Review of Mesa Boogie Subway Amp and Does It Have a Tube Sound
Mesa/Boogie unveils a class-D powerhouse for bassists that delivers large sounds from a graceful, lightweight parcel.
Information technology might surprise some that the first amp produced past Mesa/Boogie—a company widely known for offerings for guitarists—was a bass amp. Dubbed the Mesa 450 and clad in silverish snakeskin, information technology was the very first amp built from scratch by company founder Randall Smith nether the Mesa name. And the blueprint concepts of its monster power section accept influenced those of nearly every loftier-wattage bass amp that Mesa has released since. With the new Subway D-800, however, the company decided to take a dissimilar route—one that eschewed traditional tube-based circuitry for modern class-D blueprint. The result is an amp with impressive clarity, power, and definition that lives up to its storied pedigree, all within a pint-sized packet.
Take the "D" Train
The D-800's form-D power amp provides a heady 800 watts without adding inapplicable majority. The D-800 weighs in at only v 1/2 pounds, making it nowhere near the backbreaker that an all-tube amp with the aforementioned wattage would generally be. Simply slide it into its included padded purse, a gig bag, or a backpack, and y'all're skilful to go.
Operating the amp is delightfully unproblematic. Direct to the right of the one/4" input jack is a trio of switches: an output mute, a -10 dB input pad for active pickups, and a deep switch for fattening the amp's low terminate. Information technology doesn't take much try to attain over and flip a switch, but I wouldn't complain if the mute and deep modes were footswitchable on future versions of the amp. The amp'due south tones are sculpted by a 4-band EQ section with controls for bass, low- and high-midrange frequencies, and treble, forth with knobs for setting the input gain and maneuvering between flat and boosted voicings. When the voicing dial is prepare to the far left, the amp has a apartment frequency response. Turning it further to the correct provides a gradual heave to the highs and lows, resulting in a mid-scooped audio.
If you're worried the D-800 is going to win you more enemies than friends behind the local club'due south sound booth, you shouldn't be.
The amp's rear panel houses two Speakon jacks with a switch for selecting either 2-ohm or 4/8-ohm loads. The amp will maintain its maximum rating of 800 watts when used with 2- or 4-ohm speaker loads, only the rating lowers to 400 watts when it's in use with an 8-ohm load. In that location'due south a direct output section that contains a phantom ability protected XLR out tied to switches for selecting post or pre EQ, line or microphone levels, and ground-pin lifting. At that place'south as well a pair of i/4" jacks for connecting an auxiliary device and a set up of headphones for confined-to-the-bedroom jamming.
The matching Subway Ultra-Low-cal 1x12 and 1x15 cabs we received are built from Italian poplar and feature peculiarly tuned Tri-Port porting with aviation-style bracing. The 400-watt cabs are wrapped in Mesa's traditional black-bronco vinyl and outfitted with a custom neodymium speaker and high-frequency horn with a +/- ii dB rotary attenuator. Weighing in at a hair shy of 33 and 38 pounds, respectively, these cabs are some of the lightest Mesa has ever produced.
Transit Line Potency
After connecting the 1x12 and 1x15 cabinets to the D-800, I plugged in a Fender Precision and prepare the EQ and voicing controls to noon. Fifty-fifty with the input and principal knobs conservatively ready to 10 o'clock, the rig packed quite a wallop. The annotation separation and squeaky-clean clarity Mesa bass amps are known for was at that place in spades, but with a response that was more even than I've experienced from their amps in the past.
Ratings
Pros:
Lightweight and extremely portable. Gobs of ability at the ready. Fantastic tones and versatility with simple controls. Approachable price bespeak.
Cons:
Footswitchable mute and deep modes would be ideal additions.
Tones:
Ease of Employ:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$699
Ratings
Pros:
Excellent projection and superb book. Very low-cal and well built.
Cons:
Pricey.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$649 street
Mesa/Boogie Subway D-800 Head & Ultra-Lite 1x12
mesaboogie.com
The highs responded with an authoritative snap when I used a choice, and their edginess backed off naturally when I used my fingers to softly pluck melodic lines. In contrast, the lows were smooth and felt like they reached through the flooring—and then much and then that I could hear objects rattling confronting the walls in the next room. If you're worried the D-800 is going to win you more enemies than friends behind the local club's audio booth, you shouldn't exist. The amp is capable of achieving the same responsiveness and fullness at lower volumes through careful adjustments with the input and master knobs.
The D-800's voicing command wields the most power for shaping tones. There's a wealth of genre-specific sounds living within either side of its range, spanning from mid-heavy rock grind and jazz warmth on the flat side, to scooped and springy funk-friendly slap tones towards its boosted range. Keeping the EQ knobs pointed directly up, I easily dialed in great tones befitting the aforementioned styles with the voicing control lonely. (I used the EQ controls to tweak to taste later.) Every bit like shooting fish in a barrel peasy as that sounds—and actually, information technology was that easy—there was a noticeable loss of warmth in the mids when I fix the voicing knob beyond 2 o'clock. I fixed this issue with no fuss by simply turning up the input slightly to thicken upwardly the tone and round off the highs a little, and then lowering the master volume.
One of the all-time qualities of the D-800 is how well the EQ controls are voiced. I found that the high- and low-mid controls—when used separately—had a subtle yet efficient result on the tone. For example, while about maxing out the high-mid knob with the low-mid control remaining at noon yielded a fair corporeality of extra upper-midrange, it wasn't to an obnoxious level. Having used so many amps that offer like midrange controls with higher ranges that are, quite frankly, unusable in many situations, this careful voicing was refreshing. The shape of the midrange frequencies is incredibly important within a bass tone, and the D-800's controls are simple and effective enough to both satisfy seasoned players and teach novices how to employ them capably to achieve strong, full tones that sit down well in a mix.
The Ultra-Light 1x12 and 1x15 delivered plenty of volume and ability—more than than enough for small- and mid-sized clubs. The neo speakers pushed a lot of air, even when I had the amp at lower volumes inside the 9 and 11 o'clock range. Their horns projected nicely without any harshness, and never once succumbed to farting out at loftier volumes. Again, what impressed me the most was how uncommonly well they carried the low cease through the floor of the room. The changes in resonance, volume, and low-end thickness I felt from just irresolute between lite and heavy fingerpicking made the rig feel alive and breathing. Ultimately, the Ultra-Lites are merely great cabs that have the volume and projection of some others twice their size.
The Verdict
For bassists in the market place for a portable high-powered amp that delivers clean and administrative tones at whatsoever volume, the Subway D-800 is an fantabulous option that covers all of those bases and more than. Its request price of 700 bones should be relatively easier to swallow for budget-conscience bassists looking to adopt a Boogie amplifier into their rigs, merely adding in the cost of the as exceptional 1x12 and 1x15 cabs might make some opt for the head just. All that said, this new amp/cab combination from Mesa/Boogie is one to be reckoned with.
Watch the Review Demo:
Source: https://www.premierguitar.com/mesa-boogie-subway-d-800-subway-ultra-lite-cabinets-review