EA iamp Micro - opinions/experiences

[GUI101]

Hi all,

The title says it all really,
After reading the usual blurb on the website I was thinking of getting one of these once my current rig is sold, any opinions or experiences would be much appreciated until I get to try one out and listen for myself.

Cheers
Gui.

[BassPimp66]

I own an Iamp micro and I totally love it. When I bought it, I was after a markbass.
But the iamp is way smaller than a markbass Little Mark and it pack as much punch. Good price too.
The preamp is not extensive, but that's OK coz I like the crystal clear unaltered tone I get out of it.
I used it on many different cabs and it always performed nicely, moving a lot of air without saturation.
I play mine on a markbass traveller 102P cabinet.

(+)

- great sounding amp if you like clean unaltered sound
- ultra-compact design
- 2 input channels, you can use for 2 basses or switch settings with one bass
- very loud, moves a lot of air and won't clip
- no fuss, very easy to use

(-)

- the DI is a stereo 1/4 inch jack. So, you need ot make sure you have a 1/4 inch stereo to XLR if you want to be DI'ed
- no rack ears available from Euphonic Audio
- the top screws on the chassis are poor quality, I had some problems with opening them

[BassBod]

What he said, although I never needed to open the top of mine.

The eq is gentle, but effective and it has plenty of power (it keeps getting louder past the half way point of the master volume pot...not many amps do this) and the fine tune/trim controls for the channel gains is a nice touch.

The DI is a pain (stereo jack to get a balanced output) but you only need a short stereo jack to XLR cable made up to sort it. But I never did, I used a mono cable to a passive DI box instead ( that probably weighed more than the amp!).

Great amp if you like the sound of your basses, and are happy with modern surface mount construction style, and need something very portable. I opted to go for an older style low power amp that I can get serviced for the remainder of my playing life. No offence intended to EA - they are great at helping you out, but once that amp is out of current production its beyond help (like all other contemporary micro heads).

[GUI101]

Cheers guys,
Was thinking of getting one of these and a barefaced super 12T, as the clean sound is what I'm after.

Was a little worried that the iamp might be somewhat under powered.

[MOSCOWBASS]

I got shot of mine. I found it lacked power for the stated output. Didn't like the eq, not enough deep bass and very mid honky. Replaced it with shuttle 9, and also have a streamliner 900, which I prefer. Having said that, I was happy with my iampP800 for quite a few years.

[GUI101]

Interesting that you say you replaced it with the shuttle/streamliner as I have heard of others taking these choices over the iamp, and also that it didn't live up to the suggested power rating.

How are these working out with your BF cabs? Was also thinking of the GK800mb??

Edited October 15, 2012 by GUI101

[BassPimp66]

[quote name='MOSCOWBASS' timestamp='1350332206' post='1837524']
I got shot of mine. I found it lacked power for the stated output. Didn't like the eq, not enough deep bass and very mid honky. Replaced it with shuttle 9, and also have a streamliner 900, which I prefer. Having said that, I was happy with my iampP800 for quite a few years.
[/quote]

The head gives, in my opinion, a perfect reproduction of my bass tone... Maybe your bass tone is honky to start with ...

[MOSCOWBASS]

Both amps work well with the BF cabs, I use the streamliner with the midget t on most gigs...I don't do many loud gigs now. I have a 3rd BF cab on order....big baby t expected soon. Some reports that the streamliner lacks top end are not my experience, I think it is a fantastic amp. By comparison, a big band I played with, I would use the streamliner at half volume with the midget t. The iamp micro was literally full up through a Epi ul2 4x10 to get the same volume, and you could feel it compressing like mad!

[MOSCOWBASS]

[quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1350333519' post='1837549']


The head gives, in my opinion, a perfect reproduction of my bass tone... Maybe your bass tone is honky to start with ...
[/quote]

Everyone has their tone they like, I changed the amp and I was happy.

[BassBod]

Lack of power was never a concern for me - it coped with some loud blues gigs through a BF Midget, but I did use a Sansamp in front to get it sounding "appropriate" for the genre!