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Mesa Strategy and Prodigy discontinued. Also PH cabs.

#201
jnewmark said:
" Now's your chance to speak up!". Just wondering, in your research, do you find that the Contour function, or whatever name you want to call it, on amps is still a viable feature on modern amps? Taking a small poll from local bass players, I've discovered that not a one uses this feature. Myself, I would much rather see an onboard compressor, but I'm probably in the minority there.
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I love the onboard compressor on the M9. It is very useful for adjusting your sound and controlling the beast on stage. I also find it to be very transparent in that it doesn't overly colour the tone. I've been hoping for some time that Mesa would release the M9 compressor in pedal form.
 
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#202
baxter_x said:
To me, yes. But again I never played any walkabout.
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It isn't -- it doesn't have the same magical warm, tubey goodness of the Walkabout. If you read through any of the WA mega threads, you'll find that many tried an M-Pulse 600 in the hope that it would be the answer to their prayers, but alas it was not.
 
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#205
baxter_x said:
Good to know. Even if I have to admit, I could never find a tone I liked with the M-Pulse 600 i had for a several months.
However the M9 was awesome. But I know own two titans. Don't even get me started on those amps ;)
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I just bought a used Handbox R-400, and if it ends up being the answer I've been looking for, my WA will be up for sale. I love it, but I'm forced to push it as hard as possible to get the volume I need, even with a 2x12 or 4x10 cab.
 
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#207
baxter_x said:
Never heard of this amp. What's so special about it?
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The Walkabout? It's a 300-watt hybrid with two 12 AX7s in the preamp that has an incredibly vintage, tubey tone in a reasonably light package. It has a pretty big cult following, and there are thousands of posts about it on TB if you feel like digging in. It was discontinued earlier this year for some reason -- I guess because Mesa figures the D-800 was its logical replacement, but it doesn't sound the same.
 
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#208
baxter_x said:
Never heard of this amp. What's so special about it?
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if you are asking about the Handbox R400 amp, it's a 400w hybrid with a tube pre (not a starved plate design) and a mosfet power section with a torroidial transformer, which makes it somewhat similar to the Walkabout design. These amps are made in Poland.
There is a TB thread for owners of the Handbox and other amps by the same maker.

Some of the users were ex-WA owners and they suggest that the 400w Handbox R400 resolves the clean headroom challenges they faced with the Walkabout.
 
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#209
Aladinsane1969 said:
I'm sure this has already been asked, but I haven't been able to find the answer -- why was the Walkabout discontinued? And why not make a more powerful version?
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I posted in detail early on in this thread and in others.
 
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#212
agedhorse said:
There may have been 2 threads.
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That's quite possible, because I just read through this entire thread a second time, and nowhere do I see an answer to that question.

As I said in my original post, "I'm sure this question has already been asked, but I haven't been able to find the answer." If you wouldn't mind answering once more, that would be great. If not, I'll remain in suspense.
 
#213
Aladinsane1969 said:
That's quite possible, because I just read through this entire thread a second time, and nowhere do I see an answer to that question.

As I said in my original post, "I'm sure this question has already been asked, but I haven't been able to find the answer." If you wouldn't mind answering once more, that would be great. If not, I'll remain in suspense.
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There was a separate thread about discontinuance of the Walkabout, M6 and M9 (if I have those models correct). I don't have time to search for it right now but Walkabout was in the thread title if that helps.
 
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#218
After all this discussion about the disco because of tube reliability, of course I still have questions about the subject...

Is this only because of the KT88s?

Instead of two versions of tube bass amps, couldn't Mesa just consolidate and offer one tube amp?

I ask because I've been a very dedicated Mesa lover since 1991, and over the years I've seen that the national artists still love big juicy heavy breathing amps. And while the D800 series is a great amp, even though it wasnt for me, what are the artists doing? Did all those artists say "fine, we'll all just use the one same amp"?

The questions don't need to be answered, they can be totally rhetorical. I'm hopeful that Mesa is actually having something else brewing.

But really, if this ever gets to Randy Smith... I sure am happy that the Strategy materialized. Because back in 2013 I was weeks away of being ready to jump ship and go to a Verellen amp.
 

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