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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

#2,701
Just did my first rehearsal with my new-to-me Bergantino HDN212 and my WA....... very nice!!!!

MesaBerg.jpg
 
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#2,702
gillento said:
Just did my first rehearsal with my new-to-me Bergantino HDN212 and my WA....... very nice!!!!

View attachment 1156224
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My WA and CN212 is one of the best sounding rigs I've ever played. For me that cab serves up everything I like about the WA and tames down the low end bloom just enough to allow higher volume that sounds more focused and less pillow like in the low end (but still very full).
 
#2,703
MarkA said:
To confirm: Same settings on the "Player Control Network" on each cab?

Not sure if Mesa went from ceramic to neodymium (or vice-versa) at some point with the Scouts. Any possibility that one driver was replaced with a non-OEM part at some point?
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Both amps were dialed in the same, both on the amp controls and the tweeter controls.

My thoughts we're perhaps one of the amps may have a different driver. But, as far as I know, both amps are stock.

I did tweek the eq of the amp with the pronounced mid frequency tone and was able to get a similar tone the other amp produced.

Both combos produced a usable tone that works well in a live performance. Also, I have to remind myself that I can go to the extreme sometimes in search of "the desired tone". I'm learning to be content with tone my rig produces and focus more on playing.
 
#2,704
Al Kraft said:
My WA and CN212 is one of the best sounding rigs I've ever played. For me that cab serves up everything I like about the WA and tames down the low end bloom just enough to allow higher volume that sounds more focused and less pillow like in the low end (but still very full).
Click to expand...

I may have to take my WA head to the local bass shop and test a Berg cab out.

I'm currently running a WA scout 15 combo. But, I have a second WA head that I play through a SWR Goliath Jr or a SWR Goliath.

But, I have considered checking out other cab configurations such as a 1x12, 1x15, or 2x12 cabs just out of curiosity.
 
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#2,706
sheltjo6 said:
I Need some information regarding a Walkabout scout 15 combo.

Tonight at band rehearsal, we had two Walkabout scout 15 combos. Both amps had the same settings dialed in, but each combo sounded completely different. One Combo had a mid scooped tone whereas the other combo had a more pronounced mid frequency tone. We cabled each amp to each cab to determine if it was the amp or cab causing the tone difference. We isolated it to the cab.

One Combo is a few years old, the other approximately 10 years old.

Does anyone know of any design changes to the speaker cab or driver?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
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Mesa used a few different drivers in Scout cabs- for example in the 12" combos the 4ohm speaker and 8ohm speakers were different designs (one was an Eminence Deltalite and one an Eminence Deltalite II) that sounded and handled very differently. I only have a 4 ohm 15" Scout now, but would guess that they also used different speakers for 8 ohm in these since most Eminence OEM speakers only come in one impedance. I had heard that some newer cabs had ceramic speakers rather than neo as well, though can't confirm that for sure
 
#2,709
bumble yeti said:
Anybody know of a drive pedal that sounds close a driven WA? :bookworm:
I've got a few pedals that sound good with the WA but nuthin' that sound like it. I split my clean and dirty signals and would like to have a clean and dirty WA going at the same time. :D
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Not sure I follow -- are you splitting the clean and dirty signals and sending them to different amps (two WAs)? That's how I'm reading it. If so, I'm guessing you're looking for something that will emulate pushing the power section/V2, not just cranking the gain with the Master vol low. Is that correct?
 
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#2,712
sheltjo6 said:
Any recommendations for a repair shop in the San Diego Area or southern California I can take a Walkabout head to for repair?
I had Audio Design replace a broken internal fuse folder earlier this year, but the amp now has noisy pots, especially the Master volume pot when the volume is adjusted.
I've considered taking the amp back to Audio Design, but my experience with the shop was disappointing.
They had the amp for over three weeks and it seem to be that they were dragging the feet about repairing it within the time they said it would be completed.
When I received the amp back, it has noise issue now.

