Old School sounding amp to replace Walkabout

[joescartwright]

I've had a Walkabout for a few years now and I love the vibe of the amp but I could do with something with a bit more power.

As much as I'd love to just grab a big ol' valve amp I really need to stick with a rig which is at least as portable as the walkabout, a little lighter all in would be a bonus, but it's gotta have that vintagey vibe.

 

Any suggestions?

[scalpy]

WoT will be along in 5, 4, 3, 2......😉

Edited September 20, 2018 by scalpy

[thodrik]

Walkabout owner here since 2008. It is hard to find something that will really rival that amp in terms of old school tone but be lighter and have more power. Even the bigger Mesa amps don't capture the Walkabout tone in my opinion (I own an M6 Carbine too).  You are probably going to have to consider something with a class D power section if you want more power and less weight.

The Mesa D800, EBS Reidmar and Darkglass Microtubes amps get rave reviews and I am sure could do some great old school tones. For me though, I have tried some larger, louder and heavier amps (Mesa M6 Carbine, EBS Fafner and Trace Elliot V6) but nothing comes close to the Walkabout. 

A couple of owners here would recommend a company call Handbox, but I have no experience. 

If you love the sound of the Walkabout but want more volume, I would recommend getting a more efficient cabinet to obtain more volume, which will result in 'get a Barefaced cab' comments in about 5 seconds. 

[markorbit]

I'd second the 'get a louder cab' as well. I can't think of anything that is either smaller or weighs less than the Walkabout that will get you the same type of sound.

It's been a few years since I owned a Walkabout. I've been searching for a good smooth, warm, old-school amp for a while recently but don't wish to go all-valve either.  I'm now considering getting another Walkabout !!! Everything else is falling short and I've bought a good few to compare along with the ones I've previously owned. Also, my love of Class D is at it's lowest point. Everything was falling short.

So I bought an Ashdown ABM and got the closest to that warm, valve sound I seek. It doesn't bloom like a Walkabout can as it's more immediate but it doesn't lack real warmth!

I have an original first EVO version. You have to defeat the default EQ shape first to get the mids back but from there I can tweak the EQ slightly, wind the valve-drive to about 2' 0 clock and with fingers it delivers a lovely rich velvety tone with my P. I guess there is a reason why so many pros use Ashdown ABMs.

The latest Mesa D800+ claims to be somewhere between the Walkabout and the Carbine. Might be worth a try but from what I've heard it's more modern than old-school.

I was also impressed with the vintage sound of the Ashdown Rootmaster heads when I tried them. Just not a fan of the look. If you grab one I'd recommend the 800 watt version.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2018 by markorbit

[Lozz196]

And there`s an Ashdown Rootmaster 800 on here for silly money at present. They really are quality amps, my RM500 is incredibly powerful and it`s only on really big stages where I can tell the difference between it and my ABM600 - the all elusive heft is more present with the ABM on those large stages, it just retains that weight to the sound. But on a regular stage or pub sized venue then the RM500 is more than enough, so the 800 would no doubt be a worthy addition.

[fretmeister]

The DG M900 will do it.

I use mine in a big band. I turn on the drive but have it really really low so adds a bit of wooly thickness and then EQ to the room.

[Dood]

My trick for instant ‘old skool’ is to use a Micro DI pedal. Either the Mooer version or the Fender rebadged. I think there’s other ‘rebadged’ versions too. It has a ‘speaker sim’ switch on it that in reality is just a complex EQ curve that mimics the “sound” of a 4x12 guitar cabinet. Having run it through an analyser, there’s no roll off on the low end to worry about. It’s a super cheap way of fattening up and adding a dash of chewy mids at the flick of a switch. Oh and it’s a DI pedal that can drive a power amp too. £30 and plug it in to any amp (even an ultra clean D Class) for that drop of vintage.

 

[Merton]

5 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

And there`s an Ashdown Rootmaster 800 on here for silly money at present. They really are quality amps, my RM500 is incredibly powerful and it`s only on really big stages where I can tell the difference between it and my ABM600 - the all elusive heft is more present with the ABM on those large stages, it just retains that weight to the sound. But on a regular stage or pub sized venue then the RM500 is more than enough, so the 800 would no doubt be a worthy addition.

This. You can make it sound quite old school very easily!

If you do find a suitable new amp and need to offload the Walkabout, please please PM me

[Jack]

5 hours ago, Dood said:

My trick for instant ‘old skool’ is to use a Micro DI pedal. Either the Mooer version or the Fender rebadged. I think there’s other ‘rebadged’ versions too. It has a ‘speaker sim’ switch on it that in reality is just a complex EQ curve that mimics the “sound” of a 4x12 guitar cabinet. Having run it through an analyser, there’s no roll off on the low end to worry about. It’s a super cheap way of fattening up and adding a dash of chewy mids at the flick of a switch. Oh and it’s a DI pedal that can drive a power amp too. £30 and plug it in to any amp (even an ultra clean D Class) for that drop of vintage.

 

@Dood is there a thread or a review about this somewhere? Do you at least have the trace from the scope? Sounds intriguing!

[LukeFRC]

More, or more efficient cabs with the walkabout I think would be the way to go. Not sure if there’s anything tonally similar out there.... 

i love mine - even if I’m tempted to replace it with my modelling pedal and a PA cab its hard to actually go through the mental process where I don’t have a walkabout....

