Official Mesa Boogie Subway Series Club

[Nebadon2000]

Thick harmonically rich notes and punch even on low damping. I honestly thought it was going to be a bit muddy, but nope

IME with WD [Subway 1x15] your Passive Mid setting saves you from any Mud and not surprised overall setting sits/blends/cuts [pick one] in Mix

 

[gustobassman]

Yesterday I said that I would try these settings and I was able to today. I have to admit that I thought I would not like these settings and I was right, a bit too scooped and thin while also a deep and somewhat tight low end. Prominent in the low mids as you stated.

However I made only three small adjustments and I am seriously enjoying what I am hearing and feeling now. All I did was raise the input to almost 3:00, lower the HPF to barely on and raised the Passive Mid to almost 4:00.

Thick harmonically rich notes and punch even on low damping. I honestly thought it was going to be a bit muddy, but nope at least not here at home playing along with Iron Maiden, Skid Row, Green Day and Ugly Kid Joe.

View attachment 7340010

I'm seriously thinking about trying it out on this Saturday's gig. BTW I used my Fender Player Plus Active Precision Bass, Fender Modified Active Jazz Bass and Spector NS Ethos. Thank you again for those settings. Something I never thought I would try.

Wow very nice! The only thing I did a little different was HPF at 10:00 and the lowest PEQ, that was more like 100 or 110hz. It was at about 8:00, not all the way at 80hz. I dont know how much that will change things for you. For reference I was using the "j-bass" setting on my dingwall with SF2's. Its a little bright in the mids anyway, any higher on the passive mid and it was a lot of pokey 250hz. Depending on the bass, I'm not suprised you preferred the passive mid higher.

 

[Al Kraft]

Yesterday I said that I would try these settings and I was able to today. I have to admit that I thought I would not like these settings and I was right, a bit too scooped and thin while also a deep and somewhat tight low end. Prominent in the low mids as you stated.

However I made only three small adjustments and I am seriously enjoying what I am hearing and feeling now. All I did was raise the input to almost 3:00, lower the HPF to barely on and raised the Passive Mid to almost 4:00.

Thick harmonically rich notes and punch even on low damping. I honestly thought it was going to be a bit muddy, but nope at least not here at home playing along with Iron Maiden, Skid Row, Green Day and Ugly Kid Joe.

View attachment 7340010

I'm seriously thinking about trying it out on this Saturday's gig. BTW I used my Fender Player Plus Active Precision Bass, Fender Modified Active Jazz Bass and Spector NS Ethos. Thank you again for those settings. Something I never thought I would try.

You are close to and a tad higher/lower on a few settings than my first guess Gil, but it is kind of surprising where you can take this head. I have always thought that this head has the most versatility in voicing and tone shaping of anything in the SW line.

I'll offer one additional thought and that is with as much emphasis as these kind of settings have in the lows, you will find that the different damping settings have greater and more noticeable impact on the sound and especially feel than you might otherwise have experienced. See what medium and high damping do for getting a touch tighter rein on the lowest register notes without losing any of the richness.

 

[Collin Bass]

Mostly 2 space racks ; )
View attachment 7339604
Screw heads make it even tighter.
View attachment 7339607

What did you use to get that d800+ & Strobostomp to fit so nicely?

 

[Pontiac Thrasher]

What did you use to get that d800+ & Strobostomp to fit so nicely?

The super heavy duty velcro, either 3m or Velcro brand, and sanding sponges from harbor frieght. Takes a couple of hours, and the side carry handle must be removed. Also had to widen the opening of the rack case with diagonal cutting pliers, file, and then sanding to smooth.

Better than rack ears since it absorbes shock, but takes time and patience.

: )

 

[Jazzdogg]

You are close to and a tad higher/lower on a few settings than my first guess Gil, but it is kind of surprising where you can take this head. I have always thought that this head has the most versatility in voicing and tone shaping of anything in the SW line.

