Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[ShawnG]

I have a WD800 and like it quite a bit. Would a Walkabout head give me much different? How would it compare to a D800 or D800+?

If it matters, I use a barefaced Three10T, Audiokinesis Hathor, and Berg HDN212.

I’ll be interested in the thoughts of the experts here in this thread on how the Walkabout plays with the three cabs you list (all of which have impressive reputations in their own right).

 

[smeet]

The Walkabout is darker and has IMO more complex saturation options/elements, particularly when pushed a bit. @agedhorse has commented in depth about how difficult it would be to replicate those saturation characteristics while scaling up the power and so the WD was an attempt to mostly replicate the cleaner side of the Walkabout at any volume (potentially a downside of the Walkabout is that it’s character can change noticeably depending on volume, getting looser/gooier as you push it). It seems like for most Walkabout users who have used both the WD hit it out of the park in this regard, and it does still have a pleasant overdrive character of its own too which is a plus. I love both amps, but the Walkabout gets the most use as I don’t need more stage volume than it provides solidly most of the time these days and am very familiar and attached to its inherent character and quirks (plus I have it in its 15” combo form, which makes it convenient apart from the considerable weight!).

Thanks, that’s kind of what I thought. So I guess if I want mostly clean sounds the Walkabout may not get me much…? I like saturation in terms of harmonic richness, but not audible distortion.

And through the relatively efficient cabs I have, would it be be able to get a good strong clean(ish) stage sound with a loud(ish) drummer?

 

[sunbeast]

Thanks, that’s kind of what I thought. So I guess if I want mostly clean sounds the Walkabout may not get me much…? I like saturation in terms of harmonic richness, but not audible distortion.

And through the relatively efficient cabs I have, would it be be able to get a good strong clean(ish) stage sound with a loud(ish) drummer?

That’s hard to say really, there’s a lot at play when it comes to volume needs and “loud” drummer is very relative- if you’re looking for tons of big clean LOWS then the WD is gonna work much better. I’d say for its rating the Walkabout’s mid-forward voicing can make it punch above its class in volume in some ways, but it’s all about reasonable expectations. I haven’t owned any modern cabs like yours to comment on how they might complement the Walkabout.

I’ve had Walkabouts for around 15 years and played in groups where they were not enough (at least without excess compression and distortion) even played through a Bergantino NV610, and these days I’m playing in groups where they are plenty through a single 15” combo (and probably not a particularly efficient one by modern standards). The way I play these days I would say “saturation” vs audible distortion is easy for me in the places I’m playing (small/medium-sized bar venues) and with bands where the drummers are dynamically conscious and lead instruments aren't shredding through big amp stacks with tons of distortion. The drummers I play with these days are pretty dynamic compared to the guy I played with for most of those earlier years with the Walkabout (who had become a bruiser from years of playing behind guitarists with too much volume) and I have a decent amount of headroom to work with in a Walkabout combo to hear myself nicely on a stage with these guys. I would say I’m at a point where unless I’m playing a big stage or outdoors I don’t really want to be playing with musicians that would require me to need much more than the Walkabout can provide for stage volume, but I also have never been a bassist looking for huge clean sub frequencies (which eat up lots of power)

 

[MuthaFunk]

I have a WD800 and like it quite a bit. Would a Walkabout head give me much different? How would it compare to a D800 or D800+?

If it matters, I use a barefaced Three10T, Audiokinesis Hathor, and Berg HDN212.

I have both and played both extensively both in practices and live.

When the R&D for the WD800 began on TB I was so excited to see what a modern take on my favorite amp would turn out to be. I bought one of the first ones released, I think ser#00053. Naturally upon receipt of the WD800 the direct comparison using the same cabs began...

It's been a while but if my memory serves me, one of the biggest differences I noticed right off the hop was how much more low end was present in the Walkbout at a medium volume. This is at what I would consider reasonably loud controlled drummer jam room type volumes. I mention the volume because one of the characteristics of the Walkabout like it or not is it's tone changes a bit depending on how hard it's driven. To match the sonic signature between the two I was boosting a lot of BASS and setting the parametric to 80 hz and adding a few db on the WD800. I have an some old Mullard tubes in my Walkabout which I believe had an noticeable effect on tone of the amp so YMMV. The harmonics and richness of the Walkabout are unique to it and I can't say the WD800 really nailed that part of the sound.

