Issue 66 on sale now
Amps
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| Having consistently produced high quality guitars, basses and pro audio equipment. Mark Tucker reviews one of Peavey’s dedicated acoustic amps. Believe it or not, but Peavey have been in business for some 37 years. Founder and current CEO, Hartley Peavey, has worked incredibly hard to gain the respect of his peers and users by recognising and listening to musicians’ needs, and then reflecting those qualities in Peavey’s equipment. The reputation Peavey had in their heyday seemed to be built on the opinions of the American country music scene. Since, Peavey has earned a global respect stretching across many musical genres. Peavey manufactures a huge array of high quality products including a full range of acoustic guitars and dedicated amplification. The latter is something Peavey knows quite a bit about, as making amplifiers is something they have done for over 30 years. Being in the marketplace to buy an acoustic amp, I’ve been surprised at the plethora of ‘acoustic’ amps available today. These include dedicated acoustic amps to amps that have additional inputs to accommodate the use of microphones and/or CD or similar playback devices that could also be used for karaoke-style playing. In the case of the Peavey Ecoustic 112, it represents one of two models in their Ecoustic range. The 110 is the 112’s smaller brother, with its name largely referring to the amplifiers speaker size. Despite its microphone input, which could suggest ‘karaoke’, this amp could very successfully be used as a dedicated acoustic amp. The clever design allows one channel to accommodate a microphone or guitar without compromising either signal. Alternatively the amp could be used for two guitar signals, and/or a twin pickup system instrument. Features The amp boasts two input channels, each with independent effects with a separate auxiliary input, fitted handy hi and low frequency equalisation. The Ecoustic 112’s features are: 12” Blue Marvel Coaxial Speaker, Bi-amped 300 watts for lows and mids with 10 watts for the tweeter for high frequency and is controllable by its own level control. The optional programmable footswitch seems like a good idea with three mute and FX select presets. There’s also a ‘Freq Out’ - something Peavey call ‘Digital Anti Feedback Built In’, which I’ll investigate further later. The rear of the amplifier offers a professional XLR line out for plugging directly into PA systems or recorders. There is a mains ground polarity switch which in certain situations could be used to reduce hum caused by mains ground loops. Fortunately there is also a pre-amp insert send and return to patch a more comprehensive effects device, or you can use it to patch a further power amp. On the front face of the amp each channel is equipped with a five band graphic equaliser which are very useful for finely tweaking the tone. Personally, I feel a carefully designed graphic is better than a simple parametric EQ, simply because most guitar players get confused by parametric equaliser with ‘Q’ control and as result can do more damage than good. The amp weighs in at 58Ibs (26.4Kg), which is pretty hefty, yet demonstrates the quality of components used in the construction of this amp. In Use The control surface appears clear, keeping the main channel controls uncluttered, accessible and away from effect settings. The amp has a clean and simple appearance, while offering what appear to be all the typically important functions. I chose first to check Channel 1, the dedicated instrument channel. This has a dedicated phase switch. The concept of phase reversal refers to the polarity of the speaker or signal fed into the amp. For example; depending on the phase setting, the speaker will initially move in a forward or reverse motion. Phase is only relative to a duplicate signal, such as plugging a twin pickup system in the amp, or a PA that is amplifying the amp. For example; in plugging the bridge transducer into Channel 1 and the internal guitar microphone, or other pickup into Channel 2, you could encounter phase anomalies. These manifest as a cancelling out in bass frequency, thus sounding tonally thin. The very same effect can be achieved when using a single pickup that is amplified further through a PA system. In reversing the phase on the amp, you may thin out the sound enough to reduce feedback via the PA. So it can be used as a tonal effect, or a means of eliminating feedback. However, a full understanding of this issue and how it affects your sound is important. My initial impression is that the amp delivers plenty of punch and volume. The overall sound produced is rich, deep with plenty of tone. The graphic provides plenty of tonal possibilities allowing fine adjustment of the tone you require. The tweeter allows an all-important silky hi-frequency to be mixed into the