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Mesa Boogie Subway D-800

#63
Super Bass said:
uh, what? Were people not comparing Subways to Ampegs?
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Yes, and GK in general is awfully far away from Ampeg IMO. Great choices for those who are looking for a more modern, high mid/high forward tone though.
 
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#66
agedhorse said:
Yes, and GK in general is awfully far away from Ampeg IMO. Great choices for those who are looking for a more modern, high mid/high forward tone though.
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My tonal range has Aguilar TH anchoring one end and GK MB heads anchoring the other. I'd place classic Ampeg heads closer to the Aguilar TH and the Mesa D800/800+ heads about mid way but closer to GK territory.

We all hear things differently, but to my ear the GK signature sound (which I like) when initially introduced was an alternative for folks looking for something different from the classic Ampeg and Fender sounds. SWR and others also offered what I would call serious classic Ampeg alternatives. All (including Ampeg) were good and you simply picked what worked for your tone goals.
 
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#67
Hello TBrs: Thank you, again and again. You all shared so much good input/info w/regard to Mesa's. I will try to sell my SVT 7-Pro (asap) and go to the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. It's just a bit of a drive for me but I can at least here the D800 and the D800+. I will probably go with the D800 just because I have never cared for parametric EQ. I think that's simply my lack of patience to really fiddle with P-EQ and get a solid understanding of P-EQ and dial in my sound quickly. I love my USA made Ampeg 2-Pro w/ an 8x10 Ampeg cab. You can dial in your sound quickly if you're into Ampeg, in what i call a "hurry-up" performance situation - meaning your band gets no soundcheck. I'll always keep the Ampeg SVT 2-Pro USA made, but it's time to let my spine heal (as much as it can - I use to be 5'11" but I'm 5' 9.5" thx Ampeg - lol. From what the majority of you all said, It seems like Mesa still makes great bass amps. Take care and keep the bass alive.
 
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#68
Digits Molloy said:
Hello TBrs: Thank you, again and again. You all shared so much good input/info w/regard to Mesa's. I will try to sell my SVT 7-Pro (asap) and go to the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. It's just a bit of a drive for me but I can at least here the D800 and the D800+. I will probably go with the D800 just because I have never cared for parametric EQ. I think that's simply my lack of patience to really fiddle with P-EQ and get a solid understanding of P-EQ and dial in my sound quickly. I love my USA made Ampeg 2-Pro w/ an 8x10 Ampeg cab. You can dial in your sound quickly if you're into Ampeg, in what i call a "hurry-up" performance situation - meaning your band gets no soundcheck. I'll always keep the Ampeg SVT 2-Pro USA made, but it's time to let my spine heal (as much as it can - I use to be 5'11" but I'm 5' 9.5" thx Ampeg - lol. From what the majority of you all said, It seems like Mesa still makes great bass amps. Take care and keep the bass alive.
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The semi parametric EQ can be easy to use if you use a simple strategy. If there is something in your tone that sounds off or ugly to you, boost the EQ and sweep the frequency until it sounds really bad....then make a cut at that frequency. If something seems missing in your tone, boost the EQ and sweep the frequency until it sounds better...fuller to you and then set the level to your liking.

I have the D-800, D-800+ and a WD-800. I found the D-800+ really easy to use where the WD-800 took some time for me to get it dialed in to my sound. Now the WD-800 is my favorite of the three but I love all of them. Good luck!
 
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#69
Digits Molloy said:
Hello TBrs: Thank you, again and again. You all shared so much good input/info w/regard to Mesa's. I will try to sell my SVT 7-Pro (asap) and go to the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. It's just a bit of a drive for me but I can at least here the D800 and the D800+. I will probably go with the D800 just because I have never cared for parametric EQ. I think that's simply my lack of patience to really fiddle with P-EQ and get a solid understanding of P-EQ and dial in my sound quickly. I love my USA made Ampeg 2-Pro w/ an 8x10 Ampeg cab. You can dial in your sound quickly if you're into Ampeg, in what i call a "hurry-up" performance situation - meaning your band gets no soundcheck. I'll always keep the Ampeg SVT 2-Pro USA made, but it's time to let my spine heal (as much as it can - I use to be 5'11" but I'm 5' 9.5" thx Ampeg - lol. From what the majority of you all said, It seems like Mesa still makes great bass amps. Take care and keep the bass alive.
Click to expand...
Give the WD800 a try if you have the opportunity while you’re there. I prefer simplicity and don’t monkey with the dials very much but there have been a couple of times that the flexibility of those mids has been really helpful in a poor environment with a busy mix. Most of the time I just leave’m flat though. Also, the HPF available on all but the D800 can’t be understated.
We’re all looking forward to seeing pics of what you end up with. Good luck on your hunt!
 
