Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[pfschim]

No issues that I know of, or experienced using the combo cab without the amp in it. You do have to get yourself a Female/Female 1/4" adaptor for the cab.
I would go with cabs with the same ohm rating, and not mix them ... it's just simpler IMO/IME.

At various times I used a 12+15 and a 12+12 config. I liked the 12+15 rig better as I felt like the 15 handled the power better and as long as you manage the low end EQing, the 15 also gets just a bit deeper/fuller .. again IMO/IME.

good luck
and Merry Christmas !

 

[gillento]

Anyone using their Walkabout in a 8ohm 1x12 + 4ohm 2x12 cab config ?
I am considering going with a 3x12 arrangement by adding a Berg CN112 to my current CN212, but I am wondering how well it would work with mixed ohms cabs.
.....

For the speakers that should be perfect: the 4 ohm CN212 ‘is composed’ of two 8 ohm speakers anyway. So every speaker is being pushed the same way.

 

[lomo]

View attachment 2851651


Details please.....does it now have only the V1 (preamp) tube? Are all the MOSFETS now out of the circuit/removed? If not, do you know how part of this was maintained? How much does it currently weigh? If it sounds like the Walkabout FX send into a power amp it'll sound good, but a lot of the magic will have escaped into the ether.

 

[sratas]

Probably yes. But in the meantime an italian simply did it, without too much fake thinking and came in no time to an interesting configuration. Now he and we can verify if the thing works or it's worth. Mesa simply was not intentioned to consider any solution or new WA that implied the walkabout heritage

 

[glocke1]

stupid question...but what exactly is a mosfet and what does it do?

 

[BassPilot]

No issues that I know of, or experienced using the combo cab without the amp in it. You do have to get yourself a Female/Female 1/4" adaptor for the cab.
I would go with cabs with the same ohm rating, and not mix them ... it's just simpler IMO/IME.

At various times I used a 12+15 and a 12+12 config. I liked the 12+15 rig better as I felt like the 15 handled the power better and as long as you manage the low end EQing, the 15 also gets just a bit deeper/fuller .. again IMO/IME.

good luck
and Merry Christmas !

There's also a Berg AE410 on CL. This cab would be the same weight as the 15 combo (with head) but a lot more headroom. I haven't played an AE410 but they get pretty good reviews. I have the WA 12 and a D-800 w/SW 112 & 115 but the WA is such a unique amp that the headroom I'd have on the AE410 is quite tempting. I just need to see what it sounds like.
Opinions on these two options?

 

[kevmoga]

There's also a Berg AE410 on CL. This cab would be the same weight as the 15 combo (with head) but a lot more headroom. I haven't played an AE410 but they get pretty good reviews. I have the WA 12 and a D-800 w/SW 112 & 115 but the WA is such a unique amp that the headroom I'd have on the AE410 is quite tempting. I just need to see what it sounds like.
Opinions on these two options?

Played my WA through the ae410 once. IMHO, it's one of those head/cab combinations that works really, really well. Wish I had snagged it when I could, doubt you would regret going that way.

 

[derekale]

Details please.....does it now have only the V1 (preamp) tube? Are all the MOSFETS now out of the circuit/removed? If not, do you know how part of this was maintained? How much does it currently weigh? If it sounds like the Walkabout FX send into a power amp it'll sound good, but a lot of the magic will have escaped into the ether.

Hi lomo, as I said I do not know the details, both valves still in and all the mosfet part has been replaced.
(here is a picture of the new inside)

Enrico is in England for Christmas, as soon as possible I ask for more details, maybe he will write here in person...

I have two live in the end of January, I will let you know, I can't play at high volumes at home.
Anyway, at my probably deaf ears, the sound seems almost the same...

Here is the new weight (in kilograms, about 8,22 lbs):

 

[lomo]

Hi lomo, as I said I do not know the details, both valves still in and all the mosfet part has been replaced.
(here is a picture of the new inside)

View attachment 2853590


Enrico is in England for Christmas, as soon as possible I ask for more details, maybe he will write here in person...

I have two live in the end of January, I will let you know, I can't play at high volumes at home.
Anyway, at my probably deaf ears, the sound seems almost the same...

Here is the new weight (in kilograms 8,22 lbs):

View attachment 2853591

Thanks...I am intrigued. I'm an electrical ignoramus, but AFAIK, the 2nd tube drives the MOSFET power section, so the fact that it's still there (assuming it's not merely decorative) is interesting....and so is the weight I am eager for more details when available.

 

[Al Kraft]

stupid question...but what exactly is a mosfet and what does it do?

At the risk of oversimplifying, MOSFETs (which stands for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect-Transistor) are being used in this instance as the heart of the power amplifier section of the Walkabout. The pre-amp section uses 2 tubes. This is why you sometimes hear of these type of heads being referred to as "hybrids"...they employ both tubes and solid state components.