In all the years I used the Walkabout I always used an Fdeck HPF to control the deep lows. This was one of the asks to agedhorse here on TB when they were researching what players liked and wanted from the new Walkabout. The WD800's damping control is a decent facsimile of what the Walkabout feels like. It's not the exact same but I appreciate the WD800's option to use it or not. If you like your WD800 always set to "HIGH" damping you may not appreciate the feel of the walkabout. To my ears / fingers, at the volumes I use the Walkabout at, the WD800's damping set to "MED" is closest. With the damping set to "LOW" it's closer to the feel of the Walkabout being pushed hard at less than 4 ohms. My Walkabout was often ran at 2 ohms and it survived although it's not recommended to do so. There's been many threads on operating the WA at 2 ohms and the dangers of doing so here on TB.

The Walkabout is a unique amp and it's faults are part of it's charm. The power curve vs tone response. The HPF is almost non existent meaning there can be a lot of rumble on stages and in the subs off the main pa. The DI sounds really great but it's tied to the master volume so if you need to adjust your stage volume, the DI out knob will need a corresponding blind adjustment or the sound guy will need to do it at the board. There is no pre/post selection on the DI. So depending on the EQing you need for your cabs, the DI signal may be difficult for the sound guy to adapt to correct in his PA system. So if you're planning on using PA support, as many of us need when playing louder gigs with the Walkabout, you may encounter some minor challenges. There is only 1/4" amp outs to the cabs so no Neutrik option. This is where the WD800's design and implementation excel and make it one of the best bass heads available today IMO. My WA has been relegated to my band practice / studio room ever since I got the WD800.

With all its quirks, I still love using the Walkabout every time I plug into it. I've used the walkabout with a lot of different cabs. 410's (MB, Traynor, SWR, Eden, Ampeg, Berg, Epifani) , 212's (Berg, Mesa), 112's (Mesa, Aguilar), 810 (Ampeg, Epifani), 115 (Traynor) and SWR big ben 18. At typical drum levels I've always found a great sound with it. It's a killer amp for recording as well if you can get the fan noise sorted out. There's a bunch of threads on TB about replacing the fan.

I never really got the WD800 to sound quite like my beloved Walkabout so I would say if top volume isn't a need for you, the Walkabout would most certainly provide a different user experience. Weather you like that experience or not is up to you.

 

[smeet]

Interesting info all, thanks!

 

[4stringmf]

I've been running my fdeck v3 HPF in the effects loop. It certainly works great there. However, does anyone on here know if I will get more out of it if I put it in front of the amp? I understand there may be some db limitation going through the loop.

 

[sunbeast]

I've been running my fdeck v3 HPF in the effects loop. It certainly works great there. However, does anyone on here know if I will get more out of it if I put it in front of the amp? I understand there may be some db limitation going through the loop.

I didn't notice any clipping running mine in the FX Loop, but TBF didn't spend much time trying it that way and pretty much always just used it into the front of the amp for the convenience of having it on my pedalboard. Running it before the amp will change the gain/feel of the amp somewhat since you will be sending less subs to the preamp (in general a tighter feel especially if you push the Gain control). The FX Loop of the Walkabout comes after the Gain and EQ parts of the Walkabout

 

[MuthaFunk]

I didn't notice any clipping running mine in the FX Loop, but TBF didn't spend much time trying it that way and pretty much always just used it into the front of the amp for the convenience of having it on my pedalboard. Running it before the amp will change the gain/feel of the amp somewhat since you will be sending less subs to the preamp (in general a tighter feel especially if you push the Gain control). The FX Loop of the Walkabout comes after the Gain and EQ parts of the Walkabout

+1 to this. I noticed the feel changes since the effects of the tube characteristics change quite a bit when the low end is cut out. If you're pushing the tube to light breakup It's not as compressed and sounds a little cleaner with the HPF in front.

 

[MarkA]

I've been running my fdeck v3 HPF in the effects loop. It certainly works great there. However, does anyone on here know if I will get more out of it if I put it in front of the amp? I understand there may be some db limitation going through the loop.

I didn't notice any clipping running mine in the FX Loop, but TBF didn't spend much time trying it that way and pretty much always just used it into the front of the amp for the convenience of having it on my pedalboard. Running it before the amp will change the gain/feel of the amp somewhat since you will be sending less subs to the preamp (in general a tighter feel especially if you push the Gain control). The FX Loop of the Walkabout comes after the Gain and EQ parts of the Walkabout

+1 to this. I noticed the feel changes since the effects of the tube characteristics change quite a bit when the low end is cut out. If you're pushing the tube to light breakup It's not as compressed and sounds a little cleaner with the HPF in front.

