Mesa D800+ worth extra cost over D800?

[agedhorse]

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.

The gain control is also a drive control in many respects, can take the preamp into mild to moderate overdriven territory if desired. There is a tube drive emulation algorithm applied to the signal at higher gain levels.

 

[libekgz]

The gain control is also a drive control in many respects, can take the preamp into mild to moderate overdriven territory if desired. There is a tube drive emulation algorithm applied to the signal at higher gain levels.

Thank you for the insights! So what are your thoughts on D800 vs D800+? I will use those with Stingray and Stingray6 90% of the time if that matters. I am looking for a modern tone in a hard rock / bit nu metal band.

 

[agedhorse]

Thank you for the insights! So what are your thoughts on D800 vs D800+? I will use those with Stingray and Stingray6 90% of the time if that matters. I am looking for a modern tone in a hard rock / bit nu metal band.

That will certainly get you there, I would choose the D-800+, maybe with the bright switch on (depending on speakers) and with the HPF around 40hz. Season to taste.

 

[libekgz]

That will certainly get you there, I would choose the D-800+, maybe with the bright switch on (depending on speakers) and with the HPF around 40hz. Season to taste.

Sounds like a good starting plan! When it comes to speakers I thought mostly about either 2x 112 Subway cabinet or 212 cab. Since that will match exactly the power of amp I was wondering if this is enough.

 

[libekgz]

And what are your thought on WD-800? I simply have only those 2 available second hand. WD800 and D800. For D800+ I would have to aim for a new one.

 

[agedhorse]

Sounds like a good starting plan! When it comes to speakers I thought mostly about either 2x 112 Subway cabinet or 212 cab. Since that will match exactly the power of amp I was wondering if this is enough.

Depends on how loud you need to be, but that would get loud enough for me…

And what are your thought on WD-800? I simply have only those 2 available second hand. WD800 and D800. For D800+ I would have to aim for a new one.

The WD has a different tone, based on the Walkabout. I think the D-800+ would get you closer.

 

[libekgz]

Depends on how loud you need to be, but that would get loud enough for me…


The WD has a different tone, based on the Walkabout. I think the D-800+ would get you closer.

Thank you, really appreciate your feedback!

 

[libekgz]

@agedhorse I hope it will be my last ask on the topic. I got a great offer to get second hand D800 locally. Will I be loosing that much compared to D800+? I will be pairing it with Mesa SW112 x2 or SW112 and SW115. Thank you in advance!

 

[NitroBobby]

i own the D800+ and it has become my main gig amp, replacing an Aguilar AG500SC. (If going direct i use a Mesa Bass DI+)

for me, the D800+ was worth the extra cost over the D800. the addition of the HPF alone is worth roughly $80 - $130+ for a good pedal-based unit. pedals will also require a battery/power supply and another cable. adding failure points/complexity/possible noise sources. i have found this feature to be very useful, especially in a "boomy" room. being able to tame the lowest frequencies cleans and tightens the bottom end and allows your cabinet to be more efficient since it's not trying to reproduce the bass signal near or below the cabinet's frequency response. on top of that feature the + adds a lot more mid range adjustment. the mids are where the bass cuts through but also where you can rub up against the guitar. being able to accurately adjust the low mid and high mid frequency and gain enables me to put the bass where it needs to be so it cuts through.

<<edit>> the bright switch. i forgot the bright switch on the D800+. that little thing works better than any other i've heard. adds a really nice top end to the tone but never sounds harsh.

the Subway amps are fantastic pieces of gear. I haven't used the D800 but i can't imagine i would have been disappointed if I had gone that route. if you already have a HPF, or don't see the need for one and you don't want to play with the mid frequencies much, you will likely be pleased with the D800. it really depends on how much you want to be able to shape your tone with the amp.

kgb

 

[agedhorse]

@agedhorse I hope it will be my last ask on the topic. I got a great offer to get second hand D800 locally. Will I be loosing that much compared to D800+? I will be pairing it with Mesa SW112 x2 or SW112 and SW115. Thank you in advance!

It depends on how important (or necessary) the additional features are to you. Some players prefer the D-800 for their needs.

Be sure to check out the amp to be sure everything is working properly. This advice applies to all used gear, not just ours.

 

[libekgz]

It depends on how important (or necessary) the additional features are to you. Some players prefer the D-800 for their needs.

Be sure to check out the amp to be sure everything is working properly. This advice applies to all used gear, not just ours.

Since D800 has a baked in HPF on 30Hz big chunk of "boomy" situation I suppose. The only thing I would miss most is bright switch. When it comes to EQ I prefer the approach the simpler the better. When it comes to D800+ I would have to get it shipped from other country (used) this is where I am having little concern since I never ordered used stuff outside of country. The difference is not huge between used D800 and D800+ since it's 100 euro. I have more concerns about ordering used stuff abroad.

 

[Al Kraft]

Since D800 has a baked in HPF on 30Hz big chunk of "boomy" situation I suppose. The only thing I would miss most is bright switch. When it comes to EQ I prefer the approach the simpler the better. When it comes to D800+ I would have to get it shipped from other country (used) this is where I am having little concern since I never ordered used stuff outside of country. The difference is not huge between used D800 and D800+ since it's 100 euro. I have more concerns about ordering used stuff abroad.

