So i've had this amp for a few months now. After owning it for a couple of days I started a 'first impressions' thread. I've spent a lot more time with the amp, taken it in the recording studio, and gigged with it in a number of places. I figured i'd post my conclusions and findings, and opinions...in case my experiences happen to help anyone out.
I've come to the following conclusions about this amp:
-It's still unbelievably loud, definitely the loudest amp i've ever played by far. The sheer headroom and overall power of the amp is astonishing. It's just plain scary. However, this also means that the master volume is VERY touchy at low settings in the knob's rotation. It sounds great at low volumes...but you'll find yourself trying to turn the master a fraction of an inch to edge the volume up or down a tad so you can sit well in the mix. Annoying, but you get used to it.
-The EQ/tone stack is very powerful, and is a little decieving, as it's not as simple as it looks to dial in if the flat settings are not your deal. Less is more seems to be the theme with this amp. But don't take that to mean you'll have it dialed in in 2 minutes. If you don't like how it sounds flat...you're in for some experimenting.
-The 'Aguilar sound' that is achieved by setting the amp near flat is not really my thing, although it does sound great. It's very midrangy and lacks a little in the lows. Though extremely present and clear. Though I don't play through big cabs, so this will be different through a 15, or a big box like an 8x10.
-When venturing away from flat settings, where EQ the knobs are in relation to one another is MUCH more important then where each individual EQ knob is in its range of travel. Ie. There's a very neglegable difference in tone between Bass, Mid, and Treble all at 9:00 vs. Bass, Mid, and Treble all at 3:00. These settings, however, will differ in pre-amp output a LOT. It's best to get a feel for what frequencies the knobs bring in/out, and decide where you want them in relation to one another. Like your mids?...try the difference between Bass and Treble Flat, Mid on 10 vs. Bass and Treble at 9:00, Mid Flat.
-The amp is interesting in the sense that the EQ section is active and very powerful, like most modern bass amps. But the amp is voiced on the old school side. The tone is not modern, for the most part. If you are coming from a traditional tube amp and used to the passive FMV tone stacks commonly found in tube amps, this amp will seem VERY midrangy and flat with the EQ knobs at noon. FMV tone stacks are inherently scooped. I realized just how midrangy a 'flat' tone is to my ears when I found myself backing off the mid knob...something i'm always dialing in very high in Fenders, Mesas, Ampegs, and Oranges. The voicing of the mids is fantastic, and in just the right place. But I definitely prefer it at very low settings or it just takes over the sound. That may or may not be your deal.
-The gain knob is the most important knob on the amp. At low settings you can get just plain disgusting amounts of headroom, but the amp can be rather notchy if you're not dialed in flat. It comes alive when you venture past noon on the gain knob. The sound really evens out and compresses naturally, you loose any notchy frequency response you had at lower settings and the amp starts to growl like a cranked up tube amp. The active/passive switch is also very powerful. The active setting just plain works better with my Sterling, despite the fact that I set it completely flat so the output isn't all that different from a passive...ie the 80's Fender P i've been using as a backup lately.
-The direct out sounds fantastic. The sound engineer we recorded with agreed as well, and opted to use the amp's direct signal over the stand alone direct box he had in the studio and is familiar with. Though the only problem i've had with it is that dialing in a little grit from the pre-amp (your only choice to dirty the signal up) may make things too dirty for a good clean recording direct or to make a sound guy happy at a club.
Well, that's my take on things. I hope it helps others who are new to one of these, or possibly thinking about pulling the trigger on one.
Any commentaries are welcome and appreciated.
-Nick
I've come to the following conclusions about this amp:
-It's still unbelievably loud, definitely the loudest amp i've ever played by far. The sheer headroom and overall power of the amp is astonishing. It's just plain scary. However, this also means that the master volume is VERY touchy at low settings in the knob's rotation. It sounds great at low volumes...but you'll find yourself trying to turn the master a fraction of an inch to edge the volume up or down a tad so you can sit well in the mix. Annoying, but you get used to it.
-The EQ/tone stack is very powerful, and is a little decieving, as it's not as simple as it looks to dial in if the flat settings are not your deal. Less is more seems to be the theme with this amp. But don't take that to mean you'll have it dialed in in 2 minutes. If you don't like how it sounds flat...you're in for some experimenting.
-The 'Aguilar sound' that is achieved by setting the amp near flat is not really my thing, although it does sound great. It's very midrangy and lacks a little in the lows. Though extremely present and clear. Though I don't play through big cabs, so this will be different through a 15, or a big box like an 8x10.
-When venturing away from flat settings, where EQ the knobs are in relation to one another is MUCH more important then where each individual EQ knob is in its range of travel. Ie. There's a very neglegable difference in tone between Bass, Mid, and Treble all at 9:00 vs. Bass, Mid, and Treble all at 3:00. These settings, however, will differ in pre-amp output a LOT. It's best to get a feel for what frequencies the knobs bring in/out, and decide where you want them in relation to one another. Like your mids?...try the difference between Bass and Treble Flat, Mid on 10 vs. Bass and Treble at 9:00, Mid Flat.
-The amp is interesting in the sense that the EQ section is active and very powerful, like most modern bass amps. But the amp is voiced on the old school side. The tone is not modern, for the most part. If you are coming from a traditional tube amp and used to the passive FMV tone stacks commonly found in tube amps, this amp will seem VERY midrangy and flat with the EQ knobs at noon. FMV tone stacks are inherently scooped. I realized just how midrangy a 'flat' tone is to my ears when I found myself backing off the mid knob...something i'm always dialing in very high in Fenders, Mesas, Ampegs, and Oranges. The voicing of the mids is fantastic, and in just the right place. But I definitely prefer it at very low settings or it just takes over the sound. That may or may not be your deal.
-The gain knob is the most important knob on the amp. At low settings you can get just plain disgusting amounts of headroom, but the amp can be rather notchy if you're not dialed in flat. It comes alive when you venture past noon on the gain knob. The sound really evens out and compresses naturally, you loose any notchy frequency response you had at lower settings and the amp starts to growl like a cranked up tube amp. The active/passive switch is also very powerful. The active setting just plain works better with my Sterling, despite the fact that I set it completely flat so the output isn't all that different from a passive...ie the 80's Fender P i've been using as a backup lately.
-The direct out sounds fantastic. The sound engineer we recorded with agreed as well, and opted to use the amp's direct signal over the stand alone direct box he had in the studio and is familiar with. Though the only problem i've had with it is that dialing in a little grit from the pre-amp (your only choice to dirty the signal up) may make things too dirty for a good clean recording direct or to make a sound guy happy at a club.
Well, that's my take on things. I hope it helps others who are new to one of these, or possibly thinking about pulling the trigger on one.
Any commentaries are welcome and appreciated.
-Nick