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#70
BOOG said:
Also, the HPF available on all but the D800 can’t be understated.
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Just for clarity for those unfamiliar, the D-800 does have an internal fixed-frequency HPF (which is effectively lowered a bit when the deep switch is engaged). It just doesn't have an adjustable HPF like the 800+, WD, and TT models. For the record, the D-350 also has an integrated fixed-frequency HPF operating very similarly to the D-800's.

That said, I too like having a variable frequency HPF for extra tone shaping options. However, the D-800's HPF does a fine job preventing muddiness when boosting bass and maintaining clean headroom by eliminating the production of unusable sub-low frequency signals...which also provides valuable speaker protection.
 
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#72
Al Kraft said:
Just for clarity for those unfamiliar, the D-800 does have an internal fixed-frequency HPF (which is effectively lowered a bit when the deep switch is engaged). It just doesn't have an adjustable HPF like the 800+, WD, and TT models. For the record, the D-350 also has an integrated fixed-frequency HPF operating very similarly to the D-800's.

That said, I too like having a variable frequency HPF for extra tone shaping options. However, the D-800's HPF does a fine job preventing muddiness when boosting bass and maintaining clean headroom by eliminating the production of unusable sub-low frequency signals...which also provides valuable speaker protection.
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Ahh, thank you for making the correction!
 
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#73
Again, thank you all - lots of great advise posted. And thanks for the heads up on the Mesa store being closed down - a total bummer. Maybe Guitar Center sells them or Sam Ash sells them (which are both nearby me). Or, I'll order the Mesa (D800 or D800+ online - I still can't decide on which Mesa to get for a good warm tone). I'll spend the entire evening tonight reading each and every one of the posts you TBrs posted, thoroughly. TB is a good website for helping one another out. We bassist should stick together w/ regard to tone, groove & tempo ideas. After all, who is going to keep those darn pesky drummers on the one and in the pocket?
 
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#74
Digits Molloy said:
Again, thank you all - lots of great advise posted. And thanks for the heads up on the Mesa store being closed down - a total bummer. Maybe Guitar Center sells them or Sam Ash sells them (which are both nearby me). Or, I'll order the Mesa (D800 or D800+ online - I still can't decide on which Mesa to get for a good warm tone). I'll spend the entire evening tonight reading each and every one of the posts you TBrs posted, thoroughly. TB is a good website for helping one another out. We bassist should stick together w/ regard to tone, groove & tempo ideas. After all, who is going to keep those darn pesky drummers on the one and in the pocket?
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There s a lot of good information here, be sure to look at the collective perspective rather than outliers.
 
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#77
Goodluck on your journey. Keep us posted on where you land. You may be surprised in what you like if you do get a chance to try out various brands.
Digits Molloy said:
Again, thank you all - lots of great advise posted. And thanks for the heads up on the Mesa store being closed down - a total bummer. Maybe Guitar Center sells them or Sam Ash sells them (which are both nearby me). Or, I'll order the Mesa (D800 or D800+ online - I still can't decide on which Mesa to get for a good warm tone). I'll spend the entire evening tonight reading each and every one of the posts you TBrs posted, thoroughly. TB is a good website for helping one another out. We bassist should stick together w/ regard to tone, groove & tempo ideas. After all, who is going to keep those darn pesky drummers on the one and in the pocket?
Click to expand...
 
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#78
Digits Molloy said:
Hello TBrs: Thank you, again and again. You all shared so much good input/info w/regard to Mesa's. I will try to sell my SVT 7-Pro (asap) and go to the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. It's just a bit of a drive for me but I can at least here the D800 and the D800+. I will probably go with the D800 just because I have never cared for parametric EQ. I think that's simply my lack of patience to really fiddle with P-EQ and get a solid understanding of P-EQ and dial in my sound quickly. I love my USA made Ampeg 2-Pro w/ an 8x10 Ampeg cab. You can dial in your sound quickly if you're into Ampeg, in what i call a "hurry-up" performance situation - meaning your band gets no soundcheck. I'll always keep the Ampeg SVT 2-Pro USA made, but it's time to let my spine heal (as much as it can - I use to be 5'11" but I'm 5' 9.5" thx Ampeg - lol. From what the majority of you all said, It seems like Mesa still makes great bass amps. Take care and keep the bass alive.
Click to expand...
Remember over here too!
Official Mesa Boogie Subway Series Club
 
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