EA Iamp 800 - opinions?

[Raslee]

Got my eye on one of these. Want to use it for reggae/dub and odd bits of funk with another band, nice & light and most importantly loud!!! Any opinions?

[GreeneKing]

MrThumb has one (Paul).

I've a 500 and interestingly it hasn't got the oomph of my RH450. Cleaner sounding though, less warmth although it has a multitude of variables.

Peter

[JD1]

Had one for a few years. Sounded great with a brilliant eq. I had some reliability issues though. Have to say Overwater were brilliant each time but in the end I wanted something more reliable. Might have just been a one off though as I've not heard of many other issues with them.

[Gareth Hughes]

Loud it is not. Had one and could never cut through anything. My Markbass LMK is far louder at 500w. Go figure. EA say their pots work differently than others, meaning you need to really run them with the knobs at 10 for full volume whereas other brands have all the volume at 3-4 and then little extra after that. Smells like .... to me.

Plus I had serious reliability issues with mine that Overwater too were gents with.

Having said that, you would be able to sculpt an amazing dub tone with it - but you could also do that with Markbass.

[franzbassist]

I also moved from an EA iAmp to a Markbass LMK and have no regrets.

[E sharp]

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='659897' date='Nov 20 2009, 09:43 AM']Loud it is not. Had one and could never cut through anything. My Markbass LMK is far louder at 500w. Go figure. EA say their pots work differently than others, meaning you need to really run them with the knobs at 10 for full volume whereas other brands have all the volume at 3-4 and then little extra after that. Smells like .... to me.

Plus I had serious reliability issues with mine that Overwater too were gents with.

Having said that, you would be able to sculpt an amazing dub tone with it - but you could also do that with Markbass.[/quote]
I think the way EA set their volume and gain controls , makes more sense .

All other manafacturers seem to set theirs differently . Meaning on say an Eden (what I use) and especially on guitar amps , the volume is set so that all of the volume comes in really early .

This tends to give the impression that the amp is louder than it is .
So when the amp is tested , the bloke in the shop can say , "look how loud it is , it's only on 2 "
What he fails to tell you , is that beyond , say 5 , there is no difference .

I don't personally like the EA tone , but I think they should be applauded for setting up their amps like this .

I think it shows a distinct lack of marketing bollocks , that prevails with others

[Raslee]

I've used Markbass up until recently and there was something just missing in my warm dub tone, i cannot describe what it is-maybe the speaker configuration i was using?. I am using my very unreliable Eden WT800A currently and that has the sound i am after through my Eden 2x10 and a Fender pro cab 15" with an upgraded 350W Em Kappa speaker. With the Eden i have the belly pounding bass sound again and the drummer loves it!-the Markbass had the sound ish, almost, but not the moving air bit-even when i tried the LM2 head with the same speaker set up .

Its been a shame to cross off neo speakers (my back loves them!) but for me and imo the Markbass neo's & amp were not shifting the reggae air i needed - maybe their 6x10 would?....don't get me wrong though i think Markbass is really great stuff, particularly for funk, but not as good at reggae for me as my Eden is.

Anyhow back to the original Q-i'm looking for a new amp...i think an Eden WT550 is what i need but just wondered about the EA vibe and reggae. i plan to find a repairer too for my Eden WT800A-any ideas?
Thanks for the comments guys.

Edited November 21, 2009 by Rasta

[chris_b]

If you want another amp to replace the Eden sound then your choices should start with another Eden, SWR or Thunderfunk. They all evolved from the same guy, who originally designed the Acoustic amps in the 60's. Family Man usually used Ampeg though.

[Raslee]

[quote name='chris_b' post='660880' date='Nov 21 2009, 11:28 AM']If you want another amp to replace the Eden sound then your choices should start with another Eden, SWR or Thunderfunk. They all evolved from the same guy, who originally designed the Acoustic amps in the 60's. Family Man usually used Ampeg though.[/quote]
Yeah i think i'll probably hang out for another Eden tbh. Familyman is using Eden now although he did have a Ampeg 15 in his last rig, but i think he's endorsed by Eden and Robbie Shakespear is with Markbass. But yeah most players i've seen tend to use the Ampeg fridge and SVT.

[jwbassman]

I've got an iAmp 800, had it well over a year now and no reliability issues with it at all - touches wood

It's certainly well loud enough for my requirements - never used it above 5 on the input or output levels, running through either Epi and Barefaced cabs.

It does have a very 'clean' sound but that means you get the sound of the bass you put into it - I don't tend to use the eq very much and find that the cleaner sounds sits well in the mix and helps cut through rest of the band.

If I want a warmer thicker sound I'll use my valve pedal or valve pre-amp then just use the power section of the amp - this works really well.

Amp is pretty light and if you can one up second hand for decent money then it might be worth trying one out...

[BassBod]

The Eden traveler is a good amp, but not a loud one. Mine (earlier 300 or 400w version) used to overheat if used at 4ohms or pushed loud into 8ohms. I found it works well as a preamp - get a used power amp and enjoy?

I now use the EA 500 head, which is fantastic, loud enough (for me) and versatile, once you understand the preamp (looks complicated, but isn't). If I want a warmer sound I use my old Sansamp in front to fuzz things up a bit.