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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread part Four!

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#561
Willicious said:
I've got a WA 12 coming tomorrow. Picked it up as a used/demo unit from Sweetwater. This megathread has helped bring me up to speed so much quicker, from Ohms/cabs, to tubes, to the accessories (headcase!!!). I can't wait to get my hands on this mama and start tweaking it.

BTW, this is replacing an SWR WorkingPro 12, and it's my first taste of toob.

Tomorrow, I take my first big drink of the Mesa cult Kool-Aid. :hyper:
Click to expand...

Congrats! It's a killer piece of gear. You will be impressed by the quality, and the tone just speaks for itself.

Enjoy!

PS: I got mine from Sweetwater. Good folks there!
 
#562
I love my Scout 12 cab but am finding my Walkabout is almost always perched atop my pair of PH115 cabs. And despite my PH410 being an 8 ohm cab, the combo if the Walkabout and the 410's is just sublime to listen to but the amp runs out of juice a little faster using an 8 ohm cab.

I have to say, I can seriously see myself just ordering a second Walkabout in a head case and being done with it!
 
#563
The one thing I don't like about the WA (besides wanting more output power even though I generaly don't need it)?
Head case costs: $179 in black; add $179 for colored Tolex
Rack ears: $49
Don't enjoy that kind of financial support after the sale (OK I bought it used so they owe me nothing)
Amazing that they only charge $18 for a T-shirt
 
#565
Jim C said:
The one thing I don't like about the WA (besides wanting more output power even though I generaly don't need it)?
Head case costs: $179 in black; add $179 for colored Tolex
Rack ears: $49
Don't enjoy that kind of financial support after the sale (OK I bought it used so they owe me nothing)
Amazing that they only charge $18 for a T-shirt
Click to expand...


The WA bag is reasonable. The headcases look cool, but just not my thing.
 
#566
Willicious said:
I've got a WA 12 coming tomorrow. Picked it up as a used/demo unit from Sweetwater. This megathread has helped bring me up to speed so much quicker, from Ohms/cabs, to tubes, to the accessories (headcase!!!). I can't wait to get my hands on this mama and start tweaking it.

BTW, this is replacing an SWR WorkingPro 12, and it's my first taste of toob.

Tomorrow, I take my first big drink of the Mesa cult Kool-Aid. :hyper:
Click to expand...

Merry Christmas! To those of us who own one, we can concentrate on our loved ones and family for Christmas -- we've already got the gear.:D
 
#567
you don't need rack ears, for the headcase...

but yeah, they're pricey.

Jim C said:
The one thing I don't like about the WA (besides wanting more output power even though I generaly don't need it)?
Head case costs: $179 in black; add $179 for colored Tolex
Rack ears: $49
Don't enjoy that kind of financial support after the sale (OK I bought it used so they owe me nothing)
Amazing that they only charge $18 for a T-shirt
Click to expand...
 
#569
Chef said:
you don't need rack ears, for the headcase...

but yeah, they're pricey.
Click to expand...
Thanks, they explained that over the phone; still killed me to pay $50 for 2 bent pieces of steel though.
Firts person I spoke to recommended a 3 space rack but the tech guy said a 2 space is fine even at 2 ohms. As it turns out my rack bag is 3 so no worries.
Happy Christmas to all the WA owners; nice to have the groove thing covered for the holdiays!
 
#571
Firstly Merry Christmas all!

So, I've just read through 29 pages of this thread. And what an educational read it has been. Thanks to all of you that have given your input!

I got reading because I tried out that WA Scout 12" in my local GC here in Austin. And... holy wow. What an incredible sounding amp. Vintage. Glue. Bubbly. Popping. Paired AMAZINGLY to my 69 P with hell old flats on. It had so much character. The entire range of the EQ was musical, not just a few presets or limited settings that sounded mediocre. The EQ was an extension of the tone pot on my bass. (and that said something to me, because I certainly fall into the camp that the fewer knobs, the better.)

I was in there looking to trade my Spector NS5XL for an Ampeg BA115HP or an Eden Metro (2nd hand) and they happened to have the WA in stock. I had tried one previously in GC in Boston and HATED it. I can only assume that the first unit was faulty.

I agree with peoples comments about the poweramp headlining at 1-2 oclock on the master, but for most the gigs I'm doing I leave the rest to FOH. Because... this sucker is still a pretty loud amp, without being too boomy nor brittle. I thought I was heaven! In fact, people stopped me to ask what amp I was playing because they said that "it's the way a bass is supposed to sound"...

After reading other peoples thoughts on this amp, it looks like people are in agreement with me and it wasn't my GASsy ears making me think that this thing sounds better than it actually does.

