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Subway+ Bass DI-Preamp II

#242
agedhorse said:
It depends on where the other controls are set.

Parity or unity is not the primary function of this preamp, it takes instrument level in and outputs line level to drive a power amp or effects return input on a bass amp.
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Thx Andy - I use a Redeye twin preamp in front of my board as I double (EUB and bass guitar), and the output level of the EUB is much lower, thus I need to adjust the levels for each bass separately on the Redeye. Bottom line - I have more input level controls then I wish that I needed! It's all ok and as you note, there's too many variables at play with the other controls. I'm working on getting it dialed in, but so far the Redeye and Subway + are working together very nicely!
 
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#244
DJ Bebop said:
It's here!

View attachment 7484453

View attachment 7484452

I kinda fell into a subby dubby ting out the box 😎

View attachment 7484454

I'm definitely getting the ABY switcher box for this. Being able to switch from the WD preamp to the Subway+ preamp is going to be a game-changer 🤙

The Subway+ seems to fit with all the damping settings. I like the medium and high the best so far.

Setting the preamp flat and just working the deep bright switches, and the hight pass and voicing control seem to offer a lot of tonal variations alone.
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Congratulations!! :)
 
#245
Ok new pedal and new amp are in!

First of all, I absolutely love the d800. The mid EQ points feel just dead on what what I want to do with them. I played for a couple hours with a couple of p basses (flats/rounds) and with a stingray 5hh. I absolutely love everthing through this amp. The voicing knob is extremely useful. Way more than any of the other controls like that on other amps I have played through.

I’m not loving the preamp into the d800. I’m using the aux in and trying to set everything EQ wise as close as I can to what I was using when playing into the front of the amp. It just sounds a little lifeless compared to playing through the front of the amp. I maxed out the master volume to get as strong of a signal as I could since I heard the aux in is gained a little less. I still had to boost the overall volume on the amp to get back to parity. I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong in setting this up but please correct me if I am. I’m going preamp out on the pedal to aux in on the amp using a standard instrument cable.

I got it for its amp in a box IEM solution but I won’t be able to test that out until this weekend. I need to go get a headphone adapter and test it though my IEM headphones tomorrow before my gig this weekend just to make sure I know what kind of tones I’m getting.
 
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#248
Hey ya’ll,
I just want to thank everyone for their O Ring Kit orders. I shipped another 5 today and have one scheduled for tomorrow.
Yesterday I delivered one to Tom Blankenship of My Morning Jacket. His “pre” arrived today and I’m pretty sure it’s going with him when he leaves Saturday morning as they begin their 2026 tour.

I have some O Ring Kits left, so if you’d like one DM me.
 
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#251
BrentSimons said:
Hey Guys,
I'm new to the Subway gear. The only experience I have with Mesa was plugging into a Bass 400+ EONS ago and then a Walkabout Scout maybe a decade ago. Does that date me? :hyper: Mesa gear generally wasn't available in my area. How would you describe the Subway tone? Andy? @agedhorse .

Thanks!
Brent
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I am new to Mesa gear as well. I just got in a d800 amp and this new preamp pedal. Previous I have been playing Ampeg and more recently MarkBass rigs.

To me, the Mesa is way more punchy and forward and this is through a MarkBass cab. It’s feels like the notes are carrying more sonic information and frequencies than I was getting before, a fuller spectrum. So far, I have found the pedal and the amp to be extremely flexible. I can get an old school Fender Bassman type of sound by turning up the voicing filter or leave it flat for a more flat, mid heavy response. It’s the first gear I’ve used that’s allowed me to really dial up a sound in my head straight to the amp without a crazy amount of effort.

The HPF is also extremely handy. I’ve been using a broughton always on filter for a while so I’m familiar with the concept but having the HPF and the deep switch really makes some interesting combinations.

Admittedly this has only been bedroom play. My first gig with the new gear will be this weekend. It’s a country gig so no bass acrobatics, but it should let me know how it sounds with a group. My guitarist likes a very mid forward sound so I might let my bass get a little scooped and see how it blends.
 
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#252
BrentSimons said:
Hey Guys,
I'm new to the Subway gear. The only experience I have with Mesa was plugging into a Bass 400+ EONS ago and then a Walkabout Scout maybe a decade ago. Does that date me? :hyper: Mesa gear generally wasn't available in my area. How would you describe the Subway tone? Andy? @agedhorse .

Thanks!
Brent
Click to expand...
If you haven’t owned any Mesa gear you’re still new!
I echo what @Cahamp said. Before Mesa the last amp that I used and loved was an Ampeg SVT 7 Pro. It was a good amp but the Mesa Subway gear is lighter and “light years” ahead of Ampeg.
I currently have a weekly venue that’s very small so I used a QSC K12.2 with the new Mesa Subway+ Bass II Preamp Pedal and my O” Ring Kit keeps the knobs in place.
For larger gigs it’s the Mesa Subway 800D Amp with two Greenboy 12” cabs.
I’m sold on Mesa.
 
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#253
agedhorse said:
Not a joke. I heard from many players (and in discussions here on TB) that the cost and size of the original Subway+ pre-DI made it a complete non-starter for them.

Because of this, we couldn’t continue to justify building them until we could find a way to solve those very significant issues. This is the result, now time will tell if it’s a success or not.
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Got mine on order and will ship today.
This is a dream come true.
 
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#256
BrentSimons said:
Hey Guys,
I'm new to the Subway gear. The only experience I have with Mesa was plugging into a Bass 400+ EONS ago and then a Walkabout Scout maybe a decade ago. Does that date me? :hyper: Mesa gear generally wasn't available in my area. How would you describe the Subway tone? Andy? @agedhorse .

Thanks!
Brent
Click to expand...
There's a ton of information on the Subway Club thread on the amps/cabs forum, lots of user input and comments.
 
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#257
This seems like a very interesting product, and perhaps the first Mesa product (as a bassist AND guitarist) I can say my true interest is piqued. I'm not hardcore price shopping, but for it's feature set, it's price seems reasonable. I'm SURE with all of those features, folks of all different musical inclinations and situations can find some usable tones. Perhaps some great ones. VERY cool. Thanks!
 
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#259
Thunderthumbs73 said:
This seems like a very interesting product, and perhaps the first Mesa product (as a bassist AND guitarist) I can say my true interest is piqued. I'm not hardcore price shopping, but for it's feature set, it's price seems reasonable. I'm SURE with all of those features, folks of all different musical inclinations and situations can find some usable tones. Perhaps some great ones. VERY cool. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I can honestly say that the original was jam packed with endless tonal capabilities.
This next gen will be nothing less the the original.

With that said.
I have a Fender TB 1200 that I’ll be using this preamp with.
Going to try going into the front end of the amp, but also want to try the Mesa going into the effects loop return.
Will the loop return idea override the amps preamp section?
You would think in all my years of playing I would know the answer to that.
 
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