I'll offer one additional thought and that is with as much emphasis as these kind of settings have in the lows, you will find that the different damping settings have greater and more noticeable impact on the sound and especially feel than you might otherwise have experienced. See what medium and high damping do for getting a touch tighter rein on the lowest register notes without losing any of the richness.

A "tighter rein" seems right up Agedhorse's alley.

 

[Wicked G]

Wow very nice! The only thing I did a little different was HPF at 10:00 and the lowest PEQ, that was more like 100 or 110hz. It was at about 8:00, not all the way at 80hz. I dont know how much that will change things for you. For reference I was using the "j-bass" setting on my dingwall with SF2's. Its a little bright in the mids anyway, any higher on the passive mid and it was a lot of pokey 250hz. Depending on the bass, I'm not suprised you preferred the passive mid higher.

See that's the thing that surprised me quite a bit. When I saw your picture with the lowest PEQ set at 80hz with a slight boost I thought whoa . Normally anything below 220 and I am cutting so I was expecting major bloat/mud. Instead it was still pretty heavy on the low end, but it felt tighter than I expected with a pretty big dip in the high mids and pingy.

That's when I got the idea of increasing the input for more Drive/Harmonic Richness, increasing the Passive Mid for more Mids and lowering the HPF for a better feel in my case. It worked out really well, at least at home it did. My Jazz sounded thick and a little crunchy while the P Bass was barking pretty nicely. I'm going to try it during sound check with the band and see how that works out. I can always just tweak it from there or go right back to my usual EQ, but who knows if it works out well I could leave it there all night for a different flavor.

 

[agedhorse]

See that's the thing that surprised me quite a bit. When I saw your picture with the lowest PEQ set at 80hz with a slight boost I thought whoa . Normally anything below 220 and I am cutting so I was expecting major bloat/mud. Instead it was still pretty heavy on the low end, but it felt tighter than I expected with a pretty big dip in the high mids and pingy.

That's when I got the idea of increasing the input for more Drive/Harmonic Richness, increasing the Passive Mid for more Mids and lowering the HPF for a better feel in my case. It worked out really well, at least at home it did. My Jazz sounded thick and a little crunchy while the P Bass was barking pretty nicely. I'm going to try it during sound check with the band and see how that works out. I can always just tweak it from there or go right back to my usual EQ, but who knows if it works out well I could leave it there all night for a different flavor.

Remember that the Walkabout didn't have much of a HPF, whereas the HPF is tightly integrated into the WD's signal path which allows more LF PEQ options without becoming unusable.

 

[Wicked G]

You are close to and a tad higher/lower on a few settings than my first guess Gil, but it is kind of surprising where you can take this head. I have always thought that this head has the most versatility in voicing and tone shaping of anything in the SW line.

I'll offer one additional thought and that is with as much emphasis as these kind of settings have in the lows, you will find that the different damping settings have greater and more noticeable impact on the sound and especially feel than you might otherwise have experienced. See what medium and high damping do for getting a touch tighter rein on the lowest register notes without losing any of the richness.

Yeah I agree. While High and Medium Damping can get you a tighter sound and feel, Lower Damping seems to bring out something in the mids a little more to my ear along with a slightly looser feel that I really like in this amp. Not to mention that changing from 4 to 2 ohms also has a pretty big impact on the sound and feel. There are so many ways to change your sound with this amp without even touching the SPEQ.

 

[Chuck M]

I have to chime in about the WD-800. When I first got mine I thought something was wrong with it because I was hearing sounds from my bass that I had never heard before. It turned out that my basses were buzzing just a little from action set too low but I never heard it with other amps. There is that much detail in the tone of the WD. I also have damaged hearing and that surely played a part in what I was hearing or not hearing.

It took me a while turning knobs but I did find "my tone" in the WD-800. It took more doing than the D-800+ but still the tone I wanted was there. The EQ section is able to accommodate most players....but you have to read the manual....carefully and be patient in your search for your tone.