I think I've exhaustively read enough on this amp on this forum, and I still have a couple of questions; I hope you don't mind me indulging:

1. Has anyone used the WA head as a pre/DI in the studio? How does the sound of the DI out compare to mic'd cab? Expansive question I know.. I really like the idea of tracking with the WA head without needing a cab.

2. What are peoples experiences with an upright running through it?

3. What other tubes have people turned to with this amp? I'd really like to experiment with this.

4. Can you order the WA with custom options through GC or do I need to go to Mesa directly? How long would I have to wait if I wanted custom options?

5. GC had the amp listed at $1449. Is there any combo / head+cab that can beat the WA Scout for the price? A Fliptop maybe?

6. Anyone want to buy my 2003 Spector NS5XL maple body so I can buy this amp?!

I'm going to disclaim my experience on amps by saying that I owned a 1967 Kustom 2x15 with a 100W head... and I used to think that it sounded awesome!!!

Thanks y'all + Merry Christmas!
 
#572
Derek,
I can answer none of your questions but just wanted to add that I was not that blown away by the WA/Scout/1x12 rig all that much. However that head with a 4 ohm, standard size 1x15 is great, and, as you add more more drivers it gets huge.
 
#573
Derek
Can't answer Q1. sorry, but I'm sure some will be able to shortly.

Q2. Absolutely superb for uprite bass. I've a WA scout 12" 8 ohm & my Realist equipped uprite is great thru it. Also sounds great thru the WA into other cabs- tho I've only used the Bergantino AE212 for this.

Q3. I've tried the Stock Mesa- great. OLD Philips- great. New JJ's - great too. Not much help there I know :-/ but such IS the WA amp. Simply great- especially- as you noted- with a Flatwound equipped Precision!!

Q4. I'm in AUS & I got MY WA 2nd hand. Dunno re ordering that stuff. I DID get a 2nd hand headcase from a TB'er & that looks & functions superbly.

Q5. Not that I know of. NEW WA's here in AUS are about $2.6K :-(

Q6. I'm in Oz. Sorry.

Merry Christmas
 
#574
1-yes, I use my DI all the time; both live and studio, electric and upright. Love it.
2-It's my fave upright amp.Pretty much run it flat, except, passive mids at 10 oclock, active treble boosted a little at 2khz, shelving treble cut a tad, active bass cut a bit at 50hz.
3-I've tried TungSol reissues, and several versions of JJ 12ax7, several Jan/Phillips, and some others I don't recall, I'm sure. I like the current issue, stock, sovtek longplates pretty well. Tubes do make a diff in here. What's "better" is pretty personal. One tube is used for the preamp, the other to drive the mosfet power section.
4-dunno, ask at GC.
5-Well...the ampeg b15 reissue just coming out is about 250 watts less, and about $3500 more. Dunno about the Ashdown fliptop. Some folks really like the Scout combo, sounds like you did. But, the head pops right out of the combo very easily, and plays well with everything I've tried it with, really.
6-can't help you there


derekmcwilliams said:
1. Has anyone used the WA head as a pre/DI in the studio? How does the sound of the DI out compare to mic'd cab? Expansive question I know.. I really like the idea of tracking with the WA head without needing a cab.

2. What are peoples experiences with an upright running through it?

3. What other tubes have people turned to with this amp? I'd really like to experiment with this.

4. Can you order the WA with custom options through GC or do I need to go to Mesa directly? How long would I have to wait if I wanted custom options?

5. GC had the amp listed at $1449. Is there any combo / head+cab that can beat the WA Scout for the price? A Fliptop maybe?

6. Anyone want to buy my 2003 Spector NS5XL maple body so I can buy this amp?!

I'm going to disclaim my experience on amps by saying that I owned a 1967 Kustom 2x15 with a 100W head... and I used to think that it sounded awesome!!!

Thanks y'all + Merry Christmas!
Click to expand...
 
#575
This is a little hard to explain, so please bear with me.

I picked up a used silver-faced Walkabout Scout, 8 ohm, 12" about five months ago and it works great. Love the tone, output and size.

But... When starting it up (at the point where the tubes have warmed up and is ready to use), it makes a noise (sort of a "boing/thump") once.

It makes this noise whether the volume control is all the way down or not, and it's done it the whole time I've owned it. I'm trying to confirm if this is normal?

Thanks

Bob
 
#578
bal704, thanks for your reply.

BuffaloBass, i realize there's a delay. The noise I'm trying describe comes at the end of that delay.

I make sure the volume control is all the way down, flip the switch, there is no sound for about 5 seconds, which is expected. Then it makes that noise, and then the amp plays normally.

This sounding familiar?

Thanks

Bob
 
#579
Both my Walkabout and M9 do this.
They go thru a powerup, then a relay switches, and then you can hear signal get to the speakers.

It's not big, the cones don't move, but it's there.
 
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