Mesa WD-800 vs. TT-800 tone differences

[staccatogrowl]

@tylerwylie Congrats on finding those "killer" Mesa preamps and DI outs in the context of their excellent power amps. That you are satisfied with your tone and no longer feel need to continue chasing other gear is a great position to be in. Enjoy, enjoy

 

[tylerwylie]

I don’t think he really made a statement comparing the quality. He said he had been looking into recording preamp options, but realized he already had adequate (for him) preamps built-in to his amplifiers. Seems pretty fair to me, as someone who pretty much discovered the same the first time I recorded something direct out from my Walkabout. I preferred the feel and flavor to the more linear/clean pres I’ve used in studio situations, so for me. Hifi pres are great if that’s the flavor you’re looking for, but there are so many other flavors that may be as good or better subjectively.

Exactly, I think Jim is uh, well... what I said and what he read seem to be disconnected so thanks for clarifying on my behalf .

I've been trying to get a direct sound that, through monitors or headphones, would inspire my playing. There are different choices made, in terms of dynamics and even notes, depending on what I'm hearing and so getting a direct tone that I'm happy with has been liberating to some degree.

Trying all sorts of combinations of preamp pedals and DI boxes left me wanting, on the projects I'm working on I've been wanting to get the bass tones sounding good going into the DAW and not being of the 'well I'll just make it sound good later' mindset.

 

[sunbeast]

Exactly, I think Jim is uh, well... what I said and what he read seem to be disconnected so thanks for clarifying on my behalf .

I've been trying to get a direct sound that, through monitors or headphones, would inspire my playing. There are different choices made, in terms of dynamics and even notes, depending on what I'm hearing and so getting a direct tone that I'm happy with has been liberating to some degree.

Trying all sorts of combinations of preamp pedals and DI boxes left me wanting, on the projects I'm working on I've been wanting to get the bass tones sounding good going into the DAW and not being of the 'well I'll just make it sound good later' mindset.

I'm definitely the same with music, particularly when recording. So much of the enjoyment of music for me is getting into a zone, and a good tone/feel in my ears really gets me there alot easier. I always record at least two channels, one "amp" channel that I monitor with and one straight unaffected DI line that I can manipulate in the box or reamp with just in case, and more times than not the channel that I set up to sound good in the phones is also the one that gets tweaked for a mix. Either way being able to get myself in the zone that way for recording is key for my enjoyment and my takes always come out better!

 

[tylerwylie]

I'm definitely the same with music, particularly when recording. So much of the enjoyment of music for me is getting into a zone, and a good tone/feel in my ears really gets me there alot easier. I always record at least two channels, one "amp" channel that I monitor with and one straight unaffected DI line that I can manipulate in the box or reamp with just in case, and more times than not the channel that I set up to sound good in the phones is also the one that gets tweaked for a mix. Either way being able to get myself in the zone that way for recording is key for my enjoyment and my takes always come out better!

It's been working great so far, I am playing fretless in a 3 piece where I am taking solos and improvising and being able to play across the neck and have this type of response and feels is great. The sound is thick and full and lends itself to playing melodies over guitar and drums. I can go from my GWB1005 to a Music Man Bongo or Stingray and work on some heavier prog rock tunes and the preamp sounds very appropriate in those contexts too.

I think the closest I got to these sounds I'm getting came through some plugins meant to model the Avalon U5 with the tone controls in play. Or maybe it was an A-Designs Reddi into a 1073 pre/eq plugin. Anyways the moral of the story is don't write off your Class D amp's preamp / di out as not cut out for the studio... @agedhorse is a true madlad (I'm testing a Genzler Magellan 800 too alongside my WD800 and TT800 and they all sound phenomenal as recording preamps... and yes I have an amp problem)

 

[sifrancis]

*Full disclosure - I purchased my TT 800 through the Mesa artist relations program*

To contribute to the discussion on the TT 800 as a preamp for recording/DI purposes; this is primarily what I am using mine for currently.
I own a Jule Monique, Shift line Olympic, and previously the Noble DI. I don't currently have my Monique as it's currently locked up with my touring setup, and I don't currently have access.

I have been able to A/B it to an Olympic and Noble DI, a number of studio preamps (Neve, API, UA LA-610...etc), Tube DIs (Audio Kitchen & Demeter), and also the DI out of an Ashdown CTM 30.

