dmccombe7

9 songs in an originals power trio doesn't seem enough to gig with. You need to be looking at 2hrs worth of material to gig unless its a support act or a shared gig with other bands. I normally allow 6mths to get a start up band gigging. I'll wait a year if the band are excellent and i'm enjoying it enough but if no sign of arranging gigs or preparing for it you have to ask yourself if its what you really want from a band. My current band is about 8mths into rehearsing altho its been a very inconsistent rehearsal regime due to other band comitments from them. That was made clear at start of the year that they had bookings with other bands and we would need to work around that until bookings are clear and slowed down a bit. You simply need to sit and think about what you want from a band and base your decision on that. Hopefully it works out for you. Dave

WOW they're a great buy.

I have a full DMX system including desk. Its complete overkill on my part as you say. All you really need is some slow/fast change or sound to light units. I use my desk mainly to control effects lighting ie lasers, projectors, scanners and smoke machines but some of the effects lights can be operated remotely with a battery operated hand control. Same with most smoke machines they will have a remote controller either with cable or battery operated hand held. I bought it back in 2011 and was really into visuals for the band. Also gave my wife something to do when she was at the gigs. Its a lot of reading to get your head round how the DMX actually works plus programming outputs to faders or having one fader control various faders to set scenes but as i said its all total overkill. Have to say my wife was always being asked about the lighting desk as other bands didn't use them. Either that or they were chatting her up You can set the various normal LED lights with one controlling the others but what i did find that different manufacturers use slightly different channels for certain things and it all gets quite confusing very quickly. KEEP IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE would be my advice Dave

https://www.astounded.com/shop/american-dj-profile-panel-rgba-led-colour-wash-panel/ Depends how much you want to pay i guess but these seem ok for the money. There are higher powered ones but they are £235 each Dave

Thanks Steve that's an honest answer and its more or less what i was expecting and what i have heard listening to as many VID clips as i can of all Mesa gear and comparing between them. The weight thing is not a major factor for me. I'm still able to carry a reasonable weight. I've been looking at some of the 2nd hand Mpulse 600 and Big Blck amp heads that are selling for half the price of a D800+. The Powerhouse 212 or 210 with a 115 cab i could quite happily get along with and again they are selling at ridiculously low prices on the 2nd hand market. I'm currently selling off a lot of gear i've collected over past 10 yrs that i no longer use and i'll be keeping an eye open for good 2nd hand buys and if that fails i'll maybe bite the bullet and go the full Subway rig. Unfortunately the local shops and Mesa dealers up here don't stock the Subway range and i'm not able to trial it Really apreciate your reply along with few others who have responded. Thanks again Dave

Did the D800 come across as having the same warm tube sound that i tend to associate with Mesa ? With your extensive experience and knowledge of Mesa Steve what is your preference or fav Mesa amp excluding the £3k top of the range all tube head of course. Thinking more in the Mpulse, Carbine, Walkabout, Big Block and D800 territory. Would you change over to the Subway rig from your normal Mesa rig. I see you already have 2off the Subway 15 cabs so curious why you haven't gone for the D800 head. Sorry for all the questions Steve but you are probably one of the best people to ask knowing your amp history. That and the fact i've found your general comments to be honest, straight to the point and always worth reading. Dave

They expect bass to be there but not generally in your face whereas the singer and guitarist should be out there showing off what they don't have or can't do while the bass and drums hold it all rock steady.

Is the walkabout not just a smaller Mpulse head with less parametric control. ?

I like the idea of the lightweight gear and its a big attraction but its the tone i want first or as close to it as possible. I've been lugging an Ampeg SVT4 Pro about for some gigs but its just too unreliable. The weight isn't the main focus. I'd be happy with the MPulse 600 i was looking at with a decent cab but rather than lugging my Berg HT322 about i'd be looking more towards the Powerhouse 1x15 and either a Powerhouse 2x10 on top. Other option might be the Powerhouse 2x12 cab on its own. Not loked into those much tho. Currently using a lightweight Markbass rig but the tone just isn't there. Tried the MB amp head thru my HT322 cab and it was a complete change in tone from the amp which just confirmed my thinking that the small lightweight cabs just don't do it for me. Thanks fro help guys Dave

I'm on the FB forum for local buy and sell gear too.. Will keep an eye open for a 2nd hand one. Dave

