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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

#2,022
agedhorse said:
I'm actually more interested in trying to get descriptive information of preferences and tradeoffs rather than just poll numbers. I think there's info you guys are saying between the lines.

I also see that needs between players are different enough that the opinions are based more on specific needs or taste than just a bigger amp.
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you are right, and I prefer Mosfets and traditional power supply over switching-class D, but other may not bother or prefer the opposite. But, in the end, I'm pretty sure the WA was a succesfull amp mainly because of its great tone and behaviour, in spite of a high price at least in my country. Not everyone enjoy it, but I think the vast majority of players do love it. Myself, I don't even need or want the extra power and I would be in heaven to be told that the WA will not go out of production as it is, but I understand that things change upon time. So I hope a future amp, named WA or everything else, can sound just as good as the old one.
 
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#2,024
kringle77 said:
Mosfets definitely have to be a part of it. Even the old hartke mosfet amps sound better than the later ones. I love class D for weight savings but, it does not sound/feel the same as Mosfets and transformers. For better or worse.
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I agree entirely - that's exactly why I went for the R-400.

AFAIK, there aren't many (any?) other WA-sized Class AB heads with nice tube pre's around. If you push the input gain on the R-400, it's very WA. But it also has more headroom if you want to keep it clean.
 
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#2,025
kringle77 said:
How about the walkabout preamp, feeding into the drive section where there is a post preamp volume, before the drive section so that the od, squish, etc can be controlled before a much larger clean power amp?
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I have been trying to explain that it's not just the preamp, the power amp has its own unique transfer function that's contributes to the texture. Whenever 2 transfer functions combine like this the effects of the sum of the 2 can not be separated... ie. The preamp by itself driving a big clean power amp will not sound or feel the same.

I wouldn't be asking these questions if it was as simple as hooking the presmp to a big power amp.

I amp trying to figure out which aspects of the COMBINED curves are more important to the most players before going on a wild goose chase to determine what might be possible within the realm of advanced emulation possibilities. It there is no agreement, them it may not make sense to look any deeper at this.
 
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#2,026
Furious_Man77 said:
I searched the thread, but may have missed it; how is the WA on top of the Subway 1x12 + 1x15? I'm interested in trying it out, but as usual, if you want to try it you have to buy it.
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I would like to know the results of this as well. If the subway 12 plus 15 can sound and punch better than a WA 15, that could be my ticket ( or the new NV212). Also if anyone can compare the walkabout 15 with a subway 15.
The walkabout 15 at some gigs was just enough for me. Pushing that rig any further would start getting mushy and over distorted. An improvement to the walkabout amp would be certified 2 ohm capable. Squeezing a bit more driving clean headroom would be great, but keep enough on the dial so I can still get some tube dirt in my tone, and definitely keep the mofset.
 
#2,028
U4EA said:
I would like to know the results of this as well. If the subway 12 plus 15 can sound and punch better than a WA 15, that could be my ticket ( or the new NV212). Also if anyone can compare the walkabout 15 with a subway 15.
The walkabout 15 at some gigs was just enough for me. Pushing that rig any further would start getting mushy and over distorted. An improvement to the walkabout amp would be certified 2 ohm capable. Squeezing a bit more driving clean headroom would be great, but keep enough on the dial so I can still get some tube dirt in my tone, and definitely keep the mofset.
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Damn- why do you have to turn me onto this NV212?! I've been playing an NV610 (with and without a Walkabout to keep it on topic!) for 10 years now with no cab GAS and there you gotta do that!
 
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#2,029
I'm one of the Walkabout fans that digs the sound of it as it enters the compression/saturation stage at the power-amp (or driver-tube) side of the equation. I have tried all sorts of mix-match schemes running the pre from the Walkabout into different power amps and vice-versa, and in my experience the real feel of the Walkabout comes from the back end (ie everything post FX-Return). Running any pre into the FX-return at high volume (high volume seems to be a big part of the equation) made any of them sound sweeter to my ears. The problem is the lack of available headroom in the back-end before the tone gets too compressed and strained sounding. Running the Walkabout into my Bergantino NV610 I can get enough volume for my very loud rock band, but at the expense of too much mushy compression (to the point of feedback issues with a few of my slightly microphonic basses!). If I could get the sound/feel of a Walkabout with Volume on 4.5 but with the actual volume of the Walkabout cranked I'd be a happy(ier) camper! Running the WA at lower volumes it just isn't nearly as sweet to my ears, regardless of Gain settings. I really dig the punch and clarity of my Mesa Prodigy in a loud band mix, but honestly might prefer the feel of my Walkabout in its sweet spot (if I could also have that Prodigy Bright switch, that'd be an A+++)...
 
