Available Now at Northeast Music Center!
Tube warmth, exceptional tonal control, and genuine professional power in a remarkably portable package. Pairing the MESA/Boogie Subway WD-800 with the Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 creates a compact MESA bass rig that's easy to transport without sacrificing the response, articulation, and authority serious players expect.
The MESA/Boogie Subway WD-800 combines a two-stage Class A tube preamp featuring a genuine MESA 12AT7 with a lightweight Class D power section capable of 800 watts at 4 or 2 ohms and 400 watts at 8 ohms. The Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 is an 8-ohm, 400-watt RMS cabinet, making this single-cabinet configuration a beautifully matched 400-watt bass rig.
Available from Northeast Music Center, this package is an excellent choice for working bassists who want real MESA character and professional capability without hauling a traditional heavyweight bass stack.
• MESA/Boogie Subway WD-800 Bass Amplifier Head
• MESA/Boogie Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 Bass Cabinet
• 400 watts into the included 8-ohm cabinet
• WD-800 capable of 800W @ 4Ω or 2Ω / 400W @ 8Ω
• Two-stage Class A vacuum-tube preamp
• 1 × MESA 12AT7 preamp tube
• Lightweight Class D power section
• Variable 25Hz–125Hz High-Pass Filter
• Fully active 5-band EQ architecture
• Selectable/bypassable 3-band semi-parametric EQ
• Passive Mid control
• Variable Power Amp Damping
• Balanced XLR DI
• Fully buffered series effects loop
• Tuner output with Play/Mute switching
• Subway Neodymium 12" speaker
• High-frequency horn with premium attenuator
• Tuned front-ported Tri-Porting™ cabinet design
• 400-watt RMS cabinet power handling
• 8-ohm cabinet impedance
• 97.5dB average sensitivity
• 124dB maximum SPL
• Lightweight Italian poplar cabinet construction
• Cabinet fitted slipcover included
• WD-800 gig bag with shoulder strap included
• Built in Petaluma, California
The WD-800 is much more than another lightweight Class D bass amplifier.
MESA developed it to combine the portability and tremendous power of the Subway platform with the richer, more harmonically complex personality players loved about the earlier WalkAbout.
At the front of the amplifier is a genuine:
MESA 12AT7
operating in a:
Two-Stage Class A Vacuum-Tube Preamp.
That tube circuitry helps give the WD-800 its warmth, dimension, and organic response before the signal reaches the high-powered Class D output section.
The result is a lightweight amplifier that still has a personality.
It's important that we represent this package correctly.
The Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 is:
8 Ohms
and the WD-800 produces:
400 Watts @ 8 Ohms.
So this particular WD-800/1x12 combination operates as a 400-watt single-cabinet system.
That's substantial power from such a compact rig.
And the cabinet itself is rated at 400 watts RMS thermal and mechanical power handling, making it an especially logical match for the amplifier in this configuration.
MESA calls the 1x12 its most compact Subway cabinet, but there's nothing lightweight about its intended performance.
Inside is a highly responsive and efficient Subway Neodymium 12-inch driver, combined with a dedicated high-frequency horn.
The enclosure uses MESA's tuned front-ported Tri-Porting™ architecture, lightweight Italian poplar construction, and aircraft-style bracing to achieve substantial output without the unnecessary weight associated with traditional bass cabinetry.
The result is exactly what a compact bass cabinet should be:
Responsive.
Articulate.
Full sounding.
Easy to move.
Here's where the Subway 1x12 becomes particularly attractive.
The cabinet weighs just:
32.9 lbs.
The WD-800 weighs:
7 lbs.
That puts the complete amplifier and cabinet at approximately:
39.9 lbs.
Think about that for a moment.
The entire 400-watt tube-preamp bass rig weighs less than 40 pounds.
For a bassist loading equipment into clubs, rehearsal rooms, recording studios, churches, or theaters several times a week, that matters.
A lot.
Compact doesn't mean incapable.
MESA rates the Subway 1x12 at:
97.5dB average sensitivity
and:
124dB maximum SPL at 1 meter.
Its published frequency response extends beyond 12kHz, while the tuned enclosure reaches down to an F10 point of 41.5Hz.
That's serious performance from a cabinet measuring only:
15.25" H × 19.25" W × 18.25" D.
For smaller and medium-sized venues, one Subway 1x12 may be all the cabinet many players need.
The 1x12 also includes a dedicated high-frequency horn with premium attenuation control.
That's particularly useful for:
Active basses.
Slap and pop techniques.
Fresh roundwound strings.
Pick attack.
Extended-range instruments.
Effects-heavy rigs.
Want the full articulation and upper-frequency detail?
Bring the horn up.
Prefer something warmer and more traditional?
Pull it back.
