Tell me I won't regret buying a mess wd800

Paging @agedhorse

 

I suggest not setting everything at noon. It's not a holy relic! Try cutting the bass to about 9a. Increase the mids to 2p. Cut the treble to 10a. Give a listen FOH.

In addition to setting your rig up on a stand, also consider adding an adjustable HPF to cut the mud from your speakers and the boom from the room. You'll hear your mids better, improve stage volume, increase headroom and sit in the mix better.

Not saying not to buy the Mesa.

 

IME the WD will easily give you a flat/neutral tone if that's what you like. However, it is a harmonically rich tone and not SS sterile. As for volume, as long as you have enough cab for the job, I don't think the WD will disappoint. It stays clean and gets as loud as I've ever needed for rock even when carrying a larger venue with two electric guitars and a hard hitting drummer.

 

If I remember right, @agedhorse said flat comes with the passive Mid control around 1 o'clock, but the exact setting varies with how you set the gain.

In this post he call the amp "modestly voiced" Which amp heads have no baked-in EQ curve?

 

There is a relatively flat voicing with the passive mid control somewhere around the1:00-2:00 position.

It's a different amp than the Shuttle, a little more going on. The Subway D-800+ is probably a little closer to the Shuttle.

Can you try both?

 

Let’s ask @agedhorse just how polished those Mesa demos might be...

 

There are many demos available on all of the Subway models, some made by players here on TB. They are all recorded differently I'm sure, but likewise they all represent a cross-section of applications.

The demos we do are generally based on a room mic, the DI out and sometimes a combination of the two (as a bit of a nod to Jimmy ) depending on the features being shown. I believe the details are included in the clip, or the accompanying text.

One thing to note about video clips, something that nobody has any real control over, is that depending on network and internet traffic, the quality can vary greatly as data compression and bit rate change dynamically. This is especially a challenge on YouTube.

 

I'm a bit of a gear swapper, and my D800 and Subway 112 have never been on the trade block. After trying many different amps and heads, I refuse to play anything else. I run everything between 11 and 1 o clock with all of my basses. I use it as a DI without the cab too. To answer the concern in your headline, you won't regret buying a WD-800.

 

I’d be surprised if you didn’t like the WD right out of the box. A couple small turns of the dials and my ears were being slathered in melted butter. And can easily be changed to ice picks. Anything in between is easily achievable. As was my experience with the D-800+ before it, you just have to spend some time exploring all the sonic options available in the WD. On the surface it’s incredibly easy to get your sound instantly. But once you start diving into how the HPF, BASS, and Low MID controls can work in tandem (or against you), you’ll be amazed at how adaptable it is.

Bottom line is this...

 

You won't regret buying a Mesa WD-800.

There.

 

You won't regret buying a Mesa WD-800.

Happy now? get one, you will be.

 

It shouldn't. Hell, Guitar Center has made several thousand dollars off of me in new and used gear sales in the last two years precisely because of their return policy - trying stuff out and returning stuff repeatedly until I get exactly what I want and buy it is why they have that policy in the first place.

Don't be afraid to return things. It ends up making the retailer money sooner or later.

 

I've owned both and agree with Andy. The Mesa, to my ears, may sound a little less bright natively, but the two could be made to sound very similar with EQ. The WD-800, based only on what I've heard about it, would be a different thing, maybe more similar to the Genz Streamliner?

Apropos of nothing, the D-800 (not plus) has a smaller form factor, quite a bit smaller than the Shuttles did IIRC, and sounds very great. For me it's a real no-brainer all-around gig amp.

 

I will throw in that if you love the sound and feature set of the Shuttle you may want to check out the Genzler Magellan 800.
Click>Magellan 800 - Genzler Amplification

Now you will have another decision to make.

 

I agree with S-Bigbottom. I don't really want to take money away from Mesa and I am also very curious about the WD800, but if you want a Shuttle on Steroids then you should definitely also look into a Genzler Magellan 800.