LONG post alert. TL/DR - Rig is unbelievably cool. Pics along the way. Thanks for stopping by.
So, it arrived yesterday. (The top box is the short, fat Speakon cable.) Sorry, my roses have been neglected lately.
Of course, Sweetwater (and Philip) were fantastic to deal with.
![20200929_085733[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200929_085733-1-jpg.4000754/ "20200929_085733[1].jpg")
The rig was packed very well. Even in the boxes I was blown away by both the size and weight of each piece. I got may arms around the cab even in the box to take it upstairs.
Unpacking everything one word kept jumping out at me.... "quality".
The head comes with a sturdy gig bag. The cab comes with a slip cover. (Both embroidered with the Mesa logo.) The head comes with a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter for use with the Aux in or headphone jacks. Nice touch. The head also comes with felt pads to install on the bottom if you wish. Again, nice touch. Even the MANUAL is printed on nice paper and nicely bound. I could list dozens of nice little touches that show @agedhorse and his team were OBSESSED with this amp and its presentation. The manual is also well written @Chef and @Al Kraft (and whoever else was involved) . Thank you for the Instant Gratification section. It really does launch you easily into enjoying what this thing will do. The manual contains plenty of details for the technical wonk in me. But it's also well-written for the creative in me that just wants to enjoy his new kick A amp. One can easily tell that everyone involved was geeking out over this thing during design and launch as much as I was unpacking it. They "get" us.
![20200929_090518[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200929_090518-1-jpg.4000758/ "20200929_090518[1].jpg")
![20200928_205925[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200928_205925-1-jpg.4000789/ "20200928_205925[1].jpg")
I had to unpack it and run. So I was able to set it up but not play through it. I did take a second to just mess with the knobs and switches. Everything just feels (again) "quality". The switches and knobs are "stiff" in a GOOD way. They don't feel fragile or cheap at all. Fit and finish on both the cab and head are nothing shy of perfection. They almost look "too" perfect. It's a bit spooky when you take a close look.
The size and weight of each is just unbelievable. The cab is shorter than a P bass body. The whole rig looks diminutive beside my other two main rigs. (The cab looks bulkier than the Walkabout Scout cab only because the Speakon cable forced me to keep it off the wall quite a bit. It's an optical illusion. I'll be getting a 90 degree Speakon connector post haste.)
![20200928_135012[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200928_135012-1-jpg.4000764/ "20200928_135012[1].jpg")
Let's really dive into the weight for a second. I literally picked up the cab and held it by two opposite corners in the palms of my hands (think front bottom right corner and back upper left corner). I SPUN the cab in my hands just for fun! It's just STUPID light. Then I carried it downstairs and back up again, holding it by both handles on the way down, and one handle on the way back up. It just doesn't make sense. It's a one-hand tote for the vast majority of us. The head weighs less than a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and is only slightly larger. Again, it defies logic. As mentioned before, everything "feels" heavy, but it isn't. The knobs and switches feel like they should be on a 35 pound head.
Aesthetics. Let's be honest. We all like to claim "I don't care what it looks like as long as it plays/sounds good." Suddenly, I'm not that guy anymore. This setup just looks cool. Nothing is overstated. All of the lines are clean. And I just think a black rig looks cool. The graphics are clean and easy to read. The knobs are laid out so simply that I already can grab the right knob without even seeing the graphics above/below the knob labeling what it does. I already know the order of the switches without looking.
The number of features on the head are simply too numerous to cover here. I'll discuss them more in the Subway and/or TT800 thread as I discover them. BUT, I will say this much. For as much as it has available, it is incredibly intuitive. I recall when the news of this head broke, and the TT800 thread was started, dozens of people here chimed in with "I'm sure it sounds great and all. But that's just too many knobs and switches for me."
In short, it's not. It's two channels. Start with the settings in the Instant Gratification section. Smile. Tweak (if needed). Nothing to it.
I played several basses last night through the rig. I was EASILY able to make adjustments QUICKLY for each bass. Let's cover a few.
My main player, the Hammersmith 5. I had to start with this bass because it is "home" to me. I know it inside and out. I know how this bass sounds through lots of rigs, through my in-ears, through floor monitors, etc. So I knew I could immediately determine whether or not this head and I were going to get along with that bass.
