Ernie Ball Turns up the Volume with Audiophile Bass Systems

HD-500 Front Panel (Click for a close-up)

HD-500 Back Panel (Click for a close-up)

Ernie Ball keeps the sound up for bass players with the HD-500 Bass Amp and four different speaker cabinets. The pro-quality system is lightweight, with plenty of clean, usable power.

The HD-500 will provide warm, punchy mids, bright, clear highs and a rich bottom end. It features a tube pre-amp section with active and passive inputs, adjustable gain from zero to 45dB, separate series and parallel effects loops, and two foot-switchable four-band EQ channels. The exclusive Loudspeaker Variable Response (LVR) circuit provides an adjustable high-frequency cutoff control, allowing today's full range speaker enclosures to emulate the warm sound of vintage speaker cabs. The power amp section of the HD-500 is designed specifically for bass guitar output and delivers 500 watts of clean power into 4 ohms. It includes a built-in limiter with selectable release time. The HD-500 retails for $1,299.

The Audiophile Bass Systems speaker enclosures include:

• D-210 Speaker Cabinet (two 10" speakers, one super tweeter) $799
• HD-212 Speaker Cabinet (two 12" speakers, one 6" midrange driver) $1,050
• HD-410 Speaker Cabinet (four 10" speakers, one 6" midrange driver) $1,199
• HD-610 Speaker Cabinet (six 10" speakers, one 6" midrange driver) $1,650

The ported cabinets are built from 18mm high-grade plywood using sturdy rabbet joint construction and durable carpet covering. They are loaded with proprietary B&C cast frame drivers, with Neutrik Speakon connectors and ¼" phone jacks provided on the rear. Each enclosure is rated at 8 ohms, except for the HD-610, which is 4 ohms. The HD-210 includes a 1" super tweeter, while the HD-212, HD-410, and HD-610 include a 6" midrange driver for full, smooth response throughout the sonic spectrum. The HD-410 and HD-610 are unique with B&C Neodymium magnet structures specifically designed for bass instrument reproduction. Neodymium magnets significantly improve the power to weight ratio of the HD-410 when compared to competing 4 x 10" bass speaker designs. These enclosures can be used individually or together for the ultimate bass speaker system.

A full spread of Audiophile Bass Systems gear can be seen at the January 2001 NAMM show in Anaheim. Available to order are the HD-500 amplifier and the HD-210, HD-212, HD-410, and HD-610 speaker enclosures. On the horizon for Ernie Ball Audiophile Bass Systems is a 210 Combo, to be shown in prototype form at the NAMM show. Still in development, the 210 Combo has a unique vertical style speaker arrangement, with a built-in amplifier featuring a tube compressor and 4-band semi-parametric EQ.