Mesa Subway D-350!

[somebrains]

Lately I've been putting more signal into FOH.
I'm thinking, @agedhorse Were to Design a dual purpose bass capable "FRFR" wedge cab, that is Vocal reproduction friendly, I , for one would be VERY happy. This "Micro D" would probably fit the bill for the bass tone as a standalone "Combo" and add in an XLR Aux in(sert) for Vocal signal : along with a DI out for mains / FOH would be my huckleberry!

That would be the Buster Wedge redux in a lighter package.
That'd probably be pretty cool for a lot of people's actual use case.

Might want more power if you need to run a crowd firing cab without PA support.
Power section from the head in a 12" & 15" would be nice.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

That would be the Buster Wedge redux in a lighter package.
That'd probably be pretty cool for a lot of people's actual use case.

Yep, except add foldback / vocal monitor duty, I could leave the stack at home for the heavy FOH gigs.
Heck, I'm hunting up a powered sub at the moment for my PA. Bass wedge would possibly supplant the rig in even more situations.

Price for this ? 7-900 USD
(I volunteer to be a beta tester)

I've contemplated getting an Audio Kinesis cab for this duty or a greenboy and feed it with the WD, and pump the aux in with the monitor mix. (I'd rather have a fully balanced xlr in, but I *think* it will work with a TRS from the board into the Aux TRS input on the WD

I'd rather someone with @agedhorse 's pedigree purpose design a product.

 

[dannylectro]

I love the GK MB150S because it’s:
- loud as heck for its size
- tiny, great for duo gigs
- sounds great for upright, AEB, and electric
- plug in and play, no speaker cables, etc

I don’t like that it weighs like 40 lbs

I’d love an equally tiny, powerful, versatile amp in the Mesa Subway universe (I use a WD800), where I could use the combo I envision as a standalone, or add one of my existing cabinets as an extension. A perfect solution for tiny stages, duo work in loud environments, practice & rehearsal, etc.

I’ll drop $1000 into a GoFundMe for this if it comes in around 30lbs or less, has the “Subway” sound, and is as loud and versatile as the MB150S.

 

[somebrains]

Is there a standard for wedge legs?
Leave pucks inserted and people can add them as they please or need.

WD preamp pedal would be nice.
I recall a couple bassists using the Mesa guitar pedal as a preamp for tube grit.

I still think a cheaper 350w head would be appealing for those Markbass, Aguilar, and GK class D owners that have been on light rigs for a while.
It's always good to change it up when your ear gets too used to something.

 

[Jim C]

Same price as a Magellan 350 or Tone Hammer 350 amp.

Good point; what is the competition and how do you compare all of their designs, features, and sonic performance?
Ranked by Price

$$$ Brand Power
$330 Hartke 300
$350 Ampeg 350
$370 GK 200
$400 Ashdown 300
$400 Peavey 600
$460 Magellen 350
$580 Aguilar 350

There is a lot of great competition in this segment of the market.
I would guess that $500 - $525 is the ceiling for Mesa.

 

[agedhorse]

agedhorse
How about something like this. A little switchable power amp. Maybe two versions. One based on the D series and one based on the WD or both in there. I forgot the damping knob, I'd have that there too. Add your favorite external Mesa preamp

Won't fit in the approx. size you have shown. In order to meet international safety and EMC standards, it would have to be almost the width of the D-800 and about 3" - 3.5 less from front to back.

One of the challenges is that there are some people building very small run power amps using these types of parts and they are not constrained by the same safety and EMC compliance challenges that we are because they simply do not test and most are not in fact in compliance. It's a very significant cost that includes a lot of engineering, and tens of thousands of dollars in nationally recognized test lab costs. Yes, is does add to the cost of an amp, but it's necessary also.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Won't fit in the approx. size you have shown. In order to meet international safety and EMC standards, it would have to be almost the width of the D-800 and about 3" - 3.5 less from front to back.

One of the challenges is that there are some people building very small run power amps using these types of parts and they are not constrained by the same safety and EMC compliance challenges that we are because they simply do not test and most are not in fact in compliance. It's a very significant cost that includes a lot of engineering, and tens of thousands of dollars in nationally recognized test lab costs. Yes, is does add to the cost of an amp, but it's necessary also.

What about the rest of the idea in a form factor compliant with EMC?
I just did it that way to show less knobs

 

[bdplaid]

For me to consider it, it has to be small. Otherwise I'll use my bass block 800 or mb800. Small is the only reason for me to consider it, otherwise I'm just buying another flavor of Subway I already have.

 

[Jim C]

One of the challenges is that there are some people building very small run power amps using these types of parts and they are not constrained by the same safety and EMC compliance challenges that we are because they simply do not test and most are not in fact in compliance. It's a very significant cost that includes a lot of engineering, and tens of thousands of dollars in nationally recognized test lab costs. Yes, is does add to the cost of an amp, but it's necessary also.