Has anyone used any of the following Authorized repair shops and if so, how was their service?
Desert Amplifier Repair in La Quinta, CA
Futara Electronics in Orange, CA
Ampwerx repair in Long Beach, CA
Mesa Boogie Hollywood in Hollywood, CA

Is there any other shops in the area I should investigate?
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agedhorse said:
I know the Hollywood store has some good techs, I also know the factory up in Petaluma has a couple of great techs. I have always been a fan of factory service where practical because that's a known quantity. (This applies in general, not just in this case).
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Yeah send it to Mesa. I did so recently with my faithful old Walkabout. They cleaned everything up and swapped out a few components. (I didn't read through the list in great detail.) No hassle. Quick turnaround. Under a hundred bucks including shipping back to me on the East Coast. (I had to ship it to them so there's the cost both ways.) Good communication from the shop.

Oh, and, it sounds freaking great. I will rely on them for anything I need to do with that head from here on out.

As @agedhorse is saying, stick with the guys who know that circuit inside out.
 
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#2,713
MarkA said:
Not sure I follow -- are you splitting the clean and dirty signals and sending them to different amps (two WAs)? That's how I'm reading it. If so, I'm guessing you're looking for something that will emulate pushing the power section/V2, not just cranking the gain with the Master vol low. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Sorry MarkA. I'm using a Badger Schism XV to split my bass signal, recombine it and send it to the WA. I have one channel that's always clean and dry. The other channel contains my dirt pedals with some low end cut and I blend them together. The WA is set to compress and mildly OD when I dig in but otherwise it's clean. I always wanted to combine the clean and dirty WA sounds because the WA sounds sooo good pushed. I tried a bunch of pedals, including some of Mesa's own, and haven't found anything that comes close so I figured I'd reach out.
FWIW, I don't have the budget or the room for two WA's or I'd go for it in a second! :bassist::bassist::bassist:
Thanks for asking!
 
#2,714
I think I had two of the four walkabouts I owned over many years serviced.
One was for a problem, one was to update to current specs
In both cases I shipped back to the mesa factory.
Service in both cases was quick, complete, cost effective, and pretty quick.
Highly recommended.
In fact I did the same thing with both carbines I had. Same thing, one for updates, one for service. Again, excellent .
 
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#2,718
bumble yeti said:
Sorry MarkA. I'm using a Badger Schism XV to split my bass signal, recombine it and send it to the WA. I have one channel that's always clean and dry. The other channel contains my dirt pedals with some low end cut and I blend them together. The WA is set to compress and mildly OD when I dig in but otherwise it's clean. I always wanted to combine the clean and dirty WA sounds because the WA sounds sooo good pushed. I tried a bunch of pedals, including some of Mesa's own, and haven't found anything that comes close so I figured I'd reach out.
FWIW, I don't have the budget or the room for two WA's or I'd go for it in a second! :bassist::bassist::bassist:
Thanks for asking!
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Hmm. Short of running two amps, I'm not sure what will give you the sound of "a clean and dirty WA going at the same time." You mention that you've tried a bunch of pedals (again, not my forte), but I wonder if you'd like the Amptweaker stuff. The pedals take a different approach from (but not entirely unrelated to) yours -- the distorted/overdriven signal is run pretty much full range (though you can affect how the bottom end is handled with the "Tight" control) and you can mix in an unaffected "Dry Low" (low-passed) signal to taste. There are full size and "jr." size versions of several of the pedals (full size have an effects loop in the pedal). I don't think that they'll give you the sound of a clean WA and a dirty WA run simultaneously, but one might give you a sound you like with a simpler setup than you're running currently. In my case (I have the Bass Tight Fuzz - Tight Drive might be closer to what you're looking for) I prefer the sound with the dry low to that of two full range signals mixed together. YMMV, but worth looking into.
 
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#2,719
mikeswals said:
Did you try an old Mesa V1? I loved the wool it had, and tube rolling in it worked as well. I also wanted to try out the Swell pedals but they kinda became a real PIA to track down.
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No I haven't. I found this thread from Crabby from 2011.
Mesa V1 Bottle Rocket...Wow!!!
Per Crabby, "The first thing I thought was that this pedal is a Mesa Walkabout in a pedal!" drool
So Caca De Kick, you may have put me onto something very cool!!! :woot:
agedhorse, if you're not going to continue the WA or make an EagleScout, can we have some of these, please? :D
 
#2,720
Several folks have said something like
"Discontinue the Walkabout?"

Man.
That would be tragic.
I mean, probably everyone in this thread would agree.
I've owned 4, and while I don't have one currently as it doesn't suit what I'm currently doing, that amp is just absolutely the best at what it does.
 
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