Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[agedhorse]

D.I. out issues.

Both my BB750 and my Walkabout have the same minor issue, the two small electrolytics capacitors at the D.I. out are poped like they have been strucked by a reverse or higher than expected voltage, which can be the case if they accidentaly positive received Phantom 48v. from a mixing board, these cap are rated 16v. and are polarised with negative out so we can imagine that they don't like it.

Conclusion: If you find that your D.I out doesn't sound the way it should, have a look at these little caps near the xlr connector, if the top is not flat (curved) as some others caps in the amp, change it, preferably with some rated 63v. with positive leads in direction of the XLR.

I show these as either 47uF/63V or 22uF/63V bipolar depending on the build date. The + terminal should point towards the XLR jack. I do not see any references to a 16V part, but it's possible that a previous repair (or modification) may have been responsible for this. With the bi-polar part, there is no polarity and can't be installed backwards.

 

[Chef]

Hey guys; just a club heads up that I listed my walkabout 12 in classifieds. go over there and have a look if you're shopping for one; thx.

 

[Leo was right]

I show these as either 47uF/63V or 22uF/63V bipolar depending on the build date. The + terminal should point towards the XLR jack. I do not see any references to a 16V part, but it's possible that a previous repair (or modification) may have been responsible for this. With the bi-polar part, there is no polarity and can't be installed backwards.

You were right (as usual) I look at it the wrong way, but they are busted for some reasons, I'llchange it.

 

[Leo was right]

Hi, I own a WA since about three weeks but only in the last days I really have the time to play with it and find my sweet spot of tone. At first I found it very similar to the mp600, but the more I play the more I forgot about the amp, stop playing with the knobs, something very natural happen, all the notes seem cutout like with a knife, even with a smooth soft sound, no need to pull the strings hard to get the tone. Probably the magic powder begin to get out.

Next I put in the return of the FX loop, the output of my Tech21 Q/strip with my bass direct in it, the result was amazing too, a little different but as good. I must admit, nobody is crazy in these forums, this amp have something special.

Another phenomena, I perform these tests on the EV15L cabs (copy of TL606) which is great sounding cabs, but I have two small Fender Rumble ver 1.0, that I keep for very small jams with friends because they are very more portable, but I never really like the way it sound, on the WA they really shine.

I just realized that Pat Lenchantin (Great bass player gal I like much) get it tone from a WA in the Entrance Band,

What can I say more? I think I will return to play...

 

[Coolhandjjl]

...I just realized that Pat Lenchantin (Great bass player gal I like much) get it tone from a WA in the Entrance Band,

What can I say more? I think I will return to play...

Paz. Yup. She’s with the Pixies now. I’ve a Walkabout Scout 12” + 12” extension cab. Gigging for me has been over long enough that I know it’s for good, and I think I’m going to have to part with mine. Best tone ever.

 

[sunbeast]

Hi, I own a WA since about three weeks but only in the last days I really have the time to play with it and find my sweet spot of tone. At first I found it very similar to the mp600, but the more I play the more I forgot about the amp, stop playing with the knobs, something very natural happen, all the notes seem cutout like with a knife, even with a smooth soft sound, no need to pull the strings hard to get the tone. Probably the magic powder begin to get out.

Next I put in the return of the FX loop, the output of my Tech21 Q/strip with my bass direct in it, the result was amazing too, a little different but as good. I must admit, nobody is crazy in these forums, this amp have something special.

Another phenomena, I perform these tests on the EV15L cabs (copy of TL606) which is great sounding cabs, but I have two small Fender Rumble ver 1.0, that I keep for very small jams with friends because they are very more portable, but I never really like the way it sound, on the WA they really shine.

I just realized that Pat Lenchantin (Great bass player gal I like much) get it tone from a WA in the Entrance Band,

What can I say more? I think I will return to play...

I saw Paz play with Entrance twice, she certainly owns the stage and sounds great! I thought she had a tube setup when I saw her, but this was maybe 8-10 years ago and I can’t remember well. The main guy from Entrance used to do some solo and DJ sets around LA before Covid, I’ve always hoped the band would play again!

The Walkabout 15” combo has definitely been my go to amp for when I don’t want to lug a tube head around, and the DI is one of the best!

 

[Leo was right]

I could listen to her for hours, she's really a talented artist. I know now she is with the Pixies.

 

[Leo was right]

Look at her hands, this girl is born to play bass...

 

[NOLA Bass]

My silverface is suddenly sounding kinda dark to my ears. Could it be a tube issue?

 

[NOLA Bass]

Popped in a local store. Got a Mesa "High Grade Substitute" 12AX7 for position 1 and the standard Mesa 12AX7 for position 2. Amp sounds back to normal, so definitely something was happening with one of my old tubes. My old position 1 said Dynaco on it and position 2 was a Mesa tube (probably original is my guess). Considering that, just figured I'd do two fresh tubes and roll with it.

