Double Bass NEW Euphonic Audio iAMP Doubler

[anonymous02282011]

[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.

Just wanted to say that this kind of audio is invaluable. Talkbass takes on a whole new dimension when we can actually hear what we're talking about.

Chris, great playing. You can really hear the microphone at work, or at least it seems that way.

What was your mic/pickup volume ratio?

Also, was this with just one wizzy10 ?

THANK YOU!

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Thanks for the nice review. The mic/pickup split was about 50/50, as the gig is a pretty loud one. Just one Wizzy 10 - I don't think the doubler can push two of them since they're 4 ohm cabs. It's one of the older ones without the darker inside batting that the current ones have. I'd like to add the batting to one of the Wizzy cabs I have and see what the difference might be. I like the way the mic mixes in - it allows me to darken the pickup a bunch and still have some air on top. I imagine it would sound a lot better with the DPA mic, but it sounds pretty decent for a Beta 57.

The one thing about the recording that I can't really put properly into words is how close to the amp and drums the recorder was. It's probably about 4 feet from the amp, and a little above the dispersion pattern of the speaker, but not by much. I imagine what we're hearing from this position is more of an "in your face player's version" of the sound than what the audience hears from further away. From a row or two back, it's bound to be somewhat darker and more ambient.

 

[anonymous02282011]

you using a zoom dealy for recording?

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

It's an Edirol R-09, hung up on the music stand about 3' up in the air, within arm's reach. Amazing little recorder.

 

[Treyzer]

That clip is BAD......... Love the way you guys play with the time but it never feels tight or rushed. Nice solo too very funky!

 

[Bob Gollihur]

Thanks for the nice review. The mic/pickup split was about 50/50, as the gig is a pretty loud one. Just one Wizzy 10 - I don't think the doubler can push two of them since they're 4 ohm cabs. It's one of the older ones without the darker inside batting that the current ones have. I'd like to add the batting to one of the Wizzy cabs I have and see what the difference might be. I like the way the mic mixes in - it allows me to darken the pickup a bunch and still have some air on top. I imagine it would sound a lot better with the DPA mic, but it sounds pretty decent for a Beta 57.

The one thing about the recording that I can't really put properly into words is how close to the amp and drums the recorder was. It's probably about 4 feet from the amp, and a little above the dispersion pattern of the speaker, but not by much. I imagine what we're hearing from this position is more of an "in your face player's version" of the sound than what the audience hears from further away. From a row or two back, it's bound to be somewhat darker and more ambient.

Sounds absolutely great, Chris, maybe I should practice.

You can drive two Wizzy 10 cabs, or any other honestly four ohm cabinet, with the Doubler or Micro provided you don't play repeated low B eighth notes at ultrahigh volumes in direct sunlight for more than five minutes.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Sounds absolutely great, Chris, maybe I should practice.

You can drive two Wizzy 10 cabs, or any other honestly four ohm cabinet, with the Doubler or Micro provided you don't play repeated low B eighth notes at ultrahigh volumes in direct sunlight for more than five minutes.

Thanks, Bob (& Trey). Are you sure about this last part? I'm on a two week rotation on this gig, and tonight's the night. I was going to bring a different rig to the gig tonight because I think I've dialed in every thing I can with the mic I have through a single Wizzy... but if I could bring them both and run them safely, that would be worth a testing run, and it would be interesting to compare the sound clips. Remember, this amp is on loan for review and I don't wanna blow it up!

Assuming the answer is yes, what would be your preferred way of stacking them? I notice that the doubler only has one speakon connector on the back, so I'd have to daisy chain the Wizzy cabs. I've heard that there are sound differences in different arrays, and wondered if you had any thoughts on this. From a practical viewpoint, I'd rather stack them on their sides to prevent the "Marshall Stack" look, and to keep them from toppling, but if there's a better sounding array to check out that you know about, I'll try that.

 

[anonymous02282011]

The general consensus of stacking seems to be, IME, IMO, that you'd want to stack them vertically, one on top of the other with both speaker faces in the same plane to minimize phase cancellation and maximize dispersion throughout the room.

 

[Bob Gollihur]

Thanks, Bob (& Trey). Are you sure about this last part? I'm on a two week rotation on this gig, and tonight's the night. I was going to bring a different rig to the gig tonight because I think I've dialed in every thing I can with the mic I have through a single Wizzy... but if I could bring them both and run them safely, that would be worth a testing run, and it would be interesting to compare the sound clips. Remember, this amp is on loan for review and I don't wanna blow it up!

Assuming the answer is yes, what would be your preferred way of stacking them? I notice that the doubler only has one speakon connector on the back, so I'd have to daisy chain the Wizzy cabs. I've heard that there are sound differences in different arrays, and wondered if you had any thoughts on this. From a practical viewpoint, I'd rather stack them on their sides to prevent the "Marshall Stack" look, and to keep them from toppling, but if there's a better sounding array to check out that you know about, I'll try that.

