Mesa somewhat mention that in their manual.
They recommend moving an 8ohm cab to the 4ohm out when using half power mode.
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Mesa Strategy and Prodigy discontinued. Also PH cabs.
- Thread starter mikeswals
- Start date
Mesa somewhat mention that in their manual.
They recommend moving an 8ohm cab to the 4ohm out when using half power mode.
I checked the Strategy manual and it provides the same guidance for half power and low power mode.
Also, I found a couple other references in the Strategy manual...here's a good one from page 16:
HALF or LOW POWER
8 Ohm Cabinet into a 4 OHM SPEAKER OUTPUT
4 Ohm Cabinet into a 2 OHM SPEAKER OUTPUT
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,038
- 5
- 220,969
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,038
- 5
- 220,969
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
I received a few PM's on this topic so I thought I would address it here rather than in a bunch of PM's...
I understand the frustration with these amps being discontinued, I also understand the continuing interest in all tube heads even if they are larger and heavier.
What kind of interest would there be if we were to re-approach an all tube head from a different perspective, from one where we know that there are limitations on tube consistency and reliability. Since this is an area where I have a lot of experience, would an amp that was less of a hot rod, more conservatively designed, more neutral, and designed more to industrial or cinema industry standards (where mean time before failure is MUCH longer) be of any practical interest?
I ask this because there have been multiple posts in the Subway thread about player challenges with heavily voiced amps, amps that sound good in one room but terrible in another or sound good with one speaker but terrible with another. The Subway line is mildly voiced, quite neutral by bass amp standards. Might this be of any interest, either a hybrid Subway preamp with tube power amp, or an all tube Subway-esque bass amp? What power range would be of most interest, and would 8, 4 & 2 ohm taps be most useful?
I'm open to listening to some discussion since you guys are the users of such gear...
I understand the frustration with these amps being discontinued, I also understand the continuing interest in all tube heads even if they are larger and heavier.
What kind of interest would there be if we were to re-approach an all tube head from a different perspective, from one where we know that there are limitations on tube consistency and reliability. Since this is an area where I have a lot of experience, would an amp that was less of a hot rod, more conservatively designed, more neutral, and designed more to industrial or cinema industry standards (where mean time before failure is MUCH longer) be of any practical interest?
I ask this because there have been multiple posts in the Subway thread about player challenges with heavily voiced amps, amps that sound good in one room but terrible in another or sound good with one speaker but terrible with another. The Subway line is mildly voiced, quite neutral by bass amp standards. Might this be of any interest, either a hybrid Subway preamp with tube power amp, or an all tube Subway-esque bass amp? What power range would be of most interest, and would 8, 4 & 2 ohm taps be most useful?
I'm open to listening to some discussion since you guys are the users of such gear...
It's also a shame they're going to discontinue the PH212 cabinet. IMO they're a breeze to move at 78 lbs, -and I'll be 55 years old this month!
I'll be watching the TB Classifieds. I'd love to have another pair of them. ......Yes, I suffer from OCD.
I have a funny feeling that there will soon be something available that will make a 78 lb 212 cabinet feel about 40 lbs too heavy........
I loved my Aguilar DB359 (RIP - burned in a wildfire), and now my Sadowsky SA200. I run them clean, think 200 watts is plenty, and appreciate their purity, warmth, and clarity/openness. I don’t run them dirty. Something like that from Mesa could be very cool. I also loved my Titan for dirty sounds. Maybe put that overdrive circuit in.
I don't have any experience with the Subway line, but from your previous comment it sounds like this design approach would add weight and bulk, to come up with something a little more neutral? A friend of mine had the Strategy for a hot second, but he found it to be too close to other tube amps for his taste. He ended up with a 400+ because he wanted something uniquely Mesa, my Prodigy is really similar in sound to that 400, at a fraction of the weight. Plenty of guys still roll the 400 around because its fantastic. (all of us drive Dodge Rams)
I really liked that Mesa put out these ridiculous tube amps in a time when they're mostly a pain in the ass to deal with. They are uniquely Mesa in sound and character. The subway is a proven workhorse, so why not have a flagship tube head in all its ridiculousness? The economics are against tube amps and its only getting worse, so maybe lean in to the uber boutique? It works for PRS, they sell loads of high end guitars and they are unapologetic about it. Maybe make great looking reissues of the 400's?
Now, throw a tube in the subway preamp pedal and make it compete with that Noble...i'll buy 2 tomorrow. Realistically, i'm running small rigs, pedalboards, and in ears on most gigs, and the biggest I get is a 410 because I gig too much to have tons of heavy gear.
An all tube Subway-esque would be excellent. Specially with all the bells and whistles from the D800+ like Speakon, DI, send/return, 2 ohms (so can handle several small subway cabs)... and maybe rack-mountable...