amp’s sound. On a negative point, the tweeter appears to be quite noisy, which, if misused, could render the amp useless. If your tweeter is set too high, it could hinder a recording situation, or annoy the hell out of the engineer when amplified further via a loud PA system. The graphic equalisers don’t display specific frequencies, but I feel this is again more ‘guitarist-friendly’ and most players use their ears. The graphics do what they are supposed to and change the tone very efficiently. Channel 2 offers a High Z input and XLR for plugging in microphones of varying types. The results when plugging in a Shure SM57/58 seemed impressive, offering plenty of gain and options on tweaking the tone. The onboard FX are quite limited. As usual with this type of ‘included, built in FX’, more often than not they are a compromise when compared to using a dedicated device. The Ecoustic 112 has two separate FX devices dedicated independently to Channels 1 and 2. Channel 1 offers a basic reverb and delay with limited adjustment. There is also a Doubler, Chorus, Phaser and Rotary Speaker FX, with the amount controlled by means of a mix pot. Although the basic quality of these effects is OK, it’s the adjustment that is very basic. Even on a minimum setting I felt the delays and reverbs sounded quite extreme. Placed in the centre of the control panel is the Freq Out - the anti-feedback function. This appears to be very simple to operate, and although there are only two settings it has an automatic function. The two settings available are simply ‘High and Low Q’. This I suspect refers to the equalisation curve used to eliminate the feedback. But I suspect there is also a more specific and automatic search and destroy function as with some other manufacturers’ devices. Despite hoping this function to be tonally discreet, it sounds as if there is a pre-defined equalisation curve present at all times. Although I felt one of these two settings improved the general tone of the guitar, it is actually processing Channels 1 and 2 simultaneously. As a result this could affect the sound of a voice that is plugged via Channel 2, rendering it unnecessarily thin. Conclusion All in all, the amp functioned very well indeed, providing a clear and voluminous tone. With its build standard being very high throughout, it will survive the rigours of a life on the road very well indeed. The Ecoustic 112 will definitely suit the discriminating needs of an acoustic guitar player with a dual pickup system. Despite the issue of Freq Out being present on both channels without an option to turn it off independently, the amp does offer some very comprehensive equalisation and feedback reduction possibilities. It would also be entirely suitable for karaoke, or the singing player who also wishes to perform to CD or similar playback devices. My only real reservations are the limitations of the FX unit, particularly when attempting to finely adjust the level of reverb and delay. Also, I’m not convinced about the configuration of the Freq Out feedback suppressor in the way it controls both channels. This restricts one’s ability to remove it from what may be a vocal channel; simply because of the tonal colouration it induces. I must admit to my personal and final gripe over the rather 1970s ‘brown’ appearance of the amp - black is much cooler! At an asking price of around £600, the Ecoustic 112 is placed within the upper division of an ever increasingly competitive market place. | |||
| RATING | |||
| Rated Out of 20 | |||
| Build Quality: | |||
| As with my experience of most Peavey products, the build quality is very good. I would expect it to withstand a life on the road with absolute ease. | TBA | ||
| Sound: | |||
| Every instrument and microphone I plugged in sounded great. The only issue being with the Freq Out processing. The absence of a switch for independent control over each channel could be a problem. | TBA | ||
| Functionality: | |||
| With the exception of a notch filter, the 112 has all the typical functions I would expect to find on a good acoustic amp. However, the automatic equalisation within the Freq Out has a very similar effect to a notch filter. Shame also about the lack of switchability mentioned earlier about the Freq Out. | TBA | ||
| Value: | |||
| Lots of competition by other manufacturers coming in at prices lower than the 112, so value not superb, but is does offer very good overall quality. | TBA | ||
| Wow Factor: | |||
| Overall, having dealt with amplifiers, audio equipment and recording equipment for the last 25 years, the 112 has impressed me. | TBA | ||
TOTAL | TBA | ||
| Specifications: | |||
| Price | £599 | ||
| Manufacturer | Peavey | ||
| Model | Ecoustic 112 | ||
| Features: |
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| Peavey T: 01536 461234 www.peavey.com | |||
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