[Dood]

3 hours ago, Jack said:

@Dood is there a thread or a review about this somewhere? Do you at least have the trace from the scope? Sounds intriguing!

I've not seen any reviews save for a youtube video of a chap demoing one for guitar, which is what I'd originally bought it for. I stuck my bass through it and was surprised to hear that it sounded rather good. I don't think I have the RTA results, but if I get a moment I'll do it again. From memory there's a nice low and low mid bump and the top end curves off probably down at 3Khz-ish. But there was no loss of low end measured down to 30hz, maybe lower. I'll see what I can sort out. I actually have two of these little chaps in my box of goodies for stereo use.

[Dood]

3 hours ago, Jack said:

@Dood is there a thread or a review about this somewhere? Do you at least have the trace from the scope? Sounds intriguing!

oh:

here they are: https://www.reddogmusic.co.uk/catalog/product/346604/fender-micro-di?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrZLdBRCmARIsAFBZllHwdnUvy2oOTZxr2UsaFdfULo12B7BgeEwz-zqMayM01BV-wvvBkhoaAnDbEALw_wcB Though I am so sure I didn't pay that much!

[Jack]

11 minutes ago, Dood said:

oh:

here they are: https://www.reddogmusic.co.uk/catalog/product/346604/fender-micro-di?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrZLdBRCmARIsAFBZllHwdnUvy2oOTZxr2UsaFdfULo12B7BgeEwz-zqMayM01BV-wvvBkhoaAnDbEALw_wcB Though I am so sure I didn't pay that much!

Well this one is £20.

[Al Krow]

11 hours ago, Jack said:

Well this one is £20.

I had one of these Donner passive DI's and found it to be noisy and ended up returning it.

I'd recommend spending the extra and going with the Mooer.

[bassfan]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

I had one of these Donner passive DI's and found it to be noisy and ended up returning it.

I'd recommend spending the extra and going with the Mooer.

Every day’s a school day here at BC. I thought Donner only made kebabs!... 

 

I’ll get my coat...... 😐

[Al Krow]

Just now, bassfan said:

Every day’s a school day here at BC. I thought Donner only made kebabs!... 

I’ll get my coat...... 😐

As it's your birthday, I guess we need to cut you some slack...

[jazzyvee]

I have had my walkabout as my main bass amp since about 2003 and had powerhouse cabs to go with it. It’s a great head and i have never found it to be underpowered even though i never have the input gain over the 12 o’clock position to avoid the edgy sound. I now have two barefaced cabs BT2 &  BB2 to use with it now and as well as being louder there seems to be more fullness    .  I tried the D800 and the plus version and i much preferred the walkabout. 

[wateroftyne]

On 20/09/2018 at 19:43, scalpy said:

WoT will be along in 5, 4, 3, 2......😉

My God, I'm slacking...!

Get thee along here, @joescartwright...
 

 

[Dood]

16 hours ago, Jack said:

Well this one is £20.

Crickey!!!!

[Dood]

5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I had one of these Donner passive DI's and found it to be noisy and ended up returning it.

I'd recommend spending the extra and going with the Mooer.

This one appears to be the active version rather than passive.

[Al Krow]

@drlargepants  Saw you had your M900 up for sale as you were struggling to get the sound you are after.

Thought you might be interested in this thread, particularly as you're "big into vintage slightly overdriven tones (think early Geezer Butler)" and some of the comments suggest that the M900 should do this by itself...

On 21/09/2018 at 11:14, fretmeister said:

The DG M900 will do it.

I use mine in a big band. I turn on the drive but have it really really low so adds a bit of wooly thickness and then EQ to the room.

...or in combination with an appropriate pedal - Dood is recommending a Mooer DI pedal.

The other pedal that came to mind is Markbass "bottling" their VLE amp dial into a pedal (VLE = vintage loudspeaker emulator). http://www.markbass.it/product-detail/super-booster/

Combine either of these pedals with the VMT dirt on your M900 and I'm guessing it will get you there. Maybe worth a shot before moving your amp on?

[drlargepants]

10 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@drlargepants  Saw you had your M900 up for sale as you were struggling to get the sound you are after.

Thought you might be interested in this thread, particularly as you're "big into vintage slightly overdriven tones (think early Geezer Butler)" and some of the comments suggest that the M900 should do this by itself...

...or in combination with an appropriate pedal - Dood is recommending a Mooer DI pedal.

The other pedal that came to mind is Markbass "bottling" their VLE amp dial into a pedal (VLE = vintage loudspeaker emulator). http://www.markbass.it/product-detail/super-booster/

Combine either of these pedals with the VMT dirt on your M900 and I'm guessing it will get you there. Maybe worth a shot before moving your amp on?

Thank you. That’s very interesting actually. 

[wateroftyne]

Here's a little walkthrough of the Handbox R-400 I made, which is buried away in that thread somewhere.

I really consider it as a 'Walkabout Plus'.

 

[drlargepants]

I really like the idea & sound of these, it just seems too much hard work to get one in the UK

[wateroftyne]

Just now, drlargepants said:

I really like the idea & sound of these, it just seems too much hard work to get one in the UK

How come? They have couriers in Poland 🙂