Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[Chef]

Part of the walkabout mojo is the preamp tubes driving the mosfet power section and how that's either going to your speaker or out the DI.
So I'm not sure a WA preamp is gonna sound the same.
I could be wrong and ymmv.

 

[treyandres]

Part of the walkabout mojo is the preamp tubes driving the mosfet power section and how that's either going to your speaker or out the DI.
So I'm not sure a WA preamp is gonna sound the same.
I could be wrong and ymmv.

So even the DI sound is dependent on the tubes driving the power section? Even when I’m not using the power section? Seems like that could maybe mimicked with a dummy load of some sort if that’s the case.

 

[agedhorse]

So even the DI sound is dependent on the tubes driving the power section? Even when I’m not using the power section? Seems like that could maybe mimicked with a dummy load of some sort if that’s the case.

Yes, it's a unique architecture, and it works better under load.

 

[treyandres]

Is it possible and economically feasible to build a dummy load into a smallish preamp only version that would mimic that interaction? Or is that back to not really being possible?

 

[treyandres]

If you run, with your pictured XLR to 1/4" cable, from the WA's DI to the Rumble effects return, can you get a signal to FOH from the Rumble's DI?

Ok, this may be a game changer for me. It occurred to me that when I tried this, I was at an outdoor venue we play fairly often. This venue is notorious for having snake and board connectivity issues, so I thought...you know, I can recheck this easily just to be sure. I ran my bass directly into the return input on the Rumble, then took the DI out to the WA return. Sure enough, there is good signal! So I’m thinking this was one of those times the snake/board channel wasn’t hooked up/working properly and after I went straight in to the Rumble, they got it sorted out but didn’t bother to say anything to me about it. In other words, I thought it was me, but it must have been them! No idea what it sounds like, but it sure as heck would make sense that it should work! I’ll try it again next time we play there...if they ever reopen. I hope they do, because it’s a great little outdoor stage with a cool little beer garden. Thanks for making me think about this again!

 

[agedhorse]

Is it possible and economically feasible to build a dummy load into a smallish preamp only version that would mimic that interaction? Or is that back to not really being possible?

Not at the level that the WA operates at.

 

[MarkA]

Ok, this may be a game changer for me. It occurred to me that when I tried this, I was at an outdoor venue we play fairly often. This venue is notorious for having snake and board connectivity issues, so I thought...you know, I can recheck this easily just to be sure. I ran my bass directly into the return input on the Rumble, then took the DI out to the WA return. Sure enough, there is good signal! So I’m thinking this was one of those times the snake/board channel wasn’t hooked up/working properly and after I went straight in to the Rumble, they got it sorted out but didn’t bother to say anything to me about it. In other words, I thought it was me, but it must have been them! No idea what it sounds like, but it sure as heck would make sense that it should work! I’ll try it again next time we play there...if they ever reopen. I hope they do, because it’s a great little outdoor stage with a cool little beer garden. Thanks for making me think about this again!

Sounds like it should work, then.

Note: the photo of the adapter that you share, some posts back, is XLR to TRS, which is what you'd normally use with a balanced connection. I don't know if using that vs. an XLR to TS (I'm assuming that the WA effects loop is TS, unbalanced) would yield a different result in this case (and am not sure of the proper way to wire such -- perhaps @agedhorse can advise). I mean, it seems to be working now, I just don't know if there would be anything, worth considering, that I'm missing.

If you have a recording interface or similar, you can try recording your WA --> Rumble effects return --> Rumble DI to interface vs. WA D.I. to interface and see if the quality is similar (levels might be different -- adjust for those) or at least good enough that you feel good sending it to FOH.

 

[treyandres]

Sounds like it should work, then.

Note: the photo of the adapter that you share, some posts back, is XLR to TRS, which is what you'd normally use with a balanced connection. I don't know if using that vs. an XLR to TS (I'm assuming that the WA effects loop is TS, unbalanced) would yield a different result in this case (and am not sure of the proper way to wire such -- perhaps @agedhorse can advise). I mean, it seems to be working now, I just don't know if there would be anything, worth considering, that I'm missing.

If you have a recording interface or similar, you can try recording your WA --> Rumble effects return --> Rumble DI to interface vs. WA D.I. to interface and see if the quality is similar (levels might be different -- adjust for those) or at least good enough that you feel good sending it to FOH.

Good point. Maybe that could have had something to do with it. I’ll dig out the old EIEI Pro and MBP and see what happens. Need to lay a coupe of tracks for a buddy anyway and haven’t gotten around to it. Be a good excuse.

