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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

#4,324
4stringmf said:
Yes I know. There was just a LOT positive experience documented on TB, running even at 2. I just thought running at 2.67 was a safer way to go. Thanks though
Click to expand...
There were documted negative experiences as well, costly ones.
 
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#4,328
Hi all. I just picked up my first Walkabout (Silverface w/ Scout 12")yesterday from TBer @JEDBass (Great guy, super friendly and easy to deal with). I played around with it at home last night, and my basic impression is that this amp is everything it's talked up to be- warmth and cushiony low end for days, but with enough clarity that every note stands out and "pops." It's not the loudest thing on planet Earth but it's certainly capable of producing more volume and low end than I expected from a combo of that size, so I'm very happy with that. I was also surprised to find that the WA was clearer and more defined in the mids and highs than my old reliable GK 800RB- double stops and 10ths seemed to be more present and sweet, even through my old stack of Ampeg SVT210AVs.

Tonight I grabbed the WA for a rehearsal with my country/Americana band, which I wouldn't characterize as particularly loud. Against a drum kit, electric and acoustic guitars, and vocals, I was able to keep the gain to about 1:00 for a little grit and the master around 9:30. I added a tiny bit of bass, high-passed a little bit with the lowest Para-EQ, and rolled the treble back a notch, and was in pillowy vintage heaven, with a little grit and aggression on tap when I wanted to dig in. That's probably my favorite tone I've ever had with that band. Granted, my drummer has a great sense of dynamics and the guitarist isn't afraid of his volume knob, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and clarity that were effortlessly on tap with the WA- the way some people talk about it around here, you'd think the thing was whisper quiet.

Tonally, the WA/Scout is fast becoming my favorite amp in my stable, at least with my Boomer-strung P-Bass. This week I've got a rehearsal with a much louder band, then two gigs, so I'll really be able to test the mettle and the headroom of the WA and it's cab. I have a feeling I'll be taking the head and my 2x210AV stack to the louder gig, but I'm already worried I'll miss the extra zing and bottom end that the Scout cab provides. Sorry for the novel, updates to follow!

Side note: has anyone tried running a 15" Scout extension cab with the 12" combo?
 
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#4,330
Timmah said:
Hi all. I just picked up my first Walkabout (Silverface w/ Scout 12")yesterday from TBer @JEDBass (Great guy, super friendly and easy to deal with). I played around with it at home last night, and my basic impression is that this amp is everything it's talked up to be- warmth and cushiony low end for days, but with enough clarity that every note stands out and "pops." It's not the loudest thing on planet Earth but it's certainly capable of producing more volume and low end than I expected from a combo of that size, so I'm very happy with that. I was also surprised to find that the WA was clearer and more defined in the mids and highs than my old reliable GK 800RB- double stops and 10ths seemed to be more present and sweet, even through my old stack of Ampeg SVT210AVs.

Tonight I grabbed the WA for a rehearsal with my country/Americana band, which I wouldn't characterize as particularly loud. Against a drum kit, electric and acoustic guitars, and vocals, I was able to keep the gain to about 1:00 for a little grit and the master around 9:30. I added a tiny bit of bass, high-passed a little bit with the lowest Para-EQ, and rolled the treble back a notch, and was in pillowy vintage heaven, with a little grit and aggression on tap when I wanted to dig in. That's probably my favorite tone I've ever had with that band. Granted, my drummer has a great sense of dynamics and the guitarist isn't afraid of his volume knob, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and clarity that were effortlessly on tap with the WA- the way some people talk about it around here, you'd think the thing was whisper quiet.

Tonally, the WA/Scout is fast becoming my favorite amp in my stable, at least with my Boomer-strung P-Bass. This week I've got a rehearsal with a much louder band, then two gigs, so I'll really be able to test the mettle and the headroom of the WA and it's cab. I have a feeling I'll be taking the head and my 2x210AV stack to the louder gig, but I'm already worried I'll miss the extra zing and bottom end that the Scout cab provides. Sorry for the novel, updates to follow!

Side note: has anyone tried running a 15" Scout extension cab with the 12" combo?
Click to expand...
first, welcome to the Walkabout appreciation club :thumbsup:

I have run the Walkabout 12" combo, the 12" combo with a Scout 12" extension cab, and the 12" combo with a Scout 15" ext cab.

In the end I was still in love with the amp, but not the Walkabout combo cabs or the Scout cabs. I feel like they were not very efficient and to get the most out of the wonderful Walkabout, what's really needed is more drivers, and more efficient drivers.

In the end, I ran my Walkabout with a Bergantino CN212 (104db), or occasionally, a Berg NV610, and eventually added an fdeck HPF to keep pointless low end signal (anything under 40hz) from sucking the power out of the amp. This combination seemed to make the most of the Walkabouts available clean power in my experience.

