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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Megathread; Part Two

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#181
Thanks guys,
Yeah, I knew I'd be feeling the WA love here, but you folks are the most likely to have tried both. Strangely enough, the LH500 guys say get that I should buy an LH! whoda thunk? My sense is that the LH does the clean, warm tube thing, with crankability, and the tube driven mosfet design in the WA adds some wooliness if desired, while also being able to do the clean warm thing too. Now I just need to save up the extra ducats for a WA head....

One more thing if you don't mind: I read a little about the effects loop shorting issue: (I have the same thing with my 400RB) Does it usually manifest as a volume issue where you crank up the volume and only get a low, low crackly sound?
 
#182
basslinejam said:
One more thing if you don't mind: I read a little about the effects loop shorting issue: (I have the same thing with my 400RB) Does it usually manifest as a volume issue where you crank up the volume and only get a low, low crackly sound?
Click to expand...


I think this was a "problem" with the older editions...not really a problem as it's easily resolved by simple cleaning as far as some posts indicate. The newest ones have a loop bypass to make it effectively a non-issue.
 
#183
basslinejam said:
...
One more thing if you don't mind: I read a little about the effects loop shorting issue: (I have the same thing with my 400RB) Does it usually manifest as a volume issue where you crank up the volume and only get a low, low crackly sound?
Click to expand...

It could I suppose. Vibrations (from playing at loud volume) and make intermittant or dirty connections do weird things. When an older Walkabout cuts out the first thing to try is a short instrument cable to jumper the effects loop.
 
#187
those 210-AV's will take waaaay more than what the Micro_VR will dish out.
they're neat lil cabs; and at least as much a joy to load out as they are to use;)
 
#188
Not seen a WalkAbout thread in along time so I thought I'd toss in my two cents worth... I'm still in love. I have both red face and black face WalkAbouts and run them through a couple of Aguilar GS-112's and an AccuGroove Tri 210L. I have tons of volume, even more tone, and the ability to keep gigging even in the event of a catastrophic failure!

I've posted this picture to TB before (I know I should take a better one) but it gives you some idea of the rig.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#190
Here is the photographic evidence from last weekend's gig.
40thetc008.jpg


The little Epiphone/EA setup is my "rhythm guitar" rig. :D

Tom.
 
#193
basslinejam said:
Thanks guys,
Yeah, I knew I'd be feeling the WA love here, but you folks are the most likely to have tried both. Strangely enough, the LH500 guys say get that I should buy an LH! whoda thunk? My sense is that the LH does the clean, warm tube thing, with crankability, and the tube driven mosfet design in the WA adds some wooliness if desired, while also being able to do the clean warm thing too. Now I just need to save up the extra ducats for a WA head....

One more thing if you don't mind: I read a little about the effects loop shorting issue: (I have the same thing with my 400RB) Does it usually manifest as a volume issue where you crank up the volume and only get a low, low crackly sound?
Click to expand...

Hey basslinejam, as you may have guessed, I am totally sold on the Walkabout, love mine, and would recommend it over any similar hybrid design (that I am aware of) for a tube driven tone.

But, I'd have to say that, the more I use the Hartke LH1000 I currently have on loan, the more I like it. It is a simple, but effective, high wattage amp that does do the clean tube thing really well. You don't get a gain stage control to adjust the impact of the tube pre, just a volume, and the Fender tone stack B/M/T controls are not everyones cupp'a tea, but all in all, for the money, it would be hard to go wrong with one of these (LH500 or LH1000). In fact, now that the Kilo is out, I see the Hartkes dropping in price and there are used ones down in the $375 range. Hard to argue with that price point.

OTOH, I see Walkabouts for sale used as low as the mid $500's lately, so they can be had for only a 1/2 an arm and leg :D

as far as the FX send/return noise thing goes, as related by those it has happened to, I think it comes on more like a crackling sound, rather than a loss of volume. A little contact cleaner and few in/outs with a 1/4 inch plug clears that right up. And, as was said, the newer black front Walkabout models have an FX bypass switch which eliminates the problem. I am a bit anal about this kind of stuff, so I am the kind of player who puts caps in my unused input jacks ... but hey, that's my cross to bear. :cool:
 
#194
Jon R said:
Not seen a WalkAbout thread in along time so I thought I'd toss in my two cents worth... I'm still in love. I have both red face and black face WalkAbouts and run them through a couple of Aguilar GS-112's and an AccuGroove Tri 210L. I have tons of volume, even more tone, and the ability to keep gigging even in the event of a catastrophic failure!

I've posted this picture to TB before (I know I should take a better one) but it gives you some idea of the rig.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...


My idea of the ideal rack!
 
#197
Originally posted by lomo
My idea of the ideal rack!
Click to expand...

Jeez... thanks lomo!!!

It does kick serious tail. The two Aggies give it ton's of low end while the AccuGroove puts it up front in the mix. Also, they don't have to be pushed very hard because they both have a 4ohm load.

Only issue I had was the black face has a different output polarity from the red face... so it requires a reversed polarity speaker cable.
 
#200
BillyB_from_LZ said:
Tom, do your bandmates ever wager on what you'll bring to the next gig?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, but my drummer is always looking to check out what I'm going to bring next. He gives me pretty good feedback, to tell the truth, and he definitely liked that rig. :cool:
 
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