Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres

[Chef]

mesa c/s has been top flight, and i did need backup when i bought into the fathom/M6 early on.
i was "lucky enough" to get one that showed multiple issues over time; and they *totally* stood behind their product.

 

[Chef]

someone was looking to buy one:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=659051

not mine, etc.......

 

[lpdeluxe]

decided this time not to buy more of the off-the-shelf fender/peavey/yamaha/etc/etc stuff i usually buy and get something *nice*.

customer service is as important to me as the gear. i hope mesa measures up in that regard as well.

I've had several other amps, all of good quality, but the difference with the WAS is the difference between, say, a solid-state Ibanez guitar amp and a BF Fender: it's not about how loud, it's not about "features," it's about having an amplifier that sounds like the notes you hear inside your head.

I can never go back to the others.

Customer service, in my experience so far, is exemplary: you talk to knowledgeable people who know what's inside the amps, and they'll ask you questions about the problems (rather than merely follow a script) that will quickly reveal to them where the problem is. And they seem dedicated to making you satisfied. Instead of the grudging "send it to an authorized service center" they said, "send it back to us, we'll fix the problem, install the latest updates, and ship it back in three weeks."

 

[Jo6Pak]

i found two. one 'new in box' black face and one used 'like new' silver face. i'm trying to decide between the two and it ain't easy. both appear to be good deals from good people.

 

[sunbeast]

i found two. one 'new in box' black face and one used 'like new' silver face. i'm trying to decide between the two and it ain't easy. both appear to be good deals from good people.

Does the silver faced one have the upgraded switch additions (Meaning an "active/passive" switch vs. two seperate input jacks, and the addition of an "effects/bypass" switch on the rear effects loop)? The vast majority of potential "issues" with Walkabout amps seem to have been bypassed with these two updates. If the old one is updated and noticeably cheaper, then I would just go with that one. If they are pretty close in price, I'd go for the newer one!

 

[Jo6Pak]

sunbeast - just had another look at the hi-res pics the seller was kind enough to send me. the used head does, indeed have the upgrades you speak of. i was told it is ~3yrs old and was purchased (used) as a backup, but was never needed. the used seller is also a fellow TBer, so i won't mention the price he quoted me in case i decide against it. obviously it is less than the new one. i don't feel comfortable discussing this 'out in the open', but i really am unfamiliar with the going price and nuances of these heads and was unaware of the two issues you mentioned. thanks for the heads up...

 

[sunbeast]

You can also see if he ever filled out the warranty papers for it. If so, you can have them transferred to your name- the Mesa transferrable warranty is good for 5 years from original purchase date...

 

[RickenBoogie]

My silver faced '06 model has the updates, so the one you're looking at is just like mine. That one would be my preference, because I like the metal knurled knobs, while others, like Chef, prefer the newer models with the black plastic knobs. Aside from the metal/plastic difference, presumably, the black ones are easier to read on stage, but I just painted some black dots on my metal knobs, and can see it just fine. If you can save a few bucks, tonally, they're exactly the same.

 

[goldenglory18]

So, my walkabout has a few little issues. I think it might be time to send it up to Northern California for a little R&R.

Master pot is noisy
FX Loop is causing sound interference (oxidized jacks)
Silver face could use an update (more switches!!!!)

How much was Mesa charging for an update agan?

 

[Poon]

So, my walkabout has a few little issues. I think it might be time to send it up to Northern California for a little R&R.

Master pot is noisy
FX Loop is causing sound interference (oxidized jacks)
Silver face could use an update (more switches!!!!)

How much was Mesa charging for an update agan?

2 out of the 3 can be addressed by Caig products in case you could hold off on the update.

Caig Deoxit Fader Lube for the First - assuming the pot isn't just shot.
Caig Dexoit Contact Cleaner for the second.

One of the survival kits comes with both as well as a bunch of other stuff for around $30.

 

[lpdeluxe]

So, my walkabout has a few little issues. I think it might be time to send it up to Northern California for a little R&R.

How much was Mesa charging for an update again?

Mine's still under warranty, so it's costing me the shipping to Petaluma.

 

[SJLee]

I just ordered a Walkabout Scout in Vanilla Bronco with the black jute grille. I received a message from the guy who helped me out and he wants to know if I would like it with 4 or 8 ohms.

Is anyone out there using the 8 ohm and how is the volume compared to the 4 ohm? I played a 4 ohm but may want the capability of expanding with another 12" cab at some point. Just not sure if the 165 watts will do the trick with a second cab. What are you 8 ohm guys experiencing? Would love to hear some opinions before making the call. Thanks in advance.

 

[sunbeast]

I just ordered a Walkabout Scout in Vanilla Bronco with the black jute grille. I received a message from the guy who helped me out and he wants to know if I would like it with 4 or 8 ohms.

Is anyone out there using the 8 ohm and how is the volume compared to the 4 ohm? I played a 4 ohm but may want the capability of expanding with another 12" cab at some point. Just not sure if the 165 watts will do the trick with a second cab. What are you 8 ohm guys experiencing? Would love to hear some opinions before making the call. Thanks in advance.

