Mesa Boogie Subway D800+ Is it LOUD?

[Al Kraft]

Is that all? The D800 will bring the entire wall down!

I was going to say that my D-800 will play loud enough to make an onion cry. Honestly though, if you put a voicing control on a stick of dynamite, you'd have a crude, "one time use" D-800.

 

[nostatic]

To me the GK sounds loud due to the voicing (fair amount of upper edge). The Mesa feels loud - more low-mid push.

 

[Al Kraft]

To me the GK sounds loud due to the voicing (fair amount of upper edge). The Mesa feels loud - more low-mid push.

I'd agree - my MB 800 feels loud in a less refined/more brash, Carbine-like way. The D-800 feels like a balanced wall of sound or tall wave of sound coming at you.

 

[Ewo]

I have an MB 800 and D-800 and have observed the same thing relative to the control tapers.

Me, too. On most amps I've owned, the position of the master knob doesn't accurately show where in its range the amp is operating. (As in, they're about halfway open at 10:00 and wide open at 3:00.) The D-800, IMHO, is a welcome exception.

 

[DigitalMan]

My ears are ringing just reading this thread.

 

[Jason Z Chicago]

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update. I liked the Mesa a lot more than the GK as far as tone. I would certainly say the GK was louder. I turned both up 100% on master and put all the knobs at noon. No messing with the scooping or deep or whatever. I played through 4x10 and a 1x18 in series with both heads for about an hour and honestly both were capable of giving me what I needed. Glad to report that these class D amps are actually loud as f**k!!!

Might actually return both of them in favor of this Genz Benz 6.0 which also held up great, volume and tone wise!

Will decide at actual band practice, I think. I need to hear them with everything else.

 

[Al Kraft]

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update. I liked the Mesa a lot more than the GK as far as tone. I would certainly say the GK was louder. I turned both up 100% on master and put all the knobs at noon. No messing with the scooping or deep or whatever. I played through 4x10 and a 1x18 in series with both heads for about an hour and honestly both were capable of giving me what I needed. Glad to report that these class D amps are actually loud as f**k!!!

Might actually return both of them in favor of this Genz Benz 6.0 which also held up great, volume and tone wise!

Will decide at actual band practice, I think. I need to hear them with everything else.

The only time I'd call this latest generation of class D heads "lightweights" is during load-in and load-out.

 

[SLO Surfer]

I turned both up 100% on master and put all the knobs at noon.

You realize matching settings to noon makes both amps at completely different settings, both in EQ and volume. All the GK knobs at noon make it mid scooped or treble and bass boosted, and its gain knob is tapered to be at almost full volume at around noon, while the Mesa is actually about halfway up its gain structure. With these matched noon settings the GK will definitely "sound louder."

 

[77stingray]

Anybody try the 800 into an 8 ohm load, say a fEARful 12/6 ?

I do! I was surprised by the controls at first because they do work differently than other amps I have owned. The tone is amazing, the D.I. Signal quality is top notch. I thought I might have to add a second 8 ohm cab but that has not been the case. However, I am not playing with 2 guitarists with Marshall stacks. Been there done that, but not with this rig.

 

[77stingray]

I totally agree with SLO surfer. It took me a minute to figure it out but with the D-800 I have found that the gain
Sounds best and has the best volume when it is set much closer to the main volume. Unlike other amps, this does not produce an overdrive situation. I am not very technical, maybe someone else can explain it better.

QUOTE="Jason Z Chicago, post: 19818085, member: 275955"]Hey guys, just wanted to give an update. I liked the Mesa a lot more than the GK as far as tone. I would certainly say the GK was louder. I turned both up 100% on master and put all the knobs at noon. No messing with the scooping or deep or whatever. I played through 4x10 and a 1x18 in series with both heads for about an hour and honestly both were capable of giving me what I needed. Glad to report that these class D amps are actually loud as f**k!!!

Might actually return both of them in favor of this Genz Benz 6.0 which also held up great, volume and tone wise!

Will decide at actual band practice, I think. I need to hear them with everything else.[/QUOTE]

 

[3rdcurve]

View attachment 1077956

I do! I was surprised by the controls at first because they do work differently than other amps I have owned. The tone is amazing, the D.I. Signal quality is top notch. I thought I might have to add a second 8 ohm cab but that has not been the case. However, I am not playing with 2 guitarists with Marshall stacks. Been there done that, but not with this rig.

Nice Muck!

 

[Jason Z Chicago]

You realize matching settings to noon makes both amps at completely different settings, both in EQ and volume. All the GK knobs at noon make it mid scooped or treble and bass boosted, and its gain knob is tapered to be at almost full volume at around noon, while the Mesa is actually about halfway up its gain structure. With these matched noon settings the GK will definitely "sound louder."

