-
added picture. Sorry it’s rotated.
Originally Posted by Geospectrum
-
11-29-2024 07:16 PM
-
The general consensus seems to be the Bam 200 is about the volume of an Aer, or other 60 watt~ solid state amps, so not really that loud?
-
I wanted to add my take on the BAM 200, having owned it for over a year. At Markku’s recommendation, I went with a BAM for my Toob 6.5 BG for a “polytone-adjacent” tone for a 7-string archtop. This is in contrast to the more fender-y sound of the Superblock US. I recently dialed in a tone I really like on this setup, which I was able to record with some success. I like this setup a lot more when I play with a pick, than when I play fingerstyle (for fingerstyle, I prefer my 1980 polytone minibrute 2). Here are two clips. There are more details in the YouTube descriptions. In the first clip, I show the amp settings at the end of the video. I agree with others that the BAM is sort of a one-trick pony with a clean sound, and some won’t tolerate the lack of reverb. But for a super-lightweight inexpensive amp/head with a fat jazz tone, it’s hard to beat. I have used my mini-rig a few times for duo settings, and even outdoors, it has sounded better than I expected. It’s so small and light, I almost always bring it along as a backup in case the polytone fails. As far as volume is concerned, it doesn’t get quite as loud as my other slightly larger amps (polytone, Henriksen jazz amp 110, dv mark little jazz), but it will do fine for most small ensemble settings. The only time I ever got drowned out was playing with a very loud drummer and 5 horns in a jam session setting.
-
It's been five and a half years since this thread was started. The BAM persists as one of Thomann's best-selling bass heads. It's still my go-to amp in the rare event that the SuperBlock US doesn't have enough steam. My son uses it as the power amp for his modeling rig (into a Toob 12F cab); my bandmate powers his keyboard with it, a playing buddy uses it for jazz guitar and bass, and John Piazza is far from being alone with his BAM/Metro combination. The amp is not the loudest of the 200W micro bass head lot, but it does its one trick - warm clean tone - with style and low harmonic distortion. Volume depends not only on amp output (and manufacturers have no uniform standard to measure it) but on speaker sensitivity. The 6.5" SICA speaker on John Piazza's Metro 6.5BG has a stated sensitivity of 91 dB, while a typical 12" guitar speaker's is 97-98 dB. You have to double the power for every 3 dB increment in SPL. IMHO the BAM is sufficiently loud for jazz guitar, especially with larger, sensitive speakers. If only it had a baby with the SuperBlock!
-
These are on sale for only $109 at Sweetwater right now
Access to this page has been denied
-
Wow - that would certainly be a classic “wham, BAM, thank you ma”am” ! Originally Posted by Gitterbug
-
Well, I finally bought one! Looking at choices for extra portable rigs for the summer season. Both it and the quilter US sound superb though the eminence beta 10A into this enclosure (built Henriksen style). It's easier for me to get a good jazz sound with the Bam rather then the trebly Quilter.
For size reference, the amp on the left is a Pro junior, and the backpack behind contains a Zt lunchbox.
Attachment 120169
Waiting for Gitterbugs Toob Metro BG speaker to arrive next week (my first Toob speaker!) and I'll do some videos trying to present everything!
Only thing that remains to be seen about the Bam200 is how well it operates in hot conditions. Often summer here in Greece is in the 40s (Celsius) and the Bam200 has an auto shut off function to prevent damage. Time and gigs will tell. But having a stereo setup carrying two 6.5 Toobs and a Bam or Quilter in one bag weighting 5 kilos (which is the plan besides the simple one speaker setup).. a dream come true!
Now the Zt Lunchbox is my heavier amp!
Last edited by Alter; 01-30-2025 at 10:17 AM.
-
A Stairville SB-125 lighting bag from Thomann has ample room for a pair of Metros, plus amp, cables etc., even sheet music or pad. Also perfect for single 10"-12" Toobs.
-
I’ve finally added the missing piece: a simple reverb pedal that sounds great. I decided on the J.Rockett Boing, because it has one knob, emulating a fender spring reverb, and can take a 9v battery, so there are no additional cords or adapters. I like it so much I’ll probably use it instead of the onboard reverbs on my dv mark little jazz and Henriksen jazz amp. Highly recommended
-
Lighting gear bags come in so many sizes & configurations that there’s one for almost any combination of Toob(s) and head(s). I like Yorkville bags, but there are many good brands. Originally Posted by Gitterbug
We’ve discussed insulated “lunch bags” in several threads too. But don’t overlook gym bags for this. I discovered that an old one of ours carries 2 Metros, a head or two, and all needed cables. Be creative!
