Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
*** EA iAMP Pro *** GOTTA SEE THIS!!!
- Thread starter Psychicpet
- Start date
No problem. I am actually pretty suprised that more people aren't interested and/or using this head being that it has so many great features. Hopefully more reviews and user info will pour in soon.
Since I kind of gushed about how wonderful the head is I'll start picking apart some of the things I don't love as I get more time with it. And report in....
I don't find the presets particularly useful and I would imagine being able to see if they are depressed or not on a dark stage, that may be difficult. With the Doubler they did a great job with light indicators so you can clearly see if the output is muted. If you have the phantom power and notch filters engaged and which channel you have selected. It would have been real nice to have this carry forward to the Pro at least for the presets, EQ on/off and the mute function.
One other thing I didn't mention is the active and passive inputs. I find with all the basses I use the passive input works just fine. I tried out the active input, not sure what the pad on it is but it significantly reduces the output. I wouldn't recommend using the active input unless you've got a super hot signal coming from your bass.
I love the fact that everything is on the front panel - DI, pre/post switch and level control as well as the tuner. I have no need for effects sends/return and I won't use the phones although I do understand many people use that stuff.
Does anybody know if the 1/8 input signal also feeds the DI? Many times I run an IPod between sets when we do private parties so that feature might be of some use to me.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
Thanks for your post, Peter. As much as I like my iAmp800, it does have shortcomings, some of which seem to have been addressed in the Pro - from what I've read in your posts - particularly maximum SPL and background noise.
Illumination of front panel controls would be a huge leap forward; general illumination (dimmable, please) would be helpful on dark stages, and task illumination that shows which settings have been selected (especially mute, preset filters, EQ bypass, and effects loop), would be very welcome. On my 800, I've resorted to marking the white push button that mutes the signal with a red Sharpie so I can see its position at a glance.
If EA made a foot pedal that provided push button control of the mute function, preset filters, EQ bypass, and effects loop, I would be very happy. If such a footswitch also provided signal flow from my pedal board through the effects loop, and contained a tuner-out jack, someone might have to forcefully wipe the smile off of my face!
It sounds as though an iAmp Pro and one of the new, lightweight, EA 4x10 cabinets could probably handle all of my gigs with ease. Drooooool...
Illumination of front panel controls would be a huge leap forward; general illumination (dimmable, please) would be helpful on dark stages, and task illumination that shows which settings have been selected (especially mute, preset filters, EQ bypass, and effects loop), would be very welcome. On my 800, I've resorted to marking the white push button that mutes the signal with a red Sharpie so I can see its position at a glance.
If EA made a foot pedal that provided push button control of the mute function, preset filters, EQ bypass, and effects loop, I would be very happy. If such a footswitch also provided signal flow from my pedal board through the effects loop, and contained a tuner-out jack, someone might have to forcefully wipe the smile off of my face!
It sounds as though an iAmp Pro and one of the new, lightweight, EA 4x10 cabinets could probably handle all of my gigs with ease. Drooooool...
My Iamp should be back soon and I'll let you guys know how it sounds with my low end shelving pedal. I'm pretty sure that's going to add a lot to the max spl, but could be wrong I guess
How would that work exactly?
I had a pedal built by Guttermouth from HC (Ian) that rolls off the ultra lows (it's got two shapes, kinda like 24db/octave @ 50hz and 12db/octave @ 70hz-ish, roughly). My expectation is that it will trim some of the overly wide low end that the Iamp 800 puts out, and make it feel a bit louder.
I haven't had any real issues with getting enough volume out of it, but it was noticeably less loud than the GK 1001 RB II, which I would guess is due to the low end shelving the 1001 has.
I haven't had any real issues with getting enough volume out of it, but it was noticeably less loud than the GK 1001 RB II, which I would guess is due to the low end shelving the 1001 has.
A little update as I've gotten this thing out on quite a few gigs now.
First it's got plenty of power, for what I'm doing I don't see a need for this much power, which is great!
Totally reliable, no noise, no problems at all, I guess that's always our first concern when we're playing a new amp that is also new to the market.
It sounds great! I can get at least 90% of what I'm looking for running it with the tone shaping bypassed. I really like that with heads as it leaves plenty of EQ flexibility. The amp does have a little bit to much inherent low end, I've done two things to fix that and the first is to cut some bass around 60hz or so. The second has been a boost around 180hz and/or a slight boost around 500-800 hz. In any case the jury is still out as to what is the best solution, as I play more rooms and get more time under my belt I have no reason to think I won't have it dialed in and forget about it.
