Mesa WD800 The Ultimate Loud Portable Practice Amp!

[Mingo Sanders]

you could ditch all your other rigs, and

So you're thinning the herd down to one practice rig? Nice!

 

[armyadarkness]

So your Strategy had a baby? Should I even ask whom the father was?

Lol. Thanks bro! It's what happens when you leave your KT88s unsupervised

 

[armyadarkness]

My mini rig is only 20 pounds and brings a surprising amount of beef for what it is (Genzler Magellan 350 and Barefaced One10). But I imagine that rig sounds more like the entire herd rather than just mere beef.


Nice stuff ya got there, neighbor!

Thanks buddy! It was one of the more difficult decisions that I had to make for a rig. There were a few low-wattage all tube amps out there, and more seem to be coming, but I felt like they would limit my possibilities. I honestly still can't believe that I'm this happy with such a compact package. I don't think that anyone would have been able to convince me without hearing it!

 

[armyadarkness]

Nice to hear. AM I gaseous for considering swapping out my hathor 1203T for the subway 1x12???? I have the subway 2x12 and it's just amazing. Seems the subway is 3db higher sensitivity.

Mesa cabs were an unlikely choice for me a year ago, but I rolled the dice and they blew my mind with the pH for 12.

The PowerHouse 412 will always remain my flagship cab, but I will always need plenty of other cabs for different amplifiers and environments.

I was super sad to see the PowerHouse line discontinued to make way for the Subway Series, but after hearing this 12, I have a feeling that I will be getting a 212 and a 410 before the year is up!

 

[Nephilymbass]

I am ultra impressed!!

Super light, 40lbs with cables, 19′ tall, 15″ wide, deep, punchy tone for days, 400 watts as it sits, 800 with more cabs (the ability to add 3 more cabs), the head happily pulls double duty for large gigs on top of my Mesa PH412’s, and it’s made in America!

I started out wanting the best sounding practice amp, in a very small light package.

• All-tube sound.
• Solid State for low maint/ high reliability.
• A head that could also be used for large gigs.

I can’t believe how good it sounds and how loud it is. As a player who normally runs all tubes (V4B, Heritage SVT, Strategy 88) through two Mesa PH412’s, my expectations for a practice/ coffee house amp were very low.

This has got to be as close as an Earthling could possibly get to the tone that I’m used to, while staying well within my parameters for weight and size.

This rig easily sounds better than a few full stacks that I've owned, and compared to a 30 watt combo of the same size... It's like comparing a Lamborghini to a Pontiac Fiero.

At 8 ohms, the Subway 112 is rated for 400 watts, which is what the WD800 puts out at 8ohms as well... It uses those 400 watts efficiently and extremely far beyond what I perceived to be possible.

It's loud! And to say that, I mean that it sounds good loud. Very good. I pushed it hard, and it remained tight and lush the entire time. I play punk and metal, and using a G&L LB100 (pbass type) I couldn't' turn the gain over 45% or the master over 70% without passing stage volume.

Yes... It costs 3 times what a Peavey combo costs, but when you consider that you could ditch all your other rigs, and that this will carry Mesa quality and resale, the value is a no brainer.

Nice job Mesa! [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Awesome. I love my d-800. Might get one of these eventually. Mesa is definitely my favorite amp company these days.

 

[armyadarkness]

That's great man, but honestly you must have played some weird full stacks if you are impressed with a single 12 speaker over those.

Well over the last 30 years I've played just about everything, but I suspect that Mesa Boogie doing their homework on cab and driver construction had a lot to do with it. A lot of other manufacturers just build a box and stick a speaker in it.

There's a reason why some stuff is famous and some stuff cant be given away.

 

[armyadarkness]

This was my thoughts about my, now 3rd, D800... just wait until you use it live through a bigger cab.. or additional cabs

Lol. Ahhhhhh! Let my wallet rest

 

[armyadarkness]

So you're thinning the herd down to one practice rig? Nice!

Let's not get carried away!

 

[armyadarkness]

Awesome. I love my d-800. Might get one of these eventually. Mesa is definitely my favorite amp company these days.

