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New mesa subway amps and cabs!

#901
Wood and Wire said:
Apologies if you've been asked / answered this question, to the point of insanity :

As the designer of this new system, what is your stance on mixing the various cabinet types, available in your new range?

Any particular recommendations, in terms of what to strive for, and what to avoid?
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Every cabinet in the Subway line has been engineered from the beginning to be compatible from a phase response, sensitivity, and impedance versus power handling perspective.
 
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#902
4stringmf said:
I would have absolutely no problem with some in these sizes...or even bigger. Wouldn't care if it could fit on a board or not (most likely, on top of the cab)
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I have this tube driver.....and I think the huge size of it gives it character :)
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I like the idea of a pedal sized pre/di with some tubes too, and a little bigger than a "pedal" is ok. There are some great examples out there. But a lot of them, including the ones you pictured are pretty simple as far as features. Gain and basic tone stack. EBS Valve Drive is another example. All those are also designed more like pedals (a tone you kick in with a switch) than preamps, and I don't think any have a separate DI out.

I think once you start talking HPF, par-eq, DI out, voice switches, separate output controls, etc, etc, it would get really huge and really complicated really fast.
I also think that there are some dudes (talking mostly about myself right now), who don't mind simple.
 
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#904
hennessybass said:
I like the idea of a pedal sized pre/di with some tubes too, and a little bigger than a "pedal" is ok. There are some great examples out there. But a lot of them, including the ones you pictured are pretty simple as far as features. Gain and basic tone stack. EBS Valve Drive is another example. All those are also designed more like pedals (a tone you kick in with a switch) than preamps, and I don't think any have a separate DI out.

I think once you start talking HPF, par-eq, DI out, voice switches, separate output controls, etc, etc, it would get really huge and really complicated really fast.
I also think that there are some dudes (talking mostly about myself right now), who don't mind simple.
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They do tend to grow. I have plenty of experience designing some of the tubeworks stuff, much simpler than what we are now discussing
 
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#905
hennessybass said:
I like the idea of a pedal sized pre/di with some tubes too, and a little bigger than a "pedal" is ok. There are some great examples out there. But a lot of them, including the ones you pictured are pretty simple as far as features. Gain and basic tone stack. EBS Valve Drive is another example. All those are also designed more like pedals (a tone you kick in with a switch) than preamps, and I don't think any have a separate DI out.

I think once you start talking HPF, par-eq, DI out, voice switches, separate output controls, etc, etc, it would get really huge and really complicated really fast.
I also think that there are some dudes (talking mostly about myself right now), who don't mind simple.
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I hear ya, and for the most part agree. I think the core concept of the Walkabout "sound" is what I would think be more practical. More on the lines of bass, treble, mid, para eq, gain, & volume controls would be enough (more than enough). Anything more than that???...... well you might as well buy the amp altogether.

and to make it look unique even more..... ad the jewel power light:thumbsup:
 
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#906
97ADA199-5FA5-4C0C-B0DD-F304CEC46F71.jpeg
Soooo..........pretty interesting
 
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#907
Just arrived today... Been playing it through one of my Subway 115’s. I really dig it! It’s going to take me a little while to wrap my head around having the passive mid control, in addition to the three parametric mid controls. It’ll just take some experimenting. The power amp dampening is actually more intuitive than I imagined it would be. I really like the tone so far. I’m going to do some comparisons with my D-800+ soon.
EA6A109E-C37A-48C0-B3CA-C552125C58FD.jpeg
 
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#908
agedhorse said:
Well yes, kinda-sorta, but it is quite large, and doesn't even come close to the number of controls and jacks on the WD-800. I'm afraid something larger would not fit most pedalboards.
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Not that my opinion matters and I am not sure anyone else would agree with me but for the record I would sell everything I had to buy a Mesa/Boogie pedal board to replace my current pedal board so long as it incorporated an excellent compressor and had an effects loop so I could add a dash of chorus. Oh - and maybe a volume pedal. And a phenomenal tuner. But not too much stuff. I find that multi-function pedals that do everything don't do anything in particular very well. Having said that I am confident if you chose to design a Mesa/Boogie pedal the size of a pedal board it would essentially be the be-all-end-all of everything forever.
 
