EBS

MY WANTS AND NEEDS LIST: Quiet for live TV and studio capable. Switchable from one sound to the next. Phantom power capable. Preferably have a battery only option/No power cord/adapter. Small or Flat enough to fit in the pocket of my UnderCover or MONO gig bag. Compression capable. In my Hunt For The Phantom DI, I had a short list of switchable DI boxes (listed below). In my mind, I wanted a versatile replacement unit which could do the work of my old units for less than $300.00. Seriously!?! The unit needed to fill at least 3 of my needs. Its ability to run off Phantom power was high on the list. The sound engineers at the 3000 seat church where I play/perform prefer to use the phantom option. If its their way, then it is my way. I also wanted to avoid a situation where Phantom was used accidentally with an item that is not Phantom capable. Whistling noises, along with the smell of fried electrical components, are NOT cool! The unit needed to be studio quiet, since the church broadcasts on television and the internet. EBS Micro Bass II: All I can really say is WOW! It is the only item, out of the six bass DI units I tried, that I felt could cover the full sound spectrum for my situation. The solid state box has a great range of tonality and more functions than I could ever use in a live setting. The control knobs feel secure and turn smoothly. Some settings can sound a little mechanical but I have simply learned to avoid those settings. UTILIZATION The Micro Bass II delivers on all the features I read about on the EBS website, in user reviews, Bass Player Magazine reviews, and Talk Bass threads. It features 2 channels, single bass or A/B switchable, Phantom capable and also battery capable. I also enjoy practicing with the MB2: It has the ability to connect a CD player/iPod and mini headphone jack for personal practice. - Computer to unit, bass to unit, headphones out – BAM! It takes up far less room and set up time than my practice amp and the amps need for RCA jacks. My practice amp offers neither the ability to use the tone controls nor volume controls of the external unit. The MB2 does! The MB2 also features a speaker simulation function and a Class A tube simulation function, A dedicated effects loop feature. The only feature on my list not available from my “Wants and Needs” list was compression. The piercing LED lights on the unit grab your attention both dimly lit and overly bright stages. The Mute and Bypass footswitches work as they should and easily allow you to tap from function to function without problem. The small push/push switches that you need the most are easily accessible on top of the unit. The other switches that may fair better in studio situations are placed on the side of the unit. Fortunately the input and output jacks keep these small switches protected from being kicked. SOUNDS The Mirco Bass II is not as smooth sounding as the Radial BassBone or Aguilar Tone Hammer. For those that prefer buttery tones, this may not be the unit for them, although, these people could go for a flatter sound setting and rely on their bass to produce the butter. Being an old school Trace Elliot amp user, I am used to the Mid-range based snarl this unit is more geared towards. For live situations, it can get CrAzy Loud! You can send a disturbing amount of signal to the control board! A mind-blowing +12 to +35 db, depending upon the chosen boosted EQ or Drive section. You can see the units other features by visiting the EBS website @ www.bass.se OVERALL OPINION Cons - There is no dedicated tuner output (I can live without this). The small push/push switches are secure to operate but seem like a fragile choice for a foot operated unit. The Micro Bass II cost about $100 more than the other DIs that were on my list. Other DI’s ON my LIST: Radial ToneBone/BassBone Aguilar Tone Hammer Eden WTDI SansAmp Bass Driver Deluxe EBS Micro Bass II Sadowsky Bass DI Bass Witch IQ DI – Never plugged into this one due to its $599 price tag. The thought of no longer having much use for my vintage, Trace amps and cabinets seems a bit sad, but I am glad EBS offers a suitable option. The MB2 gives me amp sound options scaled down to fit at my feet. Oh, did I mention with Phantom power?!? I also appreciate the tube saturated overdrive without the full on distortion and fuzz tones most other Bass DI’s offer. As I mentioned prior, the MB2 is about $100 more than the other units I tried, but it easily does $200 more than the other units. It is everything EBS and others said it was and “still” more than I expected it to be!

