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New mesa subway amps and cabs!

#1,742
I already own a Subway D-800+, (which I will never trade.) and a GK 800 which I did trade. I needed something to help tame the boom of my two Rumble 500 4x10s. Although not designer (and often derided )I love these cabs for the price. They can take a lot of power and still sound good. The only problem was the ported boom .( IMO )The GK voicing wasn't a very good match so I did a trade for the new WD800. The HPF on the Subway (plus raising the cabs up,cutting the bass and upping the low and high mids) also helped a lot.. but the HPF ...AND the new damping on the WD800 are perfect for these speakers .. also I'm very, very happy with the tone the WD pre-tube adds to 800 watts ..Both heads are A/B/Yed (each has it's own sep. cab, but both Y/ed) . The tone of these two heads working together is really something very nice. Warm WD on the bottom and the more biting Subway on the top of the stack.Pricey here in Canada? Yup.. Worth it? absolutely.. these are two of the best heads I've ever owned ..(my old back loves them too)
 
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#1,743
JOME77 said:
My Mesa D800+ arrived this afternoon. I spent a little time with it and first impressions are really good. I originally purchased a Berg Forte' (and really liked it) but I needed another Berg cabinet so I ended up trading the Berg Forte' (with a local player) for a Berg HD112 and a MB Big Bang (as my backup head) and bought a Mesa D800+. I really liked the Berg Forte' but it was a really clear and open sounding head and from the descriptions in the various threads it sounded like the Mesa might be a bit warmer (which is typically what I prefer).

Here's a pic of it sitting on top of my mini-Berg stack (HT-112-ER and HD-112). The Mesa really pushes them nicely. Very thick and warm.

View attachment 3277573 View attachment 3277574
Click to expand...

I had my first band rehearsal with the Mesa D800+ last night. Man! The Mesa powering the 2 Berg 112's had all kinds of low end and nice mids (in the mix). I tweaked the HPF, Voicing and Bass controls some and was really surprised at how easy it was to tame the lows (and several ways to get there). Those controls really interact nicely (along with the bass boost switch). I love the control layout of the amp. Very easy to dial in a great sound and tailor it to the room.
I played both my Roscoe Custom 5 (ash body/wenge neck/maple board) and Fender Elite Precision (ash) and since both basses are very mid rich I just ran the Mesa's 2 bands of mids flat (and tweaked the mids from my basses). Plus the Berg 112's have tons of creamy mids (HD and a HT-ER).

I did have a set of Chrome Flats installed on the Roscoe and though it sounded really nice and more old school, I thinking that I'm going to install the Nickel RW's back on the Roscoe and stay with the Chrome Flats on my P-bass. The RW's on the Roscoe really sound nice through the darker tone of Mesa and Berg's (compared to the Berg Forte') and gives me a really nice modern sound. Of course the P-bass was born for flats and the old school sounds so I'm staying with flats on the P-bass (although I'm going to compare the sound of Chromes with a new set of the TI Jazz Flats).

Very pleased with the D800+! Definitely a nice gigging amp.:)

IMG-0625.JPG Mesa Berg rig.jpg
 
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#1,745
agedhorse said:
The corners are an engineering grade of plastic and we see very few broken corners, way less than we saw on models that used metal corners where they would get dented and deformed with the same type of impact. The steel corners, due to getting scraped up, would also rust in humid environments (especially near the sea). There's really no difference in cost.

You can always change the corners if you think steel would work better for you, but our experience is that the plastic holds up much better in the long run.

