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Basstasters EA clips

Type-55

Type-55

Jul 20, 2000
2,869
1,722
Michigan
#1
I just listened to the EA i amp 800 on Basstasters.com and it sounds so warm and thick I was shocked. How accurate are these clips?
I had an i amp 350 and it didn't sound anything like these clips.
Different amp I know but what a difference.
The i amp sounds like a tube amp with definition.
Any thoughts?
 
#2
Hey there. I just learned after 2.5 years of ownership and great tone to crank the gain to 3:00-3:30 and it's really loud. It has growl and punch. I was able to duplicate he punch of the Markbass F1 as I A/Bed them.. It really allows the power amp to work. Tom B said that both pre and master at noon is the least loud setting. It's one I used all the time. Still sounded great though.
Yes it can sound lots of ways.
 
#3
Would you describe the tone as warm and thick?
I've always heard EA stuff to be neutral and clean.
I guess if it's clean and neutral and warm and thick it would be great.
I got a headache thinking about that one.
 
#4
Type-55 said:
I just listened to the EA i amp 800 on Basstasters.com and it sounds so warm and thick I was shocked. How accurate are these clips?
I had an i amp 350 and it didn't sound anything like these clips.
Different amp I know but what a difference.
The i amp sounds like a tube amp with definition.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

The iAmp350 is a class A/B design, and much warmer and punchier than the current class D line, which for most is almost the definition of how we use the term 'hi fi' in the bass community IMO and IME. While that thread is pretty good at hearing differences in basses, I don't find the amp clips very representative.
 
#6
Type-55 said:
So you're saying there is some "tone negligence" going on with Basstaster amp clips?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Aren't those live clips through various cabs, with the amps set 'flat' (i.e., the tone controls not engaged)? They just don't seem that representative to me from my experience. I assume others will chime in here.. this is just IMO. I just find the tone of the bass clips reasonable accurate, but the amp clips seem much more subtle, and don't seem to impart the unique voice of some of the amps that sound very different to me in 'the real world'.
 
#7
I'm going way out on a limb here. I assume the clips are all mp3's which will immediately
compromise the sound quality. There is no way they can translate the actual dynamics and subtleties of an amp or speaker cab. That's why I was really surprised when I heard the EA clip. It just doesn't sound like any EA gear I've ever heard. Which is limited to the Wizzy's and the iamp 350. It sounds like someone engaged the Loudness control on an inexpensive audio receiver.
 
#8
Type-55 said:
So you're saying there is some "tone negligence" going on with Basstaster amp clips?
Click to expand...

I have found Todd's clips to be fairly accurate, though you have to take them in context. If you compare a lot of different clips, and get a feel for the 'context', the comparative value is pretty good. Of course, when listening to the 'preamps', you are only hearing the preamp section of the iAMP and the other heads there.

Personally, I think that the basstasters preamp clips make a strong argument for both an 'iPre' and for a Walkabout preamp. :D

Tom.
 
#10
Well I have the Summit TD-100 because the clarity I heard in the decay of the sample on Basstasters. It is that good. You have to use your ears and set a reference point. If you know what your amp sounds like then you could A/B test it in a train station or the NAMM show against another rig.
The iAMP800 has the capability of sounding like anything. My Roscoes are fat and warm so the amp sounds like that. Cranking the pre as I described allowed me to get thick tone from a single coil RI '51 P-bass. Before learning this trick I would never play a Fender through an EA. It was just too clinical for me. The eq will do anything and the presets are really well suited to do a lot of gigs individually and in combination while keeping the eq section off. The low or deep preset can really destroy civilization as we know it or at least your speakers. It's great for quiet gigs though if you even need it.
 
#11
Type-55 said:
I have owned the Walkabout and must agree that the Basstatsters clip represents the sound fairly accurately.
Click to expand...

I hadn't been on basstasters in a long time. I just listened to the Walkabout and iAmp clips. I guess for a general reference, it's not bad, and much better than I remember it sounding. It did translate the Walkabouts 'warmth' and the iAmps deep bass and hi fi top end reasonably well.

However, I assume we are just listening to the post DI out? Is that correct? If so, maybe that's kind of the missing link to me, since the interaction of pre/power amp/cab is the only way that it makes sense to listen to and evaluate an integrated bass head. However, I guess to get a very basic idea of the tone (especially of a pre to be used in recording), it's a useful tool.
 

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