Vol 11, Number 2, Summer 2016, Raleigh, NC |
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BASS GEAR’S BOWLUS RAVES ABOUT REINTRODUCED CLARUS SL “The Clarus SL may be the most exciting, but unassuming, head I have encountered.” This one phrase summarizes the rave review by Editor Tom Bowlus in the latest print and online issues of Bass Gear.
Since their recent reintroduction, the Clarus SL and its sibling, the effects-equipped Clarus SL-R, have been widely praised for power, purity and portability by a wide variety of instrumentalists. But Bowlus’ exhaustive assessment for upright and electric bass players could hardly be more positive. As he concludes, “Sonically excellent, the Clarus SL also packs considerable power, but stays silent when you want it to. This thing should be bigger than it is, and it should cost more than it does. Oh, and you’d think it would need a fan. But it doesn’t. And it’s tiny. And the price is crazy reasonable. This is a great head, folks. You should definitely check one out!” With Bass Gear’s permission, below are some selected paragraphs and a link to the full eleven-page article: “The original Clarus SL put out 250 watts into a 4-ohm load (it could hit 350 watts into a 2-ohm load). The latest iteration is approximately twice as powerful (AI claims 500 watts “rms continuous,” and 650 watts “rms music”), and is still designed to handle a 2-ohm load. In addition to upping the ante on the output section side of the equation, AI also enhanced the front end, with an updated tone stack, a variable high-pass filter, and additional front panel controls. With all of these advancements, and double the power, of course, the S4 version of the Clarus SL costs mo … wait a minute … it costs less? Twice the power, more features, smaller form factor, AND it costs less? “ “Much like my experience with the Flex System, the Clarus SL impresses with its very neutral, transparent tone. While the tone is decidedly “smooth,” this does not come at the expense of clarity or high frequency extension. The midrange is solid and balanced throughout its range. The Filter control really lets you dial in the low end. It is a deceptively simple and incredibly useful single-knob tool. As with the Flex System, as I played different instruments through the SL, each instrument had its own voice, and I always felt like I was hearing more “instrument” than ‘rig’.” “With some of my bands, I do a lot of doubling (switching between electric bass guitar and double bass), and sometimes I am also throwing acoustic bass guitar into the mix. These instruments present very different rig challenges. An amp/ cab combination that might work great for a P-bass might sound “fake” with a piezo-equipped double bass. Rigs that excel on double bass sometimes lack “slam” and “punch” on electric bass. While much depends on which bass enclosure(s) you bring to the gig, the Clarus SL is definitely up to the task of faithfully – and “naturally” – reproducing whatever instrument you bring to the gig. The two inputs (Hi Z and Lo Z) offer great flexibility, and a quick tweak of the Filter knob really opens up the possibilities. Granted, it is a very clean-sounding head, so if you want some dirt, you may need to supply it with a pedal (or two), but the SL is quite pedal-friendly.”
“I was able to try the SL through a variety of different bass enclosures. Most of them were the kind of full-range cab that helped show off the sonic purity of the AI head, but some of them were definitely rather “voiced.” I am happy to say that the Clarus SL yielded pleasing and predictable results no matter what cab or cabs I hooked up. It is small enough to feel at home with a compact 1x10 or 1x12, but it is more than capable of driving an 8x10. Heck, it can push two 8x10’s!” “It does take a little while to wrap your head around the amount of real-world output power the little SL has on hand. First off, its diminutive size and weight encourage your brain to categorize the Clarus SL as a “small” amp, likely with modest output power. It is about the same size as my GK MB200, which I really like, but which is limited to 200 watts (into 4 ohms). The SL is capable of putting out more than 500 watts into this same load. That is no small feat. What’s even more impressive is that the little SL is stable down to 2 ohms, where it puts out around 600 watts! And it does all this without a fan. Mind-blowing… “ “The Level and Master pots both feel like they have a very linear taper, and you can definitely use the whole range of the knob. On some amps, you’ve got about all you are going to get (without clipping) by the time you get the gain/volume knobs to noon or maybe 1 o’clock. No so with the Clarus. You do need to be willing to crank things up a bit. I routinely ran the Level and Master controls up well past 2 o’clock. The power of the SL really shines when you drive it to 4 ohms and beyond. I really loved it with three 1x12’s (2.67- ohm load), where it packed punch and slam worthy of any hard rock gig (but of course, all the while maintaining a very clear, neutral, balanced tone). Again, you have to be willing to crank things up to get all the volume capabilities out of the SL, but when you do crank it, it absolutely delivers” “Much like the Flex, the Clarus SL is almost totally lacking in noise or hiss. Crank the Master, hold the strings, and you can hardly tell it’s on. What’s more, with the Mute engaged, it is dead silent. I mean silent. No hiss. Nothing! That is rare, in my experience. Most heads exhibit some level of hiss or noise when turned on, but muted. Once again, AI impresses with the attention to details.” “The Clarus SL may be the most exciting, but unassuming, head I have encountered. It has a classy, understated vibe about it, but when you put it through its paces, it is just so undeniably competent. The feature set offers everything you need, but nothing you don’t. The 4-band EQ is excellent, and the variable high-pass Filter is one of the best one-knob tone controls out there.” Visit Bass Gear to read the whole story (requires Flash!).
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