no sir, that's not what i want.
waaaaaaaay bigger, two channels, way more weight, no para eq.
no thanks.
waaaaaaaay bigger, two channels, way more weight, no para eq.
no thanks.
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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres
- Thread starter Chef
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Me neither. 30 lbs is my schlep limit for a head, and I want the exact WA eq that I have grown to love. Don't need the 2nd channels or the OD. I have thought of a pair of racked Walkabouts, but then I'd need 2 largish 4 Ohm cabs and it'd be waaaay too much hassle compared to M9/LDS 15-6 (30lbs and under 50 lbs) or my smaller, modular Walkabout with 1 or 2 Wizzy 12s (15 lbs and 30 lb boxes). If a Walkabout 500 (or better yet, 900) comes out I'll grab one.
Yeah- the two Walkabouts thing is much more of a PITA than I would have imagined unless they are both in Scout cabs. The rack ears make the small size of the head irrelevant, and although two of them are still pretty light together, they aren't nearly as light as a Walkabout 900 could potentially be!
I hope this isn't a hijack, but here goes.
I just bought a used WA Scout 12. I'm crazy about it. Clearly the best amp I've ever owned. I also bought a homemade extension cab (same size as the Scout, to stack underneath).
I was hoping the additional cab would add significant extra clarity on bass notes for fairly loud bar gigs, but I don't hear much advantage plugging this cab in. I don't have the $$ for a Scout radiator external at this point.
I wonder if I'm expecting too much from a small 12 cab? I pulled the speaker. It's a Celestion K12T-200. Googling around, it looks like that's no great shakes, speakerwise. Do you think it would make sense to try a better speaker? Maybe one rated for 300W?
The talkbass site search doesn't recognize 2-digit words, so I'm not sure where to find info on 12" speakers. That's why I'm knocking on your door on this. If you can steer me to a better place to ask, that's good too.
Thanks!
I just bought a used WA Scout 12. I'm crazy about it. Clearly the best amp I've ever owned. I also bought a homemade extension cab (same size as the Scout, to stack underneath).
I was hoping the additional cab would add significant extra clarity on bass notes for fairly loud bar gigs, but I don't hear much advantage plugging this cab in. I don't have the $$ for a Scout radiator external at this point.
I wonder if I'm expecting too much from a small 12 cab? I pulled the speaker. It's a Celestion K12T-200. Googling around, it looks like that's no great shakes, speakerwise. Do you think it would make sense to try a better speaker? Maybe one rated for 300W?
The talkbass site search doesn't recognize 2-digit words, so I'm not sure where to find info on 12" speakers. That's why I'm knocking on your door on this. If you can steer me to a better place to ask, that's good too.
Thanks!
I would look into either Eminence Kappalite or Deltalite speakers (both are neodymium/lightweight speakers, which seem like the way to go anymore unless they are price-prohibitive)- both are fairly well regarded around here. I think I recall reading that the 3012HO is specifically recommended for smaller cabs. I am far from an expert (I only recently flirted with using a speaker modeling program for the first time to try to match a driver to a project I was messing with), but I'd bet if you posted a new thread looking for 12" speaker advice and posted all the internal dimensions of your cab (including port dimensions), then somebody knowledgeable would eventually chime in!
terlewine;
there's actually quite a lot of science that goes into determining what speaker goes well into what sized box, what ports are appropriate, where the crossover ought to be for which horn/tweet...
it's not really as easy as just picking a higher watt rated driver and dropping it in there.
you could easily spend $160 or more on a good driver, and not have it work in your extension cab...also, you could score a good used scout cab for not lots more than that, and know it would work well, and match the rest of your rig.
there's actually quite a lot of science that goes into determining what speaker goes well into what sized box, what ports are appropriate, where the crossover ought to be for which horn/tweet...
it's not really as easy as just picking a higher watt rated driver and dropping it in there.
you could easily spend $160 or more on a good driver, and not have it work in your extension cab...also, you could score a good used scout cab for not lots more than that, and know it would work well, and match the rest of your rig.
Good points. Thanks.
I agree the best solution is looking for a Scout radiator. That Scout cab sounds great.