Long story short - the TT 800 has been in use on the majority of my recording work in the 4 months since it has arrived.
It delivers all I would want/expect from a high end tube preamp, and in particular the brand of overdrive/grit it delivers is more desirable to my ears than the alternatives mentioned above (though the Simone from Jule seems to deliver on this too).
And on top of that I get two flavours of preamp in one box, that is also an amp.

- The Olympic is most similar to the Boogie channel, though lacks some of the dimensionality and depth afforded by the TT800's architecture, as well as having a more limited EQ section compared to the Boogie channel.

- The Monique (and P15 from my understanding) offers something more B15 inspired in voicing, tube and EQ choices.
Not having my Monique to directly compare to, my memory suggests the Subway preamp EQ is more similar to that voicing, but with a variable mid control and hi-pass.

- The Noble IME is not what I'd consider particularly amp-like, and shares more in common with the UA LA-610 preamp in it's sound (to my ears), providing a big warm, creamy, tube-y studio preamp sort of sound. The TT800 can do something similar to this in the subway channel, but I find it to exhibit more harmonic excitement which gives a different presentation to the upper mids in particular, and more of that tube amp "bloom" and dynamic interaction.

- The Ashdown CTM30 shares a similar EQ in some ways to the Boogie channel, but is a very different voicing, and has a higher degree of interactivity between it's EQ controls, as well as much more distortion and dirt available.

The Pre-EQ out of the TT800 is great, and sounds wonderful with any combination of the deep and bright switches, and even with both active it's never too mid-scooped for my needs, and in flat settings compares favourably with the other options available to me. Without any voicing switches engaged all three offer nuanced voicing differences on similarly quality sounding tube-DI sound.

The other thing I have explored has been to take the FX send out of one channel (generally the boogie channel) and use that to feed a separate DI (RNDI or Lightning Boy TI box), whilst then having the other channel active on the amp and feeding a speaker. This then frees me up to EQ one channel as I'd like for a straight DI'd tone, and the other channel can be EQ'd for the speaker cab/mic setup.

Ultimately a lot of this will come do people's tastes in preamps, and the features, controls, and voicing/sounds they want contained within such a device.
Re: the quality comparison of the TT 800 vs the hi-end/'boutique' alternatives - the TT-800 is, for all intents and purposes, houses a high end preamp with a high end class D power amp, and has all the features and performance I would expect from such an instrument.

I have previously owned a Walkabout, but at the time never used it in this context, and have had no direct interaction with the WD 800 outside of trying it in a music setting, so can offer no meaningful comparison there.

Hopefully some of this proves to be of some help and interest to some here.

 

[Jim C]

*Full disclosure - I purchased my TT 800 through the Mesa artist relations program*

To contribute to the discussion on the TT 800 as a preamp for recording/DI purposes; this is primarily what I am using mine for currently.
I own a Jule Monique, Shift line Olympic, and previously the Noble DI. I don't currently have my Monique as it's currently locked up with my touring setup, and I don't currently have access.

I have been able to A/B it to an Olympic and Noble DI, a number of studio preamps (Neve, API, UA LA-610...etc), Tube DIs (Audio Kitchen & Demeter), and also the DI out of an Ashdown CTM 30.

Long story short - the TT 800 has been in use on the majority of my recording work in the 4 months since it has arrived.
It delivers all I would want/expect from a high end tube preamp, and in particular the brand of overdrive/grit it delivers is more desirable to my ears than the alternatives mentioned above (though the Simone from Jule seems to deliver on this too).
And on top of that I get two flavours of preamp in one box, that is also an amp.

- The Olympic is most similar to the Boogie channel, though lacks some of the dimensionality and depth afforded by the TT800's architecture, as well as having a more limited EQ section compared to the Boogie channel.

- The Monique (and P15 from my understanding) offers something more B15 inspired in voicing, tube and EQ choices.
Not having my Monique to directly compare to, my memory suggests the Subway preamp EQ is more similar to that voicing, but with a variable mid control and hi-pass.

- The Noble IME is not what I'd consider particularly amp-like, and shares more in common with the UA LA-610 preamp in it's sound (to my ears), providing a big warm, creamy, tube-y studio preamp sort of sound. The TT800 can do something similar to this in the subway channel, but I find it to exhibit more harmonic excitement which gives a different presentation to the upper mids in particular, and more of that tube amp "bloom" and dynamic interaction.

