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Mesa amp…….do it?

Probably a stupid question to ask here because I know how you all like to spend other peoples money…. but I’m gonna do it anyways. Have the opportunity to buy a Mesa D800+ for $750 shipped.

Had started a thread a few days ago that a lot of you posted in about possibly getting a Mesa amp I was asking some questions about it. Currently have the GK MB500. Haven’t been able to get a tone. I absolutely love out of it. Tried out the Aguilar tone hammer DI and just sold that yesterday because I can only get a decent tone on my fender jazz bass but nothing else.

I have a Broughton high pass filter on my pedal board so I know that’s something I can sell too if I get the Mesa since it has one built-in.

Should I pull the trigger on the D800+? Is it THAT good?
I wanna spend your money! Get the amp. For 750 bucks if you don't like it you could turn around and resell it here and get your money back.

I use the D-800+ to push any combination of 4, 8ohm, Markbass Traveler cabs, two 151P and two 102P cabs. Or I use it to push a 4ohm GK NEO IV 212. Just the Mesa head and the GK cab alone is the best setup I have ever owned when it comes to sound, volume, and portability. But running those 4 Markbass cabs with it is pure blissfulness.

I seriously doubt you're going to be disappointed with that amp. I've owned mine for 3 years this fall and the only thing I've added to add to the "sound" outside of normal FX, is a Sushi Box, two tube, "More" pre amp that has one knob for gain and no tone circuit whatsoever, and the D-800+ head works really well with it.
 
wow! That’s awesome man. Thanks for posting that. Again it seems anybody that posts has nothing but rave reviews for it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say, it’s not for me or I sold it. You just having it one day I’m looking at that much is crazy.

Looks like these things go for what brand new? Around 1100? Even used I think 750 seems to be pretty dang good.

$750 is a very good value for pro quality integrated 800 watt head.

I have a WD-800 which is also a very good head of which I paid just slight more than what you will pay for yours. in general, I’m a Mesa fan.
 
Probably a stupid question to ask here because I know how you all like to spend other peoples money…. but I’m gonna do it anyways. Have the opportunity to buy a Mesa D800+ for $750 shipped.

Had started a thread a few days ago that a lot of you posted in about possibly getting a Mesa amp I was asking some questions about it. Currently have the GK MB500. Haven’t been able to get a tone. I absolutely love out of it. Tried out the Aguilar tone hammer DI and just sold that yesterday because I can only get a decent tone on my fender jazz bass but nothing else.

I have a Broughton high pass filter on my pedal board so I know that’s something I can sell too if I get the Mesa since it has one built-in.

Should I pull the trigger on the D800+? Is it THAT good?
Yes. Yes it is. Just don’t go broke on gear. On the other hand, the D 800+ will last you for the next decade of your playing career.
 
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I bought a D-800+ and haven’t had a chance to gig with it or even do a band rehearsal. (Our rehearsal studio has an amp and I’m not one for moving gear if I don’t have to)

I think if it’s in good condition at that price it’s a no brainer. You can move it and probably break even or even make a few bucks. That is if it doesn’t knock you out.

I’m optimistic about the head but I’m thinking it won’t sound exactly like what I’m looking for unless I get another SW15 cab.

Unfortunately I can’t justify buying the second cab until we are booking.

So for now I’ll keep tweaking settings at home. Quality gear is a pretty safe choice when seeking your end game.
 
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Probably a stupid question to ask here because I know how you all like to spend other peoples money…. but I’m gonna do it anyways. Have the opportunity to buy a Mesa D800+ for $750 shipped.

Had started a thread a few days ago that a lot of you posted in about possibly getting a Mesa amp I was asking some questions about it. Currently have the GK MB500. Haven’t been able to get a tone. I absolutely love out of it. Tried out the Aguilar tone hammer DI and just sold that yesterday because I can only get a decent tone on my fender jazz bass but nothing else.

I have a Broughton high pass filter on my pedal board so I know that’s something I can sell too if I get the Mesa since it has one built-in.

Should I pull the trigger on the D800+? Is it THAT good?

My immediate thought is that if you're not getting a good tone from two fairly popular bass heads, what cab are you using?
 
OP, he's messing with you.

Chase the tone, chase the dream - even if it leads to financial ruin! :D

Ha ha….. well, I just pulled the cash out of my safe that I had set aside….. so I’m going to pull the trigger on this Mesa amp!

I just bought a freaking Duff McKagan jazz special bass from the TB classifieds 2 weekends ago. I don’t know why I did that honestly. I’ve played it for a few hours and think it sounds, meh. Not really what I was expecting. It feels good, got great action. Maybe I’m just not used to that type of bass. I really need to take a break from spending. It’s getting out of hand!

My immediate thought is that if you're not getting a good tone from two fairly popular bass heads, what cab are you using?

Started off with the GK neo IV 212. Was not impressed at all. Middy sounding, no bottom end. Bought a Mesa subway 410 a couple months ago off the TB classifieds and I was in love after the first note I played through it.
 
Ha ha….. well, I just pulled the cash out of my safe that I had set aside….. so I’m going to pull the trigger on this Mesa amp!

I just bought a freaking Duff McKagan jazz special bass from the TB classifieds 2 weekends ago. I don’t know why I did that honestly. I’ve played it for a few hours and think it sounds, meh. Not really what I was expecting. It feels good, got great action. Maybe I’m just not used to that type of bass. I really need to take a break from spending. It’s getting out of hand!



Started off with the GK neo IV 212. Was not impressed at all. Middy sounding, no bottom end. Bought a Mesa subway 410 a couple months ago off the TB classifieds and I was in love after the first note I played through it.

You known gear is right when it instantly speaks to you.
 
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I have a D800+ and I love it. It was so easy to dial in a great tone immediately. When I first got it, I was playing it through an ampeg svt810, but shortly after, picked up 2x10 and 1x15 subway cabs. Killer rig, and I've played a lot of gigs with it. I loved it so much, I decided to pick up a tt800 to get some tube tone. The tt800 actually took me a little bit of time and tweaking to really get the tones I wanted out of it, but it's right where I want it now, so as of right now, the D800+ is my backup/home head. But I still love it, and if you want a head that's a beast that can be set up and dialed in quickly, the D800+ is it.
 
Probably a stupid question to ask here because I know how you all like to spend other peoples money…. but I’m gonna do it anyways. Have the opportunity to buy a Mesa D800+ for $750 shipped.

Had started a thread a few days ago that a lot of you posted in about possibly getting a Mesa amp I was asking some questions about it. Currently have the GK MB500. Haven’t been able to get a tone. I absolutely love out of it. Tried out the Aguilar tone hammer DI and just sold that yesterday because I can only get a decent tone on my fender jazz bass but nothing else.

I have a Broughton high pass filter on my pedal board so I know that’s something I can sell too if I get the Mesa since it has one built-in.

Should I pull the trigger on the D800+? Is it THAT good?
It's gonna be different. Whether you like it more, or not is something you'll have to find out for yourself.

In general, amps amplify a signal coming in. It takes what you give it, and makes it louder. You can generally get the same things out of anything...generally. How easily it gets there, and the features built in, are how you really find your amp. For me, it's ampeg. I've ventured out of the box plenty of times, and always come back to getting exactly what I want from an ampeg. For you, who knows? The Mesa might be just what you're looking for. At least they re-sell pretty dang high if it's not.
 
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