I haven't had the time to to a full-blown shootout yet (having a newborn and a 2 year old in the house does tend to limit the opportunities for shaking the ceiling tiles), but I thought that I would throw out this little tickler.
My newest purchases being the VL-110, Raezer's Edge Bass 10 and the Wizzy, I'll hit those briefly.
The VL-110 sounded very much as I expected. If you have heard the VL-series cabs, you know the ballpark. Compared to the VL-210, it is not nearly as deep, but it does seem to have better focus and definition. Keep in mind, this was playing at fairly low levels, so I can't speak to how the tone might change when it is being pushed a bit harder. Compared to the VL-208, it is deeper, and less precise in the mids. Actually, it sort of fits in between the VL-210 and VL-208, sonically. It pairs up very nicely with the VL-208, and one of my next tests is to A/B this combo with two VL-208's.
The Bass 10 has a good deal of personality, and in truth, it takes a bit of getting used to. My initial impression was that it sounded a bit "boxy", but then again, I was A/B-ing it with an Epi T-110UL, which is anything but. Once I turned the tweeter off on the Epi, the comparison got a lot more interesting. Both cabs seemed to cover a similar frequency range, and seemed strong on all the notes throughout, but with drastically different "voices." The Bass 10 has to have some midrange bump going on, but twiddle around as I may, I couldn't get a good idea as to where it was. I'd call it a good jazzer or upright cab, with plenty of punch, but after trying it at a rock band practice, I would not recommend it for rock and roll (unless you had a fairly sterile sounding head that needed some warming up). I like its personality, which is a definite break from the norm, but I can see where it wouldn't be for everyone.
The Wizzy (unpowered) has proven to be the real gem. I was immediately impressed upon firing it up, and I was very surprised at the amount of clarity and detail coming from a cab with no mid or tweeter. It had some of the same warmth as the Bass 10, but with a definite hi-fi sheen. While this sounds like a difficult compromise, I would have to say that EA got it right - in spades! - with the Wizzy. Compared to the either the VL-110, the VL-208, or the Bass 10, the Wizzy would be my top pick (and keep in mind, I love my VL-208's!). The Wizzy has more low end than any of the others, while at the same time having more detail and clarity, even all the way up through the high end! Granted, it doesn't approach the glossy highs of an Epi tweeter, but I'd say it had a high end similar to that of the VL-208. When I compared the Wizzy to the VL-110/VL-208 combo, the added low end and enhanced midrange focus and clarity of the VL-stack narrowly beat out the Wizzy. Considering the price discrepency bewteen them, I'd say that the Wizzy held its own fairly well!
So, after the initial rounds, the Wizzy WZ-112 is the early "shocker." We'll see how it compares to an Epi T-112 next!
Later, Tom.
