What happened to EBS?

[javi_bassist]

Hello guys,

 

The other day I bought a new EBS Multicomp. The pedal is great. But then, I realized that, some years ago, EBS was one of the best amp companies in the world. Very respected and everything they did was top of their class. Their amps were like the grail. But now, they seem "quiet", old fashioned and they don't have many new products. I know the market is always changing and the pandemic may have hurt them. What do you guys think?

[EBS_freak]

Their main market is the rock market in Europe (quite bizarre as their initial wave of success was from the R&B market). They never really got the class D amp thing to work over here that well, despite the Reidmar being a killer range of amps... and the HD, TD and Fafner lines were never a cheap proposition... neither are their Neoline or Proline cabs. My personal take on the Reidmar is that they aren't quite small enough enough to have the same appeal as their competitors - and they are notable cheaper in construction. They were also late to the party, MarkBass took a big section of the the market and EBS were never interested in that market for a long time. 

 

If you look at their strategy now, they have branched out their pedals and lower priced goods.

 

My take on it is that they have moved into Far East production for the lions share of their equipment - purely to remain competitive in the market. At the end of the day, their goal is shifting boxes... and it's probably easier to shift lots of lower value items with high profit margins, rather than products built in Sweden where the costs are so much higher. From what I understand, the heavy weight (e.g. the Classic and 802) still sell well in Europe... but us folk in the UK aren't interested in heavyweight any more.

 

 

[thodrik]

I follow EBS on Facebook and they are plenty busy on that front. I think it is more of a change in philosophy from being a 'bass amp specialist' to being more of an all round manufacturing brand covering guitar and bass effects and a range of class D bass heads. The range of made in Sweden bass amp heads have been phased out. 

As EBS-Freak says above, they were a bit late to the party on the class D amp front and their Proline and Neoline cabs are still pretty expensive. Personally, I think that the Reidmar amps are very nice but I don't see them as 'best in class' amps superior to the Mesa, Aguilar, Darkglass, Bergantino 'boutique' class D heads. I really do believe that the HD350/650 and Fafner were close to being 'best in class' amps for their time, but that was about 10+ years ago and technology moves on and brands come and go as the 'flavour of the month'.

Still I have been using a Fafner for about 12 years and will probably keep it for years to come. Cracking amp if you put up with the weight of a 3 unit amp head which actually 'only' delivers about 440 watts at 4 ohms. 

 

[TheGreek]

I was very impressed with my HD360 and Neo cab- in fact I'd say that it was some of the best gear I ever played through. When they were based in Letchworth, Herts the Customer Service was excellent.

 

I've been looking for the NeoGorm combo for a few years now but they rarely come up for sale - suggests they are appreciated by their owners.

 

I still regard them as producers of high class equipment.

[ern500evo]

A couple of years ago, after several years of trying out countless Class D offerings from TC, Aguilar, GK, Genz Benz, Darkglass etc, I decided I was going to have one last hoorah with a heavyweight head. I recalled playing through a EBS TD650 many moons ago, so I scoured the used market for one. Found one, and have to say, it’s one of the best gear decisions I’ve ever made. It sounds glorious. It’s not light, but tbh, in a 3u Gator rack bag it’s not too bad to carry with the strap over my shoulder. It’s probably overkill for most situations for me, but once I plug into it, that doesn’t matter. I’m not sure what the quality of their newer products is like, the only other EBS gear I have is a Billy Sheehan drive pedal, which is also great. Are they still making the 802 amp? 

[thodrik]

3 hours ago, ern500evo said:

Are they still making the 802 amp? 

They just launched it last year so I would assume so. Just with the nature and price of the head I don't think that they are planning to sell them in massive numbers.

[ern500evo]

1 hour ago, thodrik said:

They just launched it last year so I would assume so. Just with the nature and price of the head I don't think that they are planning to sell them in massive numbers.

Just did a quick Google search, at almost £2k it’s definitely in a very select sector of the market. Having said that, it’s still around £800 cheaper than a DB751 

[thodrik]

9 minutes ago, ern500evo said:

Just did a quick Google search, at almost £2k it’s definitely in a very select sector of the market. Having said that, it’s still around £800 cheaper than a DB751 

Those DB751s are cracking amps, but yes at that price it is a bit beyond the means of most folk. 

[Graham]

On 30/11/2021 at 12:03, EBS_freak said:

Their main market is the rock market in Europe (quite bizarre as their initial wave of success was from the R&B market). They never really got the class D amp thing to work over here that well, despite the Reidmar being a killer range of amps... 

 

And the thing is, they seem to have lost a fair bit of that market to Darkglass.

 

At the metal festival I worked at recently, of the band not using the house SVT 4-Pros, I think 60% were using Darkglass M900s and the other 40% Orange Terrors

[bubinga5]

Does anyone know about the EBS evolution proline 2000 115 (non tweeter) cab. ? is it a cheaper version of the EBS cabs.? Ive found one for £200. Does this sound about right.?

Edited January 6, 2022 by bubinga5

[thodrik]

16 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

Does anyone know about the EBS evolution proline 2000 115 (non tweeter) cab. ? is it a cheaper version of the EBS cabs.? Ive found one for £200. Does this sound about right.?

