Anyone using a Warwick Gnome 200?

[Jim Soloway]

Someone's selling one for a pretty good price not far from here and I was wondering what impressions are by people who have used them? If I put a Fender style preamp in front of it, is it going to sound like a Fender or just a mess of mismatched stuff?

[Gitterbug]

All 200W bass amps I have used work well alone for jazz guitar, or as an "intelligent power amp" behind a preamp or a cluster of pedals. The Gnome is louder and, for the lack of a better word, sharper than BAM 200, and less colored than TE Elf. Did you once have a G+K MB200? The Gnome is a little less of the same. Knowing that you have a few balls in the air all the time, you might just as well give it a try. Us gearheads make full circles every now and then.

[Jim Soloway]

All 200W bass amps I have used work well alone for jazz guitar, or as an "intelligent power amp" behind a preamp or a cluster of pedals. The Gnome is louder and, for the lack of a better word, sharper than BAM 200, and less colored than TE Elf. Did you once have a G+K MB200? The Gnome is a little less of the same. Knowing that you have a few balls in the air all the time, you might just as well give it a try. Us gearheads make full circles every now and then.

I had a couple of MB200s and like them. I had a piece of gear fry out over the weekend (entirely 100% my fault) so I'm trying to figure out how to respond.

[bluenote61]

The Gnome is louder and, for the lack of a better word, sharper than BAM 200, and less colored than TE Elf.

I know all three and had the same feeling.
And, to order them in terms of "sharpness" the Elf is the smoothest, followed by the BAM200 and on top is the Gnome.
But that order might not be bad when it comes to use the amp as power amp only.

[olejason]

I use the Gnome on upright bass. As others have mentioned it's a pretty transparent amp. I think the controls have a good amount of range, I don't have any issues getting a good tone with my bass without using a preamp.

I had a BAM200 before it literally went up in smoke during a rehearsal. I think the Gnome sounds better and has, obviously, been more reliable.

[Ukena]

As I posted in another thread, I recently got the Gnome i, which is 200w at 4 ohms, 130w at 8 ohms. Essentially the same as the one you're looking at, but with USB out. It powers my TOOB metro more than I'll ever use.

It has a very clean sound on its own; I use it with Ras' Brute EQ pedal and a reverb pedal in front of it, and the result does not sound in the least like a mess of mismatched stuff – the Brute EQ pedal gives it some of that Polytone feel.

[Tom Karol]

I got one recently mostly for a small bass rig. I've only tried it briefly with guitar. It's pretty much a blank canvas with plenty of power. I like the idea of calling it, "An intelligent power amp." With a little pre-EQ, a touch of reverb, and the right speaker cabinet, I believe it would work quite well for jazz guitar. And they're only $239 (US) brand new.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I had a piece of gear fry out over the weekend (entirely 100% my fault) so I'm trying to figure out how to respond.

You can't leave a void on your equipment shelf, Jim. Nature abhors a vacuum (except when it's in a tube ).

I recently bought a BAM200 because Sweetwater had a sale, and the $109 price screamed my name. I bought it as a more powerful and versatile backup than the Microblocks I've been carrying for that purpose, since I left the confines of a steady club date with a backline this month and am now gigging without a net. As well as backup, it's my small venue PA amp with a Toob. I'm very pleasantly surprised at how well it performs with a mic, and it's rich and full as a guitar amp.

Gitterbug says the Gnome is a bit louder than the BAM, but I don't think that's a concern for you. OTOH, I do think you'd like the BAM's sound quality and EQ if you haven't tried one. I don't recall if you have, since you've gone through a lot of gear in a relatively short time.

I bought an Elf when they first came out. The tone was great, but the Elf is inherently compressed from just above bedroom level, and the compression increases with volume. It also costs a lot more than the BAM and the Gnome. I like the BAM much more.

[Ukena]

Here's a quick down-and-dirty demo of the Warwick Gnome i, recorded using a mic attached to an iPhone.

The video begins with both pedals turned off, and only the amp itself through the TOOB Metro.

Then I turn on the reverb pedal (can be seen in the video), and then Ras' BruteEQ pedal.

[Gitterbug]

One would assume that all these 200W bass micro-amps come from the same Chinese factory and mainly differ in badge engineering. Not so, the BAM, Gnome and Elf are different characters. BAM is distinctly warmer and mellower than the other two. Not as loud. The Gnome is the loudest and has a strong bite. Haven't had a chance to try the fresh Phil Jones 200W bass head. Whether guitar or bass, in a band setting all these would be OK and close to another.

In a 3G family band last Friday, I played bass, with my son on guitar and grandson on drums. Neither the Squier JB, the Elf nor the Metro 6.5BG were the weak links in the bass signal chain...

[olejason]

As far as I can tell the three micro heads don't seem to share much architecture. They're also not all using off the shelf ICE modules like you see in 300-900w bass amps.

I was really hoping we'd see more powerful amps released in the micro format at NAMM but it doesn't look like the tech is there yet.