REVIEW - FUZZ Magazine, 2008 EBS CLASSIC 450 & CLASSIC LINE 810 By Lars Arvidsson, FUZZ Magazine (Translation from Swedish by the reviewer) EBS Classic 450 Bass Head EBS have finally released their first non rack mount bass head. The tolex covered Classic Series cabinets with their checkered grill cloth have made us all wondering when the first retro styled head would come out. If the modern looks of EBS equipment have been putting you off, you have suddenly run out of excuses to not giving EBS a try. Soundwise, the looks of the head gives you a pretty good idea of the character. Not a typical hi-tech sound, but a warmer, slightly softer quality that is still able to cut through. Increasing treble for a sharper touch still gives a pretty warm sound. The Classic 810 enclosure is a great companion to the head. This helps getting a softer sound than most EBS equipment. However, the warmth does not make it muddy or unclear. Clarity and prescence are still there, but in a mellower way. The first feature of the tone control section is a preshape filter called character. This scoops out the midrange and boosts bass and treble for a fuller sound. Pressing the button yeilds a pleasant sound, more hi-fi like. As always, I prefer the punchier sound without a preshape filter. More midrange content makes it easier to cut through in a band. Ordinary bass and treble controls are accompanied by a new midrange control layout. Instead of the standard EBS sweepable mid and separate bright control, the new amp has two midrange controls, both sweepable with separate frequency controls. This makes the system even more flexible, but as always with sweepable mid controls, you have to know a bit about frequencies. Hi mid can help the treble control sculpting the sensitive treble register. Very effective for anything from hi-tech to distorted crushing pick-style sounds. The somewhat softer character of the amp makes harsh slap- or pick-style sounds come through without scaring the audience. The drive knob is where the fun starts. Using just a little drive add overtones for a milder treble character but still a lot of prescence in the lower treble register. The drive function is, as always, a little awkward since you have to adjust the volume as soon as you change the drive setting. I guess it is hard to make a constant volume drive knob. Gain and master volume work the same way as any amp. Distorted sounds can easily be varied using the tone controls. Especially hi mid, can add different forms of crushing qualities. Perfect for heavy picking sounds. Treble and hi mid can work together for exact control of the higher register. Lo mid can adjust the growling mids. Not like power tubes sweating under hard pressure, but still a good growl that reminds me of old Mountain records. The distortion can also be dynamic, letting a softer touch through with a clean sound but a good overdrive when you dig in. Very useful indeed. I like the controls. Not too many knobs, but still many possibilities. The tone shaping section is effective without being overly complicated. I have no need for a compressor, but some might miss the excellent compression built into the other EBS models. Moving the XLR line out to the rear adds to the clean looks of the head, and I believe that most people can find it easily enough. After all, you have to connect the power cord and the speakers to the rear anyway. I can also do perfectly well without an effects loop. My guess is that most bassists only use a couple of pedals anyway, and they might as well sit between the bass and the input jack of the amp. The 1/4" line output on the back panel is post volume control in order to connect extra power amps, active speakers or amps. The usual XLR jack is accompanied by switches for ground lift, and pre/post tone controls. The XLR output is always pre volume control. When many manufacturers have heads from 750w to above 2000w, 450w may sound weak but I think this amp is really loud. If you use big speakers there is enough power for larger venues. EBS have made a power amp that puts out almost full power into four ohms, and another fifty watts inte two ohms. Using one eight ohm speaker the amp is a little weak so you should stick to four ohm enclosures. A typical eight ohm 4x10 speaker can often be converted into two ohms. The Classic 810 speaker I´m starting to like 8x10 enclosures more and more. With a cone area this big, the impression is totally different from the sometimes farty midrange character of a 4x10. The fullnes and sheer power of the 8x10 overshadow the compressed mids of a 4x10. Since the ten-inch drivers lack the deepest frequencies the low bass seldom gets boomy. The large overall speaker area compensates for this giving plenty of bass. Soundwise, this 8x10 is warmer and softer than the EBS Proline models. The tweeter adds bite when you need it. This can be varied using the knob at the back. If you like old-school sounds the tweeter can be turned down completely. The Classic enclosure is a little wider which makes it more fitting underneath big old tube heads. The weight of the cab is 14 kilos less than the Proline equivalent. I tried the amp with a few other enclosures. Using a Warwick NEO 810, the Classic 450 still has a warm sound but gets more sharpness and detail, whereas the Classic 810 has a softer character. A Small EBS NEO 112 Still sounds full and warm up to where the sound starts to break up. It is a good idea to choose the speaker cabinet by figuring out in what direction you want to adjust your sound. Do you need even more warmth or more detail and sharpness? I used mainly two jazz basses for the review: a vintage model and an active custom bass. If I knew the Classic 450 and 810 are the house rig, I would not necessarily bring my own amp to a gig. The sound suits me fine, retro meets detail. This amp sounds more expensive than it is. Conclusion This rig does not only look more retro than the usual EBS lineup. The sound is also rounder and less hi-tech with warmth without being muddy. Plugging in a good Precision Bass can impress many tube enthusiasts. The drive function is the most impressive. It can roar with excellent tube-like distortion sounds or just liven up the sound using lower settings. The overall sound is very tube-like even if you can not find a single tube glowing inside. The double sweepable midrange controls are very versatile. There is enough power for most situations. I am hard pressed to find much to complain about, it even looks good. Facts EBS Classic 450 • Solid state bass head • 450 W @ 2 ohms, 400 W @ 4 ohms • Connections back panel: XLR Line out, 1/4" line out, 2 Speakon jacks • 570 x 240 x 310 mm (W x H x D) • 14 Kg EBS 810 CL • 8 x 10” + tweeter with level control • 1000w power handling • 4 ohms • 102 dB efficiency • 640 x 1250 x 410 (W x H x D) • 55 kg • Padded cover included