Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[joebar]

I agree that an efficient cab is very important in maximizing this amp.
I recently acquired an epifani UL310 ; it’s a 5.3 ohm cab. It’s also quite sensitive.
I played an outdoor gig last week and the amp wasn’t maxed out. I had to turn the amp down because it was hurting our ears. Tons of power in this set up

 

[Coolhandjjl]

In the commercial aviation world pilots often do not use the full power an aircraft's engines can produce on take-off, but calculate a needed upper power level for the specific conditions. This doesn't mean the engines can't run at maximum power in those conditions, but rather for reasons of conserving life and enhancing long term reliability a lesser power setting is used. Probably a bad analogy, but a case where the engineers recommend you not use everything you've got unless it's an emergency and you really need it, and then only long enough to get you out the situation requiring that maximum power setting.

Sorry, only car analogies are allowed on TalkBass.

 

[Al Kraft]

Sorry, only car analogies are allowed on TalkBass.

...and I could have done one of those too!

 

[BassPilot]

...and I could have done one of those too!

I like the aviation reference

 

[agedhorse]

Turning an SAE problem into am AIAA solution, one analogy at a time

 

[BassPilot]

Turning an SAE problem into am AIAA solution, one analogy at a time

Well, what I say in aviation certainly applies to most anything else man made (well):

If you're nice to your airplane, your airplane will be nice to you.

In modern day parlance, True Dat!

 

[Al Kraft]

I like the aviation reference

Thanks! Every once in a while I think it helps to get a a different view of the area of interest from a higher altitude.

 

[bobcruz]

You'd almost think this thread was about the early 1900's Thomas Flyabout:

But here's a serious question for fellow WalkAbout owners--has anyone experienced a repeated cutout of the power amp that is accompanied by the same "click" that the warmup relay makes when it brings the amp out of standby at startup? The amp is not running hot so it's not a thermal issue. It started happening during home practice at low volume into either 4 or 8 ohm loads. It would happen only once in a while for a few seconds, but has lately been more "off" than "on." During cutout the preamp continues to function without interruption (verified through the effects send to another amp). It really does sound like the standby relay clicking in and out. I could pop the cover off to localize the click if I need to. I contacted Mesa customer service but they didn't suggest that this is a known problem; they just said to bring it in and they'll fix it at $100/hour. Nothing wrong with that; I'm just looking for any similar experience from other users. BTW, my WalkAbout has a serial number indicating it was about the 4th one sold to the public so it's had a good long run. Bob

 

[agedhorse]

Bring it in, the legacy repair guys are really good and will get it sorted out.

 

[Al Kraft]

You'd almost think this thread was about the early 1900's Thomas Flyabout:

View attachment 2997848

But here's a serious question for fellow WalkAbout owners--has anyone experienced a repeated cutout of the power amp that is accompanied by the same "click" that the warmup relay makes when it brings the amp out of standby at startup? The amp is not running hot so it's not a thermal issue. It started happening during home practice at low volume into either 4 or 8 ohm loads. It would happen only once in a while for a few seconds, but has lately been more "off" than "on." During cutout the preamp continues to function without interruption (verified through the effects send to another amp). It really does sound like the standby relay clicking in and out. I could pop the cover off to localize the click if I need to. I contacted Mesa customer service but they didn't suggest that this is a known problem; they just said to bring it in and they'll fix it at $100/hour. Nothing wrong with that; I'm just looking for any similar experience from other users. BTW, my WalkAbout has a serial number indicating it was about the 4th one sold to the public so it's had a good long run. Bob

Sweet ride by the way. As for the WA cutout problem I've never experienced it, but did have the exact problem you described on Yamaha stereo receiver from the 1970's and it was simply a failed relay that was at the end of its service life and wouldn't stay "latched" (for lack of a better term).

Professional service is always the best insurance in my book, and while more costly up front, the results of a DIY guy like me or a bargain electronics repair shop are not actually good economic decisions in the bigger picture. Best of luck getting your WA back up and running well. And congratulations on keeping such an early model alive so long, you must take good care of your gear!

 

[rodl2005]

Yep.
There's cheap, then there's economical

 

[bassmonkeee]

Walkabout Scout out for delivery. I think "follow your delivery" makes it worse.

 

[the yeti]

Walkabout Scout out for delivery. I think "follow your delivery" makes it worse.

