Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[MarkA]

Yeah I have a thrift store procured vintage suitcase that fits my Walkabout well, but I've never used it for that because I bought it for my Pedaltrain pedalboard which it fits perfectly! Good idea though for OP, and much cheaper than other options (mine was $10 or less plus the cost of some cheap foam). The Walkabout bag from Mesa is listed as out of stock, but it appears they pop up for sale on Reverb on occasion (which is where I recently snagged a new cover for my Walkabout combo)

I've seen my brother and a few other people go the briefcase route for their pedalboards -- solid, cheap, potentially snazzy protection.

There might still be some old inventory available, I don’t have that info.

@Gnarledlowend, might be worth dropping Mesa a line.

 

[rodl2005]

As a Walkabout bag, it makes a great bag for my B|Amp. imo, great quality bag. It's at least 15 years old now and shows no sign of wear

It was too tight for much joy with my Walkabout head.

 

[Willy B]

I have a WA gig bag I’m not using, just haven’t got around to posting it in the classifieds yet.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

I have a WA gig bag I’m not using, just haven’t got around to posting it in the classifieds yet.

Think I just saw a Wanted listing on TB for that bag.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

Yes

The Deltalite 8ohm recommended earlier is a neo, right?
Scouts were manufactured having ceramic and neo drivers?

Asking in case I pair a later edition Scout cab with one a seller has replaced with those Deltalites.

I basically enjoy how my late edition Scout cab sounds. To my ears it leans bright, with a little tweeter crossover going a long way.

 

[agedhorse]

The Deltalite 8ohm recommended earlier is a neo, right?
Scouts were manufactured having ceramic and neo drivers?

Asking in case I pair a later edition Scout cab with one a seller has replaced with those Deltalites.

I basically enjoy how my late edition Scout cab sounds. To my ears it leans bright, with a little tweeter crossover going a long way.

All of the Scout cabinets that I am aware of were manufactured using Neo drivers, first Eminence series 1 and then series 2. The stock DeltaLite 2512/2515-8 is reasonably close to the stock speaker (and uniformly better than the 4 ohm version). Not exact, but close enough.

There may have been some custom shop ceramic cabinets and plenty of user modified crap, but the recommended replacements are superior in all regards.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

All of the Scout cabinets that I am aware of were manufactured using Neo drivers, first Eminence series 1 and then series 2. The stock DeltaLite 2512/2515-8 is reasonably close to the stock speaker (and uniformly better than the 4 ohm version). Not exact, but close enough.

There may have been some custom shop ceramic cabinets and plenty of user modified crap, but the recommended replacements are superior in all regards.

I appreciate the info and may have an 8 ohm Deltalite in my future. You just know I'll give in one day for a Subway 115

 

[amper]

and uniformly better than the 4 ohm version

Can you elaborate on this, Andy? I'd like to get myself a Subway rig, but I plan on retaining my Scout 12, and I'm wondering if maybe I might not like it even better if I swap out the OEM driver.

Also, the fan in my early unit doesn't hugely bother me, but is there a recommended low noise replacement? It's been awhile since I visited this subject, so I forget what's been discussed.

 

[amper]

might be worth dropping Mesa a line

I don't know if this still holds true, but it used to be that Mesa had a habit of having odd bits of stock hanging around that you would only know about if you called and asked.

 

[agedhorse]

Can you elaborate on this, Andy? I'd like to get myself a Subway rig, but I plan on retaining my Scout 12, and I'm wondering if maybe I might not like it even better if I swap out the OEM driver.

Also, the fan in my early unit doesn't hugely bother me, but is there a recommended low noise replacement? It's been awhile since I visited this subject, so I forget what's been discussed.

The 4 ohm driver suffered from low sensitivity and because of the way the WA’s output stage was configured, it turns out the 8 ohm version is very much better with no loss of volume. Ultimately the 4 ohm version was discontinued.

The WA needs high airflow to operate reliably, the fan is fairly noisy but you do NOT want to reduce the air flow.

 

[amper]

The 4 ohm driver suffered from low sensitivity and because of the way the WA’s output stage was configured, it turns out the 8 ohm version is very much better with no loss of volume. Ultimately the 4 ohm version was discontinued.

The WA needs high airflow to operate reliably, the fan is fairly noisy but you do NOT want to reduce the air flow.

Thanks. I definitely do not want to reduce airflow, but I was hoping that 20 years of advancement in cooling fans might have produced a replacement that blows as much or more air at lower volume (noise, not airflow).

Good to know about the 4 ohm driver. I don't recall you saying anything about the sensitivity difference in the past. I was frankly worried about losing volume if I swapped drivers to the 8 ohm Eminence. I found that my Walkabout wasn't really quite loud enough to keep up with my old band without PA support, so I wouldn't want to lose any volume.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

Thanks. I definitely do not want to reduce airflow, but I was hoping that 20 years of advancement in cooling fans might have produced a replacement that blows as much or more air at lower volume (noise, not airflow).

