Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[shriekback]

There is a gasket that sometimes sticks the driver to the cabinet.

Thanks very much!

Let me take this opportunity to also thank you, agedhorse, for all I have learned about my amp from your posts here and to compliment you for its superior design. Removing and replacing the speaker (which I managed to do) revealed just what a high-quality piece of gear it is. I have been playing bass for 45 years and have owned many excellent amps (GK, Aguilar, Ashdown, etc.), but my Walkabout 12 is the one I have enjoyed the most and stuck with for the longest. In fact, though I have had it for quite a long time now, I still feel no impulse to try anything else. Ok, I am a bit curious about the WD-800. My WA-300, however, will probably have to develop some problem that can't be solved before I really consider it.

 

[agedhorse]

Be sure you use the approved 8 ohm replacement speaker and not a 4 ohm.

 

[shriekback]

Be sure you use the approved 8 ohm replacement speaker and not a 4 ohm.

Yes. Thank you. Following the advice you have provided here, I replaced the original 4 ohm speaker with an 8 ohm Eminence Deltalite II 2512. It sounds great, is a bit lighter weight, and hopefully the easier load helps extend the life of the amp as well.

 

[agedhorse]

Yes. Thank you. Following the advice you have provided here, I replaced the original 4 ohm speaker with an 8 ohm Eminence Deltalite II 2512. It sounds great, is a bit lighter weight, and hopefully the easier load helps extend the life of the amp as well.

Excellent, it should sound better, tighter and last a lot longer.

 

[DionClassic]

Man, there’s a WD-800 on the classifieds right now and I’m so tempted, but will I miss the walkabout?

Anyone have a WD-800?

I’d probably get a subway 1x15 to go with it if I did.

 

[sunbeast]

Man, there’s a WD-800 on the classifieds right now and I’m so tempted, but will I miss the walkabout?

Anyone have a WD-800?

I’d probably get a subway 1x15 to go with it if I did.

I have both and quite like the WD800, but if I had to get rid of one of them it wouldn't be the Walkabout!

 

[DionClassic]

I have both and quite like the WD800, but if I had to get rid of one of them it wouldn't be the Walkabout!

Yeah the only reason for me is wattage but after doing a large venue with an 8x10 there may not be a need really… also warranty but I guess I can just play this until it dies… if that even happens. Thanks for the input that’s helpful for sure.

What cabs are you using the WD-800 with?

 

[MuthaFunk]

Man, there’s a WD-800 on the classifieds right now and I’m so tempted, but will I miss the walkabout?

Anyone have a WD-800?

I’d probably get a subway 1x15 to go with it if I did.

Here's another post I replied to about this a while ago.

Post in thread 'Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10'

Oct 5, 2024

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...

• MuthaFunk

• 

 

[sunbeast]

Yeah the only reason for me is wattage but after doing a large venue with an 8x10 there may not be a need really… also warranty but I guess I can just play this until it dies… if that even happens. Thanks for the input that’s helpful for sure.

What cabs are you using the WD-800 with?

For years I was playing in musical projects and live contexts where I regularly found the Walkabout to need to be pushed too hard for comfort to keep up (even through a 610 cab), but those were in LOUD bands and usually without adequate PA reinforcement- it really had alot to do with amp voicing though, as my main amp was a Mesa Prodigy that only put out 250 tube watts and I played it in half-power most of the time (125 watts but with a more cutting midrange voicing with a tighter bottom end than the Walkabout when pushed and the perceived volume was much louder for me in a mix). These days in my area pretty much every place has adequate PA support (and most places want much lower stage volumes and would look sideways at the kinds of rigs my old bands were lugging to every show), so that part of the equation is no longer an issue. As far as adequate stage monitoring volume, I'm in musical projects now where I never really need more than what I can get from my Walkabout 15 combo- a big part of that is just playing with much more dynamic drummers rather than constant bruisers. The Walkabout 15 combo gets surprisingly loud, and a wedge underneath to aim it up for ideal monitoring does wonders too! I still have my old Bergantino NV610 but never have any call to break it out anymore.

The only times I've used the WD800 live were just more out of curiosity with how it would sit/feel in a mix compared to the Walkabout rather than because of a need for more power, so its mostly been used through the Walkabout 15 cab (at very reasonable levels, don't kill me 'horse) or through an Ampeg 410 backline a couple times at one venue. While it performed great I just prefer the specific reactive flavor of the Walkabout (hard to describe, but the part that "scaling up" the power in the WD design made difficult to retain I think). The WD800 does a good job of matching the tone of the Walkabout when played clean, but there is still something missing in the feel for me when pushed a bit- of course for many users what it offers is actually superior (a more consistent response at any volume level), but I am in the happy volume range level where I can consistently get what I want from the Walkabout (just a hair of touch-sensitive squishy feel with a tad of saturation) at any show I play these days.