My one complaint, the Walkabout has WAY too many screws for the top plate!!! Plus, I somehow have lost one (it is in the room somewhere).

 

[MarkA]

My one complaint, the Walkabout has WAY too many screws for the top plate!!! Plus, I somehow have lost one (it is in the room somewhere).

Too bad there's not an app for that (Find My Screw instead of Find My Phone). I suppose you could try sweeping around the room with a very powerful magnet, but that might cause other issues...


On a less serious note, I think they're a fairly standard size, if you need to replace one.

 

[treyandres]

Well, I finally got ahold of a Big Block to compare with the old WalkAbout. This one is the ticket! It’s got that tone, it’s got that ‘thing’ going on that I love about the WA. They aren’t what I would call ‘exactly’ the same, but it’s as close as I ever expected a high powered WA to be. In fact, it sounds better than the WA for many things. The OD channel is very nice set to a light drive. I’m running the gain in a V shape with the OD at about 10 o’clock and the clean at about 2 o’clock, and with the masters both set equally. Works perfect to switch between a nice warm clean tone and a dark, slightly dirty tone. When I decided on keeping it, I purchased a 2U tolex head case for it. 42lbs all in, which is only ~10lbs more than my WA with the Mesa head case. Who else is running one of these as their ‘high power WalkAbout’?

 

[sunbeast]

Well, I finally got ahold of a Big Block to compare with the old WalkAbout. This one is the ticket! It’s got that tone, it’s got that ‘thing’ going on that I love about the WA. They aren’t what I would call ‘exactly’ the same, but it’s as close as I ever expected a high powered WA to be. In fact, it sounds better than the WA for many things. The OD channel is very nice set to a light drive. I’m running the gain in a V shape with the OD at about 10 o’clock and the clean at about 2 o’clock, and with the masters both set equally. Works perfect to switch between a nice warm clean tone and a dark, slightly dirty tone. When I decided on keeping it, I purchased a 2U tolex head case for it. 42lbs all in, which is only ~10lbs more than my WA with the Mesa head case. Who else is running one of these as their ‘high power WalkAbout’?
View attachment 3971428

I really liked the BB750 when I tried it in the store, but some of the trade offs (size/weight/EQ limitations) for only an additional 250 watts into 4 ohms are what turned me away. The EQ at this point actually looks pretty much ideal to me and the way I usually use my Walkabout. I can’t recall the sound of the overdrive section, but I know when I last tried one I was still using a 400+ as my main amp so the comparison probably wasn’t fair (the OD from the 400+ was my favorite from any amp I’ve tried). I’d still be curious to try one live!

 

[treyandres]

I got to A/B a freshly retubed 400+ with the WA over the first couple months of this summer. I gotta say, it’s a really nice amp. Loud as heck, but it’s not for me. The overtones make my ears tired. The Big Block is where it’s at for me. Power at 4 ohms is still nearly doubled. I can feel the difference at volume. And at 8 ohms, it’s close to 300w. So it’s usable with a single 8 ohm cab, where the WA really is not (at least for me). I *think* I’m as happy with this beast as I am with the WA. I can’t be 100% sure until I get to gig with it, whenever that may be. But I’m very optimistic!

 

[sunbeast]

I got to A/B a freshly retubed 400+ with the WA over the first couple months of this summer. I gotta say, it’s a really nice amp. Loud as heck, but it’s not for me. The overtones make my ears tired. The Big Block is where it’s at for me. Power at 4 ohms is still nearly doubled. I can feel the difference at volume. And at 8 ohms, it’s close to 300w. So it’s usable with a single 8 ohm cab, where the WA really is not (at least for me). I *think* I’m as happy with this beast as I am with the WA. I can’t be 100% sure until I get to gig with it, whenever that may be. But I’m very optimistic!

The 400+ preamp is not particularly intuitive to dial in, and it’s Fender-style tonestack takes some time to figure out vs something like a Walkabout. Still it is definitely a very different tonal vibe from a Walkabout in pretty much every way, with a very forward upper-mid/Treble vibe and generally tighter lows. I picked up a Walkabout Scout as a house/small show amp when I still rocked the 400+, and it has certainly long outlasted the 400+ just out of sweetness and practicality (though I’ve never tried to rely on it as a main gigging head because of its headroom limits, my Mesa Prodigy oddly punches harder in a live situation even in half-power mode). I picked up a TT800 to kind of bridge the gap between my two longest-loved Mesa amps, but who knows when I’ll be able to really put it to the test on a gig!

