imagining in my head, it's just that I haven't seen it myself. I have watched a few videos of older models (like the D-800+) which I assume have similar tonal characteristics. I wanted to add that caveat because at the end of the day I've never played either of these amps in person before so I can't say for certain which one sounds better to me personally, just that the GK videos I've seen definitely seem to be catered more to the style of music I'm into.
Wait.... you're planning to play in an apartment? In that case you should probably be thinking about a good set of headphones rather than a cabinet.
Sorry, should have clarified. For the last few years I've primarily been playing via Neural DSP through my DT770 Pros, also have a pair of Eris PreSonus E7 XT monitors which I've been enjoying. I also have a TC Electronic BQ250 head which I was using mainly for the DI out into my audio interface, and have experimented using my Darkglass B7k and SansAmp as preamps as well but right now they're on my pedalboard. I'll only be in an apartment for another year or so and have been playing with friends (acoustic drum kit, two guitars, vocals, me) so I want to invest in a nice amp/cab, just don't need anything insanely powerful.
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Yeah, the Legacy blows. Blows ‘em away every Saturday!
Always say thank you to your sound guy.
Just wanted to clear this up, we went back to using jacks that accept both NL2 and NL4 speakons on all of our products, there will probably be a couple still floating around that only take the NL2, but as of March/April 2022 everything shipping out has jacks that accept both!
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,779
- 40,469
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
This is an excellent decision in my humble opinion.
Just want to point out that my early number (2019?) Legacy also accepts NL4 connectors. That means there’s a discrete group (the pandemic models
?) that don’t.
