Walter Woods Amps History and Development

[natbers78]

WOW. This thread is great. So, I have been on "The List" now for about 5 months and am frothing at the mouth with anticipation. However, the two times I've talked to Walter, I think I might have been a little star struck or something because I forgot to ask some important questions I wanted to ask him...so I'll ask you guys to see if you can fill in the blanks. How do you think he got into building amps?...And how did he make them so desirable? From what I've read earlier in the thread, Walter was a sax player. Does/did he play bass to be able to build such a product?

 

[brianrost]

I talked to Walter about amp making a loud noise when turned off...He said that is the way it is and not to send it in for a fix as there is nothing worng

Both my (mono) Woods heads make noises like that on power UP, it's always annoyed me but it is is the way it is.

 

[natbers78]

b

 

[robgrow]

WOW. This thread is great. So, I have been on "The List" now for about 5 months and am frothing at the mouth with anticipation. However, the two times I've talked to Walter, I think I might have been a little star struck or something because I forgot to ask some important questions I wanted to ask him...so I'll ask you guys to see if you can fill in the blanks. How do you think he got into building amps?...And how did he make them so desirable? From what I've read earlier in the thread, Walter was a sax player. Does/did he play bass to be able to build such a product?

Walter has degrees in music as well as electrical engineering. He worked in the aerospace industry in SoCal in the 60's, and, by 1970, he decided to give building a musical instrument amp a try, which was the original Mini Amp, AKA "The Ice Cream Sandwich." The amp was unique in that it was compact and lightweight yet reasonably powerful by contemporary standards. By the time I first became aware of Walter Woods amps in the mid 1970's, they were already becoming very popular with bass players.

 

[PB+J]

What exactly is the nature of Woods' innovation? I've ever played one, but have no doubt they are as good as people say they are

Based on the size and weight and power ratings I assume (though I'm far from an expert) that Woods was doing class D switching amps way before anyone else, or else his power ratings were overestimated. Either that or he's discovered some super secret exemption from the laws of physics.

As far as I can tell from history, the nature of innovation is that almost always, a lot of people are working on the same thing at the same time. A lot of people were working on light bulbs when Edison came up with his, a lot of people were working on ways to amplify the electric guitar when Leo Fender invented the telecaster; piezo pickups came into general use very quickly and in a bunch, etc etc.

But Woods seems to have worked entirely alone and without rivals for quite a while. He must have a bunch of patents

Does anyone know what he did differently from, say, Acoustic Image?

I just did a quick search of the patent database and the only patent to a "Walter Woods" related to amps has to do with a guitar amp and seems to be mostly about eq, not the power section

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[KJung]

What exactly is the nature of Woods' innovation. I've ever played one, but have no doubt they are as good as people say they are

Based on the size and weight and power ratings I assume (though I'm far from an expert) that Woods was doing class D switching amps way before anyone else, or else his power ratings were overestimated. Either that or he's discovered some super secret exemption from the laws of physics.

As far as I can tell from history, the nature of innovation is that almost always, a lot of people are working on the same thing at the same time. A lot of people were working on light bulbs when Edison came up with his, a lot of people were working on ways to amplify the electric guitar when Leo Fender invented the telecaster; piezo pickups came into general use very quickly and in a bunch, etc etc.

But Woods seems to have worked entirely alone and without rivals for quite a while. He must have a bunch of patents

Does anyone know what he did differently from, say, Acoustic Image?

From what I remember, the early WW amps were not class D. However, again, from everything I've heard through the years (I've been using Walters amps for a LONG time now!), it was in the area of switching power supplies that was the primary area of innovation with the early Walters.

I still have an early 2000's model Ultra, and it sounds great. However, the industry really has caught up with Walter (finally). There are many small, lightweight, powerful heads out there now based on a variety of class A/B, class D and switching/traditional power supplies that are much less expensive and IMO perform better (i.e., louder, fuller, fatter sounding).

Regarding power ratings, I don't think Walter fudges anything, but the nature of his designs seem to result in less power delivered to the lowest frequencies, resulting in his amps to sound 'softer' than the power ratings would suggest. For example, my 500 watt Thunderfunk and Markbass heads seem to put out more volume than my 1200 watt Walter.

That all being said, there is nothing that sounds like a Walter. Also, the somewhat weak low end response versus other amps is actually a positive (from what I understand) with the primary customer of Walter's amps... the DB players.

Finally, on a side note, I find the Walter heads quite fussy regarding cabinet matching. They can sound quite thin with some cabs. However, the deep voicing and relatively polite mids of the larger Bergantino cabs (the HT322, the 's' stack, etc.) to my ear sound WONDERFUL with the Walter... clean, precise, articulate, with plenty of low end... very nice!!!!