For the last year, I've been spoiled with my V4B reissue through the PH412 cab, but this head easily matches that tone, and then offers so much more flexibility!

 

[Keger Jupit]

Lol. Thanks bro! It's what happens when you leave your KT88s unsupervised

This always helps...I'm just saying

 

[JohnnyBottom]

ok Question.. So that is a subway 1x12 in the OP photo.
The new ones are wider than tall I thought. Did you change the orientation of the logos ???

edit..Oh see closer, both logos have screws, and the feet on the right. etc. must be the case....nevermind

 

[Drop1]

Glad to hear it delivers. I ordered one a few days ago and went spent the extra to ge the WD

 

[WardEarth]

19 foot tall you say! That is impressive.

And your pick guard stickers are too damn tastefully places.

 

[basted]

400W for practice? Do you practice in a stadium?

 

[armyadarkness]

ok Question.. So that is a subway 1x12 in the OP photo.
The new ones are wider than tall I thought. Did you change the orientation of the logos ???

edit..Oh see closer, both logos have screws, and the feet on the right. etc. must be the case....nevermind

Exactly! Mesa provided extra screw holes and made the badging interchangeable! This config is right for me, but if I add a 410, 212, or 15, I'll switch it back to sideways so that I can stack it!

Of course, if I get another 112 and make that one vertical too, then I could stack it as is.

I have to say, it sounds trivial, but Mesa putting the thought into the fine details of these cabinets is a huge help to the musician. A few years back I got two Orange Cabinets and AD200 head. The cabs were two different widths and the head hung over 6 inch on each side. Why anyone would design it so that a $2,500 head full of glass tubes was hanging off of a vibrating box is beyond me.

I called Orange and I asked them why they did it that way. They said that it was because all of their efforts went into what was important... sound.

I guess Mesa thought both were important.

 

[armyadarkness]

400W for practice? Do you practice in a stadium?

You can always turn down 400 watts, but you can never turn 30 up!

 

[armyadarkness]

19 foot tall you say! That is impressive.

And your pick guard stickers are too damn tastefully places.

I was being modest. It's more like 23 and a half feet. Shhhhh!

 

[Spidey2112]

So your Strategy had a baby? Should I even ask whom the father was?

I wouldn't...

 

[Spidey2112]

I honestly still can't believe that I'm this happy with such a compact package.

 

[Pbassmanca]

I am ultra impressed!!

Super light, 40lbs with cables, 19" tall, 15″ wide, deep, punchy tone for days, 400 watts as it sits, 800 with more cabs (the ability to add 3 more cabs), the head happily pulls double duty for large gigs on top of my Mesa PH412’s, and it’s made in America!

I started out wanting the best sounding practice amp, in a very small light package.

• All-tube sound.
• Solid State for low maint/ high reliability.
• A head that could also be used for large gigs.

I can’t believe how good it sounds and how loud it is. As a player who normally runs all tubes (V4B, Heritage SVT, Strategy 88) through two Mesa PH412’s, my expectations for a practice/ coffee house amp were very low.

This has got to be as close as an Earthling could possibly get to the tone that I’m used to, while staying well within my parameters for weight and size.

This rig easily sounds better than a few full stacks that I've owned, and compared to a 30 watt combo of the same size... It's like comparing a Lamborghini to a Pontiac Fiero.

At 8 ohms, the Subway 112 is rated for 400 watts, which is what the WD800 puts out at 8ohms as well... It uses those 400 watts efficiently and extremely far beyond what I perceived to be possible.

It's loud! And to say that, I mean that it sounds good loud. Very good. I pushed it hard, and it remained tight and lush the entire time. I play punk and metal, and using a G&L LB100 (pbass type) I couldn't' turn the gain over 45% or the master over 70% without passing stage volume.

Yes... It costs 3 times what a Peavey combo costs, but when you consider that you could ditch all your other rigs, and that this will carry Mesa quality and resale, the value is a no brainer.

Nice job Mesa! [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Amy!!!!!!