There are a whole heck of allot of buttons going on with this head. The Iamp on all gigs thus far has been sitting on top of my EA NL210 about hip height, rooms are poorly light and there is allot going on, a music stand with charts in front of me, a set list that's being changed on the fly. A monitor blairing in my face and a constant need to keep my eye and ears on what others are doing around me.
Being that this amp has about 100 different small black buttons on it, with tiny writing and no way of knowing what's on and off by a quick glance sure doesn't make navigating this thing easy.
Do I have the DI set pre or post, is the output muted, did I hit the wrong button. Do I have the tone shaping section bypassed or is it on? Make sure I haven't engaged one of the presets.
I guess it will take some time to really get comfortable with the layout! We ask for all these bells and whistles, like the narrow or wide Q on the mids, great feature but in a poorly light room it's really hard to tell what's what.
I totally love the amp, it works perfectly, sounds great and is super flexible but as I did a bunch of years ago with the IAMP350 I'm having a tough time coming to grips with making changes on the fly.
In any case great amp but it's taking some getting used too...Once the experimenting is over and I just dial it in I think I'll be 100% happy!
First it's got plenty of power, for what I'm doing I don't see a need for this much power, which is great!
Totally reliable, no noise, no problems at all, I guess that's always our first concern when we're playing a new amp that is also new to the market.
It sounds great! I can get at least 90% of what I'm looking for running it with the tone shaping bypassed. I really like that with heads as it leaves plenty of EQ flexibility. The amp does have a little bit to much inherent low end, I've done two things to fix that and the first is to cut some bass around 60hz or so. The second has been a boost around 180hz and/or a slight boost around 500-800 hz. In any case the jury is still out as to what is the best solution, as I play more rooms and get more time under my belt I have no reason to think I won't have it dialed in and forget about it.
There are a whole heck of allot of buttons going on with this head. The Iamp on all gigs thus far has been sitting on top of my EA NL210 about hip height, rooms are poorly light and there is allot going on, a music stand with charts in front of me, a set list that's being changed on the fly. A monitor blairing in my face and a constant need to keep my eye and ears on what others are doing around me.
Being that this amp has about 100 different small black buttons on it, with tiny writing and no way of knowing what's on and off by a quick glance sure doesn't make navigating this thing easy.
Do I have the DI set pre or post, is the output muted, did I hit the wrong button. Do I have the tone shaping section bypassed or is it on? Make sure I haven't engaged one of the presets.
I guess it will take some time to really get comfortable with the layout! We ask for all these bells and whistles, like the narrow or wide Q on the mids, great feature but in a poorly light room it's really hard to tell what's what.
I totally love the amp, it works perfectly, sounds great and is super flexible but as I did a bunch of years ago with the IAMP350 I'm having a tough time coming to grips with making changes on the fly.
In any case great amp but it's taking some getting used too...Once the experimenting is over and I just dial it in I think I'll be 100% happy!
Cool! I hope they have their 'issues' resolved at this point. As you know, some of us are a bit gun shy to give them another chance. However, if they sell a few of these and get good reviews over the next year or so, that will go a long way toward re-establishing the brand.
+1 on the pre layout... very cumbersome. However, as you say, once you get it dialed in, you shouldn't have to mess with it much. I'm currently blown away by the functionality of the TC RH450. Loud as heck, and with all the backlit levels and easily stored presets, it is REALLY gig friendly, especially if you double or are one who uses an amp to generate different tones.
Anyway, cool on the iAmpPro. The spec's are quite amazing on that one!
+1 on the pre layout... very cumbersome. However, as you say, once you get it dialed in, you shouldn't have to mess with it much. I'm currently blown away by the functionality of the TC RH450. Loud as heck, and with all the backlit levels and easily stored presets, it is REALLY gig friendly, especially if you double or are one who uses an amp to generate different tones.
Anyway, cool on the iAmpPro. The spec's are quite amazing on that one!
I wouldn't blame you for being gun shy at all. Having both a Doubler and IAMP pro for a while now at least my small sampling is totally issue free and super quiet which honestly was my real conern.
