Mesa Boogie Walkabout Part 5!!!

[Chef]

I'm not sure when my Blackface was made, but my reciept would give some idea.
I might be able to tell if it's got same guts as yours by looking thru the vent holes, but;
I've owned both other earlier versions, and noticed no diff in tone or power output.

ymmv-alan

 

[RockInRollDaddy]

Just used my newly acquired Walkabout at a gig and it sounded great. The bass player in the second band liked it so much he used it for his set. The only thing that could be improved is a bit more low end thump. Any suggestions? I would use the cab as an extension to the WA 12. Since a major strength of the WA is it's portability, and I am north of 50 and not interested in hauling large heavy boxes around, its gotta be reasonably small and transportable. Maybe a 50 lb limit.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[MuthaFunk]

I have the matching radiator 12 4 ohm cab by Mesa and have not felt the need for more bottom in my last two gigs. Had my pre amp gain around 12:00 and master at 9:00. The Walkabout puts out almost 500 Watts when ran with a 4 ohm ext cab.

 

[GRoberts]

Just used my newly acquired Walkabout at a gig and it sounded great. The bass player in the second band liked it so much he used it for his set. The only thing that could be improved is a bit more low end thump. Any suggestions? I would use the cab as an extension to the WA 12. Since a major strength of the WA is it's portability, and I am north of 50 and not interested in hauling large heavy boxes around, its gotta be reasonably small and transportable. Maybe a 50 lb limit.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Pick up a used Bergantino EX112. I used a WA 1x12 Combo on
top of that cab and it made for a wonderful sound. I still felt a bit underpowered in terms of big full sound at some gigs, but they were few in relation to most of the work my band did. Outdoors and louder, I think a multidriver 4 ohm cab works better with the WA. (Bergantino AE410 etc)

 

[Coughdrops]

Should be getting my walkabout today - I'm stoked!

Have an NV610 I can run it through but I'm also getting two used Ampeg 210av's.

When my SVT is too much, I think the WA will do the trick nicely, through any of those cab combinations

 

[Aladinsane1969]

I honestly don't understand when guys say the Scout doesn't put out enough bottom end. Mine has MORE than enough--so much that I have to dial some out with the EQ! And I like a lot of bottom end! I also tried it without the extension cab at rehearsal recently and found that it had plenty of power to keep up with a Marshall 1/2 stack all by itself.

 

[sunbeast]

I honestly don't understand when guys say the Scout doesn't put out enough bottom end. Mine has MORE than enough--so much that I have to dial some out with the EQ! And I like a lot of bottom end! I also tried it without the extension cab at rehearsal recently and found that it had plenty of power to keep up with a Marshall 1/2 stack all by itself.

Are you using a 12" or 15" Scout? I've never heard anyone say that a Scout cab doesn't have enough low end within its power handling limits- Plenty of people will agree that it might not give you heaps of low end in a loud band or in a big room without overdriving or farting out though, nor will any single 12" speaker. You are lucky that your guitar player either EQs fairly bright or doesn't crank that Marshall (ditto your drummer)...or maybe you were just playing in a relatively small room?

I've used my Scout 12" combo effectively by itself in a small club with a guitarist playing through a Fender 2x12 Deluxe Reverb combo and a moderate drummer, but I was pretty obviously at the end of my available headroom- fortunately I don't mind a little breakup to my tone!

 

[Aladinsane1969]

Are you using a 12" or 15" Scout? I've never heard anyone say that a Scout cab doesn't have enough low end within its power handling limits- Plenty of people will agree that it might not give you heaps of low end in a loud band or in a big room without overdriving or farting out though, nor will any single 12" speaker. You are lucky that your guitar player either EQs fairly bright or doesn't crank that Marshall (ditto your drummer)...or maybe you were just playing in a relatively small room?

I've used my Scout 12" combo effectively by itself in a small club with a guitarist playing through a Fender 2x12 Deluxe Reverb combo and a moderate drummer, but I was pretty obviously at the end of my available headroom- fortunately I don't mind a little breakup to my tone!

I'm using a 12", and my guitar player plays LOUD and with enough effects to launch the Space Shuttle, and the drummer hits hard, too. The guitar player does EQ fairly bright, though. I was probably near the top of the amp's ceiling, but it wasn't farting in the least. Like I said, this was at rehearsal; I wouldn't play a gig without the extension cab.

 

[GRoberts]

I was using my WA Scout 1x12 in every instance. There is simply a limit of useable volume and punch. Once I hit that threshold, turning up the input gain beyond 11-12 o'clock and/or the Master Vol beyond 12 o'clock only made things mushier. No more headroom. I play a 5 string bass and the B string can be demanding. Even with an Extension cab, it's a focused sound that works in some small to medium rooms, but outdoors, my sound just got lost. Had no punchy fullness. Just my experience and based on my tonal goals and preferences.

 

[Chef]

Concur: after noon on input gain, you're really "mostly adding color, and not gain."

If you need more Db at that point, it's time to add drivers.

 

[Aladinsane1969]

I was using my WA Scout 1x12 in every instance. There is simply a limit of useable volume and punch. Once I hit that threshold, turning up the input gain beyond 11-12 o'clock and/or the Master Vol beyond 12 o'clock only made things mushier. No more headroom. I play a 5 string bass and the B string can be demanding. Even with an Extension cab, it's a focused sound that works in some small to medium rooms, but outdoors, my sound just got lost. Had no punchy fullness. Just my experience and based on my tonal goals and preferences.

