The Official EBS Club

[dabis]

I have a pair of Neoline 212s, and they are definitely Eminence drivers, but not sure whether they are Basslite. This question came up about the Neoline 210 drivers, and the cabinet rating is higher than would could expect if they were using stock 10" Basslites.

I've got a buddy who runs an equipment rental business on the side, with a bunch of Aguilar and Mesa gear, and I've brought my EBS rig over for mix'n'match experiments. That rig should sound pretty fine for hard rock (though I would be frustrated by the volume limitation), but I expect you'll want to roll the treble back on the TH350.

Thanks @Sid Fang . It has to be the cab for small situations. I'm tired of lugging the stellars SWR's everywhere (GIII 4x10 or 2x10, depending on the venue).
I was also interested on see how the bracings and the internal linnings are, so if anyone has any inside picture of this cab and can share with me/us, will be appreciated.

 

[AlexanderB]

Hi everyone! I'm considering to get an EBS Neoline 112 to pair with my Aguilar TH350 (175W@8 ohms), in order to have a small, light, pro and hi quality cab to those situations when little space and moderates volumes are required.
I have 2 questions if anyone it's experienced with that pairing:
Does this head with this cab hold a hardrock band (think Aerosmith covers) in reduced spaces like small bar stages?
Does anyone know wich drivers is using the Neoline? I read somewhere here that these are Eminence Basslite, but don't know for sure. I need a little info or pics is anyone has to check the driver if buying used.

Thank you very much.

Hard rock + bar + single 12" + 175W? No way, ever, in my book... If you have a full PA, your amp would still struggle as a monitor to keep up with a drummer.

The Neo drivers in EBS cabs are made in China. Someone said that nowadays, the complete NeoLine enclosure is made in China?

 

[AlexanderB]

Thanks @Sid Fang . It has to be the cab for small situations. I'm tired of lugging the stellars SWR's everywhere (GIII 4x10 or 2x10, depending on the venue).
I was also interested on see how the bracings and the internal linnings are, so if anyone has any inside picture of this cab and can share with me/us, will be appreciated.

I have owned a number of EBS amps and cabs, ProLine as well as NeoLine. Classic 60, Drome 12, 210 (had two of them), 212, 410, 115 and the three way 311 (15 + 10 + horn). Neither had any bracing at all, there is one thin layer of pillow stuffing inside. As there is very little glue used in the joints, all the cabs (not the Classic combo) were leaking through the panels. At higher volume, you could feel air blowing through the rat fur on the outside of the joints of the box, and hear a muted wheezing.

Can be fixed with a string of white glue on every joint at the inside (did it a few times....) but the point is that these cabs are very much built to a cost, but priced as boutique. They even used regular wood screws for the transducers, and they did not pre drill the holes, so there where always splinters and flaky holes when you took the drivers out.


Honestly, my 2 MIA Ampeg cabs (SVT-210HE) were not really better. They rattled a lot, and in both of them, I had to add a "back to front" brace, inject glue in cracks in the baffles, repair the gasket behind the tweeter and patch up voids in the baffle to get rid of all rattles, squeeks and whistling. Also glued all the inside joints on all panels. The Chinese SVT-410HLFs I bought then are much better built.

However, here in Sweden, the EBS 210 (made in Sweden) was almost twice the price of the Ampeg 210 (made in USA).

 

[dabis]

I have owned a number of EBS amps and cabs, ProLine as well as NeoLine. Classic 60, Drome 12, 210 (had two of them), 212, 410, 115 and the three way 311 (15 + 10 + horn). Neither had any bracing at all, there is one thin layer of pillow stuffing inside. As there is very little glue used in the joints, all the cabs (not the Classic combo) were leaking through the panels. At higher volume, you could feel air blowing through the rat fur on the outside of the joints of the box, and hear a muted wheezing.

Can be fixed with a string of white glue on every joint at the inside (did it a few times....) but the point is that these cabs are very much built to a cost, but priced as boutique. They even used regular wood screws for the transducers, and they did not pre drill the holes, so there where always splinters and flaky holes when you took the drivers out.


Honestly, my 2 MIA Ampeg cabs (SVT-210HE) were not really better. They rattled a lot, and in both of them, I had to add a "back to front" brace, inject glue in cracks in the baffles, repair the gasket behind the tweeter and patch up voids in the baffle to get rid of all rattles, squeeks and whistling. Also glued all the inside joints on all panels. The Chinese SVT-410HLFs I bought then are much better built.

However, here in Sweden, the EBS 210 (made in Sweden) was almost twice the price of the Ampeg 210 (made in USA).

