Tube Watts = SS Watts ??

[Wasnex]

It's cool but it weighs more than my cab... : D

]
I believe the Titan is 33 lbs without the Bronco case and 55 lbs with. Also the head itself is three rack spaces tall, and the headcase is almost a big as an SVT. IMHO, it's the sort of head you might Injoy more with a heavy, ginormous speaker; especially if you have sort of an obnoxious personality.

You might be happier with one of these :

 

[/\/\3phist0]

]
I believe the Titan is 33 lbs without the Bronco case and 55 lbs with. Also the head itself is three rack spaces tall, and the headcase is almost a big as an SVT. IMHO, it's the sort of head you might Injoy more with a heavy, ginormous speaker; especially if you have sort of an obnoxious personality.

You might be happier with one of these : View attachment 3574121

All hail the Mighty Titan

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Hopefully someday you will get a chance to try a Mesa Titan. If you don't feel enveloped in sound with a Titan something is wrong. The low end is sort of like an SVT on steroids. I have seen people refer to the Titan as the "Gentleman's SVT." I suspect they were being ironic. "Zombie Apocalypse SVT" is probably more apt. To be clear, I mean it's not a subtle amp.

Loved mine, more useful features than one might need. I went for simple and light (d800 now wd800)
The Titan is a brutally loud amp with gobs of eq, and 2 channels, built in switchable overdrive ....
dammit now I miss it again

 

[Wasnex]

Loved mine, more useful features than one might need. I went for simple and light (d800 now wd800)
The Titan is a brutally loud amp with gobs of eq, and 2 channels, built in switchable overdrive ....
dammit now I miss it again

I see the Titan as a world-class touring head, where size and weight are of little concern. Seems like the market in now focused on amps that are better suited to the local gig scene, where small and light provides a very noticeable advantage. My collection does not include any micro Class-D amps, but if I started gigging again, the WD800 would be very tempting.

 

[Jim C]

I see the Titan as a world-class touring head, where size and weight are of little concern. Seems like the market in now focused on amps that are better suited to the local gig scene, where small and light provides a very noticeable advantage. My collection does not include any micro Class-D amps, but if I started gigging again, the WD800 would be very tempting.

Agreed, and I have never seen a Class D amp on a big stage (yet) although many would lead you to believe that the pro's use them live all the time.
I do have a very nice Class D; GK MBF800.
It's my back up head and weighs nothing.
OTOH, I bought it to be my #1 amp and I just can't get it to work as well as compared to a SVT, SVP/Power amp, Ashdown ABM 500, or SM 400.
And these days I only play local gigs.
So much for convenience...

 

[Al Kraft]

Agreed, and I have never seen a Class D amp on a big stage (yet) although many would lead you to believe that the pro's use them live all the time.

Jim I can tell you there are a few artists who use class D professionally (I learned this when doing beta testing for Mesa on the WD-800). I think one could credibly argue that the bass the audience hears on those huge pro-sound systems in enormous venues is usually coming out of class D amplifier. Now the bass on stage might be from a a classic Ampeg tube rig or something similar, but an outdoor audience is most likely mainly hearing a class D amplified version of that mic'ed cab. To your point though, it's still not necessarily class D bass at the musician and bass equipment on stage level.

 

[David Jayne]

Here's a hypothetical thought-experiment. Imagine taking the output of a 50-Watt tube head, feeding it through an attenuator and into a high quality 300-Watt solid state power amp, that's adjusted to precisely reproduce the signal from the tube head. Now the two amps are producing exactly the same signal. Imagine that they are feeding identical speakers and are in two isolated listening rooms.

Which one is producing more power?

Which one is louder?

You mean like, through a PA? : D

 

[David Jayne]

Agreed, and I have never seen a Class D amp on a big stage (yet) although many would lead you to believe that the pro's use them live all the time.
I do have a very nice Class D; GK MBF800.
It's my back up head and weighs nothing.
OTOH, I bought it to be my #1 amp and I just can't get it to work as well as compared to a SVT, SVP/Power amp, Ashdown ABM 500, or SM 400.
And these days I only play local gigs.
So much for convenience...

Simple: The GK sound isn't for you. It's definitely NOT for everyone. Rock on friend!

 

[pfschim]

gosh, 189 posts on the topic of tube watts = ss watts (yet again)
same old arguments and "feelings" about what is louder or whether it's watts or decibels that really matter, or even order harmonics, or "class D is just hype" or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

geez you guys

 

[Wasnex]

Agreed, and I have never seen a Class D amp on a big stage (yet) although many would lead you to believe that the pro's use them live all the time.
I do have a very nice Class D; GK MBF800.
It's my back up head and weighs nothing.
OTOH, I bought it to be my #1 amp and I just can't get it to work as well as compared to a SVT, SVP/Power amp, Ashdown ABM 500, or SM 400.
And these days I only play local gigs.
So much for convenience...