Small to medium-sized rooms are all I'll be playin', Brotha And, if I do play something larger or outside, then I'd have monitor support.

 

[metron]

I played my first gig with the walkabout and my Berg NV610 this past saturday. We were providing the backline for two other bands. There was a decent pa system and the sound guy was very reasonable and pretty experienced. The room is very "live" with all hardwood floors, brick walls, and a very high ceiling. The worst part is its a rectangular room with the stage in the middle facing the short wall. Its a tough room acoustically.

I set up the amp flat for the first bass player who was using a regular p bass. They are sort of a cross bewteen the clash and the cars. Kinda loud and somewhat aggressive. He didn't do anything with the eq. The bass was boomy, indistinct, and didn't cut at all.

Then my band played. We are sort of mellow power pop. I used my early 80s G&L L1000. As usual I have no idea what it sounded like out front but I tried to correct what I heard wrong with the first band. From everything flat I cut the bass to 11:00, bumped up the mid to 1:00 ish, and ticked up the treble just a bit from noon. Then I turned the bass frequency band to what I thought might be 50 or 60 Hz and turned down the gain on the bass band to maybe 10. My friends said it was distinctly more punchy and clear. The bass cut through.

Then the last band played. This guy also had a p bass. These guys are pretty aggressive and very loud with three guitarists. He said he has used a walkabout before so he would adjust it if necessary but he left it the way I had it. His bass sound was so good! Indeed it was much clearer and punchy. I could feel it without boom, it cut through on the middle and upper parts, and all around there was a thick rich tubey sound that is exactly what I hoped the walkabout would be.

So I got a feel for what the walkabout is capable of. All flat it can sound good but it might not be what is called for. A little common sense use of the powerful eq and it shined. I have played the room before and it can be a pain but it totally worked out. There was plenty of gain going to the pa. With the input gain at noon and the master at 10:00 ish, it was plenty loud. The tone was really nice. I am pleased!

 

[CElton]

Then I turned the bass frequency band to what I thought might be 50 or 60 Hz and turned down the gain to maybe 10. My friends said it was distinctly more punchy and clear. The bass cut through.

That is the magic adjustment on the WA, IMO.

 

[Chef]

Concur.
The L1000 has bass, and mix cutting ability all on it's own too;
I generally have the bass set at about 40% on, on mine.

 

[metron]

Concur.
The L1000 has bass, and mix cutting ability all on it's own too;
I generally have the bass set at about 40% on, on mine.

True. I usually hover around half on both treble and bass with slight boosts mid tune for more cut or slam where necessary. Loving this amp! Also it was very nice that it wasnt an svt at 1 am when it really matters...

 

[Aladinsane1969]

That is the magic adjustment on the WA, IMO.

I concur.

 

[Jim C]

Agreed, the 50 Hz. cut works on all the cabs I've used with the WA. I too have the bass and treble around noon with the mids around 11:00
I've found that very small EQ adjustments change the voicing on this amp much more than others. Equally small EQ changes on the Para EQ helps one find a nice space in the pocket; very musical EQ IMO.

 

[metron]

No doubt! So roughly where do you guys think 50-60 hz is on the dial? I turmed it down to a little over 9:00 and it took out the boom nicely.

 

[Chef]

Metron: 60hz is straight up on mine...

I took delivery of a new-to-me-but-used Scout 12 cab today. Newer version, player control network, in fine condition...
I think the player control network version allows for brighter highs than I remember out of my old ones.
I also think this newer cab "isn't as mystically deep" as the older ones I remember. It sounds fine enough, just not "mind-bogglingly fat" like my old ones.

cie la vie; still a nice cab.

took the opportunity to pull my Blackfaced head out of the headcase, pull the cover, put some JJ long plate ECC83S in and vacuum out the small amount of dust blown in by the fan, and install a newer, more ventilated top cover on....all the additional vents were immediately covered by mounting it in the Scout, and installing the back cover/plate. The additional venting would make a big diff in the headcase.

 

[P. Bass]

Metron: 60hz is straight up on mine...

I took delivery of a new-to-me-but-used Scout 12 cab today. Newer version, player control network, in fine condition...
I think the player control network version allows for brighter highs than I remember out of my old ones.
I also think this newer cab "isn't as mystically deep" as the older ones I remember. It sounds fine enough, just not "mind-bogglingly fat" like my old ones.

cie la vie; still a nice cab.

took the opportunity to pull my Blackfaced head out of the headcase, pull the cover, put some JJ long plate ECC83S in and vacuum out the small amount of dust blown in by the fan, and install a newer, more ventilated top cover on....all the additional vents were immediately covered by mounting it in the Scout, and installing the back cover/plate. The additional venting would make a big diff in the headcase.

Man!!! You looking for work or what. LOL
Alan - this is a very good air filter that's made for computers & I use it to cover the whole open back of the scout cab (cut to tuck in & take out easily). It's extremely airflow neutral & works well to keep out any dust from the fan intake. I suppose it could be applied directly to the head in some fashion if the head was stand alone.(blue side inward) It's washable & great for air conditioners also.
Wish I had kept the packaging for the product name.
Sorry.
B.