Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread 8

[speyer]

Off topic fact- Just pulled the stock fan from my 2nd walkabout.

It's 37.5 cfm/32.5 dba.

[Ropesauce]

Hi everyone,just picked up a WA off of CL (1x12,1x12 ext. cab) got it home plugged in and......nuthin,turns out it was the effects loop(common prob i learn after reading here) so got it back and I'm diggin it big time but that fan is making me crazee soooo, it sounds like a Noctua NF-R8 is the way to roll and i think i might try and do it myself but i have a couple of concerns:
1-is it just a fan for fan swap?(no other secret details)

2-the supplier has a NF-R8 and a NF-R8 PWM.which do i buy

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Originally Posted by Ropesauce

Hi everyone,just picked up a WA off of CL (1x12,1x12 ext. cab) got it home plugged in and......nuthin,turns out it was the effects loop(common prob i learn after reading here) so got it back and I'm diggin it big time but that fan is making me crazee soooo, it sounds like a Noctua NF-R8 is the way to roll and i think i might try and do it myself but i have a couple of concerns:
1-is it just a fan for fan swap?(no other secret details)

2-the supplier has a NF-R8 and a NF-R8 PWM.which do i buy

1. Congrats! Yep, the dodgy effects loop jacks are a common problem. I have a pre bypass switch Walkabout and just jumpered them.

2. Looking here it appears that the PWM version allows for control of the speed. Since the Walkabout doesn't include that feature, the NF-R8 would seem to be the best choice of the two.

The swap is straight forward. You do need to connect it with the proper polarity so that the fan rotates in the correct direction.

Enjoy!!!

[Ropesauce]

thanks Billy B,any other quirks with these babies?

[MuthaFunk]

Originally Posted by Ropesauce

thanks Billy B,any other quirks with these babies?

Just that the D.I. is sweet sounding but it's post Master volume control. So when on stage you shouldn't really adjust your volume to much when using the D.I. If you do, I usually compensate for it by turning the DI volume knob the opposite direction. It's an exact science.

[sunbeast]

So- I just picked up a DB750 from a local TB'er. I recently moved down to LA to get back together with some of my old bandmates who had been playing down here and were pestering me to be their bass player again- the Walkabout has actually been sounding great in rehearsals, but has been nearing the edge of its headroom threshhold. I was fortunate to have enough saved up for my move to drop on the Aguilar (and feeling unlikely to have that much again in the immediate future!), so decided to give it a try.
Just wanted to say- I was impressed at just how close the Walkabout can get to the venerable DB750 tone to my ears. Sure the Aguilar blows it away headroom-wise and so can't get that hammer of thick low end that the 750 is known for (and is honestly too much for me anyway without the Bass down significantly), but the Walkabout tone I've been loving is really very close, at around 1/4 of the weight, half the price (or less) on the used market, and with a plethora of other tones that the 750 can't touch with it's uber limited tone controls. And like I said before- the Walkabout has enough headroom thus far for my band (we practice louder than we are likely to play at most venues). I can say one thing for sure- the DB750 will be out the door before the Walkabout if it comes to it without a second thought!

Who else here has owned both a DB750 and Walkabout and would care to comment?

[speyer]

Cool... IMHO, the Mesa WA and Aguilar's are in the same 'tonal neighbourhood'. Years back, I had a DB680/728 and WA at the same time and felt that way. Also, last night I was A/Bing the WA and TH500 and I had them sounding SHOCKINGLY similar! Some have said nothing sounds like the WA, but after last night in my office with each amp and an 8 ohm rs210... I respectfully disagree. These two amps can be tweaked to sound very,very similar, just not with one or the other set flat. I wouldn't doubt the same goes for the DB750.

[Chef]

680/728: that's about the best thing there ever was.

TH500: I haven't played with one. But if it can do "the walkabout clean but louder" thing...hmmmm.....

[LowBSix]

Originally Posted by speyer

Cool... IMHO, the Mesa WA and Aguilar's are in the same 'tonal neighbourhood'. Years back, I had a DB680/728 and WA at the same time and felt that way. Also, last night I was A/Bing the WA and TH500 and I had them sounding SHOCKINGLY similar! Some have said nothing sounds like the WA, but after last night in my office with each amp and an 8 ohm rs210... I respectfully disagree. These two amps can be tweaked to sound very,very similar, just not with one or the other set flat. I wouldn't doubt the same goes for the DB750.

