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iAmp Micro 300
- Thread starter needmoney
- Start date
Just wanted to let everyone know that I received my Micro 300 back from EA last night. I reported on it in the iAmp Micro thread over in the DB forums...
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4334318&postcount=79
- Frank.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4334318&postcount=79
- Frank.
got one on order from bob g and at this moment I have a mark bass little mark II. so when the micro comes in, Ill have to compare. the only thing that Im worried about is 300w vs the 500 I have with the LMII other than that the micro seems incredible! Ill let you guys know
When will the Micros be shipping again??? Just wondering...I'm trying to be very patient but the wait is killin' me!!!
After putting in a few hours with the Micro/Wizzy combination down in the basement, I couldn't help but get this feeling that it wasn't quite as loud as I expected it to be, especially when compared to the MarkBass LittleMark. Knowing it wasn't a fair comparison of wattage, I decided to dig out another 300 watt amp to compare it to... My trusted (cough...) Behringer BX3000T. I bought this head over 4 years ago as a backup and have barely touched it since, but I figured hey, 300 watts is 300 watts right? Well, let's see...
Before we get into it, let's look at a few pictures so we can get some idea of the difference in size between an average size head (like the "B"), the LMK II, and the Micro (btw, the Behringer weighs in at about 30lbs
)...
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As you can see, there's quite a size difference (at least length and width wize) between the three. I decided to use a Schroeder 1210R as my reference cabinet as I wasn't all that comfortable pushing the Wizzy too hard. I also decided to conduct my comparison outside so that the room acoustics wouldn't be a huge factor. I set all controls flat on both heads (making sure the deep, bright and shape switches on the Behringer were disengaged), with the input gain at 12 o'clock and the main volume set at 9 o'clock.
Hmmm, no comparison
. The Behringer was noticably louder than the iAmp. Thinking that maybe the trim pots were set too low, I turned each of them (one for each channel) fully clockwise and tried again... Nope, the "B" was still louder. OK, let's turn the gain all the way up on the iAmp... Ah, that's a bit better, the Behringer's still a bit louder but at least they're both in the same ball park.
Now, let's turn up the master volume to 12 o'clock. Wow... the difference is even bigger now. The Behringer is actually quite loud and punchy... you can really start to feel some air. The iAmp sounds much smoother to my ears but isn't coming even close volume wise. I decide to turn the volume on the Micro up all the way (remember, so is the gain as well as the trim pots)... closer, but not close enough for Rock n' Roll.
Now, you may be wondering why I didn't include the MarkBass in my comparison. That's because the LMK had the other two easily beat at any of the volume settings (The LMK is more on par with my old GK1001RB-II volume wise, so I knew that wouldn't be a fair comparison).
So what's the bottom line... I'd have to say that the iAmp Micro 300 isn't really all that much louder than my 150 watt GKMB150E combo. I am digging it's smooth and somewhat "pillowy" sound... and it's size/weight is just crazy, but I'm having a hard time believing it's really pushing out 325 watts
.
Looking forward to what other Micro owners have to say on the subject.
- Ugly.
Before we get into it, let's look at a few pictures so we can get some idea of the difference in size between an average size head (like the "B"), the LMK II, and the Micro (btw, the Behringer weighs in at about 30lbs
)...Link Removed
Link Removed
Link Removed
As you can see, there's quite a size difference (at least length and width wize) between the three. I decided to use a Schroeder 1210R as my reference cabinet as I wasn't all that comfortable pushing the Wizzy too hard. I also decided to conduct my comparison outside so that the room acoustics wouldn't be a huge factor. I set all controls flat on both heads (making sure the deep, bright and shape switches on the Behringer were disengaged), with the input gain at 12 o'clock and the main volume set at 9 o'clock.
Hmmm, no comparison
. The Behringer was noticably louder than the iAmp. Thinking that maybe the trim pots were set too low, I turned each of them (one for each channel) fully clockwise and tried again... Nope, the "B" was still louder. OK, let's turn the gain all the way up on the iAmp... Ah, that's a bit better, the Behringer's still a bit louder but at least they're both in the same ball park.Now, let's turn up the master volume to 12 o'clock. Wow... the difference is even bigger now. The Behringer is actually quite loud and punchy... you can really start to feel some air. The iAmp sounds much smoother to my ears but isn't coming even close volume wise. I decide to turn the volume on the Micro up all the way (remember, so is the gain as well as the trim pots)... closer, but not close enough for Rock n' Roll.
Now, you may be wondering why I didn't include the MarkBass in my comparison. That's because the LMK had the other two easily beat at any of the volume settings (The LMK is more on par with my old GK1001RB-II volume wise, so I knew that wouldn't be a fair comparison).
So what's the bottom line... I'd have to say that the iAmp Micro 300 isn't really all that much louder than my 150 watt GKMB150E combo. I am digging it's smooth and somewhat "pillowy" sound... and it's size/weight is just crazy, but I'm having a hard time believing it's really pushing out 325 watts
.Looking forward to what other Micro owners have to say on the subject.
- Ugly.
Yup, 4ohms. Just to be sure, I did a quick Micro vs. Behringer comparison on the Wizzy 10 also (albiet I didn't push the Wizzy as hard as I pushed the Schroeder), and the results were pretty much the same.
Hmm, not sure if that's an option, but you can always string it up at each corner with 4 helium balloons and just kind of nudge it along
I've owned an eye amp 500 and a shrowder 1212 (not at the same time). Knowing what I know about this gear would say that if you had a cab that put out real low end (not just big low mids) the micro might have fared better. IME the EA heads put out big low end and if the micro is anything like the rest of the family a lot of its power will go into reproducing the lows. I have little experience with Bearijer amps but I would guess that it may be more mid focused as I know the Schro is from experience so if the micro is putting out the EA lows they may not be coming through as they would from a bigger cab.So what's the bottom line... I'd have to say that the iAmp Micro 300 isn't really all that much louder than my 150 watt GKMB150E combo. I am digging it's smooth and somewhat "pillowy" sound... and it's size/weight is just crazy, but I'm having a hard time believing it's really pushing out 325 watts
Looking forward to what other Micro owners have to say on the subject.
- Ugly.
Not quite sure I'm following you here. The Micro couldn't hang with the Behringer volume-wise on any string, anywhere on the fretboard, fingerstyle or slap, low notes, high notes, and everything in-between (whether plugged into the Schroeder or the Wizzy 10 it was designed for). Don't get me wrong, it sounds great and for the record... I preferred it's tone over the Behringer. I'm just saying that evidently, all watts aren't equal. Again, I'd love to hear from other Micro owners... Could be that I'm missing something here, or that there's something amiss with my Micro.
My point exactly.
It takes much more power to reproduce low frequencies. If the micro is putting out real lows it's 300 watts might not sound as loud as the 'B's more mid foucused watts especially when dealing with a cab that doesn't produce any real low end such as the Schro.