I don't mean to be negative about all the features, I think for the most part I'd rather have them then not. And when you look at the entire package, in terms of flexibilty and watts it comes in a super small light package. While I'd love to see back lit LED buttons or something at some point they just run out of room inside the box, add to the cost and could sacrifice reliabilty with even more stuff.
I tend to be the type of guy that shows up to the gig, sets up everything make sure the knobs are in the right place and don't look back, literally! In the short term I have to think what frequency should I be cutting or boosting, should I use a wide or narrow Q and then finally how much. It's going to allow me to get it dialed in closer then ever no doubt it is just so darn distracting.
I don't mean to be negative about all the features, I think for the most part I'd rather have them then not. And when you look at the entire package, in terms of flexibilty and watts it comes in a super small light package. While I'd love to see back lit LED buttons or something at some point they just run out of room inside the box, add to the cost and could sacrifice reliabilty with even more stuff.
I tend to be the type of guy that shows up to the gig, sets up everything make sure the knobs are in the right place and don't look back, literally! In the short term I have to think what frequency should I be cutting or boosting, should I use a wide or narrow Q and then finally how much. It's going to allow me to get it dialed in closer then ever no doubt it is just so darn distracting.
I tried the Iamp 800 a few years ago. There was a lot a really
liked about the amp, but all the little black buttons drove me
nuts. An LED for each button would be very helpfull.
I brought it to one gig where we didn't have time to sound
check. We started playing and the amp sounded like ass. I
couldn't take the time to turn around and study the amp. It
had to wait for a while. It turned out one or two of the little
black buttons got pushed in while in transit. The dim light
made it VERY hard to see which buttons were in.
I liked the amp but was frustrated with the helpless feeling
during the show.
I own the iAMP800 since 2004 and while the interface can be overwhelming, the fact that on option it there does not mean you have to use it.
In fact, in many gigs where I play Lakland -> iAMP -> NL210 I have all equalizers off. I mean, off. Bypass. Sounds perfect. Can't get simpler than that.
In combination with the CXL112 stand-alone on low volumes I have the Contour 1 on, sometimes when I need it more aggressive I have Bass & Treble Boost and Contour II on. That is most of the time all I need.
From then I may fine-tune.
- NL-210 by itself I may roll off bass at ~60 Hz when I'm in a corner.
- NL210+CXL112 I boost at ~60 Hz (5 dB) and at 4 kHz (for a "Miller" slap tone)
- Sometimes I cut at ~ 600 Hz
- CXL112 at moderate/high volumes is a +8 dB boost at 80 Hz, 5 dB cut at ~600 Hz (narrow), ~10 dB cut at ~ 2km + 5 dB boost at ~ 5 k.
These settings work with ALL MY BASSES!
(Lakland 4402, Ibanez 5 string w/ Barts, Fenix fretlesss w/ Barts, Ibanez RS760, and NS design CRM4, (well the Shen URB with K&K needs the HPF and a 100 Hz notch from a separate preamp)
Rule of thumb: When I cut I use the narrow filters (to cut out what I don't like without affecting much else), when I boost I use the wide filter (to add character without creating a sudden resonance)
I have the white buttons, I marked my DI out off and Pre-Post switch with sharpie to get an indicator. Believe me, the sound guy tells your DI is off (happened once so far).
When you're used to the amp you immediately see if a button is in or out.
Also, I almost always use the Equalizer with the frequency in the center position. I rarely ever move them, they are picked nicely.
Hope this helps!
In fact, in many gigs where I play Lakland -> iAMP -> NL210 I have all equalizers off. I mean, off. Bypass. Sounds perfect. Can't get simpler than that.
In combination with the CXL112 stand-alone on low volumes I have the Contour 1 on, sometimes when I need it more aggressive I have Bass & Treble Boost and Contour II on. That is most of the time all I need.
From then I may fine-tune.
- NL-210 by itself I may roll off bass at ~60 Hz when I'm in a corner.
- NL210+CXL112 I boost at ~60 Hz (5 dB) and at 4 kHz (for a "Miller" slap tone)
- Sometimes I cut at ~ 600 Hz
- CXL112 at moderate/high volumes is a +8 dB boost at 80 Hz, 5 dB cut at ~600 Hz (narrow), ~10 dB cut at ~ 2km + 5 dB boost at ~ 5 k.
These settings work with ALL MY BASSES!