- The Ashdown CTM30 shares a similar EQ in some ways to the Boogie channel, but is a very different voicing, and has a higher degree of interactivity between it's EQ controls, as well as much more distortion and dirt available.

The Pre-EQ out of the TT800 is great, and sounds wonderful with any combination of the deep and bright switches, and even with both active it's never too mid-scooped for my needs, and in flat settings compares favourably with the other options available to me. Without any voicing switches engaged all three offer nuanced voicing differences on similarly quality sounding tube-DI sound.

The other thing I have explored has been to take the FX send out of one channel (generally the boogie channel) and use that to feed a separate DI (RNDI or Lightning Boy TI box), whilst then having the other channel active on the amp and feeding a speaker. This then frees me up to EQ one channel as I'd like for a straight DI'd tone, and the other channel can be EQ'd for the speaker cab/mic setup.

Ultimately a lot of this will come do people's tastes in preamps, and the features, controls, and voicing/sounds they want contained within such a device.
Re: the quality comparison of the TT 800 vs the hi-end/'boutique' alternatives - the TT-800 is, for all intents and purposes, houses a high end preamp with a high end class D power amp, and has all the features and performance I would expect from such an instrument.

I have previously owned a Walkabout, but at the time never used it in this context, and have had no direct interaction with the WD 800 outside of trying it in a music setting, so can offer no meaningful comparison there.

Hopefully some of this proves to be of some help and interest to some here.

Thanks and exactly what I was looking for.
Super helpful to have a real comparison of the TT800 to other pre-amps that you have owned at the same time.

 

[sifrancis]

Thanks and exactly what I was looking for.
Super helpful to have a real comparison of the TT800 to other pre-amps that you have owned at the same time.

Happy to help - I have been meaning to share some of my experience for a while now, as I've noticed a few people asking the same question.
Keep meaning to sort some sound clips too, but haven't got round to making the time for it just yet.

 

[4Mal]

In the interest of not smelling the smoke of burning plastic (Chase card plastic), I am so not reading this thread ;-)

 

[tylerwylie]

In the interest of not smelling the smoke of burning plastic (Chase card plastic), I am so not reading this thread ;-)

I'm not sure how these other products are regarded on TalkBass - but to me, these Mesa heads are - to amps - what D'Addario's NYXLs are to strings, or Music Man's Stingray Special are to basses. I'm completely blown away by these products and it has been devastating to the bank account lol.

 

[4Mal]

I have a D-800+ which is an amp I really enjoy and so the WD and TT are of course very interesting to me. Unfortunately, my revenue took a deep dive in the 4th quarter last year and things don't look to be improving. So...

 

[tylerwylie]

I have a D-800+ which is an amp I really enjoy and so the WD and TT are of course very interesting to me. Unfortunately, my revenue took a deep dive in the 4th quarter last year and things don't look to be improving. So...

I bet that amp would function incredibly well as a recording preamp/DI too. If the WD and TT800 are any indication as to the sound quality.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I have a D-800+ which is an amp I really enjoy and so the WD and TT are of course very interesting to me. Unfortunately, my revenue took a deep dive in the 4th quarter last year and things don't look to be improving. So...

I broke down a year ago when Sweetwater ran a 36 month same as cash deal and sprong for a WD-800. If I ever get back out to the Gorge again, maybe when it warms up. You know that one week in August

 

[4Mal]

Yeah, that is usually the week of my largest outdoor sound gig of the summer. The crew and I go through cases of water and it's a wonder nobody succumbs...

 

[4Mal]

I bet that amp would function incredibly well as a recording preamp/DI too. If the WD and TT800 are any indication as to the sound quality.

The DI in the Subway series is what sold me... As Andy has mentioned the DI was designed by a sound guy, for sound guys.

A few years back my sound co was doing a Petty Tribute (Petty Fever who are simply stellar). I was working side stage monitor world for the beginning of that. Bass player was using a Mesa D-800 into an Epi 2x12. I took the DI off the head in Pre EQ. It was clear and quiet at sound check or I'd have swapped it for one of my radials. I got to listen to that rig up close and really liked it. When I got out front I solo'ed the bass over my phones a couple of times. Gorgeous, sounded exactly like the bass he was playing should. Super easy signal to work with. I bought a Subway DI within weeks of that. Sold it for a D-800 when my needs shanged back to a stage amp. Swapped it out for the + a few months later.

