• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

New mesa subway amps and cabs!

#3,061
mmbass21 said:
I always run the Ovnifx Smoothie which is the best compressor I've ever had with my WD and any other amp I've owned. You definitely need to play around with the eq more on the WD. There is plenty of girth to be had with tinkering with the damper control and HPF. I'd bet the HPF was set higher than maybe you're used to hearing creating more articulation than the 7 Pro at the time.
Click to expand...
I did switch the damper and HPF around to get a smoother tone. I just need more than an hour with it. Been thinking about it all day lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: chupacerveza, /\/\3phist0, DrThumpenstein and 3 others
#3,062
Rodslinger said:
Friend/bassist from another band brought his Mesa WD 800 to our practice last night. I run (on regular) my Ampeg svt 7 or 4 Pro head and last night I A/B tested the WD800 against the SVT 7 Pro through my Ampeg 810. Played through most of the set with the 7Pro. Hooked up the WD800 and the looks on everyone’s faces was priceless. We were all kind of floored. Much booty to be had and very mid forward like I love. Went back and forth between the two for an hour or so. Everyone loved the WD800 just as much as the 7pro if not a bit more. As my drummer put it, “the WD800 doesn’t have that BUTTER, all over the tone like the 7Pro does. Just doesn’t have those thick thighs lol” and the notes just didn’t seem to hold together or were as cohesive like they were on the 7Pro. I said maybe if I put a compressor pedal in front of the WD800 to add some sustain and note to note evenness. I’m very tempted to buy a WD800. I’m very heavy handed and play quite aggressively. I’ve always used compression and it’s generally built into the amps I use. Has anyone run a compressor pedal with the WD800? If so how well did they work together?
Click to expand...
With the 8x10 you might play with the dampening control. Maybe set it to mid or low and see how that plays with the cab.

Oops, must read next posts before engaging mouth :unsure:

Having said that, great minds think alike but fools seldom differ :)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: chupacerveza
#3,063
Rodslinger said:
I was pushing the gain right before clip. Didn’t want to run it like a mad man since it wasn’t my amp
Click to expand...

I have it on good authority that running it like a madman is entirely permissible! At least as far as the gain/input goes. The amber "Overdrive" LED near the input knob can be on nearly continuously as long as the amber "Limit" LED near the Master is not on more than about 25% of the time.

But good on ya for being gentle the first time! Wait til you let her run! I'm thinking you'll find all the fat buttery goodness you'll ever want.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chupacerveza, Rodslinger and DJ Bebop
#3,064
DrThumpenstein said:
I have it on good authority that running it like a madman is entirely permissible! At least as far as the gain/input goes. The amber "Overdrive" LED near the input knob can be on nearly continuously as long as the amber "Limit" LED near the Master is not on more than about 25% of the time.

But good on ya for being gentle the first time! Wait til you let her run! I'm thinking you'll find all the fat buttery goodness you'll ever want.
Click to expand...
Correct in general.

If you are driving the preamp very hard like you mention above, you might want the limit LED on no more than 10% or so, and beware that you are delivering more than rated power to your speakers at this point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chupacerveza, imabuddha, Rodslinger and 3 others
#3,065
DrThumpenstein said:
But good on ya for being gentle the first time! Wait til you let her run! I'm thinking you'll find all the fat buttery goodness you'll ever want.
Click to expand...
Mmm Fat Buttery Goodness
source.gif