Standard stompbox size floor pedal compressor for bass. Black case with blue and white screening. Compression/Limier sensitivity knob, Gain knob. Three-position toggle for tube/solid state/multiband compression. Active/Passive pushbutton; In and Out 14' jacks. 9V AC adapter not included. --------------- I've played bass professionally for 44 years. I currently play in a praise band in a local church and also do studio work. I favor rock but have played just about every style, even -- shame -- disco. Favorite players include Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Tony Levin, Chris Squire, Joe Osborn, Bob Glaub and Sting.<p> --------------- Purchased in April 2009 from Musiciansfriend. I'm a fan of Tony Levin, who uses compression as an integral part of his sound. I also wanted to add compression to even out peaks in my signal and to add some 'sparkle' and sustain in live situations. MSRP: $249; Paid $199. The EBS MultiComp does make a big difference in my live sound, especially on a bass strung with roundwounds. It adds presence and a massive amount of sustain and allows a small bass amp to compete with three cranked guitars. Tweaking the compression amount and gain controls allows me to get more presence and gain from my amp without pushing the volume up. Once I started using it, I couldn't play without it. Three compression bands allow tonal variation, but I found the difference between solid state and multiband compression to be basically indistinguishable. However, the tube compression does add some warmth. There is no discernible signal degradation or loss of tone. The unit eats a 9V battery in about six hours of constant use, and there is no battery compartment, so pack a screwdriver to take off the bottom plate. Although there is a pilot LED that glows less brightly when battery life is draining, I found that there's very little warning -- it's there one second and gone the next. There is a 9V CA adapter available for around $20, and I recommend getting one. Built very well -- heavy gauge steel and a heavy toggle IN/OUT footswitch. Rubber pad on the back to stop slippage. Seems more sturdily built than Boss effects. The EBS Bass MulitCompressor is a good value, although $200 for a single-trick stompbox might seem high. It adds presence, definition, clarity and sustain to active or passive basses. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bass Northwest, seattle $998 usd This Cabinet is the best money can buy. I have tried many high end cabinets and EBS stands above the rest. Built like a tank, looks awsome, but most importantly it sounds awsome. Pure, uncolored, musical tone at unbeleivabe volumes. I play through my demeter hbp1 tube preamp >>> dbx 160a >>> stuart world 1.2 power amp which all reside in a matching 4 space ebs rack ontop of the 410 cab. if youve noticed... these are all hand made proucts by small companies (except dbx) which all provide an uncompromising attention to the quality of their products. Don't waste your hard earned money on shit products like SWR, Trace (used to be awsome until bought out by gibson) Ampeg etc. I have done it and lost, and Ive learned that for a few extra $... investing in a products made by smaller companies can earn you huge benifits in quality, construction and unparalled costomer service by people who care. that means more time for your music, and better sound for yours and everyone else's ears :) This cabinet has nothing anyone would not like. oh yeah, i put some BLEUTEC RISILEX casters on my rig because i weighs a ton, so intergrated caters would be a plus. but then again... i probably would have replaced the with RISILEX casters anyhow because they are an engineering marvel (check them out). the construction and quality of this unit is awsome. good looking carpet(gray on older cabs before 2003, and black w/blue on the new ones) that is smear tear and cigarette resistant. great looking hand woven chrome front grille, geat tweeter. built tough built to last. If you can aford it, buy EBS cabinets. They sound articulate like Eden cabs and soft like an epafani, but they retain these characters at volumes that are simply groundbreaking. unbeleivable for slap and put on a clinic for transient fingerstyles. very punchy and clear, very very musical due to its clearity at high volumes they are built tough look stylin and sound better than the competition. See for yourslef and try and EBS rig. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

EBS is a great Swedish company that focuses their attention to the needs of the performing bass players in the world. They have built a solid reputation of high standards and high quality units that are competitively priced and competitively voicing against many of the more prominent companies. UTILIZATION Technical Specifications Nominal Input Level - 8 dBv Input Impedance 700 kohms Bypass Bandwidth +0 / -3 dB 20 - 20k Hz Phaser Types Short (S) 4 or 6 stages Long (L) 8 or 10 stages Wide (W) 18 stages differential LFO Range min / max 0.05-10 Hz LFO Types Sine and Triangle Low frequency bypass Optional SOUND QUALITY The tone of this pedal is remarkable. The pedal is built with highest quality components and uses 24-bit digital processing circuitry for outstanding performance on stage and in the recording studio. You can definitely hear the sound that comes from this pedal is of the highest standards of quality that exist. Use this is front of your bass amp since the phaser generally sounds the best in front rather than in the effects loops. If you do run it this way run it only slightly because the pedal can dominate the sound of your tone and a phaser on all the time is not a pleasing sound. OVERALL OPINION You can find these pedals new for right around the price of $200. not a bad price for solid sounding bass phaser. You will get a high grade pedal that will last you gigging night after night. This is a pedal to have if you really want a good quality built and sounding phaser. I would recommend this pedal to any bass player who needs a good effects pedal in his signal chain that will enhance the tone quality of his or her rig. The pedal will add a good harmonic and effects tone to your sound and with the help of this pedal you will be pleasantly surprised how it enhances you playing experience.

