I've gotten a lot of questions from other bass groups I'm a part of on this topic, so I figured I'd start a journal of sorts to track my opinions of the Mesa Boogie Subway D-800.
In May of 2022, I joined a local doomcore band that is notorious for their extreme volume levels. They had a few bass amps left by the previous bass player that I tried to use for a bit, but over time I've put together a behemoth of a rig that seems to be filling the bill.
The first thing I did was buy replacements for the borrowed cabs which, over time, consisted of an Ampeg 8x10, a no-name 2x18, and a Woodson 2x15, along with a couple of attempts to incorporate a few standalone single 15" cabs. I finally settled on a Mesa Boogie 2x15 Diesel and two single Yamaha 18s.
The Boogie had the drivers replaced before I purchased it with two Eminence Kappa Pro-15LF-2s.
Throughout the trial and error phase, I was powering all of this through an Ampeg SVT-4 Pro. The most recent configuration was this head running through my Diesel and two 18s. I had the Diesel running off of one of the two power amps in the SVT at 4ohms and the two 18s running off the other SVT power amp at 4 ohms.
The problem, for me, is I felt that they SVT-4 Pro almost had too many options for tone shaping. Traditionally, I shape my tone with the bass I play and through my pedal board. I have been able to get great sound with these on every other amp I own, but through the Ampeg, it just sounded bad. I wanted something that was more simple, more or a pass-through for my pre-amp tones; just basically to take that tone and make it louder.
I considered a few different things, but ultimately went with a Mesa Boogie Subway D-800. It is my first class-D head. I intentionally didn't choose the 800+ or TT models because I wanted something very simple.
I have only had the head a few weeks. I had my doubts about this thing being loud enough and enough power to push my cabinets. But at 2ohms, this thing can hang with the Ampeg levels for sure.
It does run a bit warm, but so far no issues with overheating, etc. I think this will be the thing I'll need to keep my eye on.
Even with the limited tone shaping capabilities of the Subway, I'm still tweaking things a bit. Everything changes at super high volume. The biggest issue I have had so far is keeping this tiny head stationary when playing at high volumes. I'm currently using velcro on the feet, but the adhesive isn't wanting to stay put. Thinking of other solutions now.
I'll post updates as I make more progress with the settings.
In May of 2022, I joined a local doomcore band that is notorious for their extreme volume levels. They had a few bass amps left by the previous bass player that I tried to use for a bit, but over time I've put together a behemoth of a rig that seems to be filling the bill.
The first thing I did was buy replacements for the borrowed cabs which, over time, consisted of an Ampeg 8x10, a no-name 2x18, and a Woodson 2x15, along with a couple of attempts to incorporate a few standalone single 15" cabs. I finally settled on a Mesa Boogie 2x15 Diesel and two single Yamaha 18s.
The Boogie had the drivers replaced before I purchased it with two Eminence Kappa Pro-15LF-2s.
Throughout the trial and error phase, I was powering all of this through an Ampeg SVT-4 Pro. The most recent configuration was this head running through my Diesel and two 18s. I had the Diesel running off of one of the two power amps in the SVT at 4ohms and the two 18s running off the other SVT power amp at 4 ohms.
The problem, for me, is I felt that they SVT-4 Pro almost had too many options for tone shaping. Traditionally, I shape my tone with the bass I play and through my pedal board. I have been able to get great sound with these on every other amp I own, but through the Ampeg, it just sounded bad. I wanted something that was more simple, more or a pass-through for my pre-amp tones; just basically to take that tone and make it louder.
I considered a few different things, but ultimately went with a Mesa Boogie Subway D-800. It is my first class-D head. I intentionally didn't choose the 800+ or TT models because I wanted something very simple.
I have only had the head a few weeks. I had my doubts about this thing being loud enough and enough power to push my cabinets. But at 2ohms, this thing can hang with the Ampeg levels for sure.
It does run a bit warm, but so far no issues with overheating, etc. I think this will be the thing I'll need to keep my eye on.
Even with the limited tone shaping capabilities of the Subway, I'm still tweaking things a bit. Everything changes at super high volume. The biggest issue I have had so far is keeping this tiny head stationary when playing at high volumes. I'm currently using velcro on the feet, but the adhesive isn't wanting to stay put. Thinking of other solutions now.
I'll post updates as I make more progress with the settings.
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