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Mesa WD800 cab suggestions

#21
57pbass said:
As mentioned earlier the MESA cabs were designed to primarily run with their heads
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While it's a fair assumption that Mesa heads are designed to work well with Mesa cabs, I can assure you that during the final testing of the WD-800 agedhorse was extremely interested in how well they played with a variety of cabs. In fact there were aspects of the WD-800 that could have probably been made more "Mesa cab" specific (like the damping control) and agedhorse deliberately focused on optimizing performance with a wide range of cabs versus only Mesa products.

Based on my experience, I'm confident that the D-800 and D-800+ were designed with that same broader cab set in mind as well. I own a number of different brand cabs (including Mesa) and find Mesa heads work equally well with all of them.
 
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#22
jazzercountry said:
Good morning TB! My first post of 2019 is a question. I'm moving away from my current powered cabinet setup (I love it, but I have a bit too much $$ tied up in preamps). The new rig will revolve around the new Mesa Subway WD800, but beyond that I'm open to suggestions. Looking for two cabinets, either modular (I've enjoyed 2 1x12 cabinets in the past) or 1 larger cabinet and one smaller. Whatever the smaller one is, it should be good for electric and DB.

Here are some of the contenders in my mind:

Genzler Bass Array 12-3 stack seems awesome, maybe one slanted and one straight

Bergantino TOO MANY OPTIONS! The NV212T is a standout in my mind, as is the HDN212. Not sure about which smaller cabinet, though lighter would be better.

Mesa Subway I would probably pick the single 12 and the vertical 212

Trickfish, Aguilar, EA the list goes on! Mainly looking for options that pair well with this new amp. Thanks!
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I have the D800+. Awesome head. Your first contender IMHO, is the best. Genzler BA12-3. Ed Freidland did an excellent review of those cabs. Super modular setup.
 
#24
Another vote here for AK cabs : I have a Changeling 112T and with the pluggable ports and mids/highs switches there's tons of different voicings you can get from these cabs. I have played the Changeling and Hathor 1203 and would recommend both without hesitation, they truly are amazing IMO.

I play DB as well - haven't gigged the DB with this setup yet, but I've tried it as loud as I could at home, and it sounded better than my previous rig (a PJB setup I had picked specifically for its DB-friendliness). If your amp has a DB-friendly EQ, I honestly think you can't go wrong with the AK cabs.
 
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#26
I just picked up my WD800. I’m using it with a pair of Aggy SL112’s while awaiting the arrival of a Barefaced Super Compact.
I can’t get enough of how this head sounds with my Aggy cabs. VERY organic and powerful.
For such a light weight rig, this really rocks.
The Barefaced cab will have to be REALLY killer to better this (which I have heard that is is!)
 
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#27
so I see the OP mentioned the Berg NV212t, and I also read here there folks like Al Kraft find the WD800 works well with the Berg CN212 (my first cab choice for the past 8 years or so) - but I am not seeing any comments from TBers using sealed cabs with the WD800.

The only cabs I have my eye on these days are one of the smaller Berg sealed cabs like the NV212t, HGN310 or 410 (I already have an NV610). I am interested to hear if anyone here has had good luck pairing the Berg sealed cabs and the WD800.

anyone ?
 
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#29
Stumbo said:
How about using the Mesa to run the powered cabs?
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Use the post DI output, set to line level if the powered speaker will take line level.

If you need the DI out to get to the pa, then the pre DI pedal would be a better choice since they have both a preamp out and a DI out.
 
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#31
Element Zero said:
WD800 and Subway 112 and 115 cabs owner here. Sounds STELLAR.
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Owning the SW112/115 combination is a win in so many ways it's hard to imagine why my initial reaction was, "a 112 and 115 cab together sounds like someone was smoking something". It's really cool to have the very different individual cab options and then the pair used together is like a whole different sound. The WD-800 is spectacular with those cabs.

I used my AK C112T (all ports open, all switches up) for tonight's gig with WD-800 since we had full professional FOH support and the drummer loves that rear firing mid on stage. If I was picking a cab for use with the WD-800 I would probably listen for one that allowed me to hear a lot of difference in the damping control positions. The C112T is one and the SW115 is another where the feel and sound are noticeably different for me with changes in the damping switch. Two SW cabs also seem to make the damping position noticeable and I think running the head at 4 ohms contributes to that.
 
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#33
My head is spinning and my GAS addiction is starting to re surface

New Mesa cabs...match my Mesa amps....Andy...You rock

Genzler Array cabs....match my Magellan

Dear Jim....Loved all your cabs I had.....perhaps I need a new collection

Duke.....

Alex and Barefaced....my English brothers......

Oh boy......

and I just downsized....house and gear
 
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#39
I've just begun researching this amp and found this video:



Sounds great from what I'm hearing on here, and I really love the parametric EQ options and the Power Amp Dampening knob seems to act almost like the passive "tone" knob of many basses. Lots of tonal options.

I've got a couple of Phil Jones C4 cabs that I'd like to pair it with - each rated at 400 watts and with 4 5" Piranha drivers.

If anyone else here has tried that combo would love to hear the results!
 
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#40
I've had my WD800 for a month and have been running it with my Berg HD212 and it sounds delicious. ( came from a GK MB 800 fusion which is now in my fiddle rig) I just pulled the trigger on the Mesa subway 2x15 as for my ears it lets the sound fully bloom
 

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