EBS DROME Manufactured 2006 Sweden 150 Watts Combo Amp. It's the size of a small home 40 watt Peavy and weighs less that a 60 watts Peavey. I have spoken to owners of the new Chinese built EBS Drome Classic's and they state they have a product as least as good as My Swedish built Drome UTILIZATION I have played Bass 53-or 54 years. I have owned Fender, Peavey, Ashdown and many more and they all weighed a lot. This Bass Amp Combo is smaller and lighter than any of them: Built in Compressor is worth $500. It out performs any pedal! The Manuel is clear and comes with wiring diagram! Lows, mids, Highs to die for! Played straight Thru in a 30.000 cubic m hall and 600 people. They all said they heard me! SOUNDS Warwick Thumb,Slap/Funk/Blues. Yamaha BB714 BS,Slap/Funk/Rock/Blues/Soul & Jazz, Ibenez 3001, Fender Marcus Miller Jazz, etc etc! BASS OVERALL OPINION Does what it is supposed to,in the way it is supposed to! ziggybass

EBS has been making high quality bass gear out of Sweden. Most recently they came out with their own line of strings. I was lucky enough to get a set to try out. I was able to get a set a few months back before they were available to the public as of August 2011 the EBS bass strings in Nickel and Stainless Steel are available in the US. I am not sure of the price but I am going to guess it translates to around $40. I installed them on my US Standard Fender Precision bass. Great tone! I put these on and had plenty slack left even after using the string through bridge design that the newer Fender basses use. The tuning is excellent. Once I installed them I made sure to stretch them out and after that I had no major tuning issues. The sound is very fat and warm. None that I can think of. The strings are made in China, which is sort of a bummer as I like to buy US made strings, but hey the strings sounded great. The strings are made from EBS' own design of a Titanium Nickel mix. Ultimately I think the titanium helps the string life as I got twice the life out of these than most of the nickel strings I tried. The gauges are a 45 G string, a 65 D string, an 85 A string and a 105 for the low E string. I really like using a higher gauge E string such as a 105 or even a 110 as it evens out the tension across the neck and helps keep things clean if you need to drop down to D. I went out on a whim to try something new and it was a great end result. Warm tone with a long lasting string life and great tuning stability. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

