Vanderkley are better than Barefaced cabs, right?!

[silverfoxnik]

On 26/03/2021 at 14:44, scrumpymike said:

Here's what I posted on the 'New Mesa Subway Head' topic.  Not too much of substance on there but the TT800 topic on Talkbass is well worth a look if you've got a couple of weeks to spare - it's massive and includes a huge number of extremely informative posts by designer Andy ('Agedhorse')

"When choosing a bass amp, there’s always an element of compromise.  As a gigging musician, I have to look (well, listen mainly) for one that has a broad enough palette of tonal colours for the different kinds of music I play in diverse bands.  That’s the practical side of things, but it’s not all.  Like most bass players, I also carry within me that ‘holy grail’ sound that lives somewhere in the magic triangle between my head, my heart and my soul and grew from a seed that was planted in my teenage years.  This personal ‘gold standard’ is an emotional rather than practical aspect – but it’s an equally important requirement that has to be adequately addressed by my amp of choice.  In my case, I guess you would describe it as warm and round but at the same time punchy and coherent enough to cut through the live mix.  So, that’s the starting point for my subjective review of the TT-800.

The amp I sold to make space for the TT-800 was a Subway D800+, which in turn replaced a D800.  Both of these were extremely capable, much loved, and tough acts to follow.  However, the respect I have for Mesa Engineering after gigging those two amps together with the glowing reports from Talkbass forum members led me to expect even more from the TT-800.  Another factor for me was my liking for the GK MB800 Fusion that served as back-up for my earlier Subways.  I loved it for its punchy delivery and valve flavour but it was just too lively for me.  My reasoning was that the addition of valve goodness to Mesa’s signature voicing would be just what I needed – and so it has turned out to be.

The design brief for the TT-800 was for a two-channel amp that combined the best of the D800+ (the Subway channel) with the much-loved tones of yesteryear’s Boogie 400+.  Sounds like a great trick if you can do it!  So did Mesa manage to pull it off?

I’ll start with what I’m familiar with, namely the D800+-inspired Subway channel.  The short answer is yes!  On this channel, you get all of the D800+ positives enhanced with that subtle valve colouring.  The features that were game-changers on the ‘plus’ upgrade of the D800 are also present and correct on the TT, namely: the high-pass filter and the high and low boost switches.  You truly would have to work hard to get bad sounds out of this channel.

The Boogie channel is new to me, never having heard the classic 400+.  My initial feeling is that this is a great rock amp offering authentic classic valve tones with all the usable sweet overdrive that I will ever need – and then some.  For my purposes, it is the ideal partner to the Subway channel.

I could go on about some of the more subtle features of this amp (and probably will do at a later date) but don’t want to comment further until I have used it at gig volumes – or even at actual gigs!  We and our adoring public remain hopeful.

Last of all, I can’t sign off without mentioning a couple of arguably trivial aspects of my TT-800 purchasing experience.  My amp arrived 6 months after I placed my order with Andertons Music and had obviously spent much of that time outside Mesa’s control.  I must say I was expecting the worst (it’s called the covid mindset) and was pleasantly surprised when the carton arrived looking like it left the factory the day before.  Top marks to Mesa for their packaging.  Inside the box, there was clear evidence that this is a company that cares.  The wire wraps used to close the internal packets had been carefully – almost decoratively – tied in a way that would do credit to Harrods’ gift-wrapping department.  Inside them I found a headphone adapter socket, a set of thick felt insulation pads to go between the amp’s rubber feet and your cab’s, the best user manual I have ever come across – and a wonderful black card hand-signed in white marker by no less than 14 members of the assembly and inspection teams.  I can’t derive names from all the signatures but you all know who you are and, in case you ever read this, I salute you.  We all know it’s often the little things that tell the true story."

FYI, my background amp wise is:  TE for many years, then more recently Ashdown, Eden, TC Elec, G-K, G-B, Darkglass, Ampeg then various Mesa amps as described above.

Bit late to this thread but I've got to say, what a fantastic post @scrumpymike 👏👏👏