Mesa Subway D-800 vs Thunderfunk TFB 800-B2

gregbackstrom

gregbackstrom

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Feb 3, 2005
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#1
I had some fun this evening comparing these two heads. I found them to be surprisingly similar!

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Obviously the Mesa head is much lighter and way less expensive, but it definitely held its own in this comparison. I preferred the TFB 800-B2's B string response. Pitch definition of the lowest notes seemed to be greater, especially with the limiter engaged. The D-800 seems to be a bit cleaner and more open-sounding, with less "grunt." These are both GREAT-sounding, really powerful amps!
 
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#3
After seeing your post this morning, I plugged my TFB750 into my Hathor 1203s and had a blast. Still a great, great head. You can really dial in some great tones with it.

I guess we are in a different age now with all the powerful, inexpensive heads available now. I carry a TH500 in my gig backpack as a spare to my Monique rig. But I plan on keeping the Thunderfunk heads. They are keepers!
 
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#7
I've got a 550B and have noticed its low end is tighter and clearer than any other amp I've tried, short of pre/power rigs. But it's a bit clean and dark to me. I wish there was an amp with the low end control of the TF, and the grit/brightness of a GK. That to me would be perfection.
 
#8
gregbackstrom said:
I had some fun this evening comparing these two heads. I found them to be surprisingly similar!

View attachment 729337

Obviously the Mesa head is much lighter and way less expensive, but it definitely held its own in this comparison. I preferred the TFB 800-B2's B string response. Pitch definition of the lowest notes seemed to be greater, especially with the limiter engaged. The D-800 seems to be a bit cleaner and more open-sounding, with less "grunt." These are both GREAT-sounding, really powerful amps!
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Just wanted to say thanks for the opinions and views of the two amps. I've been a predominantly combo set up guy at home, as I play at a church with 4 campuses. That being said, I've played the Ampeg Classic running the classic refrigerator, a GK MB550 fusion with GK neo 410, Ampeg PF-500 and neo 410 and a MarkBass 210 combo with a 115 secondary. My previous home rig was a Hartke 210 combo with the LH500 head. By industry standards all of these were great rigs. But I recently had the opportunity to run two of my Spectors NS2 and Forte5 through the Mesa D-800 with a powerhouse 410. It felt like I had never heard my basses before that moment. I made an impulse buy, and I'm glade to see that it was more than an impulse but an investment in my sound. So thank you again for the rundown.
 
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#9
David Jayne said:
I've got a 550B and have noticed its low end is tighter and clearer than any other amp I've tried, short of pre/power rigs. But it's a bit clean and dark to me. I wish there was an amp with the low end control of the TF, and the grit/brightness of a GK. That to me would be perfection.
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I've heard the Peavey MiniMega is very good in both regards, but I haven't played one myself yet.
 
#10
David Jayne said:
I've got a 550B and have noticed its low end is tighter and clearer than any other amp I've tried, short of pre/power rigs. But it's a bit clean and dark to me. I wish there was an amp with the low end control of the TF, and the grit/brightness of a GK. That to me would be perfection.
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Agreed! I haven't found an amp that effectively combines the TFB low end and the GK high end. Using the TFB with basses and cabs with strong highs gets me most of the way there, though.
 
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#12
This is an intriguing comparison. I'm dabbling with some higher-power class D heads (DNA 1350; Genz Benz Shuttle 9.2), but when each is compared my Thunderfunk 750 (800 specs), the T-Funk just seems more present and louder, even with a good bit less wattage supposedly at it's disposal.

However, in crawling through TB, I see folks describing the sound of the Subway in ways that resemble my experience with the Thunderfunk, particularly concerning the perception of more volume. I do believe the T-funk projects the sense of volume for a number of reasons, but one of them is the decision to to lose the lowest end of the frequency range, therefore concentrating power in an area we associate with punch….and now I'm suspecting the Subway also works this vein.

Net net - gotta get my hands on a Subway...
 
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#13
David Jayne said:
I've got a 550B and have noticed its low end is tighter and clearer than any other amp I've tried, short of pre/power rigs. But it's a bit clean and dark to me. I wish there was an amp with the low end control of the TF, and the grit/brightness of a GK. That to me would be perfection.
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Do you know about the 'gold chip' mod ?? It an op-amp upgrade from TL072 to NE3052 (?) IIRC, it really opens up the top end.
Tobias/SS rounds -> TF550A/gold chip -> Berg CN212 sounds plenty bright to me. :thumbsup:
 
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#15
My go to is an Aguilar TH500, but I've had a Thunderfunk since 2007, first a 550 then the 750 (with 800 mod) and I'm still loving the sound. The TF still gets a run out pretty regularly.

I also have a D800, which doesn't get gigged at all I'm afraid. I've just not bonded with it.
 
#16
Very interesting topic. I was wondering if there were compromises with the class D amps. Good amps are/used to be double or more the price of what the class D amps are now. Are we sacrificing some quality of tone for size and price? It looks like it. Will anybody notice in a live gig? Perhaps just us :)
 
#17
matti777 said:
Very interesting topic. I was wondering if there were compromises with the class D amps. Good amps are/used to be double or more the price of what the class D amps are now. Are we sacrificing some quality of tone for size and price? It looks like it. Will anybody notice in a live gig? Perhaps just us :)
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Really, just very different approaches rather than compromises. That and reaping the benefits of years of huge investments in accelerating SMPS/class D technology.
 
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#18
Per # 12 above, I recently copped a Subway 800+, and had an hour with it alternating with my Tfunk 750A (upped to 800 specs). There really is strong similarity in their basic sonic signature, particularly in the way they project a sense of volume and heft into a room. Playing with the HPF on the 800+ demonstrates something I've read before, but not fully comprehended - the extent to which the Tfunk voicing does not extend as low as some other amps, but in turn this voicing choice seems to lend clarity, with no real loss of oomph, in the B-string range.

I'd have to say the T-funk still has a bit more character than the 800+…but I have to use audiophile words like "transparency" and "envelope" to express the difference…and I'm not so sure the difference is critical in a band context. I've now had the 800+ out the door a few times and it's sounded real good, especially yoked to a Fearless f112 for fretless playing. And there were times when I actually preferred the 800+ approach as being a bit more forgiving of my own technical lapses with respect to playing cleanly on fretted - volume of attacks just seemed more even.

Net net - my Tfunk remains a keeper, and the 800+ is looking that way as well…they both do something very, very right in the way of presenting a basic tone/timbre that is both warm and clear.
 
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