I hate all amplifiers

[agedhorse]

There's nothing at all weird or inconsistent about that. The amp is a monitor for me. I want to be able to control how loud my personal monitor volume without affecting the FOH. I can't imagine tying the DI volume to the master volume being of benefit to either the bassist or the FOH engineer.

I first realized that my old M9 had a post master DI on a gig. I thought there was something wrong with it. I still do.
But in any case, I had it modified to be pre-master. I also had the volume taper changed to be more linear, both of which made the amp infinitely more usable for me. By the way, Mesa consulted with the local shop for these mods, and even they didn't seem to have a justification for the post-master thing. @agedhorse ?

Not my product.

Funny you mention that. Way back when the Walkabout first appeared, Mesa did give me their explanation for the design. I wish I could recall it, but it didn’t make sense to this touring bassist. As I mentioned, Mesa has re-thought the approach and I believe all the Subway amps allow pre/post with no connection to the master. Andy can straighten me out if I’m wrong. I can only speak for the D800+ and it’s a perfectly designed amp in my book and for my needs.

The Walkabout output stage was kind of unique, and I believe the post master volume DI intended to take advantage of this. In practice, the benefits were outweighed by the inconvenience.

The WD post DI is pre-master volume.

 

[jthisdell]

The Rumble series have a "line out xlr" that is post master. Not a true di. It works but not ideal.

 

[TomB]

Not my product.



The Walkabout output stage was kind of unique, and I believe the post master volume DI intended to take advantage of this. In practice, the benefits were outweighed by the inconvenience.

The WD post DI is pre-master volume.

Now that you remind me, I believe the explanation at the time was along those lines - that there were characteristics of the sound of the amp’s power section that were important to send to FOH. Indeed, it was a wonderful sound, but a very inconvenient layout whenever sound check was hurried. And when you’re the bassist, I’m afraid sound check is usually hurried. As amp DI’s have gotten more ubiquitous and reliable, I find more and more techs happy to take mine vs the old “here’s a DI box” routine. Thanks for weighing in Andy.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

I think the OP needs inputs from this sound engineer Autotune vs real voice hilarious video !! LOL ComediHa! - YouTube and the issue will be resolved...

 

[ArenW]

If I was you I'd demo a Super Bassman

Agreed 1000% Best I've heard. I got one about 8-9 years ago and it cured me of all Bass Amp GAS!

 

[P. Aaron]

This is straight up and kinda kicks into the grass our obsession with the minutae of gear. Did a largish outdoor show a while back, big stage etc ...Im a nobody so we were early in the day so no one really cared which meant the sound dude probably didn't touch the console and consoles are rarely messed with in transit.

My tone on stage....thick gnarly P bass, old flats..beautiful. Vid playback and I sounded like an Alembic with the bass dialled back and the treble dimed....thats sarcasm..for those who know how bright Alembics are. It was so bright and clangy I could not beleive it.

On the other hand Ive watched big shows with active basses and they sounded like muddy boom in the auditorium. So bass amps. Yep, there really worth worrying about.

The PA operator's mindset is something we can't always dial in. However, Same settings, different day, seems, sounds totally different. We're biological beings and blood pressure likely affects (how we hear) tone. Is the drummer pissed (likely)? Does his attitude affect the music? Yes. So many factors besides gear. Probably why we choose gear for consistency of performance that produces a tone(s) that we can work with.

One can make any amp work. It takes time and sometimes less playing than learning.

 

[smeet]

Echoing a couple of other posts, the Fender Super Bassman is a crazy good amp. Using the "overdrive" channel with its active eq, you can get bright and aggressive modern tube sounds without losing the amazing fundamental of your low notes. I used one with a Barefaced Four10 cabinet and it was incredible.

 

[rodl2005]

I went to see Level 42 back in the early 80s at a smallish theatre. Stood right at the front and Mark King played through his 810 Trace Elliot rig and sounded amazing. Saw Level 42 for the second time last year and the whole band were using IEM and MK had a Markbass 410 rig on stage that might just as well have been switched off. I expect the sound was acceptable somewhere near the mixing desk but front of stage was meh! I'm sure bands have a lovely experience with IEM.

I've been to similar gigs... it ain't pretty. Must be poor sound engineer....?

I can say that all the best sounding concerts I've experienced were with acts using traditional gear. Real drums, SVT or similar bass etc...
Heck, even some modern "dance music" style bands I've seen live lately are using a real drummer, and it's the best sound I've heard of this style too.

Same with bass... that I've heard live at least. Something about the energy of a human hitting things.... strings or skins