I have semi-retired my Walkabout in favor of a Mesa WD800, which sounds great and definitely has the Walkabout DNA in its blood.
I'll never sell my Walkabout, in low/medium volume situations, it still totally kills it.

enjoy!
 
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#4,331
I just bought a WD-800, and I love it. Quite a bit different from my D-800.
The WD-800 is to sit on my pair of two Subway 112s for gigs.

For band practice, I've made some simple wood adapters to fit the amp in a Scout cab. It sounds tremendous. (I'm being careful not to overdrive that cab.)I guess this is an Eagle Scout!

eagle-scout.jpg
 
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#4,334
I tried the Walkabout in a loud rehearsal context yesterday night; as expected, the combo wasn’t quite enough off the bat. After the first song I disconnected the internal speaker and plugged the amp into my 2x210AV stack, and it absolutely killed. That combination delivered great rock tone with as much or as little grit as I cared for, and I found that the gain and passive mid interact in some really cool ways.

Interestingly, I found that I was turning the master volume down as rehearsal went on, as if the amp was gaining volume as it warmed up. By the end of the thing, I was running the master around 9:00 and wondering if the combo would have been enough after all. Anyone ever have this experience?
 
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#4,335
Timmah said:
Hi all. I just picked up my first Walkabout (Silverface w/ Scout 12")yesterday from TBer @JEDBass (Great guy, super friendly and easy to deal with). I played around with it at home last night, and my basic impression is that this amp is everything it's talked up to be- warmth and cushiony low end for days, but with enough clarity that every note stands out and "pops." It's not the loudest thing on planet Earth but it's certainly capable of producing more volume and low end than I expected from a combo of that size, so I'm very happy with that. I was also surprised to find that the WA was clearer and more defined in the mids and highs than my old reliable GK 800RB- double stops and 10ths seemed to be more present and sweet, even through my old stack of Ampeg SVT210AVs.

Tonight I grabbed the WA for a rehearsal with my country/Americana band, which I wouldn't characterize as particularly loud. Against a drum kit, electric and acoustic guitars, and vocals, I was able to keep the gain to about 1:00 for a little grit and the master around 9:30. I added a tiny bit of bass, high-passed a little bit with the lowest Para-EQ, and rolled the treble back a notch, and was in pillowy vintage heaven, with a little grit and aggression on tap when I wanted to dig in. That's probably my favorite tone I've ever had with that band. Granted, my drummer has a great sense of dynamics and the guitarist isn't afraid of his volume knob, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and clarity that were effortlessly on tap with the WA- the way some people talk about it around here, you'd think the thing was whisper quiet.

Tonally, the WA/Scout is fast becoming my favorite amp in my stable, at least with my Boomer-strung P-Bass. This week I've got a rehearsal with a much louder band, then two gigs, so I'll really be able to test the mettle and the headroom of the WA and it's cab. I have a feeling I'll be taking the head and my 2x210AV stack to the louder gig, but I'm already worried I'll miss the extra zing and bottom end that the Scout cab provides. Sorry for the novel, updates to follow!

Side note: has anyone tried running a 15" Scout extension cab with the 12" combo?
Click to expand...
As long as both are 8ohm cabs it's OK.
 
#4,336
Timmah said:
I tried the Walkabout in a loud rehearsal context yesterday night; as expected, the combo wasn’t quite enough off the bat. After the first song I disconnected the internal speaker and plugged the amp into my 2x210AV stack, and it absolutely killed. That combination delivered great rock tone with as much or as little grit as I cared for, and I found that the gain and passive mid interact in some really cool ways.

Interestingly, I found that I was turning the master volume down as rehearsal went on, as if the amp was gaining volume as it warmed up. By the end of the thing, I was running the master around 9:00 and wondering if the combo would have been enough after all. Anyone ever have this experience?
Click to expand...
​

No 8ohm operation has ever worked for me in any band situation. I kept selling then eventually re-buying Walkabout heads because I liked the sound and wanted them to work out.
For me the amp has to have both a 4ohm load *and* enough speaker area to be useful. Through two 2x10's(total 4ohms) or my 2x15(4ohm) cab the amp has plenty of volume, and yes I'm at about 9-9:30 in the Master as well.
 
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#4,337
Yep, I definitely get the vibe that 4 ohm loads make all the difference with this amp. More than anything, though, I’m surprised at how much louder it got as it warmed up. I don’t know that I’ve ever had another amp that does that.
 
#4,338
Timmah said:
Yep, I definitely get the vibe that 4 ohm loads make all the difference with this amp. More than anything, though, I’m surprised at how much louder it got as it warmed up. I don’t know that I’ve ever had another amp that does that.
Click to expand...

I'm new to mine and I cant say I really experienced that, then again that is just at home practicing alone. Could it just be your perception of it getting louder?
 
#4,340
Slightly o/t, but I have a couple of these on Scout extension cabs and surely someone here will know.

What are those little plastic caps that cover/seal 1/4" cab inputs called please, and what's a good source for purchasing a few?
 

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