Gear Log: New rig is complete!

Finally, after months of waiting my new amplifier rig is in and tested with two gigs over the last weekend. The results? In a word....WOW! My previous rig for doubling was a Gallien Kruger amplifier and Peavey Pro 210 speaker. While this rig provides satisfactory results, I really needed more accuracy in tonal reproduction and a better soundstage. My new rig is all Euphonic Audio (EA) and consists of the brand new iAmp Micro300 amplifier and Wizzy 10 speaker. I have two of the cabinets which allows me total flexibility for different venues and gig requirements.

Before I get to the performance results, I should tell you that this rig is SMALL!!! The amplifier provides 325W at 4 or 2 Ohms, is about half the size of a sheet of paper and weighs 2.5 lbs! The speaker is a single 10" cabinet and weighs 16.5 lbs. This rig gives new meaning to the process of loading in and out of gigs.

This past weekend I had two gigs that provided a good test of the full rig. The first gig was with Carey Smith's trio were I played the NS Design electric upright only. The room was big and noisy with carpet and poor acoustics. I had the new Micro300 and one of the Wizzy 10's. There was plenty of volume and a huge improvement in accuracy, tonal range and soundstage. It was unbelievable. First test: PASS.

The second gig was at Weidmann's with Steve Watson's trio upstairs in a small, but noisy bar. This is my regular Saturday night gig and you never really know what the room is going to be like. I decided to take the full rig for this test: The NS, fretless slab (electric), Micro300 and both Wizzys since I usually use the Pro 210 in this room. I had the amp set up with a footswitch for doubling and was able to dial in separate EQ and gain for each bass. The tonal quality was absolutely amazing with noticeable improvement in the NS's somewhat synthetic tone. The stacked cabinets provided and even broader soundstage and there were comments that my bass sounded acoustic even from the back of the room. The gig got pretty loud late in the night and the amp never flinched. With the electric I was able to drive it into protection but I could not hear any impact to the sound as the band really cranked up with some loud sambas and fast swing stuff. Second test: PASS.

I should note that my current slab of choice is a cheap Squire Jaco-style fretless. I only play about 4 or 5 tunes a night on the slab, and this bass is fun to play. With the old rig this bass sounded pretty good, as its sonic deficiencies were masked by the somewhat "woofy" and colored GK/Peavey rig. With the EA rig, the cheapo pickups and weird resonances of this bass were apparent.

I still have yet to test the rig with the acoustic upright, although I typically use an Acoustic Image Coda for that. I will give it a try the next time I take the upright out.

This rig is stunning...awesome tone, pure accuracy and a soundstage that is beyond description. I absolutely love it! Stay tuned for more reports...