Need info on Eden Amps

pan1k · #1 10-06-2011, 10:00 PM

I've been told by a friend that Eden makes some good stuff. Can anyone give me any insight into them? Whats a good model to check out? Any audio examples too? Thanks in advance.

bongomania · #2 10-06-2011, 10:28 PM

Eden has been around for many years, and they have made a lot of different amps and cabs, with different qualities. They also fired the founder of the brand a few years ago, and went downhill in quality according to many fans of their older gear.

So on the one hand there is a history of Eden being a great brand, but that really doesn't mean anything when you are shopping for an amp or cab today.

As a quick rule of thumb, their older MIA gear is "the stuff to buy".

Look into GK and Genz Benz as well.

Munjibunga · #3 10-06-2011, 11:13 PM

I've played Eden gear (and many others) for 15 years. Their stuff from the '90s was highly regarded. I've own WT-800A and B and I still own a '96 WT-300, which is the definition of the classic Eden tone. I also have a WTX-500, which I like more every time I play it.

Cabs, I've owned D-410XLT, D-210XLT, D-115XLT, D-212XLT and I still own a D-210XST. Most are great cabs. I didn't care much for the D-115XLT, but I don't care for 15s at all. The 212 wasn't one of my faves, but the 210s and 410 are excellent.

When David (Eden) Nordschow owned and ran the company, they had a great reputation for quality and service. After U.S. Music (Washburn) bought them, they had some serious transition problems, and quality took a bit of a punch for a while, especially in the WT-800C and WT-1200. From what I can tell, the quality issues have subsided somewhat, and I'm seeing fewer complaints, but I don't know how their CS is now. I'm betting not great.

All of my remaining Eden gear is pre-USM except the WTX-500, which has performed flawlessly. I think the Eden tone has remained intact in the WT series, and that's really what the attraction is. If I weren't downsizing to lighter gear, I'd still own most of the Eden stuff I listed, but I'm getting too old to lug around 98-pound cabinets and 26-pound heads (35 pounds in rack).

I think Eden is still a good choice of gear, especially if you're looking for the "Eden tone" and their renowned tone stack, which remains my favorite. I own or have owned other premium brands, including Aguilar, Glockenklang and Walter Woods. Now I have a TC Electronic RH750 and Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0, both of which are working out very well for me. I prefer the tone of the GB slightly over the TCE.

If I were going to buy a new Eden rig, I'd go with a WT-550 and a D-410XST. If I needed more power, I'd step up to the WT-800B (used), which has the same specs as the WT-800C but doesn't have the illuminated logo, and dodges the potential that you'd be buying one of the hinky ones that came out early.

willsellout · #4 10-06-2011, 11:23 PM

I love my Eden gear. I have a WT550 which is awesome. It is pre USM. I also have a D210XLT that is pre USM, which is also awesome. Mainly I play my WT550 through my EX1128 which is post USM, and I think their new cabs stack up to the old Eden stuff sound wise, but it does feel like they are cutting corners now. The single banana jack vs. multiple or Speakon wiring on the EX1128 etc.

I probably wouldn't buy new Eden amps just based on their track record of late. The cabs I wouldn't worry about. There are a ton of older Eden amps for a steal right now. Eden used to command great used prices, so realize that when you buy an Eden, you are buying into a brand that can have resale issues. Doesn't matter to me because I LOVE the tone.

bobcruz · #5 10-07-2011, 12:14 AM

Take a look at the Eden forum: Eden Electronics Forum. Friendly folks hang out there and will give you a lot of opinions and background on the company and the products.

Munjibunga · #6 10-07-2011, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobcruz

Take a look at the Eden forum: Eden Electronics Forum. Friendly folks hang out there and will give you a lot of opinions and background on the company and the products.

Be wary of fanbois, though.

degroove · #7 10-07-2011, 08:47 AM

I just bought the WT 550 and will test it out tonight at my rehearsal. I will provide a review later.

