Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
- Status
The difference in the sound between those WA's is most likely just the different tubes you swapped. Sounds like one overdrives a little sooner, based on what you've said. I've only ever owned my one WA, but played with several others, including the newest ones, and they all sound the same to me, with the stock tubes.
Who's playing 5 strings through their Walkabout 12?
I use a Schroeder 15+L with the head when doing the 5 string thing, the Scout cab alone is a little flabby when I get way down there. When I run both cabs together it's great. Do you think 2 Scout 12's would not have to work so hard and maybe tighten up a little bit? A matching stack would be nice...
I use a Schroeder 15+L with the head when doing the 5 string thing, the Scout cab alone is a little flabby when I get way down there. When I run both cabs together it's great. Do you think 2 Scout 12's would not have to work so hard and maybe tighten up a little bit? A matching stack would be nice...
I agree. IME my WA 12 handles the B as well as any other 12 I've tried (and I seem to have tried just about all of 'em) and goes lower and deeper than any except the Epi UL-2. I rarely boost the lows more than a smidgeon, however. Embly-what does your eq usually look like? Regardless-adding a 2nd will be 4 times as pleasing to the ear as one IME
I play a 5 through my WA12. I think it sounds great. When I need more, I have a Scout 12 extension cabinet. I agree with Lomo, it sounds even more glorious. The tuning of the Scout cabs is unbelievable for their size.
Has anyone out there paired their WA with an Epi 310? I loved the 310 with my M6 and was wondering how the WA performed with one.
Has anyone out there paired their WA with an Epi 310? I loved the 310 with my M6 and was wondering how the WA performed with one.
The 8 Ohm WA12 on top of an Epi 310 is a beautiful thing IME, with the caveat that the 310 has a scooped tuning that can only partly be eq'ed out if it's not your thing. The match is particularly great because the 5.3 Ohm impedance matches well with an 8 Ohm 12 in terms of watts per driver. A 4 Ohm WA would be silly on the 310, however, with >50% of the power going through the smaller (WA) cab. I don't really understand the idea of a 4 Ohm WA 12 combo other than marketing the full 300 watts. No single 12 I've ever heard wants or can use a full 300 watts, WA included, and an 8 Ohm WA combo allows easy, proportional pairing with many other cabs, like a 4 Ohm 212. Minor rant over.
Never tried just the WA head with the 310-sold my 310 'cause it was a bit too scooped for me.
Weird. I dig the blackface look as well, but agree with Rickenboogie and prefer the knurled metal knobs over the bakelite ones. I was gonna send the older one that I picked up used to Mesa for updates and get a headcase for it.....but realized I was only 200 away from a new blackface in a headcase....so I ordered that and the older one (originally from TBer Buffordbass) is sold to Smallmouth Bass up in Montreal-latest member of the club who heard a WA in a music shop while trying out a Fender J and was smitten
The good news is I like the look of the silver-faced ones better, so it all works out well! I am looking forward to hooking it up to my Berg 12s.
Anyone have experience running the Walkabout @8 Ohms with one AE112 (or an HT112)? I know it's rated at 165 W @ 8 Ohms, but do you find you lose a lot?
Like I said, no single 12 I've ever met wants 300 watts. Since175 is more than half of the 300 your LM2 pumps into 1 of those Bergs, I'll wager the volume difference will be negligible, if detectable at all. If you are not currently diming the LM2 you should be able to get the same volume out of the WA through a single 12. Depending on the bass, the question will be where you want your gain. If you want the warmth and harmonics usually obtainable around noon to 1 o'clock IME, there'll be gobs of volume. If you want it very clean (gain maybe around 10-11) it won't be as loud. Unlike your LM2, it'll give you those 2 options all the way through to frankly hirsuit
Lomo's 100% correct, the 4 ohm Scout cab does seem a bit of a waste, since you can't get anywhere near "full power" with that one little speaker, and at 8 ohms the match is pretty good. When I first got my WAS in '06, I tried playing with a reasonable bunch of fellers in a large studio room, (TV, 30' ceilings), and the Scout bottomed out and farted big time. Next time I jammed there was with the WA head and a Powerhouse 610. Glory. I've since sold the Scout cab in favor of a single 4 ohm 212- and rocked that pretty hard last night.
My regular settings bass @ noon, mid and treble dimed, gain and master around 10 o'clock and noon respectively. I leave the eq section alone for the most part, everything straight up noon. This stays pretty much the same whether I'm using the Scout, the 15+L or both. I guess I use the cabs as tone controls for my various situations.
If I didn't have the Schroe to A/B with I may not be so critical of the Scout's ability to keep the low B tight. I have a pretty sharp fingerstyle attack though, but the 15+L's are are scary tight. I don't notice the Scout breaking up when running both cabs, The Schroe is an 8 ohm cab but strangely enough the perceived volume is pretty even.
Great! I generally don't play that loud, mostly one cab @ 8 ohms with the LMII and I rarely have the master over 9 o'clock, usually less. I have the older HT112/EX112 mini stack for "louder" situations and one AE112 for single use (better bass response).
I was looking for a good backup and/or alternate flavour and I think this will be a really good fit. I am excited to try it out! I am lucky in that I have never had much amp GAS before, so my amp setups have been fairly simple over the years.
I was looking for a good backup and/or alternate flavour and I think this will be a really good fit. I am excited to try it out! I am lucky in that I have never had much amp GAS before, so my amp setups have been fairly simple over the years.
I'm no engineer, but I think the Schro keeps the B "tight" to your ear because it's mainly low mid and doesn't really reproduce the lows that the Scout cab does-does it sound that way to you? Turn the volume down until just before the WA loses it's tightness and match that volume with the Schro-I bet the WA sounds/is lower. Or.....try backing the lows off when using the Scout and go back to your normal eq for the Schro and compare that. Also-dimed mids and treble make for an unusual dashboard-
not sure how that's affecting all this...I'm not sure if I'll have time for a little GTG next Sat other than a quick hello to get you your new head-probably not (family engagement), but if we DO have time I'll call Bassike to come over and I'll bring my Scout 12 cab. I'd love to AB the Scout and Berg with the WA and LM2......come to think of it, I'd love to bring my PH and Wizzy cabs and have a 12-off
I'm no engineer, but I think the Schro keeps the B "tight" to your ear because it's mainly low mid and doesn't really reproduce the lows that the Scout cab does-does it sound that way to you? Turn the volume down until just before the WA loses it's tightness and match that volume with the Schro-I bet the WA sounds/is lower. Or.....try backing the lows off when using the Scout and go back to your normal eq for the Schro and compare that. Also-dimed mids and treble make for an unusual dashboard-
I will do some experimenting, thanks. Isn't the Mid on the Walkabout flat when all the way up? Or am I getting my threads n' heads mixed up?
Not 100% sure. Although it is certainly a passive mid-cut knob, I'm not certain that it's flat at max, although that'd make sense. Doesn't sound like that to me, but the head is very colored and it's tough to gauge (at least for me).
I seem to remember a conversation about that passive mid knob a while back. I got all confused, but from what I remember, even though it's passive, and presumably "cut" only, I think the way Mesa engineered it, it's actually flat at "0"- and increases the mids as it's turned up. Makes absolutely no sense to me, but in fact, it does sound like a mid boost. Crazy stuff.
...not engineered, but more likely conjured by some 400 yr-old dude with a floor-length grey beard and conical black hat waving a wand around...
- Status
