Mesa Walkabout for reggae

[jdelemus]

All you walkabout owners. Help me get a dubby reggae tone out of my walkabout scout 12.

I generally play rock and love this little amp. Just started jamming with a band looking for a deeper less gain type tone.

Anybody have some eq suggestions? The "big and round" setting in the manual is close but still not very dub sounding.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CL400Peavey]

All you walkabout owners. Help me get a dubby reggae tone out of my walkabout scout 12.

I generally play rock and love this little amp. Just started jamming with a band looking for a deeper less gain type tone.

Anybody have some eq suggestions? The "big and round" setting in the manual is close but still not very dub sounding.

Thanks in advance.

I think you might be running into the limitations of the cab on the combo. You might want to take the amp portion out and try it with other cabs.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

Also check into some other tube choices if you are running stock tubes. I've been using tung sol's for a cleaner, tighter response in mine. But you will definitely be needing more cab to get loud. Lots of reggae/ dub bass frequency sits around 160- 200hz
for definition and push, adding sub lows as the cab will allow.
Also check out some dub player techniques like using the thumb to pluck with palm muting, and maybe even try flat wound strings (a'la Robbie Shakespeare). Also pickup selection...

 

[RickenBoogie]

Yes, you're hitting the wall with the Scout 12 cab. A single 12 will only get you so far. Use the head with a much bigger cab, and one that goes low.

 

[arai]

Also check into some other tube choices if you are running stock tubes. I've been using tung sol's for a cleaner, tighter response in mine. But you will definitely be needing more cab to get loud. Lots of reggae/ dub bass frequency sits around 160- 200hz
for definition and push, adding sub lows as the cab will allow.
Also check out some dub player techniques like using the thumb to pluck with palm muting, and maybe even try flat wound strings (a'la Robbie Shakespeare). Also pickup selection...

+1.
Also playing softly near the neck gets a good dub/reggae tone

 

[jdelemus]

I am currently running flats, only using the neck pick up and have switched out the EMG's my bass came with for some Bartolinis.

Looks like some cabinet experimenting is in order.

 

[sunbeast]

+1 to the cabs being less than ideal for reggae. The Scout cabs sound great and surprisingly deep if you don't push alot of heavy low bass into them, but if you hit them with alot of really low bass they will fart out pretty heavily (one downside to the passive radiator design is that they cutoff and distort really fast and harshly below their tuning frequency). I can get some really addictively big/round dubby tones with a Low Pass filter (either a Xerograph or Brain Freeze) into my Walkabout, but if I try it into my Scout cab it flubs out pretty quick (my main cab is a 6x10).

Also EQ-wise try rolling back the midrange knob a fair amount while boosting the low mids on the parametric EQ. The midrange knob of the WA adds alot of harmonics and really brings its overdrive/grit to the front which sounds great for rock, but not ideal for reggae. It is possible that you could get dubby enough with a hefty low midrange boost while also heavily cutting the lowest bass with the Para EQ and still be able to use the Scout cab, though even if it does work it won't likely get loud enough on its own.

 

[two fingers]

Yep. They nailed it. It's physics, not EQ. A 1-12 will only get you so far. Mine is a 15' (with ext cab) and does the dub really well. The head will get there if there's enough speaker area to translate it.

 

[phangtonpower]

I was using a GK15" combo and a bass with EMG's for reggae. What helped me was using flatwound strings and a mute. Also technique. I've played it out of a 12" combo at a gig once. Not the greatest, but it still sounded closer to what I wanted over roundwound strings.

 

[One Drop]

Great sounding head for reggae but you will, as the others have said, need more cabbage.

 

[MuthaFunk]

I agree with all that's said already especially the part about using a filter to get dub tones. I use a Mutron III or a DOD Envelope filter set with the sensitivity all the way down. I'll set the Mutron so it just starts to wah a smidge with my loudest notes to give a little more definition to the notes.

The Scout cab has a great reggae tone but not at any significant volume. The WalkAbout does the dub sounds in spades but you bass really needs to be able to deliver the tone for the amp to shine.

 

[alexofc69]

try two 12" cabs

 

[Chef]

The head surely can deliver enough low end to do what you want.
The Scout cab/s can as well, but, not at any great volume. Those cabs are in fact tuned pretty deep for a small cab, but, High SPL is not their thing.

 

[Rual1]

try two 12" cabs

That should work. Two 15" cabs would do even better I imagine.

 

[jdelemus]

There's a mesa 2x12 power house at my local used shop for a decent price. Would that work or would I be better off waiting for a 2x15 or perhaps building a fearlfull 1212/6 or 1212sub/6?

 

[Chef]

go try it.

 

[CL400Peavey]

There's a mesa 2x12 power house at my local used shop for a decent price. Would that work or would I be better off waiting for a 2x15 or perhaps building a fearlfull 1212/6 or 1212sub/6?

Check out the Mesa 212, it might be loud enough for what you want, but I dont know if the voicing will be what you are searching for.

A 1212/6 is an amazing cab, but you might want something very efficient with your WA head.

I think an efficient 215 is really the way to go. I would check out a greenboy Dually.

 

[pacojas]

i play through an old-ass Peavey 215 and it slays! (don't forget to insulate for maximum punch, IMO/E)

 

[lomo]

I think an efficient 215 is really the way to go. I would check out a greenboy Dually.

+1