DeltaPhoenix · #8 10-07-2011, 08:52 AM

I have had a WT400 and it sounded great. I recently traded it and a few bucks for an Eden E300T. A tube head with alot in common with several other amps (made in the same factory) but with a David Nordschow designed EQ, his last project for the company, as I understand. That being said, I really am loving that head.

JTE · #9 10-07-2011, 09:58 AM

I like Eden stuff. I've had my WT-400 since late '97. I had at one time two WT-400s, a WT-600 (same pre with a stereo 300 WRMS @ 4Ω per side power section), a D410XLT, and a D212XLT. All very very good sounding to me. I got the first WT-400 after searching for years (about 20- I started gigging in 1976) for an amp that sounded great to me. I had gigged and owned a lot of different amps. A Fender Bassman (the black-faced dual 6L6 non-master volume one), a Music Man HD-130, a Yamaha B-100 III, Peavey TB-Raxx pre-amp, Peavey Pro-Bass 1000 pre, Peavey Mk IV, Hartke 3500, etc. Lots of different cabs too- Music Man 212RH, Yamaha S115, Fender Bassman 2x12 (the old small one), custom made TL-606 w/EV driver, custom made folded horn 1x15 with Cerwin-Vega driver, original Guild/Hartke 4x10, Hartke 4.5XL and 2x10XL, and some other odd strays over the years.

I played one note on my fretless with the WT-400 through a D210XLT and was hooked. At the first gig I used the amp (driving my Hartke 4.5XL) a friend with great ears (a guitarist who also worked part-time at the best store in town at the time) came in to the gig. He hadn't gotten to see the stage when we took a break and I ran in to him by the bar. He commented immediately that my bass sounded great, a lot more alive and present than it ever had. That's when I told him the only change was the new amp. They became an Eden dealer based on that incident.

The problems however with the company's development over the years has besmirched the company's reputation. Customer service took a dive before Nordschow sold it to USM. It's not popular to talk about it, but he ran into a common problem of the company growing too fast. He had to switch hats from running a small company to managing a big one and some things suffered. Then when USM took over, they brought in capital to keep the company going and improve marketing. But they also eventually turned CS over to the same people who handled Washburn, et. al. and there were some definite problems on technical matters. As time progressed Nordschow was less involved and eventually left the company (whether fired, bought completely out, or quit is speculation fueled by USM removing his name from just about everything and merely referencing "the founder").

So I love my WT-400 (I got rid of everything else when I quit gigging 60+ times a year and moved from a good-sized house to a two-bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor). But if I was looking to buy a new amp now, I don't think I'd be looking to Eden now. I've not seen anything new or interesting from them, they don't seem to have an active dealer network, and there are frankly a lot of changes in amp technology since David Nordschow brought people together to design the WT-series.

John

Spin Doctor · #10 10-07-2011, 10:12 AM

I had an Eden Navigator preamp that was maybe 10 years old (not abused) that went up during a gig. Bummer... It was a surprising event but not catastrophic as I had a backup head. So, I sent it to and "authorized service center" who had it for 2 months and they never could figure what was wrong with it. Ended up junking the unit. I like the Eden sound, so I bought another Navigtor, brand new which I received only maybe a week ago, and the foot switch apparently has some problems. Eden is sending me another one for free, but bottom line is I'm done with Eden.

I've been in the QA business for 20 years, first in the nuclear industry and now aerospace and I can plainly tell there is less quality going into the newer units compared to the old. I can see it in the knobs they use, the paint, the type of lights on the front panel... it's not total crap, but if you know how to look at stuff, you can just tell. And I wouldn't necessicarily buy used, since there in no track record that says to me the older units will last a significantly longer time...

Of course, Eden's stuff can't all be junk and I'm sure there are some units that will last 20 or more years, plus the fact that it sounds awesome, if you like a fairly clean sound. Having said that, I'm not interested in risking it with them again.

pan1k · #11 10-07-2011, 10:29 AM

Thanks guys for all the insight. I may have to look into their Pre-Washburn stuff.

bannerman · #12 10-07-2011, 11:04 AM

I have a pre-US Music WT-400. I play through a 210XLT. It sounds great and feels even better.

