AER Amp One - The best amp I have bought - EVAR !!

[The Dark Lord]

Okay, so I've purchased a new AER Amp One bass combo. This is a 200 watt solid state amp with a 1x10 speaker and no tweeter. It is incredibly small. AND, it honestly is the best bass amplifier I have ever bought, used or heard - anywhere. I could go on for ages about this, but it is literally astonishing.

I needed a small combo to take to weekly rehearsals as the backline at rehearsal studios is of variable quality and I have lost too much time in rehearsals trying to get a good sound. Also, I do quite a few small gigs, parties and open mic nights - and all too often there is no bass amp at such events. So I wanted something light, small and easy to put in the car. I also wanted enough power to be heard along with my band of 2 x guitars, a drummer and a singer.

There were lots of runners and riders, and I nearly opted for a small class D head with a separate 1 x 12 cab. I tried a little Phil Jones thing, but it didn't have the volume. I tried a Mesa Walkabout Scout. It was great, loud and high quality. Then I kept coming across people who talked about the AER Amp One online. EVERYBODY who had one of these seemed to rave about them. Yeah, they're pricey (about £1,000), but how much do you value your back?

So, I ordered one without hearing it from a local shop. It turned up two days later just in time for rehearsal ..... and whadya know? It's unbelievable. It is easily loud enough to play pub gigs with. It is tiny. I mean, you wouldn't believe how tiny. It's also surprisingly heavy for its size, but it's not awkward to carry, so that's okay.

That's only part of the story though. The actual sound is real, real high quality. Makes my Precision sound like a Precision and my Jazz sound like a Jazz. There's an amazing number of knobs and buttons to shape and colour the sound - which give lots of variation, without getting rid of the main characteristic of the actual bass guitar. I heard Mark Bass kit did that, but believe me, this is a quality of sound in an entirely different universe. There is also every imaginable feature on the amp - in terms of ins and outs etc. Interestingly, there isn't an extension speaker out. Probably because you don't need it - there isn't any way you could improve on the sound by attaching anything to it.

The instructions that come with the amp are comedic though. They're a bit like those badly translated flat-pack instructions you get. No help at all - but that's a minor point.

I tried it at rehearsal and turned every knob and pressed every button every which way. I could only get good sounds out of it. Also, the guitarists and drummer asked me to "turn it down a little". They were also mightily impressed with the sound quality.

So, it has ticked EVERY box. It's exactly what I was after. It'll handle anything up to medium-sized pub gigs. I love it and I'm even considering buying a second unit for larger gigs. Why not?

Edited November 2, 2013 by The Dark Lord

[stevie]

You paid HOW MUCH for a 1x10" combo without even trying it out?

[The Dark Lord]

Yep. I understood that was a gamble, but I saw that there was an instant used market for them and the plaudits were SO GOOD from existing users. So I figured it was worth sticking my head above the parapet. Also, to be fair, I have played through an AER acoustic amp before and couldn't believe how good that was, so I had some experience of the brand.

[wateroftyne]

Out of interest, did you investigate the Ibanez Promethean at all?

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1318260381' post='1399808']Out of interest, did you investigate the Ibanez Promethean at all?[/quote]
the Promethean 1x10 looked an option. Clever package. I didn't see one in the flesh, but I saw the fretspot.com amp shootout on youtube with the Genz Benz 6.0, the Promethean and the RH450. The Promethean seemed to come off 3rd best in that ..... and I was looking for the best of the best.

[beely]

I have a pair of AER AS281s I use as stage monitors.
They are so good it's almost selfish to keep such a quality sound on stage.
Originally bought to play acoustic guitar/vocals through, these speakers are without doubt the best I have ever used.
I understand your utter delight.

[Moog]

Been playing my Amp One more recently (after putting it up for sale and promptly withdrawing it ) and I have to agree - these things are the poodles plums!

Hugely versatile? Probably not, depsite the abundance of controls there's a limit to what a 10" speaker and no tweeter will put out. But what it does put out is 'kin superb - sweet, round, punchy and dare I say it - not too disimilar a response to a small valve amp.

[The Dark Lord]

I would've added a picture when I started the thread - if it wasn't so difficult to figure out on here. But anyway, here it is. It's tiny (and all the more brilliant for that).

[philw]

Yes, the Amp One is completely brilliant. I reviewed it in the late lamented Performing Musician magazine here:

http://www.performing-musician.com/pm/jul08/articles/aerampone.htm

And ended up buying the review sample. I still can't get over how much like a Wal it makes my Wal sound, and then how much like an NS EUB it makes my NS EUB sound.

