Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[bumble yeti]

I also thought it would be higher. I just ordered one.

I haven't purchased a new amp or pre-amp since 2006 (thanks to the TB classifieds). A few years back an Ashdown ABM500 replaced my Walkabout, and still nothing has unseated the Ashdown. But this looks like the ticket.

Hey guys, quit pushin' up the price! It's not even out yet!
FWIW, my WalkAbout replaced my Ashdown ABM500 C210T EVO II. (Partly because the name was too long.)
Got the opp to play the D-800 Plus a few times lately and I liked it. Now… I can't wait to try the WD-800. But, like I've said before, I'm getting buried with my WA. Just sayin'.

 

[pfschim]

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.

I'm happy to hear you say this AK, as I am pretty invested in Berg cabs. I have heard nothing but good stuff about the Subway cabs (mostly here on TB) And I did have a 12+15 stack on one recent venue backline, but my love of (and possession of) several Berg cabs keeps me from considering (or needing) any new cabs. The WA+CN212, WA+"CN312" and WA+NV610 combinations are just great to my ears too and its good to be reminded what a great combination these make.

 

[agedhorse]

Having experience with both the Walkabout and o.g. D-800, I wonder how significant of a role the inclusion of a 12AT7 played in achieving the design goal.
I imagine enough of us would have shout-typed Where's the glass?!!! had it not been included.
And why a 12AT7 instead of 12AX7? And why not two?!!!

The WD-800 uses an almost identical tube pre architecture as the Walkabout, but it's scaled differently so that those who struggled with the difficult to control "hair" and "fur" on the original Walkabout will have an easier time. It's not just a gain thing but it's also a circuit impedance factor, which is why the 12AT7 or 12AU7 is the tube of choice. While there's more inherent gain with a 12AX7 in a common cathode voltage amp, there's also a higher inherent impedance in the circuit taken as a whole. The 12AT7 scales the best in our opinion when comparing to the original Walkabout. It will be more sensitive to tube rolling than some of my other designs, the tubes we use are very high quality, low noise, low microphonics and the design should have an expected lifespan of over 10,000 hours. I know, not good for replacement tube sales, but it's a better way to design IMO for this particular application.

Please educate me if I am wrong. So the Hi Pass Filter (adjustment) / LED, is it similar or the same as The limiter & LED on an old SWR SM400 for example? Or does it act as/like a compressor on the MP 360/600 models? Or a little of both?

The highpass filter has nothing to do with limiting, what it does is add a shelving filter with an adjustable knee point that rolls off the signal below the knee. You might download the manual and read the description of this feature.

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.

See my comments above, I personally thought that the 12AX7 family kind of congested the dynamic range somewhat, not because of the gain but because of the lower drive current capability. The AT and AU do a MUCH better job for this application IMO.

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 is (much) closer to Walkabout than the D-800/800+, it really shares more architecture with the WA than the D-800/800+ overall.

Something else to note, Because of the circuit design of the Walkabout, and even the minor changes that were necessary over the ~15 year life, each Walkabout tends to have a bit of its own personality. Play 10 WA's side by side and they will all sound a little different because of the way the component tolerances add up in the particular circuits used, and the open loop power amp tends to exaggerate this even more. The circuitry of the WD-800 avoids much of this (though not all) so they should sound more consistent from unit to unit as well as over the lifespan of the amp.

 

[Al Kraft]

When we were playing the prototypes I recall some conversation about whether the damping control should be optimized around the SW cabs so it made more of an obvious difference in each setting. Agedhorse was very focused on being sure the head would be a good match for a wide range of cabs, not just Mesa, and made design decisions that I think players who prefer or already own other (non Mesa) cabs will be very happy with as well.

I used the head with a number of cabs and found it to play well with all of them. While the head obviously sounds great with Mesa cabs, it does equally well with probably anything out there. In my case I played it with Mesa (PH and SW), GK, Berg and AudioKinesis cabs. I think Alan played it with Baer and GK cabs. What I do recall is how much we liked the head with various cabs and how similar our playing impressions were regardless of cab.

 

[Chef]

I have:
Subway, GK, Baer, and fEARFul cabs.
The WD800 played well with all of them.

When we were playing the prototypes I recall some conversation about whether the damping control should be optimized around the SW cabs so it made more of an obvious difference in each setting. Agedhorse was very focused on being sure the head would be a good match for a wide range of cabs, not just Mesa, and made design decisions that I think players who prefer or already own other (non Mesa) cabs will be very happy with as well.

I used the head with a number of cabs and found it to play well with all of them. While the head obviously sounds great with Mesa cabs, it does equally well with probably anything out there. In my case I played it with Mesa (PH ans SW), GK, Berg and AudioKinesis cabs. I think Alan played it with Baer and GK cabs. What I do recall is how much we liked the head with various cabs and how similar our playing impressions were regardless of cab.

