Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[gillento]

I might have found a WA Scout 15" with a swapped Kappalite driver.
What do you recommend as "best" replacement speaker?
Deltalite 2515II? Just as the 2512II for the 12" WA?

 

[agedhorse]

If the kappalite driver is the HO (not the LF), and 8 ohms, it should work ok. Try it first.

Otherwise, the DeltaLite 2515-II (8 ohm) is the best option.

 

[gillento]

In fact looking at it closer, it is the Kappa Pro-15A.

 

[agedhorse]

In fact looking at it closer, it is the Kappa Pro-15A.

I haven’t tested that one because it’s too heavy to be a practical recommendation. I would use the DeltaLite 2515 and be done with it (and save about 15 lbs in the process)

 

[gillento]

I haven’t tested that one because it’s too heavy to be a practical recommendation. I would use the DeltaLite 2515 and be done with it (and save about 15 lbs in the process)

Perfect, thanks!!!

 

[markjazzbassist]

ok got the 12 and played the 12 and 15 side by side. results are pretty much everything that has already been said on this.

15 - large beefy thick tone with all the low end extension and girth. just sounds massive. no problem handling lower tuned (Eb in my case). doesn't sound/feel like a combo amp, it sounds/feels like my half stacks i used to roll out. amp weighs 60 lbs. and is larger sized. it just has the "weight" of the notes of a big head/cab stack, not sure if that makes sense.

12 - still has the thick warm tube tone (i used same eq and preamp settings and matched master gains), sounds great with slight emphasis on the mids and missing a little low low bass compared to 15 (which is basically always the difference between a 12 and 15). smaller lighter size/weight. it could only handle the low Eb once i did the poor man's HPF via Para Eq lowest freq available (30 hz) and cut to 10-11 o' clock, that made it not fart out. the girth/weight of the sound is not as heavy/thick/big as the 15, which well duh. it's not lacking, just a little more focused of a sound, but i'm fine with that.

i'm gonna keep the 12 because it's smaller/lighter and i don't need that big sound, as stated i play soul and jazz with low volume musicians playing wineries/restaurants. this will do fine. if i needed to do proper venues, bigger bars, festival stages, etc. i would totally go for that 15", it just sounds massive and for a combo it's honestly impressive.

 

[Gnarledlowend]

ok got the 12 and played the 12 and 15 side by side. results are pretty much everything that has already been said on this.

15 - large beefy thick tone with all the low end extension and girth. just sounds massive. no problem handling lower tuned (Eb in my case). doesn't sound/feel like a combo amp, it sounds/feels like my half stacks i used to roll out. amp weighs 60 lbs. and is larger sized. it just has the "weight" of the notes of a big head/cab stack, not sure if that makes sense.

12 - still has the thick warm tube tone (i used same eq and preamp settings and matched master gains), sounds great with slight emphasis on the mids and missing a little low low bass compared to 15 (which is basically always the difference between a 12 and 15). smaller lighter size/weight. it could only handle the low Eb once i did the poor man's HPF via Para Eq lowest freq available (30 hz) and cut to 10-11 o' clock, that made it not fart out. the girth/weight of the sound is not as heavy/thick/big as the 15, which well duh. it's not lacking, just a little more focused of a sound, but i'm fine with that.

i'm gonna keep the 12 because it's smaller/lighter and i don't need that big sound, as stated i play soul and jazz with low volume musicians playing wineries/restaurants. this will do fine. if i needed to do proper venues, bigger bars, festival stages, etc. i would totally go for that 15", it just sounds massive and for a combo it's honestly impressive.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. The WA12 is pretty sweet, and it sounds like the 15 is pretty awesome as well. I would love to try the 15 one day. Cheers!

 

[Mastermold]

ok got the 12 and played the 12 and 15 side by side. results are pretty much everything that has already been said on this.

15 - large beefy thick tone with all the low end extension and girth. just sounds massive. no problem handling lower tuned (Eb in my case). doesn't sound/feel like a combo amp, it sounds/feels like my half stacks i used to roll out. amp weighs 60 lbs. and is larger sized. it just has the "weight" of the notes of a big head/cab stack, not sure if that makes sense.