In a house with several type 85's, JDI's, J48's, a now sold off U5... It's best bass DI in the house. Instantly kicked my old U5 to the curb directly from the top spot.

I'm about to start a journey with an HX Stomp. It will be interesting to compare. On stage I'm pretty sure I'll DI from the Mesa as we use amps and wedges and not IEM's.

 

[Geri O]

The DI in the Subway series is what sold me... As Andy has mentioned the DI was designed by a sound guy, for sound guys.

A few years back my sound co was doing a Petty Tribute (Petty Fever who are simply stellar). I was working side stage monitor world for the beginning of that. Bass player was using a Mesa D-800 into an Epi 2x12. I took the DI off the head in Pre EQ. It was clear and quiet at sound check or I'd have swapped it for one of my radials. I got to listen to that rig up close and really liked it. When I got out front I solo'ed the bass over my phones a couple of times. Gorgeous, sounded exactly like the bass he was playing should. Super easy signal to work with. I bought a Subway DI within weeks of that. Sold it for a D-800 when my needs shanged back to a stage amp. Swapped it out for the + a few months later.

In a house with several type 85's, JDI's, J48's, a now sold off U5... It's best bass DI in the house. Instantly kicked my old U5 to the curb directly from the top spot.

I'm about to start a journey with an HX Stomp. It will be interesting to compare. On stage I'm pretty sure I'll DI from the Mesa as we use amps and wedges and not IEM's.

On that note, I own a REDDI that I would literally never leave home without, especially if I knew I could use IEMs (I still do a lot of “amp w/ IEM” gigs).

Right after I got the WD800, I decided to “just see what the amp’s line out sounded like”. Man, I was instantly impressed with the tone. Very warm, quite similar to the REDDI, in fact. Made me go “hmmm”....

Now I leave the REDDI at home for club gigs. I’ll still take it on bigger shows, but the WD’s line out will always work and work great.

 

[punchdrunk]

Im wishing Mesa would make a single channel big boy looking (full sized) class d head that emulates the boogie channel only. That would be sweet.

 

[sunbeast]

Im wishing Mesa would make a single channel big boy looking (full sized) class d head that emulates the boogie channel only. That would be sweet.

I’m curious what you would gain over the TT800 in this case, unless you are assuming it will also be noticeably cheaper? I think the price difference between the TT and previous versions has as much to do with the multiple tube architecture as it does the dual channel arrangement, and IMO both channels are super useful and do entirely different types of tones. Though if they came out with a full-on 400+ version of the TT (additional EQ section and EQ shift options) then it might be more attractive. I don’t think it really needs all that additional EQ to do what it does well though (coming from someone who gigged a 400+ for several years).

 

[Al Kraft]

As technically challenging as designing great amplifiers and cabs is, I think punchdrunk's and sunbeast's posts highlight an equally difficult part of design...figuring out the optimum set of features and design aspects that will hit the sweet spot (including price) for the majority of potential customers.

 

[Wasnex]

Im wishing Mesa would make a single channel big boy looking (full sized) class d head that emulates the boogie channel only. That would be sweet.

Due to the cost of certifying a new amplifier model, probably the closest you will get is a TT800 with the rack mount kit, and a custom headcase made to your specs. Consider the Boogie channel bloatware...but you might find you actually like it.

Rackmount Kit - Subway WD-800 & TT-800 - MESA/Boogie (mesaboogie.com)

Here is a WD800 in what appears to be an Aguilar DB751 headcase, courtesy @Geri O

The TT800's power switch is on the back, so consider a rack mounted power strip in the top space.

a
Mesa headcases tend to look like this Bronco case:

Be advised that the Bronco cases were custom for various models.

 

[sunbeast]

Due to the cost of certifying a new amplifier model, probably the closest you will get is a TT800 with the rack mount kit, and a custom headcase made to your specs. Consider the Boogie channel bloatware...but you might find you actually like it.

Rackmount Kit - Subway WD-800 & TT-800 - MESA/Boogie (mesaboogie.com)

Here is a WD800 in what appears to be an Aguilar DB751 headcase, courtesy @Geri O
View attachment 4297537

The TT800's power switch is on the back, so consider a rack mounted power strip in the top space.
View attachment 4297538a
Mesa headcases tend to look like this Bronco case:
View attachment 4297539
Be advised that the Bronco cases were custom for various models.

The TT and WD are both the same width and height as a Walkabout, just shallower in depth, so a Walkabout headcase would fit just fine