I've noticed that there are quite a few brownface Walkabout amps-only turning up for sale here and on ebay. My theory is that people in the same situation as me are buying a used combo for an external cab, and parting out the amp.
It's not so often that you see a scout cab for sale, but I think I'm in the market now.
I'm knocked out by this Scout combo. Makes me want to join a Scout fan club.
I agree the best solution is looking for a Scout radiator. That Scout cab sounds great.
I've noticed that there are quite a few brownface Walkabout amps-only turning up for sale here and on ebay. My theory is that people in the same situation as me are buying a used combo for an external cab, and parting out the amp.
It's not so often that you see a scout cab for sale, but I think I'm in the market now.
I'm knocked out by this Scout combo. Makes me want to join a Scout fan club.
OK...I'm one or both of my tubes are microphonic...so this might explain some things. Early overdrive and compression, and the volume stops getting louder at about half way. It's not nearly as loud as the Fusion 550/ 8ohm Neo 210 cab I came from. I should have two new tubes tomorrow(thanks Poon!). So should these solve all my problems?
He is sending me one JJ and one Tung-Sol...wish position do you guys suggest for these?
He is sending me one JJ and one Tung-Sol...wish position do you guys suggest for these?
Just swap them around and see which one you like in pos. 1 and then put the other in pos. 2.
Just swap them around and see which one you like in pos. 1 and then put the other in pos. 2.
Oh...you're good!
I've seen a few references to the Scout 12 cab being boomy. I have owned one for a while and also owned the following
12s: Schro, Epi UL1 and 2, Mesa PH, Eden. I have heard the Berg HT, Aggie GS and Markbass 12s as well, but not played them myself. Never heard the Aggie DB or fEarful 12/6. In sum, compared to the 12s I have heard, the Scout is larger and tuned deeper/lower. I don't know if it's the box size and /or the passive radiator port. It CAN get flabby down low (below low E on a 5er when pushed fairly hard), but this is easily remedied by cutting back at about 60 Hz and not cranking any mids. The upside to this is that when volume is moderate, it sounds deeper and wider to my ear than the competition. My Wizzy 12s are tighter and more contolled down low, but they don't go AS low as the Scout 12 can to my ear (they are also significantly smaller and lighter and a hair cheaper). I suspect the Wizzy 12 is very similar to the Berg AE based on descriptions I've read on TB. I do not think the WA head owes much magic to the Scout cab, but I do think the Scout cab overdelivers for it's size and it is my favorite 12.
12s: Schro, Epi UL1 and 2, Mesa PH, Eden. I have heard the Berg HT, Aggie GS and Markbass 12s as well, but not played them myself. Never heard the Aggie DB or fEarful 12/6. In sum, compared to the 12s I have heard, the Scout is larger and tuned deeper/lower. I don't know if it's the box size and /or the passive radiator port. It CAN get flabby down low (below low E on a 5er when pushed fairly hard), but this is easily remedied by cutting back at about 60 Hz and not cranking any mids. The upside to this is that when volume is moderate, it sounds deeper and wider to my ear than the competition. My Wizzy 12s are tighter and more contolled down low, but they don't go AS low as the Scout 12 can to my ear (they are also significantly smaller and lighter and a hair cheaper). I suspect the Wizzy 12 is very similar to the Berg AE based on descriptions I've read on TB. I do not think the WA head owes much magic to the Scout cab, but I do think the Scout cab overdelivers for it's size and it is my favorite 12.
Lomo: thanks for that description. It syncs with what I'm hearing in this Scout 12. I'm real fond of (or just used to?) the sound of a 15, but this 12 sounds great. I'm now planning to get a Mesa radiator 12 as an extension. I think it's worth waiting until I've got the $$ to do it.
Good question. Not sure how you're supposed to know, but I know mine's a 4 because I called Mesa customer service today. I gave them the serial number from the used Scout I bought, and asked them to check and see when it was built. November 2004, and while he was looking he told me it was recorded as a 4.
He also encouraged me to get an 8ohm speaker for the combo if I'm going to run it with an extension, which won't surprise anybody here because that's Mesa's design recommendation. (An 8ohm 12" replacement speaker from Mesa is $119.)