If you have a desire for a deeper understanding of MOSFETs and amplifier design, one of the brilliant electronic wizards who frequent this forum would be much better qualified to provide that type of insight.

 

[Al Kraft]

Thanks...I am intrigued. I'm an electrical ignoramus, but AFAIK, the 2nd tube drives the MOSFET power section, so the fact that it's still there (assuming it's not merely decorative) is interesting....and so is the weight I am eager for more details when available.

The weight shown seems to reflect the removal of the large transformer (isn't the stock WA around 6+ KGs?) and I would assume that the tube could still be used to drive the power section. Although given what has been said about how that power amplifier and pre-amp interact I'm sure it's not as straight forward as it might have been in some head designs.

 

[KUETSUM]

If it's sound the same
I gonna slap myself real hard
But happy to know that

For years I blame the "warm" type class d amp sounds fake or plastic .. (I had a subtitle 3.0, tc rh450, little mark ii?... And currently owning a th350)
Because it's a class d

But I see hope now!
Small size but great sound


Would be great see aged horse to give comment as well

 

[bumble yeti]

The weight shown seems to reflect the removal of the large transformer (isn't the stock WA around 6+ KGs?) and I would assume that the tube could still be used to drive the power section. Although given what has been said about how that power amplifier and pre-amp interact I'm sure it's not as straight forward as it might have been in some head designs.

Al, Have they not read? All of the years. All of the postings. We were there. We read the posts. Others have tried. It's NOT the SAME!
<sigh.>
agedhorse, Can you put a tube preamp in a D-800 for these folks? Sounds like what they want… until they hear it. Then they'll be like, "It's close but…"
Can we turn our attention to the Eagle Scout? Or the drive pedal? I wanna make my Boogie, more Boogie!
Happy Holidays!

 

[bklee]

No issues that I know of, or experienced using the combo cab without the amp in it. You do have to get yourself a Female/Female 1/4" adaptor for the cab.
I would go with cabs with the same ohm rating, and not mix them ... it's just simpler IMO/IME.

At various times I used a 12+15 and a 12+12 config. I liked the 12+15 rig better as I felt like the 15 handled the power better and as long as you manage the low end EQing, the 15 also gets just a bit deeper/fuller .. again IMO/IME.

good luck
and Merry Christmas !

I totally agree. I use a Walkabout scout (12") combo with a Subway 15 extension speaker. It is an awesome combination.

 

[agedhorse]

My experience is that simply dropping a class D amp into the WA will not result in a bigger WA tone or feel.

This doesn't mean there aren't some possibilities down the road, I've been taken working on some, but there are a lot of interactive things that are responsible for the WA's tone and feel.

 

[pfschim]

My experience is that simply dropping a class D amp into the WA will not result in a bigger WA tone or feel.

This doesn't mean there aren't some possibilities down the road, I've been taken working on some, but there are a lot of interactive things that are responsible for the WA's tone and feel.

I can say for sure that simply running the WA FX out to the FX return on a Demeter VTPB-M-800D does not result in an 800w Walkabout. (I wish)
As agedhorse says, there must be more stuff interacting in the WA to get its signature tone.

 

[EastCoastThump]

It looks great, but my gut is telling me that if Mesa and agedhorse couldn't get us there, it seems unlikely that we have anything more here than a good sounding cosmetically similar imitation.

Maybe, but this is a one-off boutique build. Mesa and agedhorse had the much harder design challenge of needing any redesign to be commercially viable in a pretty rough niche market.

If it sounds like the Walkabout FX send into a power amp it'll sound good, but a lot of the magic will have escaped into the ether.

True. The FX send (tapped before the tube driving the power amp section) doesn't capture the Walkabout magic, but the DI out does.

A louder Walkabout is possible, although it would then not have the same chewy tone at small-gig volumes.

 

[agedhorse]

Any redesigned, or replacement type product for the WA needs to address the very things that made the WA desirable as well as address the things that didn't work well for some players. It's a lot tougher than it sounds.

Throwing a class D amp into a WA is easy, I might have done this a few times before coming to the conclusion that there's more going on. This doesn't mean that I have stopped working on it but the direction has taken multiple direction changes with some interesting distractions based on your TB player comments.

 

[husky123]

some interesting distractions based on your TB player comments.

This is exciting.

 

[Al Kraft]

As many of us may recall, even the WA's big brother, the M-Pulse 600, did not exactly sound like a "bigger/more powerful WA". That fact alone leads me to conclude that there was something else going on in the WA design, and in all likelihood it does not lend itself to being scaled up easily/practicably.

If anyone can can get us what we're looking for (including possibly our Eagle Scout conceptual design) it'll be agedhorse. However, my guess is that the answer to this challenge won't come from a straight-on frontal assault, but rather some creative thinking that could even lead to innovative circuitry with other potential future applications.