Advise on EA Wizzy 10 Bass Cabinet

[mikejdexter]

Has any one own-tried the EA Wizzy 10 Bass Cabinet?
I play DB in small jazz Trio/ Quartets. Does it give a good 'bottom end' sound? A good 'all through the range' sound? Is the 10" large enough? 0r more 'bottom end' with a 12" speaker? Any other makes prefered? Your comments greatly appreciated.

[etoncrow]

Mike, There are numerous threads regarding the Wizzy 10 tone as it relates to DB. You might also try Gollihur music as a reference. W/o being redundant when you access these resources you will find that the Wizzy 10 when matched with the right amp is a wonderful partner to your acoustic bass sound (taking into consideration other variables such as pup and/or mic.). VG low mids in particular.

[Sam Sherry]

I own one and use it sometimes.

I have an EA VL-208 and a Wizzy 10. Frankly, I have never heard a better box than the VL-208. When I want to sound best, I bring the VL-208. The downside is weight: The VL-208 weighs 42 pounds and travels in a 30-pound Anvil box.

The Wizzy sounds good -- nicer than the other single-10 boxes I've owned and used. It is not a sonic compromise; it's simply not up to The Gold Standard set by the VL-208. The big plus with the Wizzy is that it's about as light as the GK-112 and sounds much less stuffy. When I want to load in easy, which is almost all the time, the WW MI-100 and Wizzy 10 is as easy as it gets.

I usually use an Underwood pickup with the VL-208 and an Upton Rev Solo II with the Wizzy. The bigger box carries more bottom and doesn't mind that Underwood 'crispness.' The Wizzy likes the extra bottom from the RS2.

Your mileage may vary. Not available in Storrs. Sea snails for details.

[LowNote]

Like Sam Sherry, I also have been using a Wizzy10 with a Focus SIII amp as my main rig with a RevSolo II as my pickup. It is incredibly light and easy to carry--both the amp and speaker fit perfectly in a cajon bag from Musicians Fiend--and sounds punchy and plenty full range for me. However, I have also just received one of the new AI Ten2EX cabinets and am going to be using it tonight for the first time in a performance of the Jazzbar Big Band in Edinburgh. We're going to have a super band tonight as a result of the presence of a bunch of first-call London guys up for the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, and I expect to really get a good feel for how it performs. I will continue to provide feedback on the speaker as I get a chance to use it more. Wednesday night I'm playing in a piano trio backing a female vocalist at a local pub, and that will give me a good handle on its small group performance as well.

Oh, BTW, I have combined the Wizzy10 and the Ten2Ex in my practice room and I like the combination a lot even though the Wizzy is much more efficient and louder. I found that the Ten2EX fattened up the sound of the Wizzy without taking away from its punch. This may become my big room rig.

Erik Hansen
Scotland

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

I own one and use it sometimes.

I have an EA VL-208 and a Wizzy 10. Frankly, I have never heard a better box than the VL-208. When I want to sound best, I bring the VL-208. The downside is weight: The VL-208 weighs 42 pounds and travels in a 30-pound Anvil box.

Since EA probably isn't going to be able to put the NM 208 into production. I was wondering if the neo speakers they designed for that box would work as lightweight replacements for the originals. My guess is that since the design of the two boxes is different it probably wouldn't. They once had 8" (8 ohm) drivers for the 208 so you could have a 4 ohm version of the cabinet. I considered it, but John Dong told me that the cabinet would sound darker if I switched them out. I passed when I heard that from the guy who designed and built the cabinet. If there's one thing that the VL 208 doesn't need it's a darker sound

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

I
I usually use an Underwood pickup with the VL-208 and an Upton Rev Solo II with the Wizzy. The bigger box carries more bottom and doesn't mind that Underwood 'crispness.' The Wizzy likes the extra bottom from the RS2.

Sam that makes perfect sense to me, but I hadn't ever considered swapping out pickups, to help the difference in low end clarity between the cabinets. Good thinking, and since the RS II and Underwood are both bridge wing pickups it's easy to change out the transducers to match the box.

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

I
Your mileage may vary. Not available in Storrs. Sea snails for details.

When they built the VL 208 they IMHO "broke the mold" with regards to Double Bass cabinets. It's a concert deluxe speaker with just the right sound for upright.

Ric

[tornadobass]

back on topic...sorta

I have a Wizzy 10 and a pair of Wizzy 12s, powering whichever cab or cabs with a Clarus amp. I usually play an Azola BugBass electric upright and it sounds great with any of these cabs.

The 10 is super light and very clear and punchy, with a surprising amount of bottom. It should do well for double bass, perhaps with a boost on the low end and a slight reduction on the top end. The Wizzy 12 cab is deeper sounding, really more of the low midrange. For a muddy room, I'd pick the 10.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by tornadobass

back on topic...sorta

I have a Wizzy 10 and a pair of Wizzy 12s, powered whichever cab or cabs with a Clarus amp. I usually play an Azola BugBass electric upright and it sounds great with any of these cabs.

The 10 is super light and very clear and punchy, with a surprising amount of bottom. It should do well for double bass, perhaps with a boost on the low end and a slight reduction on the top end. The Wizzy 12 cab is deeper sounding, really more of the low midrange. For a muddy room, I'd pick the 10.

My fault on the little excursion down VL 208 lane. Frankly, I've never had a EA cabinet that I didn't like. I have all the VL series with the exception of the 210 and I played several concerts through that one. Liked them all. with the 208 and 108 (the 108 has it's limitations with respect to volume though) being my favorites. The Wizzy 10 is one that I would like to try out, unfortunately their are no EA dealers in St. Louis and I won't just take the plunge without spending some time with the cabinet before I decide whether to buy it or not. I've been fooled to many times.

Ric