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My Walkabout gets hot

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by lawndart, Aug 3, 2004.


  1. Aug 3, 2004 #1
    lawndart

    lawndart

    Oct 4, 2003
    Northern NJ
    I know that the Mesa Walkabout is stable at 4ohms and unofficially at 2ohms but when i connect my two Aguilar GS112s (8ohms each) the head gets hot. Theres plenty of space for heat to disapate but after a show or practice when i pick it up its hot as hell! The gain is usually between 1 and 3 oclock, the master is between 8 and 10 and the eqs are not at extremes(all set pretty much in the middle) I took it apart when i first got it (used) to see if there was any dust and i blew it away.
    So Im at a point where i dont know what to do.
     
  5. Aug 3, 2004 #2
    Jon R

    Jon R

    Oct 16, 2001
    Frostbite Falls, USA
    Check to see if the fan is running... it should be on all the time as it's not thermostatically switched. If not, get that fixed right away.
     
  10. Aug 3, 2004 #3
    tombowlus

    tombowlus If it sounds good, it is good Gold Supporting Member

    Apr 3, 2003
    Fremont, Ohio
    Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
    That seems unusual to me. The only time that mine has ever gotten hot was when I had to crank the gain quite high to get enough volume out of a single 8 ohm cab in order to compete with my guitar players. Maybe you should turn the gain up a bit and the master down some. I know that this won't be quite as clean of a sound, but it might take some of the load off the power amp section.
     
  14. Aug 3, 2004 #4
    lawndart

    lawndart

    Oct 4, 2003
    Northern NJ
    nope the fan is running....when i stop playing i hear it whirring around. the master is only at 9 oclock. anymore and they tell me to turn down.
     
  18. Aug 3, 2004 #5
    tombowlus

    tombowlus If it sounds good, it is good Gold Supporting Member

    Apr 3, 2003
    Fremont, Ohio
    Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
    You may want to give tech support a call, or perhaps PM Benjamin Strange here on TB. Something does not sound right. Even with a 2 ohm load, my Walkabout does not run at all hot with those gain settings.
     
  22. Aug 3, 2004 #6
    tombowlus

    tombowlus If it sounds good, it is good Gold Supporting Member

    Apr 3, 2003
    Fremont, Ohio
    Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
    Just for kicks, try a lower Gain setting and a higher Master setting. I know that this is opposite to what I just said, but I initially was thinking of your numerical values on the "scale of 1-10" thing, and not as relative locations on a clock. Duh!:confused:
     
  26. Aug 3, 2004 #7
    Jon R

    Jon R

    Oct 16, 2001
    Frostbite Falls, USA
    Did you get a manual with it? Flat settings are always a good starting point and are as follows:

    Gain: 12 o'clock
    Bass: 12 o'clock
    Mid: 7 o'clock (full counter clockwise)
    Parametrics (the top row of knobs): 12 o'clock (0db)
    Treble: 12 o'clock
    DI Level: 7 o'clock (full counter clockwise)
    Master: Somewhere between 9 & 12 o'clock

    If this doesn't help, take it to the Mesa doctor... good luck.
     
  31. Aug 3, 2004 #8
    Slater

    Slater Bye Millen! Hello?

    Apr 17, 2000
    The Great Lakes State
    Be SURE you're using speaker cables to connect to your speaker cabs.

    Once someone "helped" me set up our PA, and used a guitar cord to connect one of the floor wedges, and that almost cooked my power amp (good thing it was a QSC!).
     
  35. Aug 3, 2004 #9
    lawndart

    lawndart

    Oct 4, 2003
    Northern NJ
    my eq's are set pretty much flat and Im using monstercable speaker cables. Im gonna call Mesa somtime this week.
     
  39. Aug 3, 2004 #10
    JOME77

    JOME77 Supporting Member

    Aug 18, 2002
    Georgia
    Sounds like your amp may need to go to the shop for a bias adjustment. The symptons that you're describing seem to indicate that. I had a SWR that exhibited the same symptoms and adjusting the bias corrected the problem. With the SWR pro-line amps you can perform any easy check by turning the amp on (with no input or speaker connected) and if the amp chassis gets fairly warm, the amp needs a bias adjustment. Mesa can confirm if this test will work on their amps.
     
  43. Aug 3, 2004 #11
    lawndart

    lawndart

    Oct 4, 2003
    Northern NJ
    ill most likely be calling Mesa tomorrow and/or my repair guy who is an official Mesa repair shop. but that'll be after my show Friday.....if i bring it in i more than likely wont have an amp for the show.