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mesa walkabout scout

Chef

Chef

In Memoriam
May 23, 2004
41,814
18,945
65
Columbia MO
Disclosures
Staff Reviewer; Bass Gear Magazine
#1
I recently scored a nice used walkabout scout 12" here in the TB classifieds (thanks a lot Jack!).
Read a lot about them here, alwasy been itching to try one.
First, I was concerned it would be "too tubey" (especially for DB) from some of the comments I've read: not true at all, it does clean well enough for my crappy ears...
Second: day-um, that's a big 300 watts! And man, as a combo, this thing sounds really, really big...
Me and para eq: I'm so tremendously ruined by my Thunderfunk TFB420, it's 4 band para eq with sub bass under, high treble over, enhance, and the "fixes everything with one small click" Timbre knob, that I've been tremendously disappointed with a lot of the other stuff I've been trying this year. Most recent case case in point being the carvin b1500, but more on that later...The TFB is just aces at morphing from double bass to electric, from bass to bass, cab to cab, room to room, genre to genre, with very little tweaking or drama. The Eden wt800B and Navigator do nearly as well, but really miss the timbre.
I'm happy to report that the mesa, with it's active bass, passive mid, 3 band para mid, and treble controls, seems to be able to do these tricks reasonably well so far.
The clean tone (input down, master up) is thick, tasty and warm set flat. The bass control is powerful enough to go to cab shattering dub pretty quickly. The treble can impart really nice sizzle up top without being overbearing-the tweeter attenuator helps here. The para mids let me do what I need to do to shift from slab to DB quickly and easily.
The gritty sound (input cranked, master down) I'm not overly enamoured of, but I'm not a gritty kind of guy anyway.

These are all living room impressions. I've got rehearsal this afternoon, and jobs wed-sat next week, so there'll be followups after a bit of real world use.

This thing has quite the guts and volume for only being a tad bigger than my SWR Baby Blue 2x8...it's gonna be nice to have a one peice rig that's big enough to use for something other than piano/sax/db trio work-and I think this head, since it pops right out, will get a lot of use with bigger cabs at bigger jobs.

chef
 
#2
Hey Chef,
I've got the Walkabout 12 combo too and your comments are right on. I've been rehearsing and gigging with it for about a year now. I add a MB Powerhouse 1x12 when I need a bit more coverage (venues over 500 heads or outdoors).

Also, for even easier load-in/out, try adding the Mesa "tone luggage" dealie. Brackets attached to the combo and a sturdy telescoping handle and wheels clip on and off in a snap. Cool accessory IMO.

Enjoy
 
#3
Did a little coffee house gig with the mesa this morning.
DB and acoustic guitar/singer.
input showing about 2, master at 5, didn't even break a sweat.
Took it to a private party job tonight with guitar, bass, drums, sax, and singer.
Hadda turn the input up to about 3.5...this thing is really nice!
 
#4
Yup ... great tone, very loud for the rating, and don't loose the low end when you turn them up. The 600 version is about as loud as you'd ever need an amp to be unless you've got really inefficient cabs.

I'm not into a distorted tone most of the time either, but when you approach the edge on the mesa head without going over, you can get some extremely subtle and satisfying fur.
 
#5
Gigged this last night with my DarkStar'd Tele bass.
Input at 3, master at 5, eq flat...man, this lil thing is loud, and had so much headroom left that surely it would self destruct if you used it all...???
Really impressive little amp, great with DB, and I *really* want to try the head with the Henry 8x8 and Schro 410...
 
#8
I just picked up one of these little guys this past Saturday. Man, the bottom end that comes out of this thing from the downfiring speaker, wow! Ive read nothing but positive vibe about this combo from TBers who own it and all their reviews are accurate. Dialed it in flat and I was good to go. Sounds great with my electric upright too.

Carlo T.
 
#9
Taken this to 4 gigs now, ranging from blues to rock to jazz with DB...
I *really like this rig.*
It's stoopid loud, great tone, really powerful and flexible eq...sweet!
 
#10
Pulled the head out of the Scout combo and used it for 2 gigs this weekend, once with an SWR Henry 8x8, and one with a Schroeder 410.
Input on 3, master on 4, eq flat; headroom for days, big solid tone. The para eq works great for dialing out the "problem tones" with double bass...
Much like the TFB420, the wattage on the walkabout head seems hugely under-rated. I can't imagine ever needing more than the head can provide with a bigger, efficient cab.

