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Double Bass EA Wizzy 110 Review

flatback

flatback

May 6, 2004
2,990
2,667
#1
So What's up with EA? I don't get it? Who ever heard of a company making a list of all the features you could possibly ever want in a cabinet and then actually giving it to you? It's like that movie about the electric car only with a happy ending. And then as if that weren't enuf they make the dealer Bob G.
The speaker is like a titanium bike, lite weight. You get that, "wait did I pay for air?" look on your face, up until you plug it in. Then you stop looking and play for a few hours and gigs and realize that some super hip, dope smokin', fine ear'd, generous, altruistic mother****er was involved in this. The sound is so well thought out and designed you think "ipod". It is petite, lite and yet the 4ohm cab puts out such an even well balanced loud tone (with such room for shaping) that I cant find any fault in it. The transmission line bass is tight and fat without any flab (bye bye HPF dependance) It's beautifully made and finished elegant and demure and the wide spread of sound that emanates from the funny wizzy cone allows you to stand right on top of it and hear it as though you were in front of it (no need for PA stands) I can't imagine needing two: this puppy gets loud. Paired with a Focus III it has so much headroom that the Focus is cool with the speaker as loud as I ever play . With a mic blended in, the tightness of the sound and cab keeps the mic focused and woody. And it just sits in the right sonic place, when you are playing with a drummer, clear and unmuddied, but not to brittle or cold.
Big thank you to EA for a great cabinet. I think I'm done for a long time.
 
#2
flatback said:
So What's up with EA? I don't get it? Who ever heard of a company making a list of all the features you could possibly ever want in a cabinet and then actually giving it to you? It's like that movie about the electric car only with a happy ending. And then as if that weren't enuf they make the dealer Bob G.
The speaker is like a titanium bike, lite weight. You get that, "wait did I pay for air?" look on your face, up until you plug it in. Then you stop looking and play for a few hours and gigs and realize that some super hip, dope smokin', fine ear'd, generous, altruistic mother****er was involved in this. The sound is so well thought out and designed you think "ipod". It is petite, lite and yet the 4ohm cab puts out such an even well balanced loud tone (with such room for shaping) that I cant find any fault in it. The transmission line bass is tight and fat without any flab (bye bye HPF dependance) It's beautifully made and finished elegant and demure and the wide spread of sound that emanates from the funny wizzy cone allows you to stand right on top of it and hear it as though you were in front of it (no need for PA stands) I can't imagine needing two: this puppy gets loud. Paired with a Focus III it has so much headroom that the Focus is cool with the speaker as loud as I ever play . With a mic blended in, the tightness of the sound and cab keeps the mic focused and woody. And it just sits in the right sonic place, when you are playing with a drummer, clear and unmuddied, but not to brittle or cold.
Big thank you to EA for a great cabinet. I think I'm done for a long time.
Click to expand...

If that's not a glowing reveiw what is?

I'm getting GAS pains :hiding:
Anyone try one on top of a Wizzy M-line yet?
 
#3
I concur!! It is an awesome speaker whose soundstage belies it's size!!!!!!!! UPS picked up my defective Micro 300 today and I expect to have my new replacement next week. The Wizzy 10 paired with my newly acquired Schroeder Mini 10+ L-another ridiculous cabinet for it's size ( has a tweeter)-is going to be devastating!

Keep God First!:hyper:

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!:cool:
 
#4
Very cool.

Do you notice anything lacking in the upper register response at all? Thinking about the -3 dB rolloff starting at 5.5KHz, which (I think) is kind of an unusual spec for freq response. What's the impact (if any) in practical terms when you're jettin' around up in TP?
 
#5
flatback said:
The transmission line bass is tight and fat without any flab (bye bye HPF dependance)...
Click to expand...

It's great that you are so happy with the cab-- but hold on there. The issue of infrasonics being transduced by a piezo, robbing amplifier power, and producing wild cone excursions would still be present. Please folks, don't give up on the HPF unless your head has one effectively built in.

By the way, I haven't really heard enough regarding the difference between the Wizzy 10 and the Wizzy 12. Other than issue of weight, would anyone dump his/her Wizzy 12 for a Wizzy 10?
 
#7
drurb said:
By the way, I haven't really heard enough regarding the difference between the Wizzy 10 and the Wizzy 12. Other than issue of weight, would anyone dump his/her Wizzy 12 for a Wizzy 10?
Click to expand...
Dis here is the only direct comparison that I have spotted, at least in this forum.

