Mesa Subway D-800+

[Deak]

They are "upgrades" only if you want them. There are plenty of players that feel the additional features are a big turn-off. Really, you can't win worth losing on this one

Really, you can't win worth losing on this one.
OK, that hurt my head. Can I use it?

 

[looper]

I could not resist and went from the 800 to the 800+. I got to try it out at practice yesterday and it is likely all perception but for some reason it seemed like I had to drive the + a little harder to achieve the desired "loud" band volume. Usual tonal bliss, just had to run the gain a bit higher than I remembered running the non+. I'm sure it was a matter of different pedal settings, band being particularly "on it"" being sandwiched in between the guitarists and EQ fiddling.

 

[Lowendtech]

I could not resist and went from the 800 to the 800+. I got to try it out at practice yesterday and it is likely all perception but for some reason it seemed like I had to drive the + a little harder to achieve the desired "loud" band volume. Usual tonal bliss, just had to run the gain a bit higher than I remembered running the non+. I'm sure it was a matter of different pedal settings, band being particularly "on it"" being sandwiched in between the guitarists and EQ fiddling.

I will gladly confirm or deny your findings. Please send it to me at once to commence 2nd party testing.

 

[agedhorse]

So, earlier I promised that I would locate the LM and HM frequency control positions on the D-800+ that mapped to the native mid eq points on the D-800 but I had some things come across my bench that needed attention and like many engineers I was easily distracted... hey look, squirrel...

Anyway the D800+ eq is the same as the D-800 with the Low Mid freq a tiny bit higher than the 9:00 position and the High Mid control a tiny bit lower than the 3:00 position.

The amps won't sound EXACTLY the same because there is some additional circuitry supporting the variable high pass filter, and other internal functions, but it should be very, very close.

 

[Ewo]

I'll chime in with this, being a veteran 800 user and a newb 800+ user:

For all practical purposes, they're the same amp. The 800's simple: set the EQ at noon, get close to what you want with the voicing, fine tune with the EQ.

With the 800+: repeat that drill. Then ultra-fine tune the bottom with the HPF and bring out your fave mid nuances with the semi-para mid EQ.

All I can tell ya is that I'm an o-l-d cat, and this is the best amp I've ever used. Not the best micro--the best amp, period.

 

[Jeff Scott]

So, earlier I promised that I would locate the LM and HM frequency control positions on the D-800+ that mapped to the native mid eq points on the D-800 but I had some things come across my bench that needed attention and like many engineers I was easily distracted... hey look, squirrel...

a
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2004 All rights reserved

Anyway the D800+ eq is the same as the D-800 with the Low Mid freq a tiny bit higher than the 9:00 position and the High Mid control a tiny bit lower than the 3:00 position.

 

[Clouz]

I had some time to experiment with my D-800+ before a gig the other day so i plugged in my wireless and got about 25 feet away from my 810 and had a friend adjust different controls until I was happy with my tone. It ended up that all the controls were very close to the noon settings other than the HPF and voicing. As far as the EQ section I liked all of them almost at dead noon. The HPF was slightly off of it's counter clockwise position and the voicing was at 10 oclock. The deep switch was off and the bright was on using my MM Stingray. With my P Bass loaded with EMG Geezers it sounded better than ever before with the same settings. I only had to turn the gain up a hair with the P. Such a simple amp to get it to sound perfect. Almost dummy proof so to speak.

 

[MattLplaysBass]

Almost dummy proof so to speak.

As an employee of the federal government. I will tell you there is no such thing as dummy proof. Some people almost see it as a challenge.

 

[s_wood]

Anyway the D800+ eq is the same as the D-800 with the Low Mid freq a tiny bit higher than the 9:00 position and the High Mid control a tiny bit lower than the 3:00 position.

Andy, thanks! This confirms what I've been hearing when I compared by D800 to my new D800+ These amps are very, very similar tonally. With the D800+ low and mid-freq knobs at noon, and the gains knobs for each at 2 pm, the D800+ was a bit more present in the mids than the D800. Using the settings above that minor difference disappears.

I can absolutely see how some will prefer the smaller form, slightly lighter weight and simplicity of the D800. For me, though, particularly because my tone goals often require me to boost frequencies around 1200 kHz the extra EQ power of the D800+ is perfect. I have one band to do that, while saving the other to notch out any "room boom" frequencies I might encounter at a given venue. The 2 band semi-parametric EQ on the D800+ is, for me, the perfect balance between musically usable and precise EQ and simplicity. It reminds me of the 5 band parametric EQ on the old mPulse amps, which I always thought was damn near perfect. This is even better because fewer but wider bands is simpler, and more resistant to idiot operator error (with me being the idiot!).

