Modern cabs voiced like vintage Mesa?

[DJ Bebop]

They also have a few Powerhouse 410 available too, including one in Beaverton, OR which is pretty close to me (that's an hour South of Portland, I'm an hour North of Seattle). I trust that you're happy with the Subways but I'm pretty certain that I'd end up inserting an MXR 10-band EQ into the FX loop and tweaking that endlessly because... well just because.

For space reasons I'd rather stick to a 2x10 or maybe a 2x12 or a 1x15 if those show up.

Great idea on the logo!

I just ordered the amp from Bass Shop Seattle, when it arrives I have a quad of circa-1990 Trace Elliot 4x10s and 1x15s in the garage that I'll test it with

I see you tried a SW 112 but have you tried two SW 112 or the 2x12? A few folks don't like the SW 112 because it's too mid forward for them.

Another mid forward sounding cabinet line I have heard people saying is the Aguilar DB series.

 

[ghunter]

I tried the SW 112 + 115, I think these cabs are just voiced more neutral and agedhorse has suggested that the Powerhouse series will just get me the tone I'm looking for. My past experience with the Powerhouse series was very positive, and I'm actively looking.

With that said, I suspect that it will be the end of the year before I get the amp given the backorders...

 

[DJ Bebop]

I tried the SW 112 + 115, I think these cabs are just voiced more neutral and agedhorse has suggested that the Powerhouse series will just get me the tone I'm looking for. My past experience with the Powerhouse series was very positive, and I'm actively looking.

With that said, I suspect that it will be the end of the year before I get the amp given the backorders...

Keep an eye out at Guitar Center across the country for PH cabs. I know they ship from store to store. Don't know on the heavy stuff but worth a try if you see something out of state.

I think the SW 115 is more neutral sounding than the 12. That is why I suggested hearing two of them, but you know what you want

 

[DJ Bebop]

I swapped out my Mesa TT-800 and those cabs for a '65 Ampeg B-15 (no regrets there)

Funny, I did the opposite. I swapped out a 66 Ampeg B-15 for this…

I also had no regrets!

 

[ghunter]

Keep an eye out at Guitar Center across the country for PH cabs. I know they ship from store to store. Don't know on the heavy stuff but worth a try if you see something out of state.

I think the SW 115 is more neutral sounding than the 12. That is why I suggested hearing two of them, but you know what you want

Thanks for the GC tip.

It's not that I know what I want more than wanting to cut to the chase and not go through more experiments with the Subway series. Great cabs for sure.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Thanks for the GC tip.

It's not that I know what I want more than wanting to cut to the chase and not go through more experiments with the Subway series. Great cabs for sure.

So you do know what you want then if you don't wanna experiment.

 

[ghunter]

Well, I'm going to experiment with a Bergantino NV115 and a Ref II 112

 

[ghunter]

Got my Bass 800D yesterday from Bass Shop Seattle!

They loved the Bergantino NV610 with this head, and also the NV115 that I now have. The NV115 is indeed a superb match and gets me the tone I remember (well, maybe it needs a little more drive, but that's for another thread).

Still looking for a local Powerhouse, might be picking one up just over the border next week.

 

[ghunter]

I have found two cabs that match beautifully with the Bass 800D. The Bergantino above and the Powerhouse 4x10 are both winners.

No surprises the NV115 has a lot more of the vintage-y rounder whoomp tones and the PH410 has the bite and growl. No, make that BITE AND GROWL.

What an amp, and as you can tell I've not really started playing with the EQ. I just bought an RC Bass Booster to drive the preamp a little harder, and there is also the new Earthquaker Sunn Life pedal standing by!

 

[agedhorse]

I have found two cabs that match beautifully with the Bass 800D. The Bergantino above and the Powerhouse 4x10 are both winners.

No surprises the NV115 has a lot more of the vintage-y rounder whoomp tones and the PH410 has the bite and growl. No, make that BITE AND GROWL.

What an amp, and as you can tell I've not really started playing with the EQ. I just bought an RC Bass Booster to drive the preamp a little harder, and there is also the new Earthquaker Sunn Life pedal standing by!

View attachment 7401283

Don't bother with the bass booster, if you want to driver the preamp harder just use the high gain switch position. It's all there onboard.

 

[ghunter]

Don't bother with the bass booster, if you want to driver the preamp harder just use the high gain switch position. It's all there onboard.

So far I can get decent drive with my G&L MFD basses (L-2000 and SB-2) but a '57 CS Precision doesn't get much even at 10 gain on high. With that said, this amp sounds soooo good with the Precision. I can test more tomorrow too.

Thank you for responding so quickly!

 

[agedhorse]

So far I can get decent drive with my G&L MFD basses (L-2000 and SB-2) but a '57 CS Precision doesn't get much even at 10 gain on high. With that said, this amp sounds soooo good with the Precision. I can test more tomorrow too.

Thank you for responding so quickly!

Where is your eq controls at? If they are very low, this may impact the O/D too... and it also depends on how much overdrive you are looking for. The original Bass 400+ wasn't much of a preamp overdrive amp, fairly mild compared with sat a Prodigy or Strategy BUT that's also what made those amps fairly polarizing too. Players either liked them (the heavier O/D and distortion crowd) or didn't (milder O/D and big clean tone crowd).

 

[Pep]

Greenboy fEARful cabs work great as well.

 

[ghunter]

Where is your eq controls at? If they are very low, this may impact the O/D too... and it also depends on how much overdrive you are looking for. The original Bass 400+ wasn't much of a preamp overdrive amp, fairly mild compared with sat a Prodigy or Strategy BUT that's also what made those amps fairly polarizing too. Players either liked them (the heavier O/D and distortion crowd) or didn't (milder O/D and big clean tone crowd).

The EQ controls were all on 5 as I got used to the core tones. I was looking for a mild drive, I'm getting it at 7-8 on the Gain knob with the switch on High with passive basses. With MFD or active I get it around 4-5 on the Gain knob.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who hasn't played through a Bass 400/400+ in decades, and memories can play tricks on us. I remember the 400 having a really mild warm drive but nothing that you'd consider more than an accent. It wasn't my amp, so I have no idea if the tubes were near the end of their lives or something else was actually wrong with that one.

No matter what, I am incredibly happy with the tones I'm getting from this head/cab combo.

 

[mikeswals]

Given the PH series aren't light to begin with I think that's a pretty big difference!

The PH212 seems quite rare, just like the Powerhouse Jr that I just found out about. Apparently that's a 100 lb cabinet and still Mesa thought to call it "junior"!

View attachment 7327399

Don't bother with a Jr. Its a fart machine... those speakers are best off being used for guitar, dont know why Mesa made this a bass cab back in the day. Every one who had these sounded like azz when I watched them play.

 

[John D Harris]

Is anyone making a mid-forward cab that are close in voicing to the older Mesa Road-Ready and Powerhouse series cabs?

I'm wanting to match the new 800D with something more "vintage Mesa" sounding than the Subway cabs. I've owned the Subway 2x10, 1x15, and 1x12 searching for the KILLER Mesa tone I remembered from my youth, and when I connected a Powerhouse 2x10 it was a lot more of what I was looking for. I swapped out my Mesa TT-800 and those cabs for a '65 Ampeg B-15 (no regrets there) but the 800D seems like a good excuse to add a small Mesa rig, probably with a 2x10.

I think the GK Neo IV 1x15 would fit into that tone slot and weighs 37.8 lbs, so if anyone wanted a pair, hauling them wouldn't be too bad.