Instant Gratification settings, gain set to low, deep and bright switches off. It sounded great just like this. But it was just s tiny bit "nice" for me. Fastest way to fix that? High Gain switch engaged! BOOM! There it was. Just a little grunt. Boogie was gooey. Subway was clean as a whistle. Let's play! Boogie Channel, P bass (neck) pickup soloed, tone knob dimed. There it is. Old school thump, plenty of character, but still all the clarity I could stand. I played like this for about twenty minutes before I even realized I had. OK, Andy. I'm with you. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? I'm happy so far, but creating a bass head that sounds good with a P bass isn't exactly a challenge for somebody like you.
Both pickups, bridge in series, tone knob dimed, and a pick. Hmmmm. Needs a little something. Subway Channel. BOOM! There it is. Pure, out front, still a lot of character, clean, punchy, awesome bass. My already versatile bass just became TWO versatile basses!
![20200929_082703[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200929_082703-1-jpg.4001309/ "20200929_082703[1].jpg")
OK, I'm impressed. Home bass is home base. Let's try something else.
Mid 80s E series MIJ Fender P bass with Chromes flats and EMG Geezer. Of course, I have no use for a rig that can't do a P bass with Chromes and make it do what it does. Of course, it does. Boogie Channel. Sounds great with the same settings as the Hammersmith. But... There a little high-mid burp that isn't my favorite. Up a little on the mid frequency down a little on the mid level, burp gone. Not a serious "scoop" but just a little adjustment. Mind you, I've spent MINUTES with this amp, and I just gravitated to exactly what would dial in (or out) what I wanted. This sounded exactly how you would expect with fingers, and truly, ridiculously, cool with a pick.
![20200928_134043[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200928_134043-1-jpg.4001316/ "20200928_134043[1].jpg")
OK, let's get weird.
This bass used to be a stock LeCompte SSTS. But I had @rojo412 make me a new neck (when the factory one twisted) and gut/replace the electronics. Nordstrand Big Split at the neck and Dual Coil at the bridge (all passive). Lots of passive controls/switching. Where to start on the TT. Let's just undo my little P bass tweak and get back to Hammersmith home base. Perfect. Everything reacted just as I would have hoped. I switched back and forth between channels doing everything from Jamerson to classical tapping and all points in between. I just somehow "knew" right where to go with the controls on the bass and channels on the TT. This one exceeded my expectations. This bass can be a bit of a fight to EQ with my SVT and Walkabout. Good to go with the TT. Yes, it sounds different from the Hammersmith. But it's another whole bag of tricks available to me with this head. Taking this and the Hammersmith to ANY gig (where the LeCompte aesthetics are appropriate) would leave me wide open to do whatever I want.
![20200929_082803[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200929_082803-1-jpg.4001318/ "20200929_082803[1].jpg")
Not weird enough, you say?
80s Mashup bass. Ibanez neck, unknown hot pink body, unknown EMG pickups. Very "Spector" sounding. I went back and forth on the high and low gain settings on this bass. I settled in on high gain and simply backed down a little on the gain knob to find a spot in between. Short version: Subway sounded like a Spector, Boogie sounded like Duff on his Fender Jazz Special. (With a pick, both were classic 80s tones.) Nothing to it adjusting for this bass. A little fiddling with the gain and we're done. Both pickups wide open. Tone knob wide open. Let's rock.
![20200929_082630[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200929_082630-1-jpg.4001324/ "20200929_082630[1].jpg")
Alright, let's do this. I waited until last to grab up my G&L L2000 fretless. I just KNEW this would be a challenge to dial in against the settings for the rest of my basses. We all know those MFD pickups are stupid hot! I have pressure wound strings on this bass. I was worried about what to do when I plugged this one in. Instinctively, I flipped the gain switch to low gain. I started with the Subway Channel. And I never left it. I had to change exactly nothing. All set. Knobs and switches on the bass got me where I wanted to be. I went from from Tony Franklin bite and growl to Pino sweetness with no issues. Now I'm blown away. I liked the Subway Channel so much on this one I never even tried the Boogie Channel.
