As a bass player, I can tell you that your amp and speakers are just as important as your choice of bass guitar – maybe even more so. The reason is simple: To project the low frequencies a bass produces at concert hall (or even small club) levels requires a massive amount of clean power and incredibly efficient speakers that can push all those lows out into the crowd without breaking up. It’s not that bass players play loud (though some of us do), but more the fact that frequencies below about 100 Hz need a lot of juice to travel very far. Stick your ear up to the speaker and all you need is a few watts, but to reach the back of the hall requires power. The days of the 60-watt bass amp are long over. That was fine for the '60s, but this is the ‘90s.

Most other amp manufacturers make guitar amps, then, almost as an afterthought, throw in a few extra watts and a bigger speaker and call it a bass amp. Sorry, this is just a bigger guitar amp. There’s no way around the fact that you need to get your amp from a company that really understands about bass. Which brings me to the people at Eden Electronics. See, David Eden, the man who started the company, knows what it takes to deliver solid bass. In fact, all the men and women at Eden are nuts about bass - they dig a fat low end (which probably drives their neighbors crazy when they go home and crank up the stereo). What does this mean to you, Mr. (or Ms.) bass player? Well, these folks only build one thing: Bass amps and cabinets. Eden Electronics are 100% handcrafted right here in the US and come with a two-year warranty. What’s more, they are built to a standard that is way beyond anything that has ever been done with bass amps until now (I know, I own one). Look, Eden doesn’t claim to have come up with some revolutionary new technology (the “phase inverse power pulse inductor” or some other made-up term). They just build their amps and cabs like they should be built.

As a matter of fact, just read part of their mission statement: “It’s the bass player that’s the foundation of the band and a strong foundation is the key to a great performance. And after working with musicians for years we’ve learned what it takes to make a performance come together. And one of the toughest parts of any performance is getting a good consistent bass sound. It’s for this reason that we have designed and produced a complete line of loudspeakers and amplifiers for the bassist. Each one is built with commitment, pride and a love for music that is rivaled only by the artists who have chosen them.”

Pretty simple, isn’t it? No exagerated claims of crucial breakthroughs - I like that. So now that you know something about the company, let’s take a look at a few of their products.

When you want to feelk the bass, not just hear it, try the D410XLT

WT-400 Traveller ($1198 list). This amp delivers a solid 400 watts of room-shaking power in a surprisingly lightweight package. Two shelving and three semi-parametric tone controls allow precise timbral shaping of your sound, and automatic compression (which is bypassable) reins in the dynamics while keeping your tone tight and punchy.

WT-600 Roadrunner ($1650 list). Need more power than the WT-400? The Roadrunner employs the same sophisticated preamp as the WT-400 for critical tone-shaping, but with a dual channel power amp (300 watts per side) for stereo or true biamp operation. A built-in crossover makes this unit fully self-contained (except for your cabinet, of course). This is an amp that can fill just about any size venue with serious bottom end.

D115 Cabinet. This is a 1x15” rear ported design that provides the finest in traditional deep, round bottom end and a smooth, but punchy midrange. High power handling makes this the perfect cabinet to hold down the low end of your rig.

D210XLT (2x10”/350 watts, $829 list) and D410XLT (4x10”/700 watts, $1230 list) Cabinets. For a full, chest-thumping bass sound, nothing beats these babies. Eden’s advanced designs use their hand-made, cast-frame woofers plus an adjustable cast bell tweeter for an incredibly focused sound. The compact D210XLT is perfect for most applications, but when you want increased power handling and extended low end that rocks the very foundations of any club or hall, pick the D410XLT.

Eden offers other products, but this gives you a good idea about what they build and how well they build them. Honestly, you can’t find a better bass amp anywhere. I’ve tried, so I know. So call the Sweetwater folks for more information and a super low Sweetwater price on this great bass gear.

- B. B.