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Double Bass NEW Euphonic Audio iAMP Doubler

#341
I just got a Doubler in for review, and will be taking it to a bunch of gigs for the next few weeks before assessing/writing the review. A quick question for those in the know: When you have a mic in channel 2 and a pickup in channel 1, is the notch filter only available for the mic? I haven't quite got my head around the whole "intelligent switching" concept yet, and am looking to tackle a bit of piezo quack in the pickup. I'm sure that the amp is quite intelligent, but less confident that the player is in this case...
 
#342
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I just got a Doubler in for review, and will be taking it to a bunch of gigs for the next few weeks before assessing/writing the review. A quick question for those in the know: When you have a mic in channel 2 and a pickup in channel 1, is the notch filter only available for the mic? I haven't quite got my head around the whole "intelligent switching" concept yet, and am looking to tackle a bit of piezo quack in the pickup. I'm sure that the amp is quite intelligent, but less confident that the player is in this case...
Click to expand...

That left-hand panel applies to channel two only, either the 1/4" or XLR input.
 
#343
Interesting experience on Wednesday night's loud gig at the Nachbar: when I first set up with the doubler and a Wizzy 10, the pickup was quacking like a duck on the A and F# on the G string. Mic sounded fine. It's got a couple of knobs that I don't really understand, so I was twiddling. I wasn't crazy about the sound, but it was OK with the blend. Messing with the variable phase about halfway through seemed to help, but I was really just spinning it blindly and I think I got lucky. On the break, I powered down, then powered back up. Sound on the second set was better, and I had it cranked pretty good. I looked down after the last tune and noticed that on the "intelligent switching" section, only the light on channel one was on. Does that mean I was playing with pickup only the second set, or that both signals were running through the EQ for channel one? Either way, for whatever reason, the sound seemed more present.

EDIT: according to Bob's site rundown, I see that the amp defaulted to the pickup only on the second set, and somehow sounded better. Interesting, since the quack was definitely coming from the pickup on the first set but somehow disappeared during the second.

A grad student who was there said that the sound was not as present and didn't have quite the "warm mojo" that I usually had with the Phil Jones Flightcase 300, but that the tone sounded "more like my bass sounds acoustically". Whatever was going on, I think I was getting more used to it by the end of the night. I'll try again next Wed.

[end progris riport]
 
#344
^ Thanks for the review Chris....I stated in an earlier post that for me this head sounds great with my pickup so much so that I really have no interest in pulling out the AMT any longer. And if I could do it all over again I'd probably just get the micro it sounds that good for me, with my bass and all the rest of that stuff.
 
#345
I had a problem with the "Intelligent Switching" with the Micro 300 I was using. It would switch back to channel 1 on its own while I was playing. Not sure the reason. I did send the amp back to EA and had the power supply replaced. Quick turnaround too! I just wasn't really happy with the sound of it with my DB. I've since gone back to Acoustic Image or the MB150S. More natural and less of that quack that you describe Chris.
 
#346
Adrian Juras said:
I had a problem with the "Intelligent Switching" with the Micro 300 I was using. It would switch back to channel 1 on its own while I was playing. Not sure the reason. I did send the amp back to EA and had the power supply replaced. Quick turnaround too! I just wasn't really happy with the sound of it with my DB. I've since gone back to Acoustic Image or the MB150S. More natural and less of that quack that you describe Chris.
Click to expand...

It's funny how different we all are..For me my old MB150 and focus are so far from my preference and the Doubler is great.
 
#347
That is true. But it depends so much on the bass as well. I like to dig in, and the MB150 adds enough sound without giving me too much unnatural low end. The thing I liked the least about the EA was the lack of a low pass filter(which they have now added). Otherwise, they are extremely clear and warm sounding amps.
 
#348
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Interesting experience on Wednesday night's loud gig at the Nachbar: when I first set up with the doubler and a Wizzy 10, the pickup was quacking like a duck on the A and F# on the G string. Mic sounded fine. It's got a couple of knobs that I don't really understand, so I was twiddling. I wasn't crazy about the sound, but it was OK with the blend. Messing with the variable phase about halfway through seemed to help, but I was really just spinning it blindly and I think I got lucky. On the break, I powered down, then powered back up. Sound on the second set was better, and I had it cranked pretty good. I looked down after the last tune and noticed that on the "intelligent switching" section, only the light on channel one was on. Does that mean I was playing with pickup only the second set, or that both signals were running through the EQ for channel one? Either way, for whatever reason, the sound seemed more present.

EDIT: according to Bob's site rundown, I see that the amp defaulted to the pickup only on the second set, and somehow sounded better. Interesting, since the quack was definitely coming from the pickup on the first set but somehow disappeared during the second.

A grad student who was there said that the sound was not as present and didn't have quite the "warm mojo" that I usually had with the Phil Jones Flightcase 300, but that the tone sounded "more like my bass sounds acoustically". Whatever was going on, I think I was getting more used to it by the end of the night. I'll try again next Wed.

[end progris riport]
Click to expand...

