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Mesa Subway Bass DI-Preamp

#441
MTN.bass72 said:
Are there any of you guys using the Subway DI running into a power amp, then to a cab?

I unfortunately got in a tight spot and had to sell my D800.. I don't want anything else. It just sounded too good.

Yeah, I could get another head, but I can't get the DI and a Crest Prolite 2.0 cheaper and basically have a 1600 watt Subway :hyper:;)
Click to expand...

Yep, run it into a Crown XLS2002. Love it.
 
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#443
MTN.bass72 said:
Are there any of you guys using the Subway DI running into a power amp, then to a cab?

I unfortunately got in a tight spot and had to sell my D800.. I don't want anything else. It just sounded too good.

Yeah, I could get another head, but I can't get the DI and a Crest Prolite 2.0 cheaper and basically have a 1600 watt Subway :hyper:;)
Click to expand...

DI -> PLX1602 here - so yeah, a 1600 watt Subway. I'm happy.
 
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#444
So as an update to some of my earlier posts about gain matching and getting a good signal back through Aviom at one of my church gigs I can safely say the Subway DI did the trick. I used the preamp out XLR to house with the ground lifted. I set everything flat and added a little boost to the low mids. So I was able to use the level control to correctly match the gain in Aviom (was having to almost dime the bass level in Aviom to even come close to the other instruments) and raise it to a reasonable amount. I thought I might get a complaint from the console but no one said a word.:thumbsup:

I used the thru out on the Subway to go to the stage amp usually a GK400RB and the amp is used more of a substitute for higher bass guitar notes that tend to slip out of the subs. There are no other amps, monitors, or drums (fully enclosed booth) on the platform. With my 6 driver Eartechs in I cant hear the amp at all.

Using the Subway DI EQ section for house, about midway into rehearsal FOH guys asks for more low end. On EQ and I was able to give it to him via the Subway DI withouT affecting the Amp tone .

Also of note by using the Subway as the DI instead of the Amp XLR I was able to totally squash the awful hum I was having before.

In short I was totally pleased with the Subway DI as a tool. I should be playing out some Gigs soon with Allman Tribute band soon and will report back my results. I'm thinking of using it in the same manner for this project. Using the Subway to fully control the house level & EQ from the pedal and control my amp tone from my amp.
 
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#446
Also of not I was able to tell which XLR to best meet where the gain on the console was just by ear. I first connected to the DI XLR and the signal was really weak which told me I needed to swap to the other. I did this based on what you AH said about that out may be too hot. It ended up the hotter out was a better match due to where ever they have the input gain in the matrix. This was such an easy fix using the Subway, I was able to fix my whole gain trouble and nobody even knew I was doing anything. I'm assuming they made adjustments on the fader to compensate for what I was doing but one can never know.
 
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#449
So there is one Input, a Thru Output (which is unaffected signal), a DI XLR Output which can be pre or post EQ but is not affected by the master volume control and also has a ground lift, preamp XLR Output which is always post EQ and is affected by the master volume and has a ground lift, and lastly 1/4"/Hi Z output which comes from the preamp and is affected by all controls.
 
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#451
Red Planet said:
So there is one Input, a Thru Output (which is unaffected signal), a DI XLR Output which can be pre or post EQ but is not affected by the master volume control and also has a ground lift, preamp XLR Output which is always post EQ and is affected by the master volume and has a ground lift, and lastly 1/4"/Hi Z output which comes from the preamp and is affected by all controls.
Click to expand...
So which outputs would go to what?
 
#452
Thru output is simply an unbuffered pass-through from the bass onto a tuner, an amp, or whatever. The DI out is a balanced XLR mic level signal, selectable pre or post eq, that would normally be sent onto the PA. The preamp outs are post eq and post mater volume, line level and are typically used to drive a power amp and speaker. XLR balanced plus 1/4" unbalanced are provided for ease of interface. Both XLR outputs have ground lift switches.

Of course there are alternate applications, like what Red Planet is using this for. It's input/output is really kind of a Swiss Army Knife in that it covers a lot of bases in a small area.
 
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#453
Stumbo said:
So which outputs would go to what?
Click to expand...

Input: There is only one in and its always going to be connected to whatever your trying to send signal from be it a bass, or a pedal in front of it. In my case I use several pedals in front of the Subway DI and it is last in the chain.

Thru: Would normally go to your amp. Your amp already has a preamp and EQ and you dont need the extra gain and equalization.

DI XLR Out: Would normally got to house in a perfect world which this out could be Pre or Post EQ so you have the choice of using the input gain and EQ section for this out or just the input gain and no EQ.

Preamp XLR Output: This would normally be a power amp line to feed the preamp's full controls, EQ, Input Gain, Master Volume and this out is always Post EQ.

Preamp 1/4" Output: Would normally be a high Z line that would drive a power amp as well.

So all these are in a perfect world scenario but there may be circumstances like in mine where I need to drive the console more because the input gain isn't high enough and its too difficult for the sound guys to change. Hence my using the Preamp XLR though sometimes I show up and the bass is over driving in Aviom in which case I may need to swap over to the DI XLR Output.

So there may be other ways you could use the differing outputs to serve a purpose I'm not thinking of.

Aged Horse will the 1/4" Preamp Output Drive a set of headphones?
 
#454
As a side note, unlike with many other preamps, you can use all of the outputs of the Subway DI all at the same time. You don't have to choose just one. So if you have your DI going to the house, preamp out going to your amp, you could use the thru to connect a tuner, or a powered monitor, or whatever else. It's a very well thought out unit, I have two of them..one for each pedalboard.
 
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#455
Red Planet said:
Aged Horse will the 1/4" Preamp Output Drive a set of headphones?
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Unfortunately not, because the preamp is designed to work on a 9V battery, there's just not enough current available to drive a real headphone amp for very long with all the other functions (including two balanced line drivers) present on the unit. 4 hour battery life isn't going to cut it these days.
 
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#456
mmbongo said:
As a side note, unlike with many other preamps, you can use all of the outputs of the Subway DI all at the same time. You don't have to choose just one. So if you have your DI going to the house, preamp out going to your amp, you could use the thru to connect a tuner, or a powered monitor, or whatever else. It's a very well thought out unit, I have two of them..one for each pedalboard.
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Yes, correct. Each player will probably end up using a different combination of inputs and outputs to get the job done. We simply provided the necessary tools for most of what you will encounter.
 
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#459
Red Planet said:
Having two XLR out in one unit is definitely a very nice feature set.
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It's one of the features that those in the MI industry struggle to appreciate yet those in the pro audio industry demand because of the usefulness. I'm pretty big on interfaces, I like to include as many tools on-board as I possibly can so that when you are out in the field you have the ability to accommodate a variety of needs, expected and unexpected. Yeah, it costs a few dollars more, but when you really need the feature to bail yourself out of a bind, the value is priceless.
 
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#460
agedhorse said:
It's one of the features that those in the MI industry struggle to appreciate yet those in the pro audio industry demand because of the usefulness. I'm pretty big on interfaces, I like to include as many tools on-board as I possibly can so that when you are out in the field you have the ability to accommodate a variety of needs, expected and unexpected. Yeah, it costs a few dollars more, but when you really need the feature to bail yourself out of a bind, the value is priceless.
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This works.
 

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