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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 10
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
I have long loved the Walkabout but veered to the mPulse 600 as a more powerful alternative since the 300 watts wasn't enough for me. Now that I am not gigging and jamming with a group that's not nearly as loud, I am messing around with the Little Wonder again. Over the past year I have spent a lot of time learning how I like to set compression and now use it all the time, and I have realized that adding compression to the signal chain is a superb way to get more volume and punch from the Walkabout, without the need for large cone area. If I set it simply to even out my 5 strings by essentially limiting the B and E, I can get significantlymore cleanish volume. Through my GB NX2 112 or (just acquired) Uber 1288 this amp is a wonder. I guess this should have been obvious to me before, but I simply never used compression when I was regularly using the Walkabout in the past. Live'n'learn.
I have no need for a big rig now, but part of me wants to pile up the 2 NX2 112s on top of the the Uber 1288 just for kicks.....
I have no need for a big rig now, but part of me wants to pile up the 2 NX2 112s on top of the the Uber 1288 just for kicks.....
Lomo, you should try it, just for fun.
Since you have the MPulse 600 and the Walkabout and some experience with both, I'm going to take shameless advantage of your post and ask what similarities and differences you note.
I love the touch, midrange, and harmonics on the WA, and I like how responsive it is to changes in Gain, though I usually have mine set pretty low to maintain responsiveness and dynamics. I think that the EQ is great and powerful (like Oz, but not quite), but I do feel that there's an inherent voicing that I fight a bit - my use of the WA eq is a bit like trying to scrape barbeque sauce off of a chicken sandwich before putting on mayo; try to get it back to something more "neutral" and then shape to taste.
If the WA were more powerful and (for me) a little less voiced to start, it would be close to the perfect amp. I've never played an MPulse 600. Mostly I see it mentioned by people who were hoping it would be a louder WA and were disappointed. I'm wondering if the extra 300 watts provide that much more clean headroom and whether maybe it has anything else going for it, granting that it'll never be a big Walkabout.
This is as much speculative as anything on my part - I dig the WA, but it is what is and I've started to look elsewhere for my higher wattage needs. Who knows - maybe someday I'll come full circle with some super efficient cabs, but for now that's not the case.
EdwardofHuncote
I Still Dream of Jeannie
- Aug 21, 2013
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I'll be watching for this too.
And my sentiments exactly on your post... I've passed up two MPulse 600's simply because I wasn't sure how different they were. I would like a little more clean headroom, (thanks to Chef!) and a little more of a "clean" yet still aggressive sound. That said, I'd hate to totally give up the best part of the Walkabout's sound... it's so easy to dial in what I like, but seemingly impossible to get the volume for gigs with those same eq settings.
The two best things I've found for getting more clean headroom out of the Walkabout -- neither of them new -- are efficient cabs (preferably with a nice midrange presence) and an HPF (I have an fDeck). The third, true, thing that everyone mentions is more speaker area. I paired my Walkabout most often with a mid-loaded 2x12" I used to play. Pretty efficient cab, and enough for a lot of stuff, especially with the HPF, but not enough for everything. With two of those cabs -- or a 4x12", or an 810 -- I don't think volume would be an issue, anywhere, but I'm not willing to carry quite that much cab. Maybe I'll change my tune someday, who knows.
I liked the 2x12". I like the cab I'm playing now more -- and I like how the Walkabout sounds through it -- but it's an 8 Ohm cab and needs more juice for most decent-sized gigs than the WA provides, at least for my relatively clean, uncompressed sound. If you're willing to get hairier and more compressed, there's more volume to be had.Lomo's use of a compressor is another option, I've just personally never liked playing through one. To be honest, I've never given compressors a thorough shot (never tried a bunch and spent time with them), but the grumpy-old-man inside is philosophically opposed.
Another option would be getting the other players on stage and the sound in the house down to sane levels, but that's another battle.
