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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres

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#921
Celton, Chef,
Are you guy suggesting that if I go with a Scout combo and an extension, I should get them both at 4ohms so they net at 2ohms? Does the extra headroom translate to any additional volume or better sound/tone here? Or are you just working the head harder?
 
#922
Walkabout:
185 watts at 8 ohms
300 watts at 4 ohms
550 watts at 2 ohms

When I had my 4 ohm Scout 12, I used an 8 ohm mesa diesel extension, netting 2.67 ohms.

More power is more power; and you're nearly doubling it at each step, which is indeed a decent difference.
 
#926
EatMoreCarrots said:
Celton, Chef,
Are you guy suggesting that if I go with a Scout combo and an extension, I should get them both at 4ohms so they net at 2ohms? Does the extra headroom translate to any additional volume or better sound/tone here? Or are you just working the head harder?
Click to expand...

The choice to run at 2 ohms is your call. There was/is enough evidence here to show it's not a problem, especially if done wisely.

The bigger sound has as much to do with more surface area as more power. With the WA stack, you can reach a point where there just isn't more to give, but it's stupid loud at that point. Anything past that it just gets "dirty", which is not my thing.
 
#929
Chef said:
Walkabout:
185 watts at 8 ohms
300 watts at 4 ohms
550 watts at 2 ohms

When I had my 4 ohm Scout 12, I used an 8 ohm mesa diesel extension, netting 2.67 ohms.

More power is more power; and you're nearly doubling it at each step, which is indeed a decent difference.
Click to expand...

Seems more power is great if your cab can use it. IME the 4 Ohm Scout 12 cannot eat, digest and fully spit out 300 watts, so 8 Ohms makes more sense to me for the 12 combo. The 15 is another story IME. YMMV
 
#932
MarkusBass said:
What does the second tube do? Does it effect tone/gain at all?
Click to expand...

When I played around with a bunch of different tubes in my Walkabout, I could hear some very subtle differences between some tubes in the driver position, but the differences were not nearly as noticeable as when I swapped tubes in the first socket.
 
#933
tombowlus said:
Well, yes, but not so much in a way that you can control it. When you play around with the Gain/Master settings, you are controlling mostly the first (preamp) tube.
Click to expand...

tombowlus said:
When I played around with a bunch of different tubes in my Walkabout, I could hear some very subtle differences between some tubes in the driver position, but the differences were not nearly as noticeable as when I swapped tubes in the first socket.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much Tom! I'm really diggin' the JJ in one and Tong-Sol in two. Your tube review in the Walkabout was very helpful!
 
#934
So are U saying a regular JJ ECC83(12AX7) in V1(pre) & a Tung-sol 12AX7 in V2 (driver) ???
Am looking to renew my WA's tubes, as it's near 10 yrs old & still has the orig mesa tubes in it.

DARN IT even PRE tubes here in AUS are $20 each- 2x the price of the same tube in US. So EVEN WITH postage it's cheaper for me to grab 'em in the US?!?!?!?!? :-/
 
#935
if your preamp tubes aren't misbehaving (hiss, pop, noise) there's no good reason to replace them.
unless you just want to try some other flavors...and, generally, different flavors are a pretty small diff...
 
#936
rodl2005 said:
So are U saying a regular JJ ECC83(12AX7) in V1(pre) & a Tung-sol 12AX7 in V2 (driver) ???
Am looking to renew my WA's tubes, as it's near 10 yrs old & still has the orig mesa tubes in it.

DARN IT even PRE tubes here in AUS are $20 each- 2x the price of the same tube in US. So EVEN WITH postage it's cheaper for me to grab 'em in the US?!?!?!?!? :-/
Click to expand...

Yep...that's what I'm runnin'!
 
#937
MarkusBass said:
Alan...since you are answering questions:-)

What does the second tube do? Does it effect tone/gain at all?
Click to expand...
It makes the amp sound tubier, Markus. Durr!:D

Glad you're still digging it, my friend.

lomo said:
Seems more power is great if your cab can use it. IME the 4 Ohm Scout 12 cannot eat, digest and fully spit out 300 watts, so 8 Ohms makes more sense to me for the 12 combo. The 15 is another story IME. YMMV
Click to expand...
This is a good point. I love my 12" combo, but I've cranked the volume a bit past noon and heard the speaker protest.

I have a 15" combo cab, too. I debate ditching one of the two since I also have an Aggie DB410, but I don't know if I can part with either one. The 15 is of course louder and sounds really good with a little bass rolled off, but it's not nearly as portable as the 12. And my '70s V-4B is awkward on top of either one of the Scout cabs. Decisions, decisions.
 
#939
Totally! Walkabout...the gateway drug to tube tone.

GregC said:
It makes the amp sound tubier, Markus. Durr!:D

Glad you're still digging it, my friend.

This is a good point. I love my 12" combo, but I've cranked the volume a bit past noon and heard the speaker protest.

I have a 15" combo cab, too. I debate ditching one of the two since I also have an Aggie DB410, but I don't know if I can part with either one. The 15 is of course louder and sounds really good with a little bass rolled off, but it's not nearly as portable as the 12. And my '70s V-4B is awkward on top of either one of the Scout cabs. Decisions, decisions.
Click to expand...
 
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