-
Regarding the headline topic, BAM200, Thomann won't have it in stock for several months. Gear4Music apparently still has. I sincerely hope that Behringer does not apply cost-cutting measures to the next batch. Their quality image is poor, apparently not without reason. As most of us probably know, TC Electronic is now a brand among many others under Uli Behringer's Music Tribe umbrella. All comes from a huge complex in China, while Music Tribe has its HQ in the Philippines. I admit that my knowledge is superficial at best. Anyway, the original, innovative TC operation in Denmark was closed some time ago.
We've been lucky with our BAM. Last Saturday, it served as the bass amp powering a TOOB 10EB (new model for electric bass) at a 3 x 80 years birthday party.
-
Happy to hear that You like the Boing! I like less knobs too and that's why I bought Boing! when it came (10 years ago?). But after a while I realised that it ain't a reverb, it is a variable series of very short delays. After that I could not use it, I always heard a toilet reverb. Originally Posted by Johnpiazza
I have not played with them after selling my piece years ago, so maybe the thing is not the same anymore, maybe they have made the algorithm better?
-
"Boing!" is a great name for a reverb pedal.
-
As Herbie mentions, the Boing is not a physical spring reverb, but a series of delay chips meant to emulate a very specific reverb sound. Here's a video comparing the Boing with its inspiration, a Fender Deluxe. It's pretty close. The person who made the video prefers the Boing for recording because it allows more control over the sound.
FYI I bought a "B stock" from their website for $119 instead of $199. Nice discount for some cosmetic imperfection that I can't even see. (link in the video should work)
-
To our surprise, my son Tuomas yesterday spotted seven BAM200s in stock at the Finland's largest web trader, verkkokauppa.com. Their price, 179€, is of course higher than Thomann's 109€, but we need a bird in the hand rather than waiting for months for the next run. So Tuomas will pick up our 2nd unit today from Verkkokauppa's warehouse, which isn't too far from where he lives. There may be some inventory here and there. Somebody even got one from Thomann quite recently.
-
Has anyone played through the bigger version of the BAM200, the BQ500? That has a 4-band EQ, a 500 watt power amp section and TCE's "Thrust" compressor.
Right now there don't seem to be any BAM200 amps in stock anywhere, but there are BQ500 amps available at non-inflated prices. That's why I'm curious to know if the BQ500 sounds similar, worse, or better than the BAM200. Anyone?
Thanks.
-
I’m planning to order one this week. All reports say that they’re significantly more powerful than the BAM200, with better EQ, a compressor, and a warmer fuller tone. I expect it to be very similar to a Quilter Tone Block 202 without reverb. If I’m right, I’ll keep it and sell my Quilter OD202 head and one of my BlockDocks. I won’t be playing many blues gigs any more, and I’ll use my Zen clone pedal with it or my EG250 for the few I’ll take. I quit my blues band after 17 years, but I promised to sub for them and a few others if I’m needed.
The down side is that the BQ500 is bigger and deeper than a DV Mark EG250 or a Quilter 202. But it’ll sit nicely on my 10” Toob, RE 10, and RevSound 8 cabs, so I’ll have what I need even if it’s a bit less convenient than a ToneBlock in a BlockDock.
Let’s hope it lives up to its promise.
-
I've owned a BQ500 for ~6 or 7 years but I must confess it never occurred to me to use it for guitar until I read this thread! Originally Posted by RonGon
I originally bought it as a backup head for my bass rig, but for the last several months I've been using it as the main head for my bass rig, and it definitely doesn't disappoint. Good sound, reliable, it's still small enough that you can easily carry it around...
If I get some free time I'll plug it into my guitar cab and see how it fares with the archtop.
===================
P.S. There's been a lot of scuttlebutt over the years about that "500 watt power amp" in the BQ500. Everyone seems to agree that the published specs are incomplete and inconclusive. I did see one guy on the TalkBass forum who claimed he brought his BQ500 to an engineer friend's lab to test it and it measured closer to 400 watts RMS into a 4 ohm load, but that's the only definitive (yet still anecdotal) spec I've seen.
It's certainly been loud enough, and with plenty of headroom, for the bass gigs I've been doing, including with a 9-piece horn-led jazz/rock band.
