Premature Shootout?? Mesa D350 vs Tonehammer 350

[SJan3]

This seems like a fair fight between two heavyweight companies sporting their middleweights. I know there's no loser here, only preference. What's your preference and why?

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Tonally, they are quite different.

This comes down to the flavor you savor for the win.

 

[gl1234]

The Genzler MG-350 should be included...i think these three provide three different flavors of equal excellence.

 

[SJan3]

The Genzler MG-350 should be included...i think these three provide three different flavors of equal excellence.

I thought about it but wanted a "face to face" battle here. Think MMA!
But respect your opinion and you can certainly speak to the Magellan 350 as a contender.

 

[gl1234]

Got it! We can save the MG-350 smackdown for another rink...

I thought about it but wanted a "face to face" battle here. Think MMA!
But respect your opinion and you can certainly speak to the Magellan 350 as a contender.

 

[SJan3]

Got it! We can save the MG-350 smackdown for another rink...

I actually did a Tonehammer, Magellan and Nanomark Shootout a couple of years ago.
I ended up buying both the Magellan and eventually the Nanomark.

 

[Al Kraft]

I don't want to come across as a Mesa fanboy (although I do like their stuff), but I prefer the greater tonal flexibility in the D-350 and it feels like a stronger, clean amp to me. I own a TH 500 and power-wise would put the D-350 up against it with a good cab any day. When I want that TH sound though, there is nothing else quite like it, but it's not as versatile for my uses as the D-350.

 

[agedhorse]

I think much of the performance preferences will come down to personal taste as the voicings between the two amps is quite different.

There's also the feature sets and ergonomic factors that will come into play, which are a different thing then tonal perception.

 

[SJan3]

I think much of the performance preferences will come down to personal taste as the voicings between the two amps is quite different.

There's also the feature sets and ergonomic factors that will come into play, which are a different thing then tonal perception.

Andy, what are the tonal centers of the Low Mid and High Mid controls on the D350?
Thanks

 

[Al Kraft]

Andy, what are the tonal centers of the Low Mid and High Mid controls on the D350?
Thanks

Bass: +14dB/-14dB @ 40Hz [note 3] Low Mid: +14dB/-14dB @ 200Hz High Mid: +14dB/-14dB @ 480Hz Treble: +11dB/-14dB @ 4kHz [note 3]

[note 3]: measured approx. 1 octave from knee

The full manual is available for free at the Mesa Website Steve....this is from the specs page in the back.

 

[SJan3]

Bass: +14dB/-14dB @ 40Hz [note 3] Low Mid: +14dB/-14dB @ 200Hz High Mid: +14dB/-14dB @ 480Hz Treble: +11dB/-14dB @ 4kHz [note 3]

[note 3]: measured approx. 1 octave from knee

The full manual is available for free at the Mesa Website Steve....this is from the specs page in the back.

Great, Al. Thanks for sharing!

 

[agedhorse]

The centers are the same as on the D-800.

 

[Al Kraft]

Great, Al. Thanks for sharing!

I should add that while the mid frequencies my seem a tad unusual for typical bass amps, they were chosen by players testing the amp and trying different adjustments but not knowing what the frequencies were that they liked for the tone shaping. The frequencies were then further refined by agedhorse to complement the voicing control which is not a simple mid scoop design, but has a combination of filter functions going on simultaneously.
The bottom line is that it works well. You set the voicing you like and then fine tune with the EQ.

Finally, the bright switch gives a nice, subtle lift to the upper register that opens up the tone. It is not the all too frequent hiss and clank emphasis switch (this one is actually usable). The controls interoperate very musically and it's hard to get a bad sound out of the tone stack. The fixed internal HPF is set low enough to be unobtrusive to low end and yet provide both speaker protection and preserve headroom when you want to crank things a bit even with enhanced bass EQ.

 

[SJan3]

I should add that while the mid frequencies my seem a tad unusual for typical bass amps, they were chosen by players testing the amp and trying different adjustments but not knowing what the frequencies were that they liked for the tone shaping. The frequencies were then further refined by agedhorse to complement the voicing control which is not a simple mid scoop design, but has a combination of filter functions going on simultaneously.
The bottom line is that it works well. You set the voicing you like and then fine tune with the EQ.

Finally, the bright switch gives a nice, subtle lift to the upper register that opens up the tone. It is not the all too frequent hiss and clank emphasis switch (this one is actually usable). The controls interoperate very musically and it's hard to get a bad sound out of the tone stack. The fixed internal HPF is set low enough to be unobtrusive to low end and yet provide both speaker protection and preserve headroom when you want to crank things a bit even with enhanced bass EQ.

See my message..

 

[Al Kraft]

See my message..

Done and responded to!

 

[agedhorse]

To clarify Al's comment about how the mid frequencies were selected, we set up the D-800 with sweep frequencies and asked a bunch of the more pro players to choose their favorite low mid and high mid frequencies. It was surprising how consistently the results centered around the same range of frequencies. It turns out that the player's preferences were centered around the fundamentals and low harmonics of low midrange and the low harmonics of the high midrange. I actually expected there to be a conflict between the lower and higher harmonics guys, but the treble eq addressed that well enough.

 

[Nebadon2000]

This seems like a fair fight between two heavyweight companies sporting their middleweights. I know there's no loser here, only preference. What's your preference and why?

Judging by replies so far must be premature But some interesting info anyway

 

[Al Kraft]

To clarify Al's comment about how the mid frequencies were selected, we set up the D-800 with sweep frequencies and asked a bunch of the more pro players to choose their favorite low mid and high mid frequencies. It was surprising how consistently the results centered around the same range of frequencies. It turns out that the player's preferences were centered around the fundamentals and low harmonics of low midrange and the low harmonics of the high midrange. I actually expected there to be a conflict between the lower and higher harmonics guys, but the treble eq addressed that well enough.

FWIW I bought the D-800 (when it first came out) before I heard it in person based on understanding how it was designed. I thought this was a brilliant way to select EQ frequencies for an amp as opposed to just defaulting to the typical 40Hz, 500 and/or 800Hz, and 4kHz kind of approach you almost always see. While there is scientifically sound reasoning to explain why the frequencies ended up where they did, the selection process was grounded in what sounded musical to actual musicians. I like that approach to design - do what sounds good and let the numbers fall where they fall.

 

[bass151]

Any opinions on sheer clean volume and out.

 

[bobdabilder]

Tonehammer all the way.