^^Same here. My four-piece rock band currently rehearses in a pretty small room at moderate volume. I never hear the fan between or during songs, and no one else seems to, either. I've had mine for 7.5 years.
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The "Quiet Mesa Walkabout" project...
- Thread starter Vic
- Start date
+1- the only time the WA fan bothers me is playing quietly in my room. I haven't played anywhere else that doesn't have enough ambient noise to drown it out almost completely, let alone against the volume of my band (even between songs). Maybe it's just living in Los Angeles, where "fan noise" is a given for much of the year. I have never mic'ed my WA for recording but that is the one situation where I'd consider this mod.
As far as the stripped screws in the Walkabout- I have had that issue with a few of my older Mesa tube heads and it's usually just a matter of using the right screwdriver head (ie a head that doesn't wiggle at all when contacting the screw). In the case of the WA there aren't really intended to be any user-serviceable parts so you should proceed with caution if you are going to try to pop the hood!
As far as the stripped screws in the Walkabout- I have had that issue with a few of my older Mesa tube heads and it's usually just a matter of using the right screwdriver head (ie a head that doesn't wiggle at all when contacting the screw). In the case of the WA there aren't really intended to be any user-serviceable parts so you should proceed with caution if you are going to try to pop the hood!
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I must have gotten a really loud one. Maybe the fan was complaining about the pressure from those overtight screws. 
The Silenex is barely audible. Night and day difference.
The Silenex is barely audible. Night and day difference.
No user-servicable parts"? What about changing tubes?
I made sure I had the right screwdriver after trying the first screw - tight as a (insert sexist euphanism of your choice)!
But i'm not here to rip on Mesa. I've owned a 400 and a Buster. Lots of good character in all of them, each in their own way.
I made sure I had the right screwdriver after trying the first screw - tight as a (insert sexist euphanism of your choice)!
But i'm not here to rip on Mesa. I've owned a 400 and a Buster. Lots of good character in all of them, each in their own way.
So is the Silenex fan still the number one choice? I just got a Walkabout and am very pleased except it sounds like a jet on the deck waiting for clearance for take off.
I can hear it two rooms away. Anyway, before I ordered one I wanted to be sure there wasn't some newer and better choice.
I can hear it two rooms away. Anyway, before I ordered one I wanted to be sure there wasn't some newer and better choice.
wow. that seems wrong.
I could definitely hear my WA fan in a quiet room when quite close to it, and I even did the Silenx fan replacement (with great results). But I could never really notice the old fan from more than a foot or 2 away - hard to imagine hearing it from another room .. let alone 2. something else may be wrong with it.
in any event, the Silenx fan is still a pretty good choice, its dead quiet in my WA. I think some here have had luck with other quiet 80mm fan units too. Just make sure to find one that has fairly close CFM (cubic foot per min) specs along with good dBa specs. For instance, the Noctua NF-R8 has good specs.
if your WA is truly as loud as you say, I would go with the new fan. its a very easy fix and the results are great.
good luck
As noted in posts #75 and #77 I had some difficulties. The chassis screws were overtight and 2 grommets failed. It's working great now but it wasn't a no-brainer. Maybe Mesa had some issues for a while. The original fan was ridiculously loud - easily audible from 2 rooms away. Otherwise the WA has worked flawlessly and sounds great. Missing the two screws doesn't seem to be a problem - no rattles or looseness. The Silenex is so quiet that I have to put my ear right up to it to make sure its on. Very nice.
OK, I have the new Silenex fan now. Before I start taking the screws out of the case I have a few questions. Does anybody have a decent picture showing where and how to wire it in?
Do I have to solder anything to the circuit board? Not sure I want to take the red hot iron to my new (to me) amp.
What about the resistor? Where is it and what does it look like? Do I need to take it out to get a full 12V to the fan? How do I do that?
morebass! if you want to replace those screws, just look up your nearest "bolt and screw" store, take in one of the good ones, and get a couple that match it.
I've done this many times. At worst you'll get something that isn't black and you'll have to paint the heads or blacken them with a sharpie after you put them in.
Do I have to solder anything to the circuit board? Not sure I want to take the red hot iron to my new (to me) amp.
What about the resistor? Where is it and what does it look like? Do I need to take it out to get a full 12V to the fan? How do I do that?
morebass! if you want to replace those screws, just look up your nearest "bolt and screw" store, take in one of the good ones, and get a couple that match it.
I've done this many times. At worst you'll get something that isn't black and you'll have to paint the heads or blacken them with a sharpie after you put them in.
