Mesa D800+ worth extra cost over D800?

[Jonathan Couper]

Ah... I'm foolish enough to live in New Zealand. There's only one distributor and everything is shipped by boat. I pulled the trigger today, but my gear won't arrive until "Late August or September". The pricing is all messed up over here. Converted to USD the D800+ is $1,220 and the D800 is $1,150. Likewise the 1x15 cab costs me $1,220 and the 1x12 is $1,150.

So for the minuscule difference yeah I might as well take the D800+ and a pair of 1x15's (instead of a 1x15 + 1x12).

 

[Al Kraft]

Purely from a features standpoint I think the D-800+ is a "deal of a lifetime" upgrade from the D-800. That said, if the more limited voicing versatility is acceptable and size/simplicity of the D-800 has particular appeal, it's far from a bad or second rate choice.

 

[klejst]

I think the regular D800 would give you most what you would need/looking for when in the market for a D800 model.

 

[Jonathan Couper]

Too late! I bought the D800+.

 

[Al Kraft]

Too late! I bought the D800+.

A decision you're highly unlikely to regret!

 

[jeff7bass]

I like the simple 800. Too many dials and s..t make me think too much.

but it should have a tuner out

Once you know how the knobs work (800+) it becomes second nature. The thing is, you won't know the sound you are missing when you have the mid-frequencies set for you as compared to setting them to your own liking.

 

[nutdog]

It's worth it if you want the extra features. It's not if you don't.

 

[petrus61]

Considering an outboard variable HPF is $90+ and possibly a waiting period, not to mention powering it, I’d say an extra $100 is worth it. What is a little bit of a sticking point for me personally is the extra tweak-ability on the EQ. I’m a fan of less knobs, so the 800 with my outboard HPF would probably be the better value in my hands. Sometimes more means more and less means same, etc. Either choice seems to be a great value considering what went into them.

 

[Al Kraft]

Considering an outboard variable HPF is $90+ and possibly a waiting period, not to mention powering it, I’d say an extra $100 is worth it. What is a little bit of a sticking point for me personally is the extra tweak-ability on the EQ. I’m a fan of less knobs, so the 800 with my outboard HPF would probably be the better value in my hands. Sometimes more means more and less means same, etc. Either choice seems to be a great value considering what went into them.

Quite often these days I DI to FOH so my rig is more for me and the band. The D-800 is simply voiced well for my needs and I almost always use an HPF-Pre Series 3 when I'm playing anyway (it's always in my gig bag). The 800+ is unquestionably a great value for the extra features and flexibility, but small and simple are also user features that I value.

Just so I don't sound like I'm hard over on simple controls or it's a deal breaker, I do own a WD-800 and enjoy it very much. It's just that the D-800 seems to center around "my sound" and has well-chosen EQ points for my needs. I appreciate the choices we have here and in my tool box have a few things on the simple end of the spectrum and few on the "ton of flexibility" end. When it works for the gig, I do tend to favor simple and straight forward that allows me to make easy adjustments on the fly if necessary.

 

[petrus61]

Quite often these days I DI to FOH so my rig is more for me and the band. The D-800 is simply voiced well for my needs and I almost always use an HPF-Pre Series 3 when I'm playing anyway (it's always in my gig bag). The 800+ is unquestionably a great value for the extra features and flexibility, but small and simple are also user features that I value.

Just so I don't sound like I'm hard over on simple controls or it's a deal breaker, I do own a WD-800 and enjoy it very much. It's just that the D-800 seems to center around "my sound" and has well-chosen EQ points for my needs. I appreciate the choices we have here and in my tool box have a few things on the simple end of the spectrum and few on the "ton of flexibility" end. When it works for the gig, I do tend to favor simple and straight forward that allows me to make easy adjustments on the fly if necessary.

That’s key. It’s a wonderful thing when an amp’s fundamental character happens to knock it out of the park for the user.