[Phil Starr]

I have to say these are remarkable. I went to see a pub band and the bassist had one of these. It really filled the pub with sound and I assumed the bassist was DI'ing, but no just the little AER. Great sound too. Unbelievable.

[LawrenceH]

The AER stuff is incredible. Vocals through a good mic into their little monitors just sound like a voice, but bigger, it's so clean.
With only 18 litres cab volume makes me wonder if they have a bit of active speaker management going on to squeeze the most out of them.

[JTUK]

Must be a quiet band. I accept that it does what you need but a 10" speaker can only do so much, IME.

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1318942958' post='1408027']
Must be a quiet band. I accept that it does what you need but a 10" speaker can only do so much, IME.
[/quote]
Nope. You wouldn't believe it until you hear it. In full volume rehearsals for my 2 x guitar, plus drums and separate singer band .... I was asked to turn it down a little. It's something to do with how the speaker moves in the box. I didn't pay top dollar to have a product which can be compared to the other ordinary, cheaper products. And it can't.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='mercuryl' timestamp='1318943706' post='1408045']I didn't pay top dollar to have a product which can be compared to the other ordinary, cheaper products. And it can't.
[/quote]
[b][font=courier new,courier,monospace]STOP PRESS: Money changes the laws of physics.[/font][/b]

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1318943772' post='1408047']
[b][font=courier new,courier,monospace]STOP PRESS: Money changes the laws of physics.[/font][/b]
[/quote]
In the sense that ...... you get what you pay for mate ....... yes it does.

[JTUK]

Well.... mark me down as a disbeliever then.

I am damn sure I couldn't get enough volume out of this type of thing to be much use in anything but an acoustic/jazz set-up band, but I accept other people could make that work with their playing dynamics.
but I really have to question how loud is loud.
IME..I couldn't keep up with a gtr and kettle amp, ........let alone 2 and they have a great sense of dynamics.. and drums once they get going and that is not a loud unit.

I would struggle with an Ashdown 15" combo ..and I do play quietly but there is a limit.
You can juggle around with EQ and internal mappings and that technology/concept is years old...but there is no sub for pushing air, IMHO, of course.

I remain sceptical at best if you are talking punchy pokey pub unit.

I would have left it at that but Wots point is reasonable, IMO.

[Clarky]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1318947403' post='1408087']
I would have left it at that but Wots point is reasonable, IMO.
[/quote]
Not if it turns up to 11

[wateroftyne]

[i]'Eleven? Blahddy twenty, mate!'[/i]

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1318947403' post='1408087']
You can juggle around with EQ and internal mappings and that technology/concept is years old...but there is no sub for pushing air, IMHO, of course.
[/quote]

Speaker management incorporating multiband limiting can accomplish quite a lot, though...which is why as I say I've wondered whether these units use it. Apparent loudness of bass in recorded pop music played through any cheap-o PA is way higher than what you can typically achieve with a live instrument for similar reasons. Of course, I don't actually know whether they do use it but having heard the AER stuff the amount they pump out does seem rather more than what you'd expect from the somewhat puny specs.

[markorbit]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1318948712' post='1408109']

Speaker management incorporating multiband limiting can accomplish quite a lot, though...which is why as I say I've wondered whether these units use it. [/quote]

It is my understanding that there is some loudness management going on to maximise available resources and that all the 200 watts are available and usable. AER say they take things right to the limit but not beyond. It may be similar to that found in the Bergantino IP cabs. I don't hear many compaining about those and the Berg IP112 is also a very compact cab. Sure, I doubt the AER combo is going to sound like a couple of 15"s but I bet there is a surprising amount of controlled bass on tap. I've pulled the trigger on one anyway and it'll arrive shortly but my needs at the moment are acoustic gigs although I use normal electric bass for those. Well, I say normal but sometimes it's a Steinberger which is apparently a bit dated unless your under 25 and then it becomes cool. I'm at the stage where I'm happy to try radical things and I plan to use the AER on a tilt stand pointing at my ears so I can hear the nuances clearly. If it sounds good - and what piqued my interest were terms like 'valve-like', 'old school', 'warm but clear', 'punchy' and 'Ampeg', then I could by an active sub to go with it as it has a dedicated sub out. I thought it would be real hi-fi but it seems not. We'll find out.

