EBS
REIDMAR 250 BASS
HEAD AND CLASSICLINE
110 & 112 CAB to hear audio clips of the amp at
premierguitar.com/may2012
CLICKHere…
BY JORDAN WAGNER
When it comes to hauling gear, bass- ists often face the same dilemma as
drummers—the truly great amps are often
a big hassle to get to practices and gigs.
While most guitarists can get their rigs to
a gig without that much hassle—especially
considering the volume and tones you can
get out of combos these days—the average
gig-worthy bass rig is typically much bulkier
and heavier, especially if you’re talking about
those of the high-powered, tube-driven
variety. Using solid-state gear is often one of
the first steps toward alleviating these weight
issues with heads, but taking such a step
also often requires sacrificing some of your
favorite tones. Sweden’s EBS realized this
early on, and since its founding in 1988 it
has produced some of the best examples of
solid-state bass amplification on the market
today. Their newest offering—the Reidmar
250—sets its sights on bassists who need a
portable, gig-friendly rig but still want the
performance gusto to fill out the lower-reg-ister demands of a medium-sized club gig.
a 4-band EQ with a mid-frequency control
offers a boost/cut range of 100 to 6,000
Hz, a bright control (essentially a high-pass
filter with a very low noise floor) adds extra
top-end bite, and if you like, the entire EQ
section can be bypassed using the front-
panel filter switch, which effectively provide
straight, unadulterated tone directly to the
Miniature
size with
vintage
styling
Powerful, Yet Elegant Simplicity
The Reidmar is a sleek, well-designed unit
that weighs in at just over 7 pounds and
could easily fit into a messenger bag or backpack for quick trips to the studio or local
gigs. Its solid-state circuitry makes use of an
analog preamp and a class-D power amp
that aim to capture the tone and feel of the
company’s larger solid-state heads. But unlike
several other manufacturers of lightweight
bass amps, EBS tossed out the idea of using
an automatic limiter, claiming that it kills
headroom and definition at higher volumes.
Feature-wise, the Reidmar is pretty
simple for an amp of its size, but it still
boasts a handful of extras that make it
versatile enough for bassists of all stripes:
Multi-laminated
plywood
construction