 

[treyandres]

Well, the M-Pulse came in this afternoon. Initial impression was - WOW! This is a really great head. I spent about 2 hours going between the M-Pulse 600, the Bassman 500, and the Monique 700 with my RnR Relics ‘55 P bass. It’s hard to pick a favorite. It def has some of that WA flavor, and a big part of what I like about the pre.

This evening, I popped the WA on top and went to A/Bing them with my dads Fender Jazz. Started with the M-Pulse. Hits so hard, sounded amazing. Then the WA...speechless. How does the WA sound this good?! Nothing else sounds like it. It’s really quite infuriating. It makes everything else sound...well, less good.

 

[lomo]

When push comes to shove, I prefer the tone of the Walkabout DI>>another power amp over the mPulse 600, and over pretty much anything else except the Walkabout tweaked with a HPF and some tasteful compression in front. My #2 tone of all time is the Demeter HBP-1 (which I no longer have). Today is a holiday in Quebec (to celebrate the province's patron saint, Jean Le Baptiste)......so my patriotic duty will be to finally try the 800+ preamp stomp box in the FX loop of my Walkabout.....then bourbon.........

 

[kringle77]

Way to take on the hard jobs my friend!


QUOTE="lomo, post: 24140240, member:

71668"]When push comes to shove, I prefer the tone of the Walkabout DI>>another power amp over the mPulse 600, and over pretty much anything else except the Walkabout tweaked with a HPF and some tasteful compression in front. My #2 tone of all time is the Demeter HBP-1 (which I no longer have). Today is a holiday in Quebec (to celebrate the province's patron saint, Jean Le Baptiste)......so my patriotic duty will be to finally try the 800+ preamp stomp box in the FX loop of my Walkabout.....then bourbon.........[/QUOTE]

 

[Leo was right]

When push comes to shove, I prefer the tone of the Walkabout DI>>another power amp over the mPulse 600, and over pretty much anything else except the Walkabout tweaked with a HPF and some tasteful compression in front. My #2 tone of all time is the Demeter HBP-1 (which I no longer have). Today is a holiday in Quebec (to celebrate the province's patron saint, Jean Le Baptiste)......so my patriotic duty will be to finally try the 800+ preamp stomp box in the FX loop of my Walkabout.....then bourbon.........

All this is nothing to calm my curiosity about WA (I have a MP600)

 

[lomo]

....so....I popped the lid on my Walkabout , sprayed the pots with De-Oxit, changed and mourned the passing of one of my fave vintage tubes (an old Amperex), and spent some quality time with it......I had never used the FX loop and was getting hum when using it....so I only messed with stuff in series through the main input. In the end, not surprisingly, the true benefit of the 800+ preamp is the HPF.....the rest of its' front end is fun but redundant and more trouble than it‘s worth. The sweetest juice for my ears comes out with just a tad of compression and an HPF-which allows some much more efficient bass boost without boom. Perfecto. This was 100% effective at killing new amp GAS.

I would still like to hear how things might differ through the fx loop, and am all ears for any trouble shooting recommendations a mindless hack like me could accomplish. I cleaned the fx jacks by reaming with De-Oxit, and the hum isn’t present when the same pedals are run in series in front of the main input.


EDIT:I have no clue how the pic loaded twice.....but in any event, when I click edit....it isn't offering me 2 images with the option of deleting one....so.....twins it is

 

[agedhorse]

Your pedals are instrument level and your loop is line level. You need to use the pedals in front of the amp at instrument level.

Use the TINIEST amount of DeOxit possible. Less is more.

 

[treyandres]

Today is a holiday in Quebec (to celebrate the province's patron saint, Jean Le Baptiste)......so my patriotic duty will be to finally try the 800+ preamp stomp box in the FX loop of my Walkabout.....then bourbon.........

Enjoy! Quebec is beautiful this time of year. My grandpa Lessard grew up in Black Lake. I have a ton of extended French Canadian family up there. Cheers!

 

[lomo]

Your pedals are instrument level and your loop is line level. You need to use the pedals in front of the amp at instrument level.

Use the TINIEST amount of DeOxit possible. Less is more.

Good to know the loop is prolly OK, even though I will continue to not use it I used as little De-Oxit as my finger twitch permitted. All the pots sound silent/perfect now, in both the Walkabout and my GB Shuttle 9.0.
1K mercis again for your guidance.

 

[Leo was right]

Enjoy! Quebec is beautiful this time of year. My grandpa Lessard grew up in Black Lake. I have a ton of extended French Canadian family up there. Cheers!

''Laissez le bon temps rouler!''

 

[MarkA]

...This evening, I popped the WA on top and went to A/Bing them with my dads Fender Jazz. Started with the M-Pulse. Hits so hard, sounded amazing. Then the WA...speechless. How does the WA sound this good?! Nothing else sounds like it. It’s really quite infuriating. It makes everything else sound...well, less good.