![20200929_082733[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200929_082733-1-jpg.4001337/ "20200929_082733[1].jpg")
I haven't forgotten about you, Subway 115. This. Cab. Kills. Seriously, many of you saw the thread I started regarding whether to get the 215 or 2 115 cabs. I decided to get just the 115 and decide later if I wanted another one, or the 112, or a 215, or.... When the honeymoon is over, I will definitely be trying my Ashdown LB30 with it.
(By the way, Andy, I haven't forgotten the assignment you gave me regarding the Black Pearl. My friend hasn't been by in a while but is coming over Wednesday or Thursday. That's another feather in your cap. That amp sounds ridiculously good.)
I still may get another cab. But it won't be because I have to. It will be because I WANT to. This single cab is truly amazing. Does it thump? Sure does. Does it rattle the walls? Yep. Is it louder than its size would ever let you believe? Unbelievably so. But..... The CLARITY of the 15 is what really gets me. Anybody can design a bass cab that will rattle windows and the snares left engaged on any drums in the room. (I'm looking at you Jamie.) But to do it AND have all of the clarity you can stand? It just doesn't make sense.
Want me to wrap this up, you say?
OK, here goes.
1) Both pieces live up to the hype and then some. Congrats to everyone involved. Thank you for giving a crap about the most ridiculously tiny details. It makes for a great experience on my end. Money well spent. I'm a TOTALLY satisfied customer. (By the way, Andy, foot switches are in stock. I spoke with Chris yesterday and mine is on the way. He was great, as usual. Customer service at Mesa great as usual.) It's a rig I'm both happy with and proud to own.
2) The TT is NOT hard to navigate. It looks hard because there are so many freaking inputs, outputs, knobs, and switches. But it really is so well-designed (and the manual so well-written) that you're off and running in seconds. No, you DON'T feel like twiddling knobs the whole time you're playing. It's designed in a way that getting from where you are to where you want to be is simple and effective. It's designed to play THROUGH, not play WITH. Plug in your bass. Choose the channel you think will sound the best with that bass (and you'll likely be right). If anything, make one or two tiny adjustments. Get to playing!
Of course, I have more exploring to do. You can't even do one lap around this amp in the hour or so I played last night. I can't WAIT until rehearsal next Thursday to hear it through the PA as well (just to see how it translates from the 115 to FOH speakers). I can't wait to take in in the the dining room and run my phone into the Aux in and run some headphones to practice.
Fire away with any questions and I'll try to help as best I can. A friend is supposed to help me set up a recording method next week. I'll try to post some clips, but no promises.
It's official. I get it. And I'm a fan!
![20200929_082837[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200929_082837-1-jpg.4001346/ "20200929_082837[1].jpg")
![20200928_165620[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20200928_165620-1-jpg.4001347/ "20200928_165620[1].jpg")
So, it arrived yesterday. (The top box is the short, fat Speakon cable.) Sorry, my roses have been neglected lately.
Of course, Sweetwater (and Philip) were fantastic to deal with.
The rig was packed very well. Even in the boxes I was blown away by both the size and weight of each piece. I got may arms around the cab even in the box to take it upstairs.
Unpacking everything one word kept jumping out at me.... "quality".
The head comes with a sturdy gig bag. The cab comes with a slip cover. (Both embroidered with the Mesa logo.) The head comes with a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter for use with the Aux in or headphone jacks. Nice touch. The head also comes with felt pads to install on the bottom if you wish. Again, nice touch. Even the MANUAL is printed on nice paper and nicely bound. I could list dozens of nice little touches that show @agedhorse and his team were OBSESSED with this amp and its presentation. The manual is also well written @Chef and @Al Kraft (and whoever else was involved) . Thank you for the Instant Gratification section. It really does launch you easily into enjoying what this thing will do. The manual contains plenty of details for the technical wonk in me. But it's also well-written for the creative in me that just wants to enjoy his new kick A amp. One can easily tell that everyone involved was geeking out over this thing during design and launch as much as I was unpacking it. They "get" us.
I had to unpack it and run. So I was able to set it up but not play through it. I did take a second to just mess with the knobs and switches. Everything just feels (again) "quality". The switches and knobs are "stiff" in a GOOD way. They don't feel fragile or cheap at all. Fit and finish on both the cab and head are nothing shy of perfection. They almost look "too" perfect. It's a bit spooky when you take a close look.
