The Fishman SoloAmp is a portable, easy-to-use solution for small to mid-sized gigs
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Those statements from Fishman’s promotional materials were enough to get my attention. In essence, it’s a product designed specifically for performing singer/songwriters—a truly portable line array system combining everything you’d want at a gig, including sufficient bass, but without the boat anchor sub. With a Summer NAMM 2008 “Best in Show” award under its belt, not to mention the expected comparisons to the Bose L1 system, the SoloAmp comes with high expectations.
Out of the Box
The portability of the SoloAmp is amazing— everything fits in one case, including the speaker stand. Weighing in at 35 pounds altogether, a packed up SoloAmp is 43.5” long, 7” wide and 14.5” high. The case is well-padded and fairly sturdy, with big plastic clips and a thick plastic zipper that seems ready for the rigors of gigging. My only knock on the case is a greedy one—I would have liked an expanded compartment with room for mic and guitar stands, as well. The case’s long shape makes it a bit tippy when trying to roll it with its built-in wheels, but hey, the fact that it has wheels shows Fishman’s commitment to making the gigging musician’s life easier.
The set up is very slick. I tried it once just to get the feel for it, and then I timed myself. On my second try I went from completely cased to totally set up in 55 seconds, and that was with me struggling with the clips on the case a bit—it could’ve been even faster. The speaker stand has markings on it telling you where to set it. You put that on the ground, the amp on the stick, plug it in and you’re done. It really couldn’t be any easier.
Mission: Controls
The controls on this amp are great. It is basically a two-channel mixer with very versatile inputs and outputs. Each channel has an XLR or 1/4” input, a gain control, High, Mid, Low EQ, an Anti-Feedback Knob (notch filter), a 10dB pad, a phase switch, a Reverb Level with four different reverbs to choose from, and a button for 48V of Phantom Power. Other controls on the front include a Master Volume, a Monitor and an Aux knob (mp3 or CD player), and a Mute switch.
The Anti-Feedback knob is “Ph.D.” simple (push here, dummy)—you need no knowledge of notch filters or parametric EQs to put it to use. You can reduce low-end rumble or remove a bothersome frequency by playing around with the knob until the feedback is gone or the tone is more pleasing.
The back panel is loaded with output options. Each channel has an effects send and return. There are pre-EQ outputs for each individual channel, allowing you to send clean signals from each channel to separate channels on a front of house mixer or a recording device. There is also a Main Mix DI out, which sends a post-EQ mix of channels 1, 2 and the Aux input. The Mute button does not affect this input, so you can play music on your break. The Aux knob on the front panel controls the level of the Aux Input. The Monitor In/Out allows you to connect two SoloAmps together and hear as much or as little of the other SoloAmp as desired with the Monitor knob on the front panel. There also is a Tuner Out, a jack for a Mute Foot Switch and a Tweeter Level knob.
Sound Check
I set the SoloAmp up at one end of a goodsized room, about 40’ long by 16’ wide and plugged in a Taylor 810ce. Test mics included an Audix OM5, a Shure SM58 and a Neumann KMS-105. Using the Audix for vocals, I brought my mic stand out about 15’ and faced the SoloAmp. I set the gain on each channel per the instructions and slowly brought the Master Volume up. I didn’t need much at all—just a touch past 9 o’clock. I cut some mids from my guitar and used the Anti-Feedback knob to notch out some boomy low end, and in seconds I had nice guitar tone. I did a bit of EQ’ing on the vocals and I was ready to go.
The sound of the SoloAmp is a bit more amp-like than I expected. It sounds a lot like the Loudbox 100, but with much better coverage. My guitar and vocals sounded very natural and open and seemed to fill the room nicely, but with a very direct quality. The sound was clearly coming from one single source, with the coverage and dispersion being achieved more from power and volume than speaker configuration.
Once I had everything sounding the way I wanted, I got into gig position to test the SoloAmp’s ability to act as both my monitor and my mains. Experimenting with different distances and angles, I found the SoloAmp was louder when standing four feet in front and four feet to the right of it than when standing 15’ in front it. Solo performers are often crammed into small corners and forced to stand pretty close to their equipment but being able to rotate the amp on the stand will help you adjust for any room configurations that prove challenging.
The 58’s frequency response and cardioid polar pattern seemed to be a better fit for the amp in that particular room than the Audix, mellowing out the sound a little. Using the Neumann to test a condenser with phantom power yielded great sound that was much easier to work with at the 4’ by 4’ angle.
I discovered something while trying different mics—Fishman has marks on the speaker stand so that the SoloAmp can be set at an optimal height. An optimal height takes a number of variables into account, including the height of the performer in front of it. Being a taller than average performer (6’4”) who prefers standing to sitting on a stool, I’m probably incongruous with image of the typical performing singer/songwriter. I also have extremely sensitive ears. When I stand directly in front of the SoloAmp my ear is pretty much in line with the single 20-Watt, 1” tweeter at the top of the array, rather than any of the six 200-Watt, 4” mid-range drivers. Crouching just the littlest bit helped, though—something to keep in mind if you are also tall and prefer to stand.
