Front panel controls – Mesa/Boogie Walk About Bass Amplifier User Manual

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PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER: (Continued)

controls and then begin with subtle tweaking of the frequencies using the

PARAMETRIC

EQ. Don’t start boosting everything all over the bandwidth and expect to have a great sound. Make small moves and then allow your
ears time to adjust to the difference. With controls this powerful

EQ Hangover is part of the buzz. Don’t be surprised if after tweaking

for an hour with the

PARAMETRIC, you go back to your starting point and think the amp is broken it’s not, your ears are suffering

from an overdose of

EQ.

May we suggest that the old saying “less is more”, applies here beautifully. More often than not a better sound is achieved by notch-
ing (cutting) frequencies that you want less of with the respective

GAIN control, than boosting desirable frequencies. In this way your

ears can evaluate the differences better and get a bead on the next adjustment because you are not escalating the volume level as
you go. More importantly, you are less likely to create a sound with excess noise.

FREQUENCY CONTROLS:

These 3 rotary controls divide up the frequency spectrum into three sweepable Q bands that allow

you to center-in on any frequency within each band and then cut or boost each with its accompanying GAIN control. As you may have
noticed, the bands overlap so that you can use adjacent bands to manipulate frequencies that are very close to each other frequency
wise. One great thing about a 3 Band PARAMETRIC is in its ease of use. Because of the limited number of bands, each of them fall

into the immediately recognizable regions of Low, Mid and High. While some say that this limits shaping
power by offering divisions that are too broad for accurate equalization, others greatly prefer this more
straight forward approach - citing its more direct line to a great sound. Because there is truth in both these
lines of thinking, we build both styles of EQ (M-PULSE 600

lines of thinking, we build both styles of EQ (

and

M-PULSE 600

360 offer 5 Band PARAMETRIC EQ).

However, the WalkAbout certainly doesn’t suffer from its 3 Band SEMI-PARAMETRIC EQ simplicity.

WalkAbout

Its quite the opposite, many players actually prefer this style and are able to get everything they need
quickly and accurately. The bands are labeled in order from low to high frequency at their center (12:00)
point as 60Hz, 340Hz and 2Khz. These numbers represent the bands center point and the

FREQUENCY

control sweeps the range from the two numbers at opposing ends of the control range. For example, the
60Hz band can be set to focus on frequencies between 30Hz and 300Hz with 60Hz being the control
Center at 12:00 (straight up). The 340Hz band is especially powerful as it can sweep between the high-

bass/low-mid region of 200Hz and the high-mid/low-high region of as high as 2Khz. You will come to ﬁ nd this band possibly the most
useful as it affects the most used and audibly sensitive regions.

Certain frequencies are heard by the ear differently, and it is a fair assumption that the majority of us are much more sensitive to
midrange and lower treble frequencies, while we are more “tolerant” of sub-low and super-high frequencies. Because we all hear dif-
ferently and this frequency sensitivity exists in all of us to some degree, it is normal for some

FREQUENCY control settings within the

bands to seem more powerful and others to seem weaker for the same relevant GAIN setting. This is normal and no, your WalkAbout

is not misbehaving. Usually the lowest (60Hz) and highest (2Khz) are the most susceptible to this with the most extreme low and
extreme high showcasing this phenomenon. These settings may require a slightly higher GAIN setting than you are used to seeing
to achieve the desired shaping result.

NOTE:

NOTE: The highest band (2Khz) of the SEMI-PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER can be extremely powerful. For this reason use care with
the GAIN controls in these ranges as high settings will produce unwanted background noise in the form of hiss or white noise. This
is made worse if the TREBLE control is set in its higher range. If you need a sound with a large amount of these Treble frequencies
in your mix, approach it from a different angle. Begin by notching lower frequencies in the other bands, as opposed to boosting the
higher bands with the lower bands set more ﬂ at. This scheme will greatly improve the noise ﬂ oor and still allow you to achieve the
desired boost in higher frequencies.

NOTE:

NOTE: May we again humbly suggest using the PARAMETRIC EQ to ﬁ ne-tune your sound with subtle adjustments. Much like a car

PARAMETRIC EQ

with an engine capable of ridiculous speeds, the WalkAbout incorporates this shaping device capable of ruining a great tone in the

WalkAbout

hands of the unwary driver. Use this powerful tool with taste and music in mind and avoid settings that are so extreme that they blow
holes in what could otherwise be a great sound.

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS:

(Continued)

0 db 0 0

60 Hz 340Hz 2K

PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER

30 300 200 2K 1.2K 12K

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- +

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