This is a great amp!

 

[Ewo]

Id love to hear your take on the plus Steve.

I didn't forget! Wanted to accumulate some gig and woodshed time with the thing, first.

Given that tone goals are personal and live stage mixes are variable, here's how it goes in the world according to me:


At home, woodshedding, I can easily get a tone that makes me smile with just the 800, and minimal knob tweaking. And I've happily been gigging the 800 for the better part of a year.

But I find the 800+ offers some advantages in a stage mix, at high volume. The variable HPF is a big help in taming a bottom end that's gotten too big. (Insert joke of choice there.) And a fun thing I've just started to play with is to bump the bass EQ just a bit, and raise the HPF filter to compensate. Gives a nice bit of muscle that way. Nothing new about the idea of going the opposite directions with two curve-shaping devices--I've long done that on my Sadowskys by bumping the treble EQ and rolling off the VTC, which adds a touch of upper mids--and on the 800+ that "space between the curves thing" works real nice on the low end.

The semi-para mids work great for fine tuning the growl on my JJ bass. I can get just enough grrrrrr to suit a moderately competitive stage mix without getting too much. Just like Goldilocks's porridge.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I didn't forget! Wanted to accumulate some gig and woodshed time with the thing, first.

Given that tone goals are personal and live stage mixes are variable, here's how it goes in the world according to me:


At home, woodshedding, I can easily get a tone that makes me smile with just the 800, and minimal knob tweaking. And I've happily been gigging the 800 for the better part of a year.

But I find the 800+ offers some advantages in a stage mix, at high volume. The variable HPF is a big help in taming a bottom end that's gotten too big. (Insert joke of choice there.) And a fun thing I've just started to play with is to bump the bass EQ just a bit, and raise the HPF filter to compensate. Gives a nice bit of muscle that way. Nothing new about the idea of going the opposite directions with two curve-shaping devices--I've long done that on my Sadowskys by bumping the treble EQ and rolling off the VTC, which adds a touch of upper mids--and on the 800+ that "space between the curves thing" works real nice on the low end.

The semi-para mids work great for fine tuning the growl on my JJ bass. I can get just enough grrrrrr to suit a moderately competitive stage mix without getting too much. Just like Goldilocks's porridge.

Thanks for that! definitely sounds like a winner.

 

[DrumsAndBass]

I'd like to mount a D-800+ on a rack shelf.
Does anybody have any tips on how I should attach it to the shelf - to last.

Thanks.

 

[agedhorse]

I'd like to mount a D-800+ on a rack shelf.
Does anybody have any tips on how I should attach it to the shelf - to last.

Thanks.

Safest is to remove the feet and use 2 wide velcro strips. Beware that 3 of the feet are under the PCBs so screw length is VERY important.

 

[DrumsAndBass]

Thanks Andy.

 

[nostatic]

uh oh...

 

[Ewo]

Not uh-oh. More like, ohhh-yeahhh!

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Not uh-oh. More like, ohhh-yeahhh!

Talk about "I'll take one of each, thank you"

Gee let me guess @nostatic you like Mesa tone?

 

[nostatic]

maybe...

Quick impressions of the 800+:

Sounds like the 800 (duh)
The adjustable HPF works and is interesting
The sweepable mids can do some pretty good tone shaping. For a minute there I though my PJ was sounding like a JJ
Master volume taper is a bit different than the 800 - is a bit less abrupt in the first part of the rotation
Bright switch is not my thing
Deep switch however is useful to me
The voicing is cool especially when you tweak the eq

I sold off my Glockenklang Blue Rock. Great head, but had features I didn't need.

The 800+ still can be a plug-and-play head like the 800. But if you want to tweak, now you've got the means.

I'll be doing a video of the head, the 1-12 cab, and the preamp pedal next week. Have a couple of gigs this weekend as well.

 

[PolkaHero]

Maybe a dumb question: Do these amps have a clip light for the Input knob?

 

[Ewo]

Maybe a dumb question: Do these amps have a clip light for the Input knob?

Yep. Clip indicator on the input side, and a protect indicator on the output side.