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Double Bass Avalon U5 review

#21
I have a few questions...

I have been very tempted to get an Avalon U5 to replace my Ampeg SVP preamp in my rig...BUT before I did that I need to know it's going to work.

I am using the SVP with a Carvin DCM1500 power amp (Soon to be Stewart power amp).

I double on upright and electric, so it needs to work with both.

Is the eq knob versitile enough to cover any room's acoustics? I mean, if a room has too much bass bouncing around, can you roll off the bass? Or is that for my bass' onboard preamp to do?

And for upright, will it sound okay with a Realist pickup straight into it?

Also, if you plug the bass into the front of the preamp, and plug the preamp into the power amp, are there any other outs that I can send to my rackmount tuner?

I'm sorry if this was confusing.

Thanks!
 
#22
MikeD1687 said:
I have a few questions...


Is the eq knob versitile enough to cover any room's acoustics? I mean, if a room has too much bass bouncing around, can you roll off the bass? Or is that for my bass' onboard preamp to do?
Click to expand...

It's always worked for me. Most of the eq settings cut some bass, but it varies how much. It's pretty rare that I just don't end up running it flat or in position 3. One of the many nice things about the U5 is that it makes your "digital tone control" (i.e., your fingers) more effective. I've been using it for a year and a half , at least once a week, electric and upright, with no other eq and have had no problems

MikeD1687 said:
And for upright, will it sound okay with a Realist pickup straight into it?
Click to expand...

I'm also a doubler. I did a bunch of side by side comparisons of my bass with a realist on it--I compared the U5 to a fishman platinum bass EQ, and to the Raven labs PMB. The Avalon sounded way better.

MikeD1687 said:
Also, if you plug the bass into the front of the preamp, and plug the preamp into the power amp, are there any other outs that I can send to my rackmount tuner?
Click to expand...

The U5 has a tuner out--the headphone jack on the back.
 
#24
I realize that it is kinda lame to be touting a ridiculously expensive set up like this, but the Focus III/ Avalon combo has a hell of a lot going for
it. Using the Focus's preamp after the U5 makes it useful in a way that was just a little frustrating with the Focus alone. The U5 sends the perfect signal to the Focus so that the subtle EQ on the Focus becomes really useful. The U5's curves in combo with the Focus really allow for fine tuning the sigal for each room. Adding a mic is really nice and balances the sound in a very organic way. It seems like with this combo, both boxes become totally useful in the center of their ranges. The headroom is unreal and the signal is phat and present. It makes the LDS sound 100% better too. It just gets everything out of it. An easy test with the U5 is to just toggle the front Thru button that either runs the signal dry or Active- you can hear exactly how much the U5 adds to the signal...And since it isn't tube, the tone it adds is warm and phat but not colored, you got to hear it.
 
#27
flatback said:
...And since it isn't tube, the tone it adds is warm and phat but not colored, you got to hear it.
Click to expand...

It's not a tube pre-amp? Why does it have to be made so darned big and heavy then?

I'd like to try the summit instrument/mic blender, but there's no way I want to lug it around. The novelty wears off very quickly when you have to make that extra trip to the car carrying heavy gear at the end of a long night.

Andy
 
#30
well its really not that big...its like(with the Focus) 2 AI amps. In real terms I still do it in one schlep. Its just that it feels like a preamp should be smaller. but whatever they do they sure do it right. And the knobs the knobs.
 
#32
shwashwa said:
does it make a difference in the sound if you use the output on the front or back?
Click to expand...
yea but it seems to make more of a gain loading difference. I started using the xlr into the Focus but noticed some distortion so I switched to the 1/4 in the front. the difference in sound is in the high end, which I don't need more of.
Its sure sounding great blended with a mic. I just did a recording thing today and had to take the DI out of the Focus to get a blended signal (there weren't enough tracks avaiable on this HD recorder) and it sounded pretty damn good...(not like an isolation booth with a U87) but pretty good. The recorded direct signal sounds as good as THAT can get (it still is electric-y ) but still really usable.The rest of it is digital.
 
#33
flatback said:
yea but it seems to make more of a gain loading difference. I started using the xlr into the Focus but noticed some distortion so I switched to the 1/4 in the front. the difference in sound is in the high end, which I don't need more of.
Its sure sounding great blended with a mic. I just did a recording thing today and had to take the DI out of the Focus to get a blended signal (there weren't enough tracks avaiable on this HD recorder) and it sounded pretty damn good...(not like an isolation booth with a U87) but pretty good. The recorded direct signal sounds as good as THAT can get (it still is electric-y ) but still really usable.The rest of it is digital.
Click to expand...
so you're saying that you get more high end from the outputs on the back?
 
