New mesa subway amps and cabs!

[HeyyyyyJoe]

Still curious to hear feedback on the WD800 vs original Walkabout.

 

[Frankie Fender]

Even better Mesa Hollywood put the footswitch with cable in the box too!

You are the second person to report getting the footswitch with the amp at no charge. I ordered mine from Mesa Hollywood too and take delivery Monday. Here’s hoping!

 

[JRA]

That 2 15 looks sweet!

all of them look sweet to me. very nice assortment of bass boogies.

 

[McFarlin]

Nice.
Seeing your WD on top of the BBII is not helping me deal with the wait.
Any Audiokinesis users get a WD yet?

Today...
I'll probably run it first with the 1203.
It might be there when I go home for a lunch break. Hope they don't mind me returning late to work.

 

[hennessybass]

I also compared it to my Fender 100T. I've only used it in the studio since it doesn't quite have enough juice for me on gigs (found out the hard way), plus it's a bit heavy. To me it's my favorite tube head, unless I ever try a prodigy. With the damping on low and rolling back the mids a little bit, I can actually get insanely close to the Fenders tone. The growl of the WD is unmistakable and shines out over the 100T which surprised me.

This is nice to hear and makes me very happy. A '77 Bassman 100 was my main amp for many years. It just has a tone and FEEL that really do it for me.
I've always thought maybe Mesa had a bit of Fender DNA in them. Based on the feel of my Fender, and my very poor knowledge of damping, I assume my Fender has a pretty low damping factor which contributes to the feel. When I saw the first pics and manual of the WD-800, that damping knob got me pretty interested.

Of course I've also like some amps that I believe have a high damping factor (quilter, Thunderfunk?). Cool to have the option all in one amp.

 

[redstrand]

Today...
I'll probably run it first with the 1203.
It might be there when I go home for a lunch break. Hope they don't mind me returning late to work.

Pshaw, return to work??!?!?! You sir have the flu I tell you, THE FLU. rest up and shake that ear wax LOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nostatic]

Pshaw, return to work??!?!?! You sir have the flu I tell you, THE FLU. rest up and shake that ear wax LOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agreed. You look terrible. You should not go back to work as you likely are contagious.

Think of the children!

 

[gregbackstrom]

I should have the preamp pedal Friday, will try to crank out a quick video over the weekend. Likely won't gig it until later in the month.

Mine arrived yesterday. I’ll have some time this afternoon to set it up with a couple of K10’s in my rehearsal space. This will replace a PJB Big Head and Countryman DI combo that I sometimes use.

 

[3rdcurve]

Ok, for those that have the Quilter and the WD800: I love the feel and thickness that limiting of the BB800 brings, do you find yourself missing that or are you running some outboard compression?

 

[mmbass21]

Ok, for those that have the Quilter and the WD800: I love the feel and thickness that limiting of the BB800 brings, do you find yourself missing that or are you running some outboard compression?

I haven't spent enough time with the WD yet but to me damping set on low and a little eq work you'll get that thickness and then some. I never pushed the BB800 to limiting, I always kept the gain around 11 o'clock and let my Super Stack preamp pedal do the heavy lifting with an always on ovnifx smoothie. This weekend will bring more testing with my pedals to see how everything meshes together but I'm anticipating to no longer need the smoothie and possibly the preamp as well.

The BB800 is transparent and thick sounding overall. It always sounded good to me on stage but virtually every gig I played with it I received feedback that I wasn't quite cutting through the mix whether I was DI or not. I'd say the WD has some baked in tone to it as well where the BB800 really didn't to my ears. I just couldn't find the mids I needed with the BB800.

 

[Jeff Scott]

The BB800 is transparent and thick sounding overall.

How can it be both at the same time?

 

[Doug Parent]

Man...Marcus can really play.
I do not care for his tone, at all. Never really have.
Also: Tal is fantastic.
I do not care for her tone at all here either.
If I'm seeing correctly, in both cases they're playing EBS rigs. So maybe it's those I don't like. I've never played one or met one in person; if that's what they do, I wouldn't like them.
I've heard MM sound like that frequently. I've heard Tal sound much better frequently, but I can't recall what amplification she was using.

Chef I think it's the head that is lending that modern tone, a Mesa head would

How can it be both at the same time?

Depends on how you care to define "thick" . For me "thick" could be lower frequencies whereas "transparent" to me means much higher frequencies. Both can coexist at the same time.

 

[mmbass21]

How can it be both at the same time?

Tone is completely subjective and the term transparency is as well and has been in a million threads here on TB. My opinion is it sounds like your bass so what you put in you get out of it. The 2 tone knobs change the frequency curves and don't color your sound, they're not really direct treble and bass controls.
The way I can describe the WD so far is it has the edgy growl that can be dialed back if you want or become more pronounced if you want. I never felt any tonal character change with those 2 knobs on the BB800, just different frequencies enhanced or cut. I felt I always needed a preamp using that head, I never liked my sound straight into that amp.

 

[hennessybass]

How can it be both at the same time?

I think "thick" sounding mean there is a good heft to the notes. Notes sounds full, have some weight to them, etc...
And I agree with @Mpike that the BB is transparent - what you put in you get out. Small changes in your playing, like playing by the bridge vs neck. Or a small change in your tone, like rolling your tone knob or favoring one pickup, are very apparent. It's responsive. No problem being both thick and transparent at the same time.

Also agree that the BB800 can benefit from a pre. It's a great sound, but can be a little dry - which is cool for some stuff. I think a lot of guys are running some kind of pre in front of that amp. It's a great platform for pedals, pre amps, etc...

The way I can describe the WD so far is it has the edgy growl that can be dialed back if you want or become more pronounced if you want.

Curious... is that edgy growl coming from the gain knob mostly, or the EQ section?

 

[mmbass21]

@hennessybass you nailed it about the BB800. I play with a good amount of pedals and thought it was the right amp for me. Like you said, it's just a bit dry, kinda just sterile, nothing bad just not for everything.

I'm finding it in the EQ section. I had the input at about 12 o'clock, at 3 o'clock on you really can get some nice dirt. Rolling back the mids on the para EQ can take it away with damping on low. My bass with flats on had some major heft set that way.

 

[gregbackstrom]

This pre-di sounds great! Lots of very musical adjustment is available! I’m just starting to work with it, but so far I’m very impressed! Kudos to Andy and company!

 

[Nerve]

Still curious to hear feedback on the WD800 vs original Walkabout.

Yeah, me too.

Also quite curious about how it compares with the Demeter 800 and other similar offerings.

 

[donahue]

Mesa is so cool. Think about it. They announce new gear and a week later folks are playing on it. That is timing!

 

[amper]

I think a lot of other factors are in play other than the amp. Playing style, strings, string height, tone desires, active basses.
I've heard them both on all sorts of equipment, they can sound the same as this. Plus again the recording method, close mic plus direct but, yeah that is how they sound because that is how they want to sound. You don't have to, on the same rig.

Yeah,TBPH, I very rarely hear bassists whose tone agrees with me, but what I don't like about their tone is not their gear, it's their style of playing and their choices about timbre.

I mean, just read the comments on Mesa's demo videos!

 

[Munjibunga]

Anyone know if Mesa Hollywood has the WD800 in stock and shipping immediately or backordered?

I played one at Bass San Diego today and I don't hate it. Actually I liked it - it doesn't have a strong baked-in tone and it seems pretty even across the frequencies. It was driving a Mesa 112 and 115. And no, it's not going to replace my B|Amp.