The size and weight of each is just unbelievable. The cab is shorter than a P bass body. The whole rig looks diminutive beside my other two main rigs. (The cab looks bulkier than the Walkabout Scout cab only because the Speakon cable forced me to keep it off the wall quite a bit. It's an optical illusion. I'll be getting a 90 degree Speakon connector post haste.)
Let's really dive into the weight for a second. I literally picked up the cab and held it by two opposite corners in the palms of my hands (think front bottom right corner and back upper left corner). I SPUN the cab in my hands just for fun! It's just STUPID light. Then I carried it downstairs and back up again, holding it by both handles on the way down, and one handle on the way back up. It just doesn't make sense. It's a one-hand tote for the vast majority of us. The head weighs less than a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and is only slightly larger. Again, it defies logic. As mentioned before, everything "feels" heavy, but it isn't. The knobs and switches feel like they should be on a 35 pound head.
Aesthetics. Let's be honest. We all like to claim "I don't care what it looks like as long as it plays/sounds good." Suddenly, I'm not that guy anymore. This setup just looks cool. Nothing is overstated. All of the lines are clean. And I just think a black rig looks cool. The graphics are clean and easy to read. The knobs are laid out so simply that I already can grab the right knob without even seeing the graphics above/below the knob labeling what it does. I already know the order of the switches without looking.
The number of features on the head are simply too numerous to cover here. I'll discuss them more in the Subway and/or TT800 thread as I discover them. BUT, I will say this much. For as much as it has available, it is incredibly intuitive. I recall when the news of this head broke, and the TT800 thread was started, dozens of people here chimed in with "I'm sure it sounds great and all. But that's just too many knobs and switches for me."
In short, it's not. It's two channels. Start with the settings in the Instant Gratification section. Smile. Tweak (if needed). Nothing to it.
I played several basses last night through the rig. I was EASILY able to make adjustments QUICKLY for each bass. Let's cover a few.
My main player, the Hammersmith 5. I had to start with this bass because it is "home" to me. I know it inside and out. I know how this bass sounds through lots of rigs, through my in-ears, through floor monitors, etc. So I knew I could immediately determine whether or not this head and I were going to get along with that bass.
Instant Gratification settings, gain set to low, deep and bright switches off. It sounded great just like this. But it was just s tiny bit "nice" for me. Fastest way to fix that? High Gain switch engaged! BOOM! There it was. Just a little grunt. Boogie was gooey. Subway was clean as a whistle. Let's play! Boogie Channel, P bass (neck) pickup soloed, tone knob dimed. There it is. Old school thump, plenty of character, but still all the clarity I could stand. I played like this for about twenty minutes before I even realized I had. OK, Andy. I'm with you. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? I'm happy so far, but creating a bass head that sounds good with a P bass isn't exactly a challenge for somebody like you.
Both pickups, bridge in series, tone knob dimed, and a pick. Hmmmm. Needs a little something. Subway Channel. BOOM! There it is. Pure, out front, still a lot of character, clean, punchy, awesome bass. My already versatile bass just became TWO versatile basses!OK, I'm impressed. Home bass is home base. Let's try something else.
Mid 80s E series MIJ Fender P bass with Chromes flats and EMG Geezer. Of course, I have no use for a rig that can't do a P bass with Chromes and make it do what it does. Of course, it does. Boogie Channel. Sounds great with the same settings as the Hammersmith. But... There a little high-mid burp that isn't my favorite. Up a little on the mid frequency down a little on the mid level, burp gone. Not a serious "scoop" but just a little adjustment. Mind you, I've spent MINUTES with this amp, and I just gravitated to exactly what would dial in (or out) what I wanted. This sounded exactly how you would expect with fingers, and truly, ridiculously, cool with a pick.
OK, let's get weird.
