Eden WT405: Good head for rock?

[ZedZed]

I know little about amps having only ever had a couple combo amps over the years. I have a chance to score an Eden WT405 bass head for under $500 and saw the positive reviews here and then went to the website. It seems Eden's gear does not get used much in the hard rock genre... I'd love some input from WT405 owners regarding how well it would fit into a hard rock setup (I love playing Rush). I'll try it out myself but before I make the time investment of doing so I wanted to get your thoughts.

I suppose this speaks to the big question of what is the most important determinant of sound on the signal chain of: fingers--> strings--> bass--> amp head--> cab --> ears... but I'm not opening that can of worms (or rehashing an old thread)

Thanks!

[Gearhead17]

Biggest impact on sound would probably be the cabinet. You still have to have good pieces throughout the signal chain, but a cabinet that is too small or not loud enough will make everything else useless to you. That is how I see it....

Any amp can be used for any genre. End of story. It depends on what tone you are going for in the long run. Some heads sound awesome and very one-dimensional. Other heads are chameleon like and can create other tones with ease. You have to chose what you like in the end. Eden heads doing hard rock? Heck yeah! Get a 4 ohm cab or two and rock that head's 620 watts.

[ZedZed]

Thanks for the input Gearhead!

I read the manual and they prefer that one uses the 8 or 4 ohm setting, and that they include the 2ohm setting cos everyone else does but that operating at 4 or 8 is better "because of the markedly improved quality of tone and dynamic response. But if you really want to, you can operate your Time Traveler at 2 Ohms without worry." That makes me worry, lol. So I'm not certain I can rock the 620W.
If I get a 4 ohm cab that will give me 405W to play with...

I need to learn why 8 vs 4 vs 2ohm makes a difference in sound quality now. Google time.

[JimmyM]

It really doesn't make a difference in most circumstances. But if the manufacturer says it doesn't sound as good at 2 ohms, I imagine there's a reason for it. Anyway, wattage is unimportant. If you want to be loud, it's all about speaker displacement.

[Session1969]

It's great. To get an eden cab like a 4-10 xlt to go along with it would make you very happy.

[ciubz]

Imho, the lower the impedance the less low end and punch you get. Tried it with a couple of solid-state/hybrid heads and also with a all-tube Traynor yba2 in a studio like environment.

[ZedZed]

Thanks for the insight!

I've got another n00b question!

So a Sansamp RBI does signal modelling. The WT405 has it's own signal modelling too. Is this redundant? Or does it just open a new avenues for getting a sound?

[JimmyM]

If you're getting different sounds, it's not redundant.

[Vinny D]

The Eden WT405 will operate perfectly fine at 2ohms all day long....and NOBODY would ever be able to tell the difference in sound quality from 8 to 4 to 2ohms...
If they tell you they can they are full of it IMO.
When you go see a band play can you tell if the bass players amp is operating at a certain ohmage??

I have owned just about every cabinet Eden has made in the past 8 years, 8ohm and 4ohm versions and A/B'ing them side by side you can't tell any difference.

The 405 cruises along pushing (2) 4ohm cabs, so if thats what you are looking to do have no fear.

There also is a *warm* feature on the WT405 that will add a bit of an overdrive signal to your tone, fits in well doing rock stuff.
It takes a little tweaking to get it were you want it but it does work pretty well.

[MuthaFunk]

I used a WT-400 Plus for a Rock cover group for years. I did kick in a Fulltone Bass Drive during our guitarists solos to fill in the mix. Also, if the original recording of a given song had distortion on the bass I'd use the fulltone but the Eden sounded great with the 410XLT 4 Ohm cab.

[nashman]

The WT405 is an excellent amp/choice - excellent bang for the buck.

I have a WT550 - I run 2 x 4ohm cabs = 2 ohms without any issue - and have done so for years. The sound quality at 2ohm is top notch - no worries.

My fan comes on regularly driving the amp at 2ohms - but who cares? I have D212XLT(4) and D210XST(4) cabs - an excellent combo of mid punch (212) and low end (210).

[1954bassman]

I use Eden, and for my tastes, the WT405 (and WT330) are the best heads (all round) they offer. For my ear, the amp sounds better when it is really pushed, and gets a better tone at 4 or 2.6 ohms. Sorry Vinny, maybe I am just imagining it but it does seem to really come alive once it sees four ohms or less.

After the sound, what I really like about this amp is it has it all: compressor, enhance, 3 band EQ, warm, gain, and mute switches, bass and treble boost, mid-shift, tuner out, effects loop, pre/post DI, Neutrik speaker connectors, two input jacks, aux in, on and on, I am probably forgeting something.

Did I mention the sound is over the top righteous?

I have owned several Eden amps, and this one remains my favorite. It is indeed a giant-killer.

Mark

[MN_Bass]

Great head, just sold mine the cl here, I ran it with a berg nv610 sounded massive. I think it shines with active basses IMO. Very versatile and great tone.

[bobcruz]

Great amp--I'm perfectly happy with mine. The warm feature provides decent fuzz when it's turned all the way up--very tubey, or you can dial it down for just a bit of hair. It won't do over-the-top distortion so you'd need a pedal for that, if that's your style.

[Vinny D]

Originally Posted by 1954bassman

For my ear, the amp sounds better when it is really pushed, and gets a better tone at 4 or 2.6 ohms. Sorry Vinny, maybe I am just imagining it but it does seem to really come alive once it sees four ohms or less.

It comes alive because you have more cabinets connected to it giving you a bigger wall of sound

[jumbodbassman]

just starting using Eden wtb 400 I got because it was great TB deal and really i love it. I have started leaving home the Ampeg hybrids/ss for smaller gigs. great warm sound. nice tube distortion when you want it. You should go give them a listen.