paid $875 used I love everything about the fafner. it is by far the best sounding bass amp ive ever played through.It is the loudest amp ive heard, and has unrivaled clarity. The "drive" knob utilizes the tube, and you can dial in a small amount for extra thickness and warmth, or go all the way for distortion and grit. The compressor is very quiet, and tames even the hardest slapping for an even, smooth sound. Amazing tonal quality!!!! There is nothing i dont like about the Fafner!! Built with a steel frame,it is of the highest quality materials, its dead quiet,definitely built to last. Ebs uses only the very best components to assure your sound gets out to the audience!! People will hear every note you play with the fafner!!! And it is beauty to the ears!!! If you are tired of looking for an amp that can do everything, look no further than the Fafner. It delivers astounding bottom end, crystal clear highs, and cutting mids (if you like) and can get "gritty" for rockers. It has massive headroom, and is very loud, even with one 8 ohm cabinet.It will drop to 2 ohms, effortlessly. I am getting comments from everyone on how much my tone has improved since switching to the Fafner, and how great it sounds!!! I rarely have to turn my volume above 3, and it shakes the stage with one cabinet!!! I understand why Marcus Miller and Stanley Clarke use Ebs Amps.They are simply the best on the market. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this amp & an EBS 410 cab after hearing it demonstrated at Music Live2002 on the GB Guitars stand. Head & cab cost around £1200 for the pair. The sound that this combination produces, is far & away the best I have ever heard, and I have tried a lot of gear over 30 years of bass playing.(Marshall, Trace, Fender). The clarity of tone, absolutely endless volume, loads of punch and not a hint of stress from the speakers even at the lowest frequencies. This unit is easy to set up & use. You can get a great sound 'straight out of the box', and with a little time & the odd tweak here & there, you can soon get your ideal sound. I played through this rig & then played through my (then) existing rig using the same guitar, and I swear I could not believe my ears. My old rig (which I thought sounded OK!) sounded like a muffled wall of mushiness compared to the EBS. Try it for yourself! There really is nothing to dislike about this rig. As EBS say, built by bass players for bass players. The manual that comes with the head is easy to follow & understand, the controls are well laid out & functional. One tiny downer is that it could use some backlighting of the controls for ease of operation in dark /low light situations, but I have a tuner mounted above my amp head that has a downlighter on it anyway, so I'm OK. Construction & build quality are first class as you would expect from the Country that brought you Volvo & Saab! The unit is very robust, and once mounted in its rack housing, does not give any cause for concern. Quite simply, if you are a serious gigging musician & can afford EBS equipment, don't waste time trying anything else. I thought I'd heard everything until I heard the sounds coming from this rig. OK so you've never heard of EBS & your mate says Trace/Ampeg/SWR/Ashdown/Marshall is better. Let your ears decide! Put an EBS rig up against any of these and you'll want one. I know! I did it! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a really cool synthesizer effect pedal. It only works well with bass I think for the most part, this is kind of like an old-school analog synth pad, at least in terms of sound. There is a quarter inch input, and two outputs (use one for mono, and use the other as a dry out). This would appear to be an analog pedal but because it is Boss I'm tempted to say that it is digital. Either way it sounds analog, so just pretend it is. This cannot be edited in any way, be it computer or MIDI, and can't be racked either. UTILIZATION This isn't a difficult pedal to use. Don't expect to change to different synth sounds on the fly. There are four knobs. One is a resonant filter, one is a decay control, and one (Mode) controls the type of effect. There's also a knob on the left that controls the amount of affected signal mix with the dry signal. The manual will explain what everything does, but the best way to get used to using this pedal is simply to plug it in and start experimenting, looking for the sounds you want. SOUND QUALITY I use this with my P-Bass more often than not. The pre-amp of this pedal drastically alters the tone, emulating that of an analog synth. It is monophonic, but that's to be expected with the bass. I don't even know the names of most of the tones I like, if they even have names, but I'm a fan of them all for the most part. There is just enough control over the sound to make it diverse, but not enough to become overwhelming. I think that most people who need diversity in their bass tones from song to song would do well to check out this thing, it's got a ton of useful functions. I think that if you play in a hip-hop band (they exist!) you should grab this, it'll make things super funky! OVERALL OPINION I can't say there's anything I don't like about this pedal, other than the fact that I don't use it all that much (I usually don't need a synth bass). This is great for emulating Bootsy on his wilder P-Funk cuts, and stuff like that. Really cool effect, I highly recommend it. Not too expensive either, don't pay more than 170 for it.

The EBS Octabass is a bass guitar effects pedal that adds an octave below to the note played. It's an analog octave pedal and while it would maybe work on guitar, it's designed for bass and this is really the only situation I'd recommend using it in. It's got great tracking on bass, so I don't know how well that would translate since it's not designed for guitar. The pedal has a 1/4" input and output and required power from a nine volt power supply. It isn't rack mountable as it's a stomp box. UTILIZATION There isn't much at all to using the EBS Octabass. Even if you don't have much experience with octave pedals, you should be able to figure out everything without any help from a manual. The parameters that the Octabass has to work with include knobs for normal level, which is for the original note played, and for octave, which sets the level for the octave above. It also has a switch for setting the range, which gives you low, mid, or high settings to choose from. I haven't seen the manual for the EBS Octabass. SOUND QUALITY The sound of the EBS Octabass is one of the best I've heard from an octave pedal in general, let alone one for bass guitar. It's got some of the most realistic tracking for an octave pedal out there, as it feels very real and can even handle chords, which is definitely pretty rare for an octave pedal. I've used the Octabass pedal with a Fender Jazz Bass in the studio. A client brought in this pedal, so I don't own it and the studio I work at doesn't either. It's not the type of effect that we used very often, but when we did it really sounded great... OVERALL OPINION If you are looking for an octave pedal for your bass guitar, look no further than the EBS Octabass. It's great for bass players who like to play up on the top notes, as to me this is where it sounds best. It's very easy to use, but at the same time offers up a good amount of control. I'd recommend checking out the Boss OC-3 octave pedal as well, but to me the Octabass is the best out there I've used...