Intro
EBS have been seeking to further establish themselves as the hot company producing high-end bass effects and amplifiers. The TD 650 amplifier represents their latest efforts to produce a system that can deliver a true hi-fi bass sound and their Neodymium cabinets claim to combine lightweight construction with heavyweight tone. So how does this rig stand up to serious scrutiny…..?
First Impressions
The 650 head comes straight out of the box looking like it should be in the control room of a tank. The head is pretty heavy, but every part of it feels industrially strong and such robust construction fills me with confidence. The control knobs are made from durable plastic and stand up to a couple of good, solid pulls showing no signs of weakness.
Front Panel
Lets get stuck into the front panel. We have a standard ¼ inch jack input and right next to it the ‘character’ switch. This type of tone shaping should be quite familiar to bassists. It boosts the lows and the highs while scooping a little out of the midrange – it’s a hi-tech slap sound in the push of a button. A small red Led lights up inside the switch to show that the pre-shape is on. The gain knob allows you can set the input gain and there’s a handy red ‘peak’ LED that comes on to show when the signal is too hot.
Next, we have the world famous EBS Compression – by far one of the most natural and bass-friendly compressors available today. A little touch will add some oomph to your sound, while a healthy dose will add body and smooth things out without ever sounding like it’s squashing your tone. A small blue LED comes on to show when the compression is engaged (the brighter it is, the more compression) and aside from the obvious sonic help it gives to bassists (did someone say slap?) it helps to protect the amp itself from signal peaks.
In the filter section (familiar to most as ‘the onboard eq’), we have a bass control that boosts and cuts at 100Hz, a sweepable midrange frequency from 50 – 3 K Hz and a treble boost at 6kHz. For those of you who like your bass sound lively, the ‘Bright’ knob adds some smooth, glassy ultra hi-end way up at 10kHz.
The bass boost gives a serious amount of heft down below and when using my Octabass pedal on an R&B gig, the bottom end was unreal – huge and solid without ever feeling loose or boomy. The treble control adds a considerable amount of brightness and if you have tweeters, this alone might be enough to give you a sweet, cutting top end.
For those of you who want a seriously hi-fi sound or wish to bring out the ultra high click in your bass tone, the bright control delivers some serious sizzle. Handle with care – too much can sound harsh and unnatural so practice restraint at all times. With just the right amount, it can really bring your sound to life and help it cut through a mix.
My favourite part of the filter section is the midrange control. It starts from the bass frequencies and goes right up to treble so that you can choose where to boost and cut over a really broad range. With the level at zero, the midrange control acts as a notch filter, pulling out one very precise frequency without drastically altering the overall sound – perfect if you have an upright or acoustic bass guitar that’s prone to feedback.
After the filter section, we have the ‘Drive section’. This feature allows you to add some serious character to your sound. A small touch of it gives presence and bite to rock pick playing or funky slap. Turning it up to 12 o’ clock adds grit and dirt to your sound and cranking it gives some seriously aggressive drive sounds. Switching on the tube mode adds warmth and body while the drive boost adds gain on the signal as it goes in, giving a more aggressive response overall from the drive section.
I love this feature. It helped me get old warm tube driving sounds ala Jack Bruce and Geezer Butler and could easily generate enough aggression when recording a Pantera backing track. Spinal Tap fans also take note – both the Drive section and master volume go up to 11.
The balanced D.I out gives a strong fat signal, and three switches provide us with a pre or post eq signal, speaker simulation and a ground lift option to get rid of hum if a venue’s wiring is a bit dodgy. I’ve done everything from album sessions on my Marcus 4 in large studios to recording my fretless Sei at home with the TD650 and every producer I’ve worked with has been happy. I must confess I don’t hear a huge amount of difference with the speaker simulation on, but most sessions and gigs I do want the direct sound anyway, and if it ain’t broken…
Back Panel
The back panel houses 2 speakon outputs and the fan for the 650’s intelligent cooling system. Four rubber feet on the corners keep the back panel safe if you need to stand the amp up when storing or transporting it. The back panel also hosts a number of very cool extra features.
The 650 can provide phantom power via a stereo cable, either to an active bass that requires 9v or to your effects pedals. Two switches on the back allow phantom power to be switched on and sent, either from the input or from the effects loop.
The effects loop is versatile and user friendly – it has both serial and parallel returns. This means you have the option of sending your entire signal through the effects loop or, if you have an effect that steals a lot of bottom end from your sound (e.g. an envelope filter or synth effect) you can hear the effect sound and your clean signal at the same time. A simple idea, but so useful.
We also have a tuner output, a line out and an amp input, so you have lots of options for linking together multiple rigs.
One thing you can be sure of – this amp delivers serious power. I’ve never had to take much past halfway on any gig I’ve done. It’s a monster and sounds as clear as a bell at high volumes. The manual even states – “EBS will not take responsibility for eventual hearing damages caused by the powerful EBS TD 650.” From medium sized Jazz venues up to Rock gigs in large halls, it’s always had more than enough power to keep me happy.
Saying that, what really impressed me about this amp was that it still sings so beautifully at low and mid volume, which is where most of us use amps. (Practice rooms, at home, small gigs etc..) I’ve used plenty of powerhouse rock rigs that sound awesome when they’re cranked on a festival stage but don’t really deliver that well in a quiet environment.
I use this amp in an acoustic duo with my fretless, which at times can get very quiet, but the TD 650 still sounds pure and clear. For home recording and practice in my room it sounds great and still delivers a very precise tone, reminded me of some Eden rigs I’ve used in the past.
