REVIEW > PHILOSOPHY AMPLIFICATION
switches, a pair of parallel speaker jacks,
and an impedance selector for either 4, 8,
or 16 Ω. While simplicity is vital to the
look and feel of this amp, an effects loop
would have gone a long way in providing
some added versatility.
Champagne Wishes and
Caviar Dreams
As the amp’s aesthetics would imply,
Philosophy’s sophisticated-looking creation
has a modern tonality to match its avant-garde visual flair. While it definitely has the
capability to cover more midrange-infused,
vintage bass tones, its voicing keeps its
overall tone clear, wide, and extremely tight
in the lows—grabbing the ears with the
same level of authority that its magnetic
looks command.
For testing purposes, I plugged the amp
into an Ampeg Isovent 2x10/2x15 cabinet,
and slung a 2011 Fender American Jazz
Bass over my shoulder. With the EQ and
preamp gain controls set at noon for a
starting point, the amp came alive with a
very distinct and lively tone. In fact, the
amount of frequency separation was so
startling that it caused me to do a double
take back at the cabinet. The lows, mids,
and highs weren’t only easily audible, they
felt and sounded as if they were at slightly
different locations within my line of hearing—giving off a great sense of smooth and
springy low end, buttery mids, and funk-friendly high end.
Speaking of funk, this amp’s true forte
was all about kicking out some of the most
refined and defined slap and pop tones
this side of a well-worn Red Hot Chili
Peppers album. Each pull from my fingers
against the string revealed the details of
my fingers sliding off and the string snapping back with authority, thanks to the
amp’s pristine, almost hi-fi voicing and
overbuilt transformers for high levels of
tonal detail and headroom. At this point,
I wanted to thicken up the tone and pull
back the immediateness of the attack—
something that would sit better with
my John Paul Jones proclivities than my
Bootsy ones—but it was an uphill battle
at first. I was able to warm up the tone
slightly by moving the preamp’s gain control to higher registers, but it eventually
reached overdriven territory and required
that I drop the volume control on the bass
to clean up the tone.
Cabinet impedance switch
JJ KT88 power tubes
The amp’s super-useful mid shift control allowed me to get closer to the loose,
vintage ’70s tones I was after, especially
when used in conjunction with the bass
and treble knobs. Because the Philosophy
amp does not have a dedicated midrange-level control, it relies on the amount of
bass and treble dialed in to determine how
much mid-emphasis it generates in the
tonal spectrum. If I wanted more mid-range, I had to drop the bass and treble
controls—usually below noon or 11 o’clock
to really hear a huge difference—and use
the mid shift control to set the point where
the midrange was accentuated. This might
sound intimidating to those who are used
to riding an amp’s midrange control for
setting their level of overall mix presence.
But honestly, it couldn’t have been much
easier to get a full range of sounds out of
the amp—from the fantastic slap and pop
tones, to warmer and more mid-heavy low-end foundations, to flat-out aggressive and
raging grind.
And what a grind this amp has.
Cranking the gain control to around 3
o’clock treated me to a bristling, almost
fuzzed-out overdrive that was very sensitive
to pick attack—perfect for the immedi-
ate, ripping tones in the vein of Lemmy
Kilmister and the late Cliff Burton. Though
getting the amp to loosen its seemingly
iron grip on the lows was next to impos-
sible, it was really hard to care after hearing
and feeling just how well the amp handled
fast, overdriven playing with the upmost
precision and superbly detailed midrange.
And my fears of having to live in either a
clean and pristine or rude and raging mode
were alleviated when I discovered how well
the amp cleaned up via the bass’s volume
control, even with the preamp gain maxed.
The voicing was still very tight and aggres-
sive, but retained the same excellent levels
of detail in the frequencies as it had when it
was originally set clean.
The Verdict
Philosophy’s modern-looking marvel is an
impressive bass amplifier. Actually, it’s downright astounding when you consider that
it’s their very first model. The build quality
and design are nothing short of perfection,
and the tones—even though they can be a
little too ferocious and present at times—are
consistently clear, defined, and full of punch
and power. If this amp represents the level
they’ve set for themselves right out of the
gate, Philosophy has a very bright future
ahead of them.
RATINGS
Pros: Superb detail and expansive tone. Top-notch build quality.
Philosophy Amplification, Bass Head, Street: $2,099, philosophyamplifiers.com
Cons: Certain tone settings lack dynamics and can feel tight
or restricting.
Tones
Value
premierguitar.com
PREMIER GUITAR APRIL 2012 DR4
