• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Micro 300

Mike Arnopol

Mike Arnopol

Inactive
Commercial User
Jan 4, 2005
3,423
2,813
71
Chicago
Disclosures
Owner of MAS Soundworks
#1
First of all, I am an endorser for EA. The reason I went with EA is that I double 50/50 and I think that their speakers are the best out there for my purposes, and their amps are the most sophisticated and the best compromise between Hi-fi and taking care of business.
I finally got a Micro 300 after all of the bugs were worked out. I have to say that it is WAY better than my expectations. I thought that I'd be using it mainly on what I would call "Wizzy 10 gigs". Which would actually be enough if it did a great job on not-so-loud jazz gigs. I decided to try it on my steady Monday night gig at the Green Mill in Chicago with Patricia Barber.
I have been using an Iamp 800 on the gig with a CXL 112 cab. By the way, the CXL goes amazingly loud for its size. With Patricia at the Mill we go from very quiet to VERY loud. (time to take out the Lakland) And with little PA support.
So I decide to try the Micro for a first set. I even had the 800 set up and ready to go for when the Micro crapped out. Because the CXL is 8 ohms and the Micro puts out 175 watts into 8. It didn't. And it wasn't what I'd call a Walter Woods or AI loud. By which I mean that it would go loud, but somehow the "thump" didn't get louder as the amp did. The hardest thing for me is to get the walking bass "thump". Our drummer (who never comments on anything) told me that he didn't miss the big amp at all. So time to take out my Lakland fretless 5. Now I know for sure that the Micro is going to sound anemic. Totally took care of biz. Two top local electric players in the audience wondering what gear I was using because the sound was so good. And it's a big club with very little of me in the PA. Last tune of the night was Herbie's "Actual Proof" where I'm playing my custom Lakland P-Bass with a Dark Star pickup. Really playing hard. I never felt that I wasn't having enough impact. I was definitely at the amps limit, but it behaved admirably. Does the 800 have more impact and headroom? Of course. It still will go on my louder electric gigs where I use the NL210 and the CXL 12.
What really made the Micro work for me was using the Fishman Dual Parametric direct box. The Micro with 3 fixed bands of eq doesn't have nearly the eq flexibility of the 500 or 800. But with the Fishman it betters them in a way. And I'm still under 5 lbs.
I bought an Iamp 500 for use on the road because it weighs 5 lbs less than the Iamp 800. And it keeps me under the 50 lb. baggage weight limit. But now I will definitely be using the Micro instead.
So now I guess that I'll have to sell the Iamp500. Oh well.
 
#2
It's great to hear another Micro 300 success story, especially from a real pro!!! As you said, once the bugs were exterminated, an amazing amp indeed!!! I play my 300 through my Schroeder Mini 10+ L every Sunday in church with no PA support. My Cirrus 5 Bubinga/Walnut has no problems being heard-even with a Leslie organ added to the mix!!! By the way, Mike, have you recorded any tracks with Patricia using electric bass? Your upright sounded amazing on "Use Me". When will use your EA rig to record the next CD?

EA and Schroeder got it RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste! :cool:
 
#3
One of the things I noticed about the Micro300 is that the amp is logically and neatly laid out inside. There can't be a foot of wire in the whole thing. Also, I can't deny that I took a close look with a flashlight, at the part numbers on some of the components, and the amp appears to be conservatively designed.
 
#4
On the "Mythologies" cd I play about 50% on my Lakland 5 string fretless. It's a really cool bass. I'm a single pickup guy. This bass is kind of my interpretation of Gary Willis' bass. Actually I like it better.We went through a bunch of bodies and necks. Bill Bartolini wound a few pickups until it was just right. On this recording I went direct and was pleased with the sound. It was a German made tube direct box. I've pretty much learned to trust Jim Anderson (engineer) on recording.
Dealing with EA is really cool. They really listen and want input. They are kind of audiophile guys in the pro-sound bass market. And I think it's worth mentioning that they are taking the amplified double bass market very seriously. I think that we'll see some very cool things from them in the future.
 
