OK, had a chance to play my D-800 through the new 2x15 cabinet yesterday..... well.....settle in my friends (TL/DR at the very bottom for your convenience). Let me preface by saying I am not a professional by any means, merely a weekend warrior playing in a couple of cover bands and way near the bottom as far as skill and bass mastery go. I tell everyone I am not the best player in my neighborhood, heck not even the best player on my street but I manage. I am also not the greatest at trying to describe sounds and don't claim to have the best ears. So.....
My current rigs are an Ampeg V4B RI head with an Ampeg Classic (Made in USA) 8x10 "fridge" cabinet. As most of you are aware, this setup sounds absolutely incredible and is usually the benchmark for bass tone. I don't use this setup much, played a couple of outdoor gigs with it and use it maybe once a week for home practice. My other main rig is a Fender v3 Rumble 500 2x10 combo on top of a Rumble 2x10 extension cabinet for a vertical 4x10 stack. This setup sounds great to me, so good in fact that I was thinking of getting the 500 head and 2 separate Rumble 1x15 cabinets. I use this rig for 90% of my gigs since it's light and easy to move and sounds almost as good as the Ampeg. (Yes it does).
Now we come to the D-800. I normally play this through a Carvin BR115 cabinet that I leave at one of the bands rehearsal spaces. I also play it through a Mesa PH-6x10 cabinet at home. While it sounded good through either of these cabinets, to me the Rumble sounded better which I thought was strange because the D-800 gets so many great reviews. Maybe I don't like the Mesa standard tone, perhaps I couldn't find the settings I liked, I don't know. I don't want to say it sounded sterile, but it was just a plain vanilla type of tone without much character. I have always been a Mesa fan going back to my guitar playing days when I owned a Rectifier stack, so before throwing in the towel and selling it, I decided to try it with the matching 2x15 cabinet. (I use my DI pedal at my other bands rehearsal space through the mixer going into 2x15 PA speakers and it sounds great there).
What a difference!! I will NEVER doubt anyone when they say the cabinets don't make a difference and it's all in the amp. The D-800 through the 2x15's sounds incredible! The notes had clarity and definition and most of all, character. I played through several basses and was very impressed. My Precisions thumped and my Jazzes growled like never before. I was grinning from ear to ear like a fool and loving every minute of it. This sucker is LOUD too, putting the Master at 12 o'clock shook the pictures on the wall and still sounded great with no signs of being tapped out and no O/D warning light either. I found my new #1
I was very hesitant to spend that much on a cabinet and I know the old adage of "buy once, cry once" but yeah, this cabinet is worth every penny.
TL/DR: This cabinet is amazing! Tone for days and the power...oh the power! Mesa hit it out of the park with this one! 10/10, would buy again!
