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Mesa M-Pulse600

#21
KJung said:
I dig the Walkabout and especially the 600 due to the ability to do warm but still not 'distorted'.
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KJung - I am a very happy Walkabout user, totally in love with the "warm but never flabby" tone this thing produces. I do use mine regularly at 2 ohms (Walkabout 12 plus a 4ohm Scout 15). I do sometimes find myself wishing for a bit more headroom and have often thought about getting a MP600 (or even possibly grabbing a used Strategy 400 to run as the power stage of the Walkabout) for this reason.

Can you offer any more in depth comparison between the Walkabout head and the Mpulse 600 (besides what you already mentioned about "more wide and open), and the obvious feature differences (built in comp, solo switching etc.) I gather you don't feel that it is just a "bigger Walkabout" ?
 
#22
pfschim said:
KJung - I am a very happy Walkabout user, totally in love with the "warm but never flabby" tone this thing produces. I do use mine regularly at 2 ohms (Walkabout 12 plus a 4ohm Scout 15). I do sometimes find myself wishing for a bit more headroom and have often thought about getting a MP600 (or even possibly grabbing a used Strategy 400 to run as the power stage of the Walkabout) for this reason.

Can you offer any more in depth comparison between the Walkabout head and the Mpulse 600 (besides what you already mentioned about "more wide and open), and the obvious feature differences (built in comp, solo switching etc.) I gather you don't feel that it is just a "bigger Walkabout" ?
Click to expand...


When I bought my first 600 a number of years ago, I was a happy Walkabout user, but wanted more power. I also thought that the 600 might be a 'bigger Walkabout' with a few more features. While I don't have my Walkabout any more to do a current A/B, my memory was that the 600 was quite different... more modern, cleaner (although you can get it to grunt a little by cranking the input gain), and much deeper in the lows. It's hard to put into words.

I'm one who finds the Walkabout, the BB750 and the 600 to sound quite different. I could never get the super old school warmth that seems to be a big part of the Walkabout tone out of the 600. Similarly, I could not get the 'pure, clean, tube tone' that I get out of the 600 from the Walkabout.

Maybe others will chime in, but I do feel they are different animals. If you wish your Walkabout was a touch cleaner, quicker and more modern sounding (along with louder), the 600 might really do it for you. If you want a louder Walkabout, neither the 600 nor the BB750 will do that IMO and IME.
 
#23
Just wanted to update this thread. TBer Buzz and I got together and compared a number of heads (Eden WT550, MB F1, Thunderfunk550b, Aguilar500SC, MPulse600) paired with either a couple DB112's and the new Bergantino HS210.... playing either my Alleva or Buzz's very nice MM HH 4 string.

As always, the mix and match is key, but let me tell you, the MPulse600 really does sound killer with those DB112's. It has a lot of power, and you have to be careful with the low end relative to the reasonably small DB112's, but man... killin'... deep, big, fat, growly, warm... you name it!!!!

The hit of the day, though, was the AG500 through the Berg HS210. I never particularly cared for that head, and really didn't dig it much with the DB112's, but the tight voicing of the HS210 really made that head sing. The F1 is a killer with the HS210 also.

Anyway... if you are looking for big, fat, warm but still relatively clean tube tone, the MPulse600 is a monster!
 
#24
Glad you're back in the fold. :) Having someone as knowledgeable as you endorse a product means a lot, definitely!

I love mine. It's an older model, but I really don't miss the updates terribly altho Speakons are nice...

This is my 3rd, and I won't ever get rid of it except for an updated model. It's just as good as it gets for what I need and the tone I'm after. So much booty it should almost be illegal. :cool:
 
#27
KJung said:
Just wanted to update this thread. TBer Buzz and I got together and compared a number of heads (Eden WT550, MB F1, Thunderfunk550b, Aguilar500SC, MPulse600) paired with either a couple DB112's and the new Bergantino HS210.... playing either my Alleva or Buzz's very nice MM HH 4 string.

As always, the mix and match is key, but let me tell you, the MPulse600 really does sound killer with those DB112's. It has a lot of power, and you have to be careful with the low end relative to the reasonably small DB112's, but man... killin'... deep, big, fat, growly, warm... you name it!!!!

The hit of the day, though, was the AG500 through the Berg HS210. I never particularly cared for that head, and really didn't dig it much with the DB112's, but the tight voicing of the HS210 really made that head sing. The F1 is a killer with the HS210 also.