Thanks @AlexanderB . Very surprising. These Neolines are advertised as Made in Sweden. Thought the construction was better. I'm used to the quality of my actual cabs (SWR's), so less than this would be a not desired downgrade.

 

[AlexanderB]

Thanks @AlexanderB . Very surprising. These Neolines are advertised as Made in Sweden. Thought the construction was better. I'm used to the quality of my actual cabs (SWR's), so less that this would be a not desired downgrade.

Well, someone said he saw a NeoLine labelled as Made in China. They used to make them in Sweden (and hopefully are!). I liked the cabs OK after my modifications, but think the prices are very high for what you get. Their unique selling point could be the very nice tweeter they have. Far better than the crappy Foster/Fostex thing used by Ampeg, Carvin, GK, Fender and so on.
They also stack well and are easy to handle in general.

 

[Sid Fang]

Well, someone said he saw a NeoLine labelled as Made in China. They used to make them in Sweden (and hopefully are!). I liked the cabs OK after my modifications, but think the prices are very high for what you get. Their unique selling point could be the very nice tweeter they have. Far better than the crappy Foster/Fostex thing used by Ampeg, Carvin, GK, Fender and so on.
They also stack well and are easy to handle in general.

My Neo 212s are about 10 years old, made in Sweden, and while they haven't seen the hundreds of hours of use that my Drome combo has, have been very solid - I've taken them to the threshold of pain with a 1500W power amp, and up until one of the drivers started to fart, no rattling. Good point about the tweeter, which is probably why I said that the OP would want to roll off treble for a hard rock tone. I run with the "Brightness" on my EBS amps rolled all the way off, and when we did the mix'n'match experiments with Aguilar, Mesa, and EBS heads and cabs, a "flat" treble setting on the other amps brought out too much attack ring and string noise through the Neo 212, given my playing style. The other thing - and I think it my be specific to the Neo 212 design, which, while lightweight, is physically larger than most 212 cabs out there - was that the EBS 212 had more clarity and presence at the very low end as well, compared to the more-or-less equivalent Mesa and Aguilar cabs.

 

[AlexanderB]

My Neo 212s are about 10 years old, made in Sweden, and while they haven't seen the hundreds of hours of use that my Drome combo has, have been very solid - I've taken them to the threshold of pain with a 1500W power amp, and up until one of the drivers started to fart, no rattling. Good point about the tweeter, which is probably why I said that the OP would want to roll off treble for a hard rock tone. I run with the "Brightness" on my EBS amps rolled all the way off, and when we did the mix'n'match experiments with Aguilar, Mesa, and EBS heads and cabs, a "flat" treble setting on the other amps brought out too much attack ring and string noise through the Neo 212, given my playing style. The other thing - and I think it my be specific to the Neo 212 design, which, while lightweight, is physically larger than most 212 cabs out there - was that the EBS 212 had more clarity and presence at the very low end as well, compared to the more-or-less equivalent Mesa and Aguilar cabs.

Agree 100%. I had that cab, too (briefly). It is large, and yes, I much preferred its flatter and less colored response over similar designs.
I think it is worth pointing out (again) that the Bright control is boost only, and fully off is flat.

 

[Murph_Orpheus]

Howdy folks. Looking into buying an EBS amp, either the Reidmar or an original Fafner which is for sale on the local used market. I've so far been using Darkglass M900 and Mesa Subway and Big Block amps and am just looking to try something new with a bright sound and EBS seems to be it. How would you all compare the Reidmar and the Fafner? Also, what would be considered a good price for a used original Fafner? Thanks!

 

[Sid Fang]

Technically, pricing discussions are supposed to be reserved for the Classified section. Those are two rather different amps, and you didn't mention which Reidmar model you're looking at, nor did you tell us what the rest of your rig looks lke. The Fafner has a tube pre-amp channel and a more flexible/complicated front-end, which may or may not be desirable for you, and the power section is old-school class A/B, which makes it bigger and heavier than the Reidmars. It also is rated to use with 2 Ohm output loads, i.e. a pair of 4 ohm cabs. The Reidmar 750 will give you a teeny bit more power in a smaller package, with a solid-state Drive circuit that's not tube-based but still has a pleasant grind to it, but it won't do 2 Ohms. The Reidmar 502 *will* do 2 Ohms, but it's a lower power design and lacks the Drive circuit. Reidmar 750s and 50x's can be had new and under warranty. First generation Fafners are pretty old by now. Which means that, if you buy a Reidmar and decide you don't like it, you'll lose a fair amount of capital flipping it, whereas if you find a Fafner I at a good price, you could probably flip it for about what you paid.