Is that the smaller 300 watt version? 
 

The Proline series is/was their standard series of made in Sweden cabs. It would have been cheaper than the larger cabs more out of size than out of being a budget cab. The Classic line is the EBS budget line but even that line is pretty well built and could be considered pro level gear.

 

If the cab is in good condition then it sounds like a good deal. 

[bubinga5]

3 minutes ago, thodrik said:

Is that the smaller 300 watt version? 
 

The Proline series is/was their standard series of made in Sweden cabs. It would have been cheaper than the larger cabs more out of size than out of being a budget cab. The Classic line is the EBS budget line but even that line is pretty well built and could be considered pro level gear.

 

If the cab is in good condition then it sounds like a good deal. 

Ive been told its 400w rms 

[thodrik]

59 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

Ive been told its 400w rms 

That’s the full size model. Must be an older model as the newer ones come with a tweeter. Good cabinets but not lightweight, probably about 55lbs or so.

[EBS_freak]

This was from the original release of cabs. They also did a squat 15 (ebs300) plus one with a tweeter.

They weigh like the sun.

Edited January 6, 2022 by EBS_freak

[bubinga5]

7 hours ago, thodrik said:

That’s the full size model. Must be an older model as the newer ones come with a tweeter. Good cabinets but not lightweight, probably about 55lbs or so.

Ok thanks for the info. I dont really need a lightweight cab which is good as there seem to be more available. I had an Aguilar gs212 the weight was managable and that was 70lbs.

[attackbass]

I love my Reidmar 502... I can't really believe that it's not more popular. 

 

Ok it's not the smallest, lightest one but it certainly not heavy or massive. In a peli case it's easily transportable. 

 

It's also the loudest and clearest class D amp I've used and has that punch that was definitely not there with my old EA or Trickfish. 

 

I think it's down to taste obviously but for the cost of a new Reidmar I think the quality is as good if not better than some other amps at least double the price (from my own personal experience). 

 

Yes they're made in China but they are built like brick stinky poo houses.

 

I do wish they would bring back the HD350/360 - I remember plugging into one in a local music shop and being really taken by the sound..

 

I think they are probably more a dominant brand over on mainland Europe but everything goes in cycles with fashion with these things.. I can remember when everyone had those yellow speakers 🤣! 

[kwmlondon]

Hi everyone. I've just bought an EBS Neoline 212 but both of the drivers are blown. Does anyone know who makes EBS bass drivers? I've reached out to Sound Technology who are down as EBS' UK distributors, and I've emailed EBS but not heard anythign back. Would there be any problem with installing equivalent Celestions e.g. BN12 300?  Cheers for any advice/suggestions.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Post a picture of a driver. Also post the exact dimensions of the cab. The only way to know what will work well in any cab is via loudspeaker modeling software, which allows for reverse engineering.

[kwmlondon]

1 minute ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Post a picture of a driver. Also post the exact dimensions of the cab. The only way to know what will work well in any cab is via loudspeaker modeling software, which allows for reverse engineering.

I don't have the cab at the moment. I'm picking it up in a couple of weeks but I'm going to have to get a pair of drivers to drop-in as replacements. I've got a choice of Celestion BN12-300 or Eminence Delta 12LFA. I think the Celestions would be closer in spec to the OEM but the Eminence are more powerful, a bit heavier and cheaper.

[EBS_freak]

EBS use Eminence woofers in their Proline and Neolines with Selenium Super Tweeters.

[pete.young]

These were probably Eminence Deltalite IIs, built to EBS specification rather than off the shelf.  Best place to get a replacement is from EBS themselves.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Don't do anything until you get the cab and at the very least post the pictures. The Delta 12LFA is a subwoofer driver, best for electric bass when mated to midrange drivers. The BN12-300 is unsuitable for electric bass, at only 2.5mm the xmax is far too short. As for OEM versus Eminence branded, when Eminence creates a new driver they test a number of variations. The ones that test the best are the ones that end up being sold under the Eminence brand name. I've seem some OEM Eminence that were pretty good, but I've seen some that were pretty bad. That includes one relatively well known manufacturer's version of the Delta Lite II 2512. 🙄

[attackbass]

Hi, EBS are now distributed by Hand In Hand. They are lovely people who I'm sure will help you out if they can.

 

Also, always worth shooting Ralf and Mats an email at ebs as they offer great customer support and I'm sure will help you out.

 

 

I have the neo line 212 and it's a great cab! 

 

 

 

[kwmlondon]

Update: Mats in EBS has just sent me out a pair of replacement drivers. FYI they are Delta Lites but slightly different to the commercially available ones as the off-the-shelf version doesn't have the solder/spade connectors that the ones in the Neoline 212 use. Oh, and they cost a lot less than buying from a UK retailer even with shipping from Sweden. I'll give another update as soon as the new drivers arrive. 

 

Oh, and I'm thinking of putting the blown drivers on Basschat free to anyone who wants them. I'm pretty sure the coils are cooked but I don't know - maybe someone can use them for spares. What do you think? Or just take them to the recycling centre?

[Mottlefeeder]

An 8 ohm recone kit to make it into a standard deltalite 12 II would include a new coil, but the UK price appears to be around £100 from Lean audio.

David