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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres

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#341
A while back I posted about my WAS 12 having speaker issues, I got word back from service center that the output section was getting/drawing DC - a rate of 7 (volts?). Anyways they sent it to the Mesa factory. I guess my summer gig schedule just got eliminated :(
Has anyone else had this problem with their WA?
 
#342
You guys are killing me! I went to GC to check out another brands “new light combo” only to find out it’s a piece of crap. So then I see this Mesa WA 12’ sitting there on the floor and plug in. All I could say was WOW! This thing sounds amazing! The sound just filled the room with warm tubie goodness.
I have been trying to tell myself I don’t need a $1,299 combo amp but I keep thinking about it.
 
#343
LP: the gnl legacy bass has a schaller pup in it; not the mfd pup. these really are much truer to vintage p tone. good stuff...i still prefer the mfd pup, and have it in two fenders, including my 57RI.

MNbass: you're gonna let an equipment failure kill your summer gig schedule?

HMZ: these come up used here pretty often. The 5 year warranty is transferable.
 
#345
Chef: I know it sounds lame, but its my only rig, If worse comes to worse, I'll just go DI. I was just assuming it will take 3-8 weeks to get it back, I'm probably wrong. :) You could always borrow me one of your amazing rigs :)
 
#346
Chef said:
LP: the gnl legacy bass has a schaller pup in it; not the mfd pup. these really are much truer to vintage p tone. good stuff...i still prefer the mfd pup, and have it in two fenders, including my 57RI.
Click to expand...

Yup. Legacy has non-MFD. SB's have MFD's. For me the non-MFD was the right choice as I wanted the vintage P tone in an updated package, and my MFD craving is satisfied with the L2k, Also at least the more recent crop of SB's come with a Jazz-width neck and I wasn't sure how I'd get along with that as I really love the P-width heft in my hand.

Okay, I promise not to keep polluting this WA thread with G&L stuff. Back to the little tone monster!
 
#347
BarStarzBass said:
LP, I'm right there with ya. I LOVE the neck-feel of the L2K - it's like my hands were made to wrap around it - it's a perfect fit for me. And the range of tones is incredible, but it doesn't quite do the P Bass sound and, with it's lunar-lander array of knobs and switches, certainly doesn't give a P Bass VIBE at all.

If only G&L made a bass that had the pickups, controls and body of P, but with that great G&L neck and bridge. It would be a sort-of nod to the . . . ummm . . . Legacy . . . of the classic late 50's P design while also updating it with all the other little things Leo learned since moving on from Fender. And if only for some reason that defies logic it would be available used for 30% less than a comparable Fender P-Bass . . . wait, what's this that just arrived on my doorstep last night?
Click to expand...

I spent half an hour on a Saturday morning playing with the switches and knobs, and found the controls to be intuitive so that I could quickly go from one to another on the fly at a gig.

However, one of the things I love about the P is when one of my booteek playing buddies picks it up and automatically starts rummaging around for all the extra doodads they are used to. I am considerate enough to not point out that they will NEVER get as good a sound out of their preamps, active 4-band EQ and unobtanium pickups as I do with Mr Leo's 1957 design.:D
 
#351
MG Bass said:
Does anyone know if a Walkabout can be switched internally from US voltage to 240V for use in Australia??
Click to expand...

They can't.

However ............ I bought mine locally on ebay and it's marked 110V. I asked about it and apparently the previous owner got Pro Audio (the Oz distributor) to get a 240V transformer made up for it. It was hand made (wound and laminated) to spec by John Ratajczyk at BJ amplifiers - http://www.bjamplifiers.com.au/ So if you want one made up he's probably still got the numbers.
 
#352
vin*tone said:
They can't.

However ............ I bought mine locally on ebay and it's marked 110V. I asked about it and apparently the previous owner got Pro Audio (the Oz distributor) to get a 240V transformer made up for it. It was hand made (wound and laminated) to spec by John Ratajczyk at BJ amplifiers - http://www.bjamplifiers.com.au/ So if you want one made up he's probably still got the numbers.
Click to expand...

yep, that's the correct answer. You either have to get a new tranny from Mesa, or have one made that meets the Mesa specs. I checked this out because I am anticipating grabbing a used WA head this summer and getting a new tanny for it to use in Europe for the next few years.
 
#353
Last night I got to try my new (to me) G&L Legacy P-bass (with flatwounds) with my WA (which also came this week) . . . in 10 seconds I was in Motown Heaven. Whoever said the P-bass and the WA are made for each other wasn't kidding! It's been a GOOD week for me . . .
 
