Headway EDB1 preamp

[geoffbassist]

Originally Posted by Roger Davis

But you can get a bass from Upton directly.

I agree,

I wouldn't assume he would have the time and facilitys to let us try it out. But opening his door and selling one surely is worth the money he saves not using a dealer or postage. Just seems odd, not sinister or anything but unusual for a small business. They would also benifit from the direct customer feedback. Of course if it was central London then it would be time consuming, but rural Oxfordshire?

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by geoffbassist

I agree,

I wouldn't assume he would have the time and facilitys to let us try it out. But opening his door and selling one surely is worth the money he saves not using a dealer or postage. Just seems odd, not sinister or anything but unusual for a small business. They would also benifit from the direct customer feedback. Of course if it was central London then it would be time consuming, but rural Oxfordshire?

The EDB-1 isn't manufactured in the U.K. it's built in Korea. They sell them directly via the Website in the U.K. along with all their other products. In the U.S. Nova Strings is the distributor for the unit. It stands to reason that they would have units on hand. Whether or not they want do deal directly with individual purchases at their facility is something else altogether. Internet based companies can be very small operations run buy a small staff, who may spend most of their day filling orders. They could also be shipping units directly from Korea to other countries for sale through their distributors.

Ric

[geoffbassist]

Thanks Ric, that makes sense.
Cheers Geoff

[headway_gordon]

Originally Posted by jrlynch
there does seem to be some issue with overload with this otherwise fabulous box. planets in particular make a nasty sound if they're hit hard ... dunno, subsonics hitting the input but it sounds for all the world like somethings about to blowup. it's not pretty. and i'm not feeding that much pickup into the mix, so it's happening at the input.

JR, This is Gordon from the US distributor of the EDB-1. This definitely should not be happening, it sounds like there is something going on with the unit you have. Give me a call at 1-800-930-1955 and I'll send a replacement out and we'll see if the problem goes away. It sounds like you got a bad capacitor that is becoming microphonic when you push the gain to the max. It's a simple fix but I can only guess how frustrating it is to you. Get in touch and we'll get you sorted out. Thanks for all the nice things you have been saying, looking forward to chatting,
Gordon

[flatback]

I just dug my Avalon U5 out of storage where it had been since I got the Headway and did a head to head just to see if my enthusiasm for the EDB1 had tarnished after the first 6 months. But the Headway continues to impress me. I use it constantly and only had to replace the batteries once (inadvertently flipped the power on when putting it away and drained them) but the sound is just there in that small elegant package. I really want to find a small power amp to match...the focus just seems like too many unused knobs and space if i am bypassing the preamp.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by flatback

I just dug my Avalon U5 out of storage where it had been since I got the Headway and did a head to head just to see if my enthusiasm for the EDB1 had tarnished after the first 6 months. But the Headway continues to impress me. I use it constantly and only had to replace the batteries once (inadvertently flipped the power on when putting it away and drained them) but the sound is just there in that small elegant package. I really want to find a small power amp to match...the focus just seems like too many unused knobs and space if i am bypassing the preamp.

Piro,
I was definitely thinking the same thing and came up with three power amp possibilities.

1. A used Focus SA, but their really hard to find, probably because they didn't built that many in the first place.

2. A Flying Mole, but they aren't all that "powerful" and I haven't been able to find a dealer in the U.S.

3.The Vestax VD-1000MKII lots of power, but not exactly portable. Weighs in it 6.6 lbs.

In other words I'm still looking.

Ric

[nottalkative]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

2. A Flying Mole, but they aren't all that "powerful" and I haven't been able to find a dealer in the U.S.

There is a rumor that they are out of business because their engineer's got headhunt.

[all_grown_up]

Originally Posted by flatback

I just dug my Avalon U5 out of storage where it had been since I got the Headway and did a head to head just to see if my enthusiasm for the EDB1 had tarnished after the first 6 months. But the Headway continues to impress me. I use it constantly and only had to replace the batteries once (inadvertently flipped the power on when putting it away and drained them) but the sound is just there in that small elegant package. I really want to find a small power amp to match...the focus just seems like too many unused knobs and space if i am bypassing the preamp.

Just get a walter woods and run the Headway into the return. They are pretty light.

[jrlynch]

Just as a point of information, spoke with Gordon. Sounds like there may be a defect in my particular box, which they're addressing pronto.

Seems like a good guy, intent on excellent service.

Jeff.

Originally Posted by headway_gordon

Originally Posted by jrlynch
there does seem to be some issue with overload with this otherwise fabulous box. planets in particular make a nasty sound if they're hit hard ... dunno, subsonics hitting the input but it sounds for all the world like somethings about to blowup. it's not pretty. and i'm not feeding that much pickup into the mix, so it's happening at the input.

