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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres

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#261
It's possible to make ANY amp sound like crap, and diming the controls is the easiest way to acheive what I like to call, the poopy tone. Huge +1 to using very little eq, especially with the WA. Mines always set with all controls at noon, 'cept for the passive mid, which I like to bump up to 2 o'clock. Para eq is for cutting bad stuff depending on the room. Jeeesh, some guys never figure this out, even after years of playing. What a moron.
 
#262
Chef said:
time for my second frank zappa quote for this week:
"dumb all over, a little ugly on the side"

i try to use amp eq only to cut bad spots; though there are exceptions to this...but, everything dimed? ouch....
Click to expand...

I can't get over how sweet the passive mid eq is on our unit. You can crank it w/ seemingly none of the typical prob. of mid boost. Really valuable IMHO.
Don't get me wrong- I'm by no means advocating mid boost. But once you've EQ'd the mud out w/ the parametric, you have the luxury of punching it up w/ the passive mid in a very pleasing manner.
 
#263
62bass said:
These hand trucks show up all over the place really cheap these days, but $19 is the lowest I've heard of so far. I got one that looks very close to that about 6 years ago but I paid $130 Canadian at Lee Valley Tools for it and Club Bass in Toronto had the identical model for about $110. Lee Valley still carries it for $130. It's a nicely made unit and all high quality materials. Stands up to a lot of abuse and I've even used it to move a huge washing machine out of my basement one time. What's the difference with the low priced ones (which I haven't seen in person yet) ? Different materials and fit and finish?
Click to expand...

I decided this was the most practical way to go. Probably get used for more than just amps. The 150 lb. capacity Magna Carts go for $30 at Sears and Northern Tools. Haven't checked Wally World yet. Thanks for the suggestion, Chef!

Dan
 
#265
Just got a call from Savage Audio about my 3 year old Walkabout head. I was having intermittent cutting in and out. The problem was an intermittent diode or shorting diode. This was causing the fan relay to kick on and off. That is what I was hearing through the speaker. High voltage protection circuit kicking in I think is what he said.

I really don't consider this to be any type of reliability issue. I have played this amp nearly everyday for three years. Stuff just happens to electrical components.

It was repaired under warranty so I am a happy camper.
 
#268
My WAS started cutting out last night at a practice. Being Friday night, there was no way to call M/B support. I just read peterwsmith's post about a similar problem, but I was HOPING it could be a bad tube. After thinking it over, that seems unlikely.

At least I don't have to ship the entire amp and cab off for repair.

Any thoughts? I may change out the preamp tube just to verify.
 
#270
Chef said:
patch across fx send and return
clean input and output jacks
check pre tubes
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Yeah, I had read that the effects send/return could be the culprit. I'll try that out first. I tend to think it's not the tube: the sound stops cold, with no hissing or crackling. When I touch the volume level knob, sometimes turning it made it cut out and sometimes I got a sudden surge of volume.

I used my backup Fender, but after playing through the Walkabout, the Fender sounded harsh and grainy. Maybe I can down to where the amp is (our rehearsal space) later this weekend. I probably have a 12AX7 amongst my memorabilia, or I can drop by the local music store.
 
#271
Update: Saturday I did the patch cable between FX jacks, but I really didn't have time to get the amp thoroughly warmed up before I had to stop playing through it, so I'm not sure if that fixed it.

I spoke with M/B about the issue today and they suggested that I send it back to Petaluma to be checked out. Their guess was a bad master volume pot. I'm now awaiting a phone call with an RA#.
 
#273
Apparently so. After I posted the last, a tech called me back and we discussed the symptoms: he told me to ship it to Petaluma, where they would replace my two-input-jack front plate with a single-input-jack (with a switch to toggle between active and passive basses) and redo the FX loop with the later version, which has an On/Off switch so that the problematic jacks are out of the circuit when I am not using external effects (which is all the time).

Three weeks estimate. :D
 
#274
i might be wrong, but i don't think they need to replace the front plate.
just pull one jack, put a baseball bat switch there.

at any rate, that should get you up to current spec.

but hey, if they gotta replace the front plate, you could ask for the new black one, and bakelite knobs all the way 'round for the full cosmetic update too;)
 
#276
Chef said:
i might be wrong, but i don't think they need to replace the front plate.
just pull one jack, put a baseball bat switch there.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you're probably right. It went out on FedEx about an hour ago. Now, if I just manage to tolerate my Fender amp....

I thought it was pretty good until I got the M/B. Now it sounds grainy and harsh.:hmm:
 
#277
Crabby said:
I can't believe a Walkabout head just sold in the classifieds for $375!!!!! I already have one but would have bought that in a heartbeat! What a deal.
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I know. The seller initially asked 700ish, so I pmed him just to let him know older ones generally go for around 550. He thanked me, changed it to 550, and then dropped it through the floor about a day later to 350! I almost bought it but really don't need a 2nd one.
 
#280
MrLenny1 said:
Sounds like a bad wiper inside the volume potentiometer for sure.
Too bad Mesa WA have issues like this early on.
My WT 400 has no issues since 1997.
I do hope to try a WA some day.
Click to expand...

The tech suggested that might be the problem. But I am happy to have them do the work.:D It's such a great sounding amp that I am now dissatisfied with anything else.
 
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