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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres

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#782
peterwsmith said:
Whoa. That is a bit excessive isn't it? I think I'd get myself in trouble doing that, especially since I'm going to get another 210av and do the vertical stack thing.

Looks like there's no headcase in my (immediate) future!
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Excessive?! But . . . it goes to ELEVEN . . .

Yes - I certainly wouldn't try that setup on a gig! What you can't see in the pictures is that the headcase's feet stick out about a half-inch at all four corners too! I was nervous just posing them that way for the picture! My 7-year-old came into the room as I was taking the photo, and for a minute I thought I'd have a real-life Stonehenge situation . . .

Definitely needs the dual 210av thing. The feet on the headcase will still have to be moved inboard about half an inch to fit the depth of the 210 cab, but then you will have thing of beauty . . . tonally and aesthetically . . .
 
#783
Got my Walkabout today (used)! First impressions...tube goodness! One thing I was surprised about it that the pre goes into overdrive very fast. With master and all controls at noon...if I go passed noon on the gain, it gets very compressed, and gets overdriven. I was using a passive P bass. Is this normal, do I need to retube?
 
#786
I have two Walkabouts, both with Mesa tubes, but one with Chinese and one with Russian (they must have switched at some point). One of them reacts like yours- much higher gain and quicker compression (and less clarity even at lower settings), though I can't remember which tubes are in which! I actually prefer the higher gain one slightly through larger cabinets (and the other through the Scout cab), though it can get a little muddy if I crank the gain too high...

The tube you linked may be the one already in your amp- you might want to check if yours are labeled Russia or China (although that alone won't necessarily tell you, since Mesa just stamps their own name on a plethora of Sovtek and other tubes).
 
#788
Thanks! I haven't opened it yet...there are just two tubes right? I'm looking for clear clean tube tone, with the ability to get slightly overdriven.

sunbeast said:
I have two Walkabouts, both with Mesa tubes, but one with Chinese and one with Russian (they must have switched at some point). One of them reacts like yours- much higher gain and quicker compression (and less clarity even at lower settings), though I can't remember which tubes are in which! I actually prefer the higher gain one slightly through larger cabinets (and the other through the Scout cab), though it can get a little muddy if I crank the gain too high...

The tube you linked may be the one already in your amp- you might want to check if yours are labeled Russia or China (although that alone won't necessarily tell you, since Mesa just stamps their own name on a plethora of Sovtek and other tubes).
Click to expand...
 
#791
the sovtek long plates are what came in my black face.
i had jj long plates in the last silverface i had.

once my input gain hits noon or so, i'm done with headroom, and spooling up grit and junk i don't care for.
 
#792
MarkusBass said:
Mines a silver face with black graphics. The black faces come with these right?

http://tubedepot.com/so-12ax7lps.html
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Both of mine are also black-faced, so it's hard to say. I don't think Mesa are super consistent with their tubing choices (I remember Chef claiming his newer Walkabout came with different tubes than his older ones as well).
 
#794
my older ones both had short plate sovteks, IIRC. they broke up early, and not to my liking.

the jj's, and the new sovteks do much better,
but,
please note...

i don't like breakup at all!!!!

i'd much prefer that overdrive, and mucho compression didn't kick in at all til 3 oclock, and was all there at the end.

i love the walkabouts rich, fat tone...but i'd love a looot more clean headroom.

----Mesa: please! mate this front end with the M9 powerplant, so I can have clean as I want, or sick as I want, and still have the headroom to take the Walkabout to bigger jobs. For now, it's limited to smallish rooms, and low volume double bass work (which it *really* excels at!).
 
#798
MarkusBass said:
Great info guys! So Chef...I seem to recall you saying that these were the ones that came in the black faced WA. These are the new Sovteks right? I need two right?

http://tubedepot.com/so-12ax7lps.html

I don't really like breakup either.
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Just a word of caution... after hearing Chef talk about the LPS in his blackface, and playing a blackface at GC (which sounded warmer and smoother than my silverface... which could be GC's acoustics), I ordered a set from tubedepot and they were problematic. I returned them for another set and still issues. They worked well for a few minutes and then after A/B-ing them with the stock Russians & Tung Sols the LPS wouldn't come up to volume. Tubedepot said there could be compatibility issues with the LPS if used as cathode follower (which I don't believe slot #2 is) but I tested and they didn't work in any position in combo with the other tubes that were still working. So I gave up and returned them. I kept the stock Russian2's in there and they sound great. The Tung Sol's are cleaner / lower gain so there is more headroom before breakup compared to the stock tubes. Of course this is just my experience, so you might have different luck than me.
 
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