• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Mesa Walkabout Megathread!

Status
Not open for further replies.
#341
Tall Boy,
I'm taking it the Mesa Guy in town tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I'll know more then.

I haven't been focusing on it the last day or so, because I just found out that my upright needs about $1000 worth of work:crying:

Oh well, when it rains it pours...

Jason
 
#342
Latecomer from my original PM...

gregbackstrom said:
Hi Vic,

Wow! A private message! You can probably tell that I don't spend regular quality time on the site.

If you're still interested, I really like the Scout cabinets. I think their balance is really good. I'm less sure about the Walkabout head, however. Lately, I've been plugging my Raven Labs PHA-1 into the Walkabout's effects return. That preamp really focuses the sound. I'll eventually try to emulate that sound with the Walkabout pre.

I use an F Bass BN5, a Mike Lull MV5 and a Stingray 5 with this amp. All of them sound great.

If you have time, let me know what you learned swapping tubes. I've done that with my Read Purity preamp -- it makes a big difference!

Cordially,
Greg
Click to expand...
 
#343
JJ - How goes it with your amp?

I'm expecting my new (to me) Walkabout head near the end of this week! I bought it from a fellow TB'er Zac and am looking forward to it. I also snagged an Aggie GS112 as well! Plan on adding a second GS112 ASAP.

:hyper:
 
#345
Okay - quick question from those who have one. I love my Walkaboutscout 12" combo. But in case I need more volume which do you think would be more advisable? Assuming my cab is 4ohm (I haven't be able to tell for sure and I'd rather err on the side of caution) Would it better to buy the extension cab and run the 2.67 ohm load or purchase the Schroeder 21012 cab I'd love to have and switch out cabs when more is needed? I heard the combo with the extension cab at NAMM and it's one fat tone to drool over. I got to talk to one rep (didn't get his name in all the rush) and He mentioned that though Mesa doesn't recommend running the amp at 2 ohm load, he's heard of plenty of people that were without overheating issues or shutdowns. He assured me the amp was built like a tank but that could fall under the "salesman pitch" B.S. Any thoughts?
 
#346
JV,
That's the golden question. Not to be a punk, but we've discussed this A LOT in this thread. Check out the previous discussions. Seems like the conclusion is that no one's ever seen a problem running at 2 ohms (I've done it and no issues). But the 'correct' and safe thing to do it to use a different cab when you need more volume.

Me, I'm going to get an extention for my 4 ohm Scout and take my luck.

Good luck with your choice!
Jason
 
#350
JJ

Your no punk. I actually went through this entire thread. I just didn't see a clear cut answer. I was hoping that as this thread matured, someone would just jump up and say "yeah, just do this." and no more worries. Removing the amp is a piece of cake. takes less then five minutes to do. I like having the combo for small to medium small gigs (I have the luggage rack accessory attached) I just couldn't decide which would be the better choice and I was hoping someone had already been there, done that and had an educated answer before I spend the monies. I think at this point I'll A/B the tone differences best I can and let that be my deciding factor since most folks here feel the ohm thing is not that big of issue.
 
#353
Using a small cordless drill it takes me about 30 seconds to remove the head from my Scout cabinet. I've used it to power various larger cabinets. Then it takes 30 seconds to put it back again.
 
#355
SMASH said:
I have. I ran my other amps through the Scout and the Walkabout through my other cabs. It sounds about like what you'd expect. I mean, I've had a Walkabout before and I was expecting grinding mids and huge bass if you tweak the "bass" knob a bit, and that's what I got. Through the 1212 it sounds like a smoother and bigger version of the Scout (mine's a 12"). Anything specific you want to know?
Click to expand...

Well, I think you answered it really. Mines a 12" too. I was just debating on whether or not to buy the extension cab and risk the possible 2 ohm load shutdown in the middle of the most important gig of your life or play it safe with bigger cab, preferably the Schroeder 21012 that I tried at NAMM. Since you own both, I thought I get your opinion. Oh and one more question - How does the mesa perform up against the Aggie 500 you have?
 
#356
SMASH said:
FWIW, the Scout and 'medium box' Schroeders are almost the same width (if you've got the Schroer on its side) so you could stack the Scout on the Schroeder neatly as far as dimensions go but it'll still look odd visually. I've got a 21012 on the way so I can comment on that down the road. The Walkabout and ag500sc are very different characters.

At just over half the rated wattage, I'd say the Walkabout is probably louder and certainly sounds as loud. The Mesa has that tubey ragged tone and "squish" while the Aguilar is very smooth and dry by comparison. At high volumes, for me the Mesa character can be too much so I'd be more likely to grab the Aguilar. I much prefer my new Carvin B1500 to either.
Click to expand...

Thanks, my brother. You've been a great help!
 
#357
I went in tried out cabs on Wednesday at Bass Emporium. I was mainly looking at 210 and smaller cabs. Since I own a Walkabout (altthough I haven't had a chance to play it yet as its being serviced), I tested the cabs with a Walkabout head they had in stock. I was pretty amazed with how well the Walkabout drove the Epi and Bergie 210's. I barely had to turn up the amp at all to get some nice volume. When I turned up the volume, it was pumping out a lot of sound. There must be something a little magical about those 150watts@8ohms because they were doing their job extremly well.

This really surprised me because I had always heard that the Bergies did better with more power, but it sounded great the way it was. Of course then I added the EX112s to the Bergie and I was very impressed. I am sure I will be adding that in the future.

Oh yeah, I bought the Bergantino HT210s.
 
#358
Smallequestrian said:
I went in tried out cabs on Wednesday at Bass Emporium. I was mainly looking at 210 and smaller cabs. Since I own a Walkabout (altthough I haven't had a chance to play it yet as its being serviced), I tested the cabs with a Walkabout head they had in stock. I was pretty amazed with how well the Walkabout drove the Epi and Bergie 210's. I barely had to turn up the amp at all to get some nice volume. When I turned up the volume, it was pumping out a lot of sound. There must be something a little magical about those 150watts@8ohms because they were doing their job extremly well.

This really surprised me because I had always heard that the Bergies did better with more power, but it sounded great the way it was. Of course then I added the EX112s to the Bergie and I was very impressed. I am sure I will be adding that in the future.

Oh yeah, I bought the Bergantino HT210s.
Click to expand...

I love having GAS.. :D
 
#360
Seeing that this thread was getting buried and since I just picked up one of these amazing amps, I just couldn't let that happen.:D

Anyways, I want to get back to the noisy cooling fan thing for a moment. That has to be my one small issue with this amp. I have the Scout 12" combo, and at volume with one guitar and drums it isn't an issue, but when recording with just an acoustic guitar and myself it can be heard. As some others have done, I called Mesa about this, they said they are aware of it, but it hasn't been a huge deal. I also inquired about fan replacement with lower air movement and was told "as long as your moving a good bit of air it shouldn't be a problem". But when asked if the replacement would void my warranty they said that if it went into thermal shutdown and something still got damaged, then it would indeed void the warranty. I can understand that. I read earlier in this thread that Vic replaced his fan with a Silenex 14 db, 28 cfm fan, or about 20% less air movement. I believe this was done to the stand alone head unit, not one that would be inside the Scout cab. With the head being out, there are two extra vent areas on the sides that are covered in the Scout. Not completely, there are holes in the back of the cab leading to these vents...:confused: I know, confusing unless you have looked at the back of the Scout closely.

My big concern is, I wonder if 20% less air flow would negatively affect the Scout more than in just the stand alone head?

They also recommended that I take it to an authorized repair center and talk to them about it. Time permitting, looks like I may try to take the 40 min drive this weekend.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back