Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[treyandres]

Just be aware that the original WA is not really in its safe zone below 4 Ohms. Lots of folks have had run it below 4 Ohms with no obvious issues at all, but if you are planning to do a gig below 4 Ohms, I'd have a back-up head with me.

FWIW I'm a long time WA user and own two of them, so my comments are not a knock on the head...I still love mine!

The D-800 has been with me as a backup at gigs since I bought it last July. I will say that my old 8 MOSFET WA seems to run hotter than the 6 MOSFET WA I got recently at 2.67 ohms. I did go back and forth between 2 amps last night, so it’s not truely a fair comparison of heat yet. The 8 MOSFET is always pretty hot at the end of an hour long set. And I realize there is a risk, but it’s the only way it works for me volume-wise without investing in bigger cabs with more speakers (no thanks).

 

[agedhorse]

It would be somewhat difficult and costly to go back and reverse engineer the evolution, because the brightness changes occurred within context of other changes.

 

[Luke the Fluke]

It would be somewhat difficult and costly to go back and reverse engineer the evolution, because the brightness changes occurred within context of other changes.

plus if you really want an early one it’s not like they are impossible to find secondhand!

 

[agedhorse]

plus if you really want an early one it’s not like they are impossible to find secondhand!

Good point, it may take a little patience but they do show up used. There are a lot of Walkabout amps out there in the wild.

 

[U4EA]

I can't recall if there was ever an answer to this question, but is it at all possible to make the Walkabout 2ohm stable? If so, will there be any side affects to the amp's tone or behaviour?

This could be a great option for WA owners who want to send their amp in for an update and 2 ohm tuneup.

 

[bumble yeti]

Per Andy, No. It can run at 2 ohms but isn't really designed for it.
More and more efficient speakers are the most effective.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

There are those who rave about the WA through the Berg NV610. There’s always the ‘Fridge as well. Both are 4 ohms and either will probably get your WA to sound about as loud as practically possible.

 

[agedhorse]

I can't recall if there was ever an answer to this question, but is it at all possible to make the Walkabout 2ohm stable? If so, will there be any side affects to the amp's tone or behaviour?

This could be a great option for WA owners who want to send their amp in for an update and 2 ohm tuneup.

No, it is not practical to reliably run the Walkabout at 2 ohms. While it might work most of the time, it's not a good idea and can cause premature failure. Updating to reliable 2 ohm operation is not possible (practical)

 

[Leo was right]

I can't recall if there was ever an answer to this question, but is it at all possible to make the Walkabout 2ohm stable? If so, will there be any side affects to the amp's tone or behaviour?

This could be a great option for WA owners who want to send their amp in for an update and 2 ohm tuneup.

What is your speaker setup actually?

 

[kringle77]

A pair of bag end s15d cabs will get the most ouput from a walkabout, and sound awsome.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

A pair of bag end s15d cabs will get the most ouput from a walkabout, and sound awsome.

But eight of them would be louder

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Got my FX Bypass labels from Andy in the mail today. Kudos to @agedhorse for taking that on!

Mine is a silver face/black graphics, 8 mosfet unit, serial WK02267. Where does that put mine in the production run?

 

[U4EA]

What is your speaker setup actually?

I was on a few gigs with the Walkabout 15 scout comb and it was at it's limit. I now have a Berg HS410 or svt212av which should get me the volume I need. I'm also interested in the new subway 215 and am curious as to how it would mate with the WA for tone and volume to better the WA 15 scout.

There is a thread talking about a possible new Mesa tube amp. I thought it would be great if instead of a new amp, there was hope that the WA could be reworked to be 2 ohm stable. Looks like it's not possible.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Let us know on the Ampeg 212AV. People seem to like that cab here.

 

[Darbitrator]

Based on all of the positive reviews here I recently purchased a used Walkabout Scout 15 combo amp w/ the 4 ohm speaker. The speaker died and I replaced it with an 8 ohm Eminence replacement. Very happy with the outcome. I occasionally used a 15" Eden 4 ohm extension cab with the Scout prior to its speaker blowing (I have followed closely the whole 2 ohm debate here). But now that I have the 8 ohm Scout speaker I'm looking for a 2 X 10 8 ohm mesa cab as my extension cab.

Any experiences using a 2x10 cab with the Scout? From a tech standpoint was the WA Scout intended to be linked with a matching driver (MB never produced a WA 2x10 extension cab).

Also, while I would love to splurge on a Subway Lite 2x10 cab ($$) any reviews on how a Powerhouse 2x10 cab would work with the WA Scout 15?

Sorry if this has been covered in other threads.

 

[svtb15]

Have you ever tried a 3015 or Faital style 15 in a BAg end cab? If so. Any advantages?

A pair of bag end s15d cabs will get the most ouput from a walkabout, and sound awsome.

 

[agedhorse]

View attachment 3280194
Got my FX Bypass labels from Andy in the mail today. Kudos to @agedhorse for taking that on!

Mine is a silver face/black graphics, 8 mosfet unit, serial WK02267. Where does that put mine in the production run?

Somewhere around the early middle.

There is a thread talking about a possible new Mesa tube amp. I thought it would be great if instead of a new amp, there was hope that the WA could be reworked to be 2 ohm stable. Looks like it's not possible.

The cost of doing so would far exceed the value of the amp, it's simply not practical and it would also change its tone and the low end bloom quite a bit.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

...I will say that my old 8 MOSFET WA seems to run hotter than the 6 MOSFET WA I got recently at 2.67 ohms...

Which were 6 MOSFET units? Were those the last generation ones with the all black face?

 

[agedhorse]

Which were 6 MOSFET units? Were those the last generation ones with the all black face?

I can't say for sure since I don't have that information available in my system. There were many changes throughout the 15 years, including parts being discontinued, vendors going out of business, updates to older units that may have been in for service, and IIRC, the 6 device output stages were more robust due to the use of double-die devices.

 

[treyandres]

Which were 6 MOSFET units? Were those the last generation ones with the all black face?

Both of my silver face WAs have single input with passive/active switch and effects bypass as OEM. The earlier 8 MOSFET unit has a serial number just over 3000, the later 6 MOSFET unit that I picked up more recently is just under s/n 4000. So somewhere between those serials it changed, which are roughly between 2005-2010 as best as I have been able to piece together. I believe the black face with the non-vented top cover and the flakey white lettering came out in 2010 from what I’ve read.