(Lakland 4402, Ibanez 5 string w/ Barts, Fenix fretlesss w/ Barts, Ibanez RS760, and NS design CRM4, (well the Shen URB with K&K needs the HPF and a 100 Hz notch from a separate preamp)
Rule of thumb: When I cut I use the narrow filters (to cut out what I don't like without affecting much else), when I boost I use the wide filter (to add character without creating a sudden resonance)
I have the white buttons, I marked my DI out off and Pre-Post switch with sharpie to get an indicator. Believe me, the sound guy tells your DI is off (happened once so far).
When you're used to the amp you immediately see if a button is in or out.
Also, I almost always use the Equalizer with the frequency in the center position. I rarely ever move them, they are picked nicely.
Hope this helps!
Interesting, that is about the eq settings I used with my iamp800and NL210....just couldn't get the tone I wanted, although it was close. I tried a TECAMP PUMA 1000 and now I have that tone I was after.
Thanks for all the info Wneff it is very helpful. I'm not concerned that I won't be able to dial it in there are just so many options. Personally I don't love the presets and could do without them, but Contour I does sound pretty good the others are useless for me.
+1 To the Puma 1000 sounds like it's a great head too...
+1 To the Puma 1000 sounds like it's a great head too...
I had the opportunity to play two gigs this past weekend where I needed some really decent power. And have another upcoming Friday night.
I ran the IAMP Pro with an NL210 on the bottom and a VL208 on top of that. First in those bigger stages, fairly loud environment the vertical array stack really helps get a good sound up to my ear without blowing everyone away. I really do prefer that to using a 4x10 shooting at my knees although the single cab schlep of a 4x10 is somewhat easier for me.
I really rely on the VL208 for upright playing and don't love it with electric but in this set up complimenting the NL210 it works really well. Also having the head up closer to eye level made it much easier to work with the head.
I ran the DI pre EQ which allowed me to really futz with my tone on stage and know I wouldn't effect the sound guy at all. I also don't mind sending the dry signal from my Alleva-Coppolo to the FOH I have total confidence there.
I settled in on cutting about 3db of lows dialed in between the 40 and 85Hz settings (probably about 60hz). I also boosted the lower mids by about 5 db somewhere between 180 and 250hz. I also utilized contour 1 for my slap playing which helped to emphasize the punch and snap on a stage with allot sound bouncing around.
I am very happy with my results thus far. My goal from this bass rig is to get a very inspiring and clear bass sound that allows me to hear myself on stage without putting out to much volume where singers and or horn players may be adversly effected by bass taking up their sonic space.....
Good stuff....
EDIT - BTW I was running the master at less then noon and have a ton of headroom with the audio taper style master volume!
I ran the IAMP Pro with an NL210 on the bottom and a VL208 on top of that. First in those bigger stages, fairly loud environment the vertical array stack really helps get a good sound up to my ear without blowing everyone away. I really do prefer that to using a 4x10 shooting at my knees although the single cab schlep of a 4x10 is somewhat easier for me.
I really rely on the VL208 for upright playing and don't love it with electric but in this set up complimenting the NL210 it works really well. Also having the head up closer to eye level made it much easier to work with the head.
I ran the DI pre EQ which allowed me to really futz with my tone on stage and know I wouldn't effect the sound guy at all. I also don't mind sending the dry signal from my Alleva-Coppolo to the FOH I have total confidence there.
I settled in on cutting about 3db of lows dialed in between the 40 and 85Hz settings (probably about 60hz). I also boosted the lower mids by about 5 db somewhere between 180 and 250hz. I also utilized contour 1 for my slap playing which helped to emphasize the punch and snap on a stage with allot sound bouncing around.
I am very happy with my results thus far. My goal from this bass rig is to get a very inspiring and clear bass sound that allows me to hear myself on stage without putting out to much volume where singers and or horn players may be adversly effected by bass taking up their sonic space.....
Good stuff....
EDIT - BTW I was running the master at less then noon and have a ton of headroom with the audio taper style master volume!
That sounds like a pretty solid rig! Have you ever had the chance to play an NL210/CXL112 combination? That setup intrigues me...
Sorry, Peter! Tried to warn you w/out making a hard sales pitch!
The NL-210 + CXL 112L combo totally speaks. The 112 picks up where the 210 leaves off and vice-versa.
