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Mesa Subway D-350!
- Thread starter mmbongo
- Start date
The other night at practice I was running my p-bass through the D-350 on the SW115. Sounded kinda bad. I then started adjusting the tone controls and it just got worse. So before I plugged into the rig at the next practice, I opened the D-350 manual for the suggested settings. I barely turned the knobs to get the Rock Authority setting and everything changed. Perfect! My tone fit the in mix of two guitars, keyboards and drummer. I could hear every note in every song without being loud. I'm going to glue the knobs in place.
These tone controls are powerful, y'all. Just saying that if you are having trouble finding a great tone, start out with the settings in the manual first. Then if needed turn them very slightly at a time.
These tone controls are powerful, y'all. Just saying that if you are having trouble finding a great tone, start out with the settings in the manual first. Then if needed turn them very slightly at a time.
My experience with the Subway heads matches yours. I never got a really bad tone out of them but was not thrilled until I started making adjustments and the settings recommended in the manuals are terrific. A lot of effort and care went into the manuals. Odd.....I run my D-800 and my D-350 with all the knobs centered in most rooms and they sound fantastic to me. We have different tastes, different ears and different basses!
Yes, this is quite typical with the Mesa amps. I've got a Mesa Mark V:25 for my guitar, and it has 6 channels, 12 knobs and a 5 band eq. It is brilliant when you get it setup correctly with the rig. But when the grand daughter came and turned all the knobs and switches, ugh.
LOL! The exact same thing happened to me just last week. My granddaughter came in and started playing with all the knobs and sliders on my MESA M2000 - it has an awful lot of knobs and sliders* and when I started playing later, it sounded just terrible. It took me ½ hour to get it almost back to where I had it set up before.
* My Mesa M2000 front panel:
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When I get my settings where I want them, I take a pic with my phone. It's a fast reference to resetting things if needed...
Mesa D-350, SW112 and SW210
Fender Telecaster Bass and Sadowsky Metroline Will Lee.
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It’s a bar mat from Amazon. Hundreds of tiny rubbery fingers help keep things in place. The cabs sit on an Auralex SubDude.
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The more i use the subway, the more i like it! The tones are so sweet & the eq is very sensitive! my birdsong sounds like a symphony through this amp!
Probably better than gluing the knobs in place, lol...
although I'm sure that poster wasn't totally serious.
That was me. lol. I gigged it again, knobs untouched on the 115 today at another outdoor show, unsupported and it was fantastic!Probably better than gluing the knobs in place, lol...
although I'm sure that poster wasn't totally serious.
That photo makes me smile. Still smiling, I ordered a pair of those bar mats
A couple of D-350 questions...
Is the prototype D-350 (without bright switch) otherwise the same as the production model?
Anybody tried a pair for stereo effect use?
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,965
- 5
- 220,669
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
There was one prototype that got away from us, it's similar but not identical. It was also larger.That photo makes me smile. Still smiling, I ordered a pair of those bar mats
A couple of D-350 questions...
Is the prototype D-350 (without bright switch) otherwise the same as the production model?
Anybody tried a pair for stereo effect use?
I posted this already on the Subway thread but since it involves my D-350 I will post it here too.
I seem to have found the perfect amplification for my upright. My bass has an older Underwood pickup and I use an old Fishman Model B preamp. Today I played through my D-350 and my PJ C4 cabinet. It was awesome. Sounded just like the bass. All controls centered on the D-350 except voicing was set at flat. It was just inspiring to hear the rig sound so
good.
I seem to have found the perfect amplification for my upright. My bass has an older Underwood pickup and I use an old Fishman Model B preamp. Today I played through my D-350 and my PJ C4 cabinet. It was awesome. Sounded just like the bass. All controls centered on the D-350 except voicing was set at flat. It was just inspiring to hear the rig sound so
good.
Got one coming my way soon. After perusing this thread, I'm guessing the best way to start with this head is to put all EQ knobs straight up, and use the Voicing control to find what I want, then EQ to taste, sparingly ? Going to be using it with a 4 ohm, Schroeder PL15 cab.
That is how some, if not most do.
Then there is the downloadable manual at Mesa you can look at and see some suggestions.
https://mesa-boogie.imgix.net/Subway-D350-manual-220329.pdf
With a Genzler BA12-3 SLT cab I now start by nudging the Bass up, Hi-Mid and Treble back, with voicing either side of noon. Input level varies with instrument, but usually 11+/-
And by all means try the suggestions from the manual.
Thanks, I did see that when I checked out the manual online. I noticed with those settings, the Gain and the Master are both pretty close to 11 o'clock, in each one. Are you guys finding this to be true with other settings, that the Gain and the Master usually are at the same position with each other ?