 

[Moving Pictures]

I get to join the ranks here with delivery of the Subway 800+. Here it is with the gig rig (ignore the Ampeg, it’s my practice head).

Very much enjoyed playing through it. The neighbours got to listen as well

 

[Al Kraft]

Remember that the Walkabout didn't have much of a HPF, whereas the HPF is tightly integrated into the WD's signal path which allows more LF PEQ options without becoming unusable.

This is another one of those nuance improvements you made to the original WA that makes the WD a lot more versatile.

 

[Al Kraft]

I get to join the ranks here with delivery of the Subway 800+. Here it is with the gig rig (ignore the Ampeg, it’s my practice head).
View attachment 7340159

Very much enjoyed playing through it. The neighbours got to listen as well

Nice set-up and beautiful bass!

 

[Pep]

I get to join the ranks here with delivery of the Subway 800+. Here it is with the gig rig (ignore the Ampeg, it’s my practice head).
View attachment 7340159

Very much enjoyed playing through it. The neighbours got to listen as well

Congrats. Please share your serial number. How does it sound through the Berg?

 

[Pontiac Thrasher]

What did you use to get that d800+ & Strobostomp to fit so nicely?

 

[Moving Pictures]

Congrats. Please share your serial number. How does it sound through the Berg?

It sounds really good through that cab. Tight and punchy. It’s a good combination. I think it sounds better that the Aguilar TH500 I was using previously.

Why post the serial number? Not sure I’ve ever been asked that on TB before.

 

[warptheory]

I was gifted my grandfather’s old Stratocaster, it's a really cool guitar, but I'm a mediocre guitar player at best, and don't have a great rig to run it through. Any issue with running it through a Subway 210 or 115? I know those cabs sound great, but not sure if there is any risk of damage given they are tuned to bass frequencies and not guitar. I know a lot of guitar players back in the day used to use bass amps/cabs for their clean and full frequency response, so I don't think it's an issue, but wanted to check.

I'm not moving to guitar, but sometimes it's fun to play or have a setup that a friend can use in a pinch. I don't really want to invest in a guitar rig, and I even if I might get better tone from a guitar rig I'd rather use what I have for how seldom I'll use it.

I've tried it at bedroom volumes with the 800D and it does sound great, but may invest in a cheap guitar head if there isn't any issue with running into a Subway cab.

 

[Nebadon2000]

Yeah I agree. While High and Medium Damping can get you a tighter sound and feel, Lower Damping seems to bring out something in the mids a little more to my ear along with a slightly looser feel that I really like in this amp. Not to mention that changing from 4 to 2 ohms also has a pretty big impact on the sound and feel. There are so many ways to change your sound with this amp without even touching the SPEQ.

Nice to hear someone else mention they seem to get a better 'Feel' with Low Damping and 2 Ohm setting (my case with 8 Ohm load)

I call it 'More Musical': thought I may being imagining it

 

[Nebadon2000]

I was gifted my grandfather’s old Stratocaster, it's a really cool guitar, but I'm a mediocre guitar player at best, and don't have a great rig to run it through. Any issue with running it through a Subway 210 or 115? I know those cabs sound great, but not sure if there is any risk of damage given they are tuned to bass frequencies and not guitar. I know a lot of guitar players back in the day used to use bass amps/cabs for their clean and full frequency response, so I don't think it's an issue, but wanted to check.

I'm not moving to guitar, but sometimes it's fun to play or have a setup that a friend can use in a pinch. I don't really want to invest in a guitar rig, and I even if I might get better tone from a guitar rig I'd rather use what I have for how seldom I'll use it.

I've tried it at bedroom volumes with the 800D and it does sound great, but may invest in a cheap guitar head if there isn't any issue with running into a Subway cab.

I have the 1x15 it is very FRFR with tweeter mid way, no mid bass hump or mid scoop very natural present mids
Should work well for Guitar

Can adjust tweeter up or down wanting either more bite or smooth upper end

 

[agedhorse]

They work fine for guitar, you might prefer with the tweeter turned down below noon.