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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

#2,081
kringle77 said:
Really mesa, stop f'ing around and put out the higher powered version.
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I wonder if there is just some unique magic in the combination of components in that 13 pound box, because I would have thought the M-Pulse 600 would have been exactly that and it really wasn't, at least not to my ear.
 
#2,083
kringle77 said:
Got my WA. Talk about tone! It sounds a lot like an ampeg svp-cl with more eq and od. After playing awhile, I decided to roll some tubes. I found that replacing the stock mesas with a pair of EH 12ax7's actually made the amp more clear and gave it a little more clean headroom. Enough so, that with a pair of bag end cabs, it should be loud enough for most gigs.
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FWIW, my WalkAbout has been one of my most responsive heads/preamps in terms of tube rolling. Enjoy!
 
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#2,085
NoFiller said:
Hey TwoFing, can you post a shot of the back of the cabs as far as your wiring setup?
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I will as soon as I can. But it's really simple. There is a short speaker cable permanently installed on the combo cab. It plugs into one speaker output on the head. And I run another cable from the other speaker output to the other cab, which has parallel in/out jacks.
 
#2,086
Yes, it responds very well to different tubes. I stuck with a pair of EH 12ax7's because the tone and clean output really improved but, I found with my high output basses, a lower gain input tube made a big difference as far as giving finer adjustment of the grit.

I quickly tried the fx send into my eden wt800 power section and it sounded great. Maybe after work I'll use the di out to the amp which would bring in the second tube driver stage. I'm thinking that should capture most of the mojo and prove that a higher output version would work. Not everyone flies on pushing the fets a to get the sound.
 
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#2,087
I did some tube rolling and settled on an old british made Long Plate Mullard in V1. The V2 slot was best with a new chinese tube IME. The mullard really helped with dynamics and control with a much smoother dirt when the input gain is raised above the 11:00 with my standard level bases volume maxed out. Typically I run my sound clean but use an overdrive pedal to give me dirt and push the WA into a little bit of break up on top. It sounds great in my P.A. system using the D.I. out.

I know much of the dynamics of the Walkabout is due to the Fet power amp and the size of the power supply feeding it but I'm very happy with the DI out into my p.a. or recording console. I can't see myself not buying a Walkabout front end paired with a 800W ICE power section. Common MESA!!! Lets do it!!!
 
#2,088
I want to see a bigger version but, not class D. I've owned most of them and while the d800 and magellan are good and convenient, I still haven't heard one that hits as hard, sounds or feels as good as any of the transformer amps. I've spent enough money on gear to buy a house so, I've put my money where my mouth is and, that's the truth. I actually feel pretty ripped off by the whole thing. This 300 watt WA is nearly as loud as the d800 but, hits harder, feels more substantial. Its the difference between being hit by a large pillow filled with feathers and then filling the same pillow with sand. That is literally how it feels to me. So mesa, make a louder one but, don't ruin it with class D. Its just not there yet.
 
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#2,089
kringle77 said:
I want to see a bigger version but, not class D. I've owned most of them and while the d800 and magellan are good and convenient, I still haven't heard one that hits as hard, sounds or feels as good as any of the transformer amps. I've spent enough money on gear to buy a house so, I've put my money where my mouth is and, that's the truth. I actually feel pretty ripped off by the whole thing. This 300 watt WA is nearly as loud as the d800 but, hits harder, feels more substantial. Its the difference between being hit by a large pillow filled with feathers and then filling the same pillow with sand. That is literally how it feels to me. So mesa, make a louder one but, don't ruin it with class D. Its just not there yet.
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Have you done any knob twirling with that passive mid control ? I never could figure that one out in conjunction with the 3 band EQ section. I was told that, 10 o'clock on the passive control was flat, but I see that, in your pics, you have it all the way up. I think using an efficient cab, with more than one driver is the key to hearing the WA louder. I'm surprised, though, that you think it can be almost as loud as the D800. I did a quick A/B with my WA and Shuttle 6.2 into my LDS 212/tweeter/horn cab. The WA got loud enough, but at the expense of getting grittier, which is not one of my tone goals. The Shuttle got as loud and louder a lot more cleaner, and kept on going, while the WA got more " mushier " sounding. A more powerful WA is definitely an amp I would be interested in if it could keep that clean tone with volume.
 
