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Mesa Walkabout Megathread!

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#861
I use mine with my DB at many jazz/bluegrass/cajun gigs.
It *is* audible, it's *not* an issue for *me.*

*This is not Vic Bashing!*
I actually like the guy;)

IIRC-and I may not-his replacement fan moves ~28-30cfm?
The stock one moves ~36 cfm...thus, the noise.
I think for 4 ohm operation, this is probably not a worry.
The original manuals stated "ok for 2 ohm use."
If you're like me, and are going to run it at 2.67 (4 ohm scout, 8 ohm extension) or at 2 ohms (4 ohm scout, 4 ohm extention; or, head and two 4 ohm cabs); then I believe the extra 10-15 more air is a good thing, and might not oughta be messed with.

IMO, YMMV, I'm probably wrong, etc.
 
#863
FWIW, there is a newer 80mm Silenx fan than the one Vic suggested in his original fan replacement posts last year. This one does 32cfm @ 14dba. So, there is very little airflow difference and a significant noise drop vs the stock Mesa (Sunon ?) fan.

technology advancement, you gotta love it!
 
#866
BillyB_from_LZ said:
My fan change made a HUGE difference...like being able to sit and play quietly vs. not wanting to use the amp unless I was playing music with other people (or wanting to rattle the house to get over the fan noise).
Click to expand...

Wow.. I must have been really lucky with mine!

Here's a clip I recorded at conversation volume using my camera's on-board in my small music room.

The hiss you can hear is ambient noise from the camera. The Scout's fan is basically inaudible.
 
#867
BillyB_from_LZ said:
My fan change made a HUGE difference...like being able to sit and play quietly vs. not wanting to use the amp unless I was playing music with other people (or wanting to rattle the house to get over the fan noise).
Click to expand...

Does that new fan of yours move as much air though?


"not wanting to use the amp unless I was playing music with other people"

Same here.

Wateroftyne, given the huge amount of noise your camera apparently makes I'm not sure how we'd hear the fan in any case. Mine's much quieter too when I stick it on the back of the Scout, and probably my camera (which is silent) wouldn't pick it up either at that distance but in fact the fan is quite noisy. Noisiest fan, as it's installed, that I've ever heard on an amp.

-------

In reading a thread about a different amp recently - can't recall which one but I'm pretty sure it was the Mesa M6 - many are complaining of the amount of hiss and at least one person readily admitted he'd call the hiss/fan noise coming from that amp "dead quiet" simply because he can't hear it at a gig in a room full of people talking. Reminds me of the people that claim to have "flooded the stage with bass outdoors at a large festival with my 1x10 combo" you have to take what they say with a lot of salt. Anyway, my Walkabout is "dead quiet" by that measure of not hearing it in a noisy room full of people, but the fact is it's so loud I'd not practice at home with it unless maybe I was desperate and it was packed in the Scout. Some find such things more irritating than others, apparently.
 
#869
Prior to changing my fan to Vic's suggestion, it was the whir of an electric motor vibrating that was making all the noise. I even rubber mounted the new fan, but I don't think it was needed.

+1 to peeling back the sticker to resolder the old fan. Mine needed to go back for repair.
 
#871
wateroftyne said:
...
Maybe Mesa revised the fan at some point?

Or, as you say, maybe some people are more sensitive to it.

...
Click to expand...

A production fan change wouldn't surprise me. Mesa has included a number of changes to ward off problems that users have experienced (adding a toggle switch to bypass the effects loop, adding an active/passive switch in place of the active jack and passive jack, etc.)

I'm confident that personal sensitivity to fan noise is the real factor. I'm sensitive to it, that's for sure.
 
#872
Vanceman said:
Prior to changing my fan to Vic's suggestion, it was the whir of an electric motor vibrating that was making all the noise. I even rubber mounted the new fan, but I don't think it was needed.
Click to expand...