Personally, I've come close to buying a Fafner II as a big brother to my HD350, but couldn't justify the price. And I've come close to buying a Reidmar 750 for the same role, but it won't handle my 2-ohm stack, and the Reidmar 502 is actually lower power @2ohms.

 

[Murph_Orpheus]

Technically, pricing discussions are supposed to be reserved for the Classified section. Those are two rather different amps, and you didn't mention which Reidmar model you're looking at, nor did you tell us what the rest of your rig looks lke. The Fafner has a tube pre-amp channel and a more flexible/complicated front-end, which may or may not be desirable for you, and the power section is old-school class A/B, which makes it bigger and heavier than the Reidmars. It also is rated to use with 2 Ohm output loads, i.e. a pair of 4 ohm cabs. The Reidmar 750 will give you a teeny bit more power in a smaller package, with a solid-state Drive circuit that's not tube-based but still has a pleasant grind to it, but it won't do 2 Ohms. The Reidmar 502 *will* do 2 Ohms, but it's a lower power design and lacks the Drive circuit. Reidmar 750s and 50x's can be had new and under warranty. First generation Fafners are pretty old by now. Which means that, if you buy a Reidmar and decide you don't like it, you'll lose a fair amount of capital flipping it, whereas if you find a Fafner I at a good price, you could probably flip it for about what you paid.

Personally, I've come close to buying a Fafner II as a big brother to my HD350, but couldn't justify the price. And I've come close to buying a Reidmar 750 for the same role, but it won't handle my 2-ohm stack, and the Reidmar 502 is actually lower power @2ohms.

Didn't realise that about the price discussion. Just wondered so can skip out on that one. I use Dingwall NG2/DBird and Warwick Corvette/Thumb basses. Played through TC Electronic RS410/Bergantino HS410 depending on which I fancy on the day. Most likely going for a used Reidmar 502 although I just spotted a 500 on the local used market and don't necessarily need a 2ohm option.

 

[Sid Fang]

Huh. Had missed this: EBS 802 - High Dynamics Linear Bass Amp |

Very interesting take on a high power bass head. Looks like they've collapsed the whole HD360/TD660/Faffner rack-model line into a head with a front-end like the HD360, but with 2 sweepable mid EQs instead of 1, and independent hi and lo frequency boost instead of the old "character" scoop, and put that in front of the class A/B power stage of the Fafner II. Weighs as much as the Fafner, though, 16kg. If I hadn't already built my EBS-1 + 1500W Crown rack for my big rig, I'd order one.

 

[Zooberwerx]

My wife said no more amps / cabs...but she didn't mention pedals so I snagged a MicroBass 3 as a "fly rig". Normally, I would post this in the Effects forum but the dialogue has been somewhat limited. It is an EBS preamp so I'm hoping you guys will give me a pass.

As I understand things, the channels are based on the HD360 and Fafner II amplifiers...I have no experience with either but it sounds pretty durn good. I'm running it directly into the backside of a power amp feeding either Epifani or Acme enclosures. I chained the proprietary power source to an external Zoom MS-60B which is inserted in the FX loop. If I can find a shelving scrap, I'll fabricate a micro-board.

The challenge has been balancing the clean and OD channels to avoid the volume disparities noted in demo videos. The easiest work-around which resulted in virtually no compromise is to "cascade" (serial) the clean channel into the OD channel with the blend dimed fully clockwise and judicious adjustment of the OD level & drive.

Riis

 

[Sid Fang]

Zooberwerx, thanks for the note. I've got a Drome and an HD350, which have the "classic" EBS channel front-ends, and a MicroBass II which does not, and if my MBII died, I'd certainly get an MB3. But I ain't gonna fix what ain't broke, especially when the MBII runs off phantom power. Funny about your solution of running it in cascade mode. The MBII is a very different device, but it has a similar "A+B" mode, which I've had engaged permanently for years, for similar reasons.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Zooberwerx, thanks for the note. I've got a Drome and an HD350, which have the "classic" EBS channel front-ends, and a MicroBass II which does not, and if my MBII died, I'd certainly get an MB3. But I ain't gonna fix what ain't broke, especially when the MBII runs off phantom power. Funny about your solution of running it in cascade mode. The MBII is a very different device, but it has a similar "A+B" mode, which I've had engaged permanently for years, for similar reasons.

Thanks, Sid...I appreciate your contributions to the thread.

I played with the idea of purchasing a used MB2 but the compressor and tuner were must-have's to go head-to-head with my Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig. I was surprised that even the clean channel exhibits some restrained soft tube-esque break-up. My only peeve is that there is a discernible volume drop when using the blend knob. I was able to compensate by tweaking the levels of both channels but at the expense of compromising the characters of both....kinda hard to describe. The Tech 21 dUg pedal has the same quirk: you can dial in a decent clean tone or an over-the-top OD but you can't kick back 'n forth between the two.

