-
If I were taking an amp into the pit today it would probably be the Corus or Coda.
-
08-18-2014 08:44 AM
-
Is there much difference between the Clarus, Coda, and Corus heads?
-
I believe the heads are essentially the same circuit--a 300-watt, class-D power amp, with a nice control preamp. The eq section permits a good, neutral (flat) setting for the guitar/bass. The amp can do a fairly colorless job of making the guitar louder. The cabinets generally feature 10" + 5" speakers, with the five forward firing, IIRC. My personal experience has been with the Clarus through a RE cabinet, which was standard fare for a period in jazz. I have seen groups come through town where the guitarist was using a Coda or Corus. They sounded very Clarus-like, to me. Without reverb and with a different speaker you have the Contra--for upright bassists. I have seen quite a few bassists use that. Sounds very nice, although I still use one of my two Polytone III amps for that sort of gig--call me old school. I don't see too many other bassists still using the MBIII. (or, for that matter, the original Barcus-Berry pickup system and preamp; I just haven't progressed)
-
In addition to my archtop, I regularly gig with a steel-string acoustic, mic'd classical, and solid body (rock). I have a great big tube amp for loud overdriven rock, but I'm thinking maybe AI is the way to go instead of the Fender since it can most likely cover more ground. I do not need the AI to sound superb for solid body rock guitar, mostly just adequate with modeling and pedals. I can always use my Mesa when I need that sound. I have loved having this Ultralight, but I'm playing more acoustic gigs now too and I'm not crazy about the sound of my Taylor through the Fender, sounds too electric.
Thanks Greentone for your input. I'd love to hear what any other Clarus, or AI users think about this.
-
I have done a number of '50's rock and pit band gigs using either a Coda or a Corus with a multi-effects modeling pedal. So far I have used a Boss GT-5, GT-8 and GT-10 and a Zoom G3X. I also have an Axe-FX II at home, but I prefer something more portable for gigs.
The trick here is to skip the amp's preamp and go directly into the return in, doing all the amp modeling and tone-shaping in the mfx. IOW, use the amp as a powered speaker. Experiment with cabinet emulation--I always leave it on, but you may prefer to turn it off.
With two channels and two returns on a Clarus head (also Corus and Coda) you can actually run four separate signals into the amp, two directly from guitars or mics, two from effects pedals, so you can run multiple instruments
Boss GT-8 & Coda:
Danny W.
-
Thanks Danny! That's exactly how I would use my POD HD500 with this set up. Do you have any experience with putting an overdrive pedal right in front of the amp, or just with the processor in the return? Putting a Tubescreamer in front of the amp is not exactly a necessity for me, I'm just curious.
I know the combination of the Clarus head and Raezer's Edge cabinets is very popular for jazz, and I think there happens to be this combination available locally. Would this speaker cabinet (the Stealth 12 for example) be appropriate with effects processors?
-
Why not put your POD in front of the amp, don't have to have and effects loop. I might in that situation get a switcher pedal, Radial makes a bunch then I can have one path direct to amp and a second path thru POD or any other effects chain.
-
Docbop has a good idea, there. And, yes, that should work with a Clarus/RE.
-
The Clarus amps really don't like OD pedals, or much of anything, in front. The effects loop is a parallel circuit, which means that any effects you put in the loop are mixed with straight signal. By running the guitar into an mfx modeler and then into the return you get to skip that part and take advantage of the Clarus's power amp without extra gain stages that are not adding anything useful.
Originally Posted by DanH8482
If you are using the Clarus XLR Direct Out to go to FOH, the Master on the Clarus will affect your local signal level but not the XLR out, so you can adjust your monitor loudness without messing up the audience mix. If the Clarus Model has a selector for Direct Out pre or post EQ be sure to set it to Post EQ. Don't ask me how I know this
Before I switched over to AI combos I used Clarus & RE. Here's a Boss GT-5 into a Clarus1R into an RE Twin-8 Tower:
After doing some gigs this way I had Rich Raezer build me a Twin-8 Tower-ER with an adjustable tweeter. Standard RE cabinets have a strong voice which can muddy up the tone from the modeler. By adding some more top end to the RE it smooths this out. All my current RE cabs are extended range. My T8-T-ER might be the only one he ever made, but the Stealth 12-ER does a good job too. For standard jazz guitar sounds, just dial down the tweeter.
See my comments above. The preamp of a Clarus amp doesn't add anything good to a modeler and introduces an extra gain control and several tone controls that are just more stuff that can get screwed up at a gig. By going directly into the return you avoid that and also skip the internal effects section. Originally Posted by docbop
Danny W.
-
Thanks again Danny! I read the manual for the Clarus today and it seems to have a lot of options that are very practical. When you mention the Post or Pre EQ using the direct out feature, are you talking about while using a modeler, or just in general? I think it makes sense to me to want to have have it skip the preamp EQ if you're bypassing that anyway, you wouldn't want that getting sent to FOH and being a different sound than what you have on stage. Maybe I'm off on that though.
