Mesa Boogie WD800, How Do They Do It

[dbsfgyd1]

It's "magic" combined with a lot of science.

I see.. not sharing the recipe…LOL.

 

[agedhorse]

I see.. not sharing the recipe…LOL.

It's a complicated recipe, not mine to share.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

I played a used one of these for like 5 minutes at my local GC this past Saturday. First time ever playing through one after reading all the hype the last almost decade lol. I haven't owned anything Mesa in about 15 years. I stupidly walked away without buying it on Saturday. I went back to get it on Sunday and it was already gone. I WILL have one of these. I just used a Squier P that I took off the wall and it was hooked up to a Fender Rumble 115. It sounded so damn good. It's all I have been thinking about for 48 hours. There are a couple used ones on their website, but I'm gonna try and hold out until someone has one for sale in the classifieds here.

Should've bought it

At my local Mesa dealer this weekend I saw a new round of price hikes. The TB classifieds can be your friend (typo'd as "fiend"... maybe should have left it )

 

[D.A.R.K.]

That variable damping tho

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I sold off a bunch of gear to get my WD800 and have no regrets. It’s by far my favorite head and sounds like a monster coupled with a pair of the subway 1x15s. It responds so nicely when I dig in at volume.
One thing I must admit is I don’t fully understand the parametric mids section. I’ve swept the knobs and found some really great settings but I wish I understood it better. I’d also love to see some more sample settings from other users.

I bought one theses a few months ago. Having had a great deal of experience with Eden’s 3 band parametric EQ. I figured the WD-800 would work the same. After almost 6 months of unsuccessful trying to find the sweet spot
I was looking for I did something revolutionary, like consulting the owners manual, used some of the suggested settings, and there it was.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

It's a complicated recipe, not mine to share.

I was just joking. The amp however is no joke. I highly recommend it (for whatever that is worth). Great job to those involved with the project!

 

[moon-bass]

I was writing in another thread about gear that I sold and regretted. This is a big one. At the time I was looking for something smaller and I really wasn't using the Subway channel, but after playing through my 400+ this weekend and dealing with the weight ... it's tempting me again! I still have no use for the Subway channel, but the 400+ is my absolute favorite amp ever, and eyes shut I am not sure that I would be able to tell the difference between that and the WD-800.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I bought one theses a few months ago. Having had a great deal of experience with Eden’s 3 band parametric EQ. I figured the WD-800 would work the same. After almost 6 months of unsuccessful trying to find the sweet spot
I was looking for I did something revolutionary, like consulting the owners manual, used some of the suggested settings, and there it was.

 

[pfschim]

I’m using my WD800 with a Bergantino NVT212T which is a sealed 2x12. Sounds really really good to my ears, a very tight clean sound. I’m only using this at home right now. Does swapping out the preamp tube with say a NOS 12AT7 tube change much? Never have tube swapped before and not in a hurry to try, just wondering if it’s a thing with an amp with one preamp tube.

I use the same combination and it is truly remarkable arrangement. The sealed NV212t, with the tweet turned down just a bit, just loves the WD800 and delivers such a great old school tone. The other cab I use my WD with is the equally great ported Berg CN212. Different sauce than the sealed NV212t, but also just kills for more modern tones. I'm in the market for a capable single driver cab and based on things I've read here on TB, I'm really tempted by the Subway 1x15. Have to take a look at my gear funds and see if thats in the cards

I tried swapping tubes in my WD800 when I first got it, just to play around with it a bit, but I found that I did not hear a HUGE difference between the various 12AT7 tubes I had, including a few NOS types. I did try a 12AU7 in the WD, that gave me the most audible difference, and that was mainly in the clean gain available ... which is not a surprise.

FWIW, I am a huge Walkabout fan, and it's still my favorite amp, but its acknowledged overall clean volume limits make the WD a winner for most gigs.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I’ve got a Mesa Boogie WD800, every time I use it I wonder how do they get such a full tube sound with just one preamp tube. I’ve had the Prodigy and Strategy heads in the past along with the Walkabout Combo. To my ears the WD800 sounds just as much like a full tube head as my Traynor YBA100 all tube head. Makes me wonder if I need the YBA100 (which also sounds very good) other than just for the desire of having an all tube head. Must be some magic going on under the chassis. Just incredible.

Mesa Boogie WD800, How Do They Do It

 

[agedhorse]

So you guys are getting to see a little bit of what kinds of decisions go on behind the curtains, it's not cut and dried, there are many trade-offs. Each trade-off option might benefit one player while compromising another, the goal is to provide results that benefit the most players possible knowing up front that we can't possibly meet everyone's wishes.

 

[boogieman63]

gosh, i've owned this amp for two years and have been happy with everything set flat—both channels. i hate manuals (also a little inspired by recent documentary on J Dilla who intuitively figured out if he read the manual he'd have never found his sound.)

 

[Matt Dean]

I run everything flat, except a little boost to the bass and adjust the HPF to taste and room. For me the WD800 is a magic (scientific) amp... in fact, I like it so much I have two.

Edited for purposes of alignment the scientific world.

 

[DwaynieAD]

It's "magic" combined with a lot of science.

Magnets. How do they work?

 

[Matt Dean]

Magnets. How do they work?

Sometime science does appear to be magical.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Sometime science does appear to be magical.

 

[agedhorse]

gosh, i've owned this amp for two years and have been happy with everything set flat—both channels. i hate manuals (also a little inspired by recent documentary on J Dilla who intuitively figured out if he read the manual he'd have never found his sound.)

The WD is not a 2 channel amp.

Manuals are to help you get the most out of the amp with the least number of calls to customer service.

 

[DJ Bebop]

The WD is not a 2 channel amp.

Manyals are to help you get the most out of the amp with the least number of calls to customer service.

True, but you can that effect, sort of.
Switching the 3 bands of mid EQ off and on with a different EQ setting on the 3 band vs the main EQ settings.

But yeah, only one channel in total.

 

[Matt Dean]

The reality for me is, when it comes to bass amps, I pretty much set and forget. I play in a psychedelic space doom band and use loopers, effects and synths extensively, so i just dial in some awesome clean bass tone with the WD800 and use that as the platform for launching my bass lines into space!

 

[MattF007]

Thanks for all the replies and insights. I have a Subway 800 + that is also great but I seem to keep plugging into the WD800 all the time. Might need to sell the Subway 800 +.