It was the MPulse 600 that was for sale on here but its too far to travel and not keen on posting so not an option but it looked great and had a few things i quite liked in an amp. I have a Bergantino HT322 cab (1x12, 2x10's and a horn) so its a bit of a beast to carry too. Match that with my GK1001RBii and its loud and powerful but not warm and tube sounding. If i went for the Mpulse i might go for a 410 cab on castors or a good lightweight option 410 I just like the idea of a lighter option hence the Subway range. Can't try it as none of the shops up here actually have them in stock all at same time. Could try the amp but not a cab or i could try one of the cabs but not the amp. Pretty poor for Mesa dealers IMO. Thanks for the reply tho. All help appreciated. Dave

From what i've read from the designer the D800 was designed to emulate a combination of the Mpulse and Carbine tone. That was from the other forum that he answers most questions on the thread. I was recently thinking of going for the Mpulse rather than the D800+ mainly because of the cost but i like the idea of the lightweight. I know there are guys out there that had the standard amps and changed and was just wondering what they thought about both amps. I like that valve preamp tone but not a fan of the weight on the full valve heads Dave

Has anyone gone from standard Mesa gear to the D800 / D800+ Subway range. Does the Subway range have the same or similar tone to the Powerhouse cabs or MPulse or Carbine or Big Block range. ? Does it have that depth of tone, warmth and "girth" of tone being the best description that tubes bring to the table. ? Just thought i'd ask see what people think. Dave

I've been following the other thread on the other forum too. From what i can gather and i don't have Mesa gear .....YET :- The standard clip LED on the input is the same as most other amps but the output has a limit LED that takes the amp into output tube simulation. According to the designer i think he said you ideally want that running at 25% on to get a tube ouput tone. Problem is the amp has to be very loud to get there. Think some guys have answered that issue by doing something with the 2 ohm switch in some way.

Try listening to Jack Bruce solo albums many of which had Gary Moore on guitar. BBM album Around the Next Dream is pretty good. Bruce Baker Moore with some nice rock bass cutting thru on some tracks. Also Hughes & Thrall album of same name Here's a track from the album Or Glenn Hughes solo here's a great song called Liar. Not Hughes playing bass on this. Its the bassist from Europe John Leven (pronounced Levene)

That's the only one i know off where the bass is so clear and prominent. You could try Blizzard of Oz albums Diary of a Madman with Bob Daisley on bass. Couple of songs i really like from that era with Bob are S.A.T.O. and Crazy Train If i can think of anymore i'll let you know. Standard tuning on Crazy Train if i remember right. Not sure about S.A.T.O. Music on Ultimate Guitar if it helps too Bass Tip :- Crazy Train verse count 5 beats on the A before doing the little run down. Have fun. Dave

One of my mates has an OR120 in his recording studio. Its never gigged by him as he reckons its too old and could be unreliable but what a bloomin tone it has. I tried one day i was in his studio with my Jazz bass and it was deep, smooth with clear mids but the presence it had. So hard to describe but just the sweetest, mellow bass tone i've ever had. I even considered buying an Orange head to match the Orange rig i have but never got round to it. Wishing you all the best with that and keep us up to date on how it sounds to you. Dave

I have a Rush music book that i came across several yrs ago and much of Moving Pictures is in it. Would need to go look it out for corect name tho. Last time i looked at it was to learn Tom Sawyer for a band jam session and YYZ just for a bit of fun. Most of this you should get on line. I got the H&H album tracks on Ultimate Guitar site. Gave me the bass tabs and i think it tells you how the bass was tuned.

WOW i had no idea. Cheers for that. Still a brilliant album IMHO Dave

Now that's really quite interesting. The bass parts stood out from everything else Sabbath had ever done that i know off yet some of the bass runs are similar to what Geezer would play. Think in earlier Sabbath the bass was hidden back in the mix rather than forward like H&H album so now its really got me wondering. Does anyone else have any insight into this ? I'm not generally a Sabbath fan and only occasionally listened to them until i heard the H&H album which is the only one i've ever thought was a classic album for me. Not everyone will agree on that but its just my own personal opinion of course Dave

Bass is detuned to Eb on that album just in case you were trying to learn it straight from the album. Think this was Geezer at his very best. Pretty sure it was a custom Jaydee bass he used on it. Dave