Well, I found a Clarus 2R (series III) and an RE Stealth 12 being sold together at the right price locally, so I think I'll give it a shot. I think the biggest thing for me now is that I'm doing an equal amount of acoustic gigging and electric gigging so having one amp that does both is important, as I said the Ultralight doesn't do justice to my acoustic or classical guitars. Now I just need to sell the Fender! Any takers???
-
If you are feeding a modeler into the return and want to use the direct out you need to select the post EQ setting or you won't get any signal out. If you are just using it as a guitar amp, you can use whichever setting you prefer. I usually leave it in pre EQ so that my local tone settings don't affect the FOH.
-
Danny,
Rich should have made the Twin 8 ER Tower a regular part of his line-up. It is a brilliant idea (no pun intended). I get something of the same sort of thing accomplished by playing out through one or two old Polytone PA cabinets. They are the same size as your RE, but they feature the old standby, Polytone 12" speaker plus two bullet tweeters in each cabinet. Although some guys might think that they would be better keyboard cabs, I find that they take the mud out of the sound--much as the MiniBrute V amp does (the one that George Benson used for many years in the 90s and early in the 2000s). The V also has two bullet tweeters, but features a 15" driver. I narrowly prefer the 12. Now, if Polytone had made a cabinet with two of their 8s and a bullet...that would have been IT. (I have two cabs like the one pictured.)
So, you have THE cabinet, as far as I am concerned.
(Nice ES-355, by the way)Last edited by Greentone; 09-02-2014 at 10:30 PM.
-
Thanks--I think so too.
When I contacted Rich about making me one he said he had never thought of doing it to that model and it took him quite awhile to come up with a design, but the results were worth the wait. I know he built some other ER configurations that are not in the product line, but I'm not sure he ever made another T8T-ER. It sounds amazing, but at 39 pounds is above my comfortable weight range. Since I got my AI Corus none of my RE cabs have left the house, but the T8T-ER and a ST12-ER are part of my living-room playing rig.
These were my gigging cabinets when I wasn't playing an AI Coda:
I don't have the NY8 anymore. Not shown is the ST12-ER that has been used only at home.
I had several Polytone MB amps during the '80's and '90's. Don't want to start a war about them, but sold the last one the day I got my first AI Coda.
Danny W.
-
Those rigs pretty well replaced Polytone for everybody.
-
for archtops, semis and solid body the coda or contra does not do a good job in my opinion - they are too flat. for classicals and acoustic they are the best. If you plan on playing most of the time with an archtop, even acoustic archtop, or electric guitars, and still want a great sounding system for acoustics, the right way is the corus or even better, an RE cabinet with an ER option (this is very important for acoustics). if you're looking for an amp that shines with acoustics or nylons the contra/coda is the way to go, their flatness helps with this kind of guitars. Again if you are looking for an amp that shines with every guitar - a clarus (or a henriksen!) head with an extended range cabinet that allows you to turn the tweeter off.
Last edited by oriv; 09-03-2014 at 03:19 AM.
-
I've been borrowing an Acoustic Image Clarus 2R Series II and a Raezer's Edge Stealth cabinet and have the opportunity to purchase them. I'm definitely going to jump on the RE Stealth. However, I can't find much online about the Clarus 2R Series II. I can find people still using the Series III and certainly other (newer) AI models.
1. Anybody out there still using a Clarus 2R Series II?
2. Any issues or problems noted over the years with the Series II?
3. I'm having a difficult time pricing the 2R Series II. Has anyone bought, sold, or seen one for sale recently? I've seen a couple that have sold on Reverb over the past few years in the mid-$300s.
Thanks much.
-
I don't have a Series II, but I have a Series I, no reverb, and it's still going strong. It developed some noise problems a year or two ago, and AI fixed it for free. They have a lifetime transferrable warranty. I paid about $300 for mine several years ago - I don't recall the exact price. For a 2R, I think the mid 300s sounds about right.
-
That is incredibly helpful, especially the fact that AI fixed your older unit. I have no experience with AI, as I've been a Quilter guy for my jazz-clean solid state amp needs. (I had a problem once and Pat Quilter himself emailed me.) I'm glad that AI's warranty and customer service is good too. The Series II has more features than I need (esp. the mic channel), but that instrument channel sounds great and the high pass filter really helps to dial out some of the boominess I get on the low E string with the Raezer's Edge's cab. Thanks again! Originally Posted by sgosnell
-
I've used an acoustic image clarus for nearly 20 years and they have always repaired it for free (it has had problems twice I think). One time they even sent it back in a new carrying case because they noticed mine was getting worn!
-
I had no idea about the warranty when I bought my Series I off ebay. I emailed AI, inquiring about the date of manufacture, and got a reply from Rick Jones with the information, and he said "Oh, by the way, if you ever need any repairs, it has a lifetime warranty, just send it to us". Later I did, and got it repaired, paid shipping only. I didn't get a new carrying case, but I didn't send it in the case, which is still like new. It has never been used much.
Reply With Quote
Charlie Garnett - Franken Tele
Yesterday, 08:52 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos