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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

#2,102
It's quite obvious that the WA is not a hi fi uncoloured amp. It's not ruler flat and I think it was not designed to have that response as a starting point.

The real point is that you can keep mids down to 10 o' clock or less and the amp has a perfect punch with a supportive but detailed tone in band. Try to do that kind of scoop with your usual uber flat clean as a baby class D.

The point is that tube order harmonics do make such a difference. And so does the whole design with that great power stage that adds harmonics too
 
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#2,103
@svtb15 -you probably have already tried this- but running that F-2B into the effects return on your Walkabout is a pretty sweet setup too. (I use an F-1X pre... similar, but not *exactly* the same)
 
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#2,104
The tube harmonics are very obvious and awesome on this amp. I ran the do out to a bigger amp and it sounded better than the fx send. More harmonics and more variable smooth crunch, as expected. A single rack walkabout preamp wouldn't hurt my feelings. I will say though, that I do prefer the sound using its own power amp but, then I've always preceded the sound of an all in one. They always sound more cohesive, and I don't know why. So mesa, how about that 600 watt walkabout......or 1000. Transformer and mosfets, no class D. I'm gigging this with 3 bag end 15's tomorrow. I need them for the sensitivity. Two stacked and one in the floor in an L shape. Sounds aggressive but warm. Very ampeg. Real ampeg.
 
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#2,105
Ive actually never tried that... But maybe i will this week.


EdwardofHuncote said:
@svtb15 -you probably have already tried this- but running that F-2B into the effects return on your Walkabout is a pretty sweet setup too. (I use an F-1X pre... similar, but not *exactly* the same)
Click to expand...
 
#2,109
U4EA said:
What if you use a Walkabout as a preamp and plug it into an mpuls 600 Using it 's power amp? Will it act and sound like a bigger walkabout?
Click to expand...

agedhorse said:
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.
Click to expand...

it seems like this is the answer to your question?
 
#2,111
Who designed the Walkabout? Get that person to figure it out if they are still alive.. It took great ears to create the WA. Either it was designed like that by incredible ears and understanding of what a player experiences( possibly a player themselves ) or just plain old LUCK... Crunching numbers MIGHT get you a louder walkabout. But it is the FEEL thing with that amp.. Its magic.. Not sure if you can put magic down on paper.. But Maybe you can

kringle77 said:
I think that players have voiced what they want, it's up to an engineer to figure out how to do it. This amp is special.
Click to expand...
 
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#2,112
svtb15 said:
Who designed the Walkabout? Get that person to figure it out if they are still alive.. It took great ears to create the WA. Either it was designed like that by incredible ears and understanding of what a player experiences( possibly a player themselves ) or just plain old LUCK... Crunching numbers MIGHT get you a louder walkabout. But it is the FEEL thing with that amp.. Its magic.. Not sure if you can put magic down on paper.. But Maybe you can
Click to expand...

If I had to guess, Mr. Smith probably had alot to do with it and he'd be the one to try and engineer the same magic with a more robust power section.
 
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#2,113
So, there is still no agreement...

There are those in the camp that want it exactly the same but "at a higher level". But, do you want the distortion of the WA at say the 300 watt level and continue to get dirtier as you get louder OR for it to be 1/2 as dirty ,cleaner) at the 300 watt level and the same amount of dirty at say the 600 watt level?

It seems as though there are 2 preferences here, which is the crux of the difference between the WA and the MPulse 600. There is a specific interaction that doesn't scale in a linear way, so I have to know which way might be preferable to most of you?

There are a lot of options, including taking the WA to an entirely new level, but it has to make sense to a variety of players.
 

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