Very nice run down.So, I spent some time at church last night, primarily for rehearsals but also to compare the Mesa Subway Di to the Tonehammer Di.
A very interesting evening with some quite surprising results, I was expecting the Mesa to walk all over the Tonehammer…
I played the first few songs with the Mesa and then swapped to the Tonehammer.
The in ear tone both flat with no AGS and with AGS engaged and my settings was much easier to live with and dare I say it more musical and more mix friendly.
I stayed behind after rehearsal and did some A/B work with them playing around with different HPF settings on the desk and realised these two boxes are poles apart sound wise.
The Subway DI
Lower DI signal by around 8 db I reckon. Massive bass and low mid push compare to the Aguilar. A very immediate forceful slam when playing notes and what I can only describe as a hardness to the sound. Maybe similarities to the Carbine?
The Tonehammer DI by comparison in either mode sounds a lot softer and friendlier. It is warm but also crystal clear and with the AGS engaged and my settings, sounds perfect in a mix. It is well publicised that the Tonehammer DI has a significant roll off in the low and high end with AGS engaged, what was interesting was just how much sub low end content still comes through. The difference between HPF set at 30hz and 40hz was significant and I found myself being really happy with it at 30hz. The Mesa by comparison had to be rolled off from 40hz to give anything like the clarity to the low end that the Tonehammer delivered.
Maybe the 18v helps, maybe it is just a voicing thing or even a combination of the 2.
Anyway, ramble over, hope some of you find that interesting or helpful.
My conclusion is that for me and for the mix at our church the Tonehammer DI is simply in a different league, it is still after all these years a stunning piece of kit that delivers the goods and more than holds its own against newer shinier trendier boxes.
I run a TH500 into a Mesa Subway 2x10 at home and honestly it's overkill lol. But that combo is what made me get the Tone Hammer pedal as my pedalboard base.Great read.
My local guitar tech shop (Lull Guitarworks) has a TH500 head and GS410 cabinet in their showroom.
Simply stunning straight into the head, no pedals.
What are you using for a HPF?