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It stands for "Unexpected Free New Amp Day."
this was quite the day for me! the most unbelievable thing happened...a rather well-to-do friend of mine and my band who likes to play bass and is into ampegs like me sent me a freakin' micro vr and 210av for christmas! man, sometimes the kindness of people really blows me away...especially since all i got him was a nice bottle of wine and a card...better go get him another bottle or 5!
it came as i was loading up for my gig, so i figured what the hell...it's cold out, this thing is nice and light, and it'll frighten and confuse the other guys in the band, so i threw it in the van and played an outdoor gig in front of about 3000 people with a micro amp i had just unboxed a couple hours before. yeah, that's livin', baby!
up until today, i had only played them at stores and had no idea what it would do onstage, so i chickened out on using a mic and just used a separate di. and that way i could play with the gain knob and not make levels go wild, too. turns out i really should have mic'ed it. it may be a lower wattage small class ab micro rig, but it's an amazing sounding lower wattage small class ab micro rig.
i won't lie to you...if you're blindfolded and you hear the micro vr/210av ab'd with an svt-vr/810e, you're going to be able to tell the difference
but for a micro rig with a 210, they managed to squeeze a hell of a lot of what people like about svt's and b-15's into it. everyone in the band who looked at me funny when i brought it up there were giving it respect by the end of the night. there was no shortage of air movement, that's for sure.
i went through the controls trying a bunch of different stuff...clean and even response tones, jamersonish slight breakup, fat clean low end with no treble, 70's rock, leaning on the gain...did it all very well and filled the stage nicely. it won't blow your head off with volume or get as dirty as a b-15 on 10, but it does a great job of copping the tones you expect from ampeg tubers, the cab moves as much air as a good 115 and has a hefty yet tight bottom end just how i like it, and it will get a good head of steam going for its size and wattage (150w @ 8, 200w @ 4). it also has really good dispersion. one column of 10"s disperses mids and highs better than two because of the beaming effect, so i was able to walk the stage and have more mids and highs off axis than the 810 and 215 rigs i usually use. that was very nice.
now i know all you folks who complain about never seeing any cons in reviews are just dying to hear my list of cons, but as of my first 4 hours playing it i haven't found any. it's got plenty of power and kick for my needs, it really does sound like a miniature svt, the whole rig weighs just a little over 40 lbs., and it's in a class by itself in the micro rig looks department. i love my tube ampegs, but all my gigs are one nighters and i must admit that at my advanced age it's started to wear me down to lug a bass, an upright, a pedalboard, and a heavy tube amp and cab(s) to play oldies at low stage volume. so i will show this friend of mine (to whom i shall now refer to as "the most wonderful human being to ever walk the planet") my appreciation for this great christmas present by putting it to work pretty regularly.
i am feeling very blessed tonight, no doubt about it! hope you all have a joyous holiday season filled with phat bass tones!
EDIT: Added a pic...Micro VR + Dano Longhorn, my other early christmas present from my wife.
It stands for "Unexpected Free New Amp Day."
this was quite the day for me! the most unbelievable thing happened...a rather well-to-do friend of mine and my band who likes to play bass and is into ampegs like me sent me a freakin' micro vr and 210av for christmas! man, sometimes the kindness of people really blows me away...especially since all i got him was a nice bottle of wine and a card...better go get him another bottle or 5!
it came as i was loading up for my gig, so i figured what the hell...it's cold out, this thing is nice and light, and it'll frighten and confuse the other guys in the band, so i threw it in the van and played an outdoor gig in front of about 3000 people with a micro amp i had just unboxed a couple hours before. yeah, that's livin', baby!
up until today, i had only played them at stores and had no idea what it would do onstage, so i chickened out on using a mic and just used a separate di. and that way i could play with the gain knob and not make levels go wild, too. turns out i really should have mic'ed it. it may be a lower wattage small class ab micro rig, but it's an amazing sounding lower wattage small class ab micro rig.
i won't lie to you...if you're blindfolded and you hear the micro vr/210av ab'd with an svt-vr/810e, you're going to be able to tell the difference
but for a micro rig with a 210, they managed to squeeze a hell of a lot of what people like about svt's and b-15's into it. everyone in the band who looked at me funny when i brought it up there were giving it respect by the end of the night. there was no shortage of air movement, that's for sure.i went through the controls trying a bunch of different stuff...clean and even response tones, jamersonish slight breakup, fat clean low end with no treble, 70's rock, leaning on the gain...did it all very well and filled the stage nicely. it won't blow your head off with volume or get as dirty as a b-15 on 10, but it does a great job of copping the tones you expect from ampeg tubers, the cab moves as much air as a good 115 and has a hefty yet tight bottom end just how i like it, and it will get a good head of steam going for its size and wattage (150w @ 8, 200w @ 4). it also has really good dispersion. one column of 10"s disperses mids and highs better than two because of the beaming effect, so i was able to walk the stage and have more mids and highs off axis than the 810 and 215 rigs i usually use. that was very nice.
now i know all you folks who complain about never seeing any cons in reviews are just dying to hear my list of cons, but as of my first 4 hours playing it i haven't found any. it's got plenty of power and kick for my needs, it really does sound like a miniature svt, the whole rig weighs just a little over 40 lbs., and it's in a class by itself in the micro rig looks department. i love my tube ampegs, but all my gigs are one nighters and i must admit that at my advanced age it's started to wear me down to lug a bass, an upright, a pedalboard, and a heavy tube amp and cab(s) to play oldies at low stage volume. so i will show this friend of mine (to whom i shall now refer to as "the most wonderful human being to ever walk the planet") my appreciation for this great christmas present by putting it to work pretty regularly.
i am feeling very blessed tonight, no doubt about it! hope you all have a joyous holiday season filled with phat bass tones!
EDIT: Added a pic...Micro VR + Dano Longhorn, my other early christmas present from my wife.
nah, not looking for that and neither are they. i just like to talk about gear i like and use.