I'm with Adbass, I stack them vertically (handle on the side) so I can see the amp better. I also like the elevation of the second speaker so it's that much closer to my ear. I've only ever stacked two sideways in the house. And I do daisy chain quality cabs, those that I know will have adequate gauge cable at their jacks.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

The two cabs stacked vertically sounded really great, and I didn't have to push the amp hard at all. There were three bass students in the audience last night, and all reported that the sound was really first rate and present. Having the two cabs allowed me to get a more "old school" vibe with more cushion on the bottom than I was able to get with only one. I don't much care for carrying two speakers, but the sound was more than worth it. I'll try that again tonight.

 

[peterpalmieri]

The two cabs stacked vertically sounded really great, and I didn't have to push the amp hard at all. There were three bass students in the audience last night, and all reported that the sound was really first rate and present. Having the two cabs allowed me to get a more "old school" vibe with a little cushion on the bottom than I was able to get with only one. I don't much care for carrying two speakers, but the sound was more than worth it. I'll try that again tonight.

The Wizzy 10 to me has something in common with the VL108s in that the character of a single cabinet is significantly different then two. It is an odd set of circumstances but I find a single of either of these cabinets to sound sub par but two of them are very special.

Thanks for the continued update Chris, I wish I was doing as many gigs as you are....

 

[tombowlus]

The Wizzy 10 to me has something in common with the VL108s in that the character of a single cabinet is significantly different then two. It is an odd set of circumstances but I find a single of either of these cabinets to sound sub par but two of them are very special.

Thanks for the continued update Chris, I wish I was doing as many gigs as you are....

When I first heard the Wizzy 10's at Winter NAMM a couple of years back, I mentioned to John Dong that they reminded me somewhat of the VL-108. He smiled and nodded and said that the Wizzy 10 was designed as a VL-108 replacement.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

The Wizzy 10 to me has something in common with the VL108s in that the character of a single cabinet is significantly different then two. It is an odd set of circumstances but I find a single of either of these cabinets to sound sub par but two of them are very special.

This has been my experience of late... sort of. I wouldn't say that one Wizzy is sub par, but one alone can be pretty unpredictable. When it's right, it's right. When it's not - in my experience, in dry rooms with carpet that don't add anything to the bass response - it can be tricky for me to find my comfort zone. But with two, everything is there and I don't have to drive the amp very hard. Last night's sound was impressive. I like the VL108 analogy, but this is a better sounding cab than a 108 IMO. It can handle a lot more (especially for slab, which I don't really play any more), and two of them are a force to be reckoned with. I had so much headroom left last night it was just plain stoopid. I didn't even begin to explore what two of those cabs together can do.

Thanks for the continued update Chris, I wish I was doing as many gigs as you are..

I'm not really playing that many gigs compared to years ago, but in general the quality of them has gone up, which I can definitely live with.

 

[Uncletoad]

When I had a couple gigs with the two Wizzy 10's I had much more feedback issues at loud volumes than I do with one VL208 at the same or louder volumes.

I think at lower volumes the Wizzy 10 is easier to use than the VL208 but if that same quiet gig gets out of hand I can get left in the dust with a single Wizzy 10.

That's why I stuck with the VL208.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] a soundclip from the gig Wednesday with the 2 wizzy cabs and the doubler. Caution: the clip is huge, and there's about one minute of insane free **** on the beginning. Not to worry, there's two tunes on the clip that are easily recognizable. I'll let the sound speak for itself, but suffice to say that the sound is much different from that of a single cab (all other amp settings were the same). Please excuse my bad case of "educator chops" and the intonation boogers that resulted.

 

[Ric Vice]

When I had a couple gigs with the two Wizzy 10's I had much more feedback issues at loud volumes than I do with one VL208 at the same or louder volumes.

I think at lower volumes the Wizzy 10 is easier to use than the VL208 but if that same quiet gig gets out of hand I can get left in the dust with a single Wizzy 10.

That's why I stuck with the VL208.

Seems to me that the 208 is less likely to feed back than two tens because of the difference in speaker size. I never had much luck with two VL 108's in tandem either. They were very prone to feedback at levels the 208 doesn't seem to mind at all. I'm stuck with mine and I like it that way.

 

[Ben Rolston]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] a soundclip from the gig Wednesday with the 2 wizzy cabs and the doubler. Caution: the clip is huge, and there's about one minute of insane free **** on the beginning. Not to worry, there's two tunes on the clip that are easily recognizable. I'll let the sound speak for itself, but suffice to say that the sound is much different from that of a single cab (all other amp settings were the same). Please excuse my bad case of "educator chops" and the intonation boogers that resulted.

mmm. nice clip!

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Thanks, Ben. I've gotten a couple of PMs about the file being too large to play on some people's machines or connections, so I've split it up into smaller files. These are the files that will end up linked in the review. The two wizzy combo was my preferred setup with the doubler.

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[Wild Rice Chris]

Chris, your clips have pushed me over the edge...I need to sell one or two more amps and I'll grab a Doubler from Bob Gollihur and a second Wizzy 10. Even my wife likes what she hears, and she's more critical of tone than anyone I've ever met (she's a flautist).

Anybody have any clips of the Doubler with electric bass?

 

[oren]

Great playing, Chris! I might have to look into getting a Planet p/u to replace my old Underwood.

I've been thinking about making the switch to a micro head so I don't have to schlep my 28 lb Ashdown around. I double on many gigs, so I've been thinking of either the Doubler or the GenzBenz Shuttle Max 6 - anybody have any opinions on how those two would compare?