#7
80 to 120 Hz are common turnover frequencies for low frequency EQ**. Many musical instrument amps use a shelving characteristic for the low and high frequency EQ versus a peaking / dipping type of characteristic which is more commonly used in mid bands (such as 200 to 2000 Hz). For more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equalization

Edit: **Turnover frequencies from 40 to 60 Hz are also used, but this makes more sense with a four-band EQ with a low-mid band. A 100 Hz turnover frequency is a good compromise for a three-band EQ.
 
#12
I bought a Micro 300 and an M-line wizzy from Bob G. a couple of weeks ago, so here's my 2 cents.

The M-line wizzy was just the sound I wanted. Plenty of low-end without being boomy. The only downside is that now I'm spoiled - nothing else sounds as good. :D

On the Micro 300 - the one I got is not dead quiet. It has some hiss, but it's low enough that I still haven't decided whether to have it looked at or not.

Everything else is good stuff. It has plenty of power for my needs. I sounded the best I've ever sounded in church with this combination. This is an old-school marble and tile church with 40 or maybe 50 ft ceilings. The sound was plenty loud, plenty low, and still punchy.

I was kind of hoping I'd be able to set aside my preamp given the 1MΩ input on the EA head -- one less thing to carry around. But that didn't happen. The Eminence EUB I use has a 3MΩ output. It doesn't sound bad going directly into the Micro, but I think it sounds better with my preamp - which has a 3MΩ input.

I found the tone controls to be sufficient. Minor tweaking was all it took to get a good sound in all the rooms I've used it so far.

Last but not least, there's a lot to be said for being able to put your head in a backpack. (You know, in a different context, that would sound pretty bizarre :D)
 
#13
One more footnote. I played a gig last night that I think would have been difficult in the past. It was a mid-size wine bar - one big open room with tile on concrete floor. Plus we were bunched up in a small corner.

The sound from the Micro 300 / m-line wizzy was excellent. It took only a bit of tweaking on the tone controls to get a decent sound. Thereafter, I only had to bump the volume a bit as we (inevitably) got louder through the evening.
 
#14
dar512 said:
On the Micro 300 - the one I got is not dead quiet. It has some hiss, but it's low enough that I still haven't decided whether to have it looked at or not.
Click to expand...

I wonder if it might be the normal amount of hiss for a typical amp, but feeding a speaker capable of reproducing the hiss. For example...

My GK MB150E combo is really quiet. But when I plug it into my extension speaker with higher sensitivity plus more high end response, lo and behold, there is more hiss.
 
#15
fdeck said:
I wonder if it might be the normal amount of hiss for a typical amp, but feeding a speaker capable of reproducing the hiss. For example...

My GK MB150E combo is really quiet. But when I plug it into my extension speaker with higher sensitivity plus more high end response, lo and behold, there is more hiss.
Click to expand...
Could be. I can't say that I noticed it the one time I had it hooked to my old cab.

One thing I've wondered - would I have noticed it if the issue hadn't been mentioned here at talkbass? Certainly it's there. But would I have noticed it if I hadn't been listening for it? I dunno.
 
#16
I will have to think up a way to measure it. The trick is that the Micro 300 has a non ground referenced bridged output, so it will take a bit of cleverness to set up a measurement that is fully differential and does not smoke the sound card of my PC. This is definitely one for "do not try this at home."
 
#19
I was just checking the EA website and it appears that the warranty does not transfer (original owner only)(maybe this is a new change that I hadn't noticed before).. I have read stories here where EA has repaired amps for subsequent owners but just checking.
 
#20
Last night I was playing a duo gig here in town.
Brought my 6-string electric bass, as we were playing latin standards, and I wanted to 'comp a little on some tunes.

After the gig, I suggested we plug the guitarist's jazzbox into my iAmp 300 and CXL-110. The resulting tone was wonderful! It had a really "3D" warm and rich quality, and his polytone just sounded really boxy in comparison. We ran it flat, and didn't need to use any eq. Love this thing!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back