If you are playing larger stages in louder/denser projects and where you really rely on your amp for proper monitoring for yourself or your other bandmates then having an amp with more juice on tap might be a good move. I would hold on to your Walkabout til you've had the chance to properly compare them though! I suspect that the Walkabout into a Subway 15 might be a killer combo too, and that the difference in volume output between a Walkabout and the WD through that same cab are probably not going to be as massive as you might think unless you are really pushing alot of bass (where the additional clean headroom of the WD will become most apparent). A high-pass filter does wonders to reign in the Walkabout for me and add some more usable headroom where the lows could otherwise be too much.

 

[Al Kraft]

Man, there’s a WD-800 on the classifieds right now and I’m so tempted, but will I miss the walkabout?

Anyone have a WD-800?

I’d probably get a subway 1x15 to go with it if I did.

...and you would be very happy with a WD and 115...it is a killer combination! For me the WD does everything I liked about the WA (and more) without the annoying aspects that were frustrating at times. I still have my two WA's but it's the WD with a 115, 2X115, or 112/115 that gets more gig time.

 

[pfschim]

I've been in the WA and WD owners club for a long time too. For practical reasons the WD gets most of the live gig time because it does deliver WA-like feel, has more clean volume available, and the additional features like the HPF and the variable damping control just make the WD a more flexible amp. Also, my WA lives in a Mesa head case (which is cool and definitely protects the amp), but it makes the WA weigh quite a bit more than the WD which is a meaningful thing when your gigging/schlepping gear all the time.

I run the WD and the WA through several cabs: Subway 15, Berg CN112, Berg CN212, and Berg NV212t. They all sound great together.

Now having said all that, I really think if, for some odd reason, I could only have one amp, it would be the Walkabout, and I would deal with its limits compared to the WD800.

 

[DionClassic]

I think I fear not having enough headroom but have never experienced it. All the venues I play have PA support and my drummer has always been super dynamic. So ultimately I may never need the WD. It does however look nicer and is lighter so those are immediate gains but I never considered moffset vs class D for that potential missing ingredient. Anyway, this is all super interesting stuff. Really tempted to find a 15” scout cab or even a 12” extension cab. Heck maybe I’ll build one.

 

[sunbeast]

I think I fear not having enough headroom but have never experienced it. All the venues I play have PA support and my drummer has always been super dynamic. So ultimately I may never need the WD. It does however look nicer and is lighter so those are immediate gains but I never considered moffset vs class D for that potential missing ingredient. Anyway, this is all super interesting stuff. Really tempted to find a 15” scout cab or even a 12” extension cab. Heck maybe I’ll build one.

It’s not just the Mosfets but other parts of the topology that iare different between the two amps as well based on Agedhorse’s comments over the years- he designed the WD to emulate mostly the cleaner sides of the Walkabout rather than a full scaled-up emulation (the WD gets some decent preamp drive and has some clever power amp damping to emulate some of the feel of the Walkabout, but it represents a small range of the Walkabout feel IMO). The Walkabout uses a tube driver that I think is responsible for a lot of its unique response for one- which is a big part of why trying to plug the preamp out from the FX loop of the Walkabout doesn’t really sound or feel the same to the entire amp (the DI out does capture much if this though as it comes after the driver).

Are you currently using it with a Scout 12? Mine was originally in a 12” combo and I ended up buying the 15” combo cab from a TB’er many years ago and difference in tone and output was huge. With enough speaker the Walkabout is no slouch as long as you aren’t playing in metal bands (I was playing in a couple metal and hardcore bands when I had headroom “issues” with the Walkabout, though realistically I never expected it to work in those bands either I did try it just out of curiosity!). If you have the skills then making your own cab would be a great option with the more modern neo speakers currently on the market that would probably well surpass the performance of the speakers originally in the Scout cabs. The Scout cabs are funky with their passive radiator speaker that adds significant weight and questionable benefits. Honestly if Mesa released a modular combo version of a Subway 15 I’d buy one without second thought!

 

[agedhorse]

Just note that the WD emulates much of the Walkabout’s tube drive since the tube preamp is more similar to the Walkabout than different. In fact, IMO the O/D is better due to the HPF.

