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NAD - Mesa Boogie Subway Content Inside
- Thread starter faulknersj
- Start date
Last summer, my classic good-time rock "N" roll band played at a local brewpub / eatery located in a larger shopping mall.
Our PA carried everybody but the bass.
I used my Subway D-800+ along with the Subway 210 & 115 as a monitor pointing towards me off to one side of the decent-sized, elevated stage. I actually put the 210 on a tilt-stand on top of the 115 (bungy-tied the 800+ to the 210). So while the PA faced the restaurant crowd, my setup faced the stage and the parking lot of the mall area. I just smiled as people exiting the mall had their heads turned toward the band as they located their vehicles. I'm very confident that while they heard the band mix, they could very clearly hear the bass!
Kinda funny -- we were told to not play loud as people wanted to have dinner conversation. That backfired when everybody said we needed to turn up including the restaurant staff! And so we did. And it was good!
Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the 210 & 115 sound great together!
Our PA carried everybody but the bass.
I used my Subway D-800+ along with the Subway 210 & 115 as a monitor pointing towards me off to one side of the decent-sized, elevated stage. I actually put the 210 on a tilt-stand on top of the 115 (bungy-tied the 800+ to the 210). So while the PA faced the restaurant crowd, my setup faced the stage and the parking lot of the mall area. I just smiled as people exiting the mall had their heads turned toward the band as they located their vehicles. I'm very confident that while they heard the band mix, they could very clearly hear the bass!
Kinda funny -- we were told to not play loud as people wanted to have dinner conversation. That backfired when everybody said we needed to turn up including the restaurant staff! And so we did. And it was good!
Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the 210 & 115 sound great together!
Last summer, my classic good-time rock "N" roll band played at a local brewpub / eatery located in a larger shopping mall.
Our PA carried everybody but the bass.
I used my Subway D-800+ along with the Subway 210 & 115 as a monitor pointing towards me off to one side of the decent-sized, elevated stage. I actually put the 210 on a tilt-stand on top of the 115 (bungy-tied the 800+ to the 210). So while the PA faced the restaurant crowd, my setup faced the stage and the parking lot of the mall area. I just smiled as people exiting the mall had their heads turned toward the band as they located their vehicles. I'm very confident that while they heard the band mix, they could very clearly hear the bass!
Kinda funny -- we were told to not play loud as people wanted to have dinner conversation. That backfired when everybody said we needed to turn up including the restaurant staff! And so we did. And it was good!
Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the 210 & 115 sound great together!
Ha!! That is awesome!
My thoughts. You did good. Way ahead of me and I had many Mesa tube amps and currently 3 guitar and 1 bass amp. All tubes. Subway is something I will probably do when I have loud gigs. If needed I can always carry the Mesa 400 and the old 1Diesel 15 and 210 which may be twice or more the weight of your rig. The head is 60. Without the rack.
Just curious, since you dig the cabs together but not the 15 solo, how do you like the 210 on its own?
The Subway WD-800 and 115 have fully replaced my B-15 that sits next to them. The 115 will accurately reproduce what you put through it. It is less mid forward than the 112 or 210 and most users describe it as balanced. The WD can be easily set to mimic a B-15 with a little more headroom, or almost any other tone you like. The low damping control gives it a tube like response and the passive mid control and bass EQ can get you in the familiar Ampeg ballpark quickly. And it is just truly a far better and way more versatile amp than a B-15. Grab your muted p bass and enjoy. All of this keeping in mind that the Motown sound we hear on records is more DI than B-15, the WD is a great way to split the difference.
Best amp I’ve ever owned.
Very inviting room…………
The rig looks great and probably sounds it as well.
The wear on that Precision gets a loud smacker of a Chef’s Kiss.
The wear on that Precision gets a loud smacker of a Chef’s Kiss.
I know it’s still just pushing & pulling air at your calves and so headroom will be limited by that and by it only being one speaker, but I gotta laugh in a bit of disbelief and a bit of assuming you’re kinda joking about an amp with 26 times the wattage only having a little more headroom.
The Subway WD-800 and 115 have fully replaced my B-15 that sits next to them. The 115 will accurately reproduce what you put through it. It is less mid forward than the 112 or 210 and most users describe it as balanced. The WD can be easily set to mimic a B-15 with a little more headroom, or almost any other tone you like. The low damping control gives it a tube like response and the passive mid control and bass EQ can get you in the familiar Ampeg ballpark quickly. And it is just truly a far better and way more versatile amp than a B-15. Grab your muted p bass and enjoy. All of this keeping in mind that the Motown sound we hear on records is more DI than B-15, the WD is a great way to split the difference.
Great information here! Have you by chance tried the D800+?
I may have to try a WD 800 at some point…
How long have you had the rig? They take some time to learn the nuances of them. I use a D800+ and a single or dual 15s for funk, Motown and blues, and can't think of a better rig to do so. I can nail the James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, et al., sound with the D800+ driven a little into overdrive and a single 115. And it's loud enough for a gig.
But then, for such tones, I use a P-bass.
I sold my B-15n for this...
For me, with my P with Jamerson flats, it delivers the Motown thump that the B-15 did only with more power and I'm not limited to just that one sound.
But again, that just me.
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What head are you using?
I have no problem getting a Motown sound out if my WD 800 and SW 115.
Ever hear a real B-15? That speaker in it, is mid forward.
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What head are you using?
I have no problem getting a Motown sound out if my WD 800 and SW 115.
Ever hear a real B-15? That speaker in it, is mid forward.
I don’t love the single MB 1x15” for a strictly old school ‘Motown’ sound…just my preference. I would use the 2x10 before I used the single 15” but if I was going to use this rig for that style, I’d just bring both cabs as I greatly prefer what I’m getting there.
I play literally every style of music imaginable though so I think the versatility of the Mesa Boogie stack will serve me quite well for many situations.
To each their own.
How long have you had the rig? They take some time to learn the nuances of them. I use a D800+ and a single or dual 15s for funk, Motown and blues, and can't think of a better rig to do so. I can nail the James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, et al., sound with the D800+ driven a little into overdrive and a single 115. And it's loud enough for a gig.
But then, for such tones, I use a P-bass.
Different strokes…
I would love to hear the 2x15”s
A lot of that old Motown recorded sound was DI'd and no amp was used on some of it.
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For sure! In a live setting, a passive P or J with Flats and a mute will get you 80% of the way there through almost any rig!
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Haven't seen anyone pair these 2 yet, but I'd bet a great sound could be dialed with the D-350 head into the 2x10 cab.
