Hi, it's Geoff from discoverdoublebass.com.
I've got a really short video where I'm gonna review the Acoustic Image Clarus SL.
So I've used an earlier version of this amplifier for the last 10 years and I've had a really
great experience, but this new model has got pretty much the same features, so I thought
I'd just talk you through them and let you know how I found they work with the double
bass on a gig.
So the input impedance is set for the double bass, and that's because you have a high input
impedance like 1 megohm or 10 megohms, which are the 2 options here for piezo pickup.
Bass guitar amplifiers typically have a lower impedance for magnetic pickups.
I don't really understand the science, but when I plug into this, the natural sound is
better than when I plug into most bass guitar amplifiers.
So that's a great start.
The other thing it has is a real favorite feature of mine which is a high pass filter,
sometimes called a low cut filter, and that's really effective.
It just cuts all this extreme low end below the frequencies that you're playing, and that
will help you combat feedback and sometimes tighten up the bottom end of your sound if
you're struggling to hear yourself.
Pretty much that's the only knob that I'm adjusting on the amplifier as I'm playing.
So the other ones we've got here, these controls are...what do we have?
Yeah, the input gain and we've got the EQ which is voiced for a double bass, so it's,
you know, you're gonna be working with the YEQ points there.
Yeah, we've got the DI pad, so if the signal's too hot being sent to the DI, which is when
you're sending it to the mixing desk at the front of house, if you're working with a sound
engineer, they might find the signal too strong, you've got the option of reducing it there.
That can be really useful.
And of course, you got the mute switch which I think is great.
I really like the light on the mute switch, I think that's really helpful in order for
me to see what's going on.
Sometimes it can be a little hard to read the dials on this, but when you get used to
any amplifier, it's never really a big problem on stage.
Power-wise, it's a 600-watt amp, and I've never had any issues with volume.
There's always been more than enough and I think if you're using a decent speaker cabinet,
I use a Euphonic Audio MLINE 112 Wizzy, you can get a lot of volume out of this cabinet.
And if you wanna be playing really insane volume levels, you're probably looking at
getting huge, you know, 4 by 10 speaker cabinets and maybe even higher powered, you know, head
than this.
But in terms of volume, I never get anywhere near maxing it out, and, you know, I do play
some loud gigs.
So, yeah, I think that's a really great thing about it.
And although I love the fact that with little combo amps, you can just...it's a one-handed
carry, it's a small thing.
This is so small, and if your speaker breaks, you've still got an amp.
And if you wanna go on a tour, you can take this with you a lot easier than you could
do a large speaker cabinet.
So I think that's a really nice thing about having a separate amplifier and head.
And just lastly, there is one other thing that I wanted to mention, which is that I
only use...this is a single channel amplifier, and I use this amplifier when I'm doubling.
And specifically what helps me is this cable, which is a Planet Wave circuit breaker, and
it's got a mute switch on the end, so I can mute it in my bass guitar, pull it out, put
it in the double bass, put the mute back on, and there won't be any loud noises or pops
and what have you.
So I found that to be a really, you know, useful thing.
And of course, if you're sat really close to the amplifier, you could mute it on the
amp.
I just find that the sort of convenience factor of this is really handy.
Yeah, so I don't think that it's worth the extra, you know, expense of having the two-channel
version if you're doing the kinda work that I am.
If you're doing a lot of work with perhaps you're blending different pickups and you're
that kinda player where you're experimenting a bit more than I do, then you might wanna
check out the two-channel version.
So what does it sound like?
It's really natural, it's a really clean sound.
But what you're hearing right now is my Fishman Full Circle pickup, my strings, my speaker
cabinet.
You're not really hearing the amp and that's because it's a very transparent sound.
So if that's what you're looking for, a real acoustic sound, then I'd recommend you try
it out.
But anyway, listening to me play now isn't gonna help you in terms of evaluating whether
it's the right sound for you because there's just too many variables at play.
But that said, I really love the tone and I think you will do too, if you want something
that just helps your instrument shine.
So I hope you enjoyed that today, I hope you found it useful.
Big thanks to Acoustic Image for sending me the amp.
And if you got any questions, just post them below.
Thanks for watching, I'll see you next time.
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