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Mesa Subway Bass DI Preamp

#161
Andy, like @aBoMoFo, I also had a sense that this pre was a bit more sensitive to what seems like ground loops noise. I have an older Tobias with an outdated TCT preamp in it; and just one of the issues with that bass is that it tends to get noisy up near full on volumes. The Subway Pre/DI seemed a bit more sensitive to that issue than my units that have the internal power supply. I did not check the Gnd lift, but will do so.

Is any of that due to the adapter? If so, are there adapters that are better than others? If not, I'll just go back to figuring it out. LOL
 
#162
bucephylus said:
Andy, like @aBoMoFo, I also had a sense that this pre was a bit more sensitive to what seems like ground loops noise. I have an older Tobias with an outdated TCT preamp in it; and just one of the issues with that bass is that it tends to get noisy up near full on volumes. The Subway Pre/DI seemed a bit more sensitive to that issue than my units that have the internal power supply. I did not check the Gnd lift, but will do so.

Is any of that due to the adapter? If so, are there adapters that are better than others? If not, I'll just go back to figuring it out. LOL
Click to expand...

Try the power adapter and let me know if it's any better (or worse).

Ungrounded devices like pedals almost always tend to have a slightly higher noise floor for a variety of reasons, but a true earth reference tends to improve the effectiveness of shielding a bit and reduces the likelihood that the shield acts like an antenna coupling outside noise into the circuitry.

So, it depends on the character of the noise. Hum and buzz are generally caused either ground loops or by interference signal coupling into the circuit from the source (poorly shielded pickups, incomplete cavity shielding, etc.) Hiss can be from circuit topology, components, total amount of gain, excessive high frequency eq., overly high input impedance, RF interference, intermodulation between different high frequency noise sources and the list goes on and on.

Identifying the type of noise itself is a big first step.

Also, it should be noted that preamps like this tend to be used with additional pedals, so all that additional noise can add up to a lot more noise than any individual pedal on its own.
 
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#166
fclefgeoff said:
@agedhorse Can you please tell me what kind of mount was used to hold the Subway Pre-DI in the demo video? There is a closeup of it 0:47.
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Good question. I wasn't there, but there are a variety of mic stand accessories for things like iPads and such from companies like QuickLoc, Hurcules, On Stage Stands, Ultimate Support, etc. that would fall into this category. I will ask to see if anybody remembers.
 
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#171
I'm thinking of getting the Subway DI to use with a Class D power amp (will do 1000w at 2 ohms). Can I expect it to sound like a D800 head (which I really liked) or is the meat and girth of the D800 head dependent on its power section? Ideally looking for responses from folks who have tried both the DI and D800 head. Thanks, Dan
 
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#175
The preamps are almost identical, they sound very close, but there is additional circuitry that operates in conjunction with the D-800 power amp that manages how the power amp overdrives which can not be done in the same way with an external power amp.
 
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#178
fclefgeoff said:
I've never played through a D-800 but the DI-Preamp sounds fantastic through the effects return on both my GK MB-800 and my Mesa Prodigy.
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Likewise through a Streamliner 900. Funny thing is I'm thinking of selling Streamliner, tonehammer pedal, and subway di and getting D800+ to handle everything since the D800+ would give me the sweepable mids the tonehammer does (I don't really use AGS).
 
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#179
paytojt said:
Likewise through a Streamliner 900. Funny thing is I'm thinking of selling Streamliner, tonehammer pedal, and subway di and getting D800+ to handle everything since the D800+ would give me the sweepable mids the tonehammer does (I don't really use AGS).
Click to expand...
How's it sound with the Genz? Is it a meatier tone? I am considering buying one for my shuttlemax 9.2 which has 3 effects loops. If I use the master effects return, I lose all amp eq. If I use the FET effects return or the tube channel effects return, I have all eq options on the amp still (bass, treble, and sweepable high and low mids) except gain control. I think I would run the Mesa DI into the tube channel effects return, then a patch cable out of the tube effects send into the fet channel effects return. Therefore I would have two channels with separate eq options being fed by the Mesa DI. Sounds like a winner to me! I know the power modules are different but I'm hoping I could come pretty close to the 800+. Maybe @agedhorse can chime in on this and give me his perspective since he's engineered both models.
 
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