#2,030
[B said:
It there is no agreement, them it may not make sense to look any deeper at this.[/B]
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Andy, with all due respect, if you are wanting to see total agreement from bass players on how an amp may be improved, or changed, then good luck with that! But, it seems like, from almost the beginning of the WA debut, most of us have been wanting a more powerful WA, with the same tonal characteristics. I think we all agree on that !



 
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#2,031
This is a n00by WA question, but can I add a Mesa extension cab to my 4ohm WA 15in combo without getting into that dicey 2ohm realm? Should it just be another twin 15in 4ohm cab?

If I do add an extension 4ohm Mesa 15in extension, would running it at 2ohm but not really pushing vol/gain limits be "safe"? Really just looking to keep the WA head but have more than a one-speaker cab under it.

Or should I just pony up for a Berg AE212 (or one of the newer Berg 212 models?) that would run perfectly with the 4ohm WA head.
 
#2,032
NoFiller said:
This is a n00by WA question, but can I add a Mesa extension cab to my 4ohm WA 15in combo without getting into that dicey 2ohm realm? Should it just be another twin 15in 4ohm cab?

If I do add an extension 4ohm Mesa 15in extension, would running it at 2ohm but not really pushing vol/gain limits be "safe"? Really just looking to keep the WA head but have more than a one-speaker cab under it.

Or should I just pony up for a Berg AE212 (or one of the newer Berg 212 models?) that would run perfectly with the 4ohm WA head.
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Although it is not recommended by Mesa, many WA users have driven it at 2 ohms on gigs without any problems.
 
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#2,033
Sure right I know its not technically "approved" by Mesa to run the 2ohm...just wondering if there was any way around going that direction by adding a Mesa extension cab if my WA 15 combo is already 4ohm.

I've been hunting a Berg AE212 on here for a bit but missed out on the most recent sale of one. I would hate to orphan that wonderful Mesa 15 cab that I already have though...
 
#2,034
jnewmark said:


Andy, with all due respect, if you are wanting to see total agreement from bass players on how an amp may be improved, or changed, then good luck with that! But, it seems like, from almost the beginning of the WA debut, most of us have been wanting a more powerful WA, with the same tonal characteristics. I think we all agree on that !


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I want to see where there's enough agreement that I think a single solution is going to get there. In fact, it may take 2 different approaches because there are at least 2 unique mechanisms happening simultaneously, so changing only one will not maintain that effect all alone by the operating conditions (from low volume to high volume).

I'm trying to understand rather than designing any product based on guessing.
 
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#2,036
NoFiller said:
Sure right I know its not technically "approved" by Mesa to run the 2ohm...just wondering if there was any way around going that direction by adding a Mesa extension cab if my WA 15 combo is already 4ohm.

I've been hunting a Berg AE212 on here for a bit but missed out on the most recent sale of one. I would hate to orphan that wonderful Mesa 15 cab that I already have though...
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You can swap the 4-ohm speaker out for a 8-ohm speaker; I did this with my WA Scout 12" cabs to keep it at 4 ohms.
If you find a 15" extension cab, make sure it's 8-ohm as well, or swap that speaker out too.
8-ohm cab + 4-ohm cab = 2.67 ohms.

I'm eyeballing a Berg 212 cab myself; I have two of their 112s, and they sound amazing.
 
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#2,037
I have ran my 4 ohm WA with matching 4 ohm 12" extension cab for years now. The truth is with this particular 2 ohm load the drivers will compress and distort before the amp puts out enough power to overheat. That's been my experience anyway. I've ran the WA amp at a 2 ohm load with two big speaker cabs and I was able to get it to trip off on overheat. It was a hot summer day and the cabs were a 4 ohm 610 and a 4 ohm 212. GASP!!! (I know, I know, you can't mix cabs with different drivers because the universe will explode, time will run backwards, and Donald Trump will become president)
 
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#2,040
Anyway, I'll have a walkabout the end of next week. The plan is to try it with a pair of bag end s15d cabs due to their high efficiency and, I own a third one that I can run to get max volume. Is stack two and leave the 3rd on the floor for low end coupling. Also still have my nv610 but, it's not nearly as efficient.
 

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