Really nice piece of kit...
 
#12
I run mine flat, and only use the eq to twek for "this bass, or that room."
PLaying a "thinner" bass, I'll add a little sub bass, "darker bass" add a little high or top para treble, for DB, cut mids at 600hz, and roll sub bass down a tad.
Everything is active except the non-para mid control, which I generally leave flat too...if I move eq on this, it aion't by much.
You can download the owners manual at mesa, and it has some great baseline settings to try and file.
 
#13
Folmeister said:
Hey, Chef!
I just picked up mine. What eq settings are people using with their electrics?
Click to expand...

I use mine flat on the 3 band EQ. Sometimes I roll off a touch of bass if needed. That deoends on volume and the room. I have to cut back on treble sonetimes. I use the parametric if needed for a bit of tweeking to get rid of trouble spots in the sound.

I have the tweeter turned down to 9 o'clock. This is either with a Fender P with Thomastic flats or a similar sounding bass.

Depending on the sound I'm after and the volume I'm playing at, I may cut back the master volume and push the preamp volume to the point where it just begins to sound like a tube amp being pushed hard. It gives a little bit of compression without sucking the life out of the dynamics.

But even set for a clean sound it has a very tube amp like sound. Very warm, and it sure seems a lot like more than 300 watts.

It's actually pretty well a plug and play amp. But there are a lot of radical possibilities using the EQ.

This is not an amp I'd recommend to someone who likes to crank up and abuse an amp. It'll take a lot of abuse but it's just too nice an amp to subject to that. It may sound snobby, but I think it's best for those with a bit of experience and a more refined taste. It's also too bloody expensive to screw up.
 
#15
Have any of you guys had a chance to listen to a 12 side by side with a 15? I originally wanted a 12, and I thought it wouldn't be much more than a practice amp. Instead, I got a shot at a 15 1st, and it's been my main gig amp for almost 2 years now! Still, I'm thinking I would like just a shade "tighter" sound, and wonder how the 2 compare.
 
#17
mimaz said:
Have any of you guys had a chance to listen to a 12 side by side with a 15? I originally wanted a 12, and I thought it wouldn't be much more than a practice amp. Instead, I got a shot at a 15 1st, and it's been my main gig amp for almost 2 years now! Still, I'm thinking I would like just a shade "tighter" sound, and wonder how the 2 compare.
Click to expand...

I have tried the 12 and 15 side by side in the store, but not at higher gig volume. The 15 sounds bigger. I actually prefer it but I was after something lighter so I'm satisfied with the 12. The 12 does sound slightly tighter but the 15 is pretty nice. I suppose you could get a 12 Scout extension cabinet and own both, but unless you have the need to use just the 12 for space and weight savings, or want to use both together at times, I wouldn't do it.

I'm interested in seeing how the Walkabout head does with the GK Neo 112 cabinet. I imagine that would be a nice portable setup. My only complaint with the combo is sometimes it can be a bit of a pain to get up stairs in clubs. I've got a nice folding hand cart that I can cart it easily for blocks on pavement and floors but it doesn't help when faced with a flight of stairs.

The Walkabout head fits nicely in a padded bag I have along with tuner, cables and odds and ends. I'd consider a really lightweight cabinet like the Flite 115 with midrange, but I haven't heard one and wouldn't buy without checking it out.

Anyhow, getting back to your original question, yes the 12 is slightly tighter, but I think I could easily make the 15 sound tighter with a bit of tweaking of the EQ, just pull out a little bit of bass. It's not a huge amount of difference but I think the 15 has the edge inr bigger rooms.
 
#18
I gotta mostly disagree here.
I'm not gonna crank the snot outta mine and beat it like a redheaded stepchild: I got bigger rigs when I need them.
However, I have and am going to continue to throw down with this here lil mutha. She sounds great, and hasn't cried Uncle yet.
It does seem like there is more than enough headroom to blow the Scout cab straight to bits...no worries, the head comes out slick as a whistle, and has paired well with everything I've put it with thus far...


62bass said:
This is not an amp I'd recommend to someone who likes to crank up and abuse an amp. It'll take a lot of abuse but it's just too nice an amp to subject to that. It may sound snobby, but I think it's best for those with a bit of experience and a more refined taste. It's also too bloody expensive to screw up.
Click to expand...
 

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