Something like this for less money than the Strategy, competing with the SVT-CL, and maybe an smaller version in the PF-50T/PF-20T range.
When I had my 400+, I loved thf form factor- Weight/size. I had a lot of discussion here about how to coax the sound in my head -(Sunn 2000S for reference), and even though some players would say that the Mesa could do "it all", I found that I could not get it close to the sound/feel I wanted. After a long search, I found a Reeves C225 here and bought it and am very happy with what it does. The only complaint is that it is 24" wide. I would like to see a head that is around 20" wide and has what the Reeves has.
It is similar to the Sunn 2000S and more than that, it cops the DR201 sound. I have had it only 3 weeks and gigged twice with it, using 2 GS112 cabinets and tone controls (BMT) at noon. Simple, Glorious sounding!! I feel that if you need overdrive, stick a pedal in front of it. It is 60# but I don't care. I'm approaching 64.
My $.02
Something with 6 6l6s and 3 preamp tubes +1 for the di out 
two channels one clean, one dirty but not stupid dirty. Hp/lp filters voice knob, 2 ohm capable
/thread
two channels one clean, one dirty but not stupid dirty. Hp/lp filters voice knob, 2 ohm capable/thread
thanks for asking agedhorse. much appreciated.
all tube Subway-esque - as long as that means more Walkabout-esque and less Carbine-esque
Not sure about power range with tubes, particularly with the tube quality issues you mention, but 300-400w is good from my POV.
And yes to all of the taps .., 8, 4, 2. This makes the amp very flexible as far as cab combinations.
Short version, yes.
Longer version: I currently have a Mesa Buster 15 combo, a D800+, and a matching extension cab for the Buster combo. I have also played some other Mesa cabs (PH12 and 15, Buster 2x10 wedge, Subway 15).
What I love about the Buster is the harmonic richness it has while still being very responsive. It can get some grit, but it isn't just about grind the way some tube amps are. And the EV speakers provide some attitude of their own. However, the D800+ is what gets taken out to play, because the Buster is a heavy monster, even if I take it out of the combo and put it in the head case I built. I prefer the sound of the Buster, but it's not worth hauling for what I do right now, and the D800+ is very good in its own way. The Subway 15 was great and easy to move (I'd like to get another one sometime), and the Buster extension cab also moves pretty easily with the built in roller system. The PH15 was unpleasant to move even with casters, and the Subway 15 sounds just as good, IMO. I'd love to see Mesa replace the PH series with some lighter, easier-to-move cabs that are more rock voiced. I think that would complement the Subway line well.
As for the amp, I'd like to see something 6L6 driven, with reduced power options (maybe 200/100/50 or 150/100/50) and two channels with independent gain/bass/mid/treble/master. Channel 1 would have more warmth than grind. Channel 2 would have some drive. Make the channels footswitchable, and add a footswitchable 7-band EQ. Keep it fairly neutral, and allow players to dial in tone with the EQ and their cab choices.
So basically the Buster with a drive channel, low-power options, a more neutral base tone, and less weight.
The one feature that I find lacking in many tube amps is the functionality of the EQ. Not every solid state amp has a great EQ, but on average, they tend to be a bit more powerful, functional, and intuitive than many tube amp EQs.
IMHO having 4 to 5 tone controls with well selected center frequencies can be really helpful in dialing in an amp to different speakers and acoustic environments. Probably the best example I can think of is the Sadowsky SA200.
A potential problem is many people associate "tubey" with a strong baked in tonal profile. Perhaps the solution is to have 4 tone controls and a pair of rotary encoders. One encoder selects from a range of available tonal contours, and the other encoder dials in the degree of voicing that is baked in rather than using presets that go to extremes. Of course this sort of functionality is probably complicated and expensive.
8/4/2 ohm operation would be something I'd strongly want, along with the ability to dial in loud, clean headroom.
Don't forget the 2.66 ohm tap
. I've always had a "thing" for 3 drivers.But I'd put the energy into a DSP amp rather than something low demand (AKA inefficient and stoopid heavy) that the boutique builders can take care of. The Fractal and Kempler offerings are pretty damned amazing - OTOH GK has screwed the pooch with their DSP preamp so far so I guess it's not as simple as one might think
An all tube subway-esq would be a killer combo. The d800 was everything i was looking for in sound minus the tube goodness. I really dug the grahpich eq from the strategy. They are usually very useful to combat odd sounding rooms/other factors
I'm sure this has already been asked, but I haven't been able to find the answer -- why was the Walkabout discontinued? And why not make a more powerful version?
That's what I always thought as well. Isn't the M-Pulse 600 basically a 600w Walkabout?