#34
yea on all the DI boxes I've used, the xlr is a brighter flatter signal and the hi z seems to have the highs rolled off or maybe its just two hi z matching imputs???I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.
It sounds different yea.(more confusion above)
 
#35
ok, so i got a u5 for $400 off ebay. here's my impressions so far. with my student bass with a barbera pickup, it sounds great. best the bass has ever sounded, and it usually sounds pretty darn good with that pickup. with my good bass, the one i actually got the avalon for, a kolstien with a shadow underwood copy, it sounds pretty bad. the bass sounds awesome acoustically, but through the avalon with that particular pickup, it's all midrange honk. i tried to use the eq curves, and even put the output through the front of my woods to see if the eq there would help, but it still sounded pretty bad. for the kolstien (shadow pickup) the fishman platinum sounds way better. i mean way better. that's what i'll use for that bass for now. i still have to try the avalon with the kolstien with a bass max that i have. hopefully that will be better. i also have an old fishman b-100, so i'll try that too, although i dont expect much from that one... the avalon did, however, make a really dramatic difference in the bass with the barbera pickup. (in a good way)
 
#36
shwashwa said:
ok, so i got a u5 for $400 off ebay. here's my impressions so far. with my student bass with a barbera pickup, it sounds great. best the bass has ever sounded, and it usually sounds pretty darn good with that pickup. with my good bass, the one i actually got the avalon for, a kolstien with a shadow underwood copy, it sounds pretty bad. the bass sounds awesome acoustically, but through the avalon with that particular pickup, it's all midrange honk. i tried to use the eq curves, and even put the output through the front of my woods to see if the eq there would help, but it still sounded pretty bad. for the kolstien (shadow pickup) the fishman platinum sounds way better. i mean way better. that's what i'll use for that bass for now. i still have to try the avalon with the kolstien with a bass max that i have. hopefully that will be better. i also have an old fishman b-100, so i'll try that too, although i dont expect much from that one... the avalon did, however, make a really dramatic difference in the bass with the barbera pickup. (in a good way)
Click to expand...
Well I'd try a Full Circle. I am not big on underwoods, and really not BP 100's but i would thing that the Shadow would sound better then just straight. there is a high roll off and cerve 2 atenuates a lot of that mid stuff. I'll bet the Barbera sounds nice tho. I used to have one of those, and really liked it until a pick up went south...then I really disliked it.
What is your system after the U5?
 
#37
#38
It goes, well I guess, with saying, that the more hifi your sound gets the cleaner you have to play. I don't think these setups are all that forgiving, it sure has kicked my ass to play a lot cleaner.
I play with a pianist who is so critical that the second your intonation slips or you play a questionible note his eyes jerk up from the keyboard searching you out to make sure you know that he knows. Now that I can hear myself really well, so can he... Sometimes I just shine him on and give him a "loosen up, dude" grin but i sure am digging trying to step up to the plate.
 
#39
flatback said:
I play with a pianist who is so critical that the second your intonation slips or you play a questionible note his eyes jerk up from the keyboard searching you out to make sure you know that he knows.
Click to expand...
Uggh. I hate playing with guys like that. Probably plays the same solos every nite too. Tell him to get laid.
 
#40
flatback said:
Well I'd try a Full Circle. I am not big on underwoods, and really not BP 100's but i would thing that the Shadow would sound better then just straight. there is a high roll off and cerve 2 atenuates a lot of that mid stuff. I'll bet the Barbera sounds nice tho. I used to have one of those, and really liked it until a pick up went south...then I really disliked it.
What is your system after the U5?
Click to expand...

i've tried the high end roll off and all combinations of the eq curves alone and in combo with using the eq on the amp... so far no dice for the kolstien. as i said, i still have to try it with a bass max and a b-100. i like the barbera alot, and i like it even better with the avalon. i have 3 barbera's, each on 3 other basses (not including the kolstien) and on each one a transducer has gone bad in the bridge at one time or another. on one bass a transducer has gone bad 3 times. that's the major flaw with that pickup, and it's frustrating because the pickup is expensive, and he'll charge you to replace the element, even if it's not your fault and it just crapps out...he'll tell you the strings are too high tension and break the transducer...(i use corelli's so go figure)
as far as the rest of my rig, i go into a walter woods and then into a first generation swr 2x10. another option i use is an swr baby blue head into an acoustic image extension cab. the swr sounds equally good as the woods to my ears, but it's only 100 watts.
 

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