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Avalon U5 Disappointment

J

Joe Beets

Nov 21, 2004
888
11
#1
My guitarist has decided to retire his Marshall amp to the practice room in favor of a new Mesa, probably a Quad Rectifier or something like that. I've been running direct for a year now into a Stewart 1.2 or a PLX3002. Reasonably loud with PA support but not earth shaking. So today I decided to finally break down and buy a preamp. I decided to get the Avalon U5 that I have been dreaming of for years. What a miserable, depressing letdown. Everybody is sold out. And, of course, I must have one with the blue lights and they said it could be several WEEKS until they are available again. The demand for these is so great that Avalon had to build a new factory. I just hope they can get some built before I explode from GAS. There a a few of them on Ebay, but no blue lights. Maybe I can relieve the GAS by buying another bass I don't need. :hmm:
 
#2
wow, bummer. (of course you need purple lights to be really cool) :p

i was prepared for a different post. IYR, i tried a U5 recently and while i thought it was a nice unit, it wasn't all that and a bag of chips. I much prefered my demeter.
 
#4
That really sucks. I want an Avalon really bad. I just don't have enough of a use for one to justify spending money on one (even though they are really reasonable). I have a pre and I don't play to many live gigs so I don't need a D.I. really badly and there's already one on my Aggy Pre. But the Avalon is a kickass piece of gear.
 
#10
When I first saw the title of the thread, I was prepared for comnents having to do about disappointment with the U5.

I'd hazard a guess that once you get yours, you won't be disappointed at all... as long as you approach playing through the Avalon with a minimalist's frame of mind.

In other words, don't expect "all that, and a bag of chips". ;)

I went to a rig based on a U5 into a Stewart 1.6, but only after years of knob-twiddling on your average everyday knob-laden bass-amps.

I guess once you know what you really want, it's ususally much less than what you ever thought you wanted. :D
 
#11
You've got that right. I've been playing for over a year now with no EQ other than the tone knob on my bass and my hands. I'd like the U5 even better if it didn't have that tone selector knob. I'll probably just set it on flat and forget about it. ;)
 
#12
The Golden Boy said:
Blue means cool...

Red means "Stop! Don't waste your time with me, I'm red and obviously very lame."

Green means "Go! Play fast!"

Amber means... Amber Lynn was a hot porn star in the 80's.
Click to expand...

I see... I think i've got it now ;)

Well it seems I have a combination of a big green light, smaller blue light and a series of beautiful glowing amber/yellow lights... Seems i'm set then :)
 
#14
not to put words into ivan's mouth, but to my ear, they're different sounds.

the dem's much warmer and slightly fatter, while the U5 is your tone as is with a touch of magic dust sprinkled ontop. the dem colors the sound in the most amazing way, while the U5 doesnt as much so, yet allows the great colors of the original tone shine thru.

with that said, if you've got a clunker of a bass, they both only make 'em sound 10x more of a clunker on tape. :hmm:
 
#17
jokerjkny said:
not to put words into ivan's mouth, but to my ear, they're different sounds.

the dem's much warmer and slightly fatter, while the U5 is your tone as is with a touch of magic dust sprinkled ontop. the dem colors the sound in the most amazing way, while the U5 doesnt as much so, yet allows the great colors of the original tone shine thru.

with that said, if you've got a clunker of a bass, they both only make 'em sound 10x more of a clunker on tape. :hmm:
Click to expand...
Thanks Joker
 

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