^^^^
To get full voltage into the fan you'll want to remove the resistor.
If your good with a soldier iron I believe it's possible to leave the resistor in on the board and soldier the new fan directly to the board side of the resistors lead and leave the other end of the resistor disconnected. This will save you having to remove the board to get to the soldier on the bottom to pull the resistor out.
If you do this Id recommend using a plastic zip tie to secure the resistor to the new fans lead to keep it from falling off and shorting anything down the road.
To get full voltage into the fan you'll want to remove the resistor.
If your good with a soldier iron I believe it's possible to leave the resistor in on the board and soldier the new fan directly to the board side of the resistors lead and leave the other end of the resistor disconnected. This will save you having to remove the board to get to the soldier on the bottom to pull the resistor out.
If you do this Id recommend using a plastic zip tie to secure the resistor to the new fans lead to keep it from falling off and shorting anything down the road.
I think you probably should take it in to a tech to have that done. Just to be safe.
Electrical work is not for Dummies.
i'm almost ready to pull the trigger for a silenX. Which is the most usual way to plug the fan? Did you plug it the way the original fan was, using the capacitors (but not running at full speed), did you all removed the capacitors, or left them but didn't use them.
I just mounted the Silenx EFX-08-15 fan (80x80x25, 15dBA/32cfm) using the rubber grommet technique outlined by the OP in the first post on page 1. I used three of those home-sliced grommets, one on the outside, and one on each side of the spacer, and also had to use the nut to tighten everything in place.
I removed the resistor so the fan gets the full 12V.
The amp went from "Hey what's all that racket?" to "Hey, is the amp on?" while the innards experience the cool evening breezes of Anytown, USA.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZF64TQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I removed the resistor so the fan gets the full 12V.
The amp went from "Hey what's all that racket?" to "Hey, is the amp on?" while the innards experience the cool evening breezes of Anytown, USA.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZF64TQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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The idea really appealed to me at first. So much so I bought the fan... But then I got cold feet because it seems like the benefit does not outweigh the likelihood of voiding the warranty. No matter how good your soldering skills are, a good technician, especially one who knows the product well, will be able to tell.
Curious, has anyone inquired with them about having them do this or have an authorized service biz do this? It does seem odd that this particular model is so much noisier than other products...
Curious, has anyone inquired with them about having them do this or have an authorized service biz do this? It does seem odd that this particular model is so much noisier than other products...
All 6 or 7 of the Walkabouts I owned were all bought used and didn't have any warranty left...so it was fish on! it was real easy to install.
Fun fact: the fan airflow should be back-to-front inside the case. Sucking air in (induction) as opposed to directly exhausting like a normal rear mounted computer case fan.
Guess this makes more sense if you assume its to be installed in a Scout cabinet with the front of the amp facing upward. Then you're sucking in theoretically cooler air from below (rear of the amp) and blowing it to exhaust out the various case venting towards the front of the case.
Guess this makes more sense if you assume its to be installed in a Scout cabinet with the front of the amp facing upward. Then you're sucking in theoretically cooler air from below (rear of the amp) and blowing it to exhaust out the various case venting towards the front of the case.
With the last version of the WA, the top lid has lots of vents. The OE fan was way louder in this case than in any previous non-vented lid version I had. To check I laid a panel covering the top just to listen, and I wouldn't have done the Silenx fan if it were just solid lid.
Reviving a long thread on a topic of interest so that relevant information can be found more easily by others in the future. Here are my questions, for those who have performed this surgery:
The solders on the board, where the resistor (which should be removed to maximize fan speed) is located, are somewhat buried in this amp. Not easy to access. How did you get to these solders? Did you detach the heat sink and flip it over and (hopefully) out of the way, at least within the limits of the wires connected to the heat sink?
Do either of these two solder joints on the board poke through the board? Particularly the resistor. Will it be necessary to get the soldering iron under the board, in order to release the resistor or the other wire? Or, alternatively, are these solder joints just 'surface' connections?
The solders on the board, where the resistor (which should be removed to maximize fan speed) is located, are somewhat buried in this amp. Not easy to access. How did you get to these solders? Did you detach the heat sink and flip it over and (hopefully) out of the way, at least within the limits of the wires connected to the heat sink?
Do either of these two solder joints on the board poke through the board? Particularly the resistor. Will it be necessary to get the soldering iron under the board, in order to release the resistor or the other wire? Or, alternatively, are these solder joints just 'surface' connections?
