Im planning to futz with it more. I’d literally owned the head for ~7 hours when I hit the stage.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Mesa Subway D-800+
- Thread starter donahue
- Start date
-
- Tags
- mesa mesa subway subway
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,963
- 5
- 220,652
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
The output tube emulation is different than the impedance switch.
As the output gets close to the rated power of the amp, internal parameters begin to change similar to what happens when a tube power amp begins to overdrive.
If you are driving a 4 or 8 ohm load, this will happen a little earlier if the amp is placed in the 2 ohm mode.
If you are driving less than a 4 ohm load, the switch MUST be in the 2 ohm position.
As the output gets close to the rated power of the amp, internal parameters begin to change similar to what happens when a tube power amp begins to overdrive.
If you are driving a 4 or 8 ohm load, this will happen a little earlier if the amp is placed in the 2 ohm mode.
If you are driving less than a 4 ohm load, the switch MUST be in the 2 ohm position.
+1 for a compressor. I've personally been using a compressor for years. It seems I can get way more volume and impact when the spikes of low and highs are squashed a bit and much more controllable, especially because I play with my fingers and a pick.
....bummer....I may have a gremlin in my D800+.......I plugged in to practice and after 2 minutes, the red mute light came on and I was muted...regardless of the position of the mute toggle switch. I powered off and when I turned it on again it was OK..... for about a minute before the red light came on again and I was muted :-( It sounds like a case for local authorized Mesa service (I'm in Montreal so Petaluma won't be my 1st option)....but I thought I'd toss a hail Mary pass out here just in case there's "a thing" I'm missing??? Paging agedhorse ......
Also +1 for a compressor. I use a Diamond at the front end, for the tone thing it does, and Hypergravity at the end with a custom program for sustain. My Mesa is usually set flat as a result.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,963
- 5
- 220,652
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Was there anything in the footswitch jack? The failsafe mode of the mute function is "unmuted". Since the LED came on with the mute operation, it's almost 100% within the control circuit. If the mute footswitch calls for mute, it will over-ride the front panel control.
Thanks so much for the quick response. Nothing was plugged into the foot switch jack, and now it seems to be working fine........gremlins?
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,963
- 5
- 220,652
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
I don't think it would be. The only other possibility is an intermittent switch or intermittent solder bridge on either the preamp or jack PCB, neither of which are common issues. Try tapping on the chassis with the mute switch in the "operate" position and see if you can recreate it.
If it does this again, let me know and I will help you get this sorted out properly.
Thus far I can't get it to recur......which makes for a curious mixture of relief and anxiety, LOL. I'll ping you via pm if it recurs. Thanks again.
Last edited:
I ended up buying a Keeley bassist, running it in front of the input jack, it really smoothed out the peaks.
This combined with my fearless F112, best rig I’ve ever had by far
I'm kind of an amateur when it comes to comps, but I know what I like and what feels good to me; comps are all about feel.
I tried a friend's Keeley four-knob for guitar, and it was exactly the kind of comp I dislike. Too squashy and generally bad. Great on guitar, I guess. Or maybe I don't like that type of comp. I think it's a VCA type. I have discovered that comps based on THAT chips are very much to my disliking. The issue I have with them is that at mid to higher levels, the low end will disappear when playing hard. And to my ear they sound unnatural.
I think Opto and multiband sound better on bass. But the multiband needs to be able to be tuned for what you want it to do, which is why I like the Hypergravity, because one can tweak it into oblivion.
My fave comp, by far, is the Joe Meek-I have both the Floor Q pedal version and the channel strip (V6) that comes with eq as well......the pedal is great not only because it offers comprehensive control (including both input and output levels) but also because it has enough juice to drive a power amp all by itself in a pinch if needed. It's pricey but superb IMHO. The only feature it lacks compared to the rack version is an LED indicator strip to show when the signal is being compressed......I guess nothing is perfect 
I am terrible with compressors, despite having used a myriad of them over the years. So I just use a TC Spectracomp with one of the presets (forget which), and only blended to about 25%. Works real good for me.
How's the noise floor with your amps?
My D800+ has a noticeable 'buzz'. It's far noisier than all my other amps: a GK 700RB-II, a 69 Fender Bassman and a 76 Ampeg V4.
The frequency of the buzz appears to match that of the fan (which is also louder than I would prefer).
I'm wondering if it's normal or if this thing should go in for warranty repairs.
My D800+ has a noticeable 'buzz'. It's far noisier than all my other amps: a GK 700RB-II, a 69 Fender Bassman and a 76 Ampeg V4.
The frequency of the buzz appears to match that of the fan (which is also louder than I would prefer).
I'm wondering if it's normal or if this thing should go in for warranty repairs.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,963
- 5
- 220,652
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
This is not normal, the amp's noise floor is quite low. Give our service manager a call and he will be able to help you get this sorted out. He's there Mon - Thurs, note that we are coming up on holiday hours.
Excellent service from Mesa so far! I filled the customer support form on the website and got a reply almost immediately. Rich got me a RMA number right away. Thanks for your help!