As far as the cost, that's up to your in-country distributor, the cost of shipping, exchange rate and the significant inspection/regulatory fees, import duties and VAT that your country imposes on goods from the US. Trust me, we don't like it any better than you do, but at least you are benefiting from the programs these fees/taxes fund.
Click to expand...
Hey I apologise if it sounded like I was being overly critical. You make great points and they’ve been noted, I was just thinking that steel would have been the best option but as you say, steel rusts and I live by the see. End of argument.:-)
Further to this discussion, I want to make something clear,, I am crazy about Mesa Boogie. Since I knew anything about anything, Mesa has been on my gear bucket list, that is why I’m about to swap you $6200 AUD for a TC100 and a slanted Road King. You have the tone I’ve always wanted over and after much research of all the classic main candidates, thankfully now I’m in a position to be able to afford it. I am someone who has never cared how much something costs, if it’s worth it and/or worth it to me, I’ll buy it without batting an eyelid and the Mesa TC is where I want to be with the exception of nothing. Once again, Apologies if I was generalising on craftsmanship that in this day and age, I will say “many” companies are looking to cut corners to cut cost sacrificing quality in the meantime. Apologies if Mesa is not one of those brands. I’m hoping so as I am a huge fan and will buy and use these products on the back of the great reviews I’m seeing here and many of my favourite artists making history with Mesa. Enjoy your day/evening :-)
 
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#1,746
JOME77 said:
I had my first band rehearsal with the Mesa D800+ last night. Man! The Mesa powering the 2 Berg 112's had all kinds of low end and nice mids (in the mix). I tweaked the HPF, Voicing and Bass controls some and was really surprised at how easy it was to tame the lows (and several ways to get there). Those controls really interact nicely (along with the bass boost switch). I love the control layout of the amp. Very easy to dial in a great sound and tailor it to the room.
I played both my Roscoe Custom 5 (ash body/wenge neck/maple board) and Fender Elite Precision (ash) and since both basses are very mid rich I just ran the Mesa's 2 bands of mids flat (and tweaked the mids from my basses). Plus the Berg 112's have tons of creamy mids (HD and a HT-ER).

I did have a set of Chrome Flats installed on the Roscoe and though it sounded really nice and more old school, I thinking that I'm going to install the Nickel RW's back on the Roscoe and stay with the Chrome Flats on my P-bass. The RW's on the Roscoe really sound nice through the darker tone of Mesa and Berg's (compared to the Berg Forte') and gives me a really nice modern sound. Of course the P-bass was born for flats and the old school sounds so I'm staying with flats on the P-bass (although I'm going to compare the sound of Chromes with a new set of the TI Jazz Flats).

Very pleased with the D800+! Definitely a nice gigging amp.:)

View attachment 3285638 View attachment 3285637
Click to expand...
How's that elite P treating u? I've been thinking making a change to one.
 
#1,747
nostatic said:
Actually having plastic which will break when extreme force is applied probably helps to reduce shock to the internals better than metal.
Click to expand...

The plastic corners are also much easier on the things they may make contact with, like doors, walls, vehicle interiors, etc... I very much prefer Mesa's plastic corners over any metal ones I've used...
 
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#1,748
JOME77 said:
I had my first band rehearsal with the Mesa D800+ last night. Man! The Mesa powering the 2 Berg 112's had all kinds of low end and nice mids (in the mix). I tweaked the HPF, Voicing and Bass controls some and was really surprised at how easy it was to tame the lows (and several ways to get there). Those controls really interact nicely (along with the bass boost switch). I love the control layout of the amp. Very easy to dial in a great sound and tailor it to the room.
I played both my Roscoe Custom 5 (ash body/wenge neck/maple board) and Fender Elite Precision (ash) and since both basses are very mid rich I just ran the Mesa's 2 bands of mids flat (and tweaked the mids from my basses). Plus the Berg 112's have tons of creamy mids (HD and a HT-ER).

I did have a set of Chrome Flats installed on the Roscoe and though it sounded really nice and more old school, I thinking that I'm going to install the Nickel RW's back on the Roscoe and stay with the Chrome Flats on my P-bass. The RW's on the Roscoe really sound nice through the darker tone of Mesa and Berg's (compared to the Berg Forte') and gives me a really nice modern sound. Of course the P-bass was born for flats and the old school sounds so I'm staying with flats on the P-bass (although I'm going to compare the sound of Chromes with a new set of the TI Jazz Flats).

Very pleased with the D800+! Definitely a nice gigging amp.:)

View attachment 3285638 View attachment 3285637
Click to expand...
I use TI flat for years, they last and last.
 
