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Overton Flyweight 200...any users?
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
Hey Chef, a new owner just gave a good review in the "MB200 Hiss" thread.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/gk-mb200-hiss-848597/index6.html
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/gk-mb200-hiss-848597/index6.html
These comments were partly in relation to the GK MB200.
I only had a little time with the FY200 yesterday evening, at home, so my impressions are somewhat limited at this point. That said, a comparison from the point of unpacking is that my very first impression was that in terms of overall presentation/finish, the MB200 is slightly more refined. Opening the box I found the amp in foam side forms and a power cable; no manual, no sealed plastic bag, no film. I could have been looking at a used amp for all I knew. I guess that's understandable that a bigger company like GK can more readily do the things that make a slick presentation. I kept my RH in the picture for comparison, and you can see that, while it weighs about the same as the MB200, the FY200 is a bit bigger. Even at at the same weight, somehow the FY200 feels slightly more substantial or stout.
Not having a manual and being faced with a couple of unfamiliar controls, I just started messing with things (I did download the 2 page manual pdf later). I played through an RS212 for a little while, tried higher volume for a few seconds, played through headphones, and ran my MacBook through line-in and did some play-along.
On powering up, fan noise was noticeable, but not bad. This is something I've become more aware of lately. My RH450 made no fan noise whatsoever, and I didn't notice any from the MB200 in the short time I had with it. But more recently, I had a Ampeg PF500, and found the fan noise a bit much. I also moved from the RH450 to the RH750 and immediately noticed that it has a slight fan noise.
I mostly stayed with flat settings, randomly turned the sculpt control and checked out the compression. From what I could tell, the FY200 is every bit as loud as anything needed to keep up with a loud drummer. It's loud. I'll find out this weekend. Straight out of the box, with no sculpting and no compression, the FY200 has what I'd call a fairly neutral tone; clean and tight, no exaggerated elements. I'd compare this to the MB200 that, to me has a bit of an exaggerated character that's fat and bright. Both are very good IMO.
Playing with the sculpt control, I found a lot of useable tones. At the extremes, with compression on, I found you can find some not so useable tones. I think this control will probably take some familiarization to get its full value. I may have had some bad combinations going. The bypassable compression is automatically adjusting, but is also tied to the input gain. One thing that made me feel a little out on a limb was that the gain doesn't have an overload light. If you go too far with gain and have the compression on, you'll find out that the gain is too high by having bass turn to mush.
The FY200 has mute and pre-mute tuner out, which I think are pretty big pluses over the MB200. Two speaker outs could be a plus for some. Like the MB200, line-in works with speaker out. Even though I prefer it, it's nice to not be forced to do play-along practice with headphones. Although I'm not familiar with every amp out there, it seems more common for line-in to be headphone only.
I only had a little time with the FY200 yesterday evening, at home, so my impressions are somewhat limited at this point. That said, a comparison from the point of unpacking is that my very first impression was that in terms of overall presentation/finish, the MB200 is slightly more refined. Opening the box I found the amp in foam side forms and a power cable; no manual, no sealed plastic bag, no film. I could have been looking at a used amp for all I knew. I guess that's understandable that a bigger company like GK can more readily do the things that make a slick presentation. I kept my RH in the picture for comparison, and you can see that, while it weighs about the same as the MB200, the FY200 is a bit bigger. Even at at the same weight, somehow the FY200 feels slightly more substantial or stout.
Not having a manual and being faced with a couple of unfamiliar controls, I just started messing with things (I did download the 2 page manual pdf later). I played through an RS212 for a little while, tried higher volume for a few seconds, played through headphones, and ran my MacBook through line-in and did some play-along.
On powering up, fan noise was noticeable, but not bad. This is something I've become more aware of lately. My RH450 made no fan noise whatsoever, and I didn't notice any from the MB200 in the short time I had with it. But more recently, I had a Ampeg PF500, and found the fan noise a bit much. I also moved from the RH450 to the RH750 and immediately noticed that it has a slight fan noise.
I mostly stayed with flat settings, randomly turned the sculpt control and checked out the compression. From what I could tell, the FY200 is every bit as loud as anything needed to keep up with a loud drummer. It's loud. I'll find out this weekend. Straight out of the box, with no sculpting and no compression, the FY200 has what I'd call a fairly neutral tone; clean and tight, no exaggerated elements. I'd compare this to the MB200 that, to me has a bit of an exaggerated character that's fat and bright. Both are very good IMO.
