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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

#4,261
Christophe C said:
Hello from Belgium
I am the new happy owner of a Walkabout Scout 12 (second hand, silver front panel, active/passive switch).
During my first rehearsal (first time at high volume), I have had the same problem as other owners : the volume faded twice a few seconds and then it was fine for the last hour... I have now plugged a patch cable in the fx loop and the switch is now on "bypass". As a preventative measure, I have also changed the tubes for fresh new ones (from TubeAmpDoctor in Germany). I tried it at home at low volume (because of wife and neighbors...) and the problem didn't come back. I don't have the possibility to test it at high volume now and I wonder if the problem is fixed.

Question : is the problem linked with the volume level ?
Click to expand...
From your description we own similar vintage combos and I've never experienced that problem. I easily have over a thousand (probably thousands of) hours on my rig. Mine does have a switch for the effects loop though. However, it sounds like something in the electronics/controls area to me as opposed to a dirty effects jack by-pass contact switch - but that's a pure uneducated guess.

Perhaps agedhorse who has studied the design extensively might have a good idea on where to look.
 
#4,262
As a long time fan of the Wakabout, who has also experienced the WA's limits at higher volumes, I finally got to audition (at Mesa in Petaluma no less) and bought a WD800.

After a week of working with the WD800 in the studio, on gigs and in rehearsals, I have settled on settings that absolutely put a smile on my face.

But ... (there's always a but .. right?) The WD800 is never going to cause me to sell my Walkabout. They are very similar in tone once you work the EQ controls, but the WA still just kills at lower/medium volume.

So, very happy to have the WD800, but it will be coexisiting with my Walkabout for the foreseeable future.
 
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#4,264
:(:(:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
pfschim said:
As a long time fan of the Wakabout, who has also experienced the WA's limits at higher volumes, I finally got to audition (at Mesa in Petaluma no less) and bought a WD800.

After a week of working with the WD800 in the studio, on gigs and in rehearsals, I have settled on settings that absolutely put a smile on my face.

But ... (there's always a but .. right?) The WD800 is never going to cause me to sell my Walkabout. They are very similar in tone once you work the EQ controls, but the WA still just kills at lower/medium volume.

So, very happy to have the WD800, but it will be coexisiting with my Walkabout for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

Darn! I was getting ready to ask you if you may be interested in selling your Walkabout to me :-(
 
#4,265
4stringmf said:
:(:(:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Darn! I was getting ready to ask you if you may be interested in selling your Walkabout to me :-(
Click to expand...

There are plenty of used WA's available on the used market, this is a good time to be looking for one.
 
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#4,269
4stringmf said:
I did......and I'm thinking about it. But pfschim's has his with the head case, with the older bronco tolex (which I prefer) that looks darn sharp! And the fact that he is in my area.
Click to expand...
You can check with customer service to be sure, but I believe the custom shop can still make the headcase for the WA.
 
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#4,271
4stringmf said:
@agedhorse
I actually did inquire about that......but $350 was a little out of my budget. I keep an eye out for them, though.
Click to expand...
Yes, the custom work is costly but there's no economies of scale and often takes a lot longer than production line builds.
 
#4,272
slofut said:
I doubt it's fixed. Mine has been back to Mesa for repair and mods, but still have the volume drop problem. Changed tubes too. Only occurs when you don't need it too. I really only notice it at high volumes, and I realize I just pegged the vol on my bass. Plenty headroom normally, then no headroom at all.
Click to expand...

Yesterday I negociated a 30 minutes slot with the neighbours and I played "full throttle" at home. The amp performed great and the whole house was shaking ;-)
Fingers crossed ;-)
 
#4,274
pfschim said:
As a long time fan of the Wakabout, who has also experienced the WA's limits at higher volumes, I finally got to audition (at Mesa in Petaluma no less) and bought a WD800.

After a week of working with the WD800 in the studio, on gigs and in rehearsals, I have settled on settings that absolutely put a smile on my face.

But ... (there's always a but .. right?) The WD800 is never going to cause me to sell my Walkabout. They are very similar in tone once you work the EQ controls, but the WA still just kills at lower/medium volume.

So, very happy to have the WD800, but it will be coexisiting with my Walkabout for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

I have a WA and a 800+, is the WD800 closer to the WA or the 800+ in sound.
 