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#1,751
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#1,752
57pbass said:
I don’t mean to derail this thread but I thought you would all enjoy this..

NAMM 2019: The Ruokangas Valvebucker is the first-ever tube-driven electric guitar pickup | MusicRadar
Click to expand...

Wait a minute... that's a pretty bold claim that it's the world's first ever. ESPECIALLY since I've been there and done that on a very large scale (see below)

Lowendtech said:
Cool. I have a Takamine Acoustic Guitar that had a tube in the preamp inside the body. It’s sounds awesome.
Click to expand...

Indeed, you have one of the Cool Tube preamps. This is a project that Scott (who now designes for Jeff at Genzler) and I worked for Takamine on maybe 10 years ago. The concept was well proven but the goal was to make it a practical, commercially manufacturable high volume product which we did starting with the model CTP-2. Takamine is a great company that was under former employer KMC Music back then.

When people ridicule me about operating tubes at different than "standard" 300 volt topologies, and suggest that I obviously don't know anything about tubes, this product really stands out as a glaring example of those know-it-all critics not understanding the excruciating amount of detail that exists within the math that makes up the space between the lines on the data sheets. There are so many things that can be done with tubes, this product just scratches the surface... AND it runs on 4 x AA batteries too!!!

jsx0yfmbwiptzyvc0uxe.jpg
 
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#1,753
57pbass said:
I don’t mean to derail this thread but I thought you would all enjoy this..
NAMM 2019: The Ruokangas Valvebucker is the first-ever tube-driven electric guitar pickup | MusicRadar
Click to expand...

Thanks for this link!
This has got to be the greatest gimmick in the show.
This does help the player that is in competiton for the most tubes contest though.

And with add copy like this you know it has to be good:
"By using relatively low voltages, the Valvebucker makes use of sweet spots found outside typical operational points of vacuum tubes, says Ruokangas."
"Wide tonal spectrum and organic dynamics"
 
#1,754
agedhorse said:
Wait a minute... that's a pretty bold claim that it's the world's first ever. ESPECIALLY since I've been there and done that on a very large scale (see below)



Indeed, you have one of the Cool Tube preamps. This is a project that Scott (who now designes for Jeff at Genzler) and I worked for Takamine on maybe 10 years ago. The concept was well proven but the goal was to make it a practical, commercially manufacturable high volume product which we did starting with the model CTP-2. Takamine is a great company that was under former employer KMC Music back then.

When people ridicule me about operating tubes at different than "standard" 300 volt topologies, and suggest that I obviously don't know anything about tubes, this product really stands out as a glaring example of those know-it-all critics not understanding the excruciating amount of detail that exists within the math that makes up the space between the lines on the data sheets. There are so many things that can be done with tubes, this product just scratches the surface... AND it runs on 4 x AA batteries too!!!

View attachment 3285946
Click to expand...
Dude..... seriously.
I’m gabberflasted.
This is my TF77-PT.
An absolute fantastic sounding guitar.
And you tell me it’s you meddling in my tone?.....Again?

A1C0EDD3-C7B4-4CDC-B494-8B2F04AA0213.jpeg
014C4AA6-7DF2-47A4-8496-336D119991A0.jpeg


Carry on and proceed away. ;)
 
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#1,755
Lowendtech said:
Dude..... seriously.
I’m gabberflasted.
This is my TF77-PT.
An absolute fantastic sounding guitar.
And you tell me it’s you meddling in my tone?.....Again?

Carry on and proceed away. ;)
Click to expand...

Ummmm, yup ;)

(nice guitar)
 
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#1,760
mmbass21 said:
How's that elite P treating u? I've been thinking making a change to one.
Click to expand...

Unbelievable bass! I totally love the feel of the compound radius neck and love the addition of the J pickup at the bridge. I've owned dozens of boutique bass and I can honestly say that the Fender sets up in the top 3-4 of all the basses that I've owned. Not sure if they're all this way but this one is really special.
I rarely run it in active mode but the pre does sound really nice. Not nearly as harsh in the highs as I felt the former Fender active pre's sounded.
 
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