I just set mine by ear. It works wonders for fixing a boomy sounding cabinet or room, since many rooms boost bass anyway. Of course it changes from one room to the next, which is why an adjustable HPF is nice.
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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
I just set mine by ear. It works wonders for fixing a boomy sounding cabinet or room, since many rooms boost bass anyway. Of course it changes from one room to the next, which is why an adjustable HPF is nice.
very good HPF/LPF thread here: High Pass Filter (HPF) and Low Pass Filter (LPF) Mega Thread
basically the HPF removes/reduces frequencies below the point you set it at and lets all others above it pass thru the amp to the speakers.
It can be set in different ways to achieve different goals, and one of the goals can be to protect your speakers from too much low freq energy. HPF is also used to tame boom/muddy-ness in rooms where that is a problem. Very handy device.
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The video on the Mesa website says you can run 12AT7 and 12AU7 for cleaner, or a 12AX7 I imagine of you want sooner grit.
So, I have to ask @Al Kraft and @Chef .... how much does the new Subway/Walkabout cop the goodness/greatness of the original WA ?
This new amp looks great, has a ton of great features and is a Mesa product, so it's definitely calling my name. BUT .. I really more-or-less just got my head around my D800+, and also played around with interconnection options between the my WA and the D800+ (which I detailed in some other thread) and came up with a very decent 800w Walkabout using both amps (WA FX out into D800+ FX return), and a 965w Walkabout/D800+ using the "post everything" WA DI into the FX return of the D800+ and then driving one cab with the WA and the other with the WA flavored D800+.
So, other than just trying one myself (which we all know is really the best way to judge), what can you tell us about how close the new amp cops the beauty of the original WA ?
inquiring minds want to know .... my Demeter VTBP-M-800DJ also wants to know because with this new "800w Walkabout" on the horizon, it's feeling kind of redundant
This new amp looks great, has a ton of great features and is a Mesa product, so it's definitely calling my name. BUT .. I really more-or-less just got my head around my D800+, and also played around with interconnection options between the my WA and the D800+ (which I detailed in some other thread) and came up with a very decent 800w Walkabout using both amps (WA FX out into D800+ FX return), and a 965w Walkabout/D800+ using the "post everything" WA DI into the FX return of the D800+ and then driving one cab with the WA and the other with the WA flavored D800+.
So, other than just trying one myself (which we all know is really the best way to judge), what can you tell us about how close the new amp cops the beauty of the original WA ?
inquiring minds want to know .... my Demeter VTBP-M-800DJ also wants to know because with this new "800w Walkabout" on the horizon, it's feeling kind of redundant
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Yeah, I'm super excited, but I'm going to have to play one before I pull the trigger. As soon as they have them in stock, I'm hauling my whole rig down to my local dealer to A/B it with my WA.
or, better yet, do a road-trip down to beautiful Petaluma and visit the good folks at Mesa in person !Yeah, I'm super excited, but I'm going to have to play one before I pull the trigger. As soon as they have them in stock, I'm hauling my whole rig down to my local dealer to A/B it with my WA.
... and yes to the whole A/B between the WA and the WD-800. For me and others who recently bought into the D800/D800+ amps, there will be some decisions to make based on how much the new amp resembles the original WA in its tonal flavor.
I have just got used to my D800+ with its decidedly more Carbine flavored preamp section and tonal characteristics. Not a bad thing necessarily, but I have always been a big WA fan and not so much in love with the Carbine.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,768
- 40,440
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
I thought it was very close and posted some thoughts over in the Subway thread. It' kind of interesting that the Subway folks are seeing this as a new tube pre-amp SW and the WA folks are seeing it as the next generation WA. Based on my experience with the prototype I think both groups will be happy.So, I have to ask @Al Kraft and @Chef .... how much does the new Subway/Walkabout cop the goodness/greatness of the original WA ?
This new amp looks great, has a ton of great features and is a Mesa product, so it's definitely calling my name. BUT .. I really more-or-less just got my head around my D800+, and also played around with interconnection options between the my WA and the D800+ (which I detailed in some other thread) and came up with a very decent 800w Walkabout using both amps (WA FX out into D800+ FX return), and a 965w Walkabout/D800+ using the "post everything" WA DI into the FX return of the D800+ and then driving one cab with the WA and the other with the WA flavored D800+.