I have done a lot of comparing, but I will definitely do a more careful A/B session with each head feeding the same cab. However it will likely have to wait a week or 2, as we have just sold the home we lived in for 17 of the last 20 years and my to do list runneth over
+1 to all your suggestions- I also use an fDeck HPF with my Walkabout and it seems to add more "un-congested" headroom, especially through my 6x10 cab. The voicing of the Walkabout inherently has so much fat that it can stand to lose a good bit without fear of sounding anemic.The two best things I've found for getting more clean headroom out of the Walkabout -- neither of them new -- are efficient cabs (preferably with a nice midrange presence) and an HPF (I have an fDeck). The third, true, thing that everyone mentions is more speaker area. I paired my Walkabout most often with a mid-loaded 2x12" I used to play. Pretty efficient cab, and enough for a lot of stuff, especially with the HPF, but not enough for everything. With two of those cabs -- or a 4x12", or an 810 -- I don't think volume would be an issue, anywhere, but I'm not willing to carry quite that much cab. Maybe I'll change my tune someday, who knows.
Lomo's use of a compressor is another option, I've just personally never liked playing through one. To be honest, I've never given compressors a thorough shot (never tried a bunch and spent time with them), but the grumpy-old-man inside is philosophically opposed.
Another option would be getting the other players on stage and the sound in the house down to sane levels, but that's another battle.
I happen to really love the sound of the Walkabout when pushed- and dig the sort of round compression it gives, but if you are interested in trying a much more neutral/less-apparent compressor that is every bit as effective I can personally recommend the Aguilar TLC. I never really liked compression outside of amp compression either, but picked up the TLC for a good price on a whim from the TB classifieds and find myself actually reaching for it on occasion (which I've just never done with past compressors I've owned). You can add (or limit) punch, reign in signal spikes, cover up some sloppy technique after too many drinks, and all without sacrificing your inherent tone/character. I still mostly use tube amp compression, but I can now see the vast utility of a good compressor!
I've been very interested in the Walkabout head for a long time and liked what I heard when I tried one in a Scout cab back when Guitar Center carried Mesa product.
I've just happened upon a Yorkville XC808 8x8 Cabinet for a steal: loved the way it sounds, so it's coming home soon. It can handle up to 800 Watts @ 4 Ohms.
Has anyone tried a Walkabout through one of these cabinets? Speculation on how well you think this combination would work is welcome, too.
I've just happened upon a Yorkville XC808 8x8 Cabinet for a steal: loved the way it sounds, so it's coming home soon. It can handle up to 800 Watts @ 4 Ohms.
Has anyone tried a Walkabout through one of these cabinets? Speculation on how well you think this combination would work is welcome, too.
Has anyone tried a Walkabout through one of these cabinets? Speculation on how well you think this combination would work is welcome, too.
I have never heard that cab, but I can say that the Walkabout plays very well with any cab I have set it upon.....and that seems to be the case for most users.
While we wait for Lomo to compare, I'll offer my own experience with the MPulse 600 and the Walkabout, which I owned and gigged at the same time about 5 years ago.
First, I have to say that ultimately I kept the WA and sold my MPulse 600, so the WA definitely won me over in terms of tone (less so on features, but I deal with the WA's feature set just fine).
But, I also liked the MP600 too. It has an additional band of para EQ, so you get more elements of tone shaping (more ways to scrape off the bbq sauce as it were
). It also has an exceptionally nice Compressor for an on-board. I do use compression (currently an EBS Multicomp and an Opto-Stomp) and the the Mesa on- board compressor was very useful and easy to set. It has a pre/post switch for the DI, which I found very useful, and while I have gotten used to the WA DI, I still wish I had the option. The other thing the MP600 has is the Mesa Solo feature, which is basically an additional volume setting that is useful for punching up a solo level for presence, but also works well as almost another channel (it's not really, but it can be worked that way IME). Both the Prodigy and Strategy have this very useful feature so it must be at least somewhat popular and useful. The other feature of the MP600 that I liked a lot was its full featured foot switch control, which switched Solo, EQ, Compression and Effects loop. Very nice addition to the amp.The extra 300w did make the MP600 a noticeably louder/cleaner amp than the WA for sure. Like you, I seek a clean sound from my amp. I set my gain on the low side (rarely above 11:00) and use pedals if I want dirt of any kind, so the MP600 definitely delivers significant additional clean headroom than the WA can possible.
