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New mesa subway amps and cabs!

#382
detracti said:
The way they describe that damping knob on the site makes me think it must be away to get closer to a traditional SVT type of a tone.
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It will make more of difference with some speakers than others as it's not just something that depends only on the amp's setting - it's an amp/speaker interaction and has some frequency dependency as well as best I understand. It is much more noticeable (audibly and in terms of feel as you're playing) on lower notes. The effect seemed to be a little greater when running at 4 or even 2 ohms. Agedhorse could tell you why, I can only tell you that's what I noticed during my time playing the prototype.

In all cases it was subtle, but really cool. I've never played or seen an amp where the damping factor was adjustable. The low setting definitely moves you more towards more tube power amp behavior in the aspect of amp/speaker control. The high and medium settings were a little tighter and more SS-like. However, to my ear the head was never exactly Carbine SS sounding in terms of tightness/quickness. There was an original WA feel in that regard. This is one of the aspects of the WD-800 that felt very true to the original WA IMO.
 
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#387
Kirk Bryant said:
I find the damping knob very interesting, I’ve never seen this on an amp before. Between that and the HPF, I think this new amp is rather unique. I do wonder though why, with the readily available new 1k watt modules, this newest generation of amps doesn’t step up the power level as well. But never fear, I’ll bet the next gen. latest, greatest, newest model will be the new WD1000 or Subway D1000 PLUS! Or will it be a 1200+??! haha.
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The two Traynor tube amps , YBA300 and YBA200 both have DAMPING controls. I dunno if it's at all similar
 
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#390
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#391
agedhorse said:
Yup, I wanted to hear from you guys what you thought was important and what you might want to play in the future. I have said it before, but TalkBass as a community is full of good players who represent the higher end of the bass market and usually do a good job of articulating what direction this market needs to go. I am ALWAYS listening to what's being said on TB, like the proverbial fly on the wall ;)
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I couldn't be happier with these new products, except to say that I'd love to see new Walkabout Scout combo cabs to match. Everything about the feature set is an upgrade to my current Walkabout, and while I was already considering the Subway series as my eventual replacement/supplement for my Walkabout, now I'm beyond convinced.

The only question I have is whether or not the 2x cabs would sound better to me than the 1x cabs. I would honestly buy one of everything in this line except the 4x10, if I could afford it. I will never need to look any further for bass amp gear.
 
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#392
Al Kraft said:
The description of the effect seems to be very similar to what the damping control on the WD-800 does. Whether or not it is implemented the same way is beyond my technical understanding - not that it takes much to get into that territory with this kind of equipment!
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Tube output amp vs SS. Wonder if that makes for a different implementation of the damping changer.
 
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#395
agedhorse said:
Wait a minute here...

The D-800 and the D-800+ versions appeal in large part to different players, the plus version is not an "upgrade" or "improvement" it's feature set is different and appeals to a different player. The D-800 still outsells the plus because there are more players that prefer the simpler approach.

Likewise, the WD-800 is even more different in terms of tone, features and especially packaging. For those who need a rack mount package, this addresses that need.

No one amp devalues another, they are distinctly different products for different players.
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Which is now why I want one each of all three!!!
 
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#396
The damping function is as much feel as tone. For very feel based players the difference of low damping mode allows the speaker's natural resonant properties to remain intact whereas in the high mode the natural resonant properties are more damped.

The more underdamoed the speaker alignment, the greater the effect of low damping will be in general. For critically damped speaker alignments the difference will be much smaller due less energy stored within the speaker's system.

Also, like with a tube amp, the differences will be greater at lower impedance due to the way damping factor is defined.

It's probably going to be appreciated by a smaller number of players than the other features, but is it something that a player can grow into as their interest in feel develop in sophistication. I might be wrong though, and this feature just takes off like the sweepable high pass filter!
 
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#397
I'm really interested to know how this damping control operates, because up to now, the only way I knew of to manipulate an amp's damping factor was to put a fat power resistor in series with the speaker, which will reduce the damping factor, but obviously also acts as a power soak.
 
#398
agedhorse said:
It's probably going to be appreciated by a smaller number of players than the other features, but is it something that a player can grow into as their interest in feel develop in sophistication. I might be wrong though, and this feature just takes off like the sweepable high pass filter!
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I'm honestly really excited about this feature. My Walkabout Scout replaced a Trace Elliot V-Type head and 4x12 sealed cabinet. I sold my two V-Type heads, but I kept the cab, which I intend to dismantle, using the drivers for a sealed vertical 2x12.
 

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