Mesa Boogie amps - 2 questions ?

[silverfoxnik]

Hi Folks

 

Are there any Mesa Boogie owners out there who can help me with a couple of questions :

 

First, where's the best place to buy slow-blow fuses for my 2 Mesa amps? I have a Walkabout and  Big Block 750. 

 

Secondly, I've read on both Talkbass and here on Basschat that the Walkabout will run safely at 2 ohms and just wondered if anyone on here has had experience of doing that safely? 

 

Thanks for reading as ever.. 👍

 

Nik 

[Beedster]

Walkabout will run at 2ohms apparently but I wouldn’t risk it Nik, they’re not easy to replace or even repair these days 

[Bunion]

@agedhorseis the man to ask 

[agedhorse]

Very early on, they were ok at 2 ohms but we had a difficult time getting consistent MOSFETs and through 2 changes of manufacturer it became obvious that they were struggling with the process as well. This resulted in higher than acceptable failure rates into 2 ohms, so we discontinued the 2 ohm acceptable rating. 

 

Because these amps are quite expensive to repair (and difficult to get parts) , I would not recommend 2 ohm operation on any of the MOSFET amps. The Subway amps however, are fine with 2 ohms, using the 2 ohm mode switch on the back.

[silverfoxnik]

Thanks for the feedback, Folks! 

 

Point noted about the Walkabout especially @Beedster... 

 

And just to be 100% clear, is that also the case with the Big Block 750 @agedhorse? 

[Beedster]

8 hours ago, agedhorse said:

Very early on, they were ok at 2 ohms but we had a difficult time getting consistent MOSFETs and through 2 changes of manufacturer it became obvious that they were struggling with the process as well. This resulted in higher than acceptable failure rates into 2 ohms, so we discontinued the 2 ohm acceptable rating. 

 

Because these amps are quite expensive to repair (and difficult to get parts) , I would not recommend 2 ohm operation on any of the MOSFET amps. The Subway amps however, are fine with 2 ohms, using the 2 ohm mode switch on the back.

 

There's been a lot of debate around this issue on various sites, i'd see this post as the definitive answer at last 👍

[gary mac]

Nik. I might have a slow blow fuse here. Let me know what rating you need, before you come over to collect your bass and I can check.

[silverfoxnik]

2 hours ago, gary mac said:

Nik. I might have a slow blow fuse here. Let me know what rating you need, before you come over to collect your bass and I can check.

Thanks Gary and will do.. 👍

[agedhorse]

8 hours ago, silverfoxnik said:

Thanks for the feedback, Folks! 

 

Point noted about the Walkabout especially @Beedster... 

 

And just to be 100% clear, is that also the case with the Big Block 750 @agedhorse? 

Yes, and many of these parts are becoming difficult (or impossible) to source because the manufacturers are discontinuing them. 4 ohms is what I would recommend as a safe minimum load. 

[silverfoxnik]

48 minutes ago, agedhorse said:

Yes, and many of these parts are becoming difficult (or impossible) to source because the manufacturers are discontinuing them. 4 ohms is what I would recommend as a safe minimum load. 

Thanks for the clarification and help @agedhorse - really appreciate it! 👍

 

I really love the sound of these amps, so the last thing I'd want to do is cause them to break down beyond the point of repair. 

 

 

[Steve Browning]

I have a Walkabout 15 and have to agree. A flip-top on steroids.

 

I have a spare Subway 15" 8 ohm speaker and am tempted to install that and see how it works with the TT-800. I'd think about getting a WD-800 to power it.

[agedhorse]

30 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

I have a Walkabout 15 and have to agree. A flip-top on steroids.

 

I have a spare Subway 15" 8 ohm speaker and am tempted to install that and see how it works with the TT-800. I'd think about getting a WD-800 to power it.

I don't recommend it, the tuning is quite different on the Walkabout. If you do try it, de-rate the Subway driver to about 250-300 watts RMS or you could damage it.

[Steve Browning]

8 hours ago, agedhorse said:

I don't recommend it, the tuning is quite different on the Walkabout. If you do try it, de-rate the Subway driver to about 250-300 watts RMS or you could damage it.

 

Ok. Thanks for the advice. It will be heeded.