You decide how much high-frequency information becomes part of the cabinet's overall personality.
The WD-800 gives you considerably more control than a traditional Bass/Mid/Treble amplifier.
Its EQ architecture includes:
Bass
Passive Mid
Treble
plus a selectable/bypassable:
3-Band Semi-Parametric EQ
with frequency ranges covering:
80Hz–1kHz
150Hz–2.5kHz
300Hz–5kHz.
The active EQ provides up to ±12dB of adjustment.
That means you're not simply making the bass brighter, darker, or bassier.
You can identify the frequencies that determine how your instrument interacts with the room and shape them precisely.
The WD-800 also provides a continuously variable:
25Hz–125Hz High-Pass Filter.
This can be incredibly useful with a compact cabinet.
The HPF lets you reduce unnecessary extreme low-frequency information before it consumes amplifier power and speaker excursion.
It can help:
Tighten the bottom end
Control a boomy room
Increase clarity
Protect usable headroom
and:
Help the cabinet work more efficiently.
It's one of those professional features that becomes increasingly valuable once you've learned how to use it.
This is one of the WD-800's standout features.
MESA's Variable Power Amp Damping control changes how the power amplifier interacts with the loudspeaker.
At LOW, MESA describes the response as looser, more relaxed, and blooming—reminiscent of tube power.
Move toward HIGH, and the low end becomes tighter, punchier, and more accurately controlled.
MEDIUM blends characteristics of the two.
This isn't simply another tone control.
You're changing the feel of the amplifier and cabinet working together.
That's a sophisticated feature for a bass head weighing only seven pounds.
The WD-800 is equally comfortable on a stage where the PA is doing much of the heavy lifting.
A balanced XLR Direct Output provides:
Pre/Post selection
Line/Mic level selection
and:
Ground Lift.
That means the 1x12 can provide your personal stage sound while the WD-800 feeds a professional signal directly to front of house.
In many modern venues, that's an ideal setup.
This may be the biggest advantage of choosing the WD-800 instead of buying an amplifier designed only around a small single-cabinet system.
Today, you can run:
WD-800 + Subway 1x12 = 400 Watts @ 8 Ohms.
Need a larger rig later?
The WD-800 is capable of:
800 Watts @ 4 Ohms
and:
800 Watts @ 2 Ohms.
MESA specifically designed the Subway 1x12 so it can work alone or be combined with another 1x12, a Subway 1x15, or larger Subway cabinet formats, provided proper impedance requirements are observed.
So you're not buying a small rig that you'll necessarily outgrow.
You're buying the smallest configuration of a much larger modular system.
Both the WD-800 and Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 are built in Petaluma, California.
The amplifier uses a lightweight aluminum chassis.
The cabinet uses lightweight Italian poplar.
The speaker uses a Neodymium magnet.
Every part of the system reflects the same basic idea:
Remove unnecessary weight without removing professional performance.
That's exactly why we like this combination at Northeast Music Center.
There's a lot to be said for a bass rig that sounds great.
There's even more to be said for one that sounds great and doesn't make you dread load-in.
The WD-800 weighs seven pounds.
The 1x12 weighs 32.9 pounds.
The amp comes with its own gig bag.
The cabinet comes with its fitted slipcover.
You can have the complete system out of the car and into the venue remarkably quickly.
And once you're there, you've still got a real tube preamp, sophisticated EQ, variable damping, professional DI, and 400 watts driving a serious MESA 12-inch cabinet.
At Northeast Music Center, that's what makes this package so appealing.
Compact doesn't have to mean compromised.
One 12AT7. One Neodymium 12. 400 watts. Less than 40 pounds for the complete amp-and-cabinet system.
That's a lot of MESA bass rig in a very manageable package.
Northeast Music Center is a full line Music retailer located in Northeast Pennsylvania- We are an Authorized Mesa Boogie Dealer and purchase these products direct from MESA HEADQUARTERS IN PETALUMA CALIFORNIA. We do not obtain our MESA AMPLIFIERS or other MESA products from "jobbers" or other dealers. Our MESA AMPLIFIERS AND CABINETS come to you in the factory boxes with factory packing material. We will, upon request, and also randomly, open the box prior to shipping to check that all contents are included and that no damage has been found in shipping from MESA to our Store location. Northeast Music Center does reserve the right to sell these products in our store to daily walk in customers. It is our goal to always have this product in stock and if for any reason we sell out, we will reorder immediately as long as this MESA AMPLIFIER is currently produced for resale by the company. We will order the amplifier in a ample quantity to fill your order. It is our goal to make your experience a good one; We invite you to ask any and all questions about this product. Please do not purchase this item if you can not pay. This is a new Mesa with full 5 Year factory warranty to the Original Owner. 3 Year Warranty on Speakers.