#354
BarStarzBass said:
Last night I got to try my new (to me) G&L Legacy P-bass (with flatwounds) with my WA (which also came this week) . . . in 10 seconds I was in Motown Heaven. Whoever said the P-bass and the WA are made for each other wasn't kidding!QUOTE]

I love mine. It's hard to describe, it's as though the WAS knows exactly what the P's supposed to sound like.:hyper:

Mesa/Boogie's had mine for the first week....:crying:
Click to expand...
 
#355
Got the chance to gig my WA + L-2000 + Legacy P-bass for the first time Saturday night. The WA was totally in her element. It was a small neighborhood bar, and my band always gets compliments for playing at ageing-rocker-friendly volume levels (which kind-of bugs our inner teenagers, but we're all basically over having our ears ringing at the end of the night), so the WA wasn't strained at all - had input at noon and the master only at 9:30 and it was plenty loud.

The WA + Legacy combo did exactly what a P-bass should - it wrapped around the band and gave it a big warm bear-hug, then flowed out to the audience and did the same - filling every nook and corner of the place without being all in-your-face about it. Perfect.

The WA + L-2000 . . . this one's a work in progress. I use the L for songs that need an edgier JPJ/Squire/Lee tone. I dialed in the Chef-suggested "SVT-midrange-grind" settings and they worked as advertised . . . TOO good in fact. To say that it cut through the mix would be a major understatement. Our first song was Kashmir, and the combination of that cutting tone with the endless bass-line drone basically mesmerized our drummer . . . he told me after the song was over that it got locked in his brain and he couldn't hear (or at least focus on) what our singer and guitar player were doing, to the point where he had real trouble with the transitions. Serves me right - I only sound-checked with the Legacy, not the L2k. For the rest of the L2k songs I dialed back the volume and this made it sit in the mix properly - but I lost my top-end zing. It was still mid-rangey, but in a nasally plonky non-grinding kind of way that I didn't like.

Looks like I've got some serious eq'ing to do - anyone have similar problem and can give me some starting points? I'm thinking I need to up the treble and maybe the high-mids a little, maybe more input gain to get good break-up at a lower L2k-volume setting. Or maybe keep those as-is and dial back the mid-boost? Any suggestions welcome, as I need to do this with the full band and don't want to waste our valuable practice time.

Sorry for the long post!
 
#356
Try the L2000 in passive mode; and, single coil if yours has that option.

With the L2000, I'd set the passive mid at about 10 oclock, and use the semi para mid to pull back some mids at about 4-600, and boost treble to 2 oclock at 2 khz.

Passive on the bass!

I was an L2K player for many years as my primary touring bass, but, it was a 1981 L2Ke, which had single coil mode. Sold it several years ago when things got tight and early 2Ke's were fetching some coin, and went thru a rash of newer ones that I hated until I scored a completely beat 1985 that has single coil.

Also, though the L2K treble and bass are "cut only," sometimes it's maybe better to think of them as boost and cut, and start with each at the 50% point. In passive mode, I run both more than that...in active mode, I run both less than that, especially bass...

So, that's my take on that;)
 
#357
Thanks, Chef. Yes, I was thinking maybe the preamp is a little too hot and the passive mode might be the way to go, at least when I'm with the band. Solo/practice, I really like the extra clarity that the preamp brings.

Mine doesn't have the single coil switch but I've seen how to do the mod on the G&L forum. I heard a sound sample and really liked the SC sound, so I think I'll give the mod a shot . . . it looks pretty straightforward . .. famous last words . . .

Anyway, thanks as always for the great advice.
 
#359
So my used (barely) "rhino" case arrived late last week . . . put the head in Friday and it looks great!

. . . one question - and maybe I'm just being overly anal here - does anyone use something extra (e.g. slip-on cover or some sort of removable face-plate thing) to protect the exposed amp face during loading and unloading at a gig?

I did a quick Google search and found the following company that will make a custom slip-cover

Link Removed

but just wondering if anyone has an off-the-shelf solution . . .
 
#360
BarStarzBass said:
So my used (barely) "rhino" case arrived late last week . . . put the head in Friday and it looks great!

. . . one question - and maybe I'm just being overly anal here - does anyone use something extra (e.g. slip-on cover or some sort of removable face-plate thing) to protect the exposed amp face during loading and unloading at a gig?

I did a quick Google search and found the following company that will make a custom slip-cover

Link Removed

but just wondering if anyone has an off-the-shelf solution . . .
Click to expand...

Link Removed

That's your answer bud.
 
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