-
FYI,
Just a wild guess, "Peak" watts are what TC Electronics advertise for these amps.
Multiply by 0.7071. 500 Peak vs 353 RMS.That number is probably on the high side.
Bottom line: 3 lbs more, 1" x 3.5" x 4" larger, extra high mid control and maybe $60 more.
Lot of bang for the $$. Essentially an automatic GAS buy for me. YMMV.
-
Thanks for the replies!
I think I'll get one (BQ500), because they're available and the BAM200 is not.
The size isn't a huge problem, being that I'm coming from a situation where I've been lugging around my modified '70s Fender Deluxe Reverb, which weighs 45 lbs. (Modded decades ago with a bigger power transformer, Bassman 8 ohm output transformer; makes 35 watts.)
A BAM200 weighing only 1.2 lbs would be great, but this restocking delay is getting frustrating.
I have a couple of 1x12" cabs now, one is an open-back loaded with an original 1960s Jensen C12N. I love that speaker. The cab + speaker driver together weighs 33 lbs, which I know is heavy, but it feels a lot lighter than 45 lbs hanging at the end of one arm. I used to be able to lug that, but it hurts too much now. It's easier for me to carry some weight in a backpack. The system will still be pretty heavy, but I'll be driving to gigs, not subway/cabbing it like I used to do. (I can't believe I used to do that.)
Incidentally, I read earlier in this thread that one of the secrets of the BAM200 for jazz guitar is that its Mid control is centered on 400 Hz. That same person posted that the Treble control iss a shelving EQ starting way up around 4kHz; more of a 'presence' control than a 'treble' control. The BQ500 has two Mid controls centered at 400 Hz (Lo Mid) and 800 Hz (Hi Mid). That sounds like it could be very useful for dialing in the tone 'just so.'
Even if the BQ500 makes 'only' 140 real watts into 8 ohms, that will be plenty for my needs.
--
-
I note a BQ250 in the catalogue, as well.
-
I set about to order one this morning. They and the BQ250 are also backordered at MF / GC, Sweetwater, B&H etc. Most offer no prediction on availabiity, but B&H says 6 to 10 weeks. As the MSRP on TC's site is still $129 but they've gone up to $179 at retailers, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see another price hike on them when they return from backorder exile. The TC website only lists 5 retail outlets in the US. Curiously enough, the website for the one in Beverly Hills has a Russian domain address. Originally Posted by RonGon
-
I don't understand the concern with the tonal centers of the tone controls of the TCE amps. If you compare them to the much-honored Henriksen amps, they line up as follows:
Amp tone controls Bud Blu BQ250/500 80 Hz 80 Hz 100 Hz 350 Hz 400 Hz 420 Hz 760 Hz 800 Hz 1.6 kHz 1.6 kHz 3.5 kHz 3.5 kHz 7.2 kHz 10 kHz
Not that much difference, as far as I can see.
(I view tone controls above 4 kHz as pretty much useless for guitar, but the others are near each other.)
-
Not much difference sounds like a good thing to me, considering how well regarded Henricksen amplifiers are.
The attraction of the TC Electronic amps is that they are both lightweight and really cheap -- and a lot of people are saying they sound good for jazz guitar. That sounds great for a backup amp or for a relatively low-budget and lightweight rig.
I agree a 10kHz shelving control is pretty useless for electric guitar. I'll probably turn it down a little to roll off whatever's up there. Guitar speakers don't respond that high anyway. They usually start rolling off above about 5kHz.
-
Originally Posted by dconeill
Captain Pedantic wants to remind everyone that the slope of a shelving filter is a critical specification (that not too many manufacturers provide) that can greatly impact whether or not that shelf is doing something far below its turnover frequency. Originally Posted by RonGon
Yes, there's not a whole lot of information happening in a guitar at 10kHz (and remember, the BAM is designed to be a bass amp! You think there's nothing going on in a guitar up there, now play an instrument that's an octave lower!).
But if the slope is shallow enough -- and the available boost/cut is significant enough -- it is trivial for a shelving filter to impact frequencies four or five octaves below the turnover frequency.
That was the whole point behind engineer Cliff Maag's "air band equalizer" (as used in several professional mic preamps and equalizers made by the NTI company). Those products used a 40kHz shelving filter (!) ...specifically because it had a smoother phase response on frequencies even below 1.25kHz than if you'd had a shelving filter down in that audible range.
Reply With Quote
“Shearing style”
Today, 05:26 PM in Comping, Chords & Chord Progressions