Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10

[lomo]

I never tried the Walkabout with the Bassic.

That is a superb match IMHE. I had a 4 Ohm Arnopol composite Bassic 15 with the Faital driver and like a twit, I sold it (because I wanted to practice through it to tunes and wanted a tweet for that). I had ordered it specifically for my Walkabout.

Not only did it sound great, but the sensitivity and power handling were an optimal match between the 2.

 

[JEDBass]

I also had a TH500 for a short time to compare to my WA, both running into either my Berg HT/EX-ER stack or the CN212. I pretty much agree with what most have been saying when comparing them. Though the TH500 had great low/mid mids, it just didn't feel like there was a lot of complexity to them, at least compared to the WA. It felt like there was a lot of brute force but it was almost like it was shouting instead of singing each note. The WA just breathes.

And as far as the top end, it's not even close really. The WA can shine and sparkle quite a bit if needed (but always seems to retain a bit of smoothness throughout), whereas the TH500 always felt muted and dare I say a bit muffled on the top end in comparison.

The TH isn't a bad amp by any means, but at least when matched up against the WA it just seems to be missing something.

 

[jnewmark]

That is a superb match IMHE. I had a 4 Ohm Arnopol composite Bassic 15 with the Faital driver and like a twit, I sold it (because I wanted to practice through it to tunes and wanted a tweet for that). I had ordered it specifically for my Walkabout.

Not only did it sound great, but the sensitivity and power handling were an optimal match between the 2.

So, did you miss having a tweet, or did the Walkabout give enough high end ? I have the 4 ohm Faital , but feeling a lack of " sparkle " with the TH500.

 

[McFarlin]

...the TH500 had great low/mid mids, it just didn't feel like there was a lot of complexity to them, at least compared to the WA. It felt like there was a lot of brute force but it was almost like it was shouting instead of singing each note.

+1

 

[lomo]

So, did you miss having a tweet, or did the Walkabout give enough high end ? I have the 4 ohm Faital , but feeling a lack of " sparkle " with the TH500.

I never missed the tweet with the Walkabout. Before ordering the cab I conferred with Mike and told him I wanted the beautiful WA mods to come through, and he advised going with the Faital driver because it has meaningful content up to 5KHz. I only missed the tweet when I wanted to play my iTunes through the cab......horns and cymbals need tweets I wanted complex, textured mids......not necessarily "sparkle".....so I'm not 100% sure of what you're after....

 

[jnewmark]

I never missed the tweet with the Walkabout. Before ordering the cab I conferred with Mike and told him I wanted the beautiful WA mods to come through, and he advised going with the Faital driver because it has meaningful content up to 5KHz. I only missed the tweet when I wanted to play my iTunes through the cab......horns and cymbals need tweets I wanted complex, textured mids......not necessarily "sparkle".....so I'm not 100% sure of what you're after....

Actually, the 4 ohm Faital goes up to 4KHz, but I get what you mean. It just feels like I have the tone knob on my bass almost off with the TH500. Just wanted some sizzle in the treble area.

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

"changes to power amp and power supply"

one big change would be adding the driver tube to this. whether it's a lot more complicated than adding that to an M9 section, I'm sure I don't know.

Personally, I would think "high power Walkabout users wouldn't mind a little more slam, and a little less squish." that's one of the things *I* don't like about the current Walkabout: crank it up and the low end squishes.

caveat: there are probably folks that *like* that. I'm not one of them...I'm willing to trade off the squisy part of the Walkbout "organic/tubey" thing for a healthy does of M9 slam.

Hmmm, while we're dreaming, they could add blendable solid-state and tube driver sections (like some amps have at the front end, only at the back end (or in the middle really)).

 

[Chef]

Personally, I see no need to add a solid state section
Plenty of amps out there that do that, and that clearly steers away from "Walkabout M.O."
As it were

Ymmv, etc

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

You guys are killing me with this virtual buildsheet for a bigger/ badder WA!

I'm only a few months into the warm, wet world of vacuum tubes and already I've caught the bug... after 20-some years gigging with a very dependable and rugged SS Crate 125... it finally starts flaking out, so reluctantly I start shopping for a replacement. A guy in a local praise band trades in a WA/S combo at our regular music store, and I swap an Acoustic Image Contra amp and some cash for it.

I remember the time of day it was the first time I slowly twisted that input gain on my WalkAbout amp past 12:00... and then cool stuff started happening.

Wasn't long before I started wondering how to make the awesome even better. Another cabinet came pretty soon.

You guys are killing me. But I'm totally diggin' the ride. If a WalkAbout 600 happens - I'm first in line in this town.