Just saw one in the classifieds that is built overseas.
I went to the website for tech info and there was this:

"FCC test reports are currently not available yet. All shipments to the US are under sole responsibility of the buyer."
No UL or other markings on the amp indicating any compliance with safety testing of any kind.
Sounds like use at own risk.
It's got to be a game changer price wise if you don't have to perform any sort of safety or QC testing let alone design to meet.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I love the GK MB150S because it’s:
- loud as heck for its size
- tiny, great for duo gigs
- sounds great for upright, AEB, and electric
- plug in and play, no speaker cables, etc

I don’t like that it weighs like 40 lbs

The GK MB150S combo amp is 26 lbs. Where'd you get 40 lbs.?

 

[CaptObvious]

Good point; what is the competition and how do you compare all of their designs, features, and sonic performance?
Ranked by Price

$$$ Brand Power
$330 Hartke 300
$350 Ampeg 350
$370 GK 200
$400 Ashdown 300
$400 Peavey 600
$460 Magellen 350
$580 Aguilar 350

There is a lot of great competition in this segment of the market.
I would guess that $500 - $525 is the ceiling for Mesa.

As far as cost goes, this is right on. I see Mesa as a step up in quality and performance on all of these. But to be competitive, and to fit in the Subway lineup, the price point would have to be $450-$499. If the price jumps into the 600's then I see myself saying "for a few dollars more I'll just get a D800"

 

[dannylectro]

The GK MB150S combo amp is 26 lbs. Where'd you get 40 lbs.?

I made it up, of course. The point I was trying to make, obliquely, is that incorporating a modern, lightweight, class D amp, into a small lightweight cabinet, with a neodymium speaker would be somewhat-to-significantly lighter than the GK.

 

[dannylectro]

The GK MB150S combo amp is 26 lbs. Where'd you get 40 lbs.?

I made it up, of course. The point I was trying to make, obliquely, is that incorporating a modern, lightweight, class D amp, into a small lightweight cabinet, with a neodymium speaker would be somewhat-to-significantly lighter than the GK.

 

[Jeff Scott]

The GK MB150S combo amp is 26 lbs. Where'd you get 40 lbs.?

I made it up, of course.

Sorry for confusing fiction for fact.

As to facts, my Markbass Minimark has two 6" neo drivers, 150 watts @ 8Ω/250 watts @ 4Ω (the GK MB150S is 150 watts @ 4Ω), and is built in a wood cabinet, weighting in at 20 lb. in all.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

My thought clarified a bit:
A SW112 tweaked for vocal reproduction with side plates similar to these:

Connection panel access:

Present the control interface like this:

And an added Aux In Attenuation knob and Balanced XLR in(sert)

This will allow the Bass Player to have a "Bass zone" on stage, I no longer need the stack behind me-- moving it in-front of me (maybe I'll put a popcorn maker back there)

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I think there would be pretty limited appeal for something like that. Why not just use a QSC K12.2?

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I think there would be pretty limited appeal for something like that. Why not just use a QSC K12.2?

I could, but that's not Mesa

 

[Music Man Dan]

My thought clarified a bit:
A SW112 tweaked for vocal reproduction with side plates similar to these:
View attachment 3706327
Connection panel access:
View attachment 3706328
Present the control interface like this:

View attachment 3706329

And an added Aux In Attenuation knob and Balanced XLR in(sert)

This will allow the Bass Player to have a "Bass zone" on stage, I no longer need the stack behind me-- moving it in-front of me (maybe I'll put a popcorn maker back there)

I've recently borrowed an Ampeg BA115v2 and I'm quickly becoming a fan of a wedge designed speaker/amp combo. If Mesa came out with an amp like this (or the one shown above) I'd become a buyer.....instead of a borrower.

 

[bdplaid]

After realizing that the Subway amps can be throttled back to 600 watts when using it in 2 ohm mode, I also realized the only thing I'm looking for in a new Subway amp is smaller size.

 

[DJ Bebop]

My thought clarified a bit:
A SW112 tweaked for vocal reproduction with side plates similar to these:
View attachment 3706327
Connection panel access:
View attachment 3706328
Present the control interface like this:

View attachment 3706329

And an added Aux In Attenuation knob and Balanced XLR in(sert)

This will allow the Bass Player to have a "Bass zone" on stage, I no longer need the stack behind me-- moving it in-front of me (maybe I'll put a popcorn maker back there)

I've recently borrowed an Ampeg BA115v2 and I'm quickly becoming a fan of a wedge designed speaker/amp combo. If Mesa came out with an amp like this (or the one shown above) I'd become a buyer.....instead of a borrower.

Sounds like back to the future up in here!