If you can only choose 1 MESA Subway cab...

[Element Zero]

As an owner of the 800+, sw112 and sw115, my vote is the 15. I LOVE the 12 though. Not as deep as the 115 but it’s great. However, the 15 just sounds deeper and more rounded. It still has plenty of mids for great articulation but it’s easy to make it sound fat as you can imagine. I’ve yet to or even see the sw210 in person.

 

[hafizimran]

Wow. There is an overwhelming skew towards the SW115. This is just beautiful- makes my decision easier.

I guess I’ll get the SW115 first and maybe in a year or two consider another SW115 or SW112.

Thank you everyone. Many of you have written proper, measured and detailed advice. I appreciate you taking the time out to do that.

 

[GManfromOz]

because he stated in the original post that he can only afford one?

And I specified the ONE (1) that I recommended, ie. the 115.

 

[roller]

The 15 is going to provide way better tone and reach in a band setting vs. the 210.

If you should ever have the funds for a second cab, the 210 is a nice choice. Think of the 210 as a topping to the burger that is the 15.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I'm in the get the 15 group (I own a 112/115 D800 stack)
Tonight, I am taking my 112 as a standalone: small stage, big hall, strong FOH support
I could take the 115, but I have played here several times, and they LOOVE the subs I need to get an HPF for this, and one other place.
TOO much content below 100.
The "wide bottom" of the 115 is actually a hinderance here, the subs the hollow stage...

The D800 and 112 worked great with FOH support last night packed house line outside till midnight! Got the sound man to set the hpf on the new board to 50 Hz So much better.
You can see the sub to the Right in the rig pic.

 

[ezstep]

Granted I played them both at conversation volume in the store. Maybe the SW115 will sound more upfront at higher volumes?

This. At low volumes, you might not notice much difference between the 15 and the 12 or the 2x10. But, at performance volume, the 15 really shines. The first time I used my Subway onstage, I also took a larger 15" cab and stacked the Subway on top. Of course, having a new cab I really wanted to hear it, so I connected only that one cab. After a few minutes the guitarist commented that my amp sounded really good. I told him that only the small cab was connected, and I have since purchased a second 15, my go-to rig. Huge with a small footprint.

 

[agedhorse]

There are some styles that favor one cabinet model over the other, for example the 112 really suits the jazz guys well (as does the 112 over the 115). Different cabinets for different tastes.

 

[Bobby Bass]

15

 

[GRoberts]

Really interesting thread with great real-world user experience. This gives me pause to think. Why? I demo'd a Mesa D800 head with the Mesa 15" Subway cab yesterday at low volume. I was not getting as much detail or mid grind as I wanted. But this thread makes an excellent point about using the 1x15" Subway cab at "band volume" to hear it perform at its best.

Ultimately for a single cab, almost no 1x12 cabs give me the full complete sound that I want. (except for a Baer ML112. That cab is special!)

Seeing all the votes of approval for a single 15" Subway cab make sense as it will likely be more 'supportive and full.'

I really want to try the 2x10 because there will be times when that's all I would need. And the Combination of 210 and 115 would be superb. My local shop has a 210 on order. So I look forward to trying it out when the time comes.

 

[stubborne]

Dam, wish I could find a place locally to demo this series.

 

[scelerat]

Apologies for resurrecting this thread. The responses are very helpful, as I have the same question, though possibly different needs...

I use the Subway as my "small, portable, no hassle" amp, when I don't want to lug my #1, a Music Man HD130 + 1x15 EVM 15L cab. Most gigs I'm playing 100-300 person rooms, rock n roll, usually just throw a mic on the cab. My most likely uses for the Subway over the Music Man is going to be either smaller club or coffee-house gigs, or larger stages where everything is DI.

So far, I've gigged with the 15L cab and a 1x12 Mesa thiele cab with EVM 12L. Both sounded great with the Subway and I liked the portability of the 1x12 until an enthusiastic bass-playing friend cranked the master and blew out the underpowered (ha!) 200W speaker. The punch of the 15" EVM is nice, but I love the idea of a tiny portable rig, and there's still that power-handling problem.

If I get the 1x12 Subway cab am I going to be missing anything I don't already have? My bass tone isn't super bottom-heavy.

 

[bass.slinger]

The 210 cuts through really well in a loud band with distorted guitars. Mine is powered by a WD-800. I am looking to pickup the 115 as a second cab.

 

[sstillwell]

D-800+ into a single Subway 112 is the best rehearsal rig I've ever had. TWO Subway 112s get the job done with plenty of headroom at every gig I've ever used them. I'll agree with @Al Kraft that you can coax an impressive low end out of the 112, but it may take a bit more EQ than the 115. Totally worth it, though, and not THAT difficult to do. In a small room you're more likely to be using the HPF to cut low end than the deep switch to boost it. I'll also agree with him that you can't go wrong no matter which one you choose. Any of the cabinets are going to get loud enough with the D-800+ to run you out of the bedroom you're practicing in, and loud enough to be asked to turn down in most clubs.

 

[HelpImaRock]

I voted for the 12 because bringing anything larger on the actual subway sucks donkey balls. Also, get a hand cart, dammit.

 

[bassquick]

OK this thread is really helpful thanks everyone. I am going for the WD800 plus 115 because we'll be rehearsing outdoors, keeping our distance, thanks to the virus. I imagine for doing so, you need to be louder somehow, than if it was in a closed room.

 

[Bassi5t]

i went with the 210 for my WD-800 (there was a little birdie in the store saying the 210 sounded better (customer, not sales person)) but i think i liked the 115 better. I'm so indecisive! the 210 had more high mid voicing but the 115 had a more balanced sound (contrary to what the Bergantino loving customer said). i go for a high mid grind, chris squire tone...

any suggestions for the obsessed/indecisive/weary?!

 

[modalsum]

if the mesa d800+ w/ 2x 112 cabs is good enough for les claypool the last couple years, it's good enough for you. and for those that say he has great sound teams doing his live gigs, i saw him use that setup in a small venue in santa rosa pushing it hard w/o great PA assistance... it was divine as hell.

 

[Geri O]

SW115. Sounds fine for practice, too, don’t get out of hand (unless you want it to...)

No donkey balls necessary. People look at you funny.

(err, so I’ve heard....)

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I’m pretty set on the D800+ but only have enough funds for ONE MESA Subway cabinet- either the 210, 112, or 115.

Here’s the thing- I’m really more of a guitar player who is picking up the bass for a project. So although I can try all the cabs at the store, I stilll wouldn’t know what to look for in terms of what constitutes “a good sound”.

With that in mind, I’m thinking maybe I’ll rattle off a few keywords and hopefully they would enable you to advise me as best as possible, please:
- Bedroom/Home Studio playing 95%
- Live playing 5% (<200 pax events)
- Fender P-bass
- Music Man Caprice
- Flatwounds
- Motown (“What’s Going On”)
- Neo-soul (D’Angelo, Erykah Badu)

Please don’t recommend Bergantinos, Barefaced, fEARful, etc. I’m in Malaysia so it’s either Ampeg, Fender, TC Electronic, or MESA. Shipping and taxes of these exotic cabs would be too prohibitive.

Thanks!

Ps. Yes, I have searched. There is that one HUGE thread on MESA that’s like 4,000+ posts or something. I just can’t read through all that. I hope you understand.

Itd be the 215

 

[Doufuss]

I saw a video, and haven't heard one in person, but that 212 sound brawny and is pretty compact.