 

[SlapHappyPappy]

I spoke with Walter about one of my M100-8's and while talking I mentioned my surprise at how LOUD the heads were for just 100w into 8 or 150 into 4....He quickly corrected me by saying that his M100's put out 200 at 4....I countered with thats not what your specs say to which he replied....it's 200 into 4 period. I believe him as they sound as loud as any head at any wattage I've had....maybe it's just the way they seem to fill up space....all warm and tingly like...Hmmmm

 

[SlapHappyPappy]

I am having one problem though....I play an M-100 thru 2 1x15 mesa cabs...and the volume just seems to rattle my head....I need to stop by the harware store and see if I can find some iso rubber product to reduce the vibration to the head....anyone else ever hear their Walter start to shake n rattle? What's the best way to address?

 

[KJung]

I am having one problem though....I play an M-100 thru 2 1x15 mesa cabs...and the volume just seems to rattle my head....I need to stop by the harware store and see if I can find some iso rubber product to reduce the vibration to the head....anyone else ever hear their Walter start to shake n rattle? What's the best way to address?

That's a Walter Woods design issue. From my experience, the 'rattle' comes from the top of the head, where the metal top tends to vibrate on the lip of the top of the front panel. All you have to do is put a small piece of fabric or something like that in between the top curved front panel lip and the top of the metal top cover (I hope that makes sense). That forces that rather loose top panel tighter against the chassis of the amp, and in my case over multiple Walter Woods amps, totally fixed the issue.


Edit: This works on the relatively new ones... from the early 90's on. Not sure if your older one is the same design.

 

[albass111]

I spoke with Walter about one of my M100-8's and while talking I mentioned my surprise at how LOUD the heads were for just 100w into 8 or 150 into 4....He quickly corrected me by saying that his M100's put out 200 at 4....I countered with thats not what your specs say to which he replied....it's 200 into 4 period. I believe him as they sound as loud as any head at any wattage I've had....maybe it's just the way they seem to fill up space....all warm and tingly like...Hmmmm

Yup, and I like the hint of distortion you get with aggressive playing. I love my 70's MI100-8!! It's good to know that it actually puts out 200 watts. It makes more sense now.

 

[robgrow]

What exactly is the nature of Woods' innovation? I've ever played one, but have no doubt they are as good as people say they are

Based on the size and weight and power ratings I assume (though I'm far from an expert) that Woods was doing class D switching amps way before anyone else, or else his power ratings were overestimated. Either that or he's discovered some super secret exemption from the laws of physics.

As far as I can tell from history, the nature of innovation is that almost always, a lot of people are working on the same thing at the same time. A lot of people were working on light bulbs when Edison came up with his, a lot of people were working on ways to amplify the electric guitar when Leo Fender invented the telecaster; piezo pickups came into general use very quickly and in a bunch, etc etc.

But Woods seems to have worked entirely alone and without rivals for quite a while. He must have a bunch of patents

Does anyone know what he did differently from, say, Acoustic Image?

I just did a quick search of the patent database and the only patent to a "Walter Woods" related to amps has to do with a guitar amp and seems to be mostly about eq, not the power section

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Those who were bass players in the late 60's and early 70's will remember that a 100 watt amp was considered very powerful at the time and was also quite large and heavy. Also most amps used vacuum tubes, and many players preferred the sound of tube amps -- transistor amps were not widely accepted yet. Walter's primary innovation was to eliminate the traditional linear power supply with its large and heavy power transformer that was used in all musical instrument amps at the time and replace it with a switch-mode power supply. This allowed the first Walter Woods Mini Amp to be much lighter and more compact than other amps on the market. The early WW Mini Amps used a conventional linear class AB solid state power amp with a couple of clever twists in the design. Walter's second big innovation was his design of a class A transistor preamp that sounded much more like a good tube amp than other solid state amps of the time. While the current Walter Woods amps are far more sophisticated, the early amps from the 70's and 80's have a very wonderful warm musical sound all their own.

Although there are several high quality amps available now that are very compact and lightweight, Walter was doing that well before the idea caught on with other manufacturers. To many players the sound of Walter's amps is still unparalleled by anything else.

Another thing to keep in mind is Walter has made each and every WW amp personally, by hand, and he has always been very particular about the quality of the parts he uses. Although there are certainly other good amps, there are very few that are hand made works of art.

BTW the patent referred to actually covers the overall design of the original Mini Amp.

 

[natbers78]

Robgrow-

You are virtual fountain of WW trivia!! Where did you learn all of this... just through talking to him? BTW, you ever make it up around Toledo? Them's my old stompin' grounds.

