Mesa Strategy and Prodigy discontinued. Also PH cabs.

[Microbass]

Doin' me a concern regarding the KT88's. My JJ's have going since 2008; over 100 shows and hundreds and hundreds of rehearsal/practice hours. It's been a good while since last service (used to be yearly, but I don't want to service it then re-tube as bias resistors will probably need changed again).

I did buy some second hand JJ's which apparently only had minimal studio use but one of those was a dud and all I was getting was distortion and low volume - sounded good but no usable volume in a band setting.

I love Mesa and have longed to own the gear for a long time. Just checked my local to see if the Strategy had dropped... still coming in at $4200 (that's with a £600 reduction)

 

[MTN.bass72]

" Now's your chance to speak up!". Just wondering, in your research, do you find that the Contour function, or whatever name you want to call it, on amps is still a viable feature on modern amps? Taking a small poll from local bass players, I've discovered that not a one uses this feature. Myself, I would much rather see an onboard compressor, but I'm probably in the minority there.

On my D800 it's called "voice"
In all honesty, every amp I've had that had a contour, enhance, aural exciiter.. whatever... I absolutely could not stand.. every one was useless, in my opinion...
But, the Voice on the D800 , something magical is happening.. I love it!
As for onboard compression, never found one I liked... seemed that there was a small point where it sounded just Meh, ok... then nothing but mud.. again, just my opinion

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

Now's your chance to speak up!

Well, since you offered

I have no idea if this is doable, and even if it is, I have no idea if it would sell, but I do dream of a giggable bass amp in stompbox format. Picturing a 300 watt d800/TE Elf in a Boss sized pedal box with di out.

That said RIP Prodigy/Strategy. I really love those amps, even though I don’t own them. Always liked that they were an available option.

 

[fclefgeoff]

@agedhorse , I would like to order a set of KT88 to have on hand for my Prodigy and I seem to remember reading that they are half off for my first order but can't seem to find that info on the website. Do you know how that works? Thanks!

EDIT: Found it at bottom of page 22 in the owners manual:

NOTE! Original PRODIGY OWNERS! MESA offers a HALF-PRICE DISCOUNT on your FIRST SET of Replacement Power Tubes. This can be obtained by ORDERING DIRECT FROM THE FACTORY ONLY and the order must be accompanied by your ORIGINAL SALES RECEIPT as proof of ownership.

 

[Kelly robinson]

Just wanted to add a big " thank you " to agedhorse for the swift chime in and the very informative comments - TB is really blessed to have him hanging around here !

 

[eyeballkid]

@agedhorse ... this is kind of an aside..
Why did Mesa choose to make the voicing knob on the strategy and prodigy have "flat" and four kinds of mid scoop? The carbine had flat, two mid scoops and two mid boosts. What was the rationale for the change? While I like to sculpt my own eq, that decision seemed real odd and off putting. Just wondering...

 

[Killens84]

I can’t think of anything that I wish my D-800+ did differently or better.
Maybe for the two mid frequency controls to be labeled to also show the affected frequency at the 9:00, 12:00, and 3:00 positions, just for a little more reference. But that’s purely cosmetic, and wouldn’t change the function of the amp at all. Oh, and a built-in coffee maker

 

[el murdoque]

Don't worry though, I am always working on new designs and listening closely to what Talkbass players are looking for, as you all seem to be ahead of the curve more than anywhere else. Now's your chance to speak up!

What about a true hybrid class A/B/D amp design?
One where you have a full compliment of tubes for gain, EQ and power section, with a rather low total of maybe 30W. Just enough to drive a B string with the bass pot turned up without immediately breaking up.
Then, there is a class D unit with 800 Watts (that gets its signal from the output transformer) and a very clever mechanism to blend (if possible) or switch between the two poweramps.
So you can:
-enjoy your 30W of pure tubeness.
-as soon as that is not enough, you can amplify further by using the class D unit.
-the class D unit could also work the other way round. You set your tube amp so you get a nice compression and saturation from the powertubes that run at full power, but the class D unit only plays at bedroom volume.

 

[sears]

Recently got a new Prodigy and love it. It's like a blackface Bassman on steroids. My rock band broke up, though, so I'm wondering whether I need it!

 

[logdrum]

Glad I have The Prodigy.

 

[bassstrangler]

Some people don't want hot rodded amps. Just ones that don't eat tubes.

Bread n Butter might be light amps and cabs. But large cabs and tube amps are still in demand.

Not always price range either. It literally can come down to basic aesthetics of the cabs and artist endorsments. Same business model that has sold amps since the 60s

Mesa did really well with custom amps for guitar and always had fun unique custom options.

But majority of large cab large amp buyers go elsewhere. Not even being negative that market goes to many boutique company's cause the aesthetics and artists using them set trends that mesa isn't hitting.

Likewise bone simply amps not full of blinky winky lights and millions of switches we really don't need or wanna service.

If mesa took on the affordable of early fender. The simplicity and serviceability of early Tranyor. And the coolness and aesthetics of modern boutique big cabs.

It would work. Straight up many players like the cabs. No problem with the speakers and sound. Used or new many many players find the cabs ugly as hell lol. And just ain't gonna buy.