At volume levels appropriate for small to mid-size gigs, the SoloAmp’s overall sound is best appreciated against a consideration of the compact package it arrives in. The full range is there. The servo power amp’s ability to engage the drivers produces surprising bass response. It isn’t the same as having a full sub, obviously, but the low end of the spectrum is definitely there and carries well.
Bottom Line
The Fishman SoloAmp can be a valuable performing tool—a cool-looking, great-sounding amp, loaded with features and options. Its ability to be both your amp and your monitor might take some spatial adjusting to nail down, and the amp shouldn’t be expected to carry over into situations it wasn’t designed for, like large rooms with extremely high volume. But it is a ringer for coffeehouses and small clubs. It has the ins and outs, control panel ease-of-use, backpanel options and portability that will help you survive the ins and outs of performing solo.
Video Review:
Click HQ for the high-quality version of the video |
Buy if...
this amp was designed for your gig.
Skip if...
you need big dub volume.
Rating...
MSRP $999 - Fishman - fishman.com |
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Don't miss your chance to win a Yamaha Pacifica Standard Plus – the perfect blend of versatility and style. Enter now and make this go-to guitar yours. Giveaway ends January 7!
Yamaha PACS+12 Pacifica Standard Plus Electric Guitar - Sparkle Blue, Rosewood Fingerboard
Pacifica Standard Plus guitars were designed for players seeking to discover their own unique sound. They deliver exceptional sound and playability, and feature a newly designed alder body, slim, C-shape maple neck with a rosewood or maple fingerboard, Reflectone pickups co-developed with Rupert Neve Designs and a choice of four vibrant finishes.
Our columnist ponders the business-to-consumer model, and how the design of online stores might be more crucial to the stompbox industry than we’d like to admit.
Let’s open things up with a TV/movie trope. The character on screen has a speech that they’ve been preparing for once they’re called up onstage to address the audience. When they finally get up to the lectern to deliver it, they pause, give the attendees a look over, and rip up their script in a dramatic fashion before pursuing an off-the-cuff, heartfelt message that goes on to invigorate the crowd and inspire a roaring ovation. For right now—I’m at least doing the first part of that. I’m abandoning my planned topic. Consider this me ripping up my finely curated index cards.
Before sitting down at the computer, I was thinking about the title of this column—“State of the Stomp.” Perhaps I’m being a bit too on-the-nose, but I started to ask myself, “What is the state of the stompbox world?” As in, this niche section inside of this niche industry that we find ourselves traversing. But, I can only speak for myself and what I’ve experienced firsthand and heard secondhand. That being said, let’s chat about the current state of the stompbox world.
This year marks my 10-year anniversary in the boutique-effects world. In speaking to the state of affairs in those 10 years, I’ve witnessed trends, domestic growth, international growth, product collaborations, companies closing doors, others opening doors, dealer decline, e-commerce growth, and more. The last, e-commerce, is the current state that we find ourselves in—an ever-growing, bustling digital presence that brings with it the B2C (business-to-consumer) model.
This isn’t completely new terrain for us by any stretch. It is, however, something that was only a minor percentage of our business. I have often referred to our sales as being 80 percent dealer and 20 percent direct. I would say that was the case from 2014 to 2020, but over the last few years the dealer vs. direct numbers have pretty much flipped.
Why has it flipped in favor of direct sales? That’s a simple yet complex question that would rob me of sleep if I let it. I would also frame the question in the inverse: “Why have dealer orders and reorders slowed down?” Market oversaturation? Economy? I would find it difficult to imagine that economic changes haven’t been trolling consumer purchasing. Us manufacturers know that it has directly impacted raw materials. As a niche corner of the MI world, that’s scary. Especially when you’re a manufacturer of nonessentials. When essentials go up in cost, it doesn’t feel great, but more easily gets shrugged off. When nonessentials go up, purchases of them get scaled back or hauled off completely.
“Why has it flipped in favor of direct sales? That’s a simple yet complex question that would rob me of sleep if I let it.”
In conversations I’ve had with industry colleagues, there’s almost a universal trend—sales are slow. This brings us back to the “why?” A place that my company finds itself in right now is close to the opposite. We are swamped with direct orders and dealer orders. However, of all the direct and dealer orders that we have been flooded with since May, 90 percent or more are for our DIY offerings. A big reason for this is due to the fact that the DIY market is smaller than standard pedals, we offer tools that don’t already exist, and the pricing is very attractive.
