Would the Acoustic Image Focus 1 give me the same volume level as my World Tour 550 amp? I'm intrigued by the Focus because of its size.
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Acoustic Image Focus vs Eden WT 550
- Thread starter Steve S
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bassjam said:
what tonal differences is there? is the Focus warmer or more clean than the WT550. how is the Focus EQ compared to the very flexible WT550?
I own a WT550, but have been looking alot at the Focus just because it lookes so small, and (on paper anyway) puts out slightly more WAtts.
Peik said:
the wt 550 is warmer and sounds like...well an eden-which i love.i would say the 550 is also more flexable.
the focus is very uncolored(what you put into it is what you get out of it amplified),tighter and quicker-if that makes sense.the eq is more subtle.
in my bedroom i prefered the wt550.it had a sweeter tone that i couldnt get with the focus.live however i prefered the focus.i couldnt hear the 550 at times and i never had that problem with the focus.the focus i still feel is just a touch louder,though it may be because its a little clearer sounding.i also prefered the di on the focus.what came back to me in my monitor was much clearer and cleaner and cut through on stage.i should say i like a clean punchy tone over a softer tubey tone so again it depends what you want.if you want to warm it up you can always add something in your signal chain.i hear brian barrett is working on a stomp box tube pre that sounds like a really cool idea.
i decided on the focus.i travel alot and the focus is easy to throw in an overhead of an airplane(though the 550 isnt bad either).and just rent a cab on the other end,instead of not knowing what you will end up with as a rental amp.(which is usually an swr which isnt my thing)
I don't have experience with that exact pair, but I have a WT300 and a Clarus, and I'm selling the eden 
Bassjam's observations re. tone are right on target with mine.
The AI seems a little more open on the top end to me, too. More transparent.
The Clarus EQ is not nearly as wildly flexible as the Eden's, but it is still quite useful. If you like the uncolored tone of your cab reasonably well and just want to nudge it a little in one direction or another, the AI EQ is great, more flexible than many vintage amps certainly, and there's quite a lot of clean boost/cut available, you just don't have control of the frequency bands.
Also if you're fond of the Eden's compressor, note that the AI has none.
I didn't use it much anyway.
Bassjam's observations re. tone are right on target with mine.
The AI seems a little more open on the top end to me, too. More transparent.
The Clarus EQ is not nearly as wildly flexible as the Eden's, but it is still quite useful. If you like the uncolored tone of your cab reasonably well and just want to nudge it a little in one direction or another, the AI EQ is great, more flexible than many vintage amps certainly, and there's quite a lot of clean boost/cut available, you just don't have control of the frequency bands.
Also if you're fond of the Eden's compressor, note that the AI has none.
I didn't use it much anyway.
after gigging with my Focus, my Alembic F-1X / Stewart 1.2 feels like a sack of bricks.
i'm sure the Eden sounds great, but cmon, i can merely shove the Focus into the front pocket of my gig bag!!
i'm sure the Eden sounds great, but cmon, i can merely shove the Focus into the front pocket of my gig bag!!
Now, what's that? Don't you know that tone is in your fingers, and all an EQ can do is ruin it?B String said:
Truly, whereas other brands may have a more versatile EQ, AI has a very efficent one, too! If you need to tweak your EQ between each song, you are in problems that AI won't solve. If you set your EQ to have your basic tone in 'this arena', then AI is quite enough - and more!
B String said:jokerjkny said:
lets be honest,
i'm a lazy bum, and the Focus is heaven sent.
but seriously, the tone is obviously different from my regular preamp/power amp setups, but with the back to back 45 min. gigs i've been doing these days, trying to avoid all the wet weather we've been having, its ALOT easier to just grab the Focus.
tonally, the Focus is neutral, yet surprisingly warm and smokey. and yet, nothing sterile and flat about it. most of my cabs are of the hifi, neutral kind, so i took to the Focus easily. if that's not your bag, dont bother. but if like me, you LOVE the sound of your basses, this is the head to get. with my sadowsky's and Fodera fretless, the sounds i get are VERY close to the ol' DI, and for me, that's a HUGE PLUS. and most of my tone shaping is done on my bass, so all i really need is something to feed the power amp.
FYI, i've been doing alot of gigs with my other fav rack setup, the Avalon U5 / Stewart rig, and i've found the Focus is like the trying-so-hard-baby-brother. the high end detail isnt there, but the more important, stage cutting mids speak just as nicely.
like bassjam, the Focus wasnt a huge departure. i use an EA iAMP-800 regularly as well, so if anything, i've kinda shifted away from the overly colored sound a long time ago. the only "coloring" pieces i have in my arsenal as of late is the aforementioned Alembic (which i got from Dave Wilson. thx again!), a DB680 preamp, and a few Epifani cabs. i love playing thru them, but they're most in the stable in case i'm asked for that sound.
sorry to shamelessy hijack this thread......... 
joker - i've been dying to try an avalon U5 vs my demeter preamp and have a location i can do so at. The real question is, do you know if anyone is currently making a case/gigbag for the U5? or is that something i'd have to have made special order by tuki?
joker - i've been dying to try an avalon U5 vs my demeter preamp and have a location i can do so at. The real question is, do you know if anyone is currently making a case/gigbag for the U5? or is that something i'd have to have made special order by tuki?
IvanMike said:sorry to shamelessy hijack this thread.........
joker - i've been dying to try an avalon U5 vs my demeter preamp and have a location i can do so at. The real question is, do you know if anyone is currently making a case/gigbag for the U5? or is that something i'd have to have made special order by tuki?
someone told me they use a video camera bag he bought at wal mart for the u5.if it worked it sure would be cheaper than having one made.
IvanMike said:sorry to shamelessy hijack this thread.........
joker - i've been dying to try an avalon U5 vs my demeter preamp and have a location i can do so at. The real question is, do you know if anyone is currently making a case/gigbag for the U5? or is that something i'd have to have made special order by tuki?
i just got the rack ears and set it in my 3 space Odyssey bag along with my Stew. works great, and is very secure.
btw, on my recent gear binge, i also picked up a Dem preamp SUPER CHEAP on the ol' bay. gonna do my own little shootout between those two, and post it up here on TB.
stay tuned...
I own a U5 an old Eden traveler, I bought the padded shoulder bag for the traveler. When I use them together they fit nice in an old pedal board case I had. When I use the U5 alone (church gigs) it fits perfect in the Eden padded shouder bag. I think Eden still sells them.
speaking of which,
if you goto your local camera store, or you can try Invalid Link Removed, there's a plethora of camera bags that would prolly fit the U5. also, they have tons of pockets for whatever else you'd need on the go. some a really pricey, but the uglier ones can be had for a good price.
if you goto your local camera store, or you can try Invalid Link Removed, there's a plethora of camera bags that would prolly fit the U5. also, they have tons of pockets for whatever else you'd need on the go. some a really pricey, but the uglier ones can be had for a good price.
