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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Part 6

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#722
I thought I'd throw out a questions about the Walkabout's eq that's always confused me. It has to do with the mid control.

The Walkabout's manual states:
This is the only passive style control in the string of rotary tone controls. ...... Unlike the BASS, this control is a boost only, and while it can competently remove this broad spectrum of midrange from the mix, it cannot provide the extreme attenuation of an active style control.

So when I think of a passive tone control, I think cut only. Just like the passive tone control on an instrument. But then Mesa states the mid control is boost only.

Which is it? How can a passive control be boost only?

I don't want to use the term "flat" because I don't think the amp is voiced to be audiophile flat but at what position does the mid knob not contribute to the tone? All the way clockwise or all the way counterclockwise?

Any opinions?
 
#723
About 10 o'clock is as close to flat as I can tell, but I don't know of any scope tracing to be sure. It certainly isn't flat when dimed to my ear.



LeonD said:
I thought I'd throw out a questions about the Walkabout's eq that's always confused me. It has to do with the mid control.

The Walkabout's manual states:
This is the only passive style control in the string of rotary tone controls. ...... Unlike the BASS, this control is a boost only, and while it can competently remove this broad spectrum of midrange from the mix, it cannot provide the extreme attenuation of an active style control.

So when I think of a passive tone control, I think cut only. Just like the passive tone control on an instrument. But then Mesa states the mid control is boost only.

Which is it? How can a passive control be boost only?

I don't want to use the term "flat" because I don't think the amp is voiced to be audiophile flat but at what position does the mid knob not contribute to the tone? All the way clockwise or all the way counterclockwise?

Any opinions?
Click to expand...
 
#724
My understanding is that the "flat" voicing of the amp incorporates a fairly dramatic midrange boost, so the passive mid allows you to flatten it back out by turning it down(so the mid control itself is not a boost, the boost is already baked in to the voicing of the amp). I could be wrong about this, though I believe it has been confirmed here a couple times before. I think somebody actually scoped the preamp once way back and it was decided that the flattest setting was around 10 o'clock as Lomo said (though I don't know where that info is anymore). Whatever the mid control does, it is my favorite part of the Walkabout tone stack- I like that it doesn't just sound like a shallow band of boost or cut, but like a unique character control. I almost always leave mine in the noon to 2 o'clock area for a fair amount of growl and cut in the mids, and some times crank it up to really bring out the grittiness when the Gain is also pushed.
 
#725
Sunbeast and lomo are both right, more or less.
Someone, in one of the megathreads, sometime, did scope it, and, flat is about 10 oclock.
From there, it's passive boost or cut.

Hehe.
 
#727
Read my post above- it isn't technically a "passive boost", but a passive cut paired with a built-in midrange boost in the preamp voicing. At least that is how it has been explained/accepted many times in the Walkabout threads over the years. I am inclined to believe it given Mesa's tendency towards embellishment in their literature (examples- calling the 260 watt 400+ a 500 watt amp and their whole "fixed bias" nonsense). I think Chef's "hehe" is in reference to the fact that no explanation can really make sense of the way Mesa calls it a "passive boost"...
 
#730
I like the term the boost is already baked in to the voicing of the amp.

So the "natural" sound of the amp is uber midrange. To cut the mids to the place where ordinary amps are would be around 10:00. And it can do this passively. (It'd be like having a naturally, very bright bass. By turning down the passive tone, it'd bring it to where other basses are.)

It sounds to me like the passive tone works over a very wide Q. Instead of affecting a narrow frequency range, it seems to affect the entire midrange.

Just for yuks, at practice this week, I tried dialing up some eq settings that were completely different than what I normally use. They all sounded great. I swear there isn't a bad sound in this amp.
 
#732
While I mostly agree with this, I do take issue with "It'd be like having a naturally, very bright bass."
I don't find the Walkabout to be a bright amp at all.

For reference, my other two are GK MBFusion, and Mesa M9.

But, compared to either of those, the Walkabout is just super rich and full of harmonic content the other two just don't have.

And:
even though 10 oclock is "flat" on the mid control, you can twist it all the way in either direction, and not change things lots and tonnes. It's really quite usable throughout it's range.



LeonD said:
I like the term the boost is already baked in to the voicing of the amp.

So the "natural" sound of the amp is uber midrange. To cut the mids to the place where ordinary amps are would be around 10:00. And it can do this passively. (It'd be like having a naturally, very bright bass. By turning down the passive tone, it'd bring it to where other basses are.)

It sounds to me like the passive tone works over a very wide Q. Instead of affecting a narrow frequency range, it seems to affect the entire midrange.

Just for yuks, at practice this week, I tried dialing up some eq settings that were completely different than what I normally use. They all sounded great. I swear there isn't a bad sound in this amp.
Click to expand...
 
#735
The Walkabout is 300 watts; yes.
It's not "all tube."
There's one 12ax7 in the preamp, one 12ax7 driving the mosfets, and a standard big transformer power section.

It's not like "300 SVT tube watts."

Whether it's enough for you is going to get a lot of answers.
For me, it depends on how many cones it's driving.
 
#738
This may help. I play small to medium bars and rarely go through the PA. We are loud. Not thrash metal loud, but still loud. Drummer has cement hands and both guitarists play loudish 412s. My walkabout with a 212 is loud enough, but without a lot of headroom. With more cone area than that (a 410, 215, 12/15 or whatever, it's easily loud enough and I don't open it all the way up.
 
#739
+1 again. I've used my Walkabout in a loud-hard hitting drummer on a loud DW kit- & it'll keep up just with a 2x12, that's running the amp at 300w - 4 ohms. I've put it with another 1x12, so, 3x12"s - 2.67 ohms @about 500w & it seems to grow legs as far as headroom goes.
Plenty of power & volume in reserve.
I haven't used it thru two 2x12's @ 2 ohms, but some do.
 
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