12 - still has the thick warm tube tone (i used same eq and preamp settings and matched master gains), sounds great with slight emphasis on the mids and missing a little low low bass compared to 15 (which is basically always the difference between a 12 and 15). smaller lighter size/weight. it could only handle the low Eb once i did the poor man's HPF via Para Eq lowest freq available (30 hz) and cut to 10-11 o' clock, that made it not fart out. the girth/weight of the sound is not as heavy/thick/big as the 15, which well duh. it's not lacking, just a little more focused of a sound, but i'm fine with that.

i'm gonna keep the 12 because it's smaller/lighter and i don't need that big sound, as stated i play soul and jazz with low volume musicians playing wineries/restaurants. this will do fine. if i needed to do proper venues, bigger bars, festival stages, etc. i would totally go for that 15", it just sounds massive and for a combo it's honestly impressive.

Sounds like you're covered! Congrats!

 

[claybone]

I have a broken WA/Scout 12. Took it to a trusted tech here in our small town in the Philippines, and confirmed that the FETs need replacement. Any luck with alternative parts?

 

[agedhorse]

There is only one manufacturer of lateral MOSFETS, they will all need to be replaced with matched parts because ALFET is out of business.

Profusion is the distributor.

 

[claybone]

Thank you, agedhorse. Too make sure, which pair should I buy? ECW20P20/ECW20N20 or ECW20P20-S/ECW20N20-S?

 

[agedhorse]

The S is graded, that’s what we used until we couldn’t get the necessary grades to match. Our experience is that the ungraded ones were all over the place, but who knows why.

 

[claybone]

Thank you so much, agedhorse.

 

[Leo was right]

I realize this thread has gone quiet since this amp was discontinued, but I figured I'd ask anyways.

I bought my Walkabout Scout back in 2004, and other than one recall I vaguely remember right at the beginning it's still 100% stock. Original tubes, original 4ohm speaker, original world's noisiest fan. Over the last 10 or so years it's been only lightly used, maybe 1-2 times a year, as I had switched to an acoustic duo or quiet jazz gigs and just run direct into the PA.

I find myself back in a rock band again, so the old Walkabout is getting drug back into regular duty (and doing superb at it). Is there anything I should do to have it looked at/serviced/upgraded to help with its continued good functioning? It's always just worked so I never think much about it, but it is 19 years old now.

View attachment 4957562

Check for firmware update...!

 

[Gnarledlowend]

Wondering if we’ll ever see a subway or WA2.0 combo any time soon?

 

[sunbeast]

Wondering if we’ll ever see a subway or WA2.0 combo any time soon?

I seem to recall a few posts from @agedhorse over the years suggesting this could be possible, but nothing suggesting it is in the pipeline. I’d guess a drawback of previous Mesa bass combos (Carbine, M-Pulse and Scout 15 at least) was bulkiness/weight, but these new lightweight amps and cabs could really combine into some killer combos I’d think! Not sure what the market looks like for combos anymore, but my experience with shrinking stage setups suggests they are probably more useful than ever

 

[agedhorse]

Wondering if we’ll ever see a subway or WA2.0 combo any time soon?

Don’t know, everything is under consideration at some point.

 

[MuthaFunk]

Wondering if we’ll ever see a subway or WA2.0 combo any time soon?

If you get tired of waiting, I mounted my WD800 in a Walkabout combo. It’s my weekend gigging amp and has been performing great. I always have PA support so it’s just a stage monitor but it’s plenty loud given our drummer.

 

[Leo was right]

Why not bring back the walkabout cab that anyone could put inside any head he want. No need to reinvent the wheel, this cab is already a success. The drawing should be in a file somewhere I am sure...

 

[sunbeast]

Why not bring back the walkabout cab that anyone could put inside any head he want. No need to reinvent the wheel, this cab is already a success. The drawing should be in a file somewhere I am sure...

The Walkabout combo cabs were pretty quirky, with their sorta partial passive resonators (since they also have normal ports) and pretty small internal volume (IIRC the extension versions are the same size, just with significantly more internal volume due to lack of head slot), but the idea of using that same sorta removable head slot idea in a more modern/conventional cab design that would fit at least the TT800 and WD800 would be cool (I believe the D800/+ have a different footprint?). I suspect a new design would probably blow away the Scout design in performance