Walkabout Vs. LMIII & EA 112 combo.

Crabby · #1 03-30-2010, 12:21 AM

I discovered a mint EA CXL112 cab sitting in the back of a store in town today. It had been traded in and was being sold at a very reasonable price. No idea how old it is but it looks fantastic. I have never tried an EA product and thought this cab might be a great companion to my Markbass LMII or possibly as an extension cab for my Walkabout Scout12 combo amp.

I spent some time in the store comparing Walkabout head to the Scout12 cab it was mounted in and then into the EA cab. Needless to say, I could not pass this cab up and took her home. My impressions from my demo in the store were that the EA sounded quite "hi fi" compared to the Scout cab and was really loud and deep for such a small cabinet.

Once I got home I set up my Walkabout combo next to the EA with my LMIII on top and switched between the two setups several times. I then used the Walkabout with the EA cab alone, and compared it again to the Walkabout with the Scout cab.

Impressions:

The EA CXL112 is amazingly efficient and loud. It can produce ear splitting volume and deep deep low end with good clarity. The design sounds very different from anything else I have ever tried. The horn produces high end but not in the way most tweeters on bass cabs do. The high end is more subtle in a good way. No shrillness or harsh sounding tweeter.

Paired with the LMIII, this is one loud little mini rig. The Markbass puts out 300 watts I believe at 8 ohms where the Walkabout has the same power at 4 ohms. My Scout cabinet is a 4 ohm so the two setups were matched power wise.

I realized today just how gorgeous the Walkabout amp sounds. it has such a beautiful tone. Its rich and fat with plenty of volume and just sounds perfect. The LMIII sounds a tad boring in comparison. Not a bad thing but very noticeable. the LMIII was loud and easy to tweak but I found I kept messing with the controls, trying to find the sweet spot to my ears. The Walkabout head sounds more alive and three dimensional with a lot more character, even when set dead flat.

Using the Walkabout and A/B comparing the 2 cabs was very interesting. The Scout cab is thicker and smoother where the EA was very aggressive while still having a more hi fi tone. They are both very loud cabs but the EA seems to be able to put out a touch more volume overall.

Pairing the Walkabout with the EA cab was a religious experience! despite mixing a 4 ohm cab with an 8 ohm cab, the result was fantastic. So much volume and depth to the tone. The two actually stack very nicely together.

So after a few hours of jamming here are my pros and cons of each setup:

1. Walkabout Scout 12 combo

Pros:Tone to die for, thick tubey goodness with perfect warm overdrive if desired or a nice clean tube tone. Its very portable and can be carried in one hand. The amp easily comes out of the cabinet and can be paired with pretty much anything. A very classy amp with a lot of possibilities.

Cons: The Mesa is expensive. It comes with a 4 ohm driver in the cab so an extension cabinet should also be 4 ohms which results in the amp pushing at 2 ohms which is considered "okay" but not recommended by Mesa.

All that to say that the Walkabout is not officially endorsed to run at 2 ohms which makes it a one speaker combo, Adding an extension cab may eventually put undo stress on the amp.

2. LMIII and EA 112 cab.

Pros: Very loud setup with can be easily expanded with a second cabinet to get the full 4 ohm load from the amp if needed. This would be a crazy loud rig as its ungodly loud for its size without a second cab. The tone is deep with good clarity and is loud, portable and efficient.

Cons: The LMIII just doesn't have the musical tone of the Walkabout. I certainly like the LMIII's tone but its very flat sounding in comparison. This setup is simple and light but still a bit more of a pain to carry around then the Walkabout/Scout combo.

That's my initial thoughts anyway. Great gear all around.

joebar · #2 03-30-2010, 12:39 AM

my dear , old, carrot chasing friend; when will you realize that thou art have the ultimate tone now already? (WA 12 ) friday night should have confirmed that...
you need GAS therapy ASAP.
if you do not stop immediately i will tell your wife! HAH!

joebar · #3 03-30-2010, 12:43 AM

oh yeah P.S.
after the ungodly volume that you were playing your WA at the jam the other night, i am convinced you don't need an extension cabinet lest the people in the next postal code region complain about the volume...

