Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket..?

Hello everyone, new guy around here a friend of mine from some states away is selling his Subway rocket for around 300 bucks and i'm curious about it because at the moment i happen to be lacking a good amp. So the question is..or are really haha.. What does this amp sound like or resembles even? because i've been looking clips/videos/info and there's almost nothing about these little bastards. if it serves for anything, I play everything from Jazz to Veil of maya and so on (yeah, the trendy djent djent blablah thingy) thats why i'm wondering if this amp will suit my needs, even with a boost on front.. and there's a slight posibility that if i get it, i'll take it to a friend's workshop to mod it closer to the mark series (GEQ included and what not) and maybe if it's possible, adding two more EL84s for Higher wattage

Thanks in advance

Here's a starting point for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcdtxhU7LXk

Matt

If you are trying to do jazz, just know that there is very little clean headroom on the Subways. It won't be clean hanging with a drummer, unless you have a quiet drummer. Great blues amps, but not for Jazz, and not for much above classic rock levels of gain, IMO.

Thanks for the info guys does anyone know how much alike this amp sounds to the Caliber/Mark Series? i always wondered

In my limited experience with it (i.e. demoing/kicking the tires), it has more of a DC tone on the OD channel. It's the shared EQ that makes it a deal breaker for me. Of course, YMMV. :wink:

Matt

What the others said about clean headroom... not much, even though it's loud when overdriven. Adding two extra tubes is a non-starter on an amp like this even if it would make any difference, which it won't - the output power is limited by the transformers and power supply components, not the tubes. It's far more work than it could ever be worth, even if there is enough space to fit them, which there may not be. You would also need a 4-ohm speaker to match a 4-tube set-up in it, without replacing the OT... or you would probably even get *less* power because of the mismatch - and if you were going to go as far as replacing the transformers (both) as well to cure these problems you would be better just to buy a DC-3 or something.

Adding an internal GEQ is also pointless, even if possible - just run a pedal in the loop. It's a good enough amp for what it is, don't hack it up trying to make it something it's not and can't be.

The Power transformer of my Subway is somewhat damaged, i'll take the chance to get one more powerful and upgrade to a Mercury Transformer, i guess that'll do, right?

No, you would need to change the output transformer (and add the other two tubes) as well to get more power. A higher spec power transformer might give you a slightly tighter response and maybe a *little* more clean headroom (because the amp doesn't sag as much when pushed) and isn't a bad thing at all, but it won't give you a really different amp. The Subway is a killer little 20W amp, but that's all it is.

I own one. It is what it is. A small portable combo. It is loud enough but the shared EQ makes it a challenge for live use. Clean mode needs the mids down, lead/contour modes need the mid up, IMO. Lead mode is somewhat nasally. I only use mine as a practice amp and for recording.

I have had a number of Boogies including the maverick, Mark II, III, IV and the subway rocket. I play Salsa, Latin Jazz, funk and Blue and I have found that as long as you have the ability to DI or mike the amp, you can do anything you want. I have played a venue for 200 people with a 7 piece horn band and I could hear find. Great head room for such a tiny amp. I have done Jazz gig and this amp has done its job. Because both channels share the same EQ you cannot expect to have both a great clean and over drive sound. I use pedals with the amp and even have a boost pedal that works great. Bottom line is it weighs around 20 pounds and for small venues you can make it sound great.....it s a boogie!!

Having said all that, each of us has different expectations about what our ultimate sound is, having said that, if you take a quick low paying gig and don't want to break your back bring a big rig, then use this amp, you will not be unhappy. If you do not have the option of miking the amp then, I would go with the F30, it is 30 watts, has a 12 instead of a 10 inch speaker and most importantly each channel has its own EQ. It also weights twice as much. Still lighter then my Mark IV in a road case that come is at 104 pounds, Yikes! too old for that....

Good luck,
Rico