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EA Euphonic Audio Club (NEW WEBSITE)
- Thread starter peterpalmieri
- Start date
I recently picked up an iAmp 500 to pinch hit for my dead Aguilar AG500 while I wait for something new to come out, using it with a pair of GS112's. At rehearsals I was SLAMMING the thing, clip light on constantly, totally unable to keep up. I was very frustrated...until I realize that the second speakon I plugged into the back of the amp and the speakon coming out of the bottom speaker were not the same, and I was running half power. Derp.
Once I had both cabs going it obviously hung in there much better, but figuring out how best to EQ to cut through in my rehearsal space took a little work. It seems like it will let you waste a ton of energy on sub frequencies, so I'm thinking that either an fdeck HPF or a Darkglass B3k would work wonders to tighten it up.
Once I had both cabs going it obviously hung in there much better, but figuring out how best to EQ to cut through in my rehearsal space took a little work. It seems like it will let you waste a ton of energy on sub frequencies, so I'm thinking that either an fdeck HPF or a Darkglass B3k would work wonders to tighten it up.
Did you try it flat to start? IMHO the iAMP800 (the iAMP500 is just a modified iAMP800) is designed to work with the CXL-112 which can handle tons of lows. The deep switch, again IMHO, is designed for that.
So I agree with you; the iAMP will put out a ton of lows. Don't be afraid to cut the lows. My gut feel is that EA designed an amp that gives you total control. Unlike other amps that protect you, you have to be a bit more careful with the iAMP. The upside of this is you have total control
There is no baked in EQ.
Yup, I started out flat and ended up rolling off a bit of bass and boosting upper mids. It's a techy thrash metal band so it's not the best fit for the head, but I got it to work.
It sounds gorgeous by itself and at low volumes, but a little more of a high-pass filter would have made it a lot easier to crank. No reason to waste energy on subharmonics.
It sounds gorgeous by itself and at low volumes, but a little more of a high-pass filter would have made it a lot easier to crank. No reason to waste energy on subharmonics.
I had an iAMP Pro. The deep button was a cool feature at low volume, and made the amp sound like a tube amp. But it quickly overwhelmed the sound at higher volume.
- Apr 29, 2003
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- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
I picked up a used pair of VL110's (B series) a few months back at a great deal, and I have been thoroughly impressed with these little cabs. Not the lightest, loudest, or most efficient cabs by todays standards, but the tone is gloroius, and the low end is surprisingly big and clean. I'm a fan. I havent had a chance to plug an EA amp into them, but they especially sound great and pair well with the Puma 900.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
I use an HPF/Pre to nibble away at the lowest frequencies to reduce extraneous deep bass, while engaging the deep button and cutting the low mids around 200 Hz; full, deep, bass without mud or rumble, which sounds great for blues/ballads.
As Dave mentioned, this sounds great at relatively low volumes (like the "loudness button on a hi-fi), but can become a little too much as the volume increases; disengaging the deep button is all it takes to make it sound good again.
+1 The iAmp800 and 500 really extend into the sub bass, which results in some problems in loud live situations IME. Cutting the bass with the semi-parametric bass control doesn't work very well, since I believe the lowest shelving start point is 50hz, which takes too much upper bass out and still allows some of that sub-bass to come through. That never really helped for me.
The other thing I experienced with the 800 and 500 when I owned them was that the midrange has VERY little distortion. While this can be a good thing in some settings, it results in those amps not particularly 'punching through a mix' for me. Very clean tone that gives these two amps a reputation for sounding a bit 'sterile' for some. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but very different from amps like Aguilar, that are voiced to 'sit in a mix' a bit more out of the box, versus the 'super wide, super clear channel strip' sort of vibe of the 800/500 series of iAmps. IMO and IME. When you combine super low bass extension with very clean midrange, and hi fi, upper treble extended top end, you can run into trouble IMO in a pop/funk/rock mix.
These are two heads that are REALLY helped by an external hi pass like the FDeck. Set it at the lowest 35hz setting (or a smidge higher at 40hz or so), and you should notice a nice tightening of the low end with less speaker pistoning.
The lowest shelving is supposed to be 40Hz. I have never tried measuring it myself, I am going by the faceplate and manual
But I agree with the rest of the post. When I originally used the iAMP with the CXL-112 I also found it too sterile. For me, it works much better with my wizzy or with my LDS cab (which has a 12" and 6" speaker).
So I guess what I like about the iAMP is that once you get the bass you like and the cab you like, the amp doesn't get in the way. If that makes sense.
- Apr 29, 2003
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- 9,798
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
my old Iamp800 sounded incredible through my el whappo. However the huge and "bottomless" nature nature of both of those pieces made it murder on a gig. I guess a HPF would have been a good fix.
As I understand it the iAmp Pro is being discontiued? Anybody here anything on it's replacement?
- Jan 7, 2008
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- Endorsing Artist: Olinto, La Bella, JuleAmps, Epifani
yeah, my buddy recently received a new amp from them called the "IAmp Classic?" or something like that....looks pretty similar to the pro but I have yet to find out what's different about it....
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
Although I still have my iAmp800, it's been relegated to back-up status as I use my AI Focus exclusively these days; I find the Focus more flexible than my iAmp, despite my preference for the iAmp's EQ. I sometimes miss the bass boost button, but seldom miss the weight.
+1 although I never actually, owned one. Their cabinets certainly followed suit with extended lows, very clear mid's, and treble that was so clean it got lost when you mixed it with other instruments. The older VL series Cabinets really
worked better with Double Basses and passive 4 string PBass, then they did with a modern, active, 5 string instrument, at least that was my impression.
Ric
Ric, If you ACTUALLY NEVER OWNED ONE, how can you comment. That is so irresponsible and actually kind of idiotic. It is what talkbass has become, People like Ken Jung and you, some kind of self appointed experts, commenting on stuff that haven't played.