Anyway... if you are looking for big, fat, warm but still relatively clean tube tone, the MPulse600 is a monster!
Click to expand...

This head left such an impression on me that I had to call a local Mesa dealer and find out about product availability. When Ken tweaked the Mesa into tubby tubey goodness, I couldn't stop smiling. :)

No, it was more like this. :D

It sounded great through the DB112's and the Berg HS210.

All of the basses we played through it sounded HUGE and yet kept great detail. I'm glad I had the chance to learn more about this well built tone tank. (BTW the weight isn't too bad either.)
 
#28
I'd sure like to a/b the walkabout and the 600 sometime; espcially with a DB handy.
I loooves my walkabout 12 combo, and can't really imagine needing more power.
When I want that head's juice, but with more slam, I just yank it and pair it with other bigger, more efficinet, or just more cabs.
It sounds really, really good with the henry 8x8, and this:
2115L.gif
 
#33
Chef said:
Dunno, never played a 600...KJ?
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Hey Chef! I had them both for a while and they do sound different to me, even when gain/volume matched. My Walkabout always had a hint of growl to it, whereas the 600 can stay really clean but 'tube fat' throughout its range. The 600 gets WAY louder, especially if you are looking for clean, big, wide deep low end.

Since my personal Walkabout and 600 are the only units I've compared directly, I don't know if the differences I heard when the volume was matched were due to the different design and voicing of the pre or to variability in the specific tubes that were in the units. I'm not much of a tube expert, but in perusing the tube threads, there seems to be lots of variability in tone across brands of tubes and frustratingly within brands of tubes... so who knows!

But the 600 is quite impressive volume-wise!
 
#34
My walkabout stays clean enough that it's my primary DB rig; so, pretty damn clean.

But, that's with master high, and input low. I imagine reversing that would change things a lot.

I am a "clean and fat" kinda guy (sonically, hold the jokes;>}///) the walkbout's tone, used as I use it, really meets those goals.
 
#35
Chef said:
My walkabout stays clean enough that it's my primary DB rig; so, pretty damn clean.

But, that's with master high, and input low. I imagine reversing that would change things a lot.

I am a "clean and fat" kinda guy (sonically, hold the jokes;>}///) the walkbout's tone, used as I use it, really meets those goals.
Click to expand...

If we have time for a hang when I'm in your neck of the woods for that gig (I think Feb 22nd), I'll bring it with me and you can check it out.
 
#37
I think Ken hit the nail on the head with his comparison of the Walkabout and the MP600. I had the former for much longer, but I wound up with both at the same time for a little while, so I was able to A/B them on the same day. The Walkabout breaks up around noon on the gain knob (well, this is dependent on the electronics on your bass, and whatever effects, etc. that may be before the input on the amp) whereas I was unable to get much breakup at all on the M-Pulse, even with the input gain at max. The M-Pulse is definitely clearer and cleaner.

Both are great for different sounds. If the tube grit was what I wanted, I would go for the Walkabout, whereas if I wanted that tube sound but with clarity, I would go for the M-Pulse. I ended up keeping neither because I wanted a stereo rig, and 2 Mesa amps would be overkill for me (but incredibly cool). Oh, how I wish Mesa would make a preamp based on the Walkabout or M-Pulse. Even though they are different, they are both so cool.
 
#40
The tonal differences between the two are very pronounced, and I celebrate these differences wholeheartedly. The M-Pulse 600 is my "go-to guy" for big stages where I may need to be a little further from my rig. It is charactaristically a clean amp with tons of booty, and clean headroom that just seems to have no end whatsoever. Yeh, you can feed the big ol' power stage of the M-Pulse some tube gain, and you get some breakup sooner or later, but it's handled waaay differently than by the more delicate Walkabout. The WB seems to have a different balance (pre to power) altogether. I guess that's pretty obvious when you look at the power ratings. IMO, that's where the differences (and true essence of the Walkabout's unbefreekinglievable creaminess) lie. Mesa says the pre's are the same on these two guys (number of para bands notwithstanding) and I'm inclined to believe it. I don't think the voicing differences lie in the pre's, I believe they lie in how the differing power stages handle what the pre's put into them.

Dang, I just thought of an interesting experiment. I would do it right away but my 4x10 cab is at my rehearsal facility. I'd really like to mix-n-match the pre's and power amps on the two heads with some clever patching via the effect loops, ie; Walkabout pre (effects out) into the M-Pulse power section (effects in) and vice-versa. That would tell us alot here. :eyebrow:
 

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