New mesa subway amps and cabs!

[DJ Bebop]

If you can't find a pair of headphones that does exactly what you want, then you either aren't looking or aren't willing to fork out enough $$$

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Then there's this guy and his headphones, I don't know, maybe...
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[57pbass]

Then there's this guy and his headphones, I don't know, maybe...
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I read a few reviews and would not waste my money on these. They seem to be made poorly and don’t last too long.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I read a few reviews and would not waste my money on these. They seem to be made poorly and don’t last too long.

Oh pooh then
He could have been a contender

 

[mtsens1]

we'll see how this goes

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View attachment 3252123

How does the 1203 sound with the WDD? Thinking of adding a 1203.

 

[redstrand]

If you can't find a pair of headphones that does exactly what you want, then you either aren't looking or aren't willing to fork out enough $$$

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I'm very familiar with headfi, been on there as long as here. I have Grado's and RHA's, surprisingly The Koss PortaPro's are super good for practicing through my Bass Crush 50, I've found that good headphones do ok, but a lot of mid tier headphones tend to mash the bass and it gets muddy or boosts the mids to the point of fatigue. They weren't made with bass playing in mind, studio cans are the way to go. just finding a good set can be a long process

 

[leonvdb]

Ha ha, I just updated the Mesa Boogie page on Wikipedia to show the WD-800!

 

[pauliebass]

I’ve been gone from talkbass (for the most part) for the last 2 years, and this fun thread has been a refreshing “welcome back.” The in-laws are in from the other side of the world looking after my 2yo, so I have time again to get lost and gassy on TB.

I figured why not spend some time reading up on the next legendary head from Mesa. This looks like a total home run in every way. Congrats to the company and the lucky owners.

I’m going to chill for a bit on “needing” a WD. My D800 ticks all my boxes. That was one of those products that I didn’t flinch and bought as soon as it was available. I didn’t lust after the plus for a second... just extra knobs that probably wouldn’t get used. To me, an amp should be 90% where you want the sound when set flat, and the D800 gives me that. Now a kinda-the-same-but-different-flavor-of-awesome like the WD I could see getting excited about as a companion head to the D.

Again, Mesa rocks.

 

[pauliebass]

One of the absolute best design features is the 1/4 inch aux input that doesn’t output to the DI. That was one of the main reasons I jumped to a GB Shuttle years ago. When I saw Andy kept that feature in the subway series, I couldn’t buy one fast enough. Absolutely invaluable as a doubler wanting two separate lines to FOH. My Grace Felix solves all these problems now, but it sure was expensive.

 

[treyandres]

So, this is what I’ve come up with to get pretty close to my current beloved 8 MOSFET silver face Walkabout settings with the WD-800. It’s not quite there yet, though. If I take the effects send from the Walkabout into the return of the WD-800, it’s absolutely AMAZING. There’s some tubey warmth missing for me with the new preamp section that I can’t seem to get ahold of. Andy, I wonder if you can give me some pointers here?

 

[agedhorse]

These amps are not going to produce identical results. For example, the added HPF eliminates some of the uncontrollable low end that may sound nice solo at home but can easily fall apart in a mix, especially as the amp gets louder. There is also a bit more "precision" within all of the circuity that helps maintain more uniform performance across a much wider range of operation. These were changes made by those players in the community who faced these very real challenges.

 

[nostatic]

Seems that HPF, bass, and passive mid might be the keys to the kingdom. I'd roll the HPF up as well as the mids and see what happens. Also if you're looking for "warmth" might try adding in around 150hz with the low parametric. There is some interesting interactivity with the HPF and the rest of the tone stack.

 

[Al Kraft]

I think that using the low damping setting might add a tad more silver face WA type vibe - it did for me. Input up just a little more will also get a touch more of the silver face WA tone/edge. On those originals (I own a sliver and black face) the sweet spot for me was always around 1-1:30 on the gain like you have, but with the additional control on the WD-800 I found I needed to go a little higher on the input to get closer to the old 1-1:30 setting. Last idea would be to use the first semi-parametric EQ at 80-120 Hz and bump it up a dB or two. IME that may get you closer. Hope that helps a little!