I haven't played the MBF800, but many people say it's somewhat similar to an Mesa M9. I have an M9 and IMHO its basic voicing does not sound or feel anything like an SVT. I do have my M9 dialed in to be a bit closer, but I am using one of the voicing filters and some pretty aggressive shaping with the graphic EQ and compressor...all features the MBF800 lacks. I suspect the Mesa WD-800 would be capable of getting a lot closer since it has a variable HPF and an extremely powerful EQ. If I was in the market for a new relatively light-weight head the first one I would check out the WD-800.

 

[jnewmark]

gosh, 189 posts on the topic of tube watts = ss watts (yet again)
same old arguments and "feelings" about what is louder or whether it's watts or decibels that really matter, or even order harmonics, or "class D is just hype" or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

geez you guys

Yeah, I would almost opt for this subject to be banned from now on. But, hey, freedom of speech and all that.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Yeah, I would almost opt for this subject to be banned from now on. But, hey, freedom of speech and all that.

The topic always seems intended to instigate heated discussions.

 

[jnewmark]

The topic always seems intended to instigate heated discussions.

Yeah its like, if I asked this question for the 999th time, I might get a different answer than the 998th time.

 

[Wasnex]

Yeah its like, if I asked this question for the 999th time, I might get a different answer than the 998th time.

The beauty is you can be selective and ignore threads you no longer want to participate in. Eventually you may find there is little reason to even log on to Talkbass, because typically the same subjects are discussed over and over again. People come and go.

I do understand your frustration and empathize, and yes I agree some of these threads seem to be intentional troll threads.

 

[beans-on-toast]

The beauty is you can be selective and ignore threads you no longer want to participate in. Eventually you may find there is little reason to even log on to Talkbass, because typically the same subjects are discussed over and over again. People come and go.

I do understand your frustration and empathize, and yes I agree some of these threads seem to be intentional troll threads.

You try to get out but they draw you back in. Tube vs SS is a religious discussion.

 

[JimmyM]

You try to get out but they draw you back in. Tube vs SS is a religious discussion.

That is totally my problem. Some people love/hate car accidents and slow down to gawk at them, and I hate seeing car accidents after witnessing a very brutal one with mangled bodies, so threads like this replaced it

 

[Wasnex]

You try to get out but they draw you back in. Tube vs SS is a religious discussion.

Well if you have had your fill of Tube VS Solid State for the day, there is yet another mixed driver thread disguised as an impedance question you can wade into. 2ohms!!

I already put on my GOF hat and stomped out .

 

[Downunderwonder]

No, it's because anything more than 300w and you start to get into the truly impractical.

As opposed to plainly impractical a lot of the time only exists because at one time it was the only way possible?

 

[Jim C]

Jim I can tell you there are a few artists who use class D professionally (I learned this when doing beta testing for Mesa on the WD-800). I think one could credibly argue that the bass the audience hears on those huge pro-sound systems in enormous venues is usually coming out of class D amplifier. Now the bass on stage might be from a a classic Ampeg tube rig or something similar, but an outdoor audience is most likely mainly hearing a class D amplified version of that mic'ed cab. To your point though, it's still not necessarily class D bass at the musician and bass equipment on stage level.

Hey Al,
I was just referring to bass MI backline and not FoH amplification as you surmised.
But I am surprised that with all the love these amps get here, that I haven't seen one on a pro stage.

I haven't played the MBF800, but many people say it's somewhat similar to an Mesa M9. I have an M9 and IMHO its basic voicing does not sound or feel anything like an SVT. I do have my M9 dialed in to be a bit closer, but I am using one of the voicing filters and some pretty aggressive shaping with the graphic EQ and compressor...all features the MBF800 lacks. I suspect the Mesa WD-800 would be capable of getting a lot closer since it has a variable HPF and an extremely powerful EQ. If I was in the market for a new relatively light-weight head the first one I would check out the WD-800.

I didn't have that experience.
I tried an M6 in a store and it sounded very different than the GK (to me).
One thing that is interesting is that the price of a M6 or M9 has not gone done very much on the used market in spite of being heavy and and older model. One of these days I'll own one!

 

[Wasnex]

One thing that is interesting is that the price of a M6 or M9 has not gone done very much on the used market in spite of being heavy and and older model. One of these days I'll own one!

Used prices for Carbines have started to drop recently. If you want a warmer sound, I suggest looking at the Titan or one of the other Simul-State amps. The Carbines tend to be extremely bright and aggressive. Nice if you are into that sort of thing, but obnoxious and hard to dial out if you are not.