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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

#181
Agree here... the ultra lows will fart on a Scout when pushed, but it's mostly sub 60db noise you can do without. It takes a little bit to find the voice on the WA/S combo, but it's goshdarn sweet when you do... on any bass. (just my opinion of course)

Not to say your speaker isn't blown... let's all hope not - but it sounds like you may have a warranty issue if it is. Try tweaking that parametric eq a bit.
 
#182
p k said:
So, I haven't had a good chance to give the scout a good tryout until today and, I am pretty sure the speaker is blown. I am getting a fuzz like effect when I play lower notes at higher volumes (regardless of gain settings) that does not happen with a different cab.
Click to expand...

If you check out a page or two back, I just dealt with this EXACT same situation. I bought my Walkabout/Scout from GC for a great price and developed this same kind of noise in the speaker soon after I got it home.

I had a hard time diagnosing the problem and did the same things you describe - running the head on different cabs and different heads on the Scout cab. I finally had my wife play the problem notes on the bass through the Walkabout while I held the driver (removed from the cab) in my hand. There was a strange rubbing noise coming from the speaker surround that turned into that buzz/fuzz noise when I lowered the speaker back into the cab.

I called Mesa and discovered that my combo was made in 2009 so it had been sitting in GC for some time. Despite that, they agreed to replace the speaker under warranty if I would pay shipping both ways. This solved my issue.

Hope this helps.
 
#183
Thanks for the feedback guys. I am waiting to hear back from Mesa. I don't think that this particular issue would be due to the limitations of the cab as the issue doesn't really require outrageous volume ( I have a reasonable expectation of the limitations of a single 12 driver) and the nature of the sound that is being produced.

Overall the head is sounding great thru another cab in the meantime so at least I am not without a working rig. Thanks again guys and I will update as I learn more.
 
#184
Mesa can be a little slow on the email response, they're more phone guys. So if you haven't heard from them in a couple more days, give them a ring.

On another note, a couple weeks ago I noticed my Scout 12 making some noise just sitting there on with nothing plugged into it. I figured V1 tube was going microphonic. Finally got around to swapping V1 and V2 - problem solved.

Dan
 
#185
Made a couple of calls today and GC is going to reimburse me for the cost of a new driver after I send them the invoice.

On another note... Mesa said that they no longer use the neo speakers in these cabs and now they outfit them with the same drivers that are in the powerhouse.

Now the big question... 4 or 8 ohm?
 
#186
p k said:
Made a couple of calls today and GC is going to reimburse me for the cost of a new driver after I send them the invoice.

On another note... Mesa said that they no longer use the neo speakers in these cabs and now they outfit them with the same drivers that are in the powerhouse.

Now the big question... 4 or 8 ohm?
Click to expand...

8, unless you know that you will NEVER run it with another cab.
Then you can easily run it on top of another 8 Ohm 112 or a 4 Ohm 212 and have balanced power to each driver. You'll give up nothing. The 4 and 8 Ohm versions sound the same and you will not gain volume with 4 as compared to 8 Ohms. I (and others) have A/B'ed this. I have seen one TBer post that he feels the tone is better at 4 Ohms.....IMHE there was no difference whatsoever.
 
#187
For what it's worth, as soon as the Holiday season is over, I'm planning to replace the 4ohm speaker in one of my Scout cabs with an 8ohm, specifically because I plan to run it as an extension cab with a WA/S combo.

The consensus here on the WAMT is that:

A.) there ain't a dime's worth of difference in sound between a 4ohm or 8ohm speaker in same-same cabs, and;

B.) regardless of the suggested 4ohm load, a Walkabout can handle a 2ohm (or 2.67ohm) load.

As I told the wise Chef a couple hundred posts ago... I'm one of those RTDM guys, hence I shop the Mesa-Boogie Store for a new speaker. =)
 
#190
What are you guys using to connect the Walkabout head to ext.cabs?

The Scout has those 1/4 male 90 degree metal plugs... (not sure what these are properly called) which is fine while the head is docked. What about an ext.cab though?

Am I correct in assuming heavier gauge and shorter run is better?
 
#191
EdwardofHuncote said:
What are you guys using to connect the Walkabout head to ext.cabs?

The Scout has those 1/4 male 90 degree metal plugs... (not sure what these are properly called) which is fine while the head is docked. What about an ext.cab though?

Am I correct in assuming heavier gauge and shorter run is better?
Click to expand...

It's only a 300 watt head so you don't have to go too crazy. Shorter is always better with speaker cables.
 
#192
Sent my walkabout to Mesa two weeks ago for upgrades and to fix an issue with the fan. Got a call back yesterday saying it was ready and will be shipped back to me on Monday. Can't wait to try it out.

All I need now is a Telefunken ECC83 preamp tube and a Mesa PH112.

:)
 
#193
Livewire said:
Sent my walkabout to Mesa two weeks ago for upgrades and to fix an issue with the fan. Got a call back yesterday saying it was ready and will be shipped back to me on Monday. Can't wait to try it out.

All I need now is a Telefunken ECC83 preamp tube and a Mesa PH112.

:)
Click to expand...

Congrats... MB's customer service is pretty awesome. If you don't mind, how old is your Walkabout, and what upgrades did you have performed? I'm planning to do the same soon.
 
#195
It's the Silver faced version with black lettering and active/passive inputs. They added the active/passive switch, fx bypass switch on the back, and I believe a few little internal changes inside(probably nothing really but who knows), plus the fan. They basically brought it up to 2013 specs. Rich @ Mesa told me there haven't been any drastic changes made to the head overs the years other than cosmetic and the switches.

They originally quoted me anywhere from $125-$150 + shipping. Ended up being $157 with ground shipping. I was also quoted $75 an hour by a tech in NYC with a 6 week turnaround, but I rather have Mesa fix it directly and get a 1 year warranty on the job done.

We'll see how it goes when I get it back and fire her up.
 
#197
That's about what I'm gathering.

I recently bought a second Walkabout from another TB'r who'd just had these same upgrades done. $150 is right in line given he lived close enough to drop off and pick up in person. (hat tip BassManPatsFan)

I plan to use this head while mine is in the shop being updated, after that, maybe look into other uses... awesome home practice rig, maybe trading stock. Or heck, just to have a backup.

I wonder if there is a Y adapter made that you could signal two Walkabout amps with one bass...? Hmm.
 
#200
You can do that? :confused:

I never had considered using an fx loop for that... I guess technically I wouldn't be "looping" as much as "piggybacking".

What controls the input gain on the second amp? (hate to be so ignorant)
 

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