My amp died a couple of years ago. Wouldn't power on. I brought it to the local Eden authorized repair shop (InnerSound in Portland, OR). They called back after a few days to tell me that it was just the power switch, but that it would be a week or two before they got the switch from USM. Two weeks later I called them back, they told me that USM was not responding. I called again every two days for two weeks with the same response. I eventually called US Music myself. They picked up on the first ring, knew exactly which part I needed and how much it would cost. The custom service rep called InnerSound for me and arranged to ship the switch to them. So- I'd rate their customer service at 11 on the 1-10 scale. Just steer away from InnerSound if you are in Portland. They of course charged me an hour labor and the cost of the part for this "service"...

Mugre · #13 10-07-2011, 11:17 AM

I saw a blurb in a music trades magazine that David Nordschow is going to be making amps again. I guess his non-compete clause has expired. I don't remember any details and the magazine is either in the trash or one of 50 laying around the shop.

Mugre

BurningSkies · #14 10-07-2011, 11:54 AM

Never hear of them.

bongomania · #15 10-07-2011, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mugre

I saw a blurb in a music trades magazine that David Nordschow is going to be making amps again...

Yeah his new brand is called "DNA", and we've had a few threads about them here.

Wyattsgroove · #16 10-07-2011, 12:13 PM

Make sure to check out the Eden forum and the stickies on how to set the EQ and volume if you are not familiar with them.
This will have a huge impact as to how it will sound!

I have a wt550 and a 210xlt this rig serves me well. If I need more volume I can just add more speakers. I also like that it's able to go down to 2ohms.

As far as CS goes my wt550 was in the shop 3X after I bought it 3 years ago and every time I talked to them they took care of the problem immediately.
My head was in the last batch of USA made. They are all made overseas now so as to quality I don't know. I do know that my first Eden a wt500 worked flawlessly for many years ( '96-2007) also the 410xlt and d212xlt were great cabs also used a wt330 for a year or so and it was solid.

Good luck!

bannerman · #17 10-07-2011, 12:18 PM

The build quality on the 210XLT cab is really amazing. They are really durable.

Munjibunga · #18 10-07-2011, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Yeah his new brand is called "DNA", and we've had a few threads about them here.

DNA cabinets are on the market. I've played a few of them at Bass San Diego, and the DNS-410 sounds as good as any 410 I've ever played (Eden, Aguilar, Bergantino, Glockenklang) and better than most. I talked to David at NAMM last January, and he said the amps are coming. I haven't heard anything since.

Wyattsgroove · #19 10-07-2011, 09:40 PM

Munjibunga: how would you compare the sound from the DNA to Eden? As in are they worlds apart or say on par? Just curious. I'm very interested to see what "the founder" has to offer up.

As a side note, I sent my wt550 in for service today and the shop I deal with loaned me a wtx-260 and holy cow! What an amazing little head! I am going to use it tomorrow night on a country gig ( not my usual thing but I couldn't turn it down 'cuz it pays extremely well). Looking forward to seeing how this little guy performs.

Man-o-man I think I might have me sum gas!

Peace.

Rockin Mike · #20 10-07-2011, 10:16 PM

I've owned vintage SVT, Gallien Krueger, Peavey, Walter Woods, SWR and Genz Benz Streamliner. My Eden WT550 sounds great. It's right up there with the Ampeg and the Woods, too close to call. The Woods had the advantage of having amazing tone and being extremely lightweight, plus being red. I pair the WT550 with an Eden D410XLT cab and sometimes sit an SWR Redhead 2x10 combo on top.

It was a new 2011 head, and it fried after two months. Eden customer support was great and had a replacement amp in my hands within a week. Haven't played the new one much since I've had hand troubles.

That's my 2 cents worth.