Sorry if I wasnt clear enough but I did do more than just play with both heads with everything at noon settings. I played for about an hour, changing every parameter drastically, to get an idea of what each head sounded like with different settings. I used that as a basic reply to give the impression that all things being equal, over the course of the hour I realized that the Mesa sounded nicer to me but the GK was louder overall. Both were extremely loud and capable but with the gain and the master's dimed, the GK was louder. Sorry if that wasnt obvious. I dont want anyone to get the wrong idea.

 

[Amajew]

I must have the loudest drummer in the world then because I've got two 610's, running @2ohms and my drummer can still beat my D800 into submission.

No disrespect with this post but there's no way that 2 610's can't keep up (and knock a drummer off his stool) with a D800. You must have some EQ'ing issues or bad cables or something that's wrong with your setup. What 610 cabs are you using??????

I've powered my D800 through 2 GK neo212 cabs and against two loud guitarists playing Mesa and Engl with a Mesa 212 and Genz 212 respectively (both rigs are ridiculously loud as in your hearing will be damaged in 5 minutes loud) and I've had to turn down and I had more headroom to spare.

 

[Reverend179]

No disrespect with this post but there's no way that 2 610's can't keep up (and knock a drummer off his stool) with a D800. You must have some EQ'ing issues or bad cables or something that's wrong with your setup. What 610 cabs are you using??????

I've powered my D800 through 2 GK neo212 cabs and against two loud guitarists playing Mesa and Engl with a Mesa 212 and Genz 212 respectively (both rigs are ridiculously loud as in your hearing will be damaged in 5 minutes loud) and I've had to turn down and I had more headroom to spare.

No argument here. I have two very loud guitarists, a very loud drummer, and everyone wants to have the biggest tone in the world. It's gotten slightly better now that they're not using super similar rigs, but I still have to push harder than I should, I believe.

Either way, it's a moot point, as I sold my D800 a while back, switched to a pre/power amp setup, and a Mesa Prodigy 4:88.

 

[agedhorse]

Be careful of your ears, that kind of volume has the potential for disaster as you get older. If you only knew then what you will know in the future...

 

[Reverend179]

Be careful of your ears, that kind of volume has the potential for disaster as you get older. If you only knew then what you will know in the future...

I wear custom molded plugs as it is, but you're right. I wish I'd known then what I know now, cuz I spent the first 15 years destroying my right ear standing next to the drummer.

 

[brstma]

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update. I liked the Mesa a lot more than the GK as far as tone. I would certainly say the GK was louder. I turned both up 100% on master and put all the knobs at noon. No messing with the scooping or deep or whatever. I played through 4x10 and a 1x18 in series with both heads for about an hour and honestly both were capable of giving me what I needed. Glad to report that these class D amps are actually loud as f**k!!!

Might actually return both of them in favor of this Genz Benz 6.0 which also held up great, volume and tone wise!

Will decide at actual band practice, I think. I need to hear them with everything else.

I'm very interested in hearing your results in real world use at practice.

I am thinking of trying one of these but have been very disappointed in the overrated power specs of a markbass and genz benz amp before. (both rated 500W, sounded more like 100W compared to 500W AB amps I've always used) I love the sound of the walkabout w/ Mesa 1-15 + 2-10 cabs my friend has, but I have 2 - 4ohm cabs I want to keep (Ampeg BXT210M) so the D-800 really has me interested. I've considered a Carbine but have read they sound quite different. I figure if it holds up with your band I'll never have a problem.

Also, about long term reliability... a 5 year warranty is great, and much more than most amps I've owned. But I do see a lot of Mesa owners saying they sent their amps in for factory service. I have owned a lot of amps over the years (since 1986) , all solid state, and I have never had to send any in for service, except for one I blew by cranking it to keep up with the rest of the band. My current amp is 17 years old and never a problem yet.

Is this something that is often needed on Mesa amps?

 

[Jason Z Chicago]

I had zero complaints with the D-800. It was as loud as anything Ive ever used and I was able to put it through two 4 ohm cabs (making a 2 ohm load) no problem. Of all of the D-Class heads Ive tried, this one had the best tone. The more cabinets/speakers you have, the louder it gets. And it is absolutely loud enough to compete with my ridiculously loud guitarists and drummer (Motorhead style band).

That, and its super small and light. I really cant say anything bad about it. If you dont like the preamp sound (for whatever reason), you can bypass it and plug in something else. For the size/power ratio alone it is very useful. Especially that it can run @ 2 ohms so you can chain cabinets without issue and get as much sound pressure as you need.

 

[Jason Z Chicago]

I know guys who tour Europe with them in a backpack (Ron from Bongripper) and he has never reported a problem. My guess is that since they weigh less, there is less stress on the internal circuitry.

 

[brstma]

Thanks for the info. I will definitely try one out