Interested to hear what dat dere wingnut thinks too.

If someone has a Wizzy 10 in the Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill area, gimme a shout and perhaps we can set up an A/B.
 
#8
bolo said:
Dis here is the only direct comparison that I have spotted, at least in this forum.

Interested to hear what dat dere wingnut thinks too.

If someone has a Wizzy 10 in the Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill area, gimme a shout and perhaps we can set up an A/B.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I did see that post. I just want more. :)
 
#9
Yea I didn't mean that there was no need for the HPF just that the cab seems not to need it mostly. I don't miss any high end at all. In fact I don't like too much high end anyway (brittle) If I run the mic and pick up without rolling off the highs, it is a bit too real for me. The schlep is ridiculous, yesterday I sat in my car outside my studio thinking "I know I've forgotten something..." It turned out to be about 15 pounds of magnet and wood.
The sound is great, and I was really impressed with how much better spread it has then the very directional LDS 1x8's.
 
#10
bribass said:
If that's not a glowing reveiw what is?

I'm getting GAS pains :hiding:
Anyone try one on top of a Wizzy M-line yet?
Click to expand...

I did. I took a pair of the WZ10 cabs out about two months ago, and a Wizzy 10 over an MLine to the same gig on July 20. In both cases this is a five string electric blues-rock gig, so this is from the slab bass perspective. I used a Focus 1 in both cases.

The 10 over the MLine was a bit dark and not as transparent-sounding as the two ten cab gig, but I must say I was stuck closer to the corner of this typically dark-sounding stage (different drummer, different stage setup). Frankly, the sound was somewhat reminiscent of the VL208 pair I usually gig there, there was more "weight" and a fuller, more apparent bottom. However, in this case, given the particular stage character and cabinet position in the corner, I think I would have been better off with the pair of Wizzy 10s. That said, I did dial in a good sound by cutting back on bass and boosting mids.

We did try the same combination in the shop, and it was very impressive, the MLine delivers a broader sound with a thicker bottom.

I will likely take a pair of the Wizzy 10 cabs on August 17th, again at that regular monthly gig, hoping to have a Micro 300 to try with the pair, though I don't know that 300w can cut the volumes needed for that gig.

Do you notice anything lacking in the upper register response at all? Thinking about the -3 dB rolloff starting at 5.5KHz, which (I think) is kind of an unusual spec for freq response. What's the impact (if any) in practical terms when you're jettin' around up in TP?
Click to expand...

Using the same gig to judge, I did miss some of the "edge" and highs from what the VL208 modestly delivers-- but that's for this electric gig where I do want some of those highs to help cut through a pair of aggressive guitarists and an electronic drum set. I did not feel I needed more highs when I played URB though a Wizzy 10.

Just my personal opinions/experiences/taste, YMMV.
 
#12
Great review and observations flat back and All Hail!
I wanted to add my 2 cents:

two weeks ago I was on a trio gig with Patty Wicks.
Link Removed
At Jinja Bistro in City Place which is a VERY tough load in
and an awkward stage set up.
But that is just why I own a Bass Wheel, A Focus lll and now the wizzy 10.
It is also a noisy place with blenders and a disco next door and of course
a room that is hard to get a good bass sound in.
The Wizzy ten again did all that I could have wanted.
I had plugged a line out into her PA but didn't realize
I'd forgotten to turn up my channel (duh) until I helped her pack
up at the end of the night.
This was with a great but agressive drummer so the volume is there
for this kind of gig.

Regarding the top end and highs: IMHO they don't sound exaggerated or artificial like some BG cabs.

If someone in south Florida has a wizzy 12 and wants to do an A/B give me a PM.
 
#14
wingnut said:
I have ordered a 12" wizzy and already own a 10". I'll let you know the difference when it gets here. I do have a 12" CXL and they are different, however the CXL isn't a wizzy.
Click to expand...

I am interested in hearing what the difference is between the 10" and 12" wizzy.

FWIW I have a CXL and a wizzy 12 (guess I can't just call it a wizzy anymore) and they are completely different cabs.
 
