Overtōn Flyweight 200
Overtōn is a new, Chicago-based company and the bright-red, anodized case of their Flyweight 200 looks like no other. While the six front-panel knobs are sturdy and functional, the dots that indicate settings are a little on the small side. Overtōn took a different approach to its controls, with Mute, Compressor, and Sculpt controlled by momentary contact switches on the Gain, Sculpt, and Bass EQ knobs, respectively. Each switch has a small indicator light below it to show whether it’s on or off. The compressor is completely pre-set, just in or out, but was unobtrusive during my playing tests.
At first, I expected the Sculpt control to be like an enhance or contour control found on most contemporary bass amps, where their job is to scoop out the mids and bump up the highs and lows. Overton’s Sculpt, in contrast, seems to make the tone both fatter and more aggressive in the mids when turning the control up, making it a useful and signature feature of the Flyweight 200.
On the back panel, the Flyweight 200 includes a DI with both level adjustment and ground lift, along with a pair of speaker jacks that will accommodate either a speakON or 1/4" cable. Along the bottom lives a series of 1/4" jacks for aux in, effects send/return, tuner out, headphones out, and even a footswitch jack for on-the-fly adjustments.
I would describe the tone of the Flyweight 200 as articulate, natural, and versatile. A turn of the Sculpt control provides a good range of sounds, which can be further tweaked via the 3-band EQ, and the separate Gain and Master Volume controls allow even more tonal variations. With a street price of $229, the feature-packed Flyweight 200 is a real bargain.
Street $229
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