...this is feeling like it's going to be a long post, even for me.
The good stuffs going to be at the bottom, but I implore you not to skip ahead.
First let's talk about the wonders of the internet. Like most working double bassists, I find myself on the frustrating quest for the sound and here's a world of information and research that I can do in my pj's. Through that I become aware of a couple of very specific boutique amp systems that aren't really available in my town and I would never have known about if limited locally. But as is the case, I not only know about them, but can read data and stats, view the owner's manual and correspond with the manufacturer's rep (who seems like a very nice guy, who is proud of the products he represents). And I can ask questions of people who have seen these mythical products and some of them who actually own them. People who I have some context for because Ive been in other conversations with them and read other things theyve posted.
And, in the midst of the conversation with people from New York and New Jersey and Hawaii and Finland and Canada and Alabama, someone who I dont know (yet) who lives north of me a ways contacts me and says that hes in touch with someone he doesnt know (yet) who is south of me by 30 or 40 miles who has one of these things. We plan a road trip to check it out (picture a car full of basses, orange soda, bag of pork rinds and a strategic sample of my Blue Note collection) two old friends on the road in pursuit of the sound.
Then out of the blue, I get a private mail from someone not from Finland or the UK, but someone who lives, no kidding, less than a mile from me in Seattle who says Hey, Ive got one of these things, why dont you come over and check it out? Mi casa es su casa (Im paraphrasing of course). So the clocks and my employers slowed to a crawl as I waited for the work day to pass into after work, free-music time and I could go over to this very nice talkbassers, who likes to keep a low profile so I wont thank him by screename, but THANK YOU RANDY for reaching out to me. I loaded up my bass and my trusty GK MB150E and headed down the road a mile to his apartment, met him, walked in and
..there it was - the EA 200 Wizzy Combo
just like in the pictures, but 3D and oh so pretty. I got to see it and touch it and pick it up and play through it and
.. ah
how small has the world gotten? I absolutely love the internet, mostly because I love information and people and the globe and without the internet, were all just living our lives out on our little patch in ignorance.
So, now the stuff that you want to know about, but pause for a second and think about the incredible odds of that
.
First of all let me say that you will not catch me turning on my trusty GK. I paid something like $450 used 4 or 5 years ago and it was the best money I ever spent. It frequently sounds amazing at gigs. I have A/Bed it in playing situations with a panel of non-biased bassists and other musicians and its tied or beaten some very good, newer, upper tier rigs. It is one of the most practical tools that I think a working doublebassist can own and I somewhat doubt that Ill ever part with it. It does have its limitations, but for jazz, its really, really tough to beat outright by a measurable quantity, especially but not necessarily using price as a qualifier.
Alright, so now the stuff you really want to hear about. The Wizzy looks great. Terrific design. Very clean and modern, ergonomic, the tilt back cab is a great feature. Clearly you could unplug the internal speaker and run out to an external cab instead. Its easy to see how you could unscrew those 6 screws and detach the head as a separate unit, but we didnt try that. My bass is old and carved and maybe a Juzek, but we dont really know, lots of repaired scars and I use a Realist pickup with no preamp. Lets not get into strings, its a long story and we all already know how freaking verbose I am.
At apartment volumes, the amp sounded really nice and natural. I really dont want to say like my bass only louder, because no one believes that anymore, but it sounded very natural, nothing about it I didnt like. We switched to the GK at the same volume and got a similar result. Dont believe what you read about the GK sounding colored and metallic, it amplifies doublebass quite nicely. We did think that the EA really handled the lows better. They were ballzy and articulate. The amp was very responsive and it was projecting what I was playing accurately. I liked it, but I was thinking and my new friend was somewhat commenting that there was some difference, but it was marginal.
