Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[MesaBoogie]

The WD-800 ears are not compatible with the WalkAbout. Thanks!

 

[Al Kraft]

Thanks-I'm looking for certainty ..... I emailed mesa service and Garey responded that they "do not currently offer Walkabout ears".....so I'm still unclear :-(

Maybe they could get you a drawing/dimensions and you could have something made up.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

I put a set on my WD800, the hole pattern was the same as a Walkabout head, I would look again, but I just shipped my Walkabout back to Mesa for repairs. Andy did post something about this in this thread probably 40-50 pages back, you might try the search.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

WD-800 rack ears are now in stock (yes, finally).

Rackmount Kit - Subway WD-800


For all you Walkabout owners who have been patiently waiting for Walkabout ears, these new 1 piece ears are backwards compatible to the original Walkabouts as well. Silver faced WA owners note that unfortunately, they are only available in black.

[link updated]

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

There is your answer direct from agedhorse, he is the guy that designed the WD800 and is an engineer for Mesa. So I would bet yes they do fit.

 

[MesaBoogie]

Let me double check - the info I got was that they are not cross-compatible. Yes, agedhorse engineered the amp, however, I asked the person who drew the fabrication drawings. Hang tight, I'll confirm once again.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

Now that’s service

 

[MesaBoogie]

Now that’s service

Although very close, off the shelf they are not totally cross-compatible. The rack ears are not machined for a #8 screw, rather a #6 the WD uses. Also, the current ears were tested to withstand drops with the WD weight, not the weight of the WalkAbout. Thanks!

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Easy to make. All you need is some angle aluminum, a way to cut it, a drill, and a way to de-burr it.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

Thanks for the clarification @MesaBoogie, so close.

The hardest part to making a set of rack ears is figuring the dimensions, cutting the material, and bending it correctly.

If I were rack mounting my Walkabout I would buy the WD800 rack ears since they are 99% right then re-drill (enlarge) the 6 mounting holes from #6 (9/64”) to #8 (5/32”) and get 6 3/8” long #8 (8-32) screws to attach the ears to the Walkabout and call it a day. The Walkabout does weigh 13-14lbs vs 7-8lbs that the WD800 weighs, I would either put at the bottom of the rack or add a rear support in the rack.

Now this is purely what I would do, I understand it’s not sanctioned by Mesa, but I would still do it if I really wanted to rack my Walkabout.

You have to make your own decision though.

Best of luck.

 

[freedomryder]

Ok everyone, need some thoughts here.

I picked up a used Walkabout 112 Combo. Black face, serial number in the low 5000s. 4ohm Speaker, bypass effects loop switch, single input with switch. Amp does have the 2 Mesa 12ax7 tubes. That’s just to let people know a little about the age/model.

So here is the issue, amp has a lot of distortion/crunch at low volume on low note B/E/A strings. Seems to be in either passive or active mode. Seems to be more with heavy attack on stings. I have tried lower input level and higher output level, and vs verse and makes no difference. I have used both a hot active bass and a passive bass for testing, I have tried with another cabinet, problem stay with amp. I have cleaned the pots, cleaned the jacks, tried the effects bypass cable trick, still same issue. Tubes do not seems microphonic, but I have not replaced them.

I have not called Mesa yet, as it’s the weekend. I also have no idea if unit has had any “updates” or what updates are even done to these. Any one with any ideas please jump in here.

Thanks

My Silverface Walkabout is doing pretty much the same thing as of this last weekend. I let the other 2 bands at the show use my amp and when I got up there for our set, it was pretty distorted sounding
I put in new preamp tubes, no change. Seems like mine will be joining yours at Mesa HQ.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

Sorry to here that, misery loves company. I tried all of the “simple fixes” and tubes also. I’m guessing there are some flaky op amps, but I’m sure they will figure it out. I will post the diagnoses when they call me with the official word.

Best of luck on yours.

 

[lomo]

Although very close, off the shelf they are not totally cross-compatible. The rack ears are not machined for a #8 screw, rather a #6 the WD uses. Also, the current ears were tested to withstand drops with the WD weight, not the weight of the WalkAbout. Thanks!

Thank you.

 

[freedomryder]

My Silverface Walkabout is doing pretty much the same thing as of this last weekend. I let the other 2 bands at the show use my amp and when I got up there for our set, it was pretty distorted sounding
I put in new preamp tubes, no change. Seems like mine will be joining yours at Mesa HQ.

Just to add to this, I also tried plugging directly in the "return" on the effects loop on the back (trying to eliminate the preamp from the equation. Still had the same distortion sound.

 

[freedomryder]

Hey @Wild_Bill_57
Have you had a response from Mesa yet on what the issue is with your amp? I haven't had a chance to deal with mine yet.
Just curious. Thanks!

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

They received it last Monday, I have yet to hear any diagnoses yet, but Petaluma is right where the fires are at and power is a problem, so that may delay things. I will post as soon as I hear from them.

 

[pfschim]

They received it last Monday, I have yet to hear any diagnoses yet, but Petaluma is right where the fires are at and power is a problem, so that may delay things. I will post as soon as I hear from them.

Petaluma is quite a bit (~30miles) south of the Kinkaid fire up near Healdsburg, it was also reported to be about 80% contained as of Sunday. I don't personally know how things are going at Mesa in Petaluma, and I'm guessing their employees live all around that area (Napa/Sonoma Counties) but I would think they would generally be ok there.

perhaps @MesaBoogie could confirm that all is well in Petaluma

 

[Aladinsane1969]

Petaluma is quite a bit (~30miles) south of the Kinkaid fire up near Healdsburg, it was also reported to be about 80% contained as of Sunday. I don't personally know how things are going at Mesa in Petaluma, and I'm guessing their employees live all around that area (Napa/Sonoma Counties) but I would think they would generally be ok there.

perhaps @MesaBoogie could confirm that all is well in Petaluma

I have close friends in Petaluma. Thankfully, Petaluma was never threatened by the Kinkaid fire but instead provided shelter for a lot of evacuees.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

I’m glad to hear all is ok there, you hear all kinds of stuff on the news, I’m not familiar at all with CA. I have just heard Petaluma mentioned several times.

 

[Aladinsane1969]

I’m glad to hear all is ok there, you hear all kinds of stuff on the news, I’m not familiar at all with CA. I have just heard Petaluma mentioned several times.

TOTALLY understand! I'm originally from SoCal and I have several friends in the Bay Area and the Napa/Sonoma Valley region. Other than dealing with toxic smoke and lengthy power outages, all of my family and friends in both Northern and Southern California were safe and didn't have to evacuate, thank goodness. All of this stems from for-profit utility companies who chose to line the pockets of their executives for the past 30 years rather than perform desperately needed maintenance and upgrades to an aging power grid. The Camp Fire last year was also caused by this criminal negligence, and until those upgrades are performed, this will be the new normal this time of year for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, I escaped to Portland, Oregon 4.5 years ago where we don't have to worry about wildfires—at least for now....