+1 I frequently use my WA 12 with a TH500... It's a beauthiful thing!

[speyer]

I'll be posting up an audio clip of my findings over the weekend... but I can tell you already chef:

If you are able to use the WA with gain at 11:00, treble cut to 9-10:00 and everything else at 12:00... The TH500 can be tweaked to sound and feel DAMN close! OH, and MURDER the WA volume wise. Since I was using a Radial ABY amp switcher (perfect for A/Bing)... twice, I actually had to unplug one of the heads to figure out which was which!

[Chef]

Cut treble?
The devil, you say.

I'd never cut treble!!!!
It's already way darker than the MBFusion, it don't need to be no darker.
ymmv, etc.

[speyer]

LOL! oh yeah, I forgot you and treble were bff's.

You must have the stock Mesa Tubes in there? Cuz they are WAY darker than the JJ's I have in my 2nd WA which makes it REALLY bright IME. Much brighter than my other WA with the stock mesa's. YMMV... but might not be actually be that much cut depending on what tubes you have in your WA. Just food for thought. Let your ears decide when I post up the clip!

[Chef]

Aww jeez, I'd have to pull it outta the headcase to know what's in there, and that' ain't happenin'.
Walkabout is parked in my music room/charting space. It ain't goin' anywhere.

[lomo]

I think it boils down to the simple fact that one man's favorite Walkabout tone......isn't the same as another man's favorite Walkabout tone. That front end is remarkably versatile. I know a TH500 won't get the WA tone that I usually dial in, but it's great that it'll work for Speyer.

[sunbeast]

Originally Posted by lomo

I think it boils down to the simple fact that one man's favorite Walkabout tone......isn't the same as another man's favorite Walkabout tone. That front end is remarkably versatile. I know a TH500 won't get the WA tone that I usually dial in, but it's great that it'll work for Speyer.

Totally agree- ditto my findings with the DB750. There are many tones in the Walkabout that you wouldn't be able to touch with the Aguilar, but I was pleasantly surprised at how similar "my" WA tone is to the DB750 tone I've been messing around with. If you want a whole lot of treble or high mids, then the Walkabout is much sweeter to my ears than the Aggie- but I get alot of those from an external pedal (Tronographic Rusty Box), so the Aguilar still gets me where I want to be. The front end of the Walkabout including tube driver into the power section of the DB750 (or M9.....are you listening to us Mesa?) would be the ultimate amp for me!

On a non-Walkabout related topic, I will say that I find the DB750 to be far more tweakable than it is often given credit for- it definitely retains its big smooth low end pretty much no matter what you do, but there is definitely a nice range of tones to be found using some fairly creative EQ'ing.

[speyer]

I use the rusty box too. OMG...What a fantastic pedal that is!

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by speyer

LOL! oh yeah, I forgot you and treble were bff's.

You must have the stock Mesa Tubes in there? Cuz they are WAY darker than the JJ's I have in my 2nd WA which makes it REALLY bright IME. Much brighter than my other WA with the stock mesa's. YMMV... but might not be actually be that much cut depending on what tubes you have in your WA. Just food for thought. Let your ears decide when I post up the clip!

+1 When I did my tube rolling, the stock Mesa's were darker than just about anything else I put in there. Not by a ton, but by a noticeable amount.

[jdelemus]

So I have been on a quest to get a little less gain out of my walkabout. Tried a few different 12AX7's, what did the trick as a NOS GE 5 star 5751. Not only dies the amp have more clean headroom, it still gets just the right amount of break up with the gain cranked and still has the glorious walkabout tone.

I swear the bottom end is less boomy and way more defined.

Haven't messed with the tube in the power section yet, but will try that soon. It's just hard for me to believe that little amp can sound better than it already did.

[speyer]

Posted up my Walkabout vs. Orange vs. Tone Hammer Shootout HERE. Enjoy!

[slick_tu]

Finally tried my WA with my Berg NV610 last night. Absolutely sweet!