 

[McFarlin]

I was unsure about the WD-800 for the first few days.

Now I think it's amazing.

Because I stopped trying to make it sound exactly like my other amp.

 

[treyandres]

Unfortunately, I won’t get a chance to play it with a full band until after Christmas. I am absolutely LOVING the power amp section at this volume with the medium damping setting. It’s leaps and bounds above the MOSFET WA power section with just enough bloom. I’ve only got about 4 hours on it so far through a single 8 ohm 12” Scout speaker in my home studio, so still tweaking. I am noticing the WD has more mids and a lot more highs available on tap. I’ll have to play with the para and see what I can find when I get back from vacation next weekend. The old preamp through the new power amp is as close as I’ve ever been to the sound in my head at a usable volume. There’s a lot of goodness in this thing. Definitely digging it.

 

[treyandres]

Seems that HPF, bass, and passive mid might be the keys to the kingdom. I'd roll the HPF up as well as the mids and see what happens. Also if you're looking for "warmth" might try adding in around 150hz with the low parametric. There is some interesting interactivity with the HPF and the rest of the tone stack.

I did play with that quite a bit, but didn’t feel like it did much for my ‘at-home’ tone. Much preferred it rolled off. May be a different story with the band.

I think that using the low damping setting might add a tad more silver face WA type vibe - it did for me. Input up just a little more will also get a touch more of the silver face WA tone/edge. On those originals (I own a sliver and black face) the sweet spot for me was always around 1-1:30 on the gain like you have, but with the additional control on the WD-800 I found I needed to go a little higher on the input to get closer to the old 1-1:30 setting. Last idea would be to use the first semi-parametric EQ at 80-120 Hz and bump it up a dB or two. IME that may get you closer. Hope that helps a little!

At a lower volume, yes, that was a very nice setting. At a higher rehearsal volume (12 o’clock, sans PA support) the medium damping is wonderful! I’ll try all of these suggestions; all very good stuff!

 

[treyandres]

Seems that HPF, bass, and passive mid might be the keys to the kingdom. I'd roll the HPF up as well as the mids and see what happens. Also if you're looking for "warmth" might try adding in around 150hz with the low parametric. There is some interesting interactivity with the HPF and the rest of the tone stack.

After playing for another hour or so this afternoon, I did bring the passive mids back up to about 10:30, and it definitely helped a lot. I’m closer now than I was an hour ago. 12 o’clock was too much, and I think I just overshot it last night when my ears were getting tired.

 

[agedhorse]

At a lower volume, yes, that was a very nice setting. At a higher rehearsal volume (12 o’clock, sans PA support) the medium damping is wonderful! I’ll try all of these suggestions; all very good stuff!

This is exactly the interactivity that I mentioned earlier about this feature. There is no one setting that will produce the same results. It is speaker dependent, load impedance dependent, and volume dependent, similar to the original walkabout but now more controllable.

 

[Al Kraft]

This is exactly the interactivity that I mentioned earlier about this feature. There is no one setting that will produce the same results. It is speaker dependent, load impedance dependent, and volume dependent, similar to the original walkabout but now more controllable.

Unfortunately one of the coolest features on the the WD-800 is also the hardest to wrap your head around if you're hoping for a consistent result every time - and to that I say, most multivariate equations are just that way! I suspect most amp designers wouldn't even consider including this kind of feature on anything but a serious, professional level piece of gear.

 

[Jeff Scott]

So, this is what I’ve come up with to get pretty close to my current beloved 8 MOSFET silver face Walkabout settings with the WD-800. It’s not quite there yet, though. If I take the effects send from the Walkabout into the return of the WD-800, it’s absolutely AMAZING. There’s some tubey warmth missing for me with the new preamp section that I can’t seem to get ahold of. Andy, I wonder if you can give me some pointers here? View attachment 3254360

The problem is most likely due to the ventilation slots on the WD-800 being much smaller than those on the WA.

Hope this helps.

 

[treyandres]

The problem is most likely due to the ventilation slots on the WD-800 being much smaller than those on the WA.

Hope this helps.

Hahahahaha! Time to bust out the dremel!