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My Avalon U5

Funky Doctor

Funky Doctor

Aug 28, 2003
848
4
42
Australia
#1
I just received a second hand U5 from talkbasses own "couvy" (that's right mate, I received it. sorry I bugged you so much... :) ) and I have a gig tonight at which I am going to try it out. I'll tell you all my own personal opinion after the gig! I am trying so hard not to go in with high expectations, but I can' help it. I already listened to my bass through it with headphones and was mightily impressed, especially with the low pass filter... very nifty indeed. One question though, and it may seem a little silly, but due to the fact I am running it on 230 V, I should also change the fuse to a 0.5 A as opposed to the 1 A fuse already in there... I'm guessing it will be ok unless something goes wrong tonight :hmm: . Anyway, i'll let y'all know how it goes...

Just so you know, I am pairing it up with the rest of my gigging amp, which is an Epifani 410UL/QSC PL218 combination. Should be rather tasty.
 
#3
Ok, it's 3:17 am, just got in and wound down after the gig.

Verdict: Wow.

Just wow. I was expecting a good sound, but not such a subtle yet in your face improvement in sound from what I am used to. I don't mean in your face in a tone context though.

My first preamp that I used regularly was an ampeg SVP-PRO. It had an absolutely beautiful sound if you could ignore all the noise that came out of it. When that decided to die a friend was good enough to lend me his sansamp since he had just recently got an F-1X. It's a good utilitarian preamp that can do lots, has lots of routing possiblities, nice and clean (I don't go for distortion as a main sound hence I didn't use that function) and has a decent eq section. It was a tad noisier that I would have liked, but I don't mind, I don't own it.

So the U5... first thing I noticed right from the start was the clarity. It sounds massive yet really quite clear and articulate. And even better, my amp was louder, punchier, and had WAAAAAAY more headroom than with all the other preamps I have used. I REALLY like high cut at 8kHz when and if things get a little hissy. Oh, and, what I really can't get over, is that I switched everything on, turned my 1800 watt amp all the way up(!), and couldn't for the life of me hear a thing coming out of the system while it was idling. Not even the slightest hiss... mind you I was in a club with heaps of people. I am shocked and stunned at the quality on many levels of this preamp. I wouldn't say that the U5 is a doer of miracles and the object of hype, but it is an awesomely awesome live sound praemp. For those of you who are jaded and don't see what the big deal is, I would say that had I tried it by itself in a shop by myself without a band and a bunch of other preamps to compar e it to, I almost definitely would not have been impressed. It's the subtle changes in my tone that did it for me. My bass was louder, it cut more, but not "overbearingly" like other preamps after I got it sorted out in the second set (according to my girlfriend who also plays bass and now only wants me for my U5), my sound was pristine, shiny, clear, and all the other emotive analytical words you can conjure, it was those. As you can guess, I am a fan for life, untill I find something better, like a millenia or something, but I couldn't be bothered forking out that much for a preamp just yet.
 
#4
Ah, another true believer is born! The U5 is all that and a can of beer (Foster's I suspect :D ).

I like your description of how your sound was changed. I had a very similar experience the first time I gigged with a U5, but lack ability to describe it well.

Best to you,

Matt
 

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