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New Mesa Walkabout-style high powered amp WD-800....and new cabs...


Musicman20

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2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

This is probably a totally dozy question, but any reason you can't just add a volume boost pedal to the output of a WA (or any amp for that matter)? 

Do you mean using a power amp from the DI or line out? A volume boost pedal is usually preamp type output level, not 300-800 w cab input levels.

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43 minutes ago, No. 8 Wire said:

 As you say, would be interesting to see if Mesa have considered this in the WD. 

Why would Mesa not consider everything?

They were clever enough to build the Walkabout in the first place so if they are lining up the WD800 as a replacement I'd expect it to perform. There are a few who will be dissatisfied no matter what, but as Mesa know much more about their amps than we do, I'd wait to see what the WD800 sounds like before jumping to conclusions.

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22 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Why would Mesa not consider everything?

They were clever enough to build the Walkabout in the first place so if they are lining up the WD800 as a replacement I'd expect it to perform. There are a few who will be dissatisfied no matter what, but as Mesa know much more about their amps than we do, I'd wait to see what the WD800 sounds like before jumping to conclusions.

Thanks, I'm not jumping to any conclusions, just wondering what from the original WA they have included.  Largely in the hope that someone more learned would say yay or nay.  I have no doubt that Mesa know their amps, they are my favourite manufacturer by a long distance.  But whether it is technically possible to get the WA power amp effect in a class D format I don't know.

What's the point of this thread if we can't speculate on its features before trying it out?😁

Edited by No. 8 Wire
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@Al Krow

Do you mean use a boost between the speaker out and the cab? Or do you mean a pre amp out into a different power amp?

I don't believe that you could or should use a boost between the speaker out and the cab and I'm not quite sure how you would either. As 8wire says a boost isnormally used (as i'm sure you know) to drive the pre amp of an amp but not to boost out at the otehr end of the 'signal chain'.

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28 minutes ago, krispn said:

Yer man from Incubus, Ben Kenney, used to tour with a couple of WA rigs - combo and ext cab beneath - see the link. It would be a pricy rig for us mere mortals :)

http://mesaboogie.com/artist/ben-kenney.html

I had a feeling I seen that before - I've seen some pictures of him using two WA rigs on stage, that picture shows the same rig.  The manual talks about using them in a master-slave arrangement to have both running.

Edit - actually its 3 combos + ext cabs. 1 master, 2 slaves, check it at 6.08.

 

Edited by No. 8 Wire
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4 hours ago, No. 8 Wire said:

Walkabout owner here too. I understood this to be the case too.  I thought it was one of the reasons that the master volume also affects the DI.  As i recall there is a mod that can be done to decouple the master from the DI, but you lose some of the essential tone of the WA by doing it.  As you say, would be interesting to see if Mesa have considered this in the WD.  At the moment I think my solution to be louder would be 2 walkabouts....

My solution for a louder Walkabout was playing it through a Powerhouse 6x10!

No volume issues anymore. I need to hit weights more before I can really be able to lift the cab in and out my car unaided. Hence a portable 2x15 has me excited.

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3 hours ago, krispn said:

@Al Krow

Do you mean use a boost between the speaker out and the cab? Or do you mean a pre amp out into a different power amp?

I don't believe that you could or should use a boost between the speaker out and the cab and I'm not quite sure how you would either. As 8wire says a boost is normally used (as I'm sure you know) to drive the pre amp of an amp but not to boost out at the other end of the 'signal chain'.

Yup kinda what I thought. But just wondering if this was theoretically possible...I guess if it was we would all be doing it and discussing the merits of "booster" pedals!

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F!!! Me!
Those prices are literally insane!
£2175 for the 2x15 cab!?

Can anyone think of any other companies that charge as much for cabs?
The head, I guess, it's expensive, but you can justify that price a little more given all the R&D and resultant tech that's gone into the head, but the cabs?!

Wow.

Eude

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By the current exchange rate, £1299 for the head, translates as roughly $1660.
But, in the US it retails at $999, which is roughly £780, and it will sell for less in the shops.

I'm not sure that can be blamed on the exchange rate, it's more like a good old fashioned bully ramming!

Still I'll be there's money to be made bring some back from the US and selling them here...

Eude

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On 03/12/2018 at 15:26, wateroftyne said:

Would you buy one blind on those grounds..?

In 1988 I bought a Bass 400 and 2 x Diesel 2x15 merely because a mag called it the Rolls Royce of bass amplification. It came to 3 grand with flightcases. There sure are some suckers out there.

That said, even though the components of the rig have changed, the sound hasn't and it still makes me smile when I hear it.

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9 minutes ago, eude said:

By the current exchange rate, £1299 for the head, translates as roughly $1660.
But, in the US it retails at $999, which is roughly £780, and it will sell for less in the shops.

I'm not sure that can be blamed on the exchange rate, it's more like a good old fashioned bully ramming!

Still I'll be there's money to be made bring some back from the US and selling them here...

Eude

Unlike the original Walkabout these are good for UK voltages wherever you buy them, original needed a transformer change. Could import from the states if you could find somebody willing to ship to UK...

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I have heard that there may be talks about a different dealer for Mesa. 

There is the recent buying consortium known as GAP:

"It also follows the news that three of the UK’s largest retailers (Anderton’s, PMT and Guitar Guitar) have banded together to form a buying alliance which they are calling GAP. This is a story we had intended to bring you a couple of weeks ago, and would have done if the participants had been willing to talk about it.  Whatever GAP could be about, one thing that it definitely is about is margin – an attempt to push retail margins back to a level where a retailer can stay in business. If that means building ‘own brands’ in accessories, or taking on exclusive lines (GAP has taken on Alvarez and, if rumour is true, G&L guitars) who can blame them? Especially if the alternative is to sell ‘big brand’ products either a loss or, at best, with a promise that there may be a few points in it for you sometime later, if you’re good and eat up your spinach!"

The G&L prices were driven down because of this (I think they are now sold directly to the stores).

I'd welcome this for Mesa; we don't need 'distributors'.

 

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