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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Part 9!

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#81
I very, very seldom play anywhere with FOH.
We almost always provide our own, in the form of two Bose Stick/sub combos.
Running bass thru those isn't workable.
 
#84
apparently one of the previous owners replaced the fan with a Silentx whisper fan. I cracked open the amp to swap the preamp tubes and notice the fan didnt turn on after playing with it. i didnt push the amp, ran it through a 8ohm 210 with gain at 11 and volume at 9oclock.

=/
 
#85
if it's not the stock fan, that could be several things.
could be a thermistor in there, to trigger it at temp.
could be a bad fan, or, bad connection.
 
#87
Yes: have someone smarter than me open it up and look.
It's really gonna have to be eyeballed by someone who is qualified, to know what the issue is.
 
#88
hey there fellow Walkabout users and fans.

Has anyone here tried a WA into the Ampeg PF series cabs, 115HE's in particular ?

I have been using a PF500/115HE rig as my "slighty bigger" gig rig for the past year or so. I still use the WA 1x12 rig for rehearsal and smaller/quieter gigs, but like many here (Chef, Rickenboogie ....etc) while I absolutely love the WA sound, I just can't get the combination of the WA + WA 12's to fully cover the volume needs of a significant number of my current gigs, particularly where there is no FOH for bass.

Understanding that the WA + sufficient drivers is a possible solution, and the fact that I have 1 PF 115HE already (and am considering another), just wondered if anyone had use the WA with these cabs. Nice, sealed 15+defeatable horn, and very cost effective at $369 retail (less with a sale or deal).

I also discovered that there is a highly regarded Berg NV215 available for sale reasonable close to me too, so that's another situation entirely. But I already know there are those here who really love the WA+Berg combination.
 
#89
Hi guys, great to see so many Mesa fans out there!
Some years ago I bought a new bass guitar. It was a huge improvement in sound and playability over the previous bass. It was so good, in fact, that I noticed that my amp wasn't. The amp sounded okay with my previous bass. The amp boosted where my bass was to soft, hid where my bass was rattling and generally smeared the image a bit. It was loud, rugged and a lot of oomph for the money. However, with my shiny new bass, I wanted a new amp as well. This took me some years of not very hard looking. I mostly forgot about it, but when I inherited a nice sum of money, I started looking again. A bit more serious this time. By that time I had realised that my bass sounded a bit too boosted. Too much bass and treble and punch, almost artificial. So I was looking for an amp, able to dial it down a little. I also added an active/passive switch on my bass, however, as a passive bass it sounded a bit muffled. So my new amp had to be able to dial it up a bit. I started playing Eden amps, Trace Elliot, Ampeg and a lot of other big brands. None of those was exactly what I was looking for. Some sounded okay on my bass set to active, some on my bass set to passive, but none worked for both until... in one shop, in the corner was a Mesa stack. This sounded perfect on my bass. When I set my bass to active, I could dial it down, when I set my bass to passive, I could dial it up. There was so much control over the tone, so much clarity, so much body. I played it for half a day in the shop and bought it that afternoon.
Don't you hate it when you spend a lot of money on your instrument and nobody hears the difference? Well, my band did notice. A couple of days after I bought the amp, we had a gig, so I brought my new amp. By the end of the evening the whole band was smiling widely. One even said: 'It's okay, you can keep it.'
This all happened almost a decade ago, but I still use my Mesa stack today. It is the best sounding rig I've ever had. Maybe it's about time for a new bass...
I added a picture for the collection. For the record, it's a Mesa Walkabout head with 1x15 and 2x10 cabinets.

Cheers,
Maarten
 

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#91
Bought it two weeks ago in brand new condition for $900 including cover and carry bag. I am loving it so far. One question I had, is it normal for the fan to be pretty audible? It sounds a bit loud to me. Thanks!
 

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#92
evilchuck87 said:
One question I had, is it normal for the fan to be pretty audible? It sounds a bit loud to me. Thanks!
Click to expand...
You're right. The fan noise is pretty audible when you're not playing. This can be annoying when you're practising at home. My guess is that the amp needs quite a bit of cooling. One can only wonder why they haven't used a temperature controlled fan.
 
#93
joebar said:
yes i realize that my needs aren't the same as others
i am just stating that even i am surprised at how much power it delivers. just my 2 cents and real life experience.
i am just grateful that it is enough for me because this is the best bass amp i have played through.
Click to expand...

It certainly meets my needs as well, although I can certainly see why it doesn't work for some. I mostly have played it through a 412 and couldn't imagine ever needing more. Easy to drown out the band and sound guys often ask me to turn down. Lots of people don't want to haul something like that around and I don't blame them - its a PITA sometimes.

I recently started playing it through a ported 212 with tweeter as well. First thing I could hear more grit from the amp than I could through the sealed 412 - I guess because of the tweeter. So I dialed the gain back to clean it up, which (when combined with half the speaker surface) reduced headroom considerably. Played in a moderately loud rock oriented church setting and could get that rig loud enough, but was really pushing it. I may start bringing the 412 again. For the country band rehearsal (at pretty low volume), the 212 worked perfectly.