View attachment 3002409

imagine if there's a 27 car pile up

 

[rodl2005]

Or 38 deliveries between it and you

 

[bassmonkeee]

Wow. I had forgotten just how amazing the Scout sounded. It's been many years since I've owned one. And, that one didn't have the player control network.

This is my first blackface, too.

It sounds so amazing with both my active 5s and passive 4s. I'm in tone heaven.

 

[bumble yeti]

Wow. I had forgotten just how amazing the Scout sounded. It's been many years since I've owned one. And, that one didn't have the player control network.

This is my first blackface, too.

It sounds so amazing with both my active 5s and passive 4s. I'm in tone heaven.

Welcome back to the 'heard' bassmonkee!!!

 

[Al Kraft]

My WA Scout 112 remains a key piece of my arsenal and it's the only combo I own. While there might be some other combo out there that would be better (whatever that means), the WA Scout 112 is reasonably portable (upper limit IMO) and performs way above expectations for anything near its size and weight.

 

[BassPilot]

Cinco de May gig tonight. I brought my new (to me) Berg AE410, Walkabout and GK MB200.
On sound check I tried the MB200 but it wasn't enough power for the room we were playing in. Its a cool amp and fine for smaller venues but this was a hall with 150 people eating dinner and dancing and a good sized bar/drinking area in the back. Once you turn the gain up past noon on the MB200 it just starts to break down and not in a good way.
Next up, the walkabout. With the AE410 this amp is a completely different animal than with the 2 Scout cabs I have. I find the Scout cabs are big on the bottom to low mids and not quite as strong in the high mids and highs. The Walkabout head can be pretty deep on the bottom as well so combining the head and cabs gets a big bass punch which needs to be attenuated. The AE410 is much more consistent from the lows to the highs and it provides a fair amount more headroom than the Scout cabs. With the AE410 I can turn the gain to noon and the master to around 3 o'clock and it sounds great. I didn't need that much power out of the walkabout but it was there if I needed it.
I have a Broughton HPF/LPF and I bring it with me just in case I need a HPF. But with the Walkabout I prefer to use the parametric EQ and turn the lowest frequency down to 30 Hz and cut it by 3 or 4 dB. That seems to clean up the bottom in a more pleasing way to my ear than the Broughton.
I brought my G&L SB-2 and Kiloton basses to this gig. I play the Kiloton at a regular jam session through a GK Backline 600 and I absolutely LOVE the sound of that bass with that amp through a JBL 215 PA cab (odd but it works!). But the Kiloton just didn't sound good with the Walkabout/AE410 combo. The SB-2 sounded great and that's what I played for this short 2 set gig.
To cure my love/desire for that GK sound I'm getting a GK 700rb ii this week. I hope that and the AE410 cures this GAS.

 

[sratas]

Imo the wa is a pretty honest 300 watts amp. I used it even outdoors with a single 12 flfr cab and it rocked the venue. Sure I set the gain to mild overdrive, think 2 o clock and it was marvellous

 

[WoodyJ]

Well, as a huge Mesa fan I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I was unable to follow agedhorse's sage advice from a previous post exchange. For some time I had been searching for a clean used Scout extension cabinet to add to my Scout 12 combo. No luck on that so my next option was a Subway 1x12 cabinet, which agedhorse said would work. However, that would have required me to replace the original 4 ohm speaker in the combo with an 8 ohm version. That, combined with the cost of the Subway cab just wasn't in the cards at the moment as yesterday I just had very expensive oral surgery which negated large gear expenditures for awhile.

So, in a fit of experimentation, last week I ordered a new 4 ohm Eminence Kappalite 3012LF-4 speaker. 550W RMS, 1100W Program, 9.1mm Xmax. Yes, I know this speaker is primarily meant for PA/Subwoofer use but the stats looked good to me and I figured it was worth a try.

Well.....to make a long description short, it is stunningly AWESOME. The low end is incredible for a 12, the mids are great and with the horn turned up to +2dB and the passive radiator radiating, there are actually sparkling highs even with a P-bass with TI flatwounds. I am completely blown away and there is clean headroom like never before with this setup.

This is an older silverface Walkabout with the Rhino Tolex but it did come with the active/passive switch. I've had it since new - 11 years or so - and it has been 100% reliable. I did install new preamp tubes last year which sharpened up the tone. I gigged it a few times early on (through a pair of PH 1x15's) but as a combo it has been mostly a studio and jamming amp. I've always though it was a great combo amp but with after the speaker swap, it is now an incredible amp, combo or otherwise. Not as loud as my D-800 but WA tone is unmatched. Especially now.