So, other than just trying one myself (which we all know is really the best way to judge), what can you tell us about how close the new amp cops the beauty of the original WA ?
inquiring minds want to know .... my Demeter VTBP-M-800DJ also wants to know because with this new "800w Walkabout" on the horizon, it's kind of feeling redundant
I still own two original (early/mid and later production) WA's and used them and the prototype with a number of cabs (including Mesa, Berg, AudioKinesis, and GK). I liked the new head a lot. It has that WA fullness and richness, but it's more focused and retains the voicing you give it when the volume increases, even at 2 OHMs. It never felt too loose or out of control - it's more articulate than the original WA. You get that nice WA tone, and can play it fast and/or loud without loosing note definition. That is especially obvious down low where the original WA could get lost or muddy in it's own low end bloom if you weren't careful.
With the addition of the variable HPF and the ability to adjust the damping (the manual available on line has a great discussion on this feature) you have a lot more opportunity to shape your tone than the original WA. In this regard it's truly a player's head with a lot of ways to shape and voice the sound. While I like the Mesa implementation of the deep and bright switches on the SW's for a quick change-up at the flick of a switch, this head offers the original WA set-up for EQ which combined with the new features (variable HPF and damping control) let's you do more than I think a SW or original WA can.
The damping control seemed to change the feel and sound more with some cabs than others and more on the lower notes, especially as you started to get some volume cranking and/or started to dig in. I'm not sure this is the best description, but with low damping, using my Changeling 112T with all ports plugged it was like the low notes had a smoother edge and less hard definition in terms of distinct stopping and starting - almost like losing a digital edge and getting an analog flow. It never got sloppy but it was different and quite reminiscent of that original WA smoothness. Very subtle, but cool feature.
Mids and highs really didn't seem to be as affected by the damping control and the degree of the effect varied between cabs. That made sense to me since this is part of a complex interaction between the speaker(s) and the amp. My best analogy is that we know heads sound different with different basses for many reasons, so the degree to which the damping factor changes amp and cab interaction also has lots of variables and would logically sound different. (Andy probably has a better way of saying it)
At the end of the day I think Andy and the Mesa folks did a great job of listening to likes and dislikes. IMO they were able remove the frustrating/limiting aspects of the original WA while not only preserving what folks appreciated in that head, but also offering new and useful features that make it a WA+. I was more than satisfied with the head and am actually surprised that the price isn't higher given all it offers and the cost of my last WA many years ago.
EDITED to add AudioKinesis to list of Cabs I used with the WD-800 Prototype.
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Had the markbass combo head sitting around doing nothing,so....mutation occurred.
Sounds really great,using the VT DI to preamp both combos.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,768
- 40,440
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
That may be one of the biggest differences pfschim between the SW series and this new head. I agree that the inherent voicing on the SW heads is a little more Carbine sounding than M-Pulse/WA-like. This head felt much more WA-like to me in terms of warmth and not having an in your face top end. That said it was still articulate and had good note separation. I did compare it to one of my Carbines and it has less of a bite/edge than them or my D-800. You can dial in nice clean upper register voicing if you like brightness, but it doesn't have that inherent Carbine edginess to it.
"explain the HFP, is it used to protect speakers from damage?"
Well; sort of? That's one valid use, yes. If you crank a bass heavy signal it can cause over excursion of the drivers, and the HPF, especially an adjustable one, allows you to trim out ultra low bass without killing all the fat in your signal. So; you can use it that way.
I don't think that's necessarily it's intended, or, best use tho.
With the older Walkabout, I would use the low band of semi-parametric set at ~50-100hz to trim, and then use the bass control to add bass back in a little dance to keep fat and hefty from becoming boomy and overpowering. This varies by room/stage, speakers, and the bass you're using.
I then bought an f-deck HPR-III, a variable hpf to do that.
Then, Mesa incorporated that into the D800+, which is a pretty great built in feature.
And I do the same thing with that, that I did with the Walkabout.
Use the variable HPF to trim and tighten things up, and then maybe, or, maybe not, add some other low frequencies back via bass or the semi para eq, or, with the bass control on an active bass.
It's really a great way to tune your entire rig for a variety of speaker/bass combinations, situations or venues/stage weirdness-problems or any number of other reasons.