In May, “Short Circuit” launched. A recurring segment on the ever-popular JHS Show on YouTube, “Short Circuit” features founder Josh Heath Scott explaining effects-circuit basics while breadboarding them—using our DIY products. This, along with giveaways and kit collaborations between CopperSound and JHS, has led to a huge sales influx in what the community has coined “the JHS effect.”
I also find it important to highlight that my affinity for the brick and mortar has not diminished. But I will say that their ability to offer an array of gear from various manufacturers feels like a double-edged sword. If a particular store carries 20 brands, they can more easily give appropriate attention to each brand and subsequent model they stock. This includes website pictures, videos, copy, and SEO for each product. Now, if that same store expands to 200 brands, the bandwidth for each product gets significantly decreased.
So, while that dealer has 200 brands to focus on, we, the manufacturer, only have ourselves, making it easier for us to tend to our website. In a world where 70-plus percent of consumers shop online, it really makes me wonder if this is the make-or-break factor when it comes to where and how people choose to do that shopping.
And now, I’d like to thank you all for the standing ovation in response to my inspiring, off-the-cuff speech.
Loud, evil, searing hot, and unexpectedly versatile, the Fuzz War’s demented bass cousin has a bold and more-complex personality all its own that sounds radical with guitar, too.
Evil. Just plain evil. Unexpected and vast variation. Responds interestingly to bass volume and tone attenuation. Wet/dry mix control. Sounds amazing (and extra evil) with guitar.
None.
$195
Death By Audio Bass War
deathbyaudio.com
If you like your fuzz measured in megatonnage, the Death By AudioFuzz War is one of life’s great joys. And if you’re a bass player with similar predilections and accustomed to watching guitar players have all the fun, the new DBA Bass War will be sweet revenge.
The original Fuzz War is a creatively twisted derivative of the Colorsound Supa Tone Bender But while you can hear some family resemblance among the Tone Bender, the Fuzz War, and Bass War, the latter is a very different animal indeed. I’m pretty sure it’s louder than the Fuzz War (holy #@*!). The fuzz is also much brighter than a Fuzz War, which sounded positively muddy by comparison.
That means a bass player has lightyears of headroom and range within which to shape their tone. And for such a loud, hectic pedal, it can be really precise and surgical. The experience of reshaping fuzz sounds is made easier, more fun, and much more expressive for the oversized outboard tone and fuzz controls, which can be swept with your toe to achieve wild filter effects. Along with the cutting fuzz tonalities, that lends the Bass War an almost synth-like feel and functionality. The pedal also responds in interesting ways to bass volume and tone attenuation: Lower bass volume generates less compressed, more focused, but still very insane tones that can be boosted to superheated levels with the pedal’s volume knob. Add in the dry/wet mix knob, which lends exponentially more complexity and range to the Bass War’s voice, and you’re talking about an exceedingly varied and evil fuzz device. Oh ... it sounds freaking amazing with guitar, too—yielding psychotically piercing lead tones, vintage biker fuzz, and vicious punk and metal grind. Wow.
Originally introduced in 1975 as part of the Schaffer-Vega Diversity System (SVDS) wireless system, this mini boost pedal originated from a 1/4” headphone jack intended for monitoring purposes.
"The SVDS Boost is a recreation of one of the first full-frequency boosts ever used on stage."
Originally introduced in 1975 as part of the Schaffer-Vega Diversity System (SVDS) wireless system, this mini boost pedal originated from a 1/4” headphone jack intended for monitoring purposes. However, guitarists and bassists soon discovered an unexpected benefit: by connecting their instruments to the headphone output, they could boost their signal by up to 30dB.
Legendary guitarists like Angus Young, David Gilmour, Eddie Van Halen, Carlos Santana, and more utilized this technique. The SVDS Boost is a faithful reproduction of this iconic boost, which may very well be the first full-frequency boost ever heard on stage.
The Sound
Unlike typical clean boosts, the SVDS Boost adds vintage coloration and harmonics that instantly transport you to the golden era of rock. The unique "Goalpost" EQ design enhances the extreme ends of the frequency spectrum, while maintaining the integrity of your mid-range. With up to 30dB of boost, the SVDS unlocks new tonal possibilities, delivering rich harmonics, singing sustain, and even controlled feedback.
Pedal
Placement The SVDS Boost truly shines when placed after other overdrive, distortion, or fuzz pedals, adding dynamic response and restoring low-end fidelity that can often be lost with mid-boost pedals. Its ability to enhance your existing gear is unparalleled, making your guitar, amp, and pedals sound better than ever.
Build
Quality Precision-built using high-quality components, the SVDS Boost is designed to withstand the rigors of professional touring. Its robust construction ensures years of reliable performance, whether in the studio or on the road.
Availability
The SVDS Boost is now available at solodallas.com and authorized SoloDallas dealers worldwide.
Price: $129 USD.