Avalon U5

[4Mal]

The U5 is a hassle to carry - Mine goes in it's own separate case... PITA... but it sounds great and a couple of the filter positions are just so juicy... There is a somewhat local band where the bass player run's a Bassman 100 through the U5, speaker in and out in the house it sounds sooooo gooood!

 

[SteveC]

The U5 is a PITA. I don't want to like it, but I made the mistake of trying it again (it's just sitting there) and preset 1 and 3 are really nice - for my EUB and my electric. It's fairly subtle but noticeable and pleasant.

I may have to rethink the portability/cost/diminishing return ratio again.

 

[snowtraveler65]

Could someone explain how one connects a U5 to your bass rig? I haven't seen any bass heads that have a balanced input. How does the cabinet input work? I can't imagine that one can capture the sound produced by the speaker from the line signal. Is the thru out effected or uneffected? The owners manual on the Avalon site gives none of this information. The connections just seem rather odd to me.

 

[SteveC]

There are 3 outs - the 2 XLR's on the back - Mic and Line Level - and the 1/4" Thru on the front. The front output can be either effected or not. The XLR's are effected all the time. You can take the 1/4" Thru and run it to the input of your head/amp or to the Effect Return to bypass your heads preamp. Very versatile.

Tone 1 and 3 work for me. I just don't know if I want to haul it around. There's no denying it gives your tone a certain something - compression, tightness, something.

 

[snowtraveler65]

O.K. that makes sense. What's the deal with the cab input?

 

[SteveC]

O.K. that makes sense. What's the deal with the cab input?

Never used it. Has something to do with running your head into the U5.