 

[BG6654]

This is outstanding... BUT as one who has a WW M400 and loves it for what it is I wouldn't be without tube amps. Other bass players can explain it much more eloquint than I... For a simple player like myself it's the difference between good fruit juice and well aged wine.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

I am having one problem though....I play an M-100 thru 2 1x15 mesa cabs...and the volume just seems to rattle my head....I need to stop by the harware store and see if I can find some iso rubber product to reduce the vibration to the head....anyone else ever hear their Walter start to shake n rattle? What's the best way to address?

I carry my Woods around in an ABS plastic pistol case that has layers of removable foam inside. When I set up I take the flat bottom layer of foam out of the case, sit it on top of the cab, and put the amp on top of the foam. It keeps everything quiet, and it protects the amp from being vibrated to pieces by the low end.

 

[KJung]

WOW. This thread is great. So, I have been on "The List" now for about 5 months and am frothing at the mouth with anticipation. However, the two times I've talked to Walter, I think I might have been a little star struck or something because I forgot to ask some important questions I wanted to ask him...so I'll ask you guys to see if you can fill in the blanks. How do you think he got into building amps?...And how did he make them so desirable? From what I've read earlier in the thread, Walter was a sax player. Does/did he play bass to be able to build such a product?

Another WW tip, in case you aren't aware of this. There's a control on the newer Walter's that many of us call the 'magic knob'. It's the effects return volume... the knob for each channel on the far rightside of the amp. It's strange, but this control, without anything connected to the effects loop, acts as a low mid,low end enhance control. When you turn it from 1/2 way to all the way up, the low end of the Walter (which can be just a touch thin... and for you guys with the old ones... the new ones are TOTALLY differently voiced... much more articulate and clean, much less deep low end) REALLY fattens up. Walter will not fess up as to what is actually going on with this control (I think he actually coined the term 'magic knob'!), but it really does change the character of the amp.

It's not in the manual, etc., so just wanted to make sure you were aware of this. For DB, I would assume you would never engage this. However, for funk/pop/rock type contexts with an EB, it really is useful for adding some balls in the low mids and low end.

Enjoy that new amp!

K

 

[natbers78]

very interesting...thanks!

 

[KJung]

very interesting...thanks!

It's pretty cool. The newer Walter's have a very complete set of tone controls. The 'balance' control is similar to the Thunderfunk 'Timbre' control, and sort of revoices the amp to have a more 'bass oriented' versus 'upper mid and treble oriented' tone. There's some nice subtle tones in there between the 10 and 2 o'clock settings, and it's a useful tool to optimize the Walter's tone for various cabs. Then, you have the semi-parametric mid, which a range from 100hz to 1K. And, finally, the 'magic knob', which serves as a low mid punch boost control. It's a very impressive amp.

Also... Mooradian Covers makes a nice bag designed specifically for the Walter Woods that a lot of us use. It's not super heavy duty, but is very high quality, has a great, wide shoulder strap and also a large pocket. It's a very nice bag if you are schlepping the Walter yourself. When mine has to go in a truck, I have a small Anvil type road case that I had made.

We will look forward to your review and experience when you get the amp!

K

 

[LarryR]

Robgrow-

You are virtual fountain of WW trivia!!

+1

It was Robgrow who pushed me over the edge to score an MI-200-8 stereo head. No regrets whatsoever. For me, it killed my AI focus in terms of clarity/tone. There's been so much said on this great thread by others more eloquent than I, but, I'll just add (and this isn't my quote) "there just seems to be more harmonic content with a Woods". This really sums it up for me. And not to sound esoteric, but, I can feel, I can sense the hand-built, hand selected components of Mr. Woods' work.

That said, I just picked up an old Ampeg B25-B. Haven't turned the Woods on since, though in fairness I'm purposely spending all my playing time getting to know my new acquisition. Still, my Woods comes as close to a tube head than any transistor-based amp I've played.

 

[Ike Harris]

Hey, fellas. I'm not often here on the BG side, but I spied the thread from the home page and thought I'd give a look. I have one of the "sandwich" models(100-4) which is not working due to getting jerked to the floor from it's perch off my 12" cab working at Boots Randolph's club in the early 90's. The clod(his son) who tripped over my cord took it to a local music store guy who had no clue how to fix it, so it's been in the closet all these years. I'd like to get it working again and try it with my little GK extension cab, but it looks like the only thing to do with it is ship it back to the source. I remember it having a warm natural sound and I used it on numerous(mostly upright)gigs around town. it's been slightly modified with an a/b switch beside the two inputs for doubling purposes, and one of the speaker outs is an input for using the amp as a slave from an externat preamp. Other than that, it's pretty much as original as far as I can tell. What are these things worth these days? I assume they will only increase with time.

Ike

 

[SlapHappyPappy]

One just sold off the bay for 550.00 Call WW and tell him its dead....he'll do a refurbish on the head....Not just fix the problem you have but also with the refurb it will prevent any other issues that may have been coming but not yet apparent.