IME/IMO, the MP600 was very close to the WA tone (same general amp design - tube driven mosfets etc .. just more of it) but it always felt colder to me than the very warm sounding WA no matter how I tried to dial it in. Back then (5 years ago or so) I was still using 1x12's (had several makers cabs) as well as a Mesa Powerhouse 2x12. I also got rid of the PH2x12 because I ultimately felt like it was kind of clanky (to mid/high mid forward) for my tone goals. I often wonder what the MPulse would have sounded like through my current cabs - Berg CN212 and NV610, which make the kind of underpowered WA shine like a diamond. I guess, I'll never know.
lets see what Lomo has to say
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Tales of Walkabout, mPulse 600 and compression:
Well, although I am short on time, it turns out I am also eager to procrastinate.....and what more fun way to do so than messin' with bass gear.....
First off, as I sat down I realized the enormity of the variables involved, beginning with what I love about my Walkabout (as compared to what another player digs about it) and continuing with all the other elements in my signal chain. So please take this for the subjective musing it is, and not "science", LOL.
I got out my Walkabout, mPulse 600 (recently back from repair of a loose input jack wire), Joe Meek 3Q outboard compressor/pre and my new GB Uber 1288. My bass is a Lull M5 with Mike's custom wound single coils/ Daddario nickel rounds. I played it in passive mode as I virtually always do. Crappy pic of the gear piled up below (just ignore the GB Shuttle 3.0, which was an innocent bystander). I put Mesa tubes in both heads as that was the only brand I had 4 of.
First off, I must say that for me, the use of a compressor DRAMATICALLY increases the useable volume I can get from the Walkabout. I only wish I had figured this out a few years ago, but better late than never. I like my WA tone either very clean (gain @ 11:00) or mildly furry (gain @ noon), depending on my mood and the tune. In either case, the limiting factor without compression is the point where I get too much unwanted tube OD playing E or below on the B string. By setting the Joe Meek threshold to where these notes activate it but anything higher up rarely does, and adjusting the output of the comp to push the WA gain where I like, I can get plenty of volume. If I would have known this a couple of years ago, my GB 212 would have been enough to gig with........whereas without comp I needed a 3rd 12 (which I was unwilling to schlep, hence my Walkabout hiatus). I realize that some folks hate comp and that there' a price to be paid for using it, but I have grown to love it almost as much as bourbon and martinis. YMMV. As the Joe Meek manual says (my paraphrasing)....compression allows you to turn down the loud bits so you can turn up the quiet bits and hear everything nicely.
When I compared both heads set "flat", the WA is darker and warmer and the 600 more articulate/punchy. The 600 reminds me a little of my old M9 in that it seems to have a baked in upper mid snort around 800-1K Hz, but is still very warm sounding. To my ear, backing off this range with the 600's eq (I have no clue what the Q is) and turning the bass knob to 12:30 gets me darn close to the Walkabout. With both heads I bump gently around 200 Hz and keep passive mids and treble at 10:00. This has 'em sounding very similar, but admittedly not identical........close enough for gov't work........
In the end I love 'em both . And by the way, this Uber cab has become my favourite ever!
Happy thumpin' to all,
Morrie
Well, although I am short on time, it turns out I am also eager to procrastinate.....and what more fun way to do so than messin' with bass gear.....
First off, as I sat down I realized the enormity of the variables involved, beginning with what I love about my Walkabout (as compared to what another player digs about it) and continuing with all the other elements in my signal chain. So please take this for the subjective musing it is, and not "science", LOL.
I got out my Walkabout, mPulse 600 (recently back from repair of a loose input jack wire), Joe Meek 3Q outboard compressor/pre and my new GB Uber 1288. My bass is a Lull M5 with Mike's custom wound single coils/ Daddario nickel rounds. I played it in passive mode as I virtually always do. Crappy pic of the gear piled up below (just ignore the GB Shuttle 3.0, which was an innocent bystander). I put Mesa tubes in both heads as that was the only brand I had 4 of.