 

[treyandres]

The 400+ preamp is not particularly intuitive to dial in, and it’s Fender-style tonestack takes some time to figure out vs something like a Walkabout. Still it is definitely a very different tonal vibe from a Walkabout in pretty much every way, with a very forward upper-mid/Treble vibe and generally tighter lows. I picked up a Walkabout Scout as a house/small show amp when I still rocked the 400+, and it has certainly long outlasted the 400+ just out of sweetness and practicality (though I’ve never tried to rely on it as a main gigging head because of its headroom limits, my Mesa Prodigy oddly punches harder in a live situation even in half-power mode). I picked up a TT800 to kind of bridge the gap between my two longest-loved Mesa amps, but who knows when I’ll be able to really put it to the test on a gig!

I’m pretty familiar with the Fender tone stack, so it didn’t take me long to find the good tones. I also own a Bassman 500 and have used it as my primary gig and rehearsal head over the last year or so, and almost never touch the active EQ side. But when the 400+ is cranked, those overtones made my ears very tired in my home studio. It’s pretty rare when a bass amp makes my ears muffle after a playing session. That’s normally reserved for loud guitar amps. Probably a different story on a gig. But it also weighed ~65lbs, so I wasn’t overly interested in finding out. It was fun to demo, but not my thing. Guess I’m mostly a MOSFET guy. Love the tubey tones without the heavy glass.

 

[sunbeast]

I’m pretty familiar with the Fender tone stack, so it didn’t take me long to find the good tones. I also own a Bassman 500 and have used it as my primary gig and rehearsal head over the last year or so, and almost never touch the active EQ side. But when the 400+ is cranked, those overtones made my ears very tired in my home studio. It’s pretty rare when a bass amp makes my ears muffle after a playing session. That’s normally reserved for loud guitar amps. Probably a different story on a gig. But it also weighed ~65lbs, so I wasn’t overly interested in finding out. It was fun to demo, but not my thing. Guess I’m mostly a MOSFET guy. Love the tubey tones without the heavy glass.

Fender is making some great heads these days too! I love the aggressive Mesa take on that tone, but do GAS for a Bassman 100T

I feel you about the weight! The Prodigy has been my compromise- I don’t like the preamp drive character nearly as much as the 400+, but when I can open up the power amp I still get what I want at half the weight (and the half-power option makes it far more practical in this era of reduced stage volumes). While I am not ready to move on from that tube power-amp vibe for recording and larger gigs, between my Walkabout and TT-800 I can say I’m closer than I’ve ever been!

 

[sunbeast]

I got to A/B a freshly retubed 400+ with the WA over the first couple months of this summer. I gotta say, it’s a really nice amp. Loud as heck, but it’s not for me. The overtones make my ears tired. The Big Block is where it’s at for me. Power at 4 ohms is still nearly doubled. I can feel the difference at volume. And at 8 ohms, it’s close to 300w. So it’s usable with a single 8 ohm cab, where the WA really is not (at least for me). I *think* I’m as happy with this beast as I am with the WA. I can’t be 100% sure until I get to gig with it, whenever that may be. But I’m very optimistic!

How is the top end of the BB compared to the Walkabout? That rolled-off top (Especially when pushing the Gain) is really my biggest battle with the Walkabout tone-wise.

 

[treyandres]

How is the top end of the BB compared to the Walkabout? That rolled-off top (Especially when pushing the Gain) is really my biggest battle with the Walkabout tone-wise.

It’s actually slightly less bright on top than the WA, and a lot less in the OD channel. But the high mids are still very transparent in the clean channel, just like the WA. The OD channel has much less on the top and in the high mids. But it is very warm with some nice tube grit. Very natural sounding crunch, like a cranked up older low gain tube amp. I’ve not found the WA to be lacking in highs, but I run it clean with the gain no higher than noon to 1. I actually run the treble at 11 o’clock on both the WA and the BB. The bass and mids are at noon through these Rumble cabs on the WA, and the bass and passive mids are at 2 o’clock on the BB. The WA on the Ag SL212 moves the mids up to 2 o’clock. I’m not real keen on the BB through that cab, but I roll the bass back to 11 o’clock with it. The WA works well on that cab, but I don’t like the smoother mids and bigger bass of that cab as much with the BB. I prefer the more lo-fi sound of the cheaper Fender cabs. Less bass, more high mids that are on the edge of cone break-up. To me, they sound more like WalkAbout cabs. Colored, imperfect, lots of baked in character. I’m not a fan of uncolored, hi-fi cabs.

 

[Leo was right]

I owned a BB750 and though it was a keeper but finaly (sadly) sold it, I get better result with the Bottle rocket in the paralel fx loop of the Mp600 or in front the WA, what I would like to have is a blend of the OD and the clean channel in the BB750. But I must say it is a incredible machine on big cab.