Good to know about the 4 ohm driver. I don't recall you saying anything about the sensitivity difference in the past. I was frankly worried about losing volume if I swapped drivers to the 8 ohm Eminence. I found that my Walkabout wasn't really quite loud enough to keep up with my old band without PA support, so I wouldn't want to lose any volume.

I'll look into the fan I installed in mine several years back. Pleasantly quiet and unobtrusive. I'm fairly certain it meets the CFM requirements (Or very nearly. The guidance I followed is buried around here someplace).

One caution with replacing fans in more recent gear is that some have sensors for stepping up or down fan speed to meet thermal demands. I suspect the Walkabout has a single speed always on fan.

Maybe @SlowpokeJoe... do you recall what low noise fan you selected for your Walkabout?

 

[agedhorse]

Thanks. I definitely do not want to reduce airflow, but I was hoping that 20 years of advancement in cooling fans might have produced a replacement that blows as much or more air at lower volume (noise, not airflow).

Good to know about the 4 ohm driver. I don't recall you saying anything about the sensitivity difference in the past. I was frankly worried about losing volume if I swapped drivers to the 8 ohm Eminence. I found that my Walkabout wasn't really quite loud enough to keep up with my old band without PA support, so I wouldn't want to lose any volume.

The limitations of the Walkabout are exactly what the WD-800 and Subway cabinets addressed. If the Walkabout/Scout are not enough rig, the Walkabout plus 2 x 8 ohm cabinets is a big improvement. We do not recommend running the WA at less than 4 ohms.

Note that parts are getting more scarce and expensive to repair the old MOSFET amp models, you don’t want to jeopardize your amp with a fan modification that results in amp failure. Repairing that amp can get costly.

 

[SlowpokeJoe]

I'll look into the fan I installed in mine several years back. Pleasantly quiet and unobtrusive. I'm fairly certain it meets the CFM requirements (Or very nearly. The guidance I followed is buried around here someplace).

One caution with replacing fans in more recent gear is that some have sensors for stepping up or down fan speed to meet thermal demands. I suspect the Walkabout has a single speed always on fan.

Maybe @SlowpokeJoe... do you recall what low noise fan you selected for your Walkabout?

I used this fan:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZF64TQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Big difference in noise!

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

Found the box mine came in (hopeless packrat).
Original fan was a SUNON I guess.

 

[agedhorse]

The stock fan is 41CFM at 0.18" static pressure. Air flow and static pressure are interrelated, at no static pressure the air flow of the stock fan is around 60CFM. It's critical to understand how a fan's static pressure is specified, often "low noise" fans are specified at 0 static pressure which can be misleading.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

The stock fan is 41CFM at 0.18" static pressure. Air flow and static pressure are interrelated, at no static pressure the air flow of the stock fan is around 60CFM. It's critical to understand how a fan's static pressure is specified, often "low noise" fans are specified at 0 static pressure which can be misleading.

Looks like another variable a designer or modder needs to consider.

Putting in plain-speak, it's like the difference between blowing out your lips and blowing through a straw? The straw restricts airflow, as does putting a fan inside a case, raising static pressure above the near-zero resistance to motion the fan would encounter sitting out on a work bench.

Not taking all variables into account, the fan I'm using may be somewhat under spec if it blows only around 31 CFM. That said, I haven't any had thermal troubles in 8 years, don't push it hard, and really appreciate the quiet operation in a small space. Of course, the amp will become dead silent if I let the magic smoke out on hot day.

 

[agedhorse]

I don’t want to see players modify their amp only to discover that the modification missed it by “that much”.

 

[Al Kraft]

I don’t want to see players modify their amp only to discover that the modification missed it by “that much”.

...good advice and I really liked the Get Smart reference, which interestingly enough is also good advice as well as a classic TV show...

 

[MuthaFunk]

The stock fan is 41CFM at 0.18" static pressure. Air flow and static pressure are interrelated, at no static pressure the air flow of the stock fan is around 60CFM. It's critical to understand how a fan's static pressure is specified, often "low noise" fans are specified at 0 static pressure which can be misleading.

This is an interesting point. Back in the day there were many of us on TB who replaced the factory fans with quieter, but lower air flow spec'd options. That was mostly prior to MESA's chassis modification which added a LOT of extra venting to the top of the amp. To my knowledge MESA kept the same fan even after the additional venting was added.

Would the added venting change the operational static pressure the fans see? If so, would the final generation Walkabouts with added venting be better suited to make use of these quieter fans that are rated at 0" static pressure?