He also encouraged me to get an 8ohm speaker for the combo if I'm going to run it with an extension, which won't surprise anybody here because that's Mesa's design recommendation. (An 8ohm 12" replacement speaker from Mesa is $119.)
PS: the serial number was on the case of the Walkabout amp itself, and wasn't visible until you took the amp out of the combo.
Well.....Yeah
, its bigger... Mesa made it that way for thier reasons; yeah, its got two channels but IMHO that is a plus not a minus(it certainly does'nt take away anything IMO); yeah, its heavier... it weighs in at just over the weight of 2 Walkabouts I guess its subjective about what "way more weight is" (of course the weight of the WA I'm referring to would be without the heavy wooden head cases)...but for reference purposes, what does a walkabout with the Wood headcase weigh; Yeah, the Titan has Para EQ on the Mids only. Now I only decided to get the Titan after I fell in love with the Walkabout tone( so don't worry -I'm one of you WA guys...and I'm not trying to take over the thread re: the desire for a more powerful WA...and I still have my Walkabout...but after reading the post desiring a more powerful Walkabout
...I just wanted others to know what I've discovered about the Titan ...and that is, that the Titan sounds very "Walkaboutish" when you want it too...it is just even more versitile tonally than the WA IMO and has a lot more head room when you need it. They are both fantastic amps and I will be using both at my outdoor gig Saturday...Peace ...DAcat 
Chef ---Last night in practice my WA was powering an EarCandy 212 4ohm cab as usual solidly holding its own against the 2 guitars ,drums and loud PA...until about 1/2 thru practice it started sputtering 
, and lost volume 
, and almost sounded like it was going to bring in a Radio station :scowl:...I tried tightening tubes 
, changed batteries 
in my bass, wondered if I'd blown a speaker 
....I was really getting bummed 
as the band was really sounding fine and I was sounding like mush 
or worse by the minute...and then I remembered that you had this suggestion on this site for "fixing some kind of WA problem" and I spent about an hour 
looking for your fix tonight after work...then I found it..."Clean the inputs and outputs"...was the 1st thing you said...I took 4 q-tips and sprayed a littled WD40 on them and stuck them gently into each input and out put on my cab and amp-then I plugged back in and turn it on....Vrrrooommm...it purred quietly while running on all 8 cylinders again
!!! In my over 40 years of playing I have never had that happen to an amp before, and its truly a remarkable and easy fix that every bassist should know about!! Thanks for sharing Chef 
...Don't you just love TalkBass?!! Peace...DAcat
against the 2 guitars ,drums and loud PA...until about 1/2 thru practice it started sputtering , and lost volume , and almost sounded like it was going to bring in a Radio station :scowl:...I tried tightening tubes , changed batteries in my bass, wondered if I'd blown a speaker ....I was really getting bummed as the band was really sounding fine and I was sounding like mush or worse by the minute...and then I remembered that you had this suggestion on this site for "fixing some kind of WA problem" and I spent about an hour looking for your fix tonight after work...then I found it..."Clean the inputs and outputs"...was the 1st thing you said...I took 4 q-tips and sprayed a littled WD40 on them and stuck them gently into each input and out put on my cab and amp-then I plugged back in and turn it on....Vrrrooommm...it purred quietly while running on all 8 cylinders again!!! In my over 40 years of playing I have never had that happen to an amp before, and its truly a remarkable and easy fix that every bassist should know about!! Thanks for sharing Chef ...Don't you just love TalkBass?!! Peace...DAcat 
I assume you're talking about the Scout cab. There should be a sticker located near the tweeter control. If it's gone, then a call to Mesa with the serial number of the cab should get you an answer.
The WA amp itself is capable of 2, 4, or 8 ohm operation.
Can't you just unplug the cable from the amp and slap an ohmmeter across the plug? If the speaker has an 8 ohm voicecoil you'll measure a resistance of something just under 8 ohms, if it has a 4 ohm voicecoil you'll measure something just under 4 ohms.
The crossover (etc.) for the tweeter won't come into play as the crossover capacitor blocks DC (which is what an ohmmeter uses for measurement purposes) making the tweeter invisible to the ohmmeter.
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