Majority of players seek and stand behind the powerful and reliable MOSFET heads. And that trade sticks to used units. They just sit on boutique cabs or reloaded vintage cabs. Most don't carry the mesa name.

Likewise probably up to reps to even understand and even know. Genres labels and bands that literally love walls of speakers. I have feeling many here and elsewhere don't know they exist. But trust me. Big cabs and big amps are needed. And the money goes to other companies

Huh?

 

[Freightshaker]

If we are kicking around ideas, I'll mention that I shy away from amps that don't have bias pots. Bonus points if you can access the pot without removing the chassis. I'm not skilled enough to retro fit a pot.

 

[swarfrat]

The biggest drawback to my biamp idea (which does allow you to get by with a more reasonably sized Output transformer) is that it pretty much requires a crossover frequency around 800-1k, and that requires you to use a cabinet designed for it, or else lug around a tube amp with your Class-D head.

So maybe the future of tube amplification is a 12AX7 preamp, and a push pull 12AT7 into a big honking class d slave.

 

[five7]

Strategy, one of the best sounding amps I have had the pleasure of playing thru. R.I.P

 

[beatlebass64]

I'd like to see the weight of the cabs get lower if possible. My first (and only) jump into the amp and cab world started with a Barefaced Super Compact (1x12) and when I went looking for an amp I quickly settled on Mesa.

The weight difference between the Barefaced 1x12 and the Mesa 1x12 is about 12 pounds. That's not a lot but it's enough to make a difference for a smaller guy like me. It seems like more and more companies are going for lightweight equipment and the build quality of lightweight equipment is getting better and better. If there were ever a revision of the cabs I would love to see them get just a little bit lighter, though I imagine that is easier said than done.

 

[WardEarth]

As much as I like the Berg stuff, I really am a sucker for brand matching cabs

Yep, that would make you a sucker.

 

[RoadRanger]

I would love to see the Voice control that is flat at 12:00, clockwise does the smiley curve, and counter-clockwise does a frown curve.

Doesn't a midrange control do that? Or you really need it to be backwards?

 

[pickles]

I love my PH210 and 115, but would happily trade them for a pair of subway 115s to go with my d-800+, which I think sounds good enough to never be the problem on any gig.

 

[agedhorse]

Is this just about the KT-88, or the tube market in general like @Slpbass81 seems to describe?


That's the only reason why I sold my PH410 pretty quickly. So we are all waiting fior a Subway 410!!

KT-88's in particular but this does also apply to KT-66's, 6550's and even EL34's & 84's too. Different challenges with each tube type.

As I have been studying these changes in tube parameter marking and consistency over the past 25 or so years, there may be some other ways to skin this cat but we will have to see if there's enough market to invest the time. Those of you who have followed my comments on this with regard to Genz Benz will know that I have been a long time student of extended tube lifespan and normalizing tube parameter variation so the player gets a consistent and reliable amp.

I would love to see the Voice control that is flat at 12:00, clockwise does the smiley curve, and counter-clockwise does a frown curve.

Many amps already have a control that does exactly this (except in reverse)... the midrange control!

On my D800 it's called "voice"
In all honesty, every amp I've had that had a contour, enhance, aural exciiter.. whatever... I absolutely could not stand.. every one was useless, in my opinion...
But, the Voice on the D800 , something magical is happening.. I love it!
As for onboard compression, never found one I liked... seemed that there was a small point where it sounded just Mehdi, ok... then nothing but mud.. again, just my opinion

Yes, there is a LOT more happening with the voice control than a typical "Contour" or "Mid Scoop" control as you have discovered.

@agedhorse , I would like to order a set of KT88 to have on hand for my Prodigy and I seem to remember reading that they are half off for my first order but can't seem to find that info on the website. Do you know how that works? Thanks!

EDIT: Found it at bottom of page 22 in the owners manual:

NOTE! Original PRODIGY OWNERS! MESA offers a HALF-PRICE DISCOUNT on your FIRST SET of Replacement Power Tubes. This can be obtained by ORDERING DIRECT FROM THE FACTORY ONLY and the order must be accompanied by your ORIGINAL SALES RECEIPT as proof of ownership.

Give the customer service guys a call, they will help you with this. We really do take the customer service side of things seriously, this is a good example imo.

@agedhorse ... this is kind of an aside..
Why did Mesa choose to make the voicing knob on the strategy and prodigy have "flat" and four kinds of mid scoop? The carbine had flat, two mid scoops and two mid boosts. What was the rationale for the change? While I like to sculpt my own eq, that decision seemed real odd and off putting. Just wondering...

Good question, it goes to what Randy was trying to achieve with the Strategy/Prodigy and the particular voices since the raw voicing is quite different compared to the Carbines. It was simply a personal design decision.

 

[pigpen1]

Ah, the "bedroom tone knob" - important mass market feature. No way are they going to eliminate that one .

I use it because I hate the ganky upper midrange sound. I want the anti-Geddy Lee sound. Its the sound that in right now, but I hate it. Not only do I use this knob, I use the deep switch and boost the bass knob. I have no guitar player envy lol. If you have enough rig for the gig you'll cut through.