 

[Al Kraft]

In addition to agedhorse's skills as design engineer, I think a couple of other things that make the SW line of products so successful are that he listens to the players wants and needs and then applies his own experience from decades of providing FOH sound for all kinds of bands. To me this is why the SW line offers lots of choices to meet different player tastes/voicing flexibility requirements, but they're all built around a core of key design choices that ensure the tone sits well in mix and includes a DI that makes sound techs re-think using head mounted DI's.

 

[jeff7bass]

That’s key. It’s a wonderful thing when an amp’s fundamental character happens to knock it out of the park for the user.

That is the key, but it's also a risk for somebody who can't actually try the amp before purchasing. That risk is eliminated by choosing the 800+, and the fact is you're stuck with the mid-eq points for good. If and when you switch basses, as most of us do, the 800+ may find the best mid-voice for that bass just by making simple adjustments.

 

[Thummel]

You’ll love the 800+ especially with a great speaker. Incredible punch and the ability to easily dial in great voicings.

 

[Al Kraft]

That is the key, but it's also a risk for somebody who can't actually try the amp before purchasing. That risk is eliminated by choosing the 800+, and the fact is you're stuck with the mid-eq points for good. If and when you switch basses, as most of us do, the 800+ may find the best mid-voice for that bass just by making simple adjustments.

This is a great point. I own three basses that are all quite different from each other and I have a number of different cabs. When you add in differing venue acoustics it can be very useful to have more flexible EQ control. For folks who tend to use pre-amps and/or effects the difference may not be as important.

 

[Kukulkan61]

I tried a D800+ and just couldn’t get a tone I liked, I’m convinced that the PEQ was intimidating to me and I wasn’t setting it right, it took a lot of tweaking and probably because I didn’t understand what each knob does, Im Sure if I would of researched and schooled myself on what the PEQ does I would of found that happy place because I’ve always loved Mesa and it’s signature tone. Now I’m wondering if the D800 would of been a better option for me, simpler and faster to dial in? I have the Walkabout and love it but I still struggle with the PEQ on it but I eventually get it dialed in. I’ve been on the Fence to try a D800 for these reasons, I’ve also been interested in the WD800 but it too looks intimidating with all the knobs..I gig a GK L800 now and I like the simplicity of it great punchy tone dialed in in a minute, but I’m still partial to Mesa, by the way I use Subway Cabs 12 and 15 which work great with the GK, but I’m still wanting that Mesa Head that these cabs were made for..

 

[jblock]

I use the D800 for its ease of use and size. It is a great amp. I prefer the D800+ for the added HPF and parametric mids, but the size doesn’t work with my cabinets. But the D800 sounds great and is dry flexible.

 

[agedhorse]

Review the owner's manual, there's a lot of instructional information about the parametric mid section.

 

[libekgz]

How about the the Drive feature on D800+? Is it appealing or worth having? I have Darkglass B3K on my board and wondering if it would be beneficial to get D800+. I have a decent second hand D800 offer.

 

[ihixulu]

Not sure what you mean by the "Drive" feature. You can push the D800 into mild grind territory by raising the gain past noon (with a decently hot bass) and adding mids to shape the character of the OD, but it's not a head that is designed around heavily driven tones like a Darkglass head. It plays nice with pedals so your B3K will work fine with it.

 

[libekgz]

Not sure what you mean by the "Drive" feature. You can push the D800 into mild grind territory by raising the gain past noon (with a decently hot bass) and adding mids to shape the character of the OD, but it's not a head that is designed around heavily driven tones like a Darkglass head. It plays nice with pedals so your B3K will work fine with it.

Apologies! Ignore that I somehow mixed it up with EBS Reidmar... Mesa is not having drive
Thanks for the response... Anyways I am still debating if I should look around D800+ or settle for D800.
In Poland for some reason 2 brands that are GK and Mesa, my 2 favourite brands have no local dealers to test drive anything new and it's very much more expensive than in US. Second hand market is also poor on those to the extend that right now I can see just a single D800 second hand I will still need to look for Mesa cabs though... Wanted to pair with 2x 112 cabs.