#4,275
five7 said:
I have a WA and a 800+, is the WD800 closer to the WA or the 800+ in sound.
Click to expand...
After working with the WD pretty intensely for the past few weeks 3 gigs and 3 rehearsals and a lot of studio time A/B-ing it with my Walkabout, I would say it's much closer to the Walkabout than the D800+ can get (I also have one of those). The WD is not just a straight up "higher powered Walkabout" ... to my ears (and others) its a bit brighter, and also has a common Subway amp sound that definitely (again to my ears) has some M6/Carbine flavor too (which in my case is not very desirable characteristic) ... but having used it on several gigs at different volume levels, I would also say that in live work, it absolutely comes across as very Walkabout like in the mix .. but when turned up to higher volume levels (Gain at 11, Master at 1:00) ... it stays tight and continues to hit pretty hard where the Walkabout would start to turn a bit too squishy (at least for me).

So, while not an exact Walkabout clone, the WD800 keeps the warmth and depth of the Walkabout and has the sweet Walkabout Mids, but really delivers at higher volumes which has been the Walkabouts failing for me (and a number of others here).
 
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#4,277
pfschim said:
After working with the WD pretty intensely for the past few weeks 3 gigs and 3 rehearsals and a lot of studio time A/B-ing it with my Walkabout, I would say it's much closer to the Walkabout than the D800+ can get (I also have one of those). The WD is not just a straight up "higher powered Walkabout" ... to my ears (and others) its a bit brighter, and also has a common Subway amp sound that definitely (again to my ears) has some M6/Carbine flavor too (which in my case is not very desirable characteristic) ... but having used it on several gigs at different volume levels, I would also say that in live work, it absolutely comes across as very Walkabout like in the mix .. but when turned up to higher volume levels (Gain at 11, Master at 1:00) ... it stays tight and continues to hit pretty hard where the Walkabout would start to turn a bit too squishy (at least for me).

So, while not an exact Walkabout clone, the WD800 keeps the warmth and depth of the Walkabout and has the sweet Walkabout Mids, but really delivers at higher volumes which has been the Walkabouts failing for me (and a number of others here).
Click to expand...
Nice review. Keeping my gas alive which is good. Life has been getting in the way, but I'm pretty close to getting mine. Maybe in another month. Where have you been setting the Damping Control at and how much of a difference have you noticed?
 
#4,278
Wicked G said:
Nice review. Keeping my gas alive which is good. Life has been getting in the way, but I'm pretty close to getting mine. Maybe in another month. Where have you been setting the Damping Control at and how much of a difference have you noticed?
Click to expand...
damping control is very subtle at low volumes for me. I seem to get more of its influence when I turn up (which I suppose makes sense) .. but of all the available tone shaping/influencing controls on the WD800, it has the lowest impact IMO/IME.
I have been setting it at either low or medium at higher gig volumes.

Aside from the obvious B/T passive Mids and parametric EQ controls, I actually found following Mesa/Agedhorses advice and running the Master at 12 or 1 and then Gain to taste has a big impact on the performance character of the WD800. For the past 3 gigs (medium volume to me), I set Master a bit over 12:00 and the Gain a bit over 11:00, then just used a touch of the available EQ to get the WA influenced tone I am after. Works great!

For reference, I am using Berg CN cabs .. which are ported and both Passive (Fender Roscoe Beck IV) and Active J (Lull M4V) type basses. Not sure if the Damping control would have more influence with sealed cabs. I have an NV610, so I should pull it out and see if there is more noticeable impact.
 
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#4,279
pfschim said:
damping control is very subtle at low volumes for me. I seem to get more of its influence when I turn up (which I suppose makes sense) .. but of all the available tone shaping/influencing controls on the WD800, it has the lowest impact IMO/IME.
I have been setting it at either low or medium at higher gig volumes.

Aside from the obvious B/T passive Mids and parametric EQ controls, I actually found following Mesa/Agedhorses advice and running the Master at 12 or 1 and then Gain to taste has a big impact on the performance character of the WD800. For the past 3 gigs (medium volume to me), I set Master a bit over 12:00 and the Gain a bit over 11:00, then just used a touch of the available EQ to get the WA influenced tone I am after. Works great!

For reference, I am using Berg CN cabs .. which are ported and both Passive (Fender Roscoe Beck IV) and Active J (Lull M4V) type basses. Not sure if the Damping control would have more influence with sealed cabs. I have an NV610, so I should pull it out and see if there is more noticeable impact.
Click to expand...
I’m definitely interested RE: WD-800 into NV610!
 
#4,280
as I mentioned, my NV610 is up for sale as I just pull out a Berg "CN312" stack when I need big stage volume these days.
I got it originally to get the most mileage I could out of my Walkabout a few years back, and that combination sounded great for sure.
But its a lot of cab to haul around all the time, and when I was using it regularly, the band I was in at the time had a road crew that moved it for me.

I'll have to put the WD800 on top of the NV610 and give it a listen before I see the cab off.
 
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