I have a 4 ohm Scout and have never tried the 8 ohm. A couple things to consider-

Many Walkabout owners, including myself, have used the Walkabout at 2 ohms on a regular basis without excess heat or issues. You can read many examples of this throughout the Walkabout Megathreads and other threads. Even Mesa says that it will work fine at 2 ohms, but they won't go as far as printing it in the manual.

The other side of the coin is that 300 watts can be alot of juice for one speaker, even by today's standards (most of the current made speakers that are designed to handle heavy bass and large wattage at the same time do so at the expense of the midrange that makes the Walkabout sound so awesome!). If you buy the 4 ohm cabinet, don't expect to be able to crank it while simultaneously cranking a lot of low end, or you will hit the limit of the speaker before you ever hit the power limit of the amp. Given the science behind it, the 8 ohm combo is probably a smarter choice given the single speaker- the volume difference shouldn't be much (3 dB), and you are far less likely to push the speaker to or beyond its limits!

 

[SJLee]

Thanks for your comments. I'm leaning towards the 8 for the expandability but wasn't sure about the hit in volume. Sounds like it's not significant. Hopefully someone with at 8 ohm will chime in.

I have a 4 ohm Scout and have never tried the 8 ohm. A couple things to consider-

Many Walkabout owners, including myself, have used the Walkabout at 2 ohms on a regular basis without excess heat or issues. You can read many examples of this throughout the Walkabout Megathreads and other threads. Even Mesa says that it will work fine at 2 ohms, but they won't go as far as printing it in the manual.

The other side of the coin is that 300 watts can be alot of juice for one speaker, even by today's standards (most of the current made speakers that are designed to handle heavy bass and large wattage at the same time do so at the expense of the midrange that makes the Walkabout sound so awesome!). If you buy the 4 ohm cabinet, don't expect to be able to crank it while simultaneously cranking a lot of low end, or you will hit the limit of the speaker before you ever hit the power limit of the amp. Given the science behind it, the 8 ohm combo is probably a smarter choice given the single speaker- the volume difference shouldn't be much (3 dB), and you are far less likely to push the speaker to or beyond its limits!

 

[pfschim]

As a 4ohm WA owner/user I would second sunbeast's comments. In another recent WA thread, it was pointed out the the Mesa driver for the WA is probably a Deltalite II, which is designed to handle ~150w. So, an 8ohm WA will probably be fine even though it is only going to produce 165w.

OTOH, I use my 4ohm WA stand alone about 90% of the time and am very happy with the headroom I get with the 300w available. I rarely push my amp, and really want clean volume, so that works for me.

++1 on the 2ohm operation being fine with the WA. When I do need more volume, I use a 4ohm Scout 15 with the WA 12. Sounds great!

enjoy!

 

[Chef]

There are only two negatives with the Walkabout, as far as i'm concerned.

1) I wish it could shine on top like the M6. You can always dial that out. You can't really add it in. Using a Sadwosky helps, but I'd really like shinier top end, at points.

2) I wish it was the same 600 watts the M6 is. I prefer using the walkabout clean, clean, clean 98% of the time...and sometimes I just need more headroom than it has when inside the clean tone palette.
At those points, it starts breaking up, and significantly compressing the low notes. I know, I know, this is aprt of the whole tube emulation thing so many people-myself included!-dig about the Walkabout. I just wish it were optional...

With the M6's 600 watts, I could run it clean and big and phat and tasty as I want, input low, master high. If and when I wanted more harmonic content, or wanted to live a little closer to Big Tube Amp Land, I could turn input up, and master down.

Hey Mesa, put that Walkabout front end in front of an M6 or M9 powerplant.
Yeah, I realise it'll get bigger.
I'm ok with that.

Pretty please?

thanks!

 

[RickenBoogie]

I've always longed for a 600 watt Walkabout. Of course, we all thought that was what the Mpulse 600 was, until we all discovered it wasn't.

 

[Chef]

zactly.
btdt...

 

[NickRich]

1) I wish it could shine on top like the M6. You can always dial that out. You can't really add it in. Using a Sadwosky helps, but I'd really like shinier top end, at points.

2) I wish it was the same 600 watts the M6 is. I prefer using the walkabout clean, clean, clean 98% of the time...and sometimes I just need more headroom than it has when inside the clean tone palette.

Amen to that.

 

[tombowlus]

There are only two negatives with the Walkabout, as far as i'm concerned.

1) I wish it could shine on top like the M6. You can always dial that out. You can't really add it in. Using a Sadwosky helps, but I'd really like shinier top end, at points.

2) I wish it was the same 600 watts the M6 is.

Hey Mesa, put that Walkabout front end in front of an M6 or M9 powerplant.

+1 I have been trying to talk them into building a 600-800 watt 2-channel amp, with one channel being the Walkabout front end, and the other being the M6 front end. I think you could cover a lot of ground with a head like that.