 

[BBQV]

I've had a Walkabout for a long time and a WD-800 for about a year and a half.
In my opinion the WD is the keeper thanks to its flexibility and power. The damping knob is the key!
However, the WD can't really copy the Walkabout. It gets close, but not all the way.
If you want the Walkabout sound - use the Walkabout with support from the PA. (Killer DI!)
Iff you want flexibility and power - go with the WD.

 

[Al Kraft]

I run the WD and the WA through several cabs: Subway 15, Berg CN112, Berg CN212, and Berg NV212t. They all sound great together.

The SW 115 is great with the WA, but IMO if you want the best WA experience at the highest possible volume without an over-blooming bottom end, the Berg CN212 and WA is a combo that works better than anything I've tried. A HPF helps the WA work better with most any cab IME and of course Andy made sure to include a variable HPF on the WD.

A variable HPF also buys you back a little extra headroom at volume and IMO makes my WA's more useful. For me this is similar to what most folks would say about the early SWR SM heads like my SM-400S.

 

[DionClassic]

It’s not just the Mosfets but other parts of the topology that iare different between the two amps as well based on Agedhorse’s comments over the years- he designed the WD to emulate mostly the cleaner sides of the Walkabout rather than a full scaled-up emulation (the WD gets some decent preamp drive and has some clever power amp damping to emulate some of the feel of the Walkabout, but it represents a small range of the Walkabout feel IMO). The Walkabout uses a tube driver that I think is responsible for a lot of its unique response for one- which is a big part of why trying to plug the preamp out from the FX loop of the Walkabout doesn’t really sound or feel the same to the entire amp (the DI out does capture much if this though as it comes after the driver).

Are you currently using it with a Scout 12? Mine was originally in a 12” combo and I ended up buying the 15” combo cab from a TB’er many years ago and difference in tone and output was huge. With enough speaker the Walkabout is no slouch as long as you aren’t playing in metal bands (I was playing in a couple metal and hardcore bands when I had headroom “issues” with the Walkabout, though realistically I never expected it to work in those bands either I did try it just out of curiosity!). If you have the skills then making your own cab would be a great option with the more modern neo speakers currently on the market that would probably well surpass the performance of the speakers originally in the Scout cabs. The Scout cabs are funky with their passive radiator speaker that adds significant weight and questionable benefits. Honestly if Mesa released a modular combo version of a Subway 15 I’d buy one without second thought!

Right now I have the original v1 12” scout with the 4ohm speaker. At the very least I’m looking at putting in a delatlite II so I can add a 15 when needed.

But for big shows I’ve just been taking the head and renting a cab according to the space.

 

[DionClassic]

The SW 115 is great with the WA, but IMO if you want the best WA experience at the highest possible volume without an over-blooming bottom end, the Berg CN212 and WA is a combo that works better than anything I've tried. A HPF helps the WA work better with most any cab IME and of course Andy made sure to include a variable HPF on the WD.

A variable HPF also buys you back a little extra headroom at volume and IMO makes my WA's more useful. For me this is similar to what most folks would say about the early SWR SM heads like my SM-400S.

Ok nice, yeah a 212 would be nice, starts getting heavy though. I usually use a Tonemaster Pro for tuner and effects but I believe a HPF is built in. I will fiddle with it. Do you usually set it around that 80hz range or lower?

 

[sunbeast]

Right now I have the original v1 12” scout with the 4ohm speaker. At the very least I’m looking at putting in a delatlite II so I can add a 15 when needed.

But for big shows I’ve just been taking the head and renting a cab according to the space.

I started with a 4ohm Scout 12, then swapped out the speaker with an 8ohm one which both improved the sound AND without losing any volume (depending on the era, the 4ohm speakers were an earlier version of the Deltalite- easy to identify by the mesh dust cap- than the 8ohm and easy to distort with the Walkabout). The 15” Scout was a huge improvement in sound and volume IMO, but with the amp mounted it can be a bit of a bear to carry due to the handle placement and weight. I sometimes use a dolly for mine. The Subway 15 I believe is significantly lighter than the unloaded Scout 12, and with better overall performance it sounds like (though I do love the sound of my Scout 15, the weight starts to get to me if I need to navigate stairways- ironic given how long I gigged with a 100lb 6x10, but the beauty of big cabs is built-in tilt-back wheels so you rarely have to actually lift them).

 

[DionClassic]

I think i can see a walkabout with a subway 115 in my future. I may look at the CN212