JR, This is Gordon from the US distributor of the EDB-1. This definitely should not be happening, it sounds like there is something going on with the unit you have. Give me a call at 1-800-930-1955 and I'll send a replacement out and we'll see if the problem goes away. It sounds like you got a bad capacitor that is becoming microphonic when you push the gain to the max. It's a simple fix but I can only guess how frustrating it is to you. Get in touch and we'll get you sorted out. Thanks for all the nice things you have been saying, looking forward to chatting,
Gordon

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by all_grown_up

Just get a walter woods and run the Headway into the return. They are pretty light.

Headway+Woods into the effects return sounds very good, but so does the Woods by itself. Unfortunately, Walter's not going to put a mic input, phase switch, and notch filter on one of his amps. If you're just using it for a pickup then I'm not sure the Headway is even necessary. The Woods handles that very well. What I'd like however, is a power amp and the Headway in combination for a very small rig.

Ric

[old-fashioned]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

What I'd like however, is a power amp and the Headway in combination for a very small rig.
Ric

How about this one?
Headway EDB-1 + Mackie SRM150 + mic stand = acoustic gig heaven?

[flatback]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Piro,
I was definitely thinking the same thing and came up with three power amp possibilities.

1. A used Focus SA, but their really hard to find, probably because they didn't built that many in the first place.

2. A Flying Mole, but they aren't all that "powerful" and I haven't been able to find a dealer in the U.S.

3.The Vestax VD-1000MKII lots of power, but not exactly portable. Weighs in it 6.6 lbs.

In other words I'm still looking.

Ric

yea the SA looks real good to me too, but then I gotta sell the Focus and find one. I checked those others...
man just in terms of being able to dial in a usable sound I love this little box...last night in a noisy restaurant added just a bit of the mids I usually scoop boom, just what I wanted to hear...
took it the other night and ran it blended with no amp thru a mackie PA (2 450's) it sounded great.wish I played at more places where I could just bring it and plug in to the PA.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by old-fashioned

How about this one?
Headway EDB-1 + Mackie SRM150 + mic stand = acoustic gig heaven?

Old Fashioned,
I'm a little hesitant to use such a compact rig that wasn't actually designed for Double Bass . I do like the looks of the new Phil Jones Bass Cub. Understand, I'm not saying that the Mackie SRM 150 wouldn't work, but I'm more likely to use a small bass cabinet with a micro amp like the Woods, EA Doubler, AI Focus, or Mark Acoustic. That insures the frequency response is tailored for DB.

Ric

[pmad_bass]

Would there be any problems/sound detremint if one were to send the Balanced XLR out into a Bass amp's 1/4 in input (via an adapter)?

[pmad_bass]

...or is the Line out I see on the Pic on their website a 1/4 output?

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by pmad_bass

...or is the Line out I see on the Pic on their website a 1/4 output?

The line out is a 1/4 that can be used for that. With the Realist it sounds
better into the effects loop of my Walter Woods MI-400-8 than it does into the input jacks.

Ric

[jrlynch]

to be fair, the idea behind the thread on the mackie it to use it as a personal monitor, in low level situations. there's something to be said for that. i don't think anyone is suggesting that it sub for a "real" bass rig, for louder gigs.

so, i'd think of it as something to be used in addition to your small rig, not instead of ...

jeff.

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Old Fashioned,
I'm a little hesitant to use such a compact rig that wasn't actually designed for Double Bass . I do like the looks of the new Phil Jones Bass Cub. Understand, I'm not saying that the Mackie SRM 150 wouldn't work, but I'm more likely to use a small bass cabinet with a micro amp like the Woods, EA Doubler, AI Focus, or Mark Acoustic. That insures the frequency response is tailored for DB.

Ric

[old-fashioned]

Originally Posted by jrlynch

to be fair, the idea behind the thread on the mackie it to use it as a personal monitor, in low level situations. there's something to be said for that. i don't think anyone is suggesting that it sub for a "real" bass rig, for louder gigs.

so, i'd think of it as something to be used in addition to your small rig, not instead of ...

jeff.

For sure, you have to get the bass frequencies from somewhere else (supporting PA or your additional cab)... since the Frequency Response of that Mackie is: 100Hz to 17.5kHz

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by jrlynch

to be fair, the idea behind the thread on the mackie it to use it as a personal monitor, in low level situations. there's something to be said for that. i don't think anyone is suggesting that it sub for a "real" bass rig, for louder gigs.

so, i'd think of it as something to be used in addition to your small rig, not instead of ...

jeff.

Although my bass sounds good acoustically, it tends to get lost in clubs without a little amp support. I'm assuming that RMac's bass has a big acoustic sound that will work in smaller gig situations. So he can use the Mackie Headway combo.

Ric

[bassmith]

Can one send the output signal from the Headway to two combo amps at the same time using their effects return, one via the jack line out, and the other via the XLR line out? Could this be a solution at a venue where I need to hear what I'm playing while on stage (I use a small combo as a monitor at ear level) but need the larger but muddy (muddy on stage, at least) house amp for volume into the club. Is there a more elegant solution to the problem?
Thanks.