Playing with the sculpt control, I found a lot of useable tones. At the extremes, with compression on, I found you can find some not so useable tones. I think this control will probably take some familiarization to get its full value. I may have had some bad combinations going. The bypassable compression is automatically adjusting, but is also tied to the input gain. One thing that made me feel a little out on a limb was that the gain doesn't have an overload light. If you go too far with gain and have the compression on, you'll find out that the gain is too high by having bass turn to mush.
The FY200 has mute and pre-mute tuner out, which I think are pretty big pluses over the MB200. Two speaker outs could be a plus for some. Like the MB200, line-in works with speaker out. Even though I prefer it, it's nice to not be forced to do play-along practice with headphones. Although I'm not familiar with every amp out there, it seems more common for line-in to be headphone only.
It really looks like a nice little unit!
I can't find any info on eq points, what sculpt does, etc on the Overton website...
I can't find any info on eq points, what sculpt does, etc on the Overton website...
Yeah, the site needs more information. It's a pretty small operation, though, so I can understand.
There are some interesting comments on this control here on premierguitar:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
They expected it to be a typical contour scoop control, but really, it's not. Sounds very interesting, and I intend to check one out someday. I didn't get a chance to play one at NAMM sadly.
Their website shows a 'flyweight500' as well, but, re-directs to the full, one space rack unit featherweight500.
Which also looks like a neat unit, and is also reasonably priced.
No more info on their preamp design with that amp (which lays out about the same)
I've heard the guy behind Overton is "a former eden employee, who wanted to correct what he saw as the flaws with that product." I have no idea if this is accurate.
Which also looks like a neat unit, and is also reasonably priced.
No more info on their preamp design with that amp (which lays out about the same)
I've heard the guy behind Overton is "a former eden employee, who wanted to correct what he saw as the flaws with that product." I have no idea if this is accurate.
It seems like a keeper at first blush.
From the manual:
"The next step in creating a great tone is to give our signature sculpt control a twist. We recommend doing this initially with the other EQ controls set flat (12:00). The sculpt is a compound tone filter that shapes all of the midrange frequencies simultaneously, literally sculpting a perfect EQ curve with one simple control.
The sculpt control emphasizes the low mids when set counter clockwise and sweeps into the high mids as it is increased. Tweaking this control will allow you to find the sweet spot for optimum definition."
It doesn't say what the EQ points are but says the controls are -15db to +15db.
The FY500 is (will be) $375. Certainly reasonably priced IMO. I was prepared to buy one, but they're not shipping yet...a couple months out.
DrPepper:
I saw Columbia Mxxxxxx as your location and got all excited, and then noted "Maryland" and not "Missouri."
rats
I saw Columbia Mxxxxxx as your location and got all excited, and then noted "Maryland" and not "Missouri."
rats
DrPepper:
I saw Columbia Mxxxxxx as your location and got all excited, and then noted "Maryland" and not "Missouri."
rats
If I had "MD" instead of spelling it out, I'll bet that really would have gotten you.
DrPepper:
I saw Columbia Mxxxxxx as your location and got all excited, and then noted "Maryland" and not "Missouri."
rats
I do that all the time.
jonesn4bass
Commercial User
The FY500 will be out in May (according to their sales dept.)
I was setup in the booth across from them at NAMM in Jan. 2011 and have been in touch with them frequently since then. I am on the waiting list for the FY500 when it comes out. I will do a review of it when it arrives!
I'm glad these guys are starting to get a buzz. The guys are super nice and very willing to answer any questions that you have.
I was setup in the booth across from them at NAMM in Jan. 2011 and have been in touch with them frequently since then. I am on the waiting list for the FY500 when it comes out. I will do a review of it when it arrives!
I'm glad these guys are starting to get a buzz. The guys are super nice and very willing to answer any questions that you have.
Been eyeing these for a bit but have never heard one. I actually kinda like the 500 watt 1 rackspace amp over the little flyweight box. Seems to be the same/similair pre, just a little more power, different chassis.....maybe an extra feature or two....have to go back and check them out again.
- Apr 3, 2003
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- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
They had the Flyweight 500 at Winter NAMM, and we gave them a Bass Gear Magazine Best of Show Award at Summer NAMM. Don't worry, we already have them in the lineup for a review.
BTW, "Sculpt" is their version of an "Enhance" circuit. I really like what it does. In fact, I was pretty darned impressed with their heads, overall. They are very well thought-out.
Yes, but that may be too loaded of a word to use, since it seems to work differently than most amp vendors' similarly named controls.
Overton Flyweight, isn't that an oxymoron?
Ha! Actually, it's "Overtōn" (as in over-tone).