I was fooling around with my D-800 last night and despite all my other SW amps having more features (except the D-350) I found it still to be surprisingly satisfying.

The controls are simple and straightforward and the EQ points for everything are well-chosen. While the other SW heads are a little more inherently brighter/more open sounding to start, this head doesn't sound muffled or inarticulate. It seems slightly warmer/darker in comparison to the other SW heads, but that is simply "its neutral starting point"... not all that you can get out of it by a long shot.

IME the trick with the D-800 is to use the voicing control to get the head sounding essentially like what you want, especially in the top end (you have 3 EQ controls and deep switch to rework mids and bass). You can then use the EQ controls in combinations to bring back some mids, dial back the deep bass, fine tune the treble/upper register, etc. Remember too that it's okay to switch in the deep filter and then dial back the bass EQ. When you do that the lower mid control can become very helpful in shaping a lot of what we hear as the sound of the bass.

The reason this works really well and the overall tone stays balanced is that the voicing control is not a simple mid frequency scoop/high & low boost, there's a bit more going on. To complement that, the EQ control center points and Q's are designed to work seamlessly and musically with the voicing control. The fixed internal HPF is designed to be effective yet unintrusive.

The other thing about the controls is that they offer a lot of range throughout their rotation so you can sculpt the sound almost surgically once you have the vocing baseline set.

I hope some of that is helpful as you're deciding what to do. I use most all the SW heads and the D-800 still impresses me every time I play it. Good luck with your decision!

 

[libekgz]

I was fooling around with my D-800 last night and despite all my other SW amps having more features (except the D-350) I found it still to be surprisingly satisfying.

The controls are simple and straightforward and the EQ points for everything are well-chosen. While the other SW heads are a little more inherently brighter/more open sounding to start, this head doesn't sound muffled or inarticulate. It seems slightly warmer/darker in comparison to the other SW heads, but that is simply "its neutral starting point"... not all that you can get out of it by a long shot.

IME the trick with the D-800 is to use the voicing control to get the head sounding essentially like what you want, especially in the top end (you have 3 EQ controls and deep switch to rework mids and bass). You can then use the EQ controls in combinations to bring back some mids, dial back the deep bass, fine tune the treble/upper register, etc. Remember too that it's okay to switch in the deep filter and then dial back the bass EQ. When you do that the lower mid control can become very helpful in shaping a lot of what we hear as the sound. of the bass.

The reason this works really well and the overall tone stays balanced is that the voicing control is not a simple mid frequency scoop/high & low boost, there's a bit more going on. To complement that, the EQ control center points and Q's are designed to work seamlessly and musically with the voicing control. The fixed internal HPF is designed to be effective yet unintrusive.

The other thing about the controls is that they offer a lot of range throughout their rotation so you can sculpt the sound almost surgically once you have the vocing baseline set.

I hope some of that is helpful as you're deciding what to do. I use most all the SW heads and the D-800 still impresses me every time I play it. Good luck with your decision!

Thank you for spending the time and effort to write about it! I kept listening to comparisons or videos of same person on both of the amps and I could see that D800 being darker is rather a mild difference. With a Stingray that can Brin a lot of zing and high mids I believe that would be ultimate combination. I am aiming for SW 12" and 15" combo most probably.

I might bother you after buying on few more advices, appreciate all of the inputs from TB folks!

 

[agedhorse]

Thank you for spending the time and effort to write about it! I kept listening to comparisons or videos of same person on both of the amps and I could see that D800 being darker is rather a mild difference. With a Stingray that can Brin a lot of zing and high mids I believe that would be ultimate combination. I am aiming for SW 12" and 15" combo most probably.

I might bother you after buying on few more advices, appreciate all of the inputs from TB folks!

The "darker" is a very small difference and you can only \tell when you are directly comparing with the 800+. A tiny adjustment of the treble control will get you plenty close enough I would think.

 

[Al Kraft]

The "darker" is a very small difference and you can only \tell when you are directly comparing with the 800+. A tiny adjustment of the treble control will get you plenty close enough I would think.

100% my own experience!

 

[Al Kraft]

Thank you for spending the time and effort to write about it! I kept listening to comparisons or videos of same person on both of the amps and I could see that D800 being darker is rather a mild difference. With a Stingray that can Brin a lot of zing and high mids I believe that would be ultimate combination. I am aiming for SW 12" and 15" combo most probably.

I might bother you after buying on few more advices, appreciate all of the inputs from TB folks!

Feel free to reach out to any of us who use the Mesa gear, we're always glad to share what we've learned. I play German made Warwicks and an American MM Sterling and they all have plenty of upper end on tap and rarely need any help from any amp to get a little upper mid bark and some top end presence.

I use the SW112/115 combo and it is sweet with the 112 bringing a touch more to the mid and upper presence on a super solid low end. I think you'll also like both cabs on their own and especially the 115 which is exceptional compared to most any other cab I've played. The 112 is very nice for acoustic type work and if you give it a bit of EQ (which it handles nicely) it will surprise you.