Okay man, I hear you. I don’t really care how much my amp weighs and certainly would rather not carry 100lb of stuff around everywhere. Just having fun with the comment. Peace.
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Mesa Subway Plus preamp
- Thread starter Zbysek
- Start date
I always though of Mesa as a tube amp maker thought I have had a fair amount of frustration with the "lets pack every gizmo in it we can" mentality from Mesa. I know they have tried but I guess the market will not support it.
For me I'd be all over a very simple 200 watt all tube bass head that was designed to be very robust from a build perspective but lightweight at the same time. I know they did this with the last tube amps and they just didn't catch on. I think Mesas pricing is the discouraging aspect for me on a tube amp.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,961
- 5
- 220,642
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
The used market is satisfying many of those who might want a tube amp but are unwilling to pay the cost for a new one.
Costs of manufacturing, especially in the states, has been climbing pretty rapidly. Not just the costs of materials, but the cost of labor, the cost of safety and EMC compliance (yes, there is some EMC compliance requirements for every product, primarily in Canada, Europe, Korea, Japan, China and Australia/NZ) which disproportionally affects the cost of products that are not manufactured in higher volumes.
IMO, the market (this means YOU bass players as a whole) have been crystal clear in what you are interested in and willing to purchasing new at the prices dictated by the cost of manufacture, distribution and support. No manufacturer, no matter how altruistic, can continue to manufacture products that do not sell well enough to support their cost. I think that if you were to look around you would find that the number of offerings in this market segment is declining and the number of units actually being sold by all manufacturers of such products is shockingly small.
Chef
In Memoriam
Well; you're not gonna get a high quality, american designed and built 200 watt lightweight tube amp on the cheap.
But I bet if Mesa were to build such a thing, it would be price competitive against other comparable products of which there kinda aren't any.
But it would be a good design place to be, I'd think.
Fender and Ampeg make 100 watt or 300 watt variants...
We they are CNC propogating and wave soldering these day. Aint like they are building amps one at a time by hand. I'm sure there is still quite a bit of hand work involved but not like in the old days. Pricing sometimes seems to be a bit much but I'm a cheap bastard. It seems Mesa are priced higher than many maybe not all but many.
I would like to see a medium to light 200 watt tube amp in collection.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,961
- 5
- 220,642
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
We have auto-inserted and wave-soldered for over 20 years but there is still an enormous amount of hand work required to build a tube amp like we do. Combine this with expensive parts, domestic labor and extensive agency certifications and it's simply not possible to build them for a price cheap bastards are willing to pay
Same, I always thought the same way. Mesa = fantastic tube heads. I hear you on the gizmos, I have an m2000 its gizmostest head they ever made. But it has never failed me and still sounds great.
Companies have to do what they have to to survive. If that means changing your approach I’m cool with that.
I’ll give them credit, still hand made in California when so much is made in China. You pay a premium for that I imagine but get the quality in return.
In a prefect world I’d love them to continue to continue to prefect all tube bass amplifiers. ...I think I’ll go play mine now.
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No discussion of the Subway+ DI since post 185. Can we get back on topic?
Same, I always thought the same way. Mesa = fantastic tube heads. I hear you on the gizmos, I have an m2000 its gizmostest head they ever made. But it has never failed me and still sounds great.
Companies have to do what they have to to survive. If that means changing your approach I’m cool with that.
I’ll give them credit, still hand made in California when so much is made in China. You pay a premium for that I imagine but get the quality in return.
In a prefect world I’d love them to continue to continue to prefect all tube bass amplifiers. ...I think I’ll go play mine now.
I agree for sure. Though they are not quite hand made like they used to be. All their stuff now is primarily CNC propagated and wave soldered like everyone else. Though I'm sure there is some hand work. I like OLD Boogie tube sockets that were not on the PCB and soldered flying leads to everything without connectors. Those days are leaving us.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,961
- 5
- 220,642
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
They are leaving us because that type of design/assembly turned out to be less reliable AND more costly.This was not a recent move either. There is PLENTY of hand work still required.
If hand assembled with flying lead sockets is important to you, there are plenty of these products available on the used market but you are advised to be sure they are operating properly as they have become very costly to repair.
...thats probably why Ferrari is all CNC and machine assembled.
So is Porsche. It isn't the '70's, '80's or '90's anymore, guys!
Regarding the Subway DI, I've had the non-plus version for a long time and I absolutely love it for recording and silent practicing to keep my wife happy. I imagine that the "+" version with it's additional features is a step up.
I was an "early adopter" of both the D-800 and the Subway DI and the relative simplicity of both works fine for me. But if I was a new buyer I would probably go with the "+" versions of both. Just because....
BTW, I did keep one tube bass rig from earlier times. It does have a great sound.
Regarding the Subway DI, I've had the non-plus version for a long time and I absolutely love it for recording and silent practicing to keep my wife happy. I imagine that the "+" version with it's additional features is a step up.
I was an "early adopter" of both the D-800 and the Subway DI and the relative simplicity of both works fine for me. But if I was a new buyer I would probably go with the "+" versions of both. Just because....
BTW, I did keep one tube bass rig from earlier times. It does have a great sound.
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Just picked up a Subway+ DI. Is there a way to hook up headphones for post-EQ enjoyment? What additional equipment might be required?
I use a small 4 channel mixer with a headphone jack (and an input for a CD player or whatever).
I use a mixer by Peavey. It has Bluetooth so I can play my MP3 files wirelessly.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,961
- 5
- 220,642
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
A small headphone amp, or mixer with headphone amp.
These work GREAT...no gig bag should be without one
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Rolls/PM50S-Personal-Monitor-Amp.gc
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Rolls/PM50S-Personal-Monitor-Amp.gc
I don’t need a large mixer, like the two suggestions above; this is small and looks like it allows connecting the Subway+ DI through the XLR and a music player through the Monitor In. It also looks like it could be useful in my big band to better hear my DB (effects send or DI out from my Acoustic Image amp). The battery-powered model looks even better. Thanks!
How about a zoom recorder? You can connect your subway to an h6 to practice, record your practice or gig and get feed from the house or use an mp3 to play along with. It also has a metronome function. H6 is the mac daddy, there are more affordable options. I may be coming around to picking up a subway + di hmmm. Practice in silence is very appealing.
Zoom H6 Handy Recorder
Zoom H6 Handy Recorder
