FISHMAN
SoloAmp
BY MATT WAHL
PRODUCT REVIEW
“It’s a P.A. and an amp… there’s no need for
separate wedge monitors.”
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
