Eden WT-800...new vs. old

[cazksbass]

New Talkbasser here, I been thinkin' about getting a new small or smallish God-head. I've had Eden cabs before and I'm pretty sold, so I've been giving serious thought to the WT-800. I can't find the thread now, but somewhere here I read something about the older ones being known to be better than the new ones (why is that always true about everything?).

Can anyone 'splain to me what exactly is the difference between an older WT-800 and a newer one?

[Bassist30]

I had one of the earlier wt 800's and it was damaged not on its own but by my mistake. Never had a problem with it. I am playing a Thunderfunk now. Originally it was a wt 500 but eden updated it to a 800. Loved the amp. A very good friend of mine bought a newer 800 and had nothing but problems with it. Many will say its great but there are enough people who had problems with them that kept me away of buying a new one. As of recent i have not heard of any problems but I am not aware of anyone buying newer one's also. My eden i bought in 1995 or 96. I left the hatch open on my truck around 2007........ smash. I should post a few pictures after a dozen cars or so ran over it. I have it posted here somewhere.
I am also not a great fan of the company as it was bought over a few years back and they recently fired one of the original designers. Now that is common these days and should not be an issue as far as the making of the amp. But its just a personal issue and again should not relate to the products sound or the making of. The founder Northchow (I may have spelled his name wrong) has currently started a new company. I don't believe the amp is available yet but what I understand it should be soon. You may want to wait and see what he is up to or what the company is doing via Internet. Originally the cabinets SWR were really EDEN. They use to make the goliaths for them. Than SWR left and I guess there were some kind of animosity. So they started making the David series.... Remember David slew Goliath (the swr model).
As a alternative to the EDEN you may again to see what Northchow (spelling again could be wrong ) is doing. You may want to consider the Thunderfunk also. The owners live close to each other and if you look at the history they were in many ways related. Not in blood but in amp design as the original thunderfunks were really gibson and before that designed by....than thunderfunk bought it... and orginally designed by the guys of swr/eden... and... well it another history that will take more time.. but the thunderfunk 750A is a great amp and very similar to the eden except it has better parts. The Sound is similar and different at the same time but you can hear a relationship.

[cazksbass]

Bassist30, thanks for that man. Yeah I'm aware of David Nordschow's new company, you can see it here: http://www.dnaamps.com/. Looks like it might be worth the wait.

[Munjibunga]

I had a WT-800A and sold it to buy a WT-800B, which I still have. I think the major problems arose with the early WT-800C's, which I believe have now been rectified.

Both of mine have the same great sound. With the B, I had a power transistor blow on the right side of the amp. It was a relatively cheap fix at a local shop. I also own a 1996 WT-300 and a new WTX-500. Of the four Eden amps I own or have owned, the power tranny was the only issue I've ever had. Every company has amps that fail, and I just happened to get one of Eden's.

[ExaltBass]

I recently bought a 2006 WT800C used. It needed a preamp tube replacement (shipping issue?) but has been great since. BTW, My experience with the CS people at Eden was great.

[svtb15]

charlie.. do you mean this

[dose]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Every company has amps that fail, and I just happened to get one of Eden's.

To bad alot of people that bash eden don't see it that way.

[jjk2007]

The 800A I had was pretty much bulletproof. I know some of the newer builds have had some issues in the past, as well as Eden CS but I'm not sure about now. You might want to check the Eden forum on their own web site. I know there are a few upgrades to the newer models, like being able to run bridged at 4 ohm, but I'm not sure what else. Not an issue for me, but the older models are US built as opposed to the newer being built in China. I like the features of the newer ones better, but you could get an older one cheaper. Just depends on your needs.

[4Mal]

My 800A is a keeper. They come up in the GFS for relative peanuts given the amp that they are.

The WT-800-A driving a fEarful 12/6, biamped - is simply a killer rig. Adding the fEarful12 / Sub on the low side is just ridiculous... fun though

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by svtb15

charlie.. do you mean this

Yes I did. It brings back memories. That was once a great amp.

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by cazksbass

Can anyone 'splain to me what exactly is the difference between an older WT-800 and a newer one?

Besides country of assembly and production issues, the electronic differences are:

1) 800B & C can bridge 4 ohms, 800A can bridge 8. The B & C have the 6 output transistor power amp and beefed up power supply; the A has the older 4 output transistor design.

2) Unmodified 800As are a little noisier than the later or modded models. The noise is independent of the master gain setting.

3) The B & C have a fan change that lets it move more air.

A friend and fellow bassist was over today to do a gear mix 'n match. We had my Edens (800A and 405), a loaner oldie SWR 400, and his G-K 1001RB, and an Aggie 1x12, an Avatar 2x10, and 2 Warwick 2x10s. Did some tones, white noise, iPod, and bass playing through the gear in various combinations. We ended up ranking the amps by warmth thus:

1) WT800A (could almost be described as "vintage" tone)
2) G-K 1001RB
3) WT405
4) SWR400

The SWR400 was by far the flattest, cleanest sounding with all the knobs set flat though. They are all great amps, not an average one in the bunch. Best part is, you can find great deals on all of them.

[cazksbass]

Originally Posted by okcrum

Besides country of assembly and production issues, the electronic differences are:

1) 800B & C can bridge 4 ohms, 800A can bridge 8. The B & C have the 6 output transistor power amp and beefed up power supply; the A has the older 4 output transistor design.

2) Unmodified 800As are a little noisier than the later or modded models. The noise is independent of the master gain setting.

3) The B & C have a fan change that lets it move more air.

A friend and fellow bassist was over today to do a gear mix 'n match. We had my Edens (800A and 405), a loaner oldie SWR 400, and his G-K 1001RB, and an Aggie 1x12, an Avatar 2x10, and 2 Warwick 2x10s. Did some tones, white noise, iPod, and bass playing through the gear in various combinations. We ended up ranking the amps by warmth thus:

1) WT800A (could almost be described as "vintage" tone)
2) G-K 1001RB
3) WT405
4) SWR400

The SWR400 was by far the flattest, cleanest sounding with all the knobs set flat though. They are all great amps, not an average one in the bunch. Best part is, you can find great deals on all of them.

Hey Chuck, thanks a bunch for that. From what you say, I can see the improvements in the B & C, compared to the A. Doesn't sound like much difference between B & C, though. At any rate, it sounds like I'll be scrounging for some bucks to throw down on a WT800B or C at some point.

BTW, I see you live in Verde Valley...I used to live in Prescott Valley! I still go there every other month.........

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by cazksbass

Hey Chuck, thanks a bunch for that. From what you say, I can see the improvements in the B & C, compared to the A. Doesn't sound like much difference between B & C, though. At any rate, it sounds like I'll be scrounging for some bucks to throw down on a WT800B or C at some point.

BTW, I see you live in Verde Valley...I used to live in Prescott Valley! I still go there every other month.........

The B models are partly upgraded A models, when Eden was still doing that. There were new build B models made here before the factory switch. The C models are new production offshore.

Cool in getting into PV every so often.