Just in case anyone thinks this is in any way a negative report on the doubler, I'd like to clarify that what I'm talking about here is my own technical ignorance/ineptitude on how to best use the amp in this setting. In the end, the sound got increasingly better (I was just listening to the recordings last night) as I tweaked in between tunes, and as it turns out I played the whole second set with the pickup only strictly because I didn't yet know that the amp defaults to channel one upon powerup, which makes perfect sense. Also, on the later tunes, when I was really opening the master up, I got a lot more presence from the Wizzy 10, and a bigger bottom end than I expected. On the three gigs next week, I'll start from a baseline (NPI) of knowing better how to blend the mic and pickup, what the EQ settings are doing and how to use them, and in the meantime have reminded myself about the curve on the EA power section and how to set the input gain. Considering I haven't really mixed the mic and the pickup together properly yet on the gig, I'd say the amp did pretty damn well, even with a complete technodummy at the controls. :) My learning curve with any new amp/piece of gear always goes like this. For a while, the PJB stuff always seemed too boomy until I added the HPF in the FX loop. Live and learn.
 
#349
Got it dialed in tonight in the same room (and it's a high volume gig) where I was getting the wolf tones last week. It sounded really good, and the mic added a lot. It's got a lot of detail in the mids, so even when I dialed back the mids to tame the wolf tones form the pickup, there was still good clarity to the sound. It's still pretty forward with the pickup alone, but with the mic added in I can darken the pickup and keep the detail in the mic EQ and the result is very natural. One odd thing that I notice with the amp is the amount of gain before feedback in the mic channel, which is way more than I've experienced before, and ends up being very useful. I'll throw up a short clip when I get a minute.
 
#350
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] a clip from Wednesday night with the doubler and a Wizzy 10, Full Circle blended with a Beta 57. Recorder was on a music stand in front of the band. It's a pretty good representation of the sound of my bass. I'll be able to optimize the mic blend with a little more practice, and probably with a better mic as well.
 
#353
Yes, some great playing, Chris!

The sound is substantially different from the Phil Jones rig which had more of the "old school" sound. This is a bit more contemporary sounding--not inherently better or worse--just different. I can see wanting both rigs. They both sound natural and very acoustic but seem to favor different aspects of the bass's sound.

Do you have a favorite rig yet?

bob
 
#354
Thanks fellas. Jacob Duncan (alto) and Jason Tiemann come loaded for bear every time they play, and I'm fortunate to get to play with them regularly. My wife knows I need a nap before going to that gig every time I play it (no, I'm not kidding!). This is also the gig that makes me feel compelled to learn to play more lightly in the physical sense, as in the "lightness of touch" thread. Playing with these guys is like getting sucked into a vortex of intense energy, and I end up beating my hands up trying to match what they're putting out.

bassphase said:
Yes, some great playing, Chris!

The sound is substantially different from the Phil Jones rig which had more of the "old school" sound. This is a bit more contemporary sounding--not inherently better or worse--just different. I can see wanting both rigs. They both sound natural and very acoustic but seem to favor different aspects of the bass's sound.

Do you have a favorite rig yet?
Click to expand...

Not really, but so far I agree with your assessment completely. I have a suspicion that where the doubler will really shine will be in boomy rooms where the detail and edge will come in handy. I don't know how many amps I can afford and/or afford to keep around, but I can see the possibility of taking different amps to different gigs depending on the vibe of the music and the vibe of the room.
 
#357
Jeremy Allen said:
Yeah, nice playing, Chris! I see why those guys don't call me for that gig anymore...:)
Click to expand...

I think it might also have something to do with the fact that you live 2 hours from the Nachbar, and I live about 5 minutes from there, but thanks! :)

The Doubler sounds like it's pretty faithful and transparent. If that's what you're looking for (not necessarily a given, I know).
Click to expand...

Exactly. At this level of amplification gear, it all comes down to different colors of really, really good. I can be happy attempting to make music with any of them at this level.
 
#358
Update:
I've been using this amp for quite a few weeks now and I'm extremely happy with it. Like any amp (while using a piezo) it sounds best at lower volumes, but I feel like I can turn it up more before the pickup-wince starts happen. Like Mike A. said it really has some weight to the quarter notes, making walking a joy. I've been struggling with amp placement a little: I find that with the wizzy 10 when its off the floor the middy nature of that speaker really comes out. I might not be getting as true a picture of what the amp sounds like out in the audience, but it sounds better to me, so I play better.

Also, on a gig this weekend I used it as a PA for the singer I was playing with after we got to the gig and found I didn't need an amp. It's was a very natural sound, so I'm looking forward to trying the amp with a microphone on my bass.

Lastly, does anybody know what would happen if an electric bass was plugged into channel 1, double pickup into channel 2, and then a mic into the xlr. Could the amp handle this?

I've got some sound clips of the amp during my friends recital that I'll post as soon as I get the CD.

Peace
 
#359
Ben Rolston said:
Update:
I've been using this amp for quite a few weeks now and I'm extremely happy with it. Like any amp (while using a piezo) it sounds best at lower volumes, but I feel like I can turn it up more before the pickup-wince starts happen. Like Mike A. said it really has some weight to the quarter notes, making walking a joy. I've been struggling with amp placement a little: I find that with the wizzy 10 when its off the floor the middy nature of that speaker really comes out. I might not be getting as true a picture of what the amp sounds like out in the audience, but it sounds better to me, so I play better.

Also, on a gig this weekend I used it as a PA for the singer I was playing with after we got to the gig and found I didn't need an amp. It's was a very natural sound, so I'm looking forward to trying the amp with a microphone on my bass.

Lastly, does anybody know what would happen if an electric bass was plugged into channel 1, double pickup into channel 2, and then a mic into the xlr. Could the amp handle this?

I've got some sound clips of the amp during my friends recital that I'll post as soon as I get the CD.

Peace
Click to expand...

Ben,

you cannot use the 1/4" input and the XLR, on channel 2, simultaneously

Mike
 

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