Riis

 

[bassandu]

Not only Fafner 2 is awesome..Reidmar too..perhaps you enjoy my new Setup

 

[AlexanderB]

Huh. Had missed this: EBS 802 - High Dynamics Linear Bass Amp |

Very interesting take on a high power bass head. Looks like they've collapsed the whole HD360/TD660/Faffner rack-model line into a head with a front-end like the HD360, but with 2 sweepable mid EQs instead of 1, and independent hi and lo frequency boost instead of the old "character" scoop, and put that in front of the class A/B power stage of the Fafner II. Weighs as much as the Fafner, though, 16kg. If I hadn't already built my EBS-1 + 1500W Crown rack for my big rig, I'd order one.

I posted about this in a new thread some time ago and got a lot of ad hominem nonsense by various board members. Anyways, I still think they have missed out on the eq section. They could have created their own niche by doing like in the old Trace Elliot amps, with independent controls for 30, 40 AND 60 Hz. New music and modern basses have lots pf deep bass, and there are some cabs that will reproduce that bass with articulation and authority.

Now they stopped at 60Hz, an octave above where I would like to have it, at least if I have a 40Hz slider, too. For instance, my Gretsch G5123B has a very weak open E. Third fret and up sounds fine. Can be somewhat compensated for with bass control on my LMII or my EBS 1V2, but even better with a 31 band eq. For gigging, I boost the 40Hz by 8dB, flat at 50 and -4dB at 100 Hz (for feedback prevention). Sounds great.

With that new EBS amp, I would get worse results than with any configuration I have, less power and more weight. It would cost more as well, and take up the same rack space as my pre/power rig. OTOH, it would be better with an external 31 band EQ, so would my EBS 1V2, and then the pre/power rig would be even more superior...

Still, I would like to try it.

 

[Luis Malaga]

I just made an amp replacement to my old Warwick Sweet 25.2, - and guess what! I replaced the amp head in the combo with an EBS Reidmar. It almost fit in perfectly, and the sound is so big and bright. To me it sounds like a major upgrade. The speaker seems to be a perfect match for the new muscles.

View attachment 518466

I've also got a small combo fom EBS, the Classic Session 60, which is small enough to be accepted in our livingroom...
Is there any chance I could become a member of this forum?

Hey, I considering buying a Sweet 25.2 all original in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Things are expensive here, at least double what european citizens would pay. so if I tell you an used piece of this equipment is costing 633 euros, please read 315 euros. is that too much (take in considerations the 315 theoretical price)? also, does it sound nice? is it reliable and have interesting sound?

 

[Al T.]

Recently my 13 year old Drome 12 started making very bad popping and crackling sounds. Please recommend a tech who knows EBS amps. I got a very quick response from the Adam Hall Group in NJ but as it is not a warranty job they could only suggest a local shop. That is a no go for me. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

 

[Sid Fang]

Any further description you can provide on the Drome problem? Is the popping and crackling happening all the time, randomly, or when the amp is powering up, or under heavy load? My Drome failed a couple of years ago, but differently - it was a capacitor that had gone bad and shorted in the pre-amp power supply - and Keith Reinegger of the Amp Lab in Campbell, CA was able to troubleshoot and fix it for me. He commented that the EBS people had been very cool with giving him schematics, and found the design to be nicely set up for troubleshooting. He's the best tech I know in the SF Bay Area, but that's a long way from Richmond, VA. These are amazingly versatile little amps and worth spending a bit to keep running, IMHO.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Any further description you can provide on the Drome problem? Is the popping and crackling happening all the time, randomly, or when the amp is powering up, or under heavy load? My Drome failed a couple of years ago, but differently - it was a capacitor that had gone bad and shorted in the pre-amp power supply - and Keith Reinegger of the Amp Lab in Campbell, CA was able to troubleshoot and fix it for me. He commented that the EBS people had been very cool with giving him schematics, and found the design to be nicely set up for troubleshooting. He's the best tech I know in the SF Bay Area, but that's a long way from Richmond, VA. These are amazingly versatile little amps and worth spending a bit to keep running, IMHO.

Highlighted for emphasis.

*Is the fault reproducible with array of different cables and instruments?

*Can you reproduce the fault in front of a service tech? IOW, is it consistent?

You would think that there's somebody locally that could handle the task. I work with these folks here in VB:

Amplifier & Electronics Repair — Alpha Music - The Premiere Local Music Store | Virginia Beach

Tom — Alpha Music - The Premiere Local Music Store | Virginia Beach

Come on down...you can buy me lunch!

Riis