When I had a Walkabout, I played live with it and an fDeck HPF3 -- tried it both in the loop (didn't notice clipping with my passive bass, but wasn't listening specifically for it, either -- @fdeck will know how much voltage it can swing*) and in front of the amp. Feel and tone were a little different, each way (I had the frequency dialed pretty low, so not cutting out much below about 40 Hz, probably). Front = a little tighter, brighter, and less compressed. In the loop = a little more full. I recall liking it in the loop better, at the time, but you can make your own decision on that (easy and cheap experiment).

Would guess the differences were due primarily to the reasons noted by sunbeast and MuthaFunk but maybe also somewhat due to the HPF3's 10 MegOhm input impedance.

* Actually, his web page gives "6 V p-p with hard clipping response." Dunno if impedances in the loop will affect things or not.

 

[4stringmf]

When I had a Walkabout, I played live with it and an fDeck HPF3 -- tried it both in the loop (didn't notice clipping with my passive bass, but wasn't listening specifically for it, either -- @fdeck will know how much voltage it can swing*) and in front of the amp. Feel and tone were a little different, each way (I had the frequency dialed pretty low, so not cutting out much below about 40 Hz, probably). Front = a little tighter, brighter, and less compressed. In the loop = a little more full. I recall liking it in the loop better, at the time, but you can make your own decision on that (easy and cheap experiment).

Would guess the differences were due primarily to the reasons noted by sunbeast and MuthaFunk but maybe also somewhat due to the HPF3's 10 MegOhm input impedance.

* Actually, his web page gives "6 V p-p with hard clipping response." Dunno if impedances in the loop will affect things or not.

I wonder if a limiter thrown in the chain could help tame any possible clipping?

 

[bumble yeti]

The thread is still going…
Just like my little WAS12.

 

[Al Kraft]

The thread is still going…
Just like my little WAS12.

Mine too...and I'm sure Chef is looking down and smiling with every post!

 

[sunbeast]

The thread is still going…
Just like my little WAS12.

My Scout 15 combo has been my main gigging amp now for the last 3 years after having owned a Walkabout in some form for 15 years. Never lets me down and always sounds fantastic! Just got back from recording with it now (well DI’d from the head anyway)- it is one hell of a tube preamp/DI- Noble eat your heart out!

 

[Timmah]

The thread is still going…
Just like my little WAS12.

Mine too! Just used it on a bar gig this weekend. Really fantastic little box.

 

[DJ Bebop]

My imatation Walkabout Scout 15 Combo…

 

[pfschim]

My Scout 15 combo has been my main gigging amp now for the last 3 years after having owned a Walkabout in some form for 15 years. Never lets me down and always sounds fantastic! Just got back from recording with it now (well DI’d from the head anyway)- it is one hell of a tube preamp/DI- Noble eat your heart out!

The WA is still my favorite amp for many years (bought mine somewhere around 1998) and it's still running great after more than a thousand gigs/sessions.

I run my Noble into the front end of the Walkabout (as well as a WD800) and it's an outstanding combination.

 

[bumble yeti]

My Scout 15 combo has been my main gigging amp now for the last 3 years after having owned a Walkabout in some form for 15 years. Never lets me down and always sounds fantastic! Just got back from recording with it now (well DI’d from the head anyway)- it is one hell of a tube preamp/DI- Noble eat your heart out!

Yeah, the DI is AWESOME!!!

 

[Al Kraft]

Yeah, the DI is AWESOME!!!

I've used the DI on my WA Scout 112 for everything from feeding FOH at indoor and outdoor venues to recording sessions where the little combo was my personal monitor. I never had a single complaint once the sound engineer agreed to try it...and I got more than few compliments on how well it worked for them.

 

[DJ Bebop]

My imatation Walkabout Scout 12 combo…

 

[MarkA]

I wonder if a limiter thrown in the chain could help tame any possible clipping?

Do you notice any clipping, when running the HPF in the effects loop? (HPF3 will have a "hard clipping response".) 6 volts peak-to-peak is a decent range, but how it compares to the voltages one might encounter in the WA effects loop I can't say.

A limiter will limit but, depending on what you're trying to do, might be more trouble than it's worth. If you have one on hand, go ahead and try it, but if you don't I'd just try playing with it in front and in the loop, messing with the gain control at front of the amp and HPF3's corner frequency control to see what you like and whether you think anything else warranted.

I don't think you'd hurt anything (never noticed anything concerning with my passive bass) but @agedhorse and @fdeck could tell you better than I -- if you notice any obnoxious clipping w/HPF in the loop, back off, of course.