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#2,093
kringle77 said:
Look at the pics I posted.
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I think some of the confusion is that a while back, somewhere in the WA mega thread part 4-7 another user did the same tests as you have. Only with their scientifically driven spectrum analyzer methods they found that they achieved a flat WA output with only the mid knob set to 10:00.

If my memory serves me right they posted up graph data as well...
 
#2,095
kringle77 said:
I saw it too but, didn't see proof of anything. My graph is an actually frequency graph that anyone can read as well as what truly flat is. Or, just lift the ground lead on the mid control to flatten the response and save your eq power.
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I may be wrong, but what I think @MuthaFunk is saying is that the *relative* positions of bass, mid, and treble allow you to both be correct.
 
#2,096
You can't get flat with the passive controls alone. Basically, the circuit consists of the fender tone stack with fixed values for bass and treble, but with a mid knob. With the mid maxed, there is still a scoop and the fixed resistors give you a little bass and treble boost built in. That feeds into a true active solid state bass and treble circuit, then the semi parametric eq. I think that I will bypass that tone stack so mine is flat and then have an even better eq control. I don't have any more to say.
 
#2,097
kringle77 said:
You can't get flat with the passive controls alone. Basically, the circuit consists of the fender tone stack with fixed values for bass and treble, but with a mid knob. With the mid maxed, there is still a scoop and the fixed resistors give you a little bass and treble boost built in. That feeds into a true active solid state bass and treble circuit, then the semi parametric eq. I think that I will bypass that tone stack so mine is flat and then have an even better eq control. I don't have any more to say.
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Interesting, and I appreciate your post. I've followed this thread for going 3 years, and I can't recall ever seeing anyone advise diming-out the mids on a Walkabout for "flat" response. I do however get the Fender Tone Stack principle, simply because of an Alembic preamp I often use works that way. In it's case, for "flat", the settings are 2-10-2 for bass/mid/treble, respectively. I was not aware the two were related in this way.
 
#2,098
I have an F2B and a WA.. They sound very different... Even when set to optimal flat settings on each unit , while feeding the same poweramp. EDIT ( old crown ma1200 )
They both sound great to me. The F2B that i bought new in 1977 was just recapped. It is my Fave External bass preamp ever.. Many don't care for it .. But for me it is very musical as is the WA...
I find the F2B has almost limitless headroom with an extended top end . Its the only preamp that I have owned that can mimic my NEVE preamp which never goes out but stays at home in my small studio..


EdwardofHuncote said:
Interesting, and I appreciate your post. I've followed this thread for going 3 years, and I can't recall ever seeing anyone advise diming-out the mids on a Walkabout for "flat" response. I do however get the Fender Tone Stack principle, simply because of an Alembic preamp I often use works that way. In it's case, for "flat", the settings are 2-10-2 for bass/mid/treble, respectively. I was not aware the two were related in this way.
Click to expand...
 
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#2,100
kringle77 said:
You can't get flat with the passive controls alone. Basically, the circuit consists of the fender tone stack with fixed values for bass and treble, but with a mid knob. With the mid maxed, there is still a scoop and the fixed resistors give you a little bass and treble boost built in. That feeds into a true active solid state bass and treble circuit, then the semi parametric eq. I think that I will bypass that tone stack so mine is flat and then have an even better eq control. I don't have any more to say.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your graphs and all your insightful comments here on TB. I saved the pics for reference later! I had to laugh though! I've watched your posts for years as you go though all kinds of gear and really dig deep into each piece! It's super cool stuff! When you said you were getting a Walkabout I thought, "Oh yeah!! I'm curious what kringle77 will think!!" Now that you have it, it sounds like you don't like it, at least not like the rest of us do... :) Which is cool.

From what I can tell, for many, the attraction of the WA IS the fact it's not flat at all.

The funny part is that only you could think to permanently (sort of) modify the most unflat amp to be flat. Then in my prediction, you will revert it back to stock and move on to another amp. LOL! It's pure entertainment!
 
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