Edited October 18, 2011 by markorbit

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1318943772' post='1408047']
[b][font=courier new,courier,monospace]STOP PRESS: Money changes the laws of physics.[/font][/b]
[/quote]
[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1318948712' post='1408109']

Speaker management incorporating multiband limiting can accomplish quite a lot, though...which is why as I say I've wondered whether these units use it. Apparent loudness of bass in recorded pop music played through any cheap-o PA is way higher than what you can typically achieve with a live instrument for similar reasons. Of course, I don't actually know whether they do use it but having heard the AER stuff the amount they pump out does seem rather more than what you'd expect from the somewhat puny specs.
[/quote]
Clearly they do obey the laws of physics. There has to be some explanation and i am quite curious as to how they do it. I suspect Lawrence may be right. For those of you who are not techies compression 'squashes the difference between the loud and quiet bits of music. If music has a 40dB range then the 'average' power of a 200W amp is 20dB below the peak or 2W, compressing the dynamic range to 20db means the 'average' power can be moved up to 20W without distorting on peaks. Compressed sound is also a lot louder subjectively which is why the heavily compressed sound used in ads on telly seems so much louder than the programmes. If you use compression on your bands vocals you'll know that it helps them cut through the mix.

Our brains also are pretty easily fooled into hearing things that aren't really there. If you filtered the bass frequencies and applied extra compression to them making them louder in the quiet bits then the overall balance might well seem bassier but without the need for extreme excursions at the high levels that only happen for a few thousandths of a second anyway.

All this is guesswork though, I wonder if anyone (Alex) has taken one of these apart to see how they do it?

[alexclaber]

I haven't but there are a few clues in the specs. The relatively low power and lack of woofer specs suggest they aren't doing anything particularly special in the speaker department whilst the "dynamic control" on the power amp, the "subsonic filter", and the "low distortion limiter" imply that there's compression in the electronics to increase the average loudness (at the expense of transient attack) there's highpass filtering to remove content below the tuning frequency so they can tune the cab higher for more loudness without the woofer distorting (at the expense of deep lows), and that when the amp does run out of power there's a further limit circuit to stop distorted clipping sounds.

Just as the RH450 sounds great to many players with its inherent processing whilst playing louder than its real power suggests it can, so too this combo can play louder than its size and power would suggest and do so whilst sounding good to many players. Of course there will be others that don't like the compromises this approach causes but nothing's perfect!

We're working on a 8" at the moment which also won't be breaking any laws of physics but will be using a very high excursion design to move more air than most 12"s, although with lower sensitivity because of the reduced cone area and enclosure size so it takes more power to get there. That'll mean output and bottom to match many 2x10"s or 1x15"s. Now if you were to combine that woofer technology with this kind of electronic cunning you could potentially have an 8" cab that sounds as loud and fat to many ears as a decent 4x10" all without breaking the laws of physics...

[bassace]

I've heard a lot of good things about this amp but nothing re double bass yet. Anyone with experience?

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1319017146' post='1408848']
I haven't but there are a few clues in the specs. The relatively low power and lack of woofer specs suggest they aren't doing anything particularly special in the speaker department whilst the "dynamic control" on the power amp, the "subsonic filter", and the "low distortion limiter" imply that there's compression in the electronics to increase the average loudness (at the expense of transient attack) there's highpass filtering to remove content below the tuning frequency so they can tune the cab higher for more loudness without the woofer distorting (at the expense of deep lows), and that when the amp does run out of power there's a further limit circuit to stop distorted clipping sounds.

Just as the RH450 sounds great to many players with its inherent processing whilst playing louder than its real power suggests it can, so too this combo can play louder than its size and power would suggest and do so whilst sounding good to many players. Of course there will be others that don't like the compromises this approach causes but nothing's perfect!

We're working on a 8" at the moment which also won't be breaking any laws of physics but will be using a very high excursion design to move more air than most 12"s, although with lower sensitivity because of the reduced cone area and enclosure size so it takes more power to get there. That'll mean output and bottom to match many 2x10"s or 1x15"s. Now if you were to combine that woofer technology with this kind of electronic cunning you could potentially have an 8" cab that sounds as loud and fat to many ears as a decent 4x10" all without breaking the laws of physics...
[/quote]

Re the 8", is that based around the LA8? The higher-end 10" neo SICA drivers are also pretty good high-excursion units, I don't think I've found any 8" units that significantly outperform them on spec -certainly not neo...and they sound good, too.

I don't see/hear a problem with subsonic filtering on any reflex design (not just small boxes), it's very different from compression in terms of the musical effect and having played around looking at the power balance of a bass guitar signal it is massively worthwhile. With the compression, I think it's as much about the quality of implementation. A truly decent multiband-type with soft knee is far more transparent than a typical cheap circuit. The cheap ones sound it.

[paulflan0151]

[url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/aer-head-one-bass-guitar-amp-head--54922"]http://www.dv247.com/guitars/aer-head-one-bass-guitar-amp-head--54922[/url]
Looks like the head version. Wouldn't mind a blast of one of these!