Mesa Subway D-800+

[jnewmark]

Very nice! You seem to be only using one finger on your plucking hand for the most part. Is this something you do on a consistent basis? I've recently been trying that as much as possible and I'm finding it's giving me a more consistent sound/feel. Everyone always say two or three fingers is what you're suppose to do, but I'm not as convinced as I once was. lol

It was a mixture of things, namely, my fascination with James Jamerson, and the infliction of what is called " trigger finger ", which is a medical condition in my middle finger where the sheath that surrounds the tendon gets inflamed, and causes a lot of discomfort. So, I got used to favoring the " point " finger while playing. I've been putting up with it for quite some time, but I'm finally going to go under the knife and have it surgically repaired. However, using the " Jamerson " style of one finger was very easy to get used to. I play mostly Blues and Classic RnB, so the one finger method is fine for this style, but probably not all types of music.

 

[agedhorse]

Almost two and a half months later and I'm still waiting... This is ridiculous. I'm told it should be in this week. Let's hope it was worth the wait.

Have you received your amp yet? I know a whole bunch went out a short while back.

 

[agedhorse]

I've got a question for you D-800+ players... how many of you use the active/passive switch? If you use the active position, which basses do you find this necessary with?

 

[Eric_Allard]

Have you received your amp yet? I know a whole bunch went out a short while back.

I keep getting told it should be here "in a few days", but no, I haven't received it yet. I ordered it on July 17.

 

[agedhorse]

I keep getting told it should be here "in a few days", but no, I haven't received it yet. I ordered it on July 17.

Your dealer can call the factory and get tracking information on their shipment. It really should be a few days (or less).

 

[Groovegestapo]

I've got a question for you D-800+ players... how many of you use the active/passive switch? If you use the active position, which basses do you find this necessary with?

I have active and passive basses, but the passive bass is actually louder than the active so I use the passive position, adjust input level, and adjust gain from the active bass without clipping the led. If that makes sense in the 800+. Great amp.

 

[jnewmark]

I've got a question for you D-800+ players... how many of you use the active/passive switch? If you use the active position, which basses do you find this necessary with?

I don't think I have ever used the Active input on any amp I have owned, including the few times when I played an active bass. It seems to suck the life out of the amp.

 

[Fat Freddy]

Nope....active switch is wasted on me....

 

[Tim1]

Nope....active switch is wasted on me....

And me. I have never used an active input.

 

[Doug Parent]

I've got a question for you D-800+ players... how many of you use the active/passive switch? If you use the active position, which basses do you find this necessary with?

Never use the active position. I make sure all my basses with preamps have internal gain settings set within a reasonable limit.

 

[Steve]

I've got a question for you D-800+ players... how many of you use the active/passive switch? If you use the active position, which basses do you find this necessary with?

I don't. I play fairly lightly and can run my Sadowsky 5 passive into the input with the gain WFO and not clip it.
Max I might run the Bass pre up to +30% and not have to back the amp input lower than noon if I hit pretty hard.

I can run a Tobias Classic 5 into it with a good bit of that pre working and not feel like it's twitchy at all. Light work stays fat, digging in doesn't fart.

There is a VERY forgiving gain structure all the way through that amp IMHO

Typically I run the low and high boost on, HPF around 10:30, Voicing off, Gain at 3:00 with the bass pre on but not boosted. That will get me some front end distortion if I dig in but only then.

 

[agedhorse]

Note that input impedance does not change with the active/passive switch circuitry on most amps I have designed (including the Subways).

 

[Ewo]

I run a Sadowsky Will Lee 5 (active, yup) without the input pad. Input gain around noon, voicing around 9:00, and a bit of boost on the bass's EQ. Doesn't clip.

 

[tombowlus]

I've got a question for you D-800+ players... how many of you use the active/passive switch? If you use the active position, which basses do you find this necessary with?

I have been using the passive setting with all of my basses, both active and passive.

 

[ajn]

I have been using the passive setting with all of my basses, both active and passive.

Same here. Although I do have a Godin A4 that runs pretty hot and could handle the active setting, but I just tend to lower the gain a bit.

 

[Timmy-Watts]

I don't receive mine until Monday, but I have tried one in the store, with a fender P Bass from the wall and my own Roscoe active bass which is quite hot. As with every other amp with that kind of switch or input difference, the active setting just sucks the life out of the amp. If I ever do switch between basses on a gig I usually set the game to what the hotter one needs and use a pedal to compensate for the other one.

 

[Low Key]

I've got a question for you D-800+ players... how many of you use the active/passive switch? If you use the active position, which basses do you find this necessary with?

I use it and find it necessary with my Musicman Bongo 5 HH and Stingray 5 H. The Bongo has a pretty hot signal and I noticed I was clipping the input in Passive setting. My active Lull 5 Jazz likely doesn't need it as it has a much lower output. I don't know if this is generally true, but I have found active jazz basses to be quite a bit lower in output than my active Musicmans. But overall, I would miss the active pad if it weren't there.

**Edit - Note that I haven't tried simply turning down the Input with active basses. I'm sure that would achieve the same result. I'm just under the assumption that an input should be at at least 2:00 without clipping (no real logic behind that assumption). Other posts above make me wonder if turning off the pad and turning down the input is better?

 

[lermgalieu]

I use it and find it necessary with my Musicman Bongo 5 HH and Stingray 5 H. The Bongo has a pretty hot signal and I noticed I was clipping the input in Passive setting. My active Lull 5 Jazz likely doesn't need it as it has a much lower output. I don't know if this is generally true, but I have found active jazz basses to be quite a bit lower in output than my active Musicmans. But overall, I would miss the active pad if it weren't there.

**Edit - Note that I haven't tried simply turning down the Input with active basses. I'm sure that would achieve the same result. I'm just under the assumption that an input should be at at least 2:00 without clipping (no real logic behind that assumption). Other posts above make me wonder if turning off the pad and turning down the input is better?

I don’t use it for my Stingray 4 string.

 

[mikeswals]

What is the high end of the 800+ like over the regular 800?
Does it have more sizzle?

 

[agedhorse]

What is the high end of the 800+ like over the regular 800?
Does it have more sizzle?

Pretty much the same but there's a bright switch you can engage if that's to your taste.