 

[agedhorse]

Correct Al, I have always believed that an amp should play well with many different cabinets, and just as importantly the cabinets should play well with different amps.

Everybody has different tastes, this is something that I have always supported here on TB and continue to do so. Just because somebody has a different taste than I do, or Al, or Chef, or anybody else here doesn't make them wrong or that they shouldn't be supported by whatever gear they find suits them.

 

[lomo]

...about a year with virtually no wasted TB screen time and now sucked back into the vortex

 

[lomo]

View attachment 3229795 View attachment 3229796 Got a scout 12 cab recently, with an 8 ohm speaker.
Had the markbass combo head sitting around doing nothing,so....mutation occurred.
Sounds really great,using the VT DI to preamp both combos.

Looks more like genetic engineering than a spontaneous mutation

 

[slofut]

Will the WD fit in the Scout combo cabs?

 

[Chef]

Will the WD fit in the Scout combo cabs?

I believe yes
It for sure fits in my old walkabout gig bag, but the new amp is about 2” shallower

 

[agedhorse]

Will the WD fit in the Scout combo cabs?

It should, but imo is enough power to damage the driver (even the 8 ohm version)

 

[Wicked G]

Well Andy @agedhorse I just wanted to thank you for ruining my sleep last night. I can't believe I found myself thinking about an amp I have never even heard before. Lol.

 

[tomydacat]

Ok GAS had me at Hello.. come on lottery I need to my credit down!!! Can’t wait to play this amp!!!!

 

[maisbass]

Will the WD fit in the Scout combo cabs?

I think it shouldn't be a problem. The dimensions are similar to the Subway D800 and I have my subway in the Scout with a bit of modification. Since the Subway D800 isnt as deep, not as high or wide as the old Walkabout, I installed some 1" L Brackets on the back panel of the scout to provide extra stability. I padded the L brackets so it doesn't scratch the Subway, and I added some foam with Velcro to the back panel and sides of the Scout to make the Subway fit snugly. It worked out great. I actually like that the Subway is recessed into the Scout since it isn't as deep as the Walkabout... I feel it provides extra protection and doesn't impede access to the knobs.

With the WD perhaps you could use the L brackets like I did for extra stability, but I don't think you will need much foam if any to secure the height and width since the measurements are really close to the original walkabout.

 

[agedhorse]

The WD-800 should use the same mounting hardware as the original Walkabout, at least for those that I have seen.

 

[Leo was right]

Well Andy @agedhorse I just wanted to thank you for ruining my sleep last night. I can't believe I found myself thinking about an amp I have never even heard before. Lol.

A friend of mine call it : B4ss_P0rn

 

[bucephylus]

The WD-800 uses an almost identical tube pre architecture as the Walkabout, but it's scaled differently so that those who struggled with the difficult to control "hair" and "fur" on the original Walkabout will have an easier time. It's not just a gain thing but it's also a circuit impedance factor, which is why the 12AT7 or 12AU7 is the tube of choice. While there's more inherent gain with a 12AX7 in a common cathode voltage amp, there's also a higher inherent impedance in the circuit taken as a whole. The 12AT7 scales the best in our opinion when comparing to the original Walkabout. It will be more sensitive to tube rolling than some of my other designs, the tubes we use are very high quality, low noise, low microphonics and the design should have an expected lifespan of over 10,000 hours. I know, not good for replacement tube sales, but it's a better way to design IMO for this particular application.

Hey Andy, do you have any thoughts as to how 5751’s would do in your circuit?

 

[Leo was right]

After the seismic shock of the release of the WD800 yesterday and after a bottle of champagne, I take a look to the owner manual and must mention how clear and complete is the explanations for the average of peoples which is bass players at first and not technical, as a tech I often have to explain some concept to non-technical peoples, I cannot say things better (it is true for others models too). Congratulation to Andy @agedhorse.

In my hometown when I was a kid there were a hardware store named: Handy-Andy. I find that this nickname suit to you perfectly.

 

[agedhorse]

Hey Andy, do you have any thoughts as to how 5751’s would do in your circuit?

Will have to look at the plate characteristics to see.

After the seismic shock of the release of the WD800 yesterday and after a bottle of champagne, I take a look to the owner manual and must mention how clear and complete is the explanations for the average of peoples which is bass players at first and not technical, as a tech I often have to explain some concept to non-technical peoples, I cannot say things better (it is true for others models too). Congratulation to Andy @agedhorse.

In my hometown when I was a kid there were a hardware store named: Handy-Andy. I find that this nickname suit to you perfectly.

I can't take all the credit for this, Chef and Al were extremely helpful in coming up with more player friendly descriptions and information. Manuals are pretty easy to write, but good manuals take a LOT of effort.

 

[Aladinsane1969]

I can't take all the credit for this, Chef and Al were extremely helpful in coming up with more player friendly descriptions and information. Manuals are pretty easy to write, but good manuals take a LOT of effort.

As a copywriter, I can attest to this.