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#909
agedhorse said:
Not at this time, it would be an awfully large pedal and would probably not be a very good fit on a pedal board.

That said, I'm always listening to what you guys might be interested in. You saw what happened the last time I asked this ;)
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I would be very interested in a Mesa tube pre/DI that had just enough controls to get an awesome tone.
No need for the full Para preamp eq section.
Sort of like the way Mesa would do something along the lines of a Noble or a P-15.
The Subway DI is a great unit so I’m sure that the + is just as good.
I’m thinking B, and T, one sweeping mid (maybe a switched frequency) and the hpf and deep switch.
Just thinking out loud here.
 
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#910
Just ordered the WD-800 from M/B Hollywood. I had just ordered a second original Walkabout last weekend to replace my D-800 (rehearsal amp) before I saw this came out, so I was gonna wait. It was on the porch today. Got home, plugged it in, cranked it, loved it, and said eff it..I gotta try the new one. It’s exctly what I’ve been looking for. 2.67 ohms stable with lots of headroom, and hopefully that warm, clean WA sound I’ve fallen in love with. Prolly have my D-800 and one of the WAs for sale soon. Take my money. Merry Christmas to me. Looks awesome!
 
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#911
Lowendtech said:
I would be very interested in a Mesa tube pre/DI that had just enough controls to get an awesome tone.
No need for the full Para preamp eq section.
Sort of like the way Mesa would do something along the lines of a Noble or a P-15.
The Subway DI is a great unit so I’m sure that the + is just as good.
I’m thinking B, and T, one sweeping mid (maybe a switched frequency) and the hpf and deep switch.
Just thinking out loud here.
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+1 from me.

I had a buster for a while. A front end like that without the graphic EQ. I think the Buster had the same shelving B/T and passive Mid like the WD800. Obviously a totally different thing / tone profile between those two amps. The Buster was a very nice sounding amp.
 
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#915
mmbass21 said:
This may be a little long but hopefully it's found useful to some. Let me preface this that the D800+ is the only Mesa amp I've ever played on.

I spent some time with the WD yesterday. I gave it enough volume to do some testing, obviously not a gig situation. Wow, just wow. I love the D800+ but this is on another level for me.

Now I'm not incredibly technical with my descriptions but the overall depth of my tone though this head is spot on for what I've been looking for. I basically kept the para eq flat with some adjustments to hear differences. All of the control you have of the mids is probably my fav feature so far. Overall it just has a growl and bite to the overall tone that I can see slicing through the mix live. It sounds more lively overall compared to the D800+ but the D800+ is still magical with my Kiesel that has flats on.

The damping knob is interesting, Andy is completely right that it's something you just feel. I can't even put it into words, it's difficult to explain. I can hear a difference with all 3 positions and it was really apparent with my P bass that has nickelwounds on it. I liked all 3 settings, I think the low feels more vintage/tubey.

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.

It's has a wide range of tones that will no doubt keep me happy for a very long time. Even better Mesa Hollywood put the footswitch with cable in the box too! The icing on the cake is it's serial # 13 which is my favorite number (sorry for those who think it's unlucky). I can't wait for my next gig now!
Click to expand...
damn you I wanted # 13
 
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#916
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#918
kesslari said:
That's a seriously lustworthy setup! Man! :bassist:
How's it sound with the MAS cab? Is that the fabled B15?
I suspect it KILLS!
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It sounded really good, I was shocked. I didn’t have to do to much tweaking and got a sound that was so good I didn’t mess with any features. I have never been happy with microheads and class D’s, but this is the second one as of late that sounds and feels like BASS. The WD800 actually sounded better with the 15 than another head I have that I’ll just describe as a lead sled that is probably the second most common backline head after ampeg. It’s early, but this thing seems amazing....I only say this because I plugged in, started playing, and lost 2 hours before I realized it. If it didn’t sound good I would have put it down after ten min, or started spinning dials which I’m afraid to do cuz I like the sound i plugged into. Gonna five in more tomorrow, hoping to put 4 or 5 hours in straight.
 
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