High Pass Filter is kind of a weird name to get your head in line with...it trims low stuff, and then passes all the higher stuff on thru.
Sorting backwards naming, when you first look at it, but, makes sense when you know what it does.
Very nice thing to have.
Well; sort of? That's one valid use, yes. If you crank a bass heavy signal it can cause over excursion of the drivers, and the HPF, especially an adjustable one, allows you to trim out ultra low bass without killing all the fat in your signal. So; you can use it that way.
I don't think that's necessarily it's intended, or, best use tho.
With the older Walkabout, I would use the low band of semi-parametric set at ~50-100hz to trim, and then use the bass control to add bass back in a little dance to keep fat and hefty from becoming boomy and overpowering. This varies by room/stage, speakers, and the bass you're using.
I then bought an f-deck HPR-III, a variable hpf to do that.
Then, Mesa incorporated that into the D800+, which is a pretty great built in feature.
And I do the same thing with that, that I did with the Walkabout.
Use the variable HPF to trim and tighten things up, and then maybe, or, maybe not, add some other low frequencies back via bass or the semi para eq, or, with the bass control on an active bass.
It's really a great way to tune your entire rig for a variety of speaker/bass combinations, situations or venues/stage weirdness-problems or any number of other reasons.
High Pass Filter is kind of a weird name to get your head in line with...it trims low stuff, and then passes all the higher stuff on thru.
Sorting backwards naming, when you first look at it, but, makes sense when you know what it does.
Very nice thing to have.
"does the WD800 really do the Walkabout thing?"
Well...which Walkabout thing?
If you mean does it do fat, hefty, vintage-y goodness; then yes, mission completely achieved, for me.
With the bonus of it incorporates some of the Carbine/D800+ brightness, if you want that, which the Walkabout didn't do.
If you mean "does it add richness and harmonic content as you crank the gain structure," then also yes; perhaps to a slightly lesser degree.
If you mean "does it add tube-amp-like compression, along with grit and grind" as you crank things up...This is going to really vary by user, and, speaker load, and how hot your bass is, and what you're doing with low and mid eq, and what you're doing with the damping control. It's not "100% same/same," but it's in there.
Qualifier: Personally, those were/are things I don't like, so I wasn't super into spending a lot of time finding those things.
Well...which Walkabout thing?
If you mean does it do fat, hefty, vintage-y goodness; then yes, mission completely achieved, for me.
With the bonus of it incorporates some of the Carbine/D800+ brightness, if you want that, which the Walkabout didn't do.
If you mean "does it add richness and harmonic content as you crank the gain structure," then also yes; perhaps to a slightly lesser degree.
If you mean "does it add tube-amp-like compression, along with grit and grind" as you crank things up...This is going to really vary by user, and, speaker load, and how hot your bass is, and what you're doing with low and mid eq, and what you're doing with the damping control. It's not "100% same/same," but it's in there.
Qualifier: Personally, those were/are things I don't like, so I wasn't super into spending a lot of time finding those things.
That's exactly what I do with my WA -- probably because I read that from you after I got it.
Thanks, Chef -- as always, that was super helpful! And yes, that's exactly what I was thinking -- that the HPF has a counter-intuitive name -- thanks for confirming that!
Accepting Preorders at MESA/Boogie Hollywood: Link Removed
Bravo! Now to decide what cabs to get with it....and I see there are new Subway cabs coming too.
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Oh, Hello. Finally a larger Walkabout head. Just as I have been saying that I am done buying amps as I have found my favorites, this pops up. I guess Andy is going to be making some money off of me pretty soon.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,768
- 40,440
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
This head should put a smile on the faces of Subway fans, as well as the Walkabout faithful who have simply wanted a more powerful WA for years (but secretly wondered what one with some of these new fancy features would be like).
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,768
- 40,440
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
I think a number of us discovered that the WA with Berg CN212 (4 Ohm) was what the WA Scout 112 always wanted to be when it grew up. I found the new WD-800 to deliver even more of that same goodness, but a lot bigger way. Needless to say the new head sounded great with the SW112 and 115 cabs, but it was equally impressive through my GK cabs, older Powerhouse cabs, and one of my new favorites, Duke's Changeling 112T.