 

[svtb15]

My opinion.. If they were to make a Hi Powered Walkabout.. I would suggest they dont
change a thing... EXCEPT to put a Pre / Post DI switch somewhere . Maybe a MUTE if it wont affect the tone... And only do that if it does not affect the sound at all.. That's it.. Any adding of gain stage with SS etc. will screw the whole thing up and it wont sound like a WA...

 

[JEDBass]

My opinion.. If they were to make a Hi Powered Walkabout.. I would suggest they dont
change a thing... EXCEPT to put a Pre / Post DI switch somewhere . Maybe a MUTE if it wont affect the tone... And only do that if it does not affect the sound at all.. That's it.. Any adding of gain stage with SS etc. will screw the whole thing up and it wont sound like a WA...

Can't +1 this enough! Though if at all possible I'd like the DI when in "pre" mode be something along the lines of the Jensen transformer found in the Demeter pre's. Most "pre" DI's in amps I've found to be rather dull, and most sound guys don't like dealing with a Post send. It's why my REDDI still travels with me whether it's the WA or the Prodigy. While a simple Jensen DI won't replace something like the REDDI, to me it's a big enough improvement to make it worthwhile.

 

[MuthaFunk]

My opinion.. If they were to make a Hi Powered Walkabout.. I would suggest they dont
change a thing... EXCEPT to put a Pre / Post DI switch somewhere . Maybe a MUTE if it wont affect the tone... And only do that if it does not affect the sound at all.. That's it.. Any adding of gain stage with SS etc. will screw the whole thing up and it wont sound like a WA...

+1.

Lets lighten it up with a nice squishy class D 800 watt power section. I know!!!! Hang me, light me on fire, but the success of the tonehammer amps would be completely dwarfed by a Mesa Walkabout rivalry. Can you imagine genuine WA preamp with a 800watt power section and under 8 lbs! What a gig machine as well as a master recording DI!

 

[JumboJack]

Does anyone know what a WA check up will cost me? I can take mine to the Hollywood Mesa Boggie store.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Need a little local knowledge here...

The speaker out(s) on the back of my (older) WalkAbout is labelled "Suggested Load 4 Ohms".

Does this mean the Scout cab it came in is equiped with an 8 ohm driver? How can I tell? (not marked on the back or the speaker wire)

May I run into a 4 ohm Scout cab without risk to my WA?

 

[lomo]

Need a little local knowledge here...

The speaker out(s) on the back of my (older) WalkAbout is labelled "Suggested Load 4 Ohms".

Does this mean the Scout cab it came in is equiped with an 8 ohm driver? How can I tell? (not marked on the back or the speaker wire)

May I run into a 4 ohm Scout cab without risk to my WA?

It will run safely at 8, 4 or 2 Ohms IME.

 

[jnewmark]

Starting to get more interested in this amp. Are there any videos , or audio clips ? I did a search, but could'nt find any. Also, on the back, the speaker outs both say 8 ohms. I take it you cna still use a stand alone 4 ohm cab out of one of them, correct ?

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

That's kinda' where my query was headed.

I have a WA/S combo with the amp outputs marked 4ohm suggested load, (assume 8ohm each, though not marked that way as some are) and second Scout cab marked 4ohm I'd been using as a just a second cab.

I believe the inconvenient truth is in this thread: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1032543

So, while using one or the other would be fine, using a mismatched 4 & 8 ohm set of cabs is underloading the WalkAbout at 2.667 ohms. Now I suppose the question is, what do I do about converting this 4ohm cab to an 8?

 

[p k]

I joined the club earlier this week! Found a scout blackface combo for an amazing deal and couldn't resist. It was listed as used but still had all the tags and not a scratch on it that I can see...

Now I can't wait to get the p bass that is headed my way, I hear they are a match made in heaven.

Love the way it sounds!

 

[Chef]

You can do either:
something
or
nothing

It will run 2.67 ohms just fine.
If it concerns you, you can replace your 4 ohm speaker with an 8 ohm speaker for a 4 ohm load, or
replace you 8 ohm speaker with a 4 ohm speaker for a 2 ohm load.

That's kinda' where my query was headed.

I have a WA/S combo with the amp outputs marked 4ohm suggested load, (assume 8ohm each, though not marked that way as some are) and second Scout cab marked 4ohm I'd been using as a just a second cab.

I believe the inconvenient truth is in this thread: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1032543

So, while using one or the other would be fine, using a mismatched 4 & 8 ohm set of cabs is underloading the WalkAbout at 2.667 ohms. Now I suppose the question is, what do I do about converting this 4ohm cab to an 8?

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Thanks (again) Chef! This amp must be one tough customer!

I'm mostly concerned with the health and well-being of my WA. The combination sounds incredible, but not worth risking a meltdown. I may put an 8ohm speaker from MB on Santa's list.