TC Electronic BAM200 + Celestion Gold 10

[CharlesR]

Hi everyone!

For those who are using the Bam, what do you think about pairing it with a Gold 10?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

The G10 is efficient (98 dB), balanced, and warm with a smooth but clear high end. In the right cabinet(s), it's probably a great match for a fine jazz tone from the BAM200. I've used mine with 6.5" and 10" Toobs, a RevSound RS-8, a Raezers Edge 10, and a Celestion BN12-300 in an open back Quilter BlockDock cab. The BAM retains the same smooth, neutral character through them all.

[CharlesR]

Thanks for the reply. I made the order today, will see what happens next week.

Any concerns about the BAM´s power output vs the Gold power handling?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Thanks for the reply. I made the order today, will see what happens next week. Any concerns about the BAM´s power output vs the Gold power handling?

There's no clear and specific spec from TC on impedance-specific output power, and many class D amps put almost as much power into 8 Ohms as they do into 4. So the actual output into 8 Ohms is somewhere between 100 and 200W, which is more than enough to damage the 40W Gold 10, so caution is in order.

Fortunately, the Gold 10 is pretty efficient at 98 dB (with a 1 Watt 1000 Hz signal @ 1 meter), so it'll put out about 114 dB (again at 1 meter) at its rated 40W in an efficient cabinet that's well designed for its Thiele-Small parameters. Bedroom volume is about 70 dB and you won't exceed 85 to 88 playing modest gigs like restaurants. So you shouldn't come anywhere close to its limit for home or small gig use for jazz. But if you need more than that, I'd get a speaker with a higher power rating.

Whether it occurs from intentional overdriving of the input stage or from an effect that generates it, distortion ups the output power considerably with little apparent increase in SPL. It introduces a lot of high frequency odd order harmonics from "hard" waveforms (square, sawtooth, triangle etc), and the shorter the wavelength the more energy it contains (calculated as the "area under the curve"). So I wouldn't use O/D or distortion effects through a BAM into a 40W speaker except at home volumes. The BAM was designed for use as a clean amplifier, and the gain control is only there to adjust for the signal level of the signal source (guitar, keyboard, bass etc) connected to the input. Despite having gain and master pots, you can't dial in pleasant breakup at any level and shouldn't try to do so.

I do use a Zendrive clone at very low drive levels through it at home for playing blues and fusion, but I wouldn't do this on a band gig through a 40W speaker. Keep the master pot at or below 12 o'clock and don't run the gain pot high enough to cause even a hint of audible distortion.

I recorded this track for you while practicing today to show you what a BAM200 through a Toob Metro BG+ sounds like with a carved archtop. I think it'd be pretty close to this with a Gold 10 in a well designed cabinet. This is my 16" Eastman Jazz Elite with set 14 pole KA HW pickup and TI JS113s plus a 75 thou Chrome 7th string:

[CharlesR]

Nice playing and good tone. That's what I'm looking for, thanks for the clip.
I'll use it clean, just with a hint of reverb, for home practice at comfortable levels. So as you pointed, the Gold will be safe.

Thanks.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I'll use it clean, just with a hint of reverb, for home practice at comfortable levels.

Just to be sure, I assume you realize that the BAM does not have reverb. When I want reverb (which is not that often), I use my 25 year old Alesis Picoverb. There are many excellent little reverb pedals now, although the best ones seem to cost as much as or more than the BAM.

I discovered the Ampeg B15N in 1964 and have used bass amps & speakers (none of which had reverb) for jazz ever since. I’ve never really missed reverb for jazz, although I used a Boogie or a tube Fender for blues, rock & commercial gigs for the versatility (which included reverb). I use a hint of reverb in my Blu, EG250, and Quilters as well as my Twin and Princeton (neither of which leaves home).

The better the tone from my guitar, the less I want to add ‘verb.

[CharlesR]

Yes, I notice that the BAM don't have reverb. I'll use the Silver Spring Reverb form Mad Professor, and will try the Fairfield Barbershop if some dynamics and sparkle are needed.

Thanks for your advices!

[Gitterbug]

Hi, according to my sources the power rating of Celestion Gold is 40W. Just to point out that Jensen's 10" Blackbird AlNiCo has the same power rating but a significantly (up to 100$) lower price tag. People with better ears than mine consider the two speakers to be on par.

Never... is of course right in cautioning about the wattage discrepancy between amp and speaker. However, he happily uses a 250W DV Mark Raw Dawg to power a 130W max. Metro by Yours Truly. Even a 30W max. Metro 8GP. Peter Lerche, one of Finland's leading guitarists and an absolute tone freak, uses a pair of BAM200s to power his Metro 6.5GP+ cabs loaded with Eminence's 620H 6.5", max. 20W speakers. So the mismatch is manageable. In jazz, accidents are less likely than in rawk.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

In jazz, accidents are less likely than in rawk.

And that's why jazz is so much less rawkus ...


But seriously folks, the most common causes of speaker damage in our amps are mechanical and electronic mishap. Problems like intermittent connections, yanking the cord out of a guitar or pedal while it's still plugged into the amp, turn-on / turn-off and switching thumps etc can forcibly bottom a voice coil or shove it off its intended path. These events are especially risky when the amp's volume is set high and the guitar's pot is rolled back.

The damage from overpowering can also be mechanical like the above. But it's often the result of simple overheating of the voice coil by pumping more energy through it than it can dissipate as sound energy plus residual heat. And running it on the ragged edge can weaken the cone and/or surround to the point at which it tears.

But a lot more damage is done to speakers by underpowered amps than overpowered ones. Running an amp wide open pumps out a lot of high order harmonic distortion that's physically destructive to a flimsy speaker.

[Boze]

I got a BAM200 last month and I've been really happy with it paired with a 12" GA-S64, which is only rated 40W. I mostly prefer a 10" speaker for jazz but already owned this GA, which I'd tried briefly in a Blues Jr.

I'm curious to try the BAM with an alnico speaker like you're doing. I use my BAM rig at home since I need a second channel for vocals for gigs. You shouldn't have any trouble keeping the levels safe at home.