As long as you put enough speakers under it, you can get that amp to go a long way...
 
#94
IME adding a 112 to a 212 (2.7 ohm total) works well and you may prefer to haul 2 smaller cabs rather than something as large as a 412.


Alexander said:
It certainly meets my needs as well, although I can certainly see why it doesn't work for some. I mostly have played it through a 412 and couldn't imagine ever needing more. Easy to drown out the band and sound guys often ask me to turn down. Lots of people don't want to haul something like that around and I don't blame them - its a PITA sometimes.

I recently started playing it through a ported 212 with tweeter as well. First thing I could hear more grit from the amp than I could through the sealed 412 - I guess because of the tweeter. So I dialed the gain back to clean it up, which (when combined with half the speaker surface) reduced headroom considerably. Played in a moderately loud rock oriented church setting and could get that rig loud enough, but was really pushing it. I may start bringing the 412 again. For the country band rehearsal (at pretty low volume), the 212 worked perfectly.

As long as you put enough speakers under it, you can get that amp to go a long way...
Click to expand...
 
#95
guy n. cognito said:
Here's a stupid question: If there's a "4" sticker on the speaker cable jack, then I assume it's a 4 ohm speaker, right?
Click to expand...

Yes. The factory default for the combo is 4 Ohms. The head will have no trouble running at lower impedance as long as you are not flogging it in the Sahara IME:p How are you finding the tone???
What are you playing through it?
 
#96
lomo said:
IME adding a 112 to a 212 (2.7 ohm total) works well and you may prefer to haul 2 smaller cabs rather than something as large as a 412.
Click to expand...

I love the tone of the Berg HD212 so much, I thought about getting a second and running the WA at 2 ohms for the bigger stuff. I know folks seem to do that all the time - the guys at BassNW warned against it, so made me nervous
 
#98
Alexander said:
I love the tone of the Berg HD212 so much, I thought about getting a second and running the WA at 2 ohms for the bigger stuff. I know folks seem to do that all the time - the guys at BassNW warned against it, so made me nervous
Click to expand...

They HAVE to recommend against it because the manual doesn't advise it. I (and many others) have done it without issue.....a lot. IME, as long as you are not pushing the master passed noon, it run pretty cool and easily at 2.67 Ohms.

If you are concerned and don't want to go that route, a 4 Ohm 410, pair of 8 Ohm 210s or 212s etc etc etc
 
#99
I love stories with happy endings.



geekabit said:
Hi guys, great to see so many Mesa fans out there!
Some years ago I bought a new bass guitar. It was a huge improvement in sound and playability over the previous bass. It was so good, in fact, that I noticed that my amp wasn't. The amp sounded okay with my previous bass. The amp boosted where my bass was to soft, hid where my bass was rattling and generally smeared the image a bit. It was loud, rugged and a lot of oomph for the money. However, with my shiny new bass, I wanted a new amp as well. This took me some years of not very hard looking. I mostly forgot about it, but when I inherited a nice sum of money, I started looking again. A bit more serious this time. By that time I had realised that my bass sounded a bit too boosted. Too much bass and treble and punch, almost artificial. So I was looking for an amp, able to dial it down a little. I also added an active/passive switch on my bass, however, as a passive bass it sounded a bit muffled. So my new amp had to be able to dial it up a bit. I started playing Eden amps, Trace Elliot, Ampeg and a lot of other big brands. None of those was exactly what I was looking for. Some sounded okay on my bass set to active, some on my bass set to passive, but none worked for both until... in one shop, in the corner was a Mesa stack. This sounded perfect on my bass. When I set my bass to active, I could dial it down, when I set my bass to passive, I could dial it up. There was so much control over the tone, so much clarity, so much body. I played it for half a day in the shop and bought it that afternoon.
Don't you hate it when you spend a lot of money on your instrument and nobody hears the difference? Well, my band did notice. A couple of days after I bought the amp, we had a gig, so I brought my new amp. By the end of the evening the whole band was smiling widely. One even said: 'It's okay, you can keep it.'
This all happened almost a decade ago, but I still use my Mesa stack today. It is the best sounding rig I've ever had. Maybe it's about time for a new bass...
I added a picture for the collection. For the record, it's a Mesa Walkabout head with 1x15 and 2x10 cabinets.

Cheers,
Maarten
Click to expand...
 
#100
Livewire said:
Does anyone know what size are the screws on the walkabout heads? Mine are missing a few :confused:
Click to expand...

I have the same problem...here's an email I received from Mesa.


Hello there,
Thanks for your email.
There are 2 different screws for the WalkAbout lid:
(quantity 6... the first 3 slots in both sides by the front panel)
SIZE= 8-32 x 1/4"
(MESA part #303093)
(quantity 14... self tapping screws that are used for the rest of the lid)
SIZE= 6-32 x 1/4"
(MESA part # 303132)

Hope this helps!

If you have any further questions, or to place an order, please call us here at the factory at (707) 778-6565 Monday - Thursday 9-5 PST.



Thanks for your interest in MESA !
 
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