Reidmar 502 Solid-State Bass Instrument Amp

Since losing our two most popular amps for upright bass in the past couple of years, I've been on the lookout for new options that can "fill the void" for a well-designed, powerful amp that's portable and transparent.

I forged a new relationship with EBS amps of Sweden, mostly to get a hold of the Stanley Clarke Signature Preamp, which players have been asking for... and this cool amp flashed across my screen as a great option to fill that void.

The Reidmar 502 from EBS is a transparent, clean, solid-state bass instrument amp that's perfect for upright players. Its 1 Megohm input impedance will provide uncolored sound for most piezo-based pickups without the need for an external preamp. With 500 watts of power and a wide range of tone-shaping options, the Reidmar 502 can handle most any sized performance or venue. And IMO, it's pretty reasonably priced for the quality and feature set you get.

It has a four-band EQ section, with semi-parametric (adjustable frequency) midrange control, so you can dial in the perfect sound for your instrument and playing style. The adjustable compressor can provide a little more control over your dynamics, and the built-in effects loop lets you add even more tonal possibilities with external effects.

The Reidmar 502 is also pretty portable, with a midsize footprint of around 13" x 10" x 3", and it weighs in at just 7.3 pounds. So you can easily take it with you to rehearsals, gigs, or recording sessions.

In testing here at the shop, the capable power of this amp worked spectacularly well on the Acoustic Image Upshot and Doubleshot, and it can produce volume above its punching weight due to its "soft clipping" design, which maximizes input gain to create more back-end volume.

It is also capable of a very safe 2ohm speaker impedance load, meaning that you can plug two 4-ohm speakers into it without an ounce of worry. It would CRUSH with a couple of EA Wizzy 10s, or a pair of 4ohm Wizzy or MLine 12 speaker cabs, for instance.

Definitely worth a look!

Specifications

• Input Impedance 2 Mohms
• Gain Range -00 - +30 dB
• Character Filter Shelving, High/Low Pass, +7 dB @ 40 Hz, -2 dB @ 800 Hz,
  +3 dB @ 10 kHz
• Tone Controls,
  Bass Shelving +/-18 dB @ 60 Hz
  Mid Bandpass Filter 100 – 6000 Hz +/- 12-15 dB
  Treble Shelving +/-18 dB @ 6 kHz
  Bright Shelving +15/-0 dB @ 10 kHz
• Balanced Output -10 dBv, Pre/Post EQ, GND Lift
• Output Power 250 W RMS / 500 W RMS @ 4 and 2 ohms load respectively.
• Dimensions (WxDxH) 12.8 x 9.8 x 3.0" (32.5 x 25 x 7.5 cm)
• Weight 3.3 kg (7.3 lbs.)

Specifications are subject to change.

Features

• Type: Analog Preamp, 2-ohm D-Class Power Amp
• Built-in Compressor/Limiter
• Extremely Powerful 4-band EQ with Semi-Parametric Midrange - bypassable for true "flat" response
• Effects loop
• Bypassable Character Filter
• Balanced XLR-Out with Pre/Post EQ switch and Ground Lift.
• Line Out
• Headphones Out
• Output Power: 500 W @ 2ohms

Note: the amp has a single Speakon output jack for speaker connection. In order to hook up multiple speakers, you'll either need to "daisy chain" your speakers (if your speakers have multiple jacks) or a proper Speakon "splitter" cable.