Thinking of buying a new head, Mesa walkabout or TC electronic RH450?

[recreate.me]

Both of these heads come up around here alot, and seem to be in high regard, but I was wondering if someone could sum up the differences or similarities between them.

I play indie, bluesy folky music in a band, currently using 2 TC electronic RS112s and a Traynor yba 200-2. I have both a RW precision and 62RI jazz.

Both amps seem light enough (13 & 6 ish right?) both have semi parametric eqs, and from what I read both have a classic warm, thick tubey sound.

But can anyone shed light on anything else they have noticed?

[babebambi]

The WA is old fashion features, honest good-tone.
Detail and rich mid.
About the only thing it lacks, is big power.

The RH450 has an extensive feature set.
It's compressor and the tube emulation are both very usable.
Gets it old-school vibe by low-passing around 5K.
(The new 750 let you open up the high end with yet another knob)
very conservative power rating.

[recreate.me]

So last night I played the walkabout head, a Mesa carbine 3 and my Traynor. Honestly the walkabout left me scratching my head. I couldn't really open them up in the music store but it didn't seem like the sound I here people describing and what I heard matched.

Both mesa heads seemed to have the same quickness, and were nice and tight a good sound, but they both were a bit bright for me.
The carbine was able to get a nice old school thump with the deep pulled and the mids and highs cut and the gain past noon.
The walkabout got more dirty and broke up nicely but still seems sparkly to me.
When I plugged back in my traynor yba 200 it just sounded so round and warm and got a really nice tube break up.
I read someone on here describe the tube sound kinda like a tennis ball hitting a brick wall.

How do I get the much talked about 'gooey tube sound' I here being said about the WA, and what would you say about the Traynor then ?

Also the store was selling a used walkabout silver face for more then a new carbine. Is that really how much they go for!? It was a rental unit of years use.

[RickenBoogie]

What speakers did you play the WA through? Your experience does NOT match mine, and many other very happy WA users.

[noahw1]

You may want to look into the Genz Benz Streamliner as well if you're looking for lightweight with a tubey sound.

[koobie]

Haven't played a RH450. I like the Walkabout a lot for what it brings, but it doesn't have the richness I associate with a tube power section. Are you unsatisfied with your YBA200? Looking for a backup?

[llihmit]

Originally Posted by recreate.me

So last night I played the walkabout head, a Mesa carbine 3 and my Traynor.

Did you ever replace your Traynor? What did you decide to go with? I'm looking at the Streamliner,RH450 or the WA for my studio bass rig. Curious to know what your final choice was as I am going for a similar sound as you.

Thanks!