Vic's fan suggestion moves a lot less air, so by that factor alone it'll be noticeably quieter especially given the air rushing through the slats is a part - I'd say a big part - of the noise. In other words, you could buy the same brand of "noisy" fan with lower air flow specs, install it, and it'll be much quieter than the old fan. Gotta compare apples to apple, IMO.

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There's no reason for the Walkabout to get warm even in July running at 4 Ohms, especially with the advantage of pushing an efficient/large cabinet.

I can't stand the fan noise at home, but like Chef I often run mine below 4 Ohms (or very loud at 4 Ohms, and in my case with the amp stuck in the Scout which is obviously a much warmer situation) so I'd rather not have less air flow.

A better option is arguably to just add an on/off siwtch to the fan. At home, in studio or on a very quiet jazz gig you run it "off" and dead silent, and in normal gigging use you can't hear the original fan "on" anyway.

I checked some new ones recently & they didn't seem any quieter to me. Wasn't an A/B comparison, but even in the ambient noise of a music store (with no one demoing gear though), I could hear it fine. Wouldn't be able to hear the LMII or B1500 fan in the same environment.
 
#873
My brand new (fall 08) is no quieter than my '04 walkabout...same sunon fan in both, same one mesa still sell as a replacement.
moves a lot of air!
 
#874
SMASH said:
Vic's fan suggestion moves a lot less air, so by that factor alone it'll be noticeably quieter especially given the air rushing through the slats is a part - I'd say a big part - of the noise. In other words, you could buy the same brand of "noisy" fan with lower air flow specs, install it, and it'll be much quieter than the old fan. Gotta compare apples to apple, IMO.
Click to expand...

Except for me it wasn't the air making the most noise, although you do hear the wind. Open up the amp and it's even louder.

The new fan does move a lot less air, and I have gotten the amp a little warm on a hot lighted stage, but I was also hot and sweaty too.

How about a multiple speed, temp controlled fan? Does that exists? I would be willing to swap just to have some extra cooling and peace of mind.
 
#875
there are fans with thermistors; i believe even from the manufacturer Vic used.

when i looked, they all seemed to move less air as well. that was some time ago now.
 
#876
Wow, just got this amp used today. I think it was a bargain at 400 bones. It was difficult for me to hit the tone I wanted at first, but I've begun learning how to tweak this amp. I'm a huge 70's dirt funk head and this amp is the closest I have ever gotten to that tone. I was using a SWR WorkingPro 400 up until today. We'll see how she sounds on a jazz gig tomorrow. Also, I'm using an eden 210xlt and I found that cutting the tweeter really brought about the sweetness in the tone. Guess I really don't care for that hifi sound. Need a pbass. Geez, it's very late. Thumbs up! :bassist:
 
#878
Chef said:
My brand new (fall 08) is no quieter than my '04 walkabout...same sunon fan in both, same one mesa still sell as a replacement.
moves a lot of air!
Click to expand...

That's weird. I had my old Walkabout updated by a factory-authorized shop back in August of '08. They did the typical upgrades (active/passive toggle, etc.) and they also replaced the fan. The new fan on mine is dead quiet. I mean so quiet you can barely tell there is a fan.
 
#879
BluesDawg said:
That's weird. I had my old Walkabout updated by a factory-authorized shop back in August of '08. They did the typical upgrades (active/passive toggle, etc.) and they also replaced the fan. The new fan on mine is dead quiet. I mean so quiet you can barely tell there is a fan.
Click to expand...

Friendly suggestion - I'd check its specs if I were you.

You can get a quieter fan basically by making it larger (moves the same air with less rotations) or making it move less air. A bit of quiet can be gained from it's construction, but not that much of a difference as you're describing.

Sucking air through all those little slats and moving it around inside that crowded little box will make some noise even if the fan were magically silent in its own movement. If yours is as quiet as you say, then you're not moving as much air as before or even close to as much. May or may not be a problem. If you're running it easy, no big deal. If you've got it crammed into a Scout cab and running it at 2 Ohms, maybe a problem.
 
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