This bass used to be a stock LeCompte SSTS. But I had @rojo412 make me a new neck (when the factory one twisted) and gut/replace the electronics. Nordstrand Big Split at the neck and Dual Coil at the bridge (all passive). Lots of passive controls/switching. Where to start on the TT. Let's just undo my little P bass tweak and get back to Hammersmith home base. Perfect. Everything reacted just as I would have hoped. I switched back and forth between channels doing everything from Jamerson to classical tapping and all points in between. I just somehow "knew" right where to go with the controls on the bass and channels on the TT. This one exceeded my expectations. This bass can be a bit of a fight to EQ with my SVT and Walkabout. Good to go with the TT. Yes, it sounds different from the Hammersmith. But it's another whole bag of tricks available to me with this head. Taking this and the Hammersmith to ANY gig (where the LeCompte aesthetics are appropriate) would leave me wide open to do whatever I want.
Not weird enough, you say?
80s Mashup bass. Ibanez neck, unknown hot pink body, unknown EMG pickups. Very "Spector" sounding. I went back and forth on the high and low gain settings on this bass. I settled in on high gain and simply backed down a little on the gain knob to find a spot in between. Short version: Subway sounded like a Spector, Boogie sounded like Duff on his Fender Jazz Special. (With a pick, both were classic 80s tones.) Nothing to it adjusting for this bass. A little fiddling with the gain and we're done. Both pickups wide open. Tone knob wide open. Let's rock.
Alright, let's do this. I waited until last to grab up my G&L L2000 fretless. I just KNEW this would be a challenge to dial in against the settings for the rest of my basses. We all know those MFD pickups are stupid hot! I have pressure wound strings on this bass. I was worried about what to do when I plugged this one in. Instinctively, I flipped the gain switch to low gain. I started with the Subway Channel. And I never left it. I had to change exactly nothing. All set. Knobs and switches on the bass got me where I wanted to be. I went from from Tony Franklin bite and growl to Pino sweetness with no issues. Now I'm blown away. I liked the Subway Channel so much on this one I never even tried the Boogie Channel.
I haven't forgotten about you, Subway 115. This. Cab. Kills. Seriously, many of you saw the thread I started regarding whether to get the 215 or 2 115 cabs. I decided to get just the 115 and decide later if I wanted another one, or the 112, or a 215, or.... When the honeymoon is over, I will definitely be trying my Ashdown LB30 with it.
(By the way, Andy, I haven't forgotten the assignment you gave me regarding the Black Pearl. My friend hasn't been by in a while but is coming over Wednesday or Thursday. That's another feather in your cap. That amp sounds ridiculously good.)
I still may get another cab. But it won't be because I have to. It will be because I WANT to. This single cab is truly amazing. Does it thump? Sure does. Does it rattle the walls? Yep. Is it louder than its size would ever let you believe? Unbelievably so. But..... The CLARITY of the 15 is what really gets me. Anybody can design a bass cab that will rattle windows and the snares left engaged on any drums in the room. (I'm looking at you Jamie.) But to do it AND have all of the clarity you can stand? It just doesn't make sense.
Want me to wrap this up, you say?
OK, here goes.
1) Both pieces live up to the hype and then some. Congrats to everyone involved. Thank you for giving a crap about the most ridiculously tiny details. It makes for a great experience on my end. Money well spent. I'm a TOTALLY satisfied customer. (By the way, Andy, foot switches are in stock. I spoke with Chris yesterday and mine is on the way. He was great, as usual. Customer service at Mesa great as usual.) It's a rig I'm both happy with and proud to own.
2) The TT is NOT hard to navigate. It looks hard because there are so many freaking inputs, outputs, knobs, and switches. But it really is so well-designed (and the manual so well-written) that you're off and running in seconds. No, you DON'T feel like twiddling knobs the whole time you're playing. It's designed in a way that getting from where you are to where you want to be is simple and effective. It's designed to play THROUGH, not play WITH. Plug in your bass. Choose the channel you think will sound the best with that bass (and you'll likely be right). If anything, make one or two tiny adjustments. Get to playing!
Of course, I have more exploring to do. You can't even do one lap around this amp in the hour or so I played last night. I can't WAIT until rehearsal next Thursday to hear it through the PA as well (just to see how it translates from the 115 to FOH speakers). I can't wait to take in in the the dining room and run my phone into the Aux in and run some headphones to practice.
Fire away with any questions and I'll try to help as best I can. A friend is supposed to help me set up a recording method next week. I'll try to post some clips, but no promises.
It's official. I get it. And I'm a fan!
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