Cabs
Both the 2 x 10 and 1 x 15 cabinets share common features that make them stand out from a lot of similar cabs I’ve used. The most striking characteristic is their weight. You won’t believe how light they are – my girlfriend will even carry one of my cabs without a problem!
Being so light, one would assume that compromises have been made – maybe they sound thin or are quite fragile and easily broken. Not so – they are covered in a tough felt that hasn’t shown up a single blemish in months. (I used to use cabs that had a leather cloth covering and these showed wear after a few gigs…) The plastic corner guards are a great idea and help protect the cabs while providing a secure system for stacking them.
Soundwise, I’ve tried using each of these cabs alone with the TD 650 and both gave great results. The 2” titanium super tweeter means that both the 2 x 10 and the 1 x 15 project the full spectrum of sound and deliver noticeable differences with even the most subtle tone tweaks.
As one would expect, the 15” delivers a fuller bottom end, which sounded great on rock gigs, but the 2 x 10 isn’t exactly a slouch and for smaller gigs I actually preferred it’s sound, particularly for melodic playing and gigs on the fretless. Together, they deliver a full range system that packs as much power and tone as any I’ve ever used.
When I used them with another head (simply for comparison), the tweeter control knob on the back panel brought the top end to life with smooth glassy highs. They sounded quite different to when I used them with the TD 650, which is a good thing – they deliver a pure and transparent tone that means if you have an amp that you love these cabs should compliment it, giving power and clarity while retaining the sound you love.
The recessed handles on the side are easily accessible and don’t run the risk of taking your fingers off. (Like spring loaded handles on the side of cabs often do..) I was concerned that the steel grills on the front of the cabs looked like they could be a bit a bit flimsy, but they’re incredibly strong and provide ample protection for the speaker.
Both speakon and jack cables can be used on the back panel for input and linking. I prefer Speakons for their robust build quality and increased sonic delivery, but if you lose a Speakon cable, being able to pinch a jack and quickly link 2 cabs can be a lifesaver…
In action
On gigs, this rig has generated more praise and enquiries than any I’ve ever used before. When running my Marcus Jazz through this amp, it easily coped with everything I could throw at it, delivering super bright slap sounds, deep but focused bass (right down to my low B) and enough body and throat to really push my bass sound all the way to the back of the hall.
In a smaller venue, a fellow EBS user noted that my bass sounded the same at the front of the room and the back, which also helps if you’re on a large stage. Most rigs I’ve used lose a lot of their power and clarity with a little distance. Not this one.
Conclusion
I’ve had this rig for quite a while and I just can’t find its Achilles heel. If anything, it can deliver too much and the urge to add massive boosts on the eq can produce rather harsh results. Taste is required when tweaking, but with all of the thoughtful extras included and the sheer excellence displayed in the essentials (build and sound), I’ve found my dream setup. It’s so good, I got one for myself.
Specs:
TD 650
Price: £1309
Made in: Sweden
Power output: 400/460 W RMS @ 4 Ohms 530/650 W RMS @ 2 Ohms
Preamp type: Solid state
Output stage: Tube and Solid state
Dimensions: Height 3U / 5.2”/13cm; Width 19”/48cm; Depth 14”/36cm
Controls: Character Eq preset, Gain, Compression, Filter Bypass, Bass, Middle level/Notch Filter, Mid sweep, Treble, Bright (ultra-highs), Tube mode switch, Boost Drive switch, Drive level, Master Volume
Weight: 12kg / 27lbs
EBS Neo 210
Price: £729
Made in: Sweden
Speaker config: 2 x 10” & 2” Titanium Tweeter
Power rating: 500 W RMS
Frequency response: 50 – 18k Hz
Dimensions: 58cm (17”) x 44cm (23”) x 19cm (17”)
Weight: 19kg (42lbs)
EBS Neo 115
Price: £709
Made in: Sweden
Speaker config: 1x 15” & 2” Titanium Tweeter
Power rating: 300 W RMS @ 4 ohms
Frequency response: 35 – 18k Hz
Dimensions: 61cm (24”) x 58cm (23”) x 44cm (17”)
Weight: 20kg (44lbs)
Build Quality: 20
A fantastic piece of craftsmanship – the head is solid as a rock and these cabs are sturdy yet lightweight. Any companies still making heavy cabs need to give EBS a call – the sound vs weight battle is over and sound has emerged victorious.
Features: 18
This rig takes care of business – a great compressor built in, versatile eq section, a great overdrive and cabs that really bring out even the slightest tone adjustments. The inclusion of extras like phantom power to pedals and serial and parallel effects loops just sweeten the deal. The only extra I could possibly ask for would have been a footswitch for controlling some of the features.
Sound: 20
I have yet to find another rig that does so many things so well. It has the clarity of an Eden rig with the power of an Ampeg fridge and performs faultlessly in every environment I take it into. The tone.
Value: 20
This rig isn’t cheap, but value for money is assured. Monster sound on every gig, an end to back pain and excellent after sales service – believe me it’s worth the money.
Wow factor: 20
These days I have people harassing me to find out about my tone secrets after gigs. Here it comes – plug into this rig and turn it up. I’ve never had so many players ask about my sound.
Total: 98
I was given this rig to do a review. It’s my favourite rig in the whole world and as a result, it’s now my rig. There is no higher praise than the fact that I use it on every gig.