First off, I must say that for me, the use of a compressor DRAMATICALLY increases the useable volume I can get from the Walkabout. I only wish I had figured this out a few years ago, but better late than never. I like my WA tone either very clean (gain @ 11:00) or mildly furry (gain @ noon), depending on my mood and the tune. In either case, the limiting factor without compression is the point where I get too much unwanted tube OD playing E or below on the B string. By setting the Joe Meek threshold to where these notes activate it but anything higher up rarely does, and adjusting the output of the comp to push the WA gain where I like, I can get plenty of volume. If I would have known this a couple of years ago, my GB 212 would have been enough to gig with........whereas without comp I needed a 3rd 12 (which I was unwilling to schlep, hence my Walkabout hiatus). I realize that some folks hate comp and that there' a price to be paid for using it, but I have grown to love it almost as much as bourbon and martinis. YMMV. As the Joe Meek manual says (my paraphrasing)....compression allows you to turn down the loud bits so you can turn up the quiet bits and hear everything nicely.
When I compared both heads set "flat", the WA is darker and warmer and the 600 more articulate/punchy. The 600 reminds me a little of my old M9 in that it seems to have a baked in upper mid snort around 800-1K Hz, but is still very warm sounding. To my ear, backing off this range with the 600's eq (I have no clue what the Q is) and turning the bass knob to 12:30 gets me darn close to the Walkabout. With both heads I bump gently around 200 Hz and keep passive mids and treble at 10:00. This has 'em sounding very similar, but admittedly not identical........close enough for gov't work........
In the end I love 'em both . And by the way, this Uber cab has become my favourite ever!
Happy thumpin' to all,
Morrie
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Thanks for that Lomo. Speaking of cabs, my search for the perfect cab ended when I got an Uber 212. Something about the Uber line really works like magic with the Walkabout.
Totally. I had avoided them when GB was up and running simply due to the extra weight and form factor compared to the Neox/NX2 series which I still own and love, and the Shuttle 2 cabs (which I love but no longer own). The 1st gen Shuttle cabs really did not float my boat. Anyway, I am sorry I had glossed over the Ubers because this one kills with all my current heads, Walkabout included.
Thanks to all for your valuable insights.
Jay440 (just realized the cleverness of that moniker), pure speculation, but if that 8x8 is anything like a little fridge in voicing and efficiency, it should play well indeed with the WA.
Lomo, I run my mids on the WA closer to 2:00 than to 10:00.. Interesting, too, your observation that the compressor is the difference between needing a 2x12" and a 3x12". My last "almost enough" gig with the WA was with a fairly efficient 2x12". I used the fDeck, but no compression.
I never played one of the Genz Benz Über cabs, but yours sounds like a winner.
Jay440 (just realized the cleverness of that moniker), pure speculation, but if that 8x8 is anything like a little fridge in voicing and efficiency, it should play well indeed with the WA.
Lomo, I run my mids on the WA closer to 2:00 than to 10:00.
. Interesting, too, your observation that the compressor is the difference between needing a 2x12" and a 3x12". My last "almost enough" gig with the WA was with a fairly efficient 2x12". I used the fDeck, but no compression. I never played one of the Genz Benz Über cabs, but yours sounds like a winner.
That's what makes it impossible to decide in universal terms whether the 600 can cop the WA tone. "WA tone magic" means different things to different ears, so I surmise that for some it can, and for others it cannot.
late to the Mesa game... first Walkabout is now on its way towards me yippee!
Having always been a bit power hungry I worry I will be immediately pondering the M Pulse 600.
I have been gigging a year or so with the GK Fusion 800. Nothing wrong with it but I have found myself looking at other amps you know how that goes?
Anyone have direct experience with comparing the GK Fusions with walkabout/M Pulse? I have never played the M pulse but there is one available locally that is tempting me especially after watching this video ... that M Pulse sounds incredible in every setting!
Having always been a bit power hungry I worry I will be immediately pondering the M Pulse 600.
I have been gigging a year or so with the GK Fusion 800. Nothing wrong with it but I have found myself looking at other amps you know how that goes?
Anyone have direct experience with comparing the GK Fusions with walkabout/M Pulse? I have never played the M pulse but there is one available locally that is tempting me especially after watching this video ... that M Pulse sounds incredible in every setting!
Not a comparison to the GK Fusions, but my Walkabout makes a lovely compliment to my 1001RB. One is high power high headroom, the other is medium power and medium-low headroom. Best of all, between the two of them, there isn't a tone I can't get or a gig I can't play.
Considering the sheer power and great tone of the GK MBF800, I'd say you may come to a similar conclusion