Crabby · #4 03-30-2010, 10:27 AM

Ahh so much gear, so little cash!

joebar · #5 03-30-2010, 02:12 PM

it is a nice match to the WA - never heard of them before. so you were running it at 2.67 ohms? what is the tone like at that increased wattage?

Crabby · #6 03-30-2010, 02:23 PM

It sounds huge. Not sure if I would want to have a mismatched set up all the time as one cab is getting more power then the other but they actually sounded quite well balanced. The EA cab is so efficient that they balanced out volume wise.

Despite all the talk of the Walkabout being safe at less then 4 ohms, it still makes me a little nervous to push it.

RickenBoogie · #7 03-30-2010, 05:39 PM

The walkabout never ceases to amaze my ears, with it's warm gooey goodness. It is a short life, considering how much "other gear" is out there, and it sure would be nice to own an entire fleet of bass rigs, but honestly, with the Walkabout and Buster, I feel covered nicely, and my tone IS to die for.

Crabby · #8 03-30-2010, 05:48 PM

I hear you. My Walkabout alone could cover most of my needs and with an extension cab, there isn't much it couldn't do. But its not just the fact that it sounds so much bigger then it is, its the actual tone of the amp. The Walkabout has such a complex tone that sounds so warm yet allows the tone of my basses to come through. I have lost all desire to use effects anymore as my bass plugged straight into the Walkabout sounds so fantastic. I used to always use a compressor pedal but its just not needed as the tube pre amp provides a fantastic compression on its own.

pfschim · #9 03-30-2010, 10:45 PM

I'll jump in here and say that I also enjoy the combination of the fairly (and wonderfully) colored Walkabout 12 combo with a so-called hi-fi cab as an extension. I do not have any experience with the EA cabs, but I do run my WA 12 on top of an Accugroove Tri115 from time to time.

Such a killer combination ... all that Walkabout deep, chewyness, on top of the wonderfully precise and full range Tri115 .. it's a thing to behold.

Sounds like you have discovered yet another great pairing for the Walkabout.

enjoy!

Crabby · #10 03-30-2010, 11:17 PM

The more I mess with different combos of gear, the more I realize how much I love the tone of the Walkabout. I performed a bit of a shootout tonight by first running the LMIII through my Eden 210XST, 210XLT, Mesa PH115, and the EA CXL112.

Results: The Eden cabs sound very different from each other but both clearly come from the same family, being 210 cabs. I liked them but have grown a bit tired of the Eden sound. They are very snappy and the horns can be a bit hard to tame. The LMIII could really drive either cab at 8 ohms and its gobs of usable power is impressive.

Through the Mesa 115, the tone was not very warm at all which resulted in the 115 cab sounding kind of honky. I usually love how warm this cab is (I have two of them) but this setup wasn't working for me. Using the variable filter controls on the amp helped round out the tone by adding some lows and highs.

Again, the LMIII through the EA cab is freakishly loud and had more low end then the Mesa cab and a much more "in your face" tone then either of the Eden cabs which were not as up front sounding. The EA cab seemed to reach its maximum volume and the driver was really jumping back and forth but this was at a downright painful volume.

Now back to the Walkabout! Using the WB with the Scout12 cabinet continues to be simply sublime. The warmth and rich tubey tone of this amp simply makes the LMIII sound flat and two dimensional in comparison. I like the LMIII a lot but the Walkabout just sounds so much more pleasing no matter what cabinet its plugged into. My tone was glaringly better with each cabinet using the Walkabout which was putting out only about 150 watts at 8 ohms. Despite the 8 ohm load, the Walkabout is so loud and full sounding that it seems like it has 5 times the wattage. The Eden cabs were smoother and fuller sounding, the Mesa 115 was infinately warmer and the EA cab sounded hi fi but very smooth and aggressive at the same time.

I love the portability and simplicity of the Markbass amp but my desire to play through it really pales after my ears get used to the Walkabout tone. Despite really wanting a matching 4 ohm Scout 12 cab to go with my Walkabout combo, the EA cab really does work well and due to its super high efficiency, seems to be nicely balance with the Scout cab.

Its all good!