I was familiair with the small Phil Jones Double Four BG75 combo, but I didn't know they also made this tiny Nanobass X4. I was looking for a good quality small practice combo with decent sound quality and bluetooth, so I just had to try one. These tiny combos aren't cheap, but they don't sound or feel cheap either.
The Nanobass looks gorgeous, especially in red or white Tolex. Build quality is excellent. Like the Double Four, this Nanobass unit feels solid, sturdy and well made. It has a nice weight to it. The speaker and radiator are covered, so you can't accidentally damage them. The power cord has an angled connector, which helps keep the power cord out of the way. I read some negative comments about the placement of the power connector, but I feel this is the best possible location for it. I'm glad they used a good quality standard connector type.
Turning the X4 on is completely silent. There's no hum, crackle or pop. When I put my ear tot the speaker, there's only a very soft hiss. Might be from my bass. I shouldn't put my ear that close a speaker, it's stupid. The Nanobass remembers the last setting. Bluetooth switches on, if that's what I last used and it connects to my phone quickly and reliably. No need for an extra cable connection between my phone or laptop and the combo anymore. Ready to go in just seconds, exactly what I had hoped for. I think the Double Four and maybe some other units could also really benefit from this bluetooth option. I like the combined volume/push AUX/BT button. Really smart, but I do find myself accidentally pushing it sometimes when I want to adjust the volume. It's quite sensitive. The little clipping led is very handy setting the correct input volume for your instrument.
Music via bluetooth and the auxiliary inputs sounds fine. You can really hear that the Nanobass has a full range speaker. There's bass and higher frequenties don't sound muffled. You can actually use it as a bluetooth speaker and I imagine the Nanobass sounds fine for other instruments too. I place it on a table or desk to get the speaker closer to ear height. Experimenting with the placement of the unit in the room will probably help you to get the best listening experience.
Remember it's only 35 Watts into a 4" speaker. The Nanobass is not going to make your pants legs flutter or lift any skirts. It just isn't very powerful and certainly not something you'd want to bring to a band rehearsal. However, it can fill a small room with the sound of your music and bass quite nicely. It's perfect as a super portable practice/travel combo and it might be just enough for a small acoustic session.
A bass guitar sounds good through the Nanobass, but you can hear some of the digital sound processing and compression that's going on. It's not a bad thing though. It makes the Nanobass sound very smooth and controlled. All in all I think this is a well executed idea to create a bass combo that not only sounds good and looks gorgeous, but fits in your backpack too. I found a battery powered USB-C version online (Japan I think), the X4C, that probably interests a lot of people, but for me the standard version is perfect.
The Nanobass looks gorgeous, especially in red or white Tolex. Build quality is excellent. Like the Double Four, this Nanobass unit feels solid, sturdy and well made. It has a nice weight to it. The speaker and radiator are covered, so you can't accidentally damage them. The power cord has an angled connector, which helps keep the power cord out of the way. I read some negative comments about the placement of the power connector, but I feel this is the best possible location for it. I'm glad they used a good quality standard connector type.
Turning the X4 on is completely silent. There's no hum, crackle or pop. When I put my ear tot the speaker, there's only a very soft hiss. Might be from my bass. I shouldn't put my ear that close a speaker, it's stupid. The Nanobass remembers the last setting. Bluetooth switches on, if that's what I last used and it connects to my phone quickly and reliably. No need for an extra cable connection between my phone or laptop and the combo anymore. Ready to go in just seconds, exactly what I had hoped for. I think the Double Four and maybe some other units could also really benefit from this bluetooth option. I like the combined volume/push AUX/BT button. Really smart, but I do find myself accidentally pushing it sometimes when I want to adjust the volume. It's quite sensitive. The little clipping led is very handy setting the correct input volume for your instrument.
Music via bluetooth and the auxiliary inputs sounds fine. You can really hear that the Nanobass has a full range speaker. There's bass and higher frequenties don't sound muffled. You can actually use it as a bluetooth speaker and I imagine the Nanobass sounds fine for other instruments too. I place it on a table or desk to get the speaker closer to ear height. Experimenting with the placement of the unit in the room will probably help you to get the best listening experience.
Remember it's only 35 Watts into a 4" speaker. The Nanobass is not going to make your pants legs flutter or lift any skirts. It just isn't very powerful and certainly not something you'd want to bring to a band rehearsal. However, it can fill a small room with the sound of your music and bass quite nicely. It's perfect as a super portable practice/travel combo and it might be just enough for a small acoustic session.
A bass guitar sounds good through the Nanobass, but you can hear some of the digital sound processing and compression that's going on. It's not a bad thing though. It makes the Nanobass sound very smooth and controlled. All in all I think this is a well executed idea to create a bass combo that not only sounds good and looks gorgeous, but fits in your backpack too. I found a battery powered USB-C version online (Japan I think), the X4C, that probably interests a lot of people, but for me the standard version is perfect.
, so can't really be of help with the OD part.
