Product: Aguilar Agro
Price Paid: USD 340
Submitted
02/25/2008
at
01:02am
by
Adam
Features
:
7
1/4" ins and outs (one switchable between line level and instrument level), 24V wall-wart style supply (included), rack ears and footswitch (also included). Weighs about a pound and a half.
Saturation (distortion) level and master volume.
EQ:
Contour: broad range mid scoop @ 1kHz (up to 20 dB cut)
Treble: + 6dB/- 10dB @ 4kHz shelving
Mid: + 4dB/- 10dB @ 600Hz peaking
Bass: + 8dB/- 6dB @ 40Hz shelving
Deep switch: +6dB <100Hz shelving
Presence: + 6dB/-20dB >4kHz shelving
+10 dB buffered output when switched off - I wish this feature was switchable to 0 dB.
Sound Quality
:
9
I have a love/dislike relationship with this preamp. First off, it's the only distortion made for bass that I've tried which actually can do the slightly gritty tube overdrive sound. It's not like vintage SVT grit but more like a Bass 400+ IMO. Turning the Saturation knob up reveals a lot of different USABLE distortion/fuzz tones. A little over half-way sounds like Lemmy but thicker, but from there up the changes are pretty subtle; mostly changing the sustain characteristics. Full-on is absolutely perfect fuzz though - great for doom and stoner metal - and is everything a boutique hand-made fuzz wishes it could be (though the Agro costs as much or more).
What I don't like - it's hard to match output levels to other preamps and poweramps. It has a much weaker output signal than my Aguilar DB659 preamp so if I'm switching back and forth, there's a big drop in volume if I don't turn up the level on the poweramp. I think if they added a standard 3-prong power cord instead of a 24V supply, it would fix this.
All in all though, the fuzz is rich and thick sounding. Not muddy or thin in the least which is why I'm giving it a 9.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
All solid-state and an Aguilar so it should be around for a while. I've only had it for 2 weeks now though.
Customer Support
:
10
Aguilar is the best in my book. Dave B. is the man and the Aguilar CS team is quick and knowledgeable. You don't get stupid answers like "what's the manual say?" or "just take it to an authorized dealer".
Overall Rating
:
9
I'm tired of listing previously owned gear but currently have all Aguilar stuff. GS212, GS112, S210, DB659, DB924, and working on a DB412 cabinet if I can get it in orange w/tweed grill. I play a Spector NS4CRFM strung with DR hi-beams. I've played for 11+ years and have been hopelessly lost in bass gear since day 1. There's a lot of great stuff out there and I recommend trying everything you can if for no other reason than to have a little fun. But I've owned nothing but Aguilar for 2 years and haven't felt a need to switch.
I love the way the Agro sounds but it has yet to be perfected. I think a revamping of the output section is in order and possibly making the clean/off signal switchable between 0 dB and 10 dB. A DI output would be nice too.