Then, at the risk of summonsing his neighbors, I wanted to try it at volume. The first thing I noticed was that the GK was set at volume and output at about 12:00 or ½ way, which is close to where I normally gig with it. The EA volume knob was at about 1 ½ out of 10. Or roughly 1/10 of the way. Oh...thats some information. I took it to about ½ way or 5 out of 10 and it still sounded very, very natural. Pleasing. Appropriately louder. Nothing about it I didnt like. I cant really describe it differently at this volume than I did at the other volume, although maybe more experience with this amp would unveil some nuances. It sounded the same as it did when it was quieter. (Were running the flat switch, by the way. Im not an eq guy, but in this test, I dont know what I would have changed about the sound, so we left it alone). It sounded great. Like my bas
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Switched back to the GK and bumped the volume to a similar level and the sound had changed. Still didnt sound bad, Im not going to badmouth a faithful friend, but A/B with the EA theres no question that the Wizzy retained its natural quality much better with that volume bump than the GK did. At those volumes there was a presence in the EA that was much fuller and healthier sounding than the other amp. I know that I would have been heard clearly by my bandmates. I believe that I would have gotten much clearer feedback on my playing on stage, through the mix than I currently do. And I think, but didnt test that we were getting near the top of the GKs range and I suspect that the Wizzy still had a long way to go. I dont think we came close to finding its limits. I walked, I played some Cuban rhythms, I played some funk, it really projected what I wanted to hear with all of those things. No spikes, no valleys, I played it, it reported it for better or for worse. Randy commented that the GK kind of sounded like a recording of me playing bass, whereas the EA sounded like me playing bass. Interesting comment, being there, I understand what he meant. I was falling in love (with the amp, not with Randy, although I am very appreciative of his hospitality).
Then, we switched to my hosts beautiful, passive Lakeland P-Bass. Now, Ive not really worked on my electric bass playing for several years, but it is something that Im not quite letting go of yet and I have played a few gigs this year on my own P-Bass. Part of my criteria is that I want an amp that I can play BG through at a decent gigging volume and have it sound good, not like EBG played through an acoustic guitar amp. The first notes out of the EA with the P-Bass were great to my ears. I invoked the contour setting and I would describe it as an unqualified perfect. It just plain kicked a$$. It also was louder than the doublebass at the same volume setting. I could gig with it for most or all things that I could imagine practically coming up. I didnt need to compare it to my GK, it wouldnt have been a fair fight. In fact, it sounded WAY better than my now for sale BG head/cabinet. I was past sold at this point. What a wonderful piece of equipment.
Now, I will say that they are bloody expensive, but I think I can get over that. I have some gear to sell, after all. My gig calendar in the last two weeks has unexpectedly flooded through August and I think I can afford it and I know I can put it to good use.
And I will say that the +9 pounds it advertises on the MB combo seems like more than that. It doesnt feel like a 50 lb combo amp, but it doesnt compare to a MB or Contra or something like that. But, I also think that the size of the Wizzy cab probably contributes to the sound and I wouldnt want it to be smaller at the expense of the tone and output. The difference in presence of the two amps at volume was very noticeable. So, I can live with the jump in size, which is not really a huge jump, but Ive been spoiled and amps are getting even smaller and what is really pulling at me to switch rigs is sound and scalability and versatility. The marginal size gain is worth it in this case. I dont know if it would be to me, if it was another 10 lbs heavier, but its not. Its probably the perfect size. I feel like I could have my bass on one shoulder, my messenger bag on my back and this combo in my other hand for 2 or maybe 3 blocks, but not 5 or 10. Carrying it without the bass in the same trip, would be a snap.
And I will caveat that like anyone who has pursued the sound, you dont really know until youve lived with something at different gigs, in different rooms, with different bands
but Im convinced that its a huge step in the right direction and I expect to be wowed and to wow bandmates and audience members with my very own Wizzy for years to come. It was honestly, in this test, everything I could have hoped it to be.
Not really compelled to step up to the 500, especially now that I know I could detach the head and use it with an EA 2x10 or whatever big obnoxious cab I wanted to, if I ever wanted to, which I doubt I will.
Thats probably a better review than I should give from a controlled test, but Im really on a high right now (figuratively) and Im still amazed with the world community and the power of the internet.
Questions, comments, criticisms, congratulations? Hit me with um.
And thank you all for your feedback and PMs and thanks to my new friend and found neighbor.
Not quite in the EA family yet, but give me a week and I will be.
Oh, and by the way. Placed my fingers on the E string and watched the cone. Nothing happenned. Moved the string back and forth without plucking it. Nothing happenned. Don't know what else to say about that.
That is that. I had a request in Canada for info on Wizzy combo recently. John Dong said the turnaround time is about a week or so in getting one ready to go. So you won't have to wait too long.