subway_wd-800-front-hr.jpg

:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: chupacerveza, Geri O, bajaandy and 6 others
#3,068
DJ Bebop said:
Mmm Fat Buttery Goodness
View attachment 3633017
View attachment 3633018
:)
Click to expand...
Exactly what I’m looking for! I’m definitely getting the WD800. It's the only "class D" amp I've tried other than the SVT 7Pro that sounds alive! Everything else up to this point has sounded soulless. I've always been reluctant of the ICE power sections but whatever @agedhorse & Mesa are doing has lit a fire under me. Now to weave some money magic and feed the tone monster.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Iv@N, DJ Bebop, ObsessiveArcher and 5 others
#3,069
Rodslinger said:
Exactly what I’m looking for! I’m definitely getting the WD800. It's the only "class D" amp I've tried other than the SVT 7Pro that sounds alive! Everything else up to this point has sounded soulless. I've always been reluctant of the ICE power sections but whatever @agedhorse & Mesa are doing has lit a fire under me. Now to weave some money magic and feed the tone monster.
Click to expand...
Yep.
What I have learned for lurking here is, it's not the fault of the power module, it's the implementation of the amp builder as to how they perform :) So it's really not a class D thing, it's a builder's implementation thing.
As we can see Mesa and Andy have gone in a different direction than most :)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Al Kraft, Rodslinger, Leo was right and 2 others
#3,077
Lowendtech said:
Agreed
Click to expand...
I know I'm happy with this amp, from the moment I plugged it in I have not even thought about another amp.
I wanted a 2 channel, but will add a preamp to the game if the desire still remains. I jettisoned the pedalboard this amp and my bass is all that I feel I need with the WD. The damping, the HPF, and the tube pre, is all I feel I need! How unique, and pleasant to not have all this "stuff" to add spice and excitement to the tone.
And oh what a tone I get, short of delay, fuzz, and modulation of course!
Thanks again Andy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: MTN.bass72, chupacerveza, 9mmMike and 5 others
#3,078
Hey WD800 users: what frequencies are you dipping in order to get that polite jazz presentation? Kind of like the 800+ sounds flat? I guess I’m trying to figure out which frequencies to dip in order to tame the bark and bite a bit without hurting the overall sound. I love the bark on my P Basses, but my Sadowsky gets a bit painful with the WD800 flat.

Edit: I should mention I play it through the subway 15 with tweeter at unity
 
  • Like
Reactions: chupacerveza
#3,079
shadven said:
I like mine quite a bit. Weight and size are great too. But, I prefer my tube Ampegs all day long.
Click to expand...
Granted my favorite tone comes from my fender bassman 100t. It's not powerful enough for my needs. As much as I love the super bassman it just isn't practical for me either.

With the WD on stage with either my Two10s or Berg cabs the WD just shines and I don't even think about using anything else. If I were A/B testing on stage it would be an interesting showdown but it doesn't work that way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: agedhorse
#3,080
RudyTardy said:
Hey WD800 users: what frequencies are you dipping in order to get that polite jazz presentation? Kind of like the 800+ sounds flat? I guess I’m trying to figure out which frequencies to dip in order to tame the bark and bite a bit without hurting the overall sound. I love the bark on my P Basses, but my Sadowsky gets a bit painful with the WD800 flat.

Edit: I should mention I play it through the subway 15 with tweeter at unity
Click to expand...

The bark and bite are part of what endears me to the WD800/Subway 115 pair. Just got it, I've about settled on some settings. Two gigs so far.

I run the tweeter between 12:00 and 3:00. Plenty of tweet for me. Start there.

I've settled on boosting, believe it or not, just a little at when I believe is 3.5K, according to the control. Boost just a little.

I cut around 1.5K. Again, just a little cut, enough to loose some honk right there, but not enough to lose the hi-mid port of the tone.

I'm still playing with the lows and the high-pass filter. At last check, the high-pass was just off the bottom stop, the bass control was 12:00 (or flat, no boost or cut). And the low parametric filter was at at 80hZ and just a little boost.

I was using both 115s stacked at a low volume (restaurant volume, argh..). The two gigs I've done so far haven't been conducive to really opening the rig up. So I'm still yet to settle on low settings.

Bass is a Mike Lull M5V Jazz-style bass with Nordstrand single-coil 70s wind pups and Nord preamp. Both pups 100%, onboard preamp EQ set at the flat detents. Yeah, I like a fine point between warm and bright.

Hope this helps...
 
  • Like
Reactions: P_Robyn and kobass

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back