#15
I'm a slab player, but I guess I'll weigh in here as I had the chance to A/B a Wizzy 10 and an M-line Wizzy 12 with an iAmp 500 and an MTD 434 in a music store soundroom yesterday.
First, both cabs are really, really impressive -- both sound much better than they should considering their size, especially with the head's Contour 2 control kicked in. The 12 is about the size of my beloved Bag End S-15 cut in half, and the 10 is so small and light it seems like a toy until you plug it in.
Overall I liked the 12 better, as it was more open-sounding and played louder than did the 10, which impressed me a lot at first but sounded kind of choked compared to its big brother. Then again, the 10 sounded some notes louder and clearer than the 12. Both were very "studio-master" sounding on most notes and the tone was very pleasant, not bright or hyped to my ears.
Has anyone else noticed a tendancy toward low-note wolf tones and middle-range phase weirdness in these cabs? I'm curious if it was just my ears that day, a tic of the room I played in or the cabs themselves. The A octave either distorted or was almost inaudible with the 12, playing alone, which was kind of odd.
 
#16
Bob Gollihur said:
I did. I took a pair of the WZ10 cabs out about two months ago, and a Wizzy 10 over an MLine to the same gig on July 20. In both cases this is a five string electric blues-rock gig, so this is from the slab bass perspective. I used a Focus 1 in both cases.

The 10 over the MLine was a bit dark and not as transparent-sounding as the two ten cab gig, but I must say I was stuck closer to the corner of this typically dark-sounding stage (different drummer, different stage setup). Frankly, the sound was somewhat reminiscent of the VL208 pair I usually gig there, there was more "weight" and a fuller, more apparent bottom. However, in this case, given the particular stage character and cabinet position in the corner, I think I would have been better off with the pair of Wizzy 10s. That said, I did dial in a good sound by cutting back on bass and boosting mids.

We did try the same combination in the shop, and it was very impressive, the MLine delivers a broader sound with a thicker bottom.

I will likely take a pair of the Wizzy 10 cabs on August 17th, again at that regular monthly gig, hoping to have a Micro 300 to try with the pair, though I don't know that 300w can cut the volumes needed for that gig.



Using the same gig to judge, I did miss some of the "edge" and highs from what the VL208 modestly delivers-- but that's for this electric gig where I do want some of those highs to help cut through a pair of aggressive guitarists and an electronic drum set. I did not feel I needed more highs when I played URB though a Wizzy 10.

Just my personal opinions/experiences/taste, YMMV.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comparison, Bob! I can't wait to get a pair of these in the 'basement.' :D

Tom.
 
#17
Okay, the little wizzy 110 is just freak of science. Played at a casino with no FOH support. Using the MM SUB 4 string for the first half of the gig and the URB for the second. Big stage, loud country and rock (from ZZ Top to Dwight Yoakum). I never had the amp past 11 O'Clock and I could be heard crystal clear through out the whole room. The guitar player was totally amazed! He wanted to try my set up with his guitar. He plugged in after the show. Although he couldn't turn up, I have to admit the wizzy sounded pretty good with his stratocaster! He will probably be calling Bob G. or Mark pretty soon!
 
#18
This is one of the best sounding musical instrument cabinets I have ever played through. I make my living in audio and acoustics, so I tend to be very picky, especially with the finer points of my equipment. If there is another single-transducer cabinet with this kind of sound stage, accuracy and pure musical tone, I would love to know about it. As far as the Epi 10...sorry, there is simply no comparison, at least not for me. I just ordered a second cabinet...looking forward to measuring the pattern control with a stacked pair for larger gigs.
 
#19
This cabinet is awesome. First time out last night at a jazz trio rehearsal. I played it with a GK Microbass head, standing in the same spot where I have been using my GK MB200 amp. Making comparisons with the GK MB200 I usually use. Clarity of sound, pleasing fuller sound, really cut through, makes my older GK MB200 already part of the past.

And, packing up at the rehearsal, walking out with the microbass head in the bag over my shoulder and carrying the cabinet, with its nicely placed handle in my other hand. Nice!

Hoping the dinner gig is on for Friday. Apparently, this cab is not even going to fully show its true colors until its been used for 8 hours or so.

*****
 
#20
I'm really in the mood for a second W10. They are so small that you either have to put them on a chair or ...on another W10. A cuppla times now I've turned it up too loud and distorted a low E ( on a particularly lively version of Nardis) I suspect that two of em will be perfect for a lot of the kinds of gigs I do. i love the sound of this cab, and I've been playing with just the Pick up lately.
 

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