It seems that you prefer the Walkabout, but would you elaborate on the differences you noticed -- tone-wise, but also feel and articulation-wise?

Does the 600 feel like it has much more clean headroom?

Thanks!

 

[treyandres]

Let’s see...let’s do this in two parts. I play finger style with a little thumb style and palm muting mixed in. I don’t slap and I generally don’t use a plectrum.

I’ve been comparing 4 different heads, and the WA in 2 different configurations; one with the Rumble power section.

So MP vs Monique vs Bassman - this is a tough one.

The Bassman has that Fender tone; round, smooth and big; stays in its lane. Less expressive mids through the SL212, though plenty expressive through certain mid-forward cabs. Its a great classic bass tone, and I love it. Works great for all the 60’s and 70’s blues and blues rock kinda stuff that I play with my current band.

The Monique is flawless; warm, lightly compressed, hits very hard and deep, has amazing extra surge power with a 1200w capable power supply. It’s also slightly immune to harder, excited playing. Which I think is the thing I don’t like about it. It has no dangerous side. Hard to make sound bad. Hard to find an ‘edge’ to walk along with it, if you will. Like a drop dead gorgeous woman that keeps you perfectly in line. She’s the mother of your children. She makes you better than you really are. But since I don’t keep a mistress, I seek that slight bit of danger to be available in my bass tone.

The MP600 sounds tubey and warm with just a little bit of raw grindiness. It has a huge bottom end that’s surprisingly tight. Hits hard. Lots of edgy mids available to shape your tone too, and some of that is WA flavored, though it doesn’t have that harmonically complex bloom going on. The compressor is a nice addition. Just a little added in can help even things out some with mid-forward settings. It sounds more high power ‘tube amp’ than the other two. Probably because of the big MOSFET power section. I rolled off about 10db at 40hz center and 5db of 120hz Center with the EQ. It’s very bottom heavy, so there’s plenty available to dial out. I really like this amp. But the WA is a better version of this sound/sounds more evolved. More harmonically complex in the mids and a beautiful bloom with less sub low end.

I’ll compare the MP600 to the WA in both configurations I’m playing it tomorrow. Zzzzz.

 

[sunbeast]

Let’s see...let’s do this in two parts. I play finger style with a little thumb style and palm muting mixed in. I don’t slap and I generally don’t use a plectrum.

I’ve been comparing 4 different heads, and the WA in 2 different configurations; one with the Rumble power section.

So MP vs Monique vs Bassman - this is a tough one.

The Bassman has that Fender tone; round, smooth and big; stays in its lane. Less expressive mids through the SL212, though plenty expressive through certain mid-forward cabs. Its a great classic bass tone, and I love it. Works great for all the 60’s and 70’s blues and blues rock kinda stuff that I play with my current band.

The Monique is flawless; warm, lightly compressed, hits very hard and deep, has amazing extra surge power with a 1200w capable power supply. It’s also slightly immune to harder, excited playing. Which I think is the thing I don’t like about it. It has no dangerous side. Hard to make sound bad. Hard to find an ‘edge’ to walk along with it, if you will. Like a drop dead gorgeous woman that keeps you perfectly in line. She’s the mother of your children. She makes you better than you really are. But since I don’t keep a mistress, I seek that slight bit of danger to be available in my bass tone.

The MP600 sounds tubey and warm with just a little bit of raw grindiness. It has a huge bottom end that’s surprisingly tight. Hits hard. Lots of edgy mids available to shape your tone too, and some of that is WA flavored, though it doesn’t have that harmonically complex bloom going on. The compressor is a nice addition. Just a little added in can help even things out some with mid-forward settings. It sounds more high power ‘tube amp’ than the other two. Probably because of the big MOSFET power section. I rolled off about 10db at 40hz center and 5db of 120hz Center with the EQ. It’s very bottom heavy, so there’s plenty available to dial out. I really like this amp. But the WA is a better version of this sound/sounds more evolved. More harmonically complex in the mids and a beautiful bloom with less sub low end.

I’ll compare the MP600 to the WA in both configurations I’m playing it tomorrow. Zzzzz.

Nice review! I've only spent time playing a MP600 in a store environment years ago, but it was clear to me pretty quickly that it was just too fat and smooth for my taste. By comparison, I find the Walkabout to have more "grease" than fat (a good thing!) at band volume- and so perhaps as suggested by agedhorse here in the past, much of the Walkabout magic is a result of its inherent limitations power-wise. I know I love my Mesa Prodigy significantly more in "half-power" mode for much the same reason probably 90% of the time- the difference in volume when you double the output is negligible compared to the addition of low-end and headroom, and at "full-power" it makes a super midrange aggressive head too clean and hi-fi for my taste.