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Has anyone else tried the TC Electronic BAM200 (a miniscule bass amp) with jazz guitar?
I've just got one and absolutely love it!
A steal at just over £100 it fits into a coat pocket. It sounds really clean and has bags of power.
I'm matching it up with my Orange PPC 108 speaker, which I got second hand, I sold on the 'voice of the world' driver on eBay and dropped in a Celestion tf0818, which is a great little driver for guitar.
This all makes for a ridiculously portable, well built and very powerful setup, coming in at well under £200.
And of course the amp head can be used with bigger cabinets as required.
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05-20-2019 01:49 AM
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It lacks reverb, (logically as it is a bass amp) and this will cause you to include a reverb pedal in your setup, plus, you will hardly find a guitar cabinet which handle such power, therefore reducing the choice of speaker...
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I don't often use reverb, it's certainly not essential. There are lots of guitar cabinets which can handle the power, especially if it's wired for 16 ohms. The 200 watt rating is for 4 ohms. I can't remember ever running an amp with the volume fully open. I don't plan on buying one, because I already have a GK MB200, but I would consider it if I needed a small head. The MB200 is also rated at 200 watts at 4 ohms, and I use it with a RE Stealth 10 without issues, and even in other lower capacity cabinets. Just don't dime it and it will be fine.
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Thanks for posting. I've never seen such a low price on a high powered clean amp. $150 for a pocket sized amp is beyond reasonable.
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I was thinking you could mount it on a pedalboard with a preamp and reverb.
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I worked with a bass player a few weeks ago who showed up with Trace Elliot's similar offering. Sounded great, but about double the cost.
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Thanks KJ , that's really good to know .....
i'm also hoping to build a super light setup
I've been trying to decide between this ...or a TC BH250 ...
...which is twice the weight (4lbs still quite light)
but has Toneprint fx built in
which would save me having to take pedals sometimes
(i don't need reverb )
but octave , vibrato or a bit of dirt would be useful to be
which the BH250 has
A question KJ
the bam200 has a gain and a master volume
is there a useful sound to be had running the gain up and the master vol down to taste ?
that would help me decide
thanks in advance ....
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I just blinked ....
Ordered a Bam200 from Thomann
I'll let you know how it works out ....
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If the Bam200 tonally beats the Elf (which is inferior to MB200 IMHO), it's a winner. All three are in the same 2 lbs weight category despite differences in physical dimensions. No reverb, yes, but no external power unit either. That's an equal nuisance in many other micro-amps. Will order a sample around June 5 after travels, to evaluate compatibility with the TOOB offering. First reviews probably published long before that. Looking forward to Pingu's.
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I don't have a MB200 to compare the BAM200 to (or an Elf for that matter).
to to be honest it was the low price which led me to the Bam ....
(i have played through a GK MB150s combo a few times and it was a excellent)
If I already had an MB200 I would be using that I'm sure ....
my driving factors are price and extreme low weight
hopefully amp wise I'll be sorted now with the Bam200
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I today had the opportunity to run the BAM200 through a TOOB 12J and 12R at a local music store. The guitar was an Epi Dot. Very good first impression! While no A/B comparison was possible, the tone was warm, full and pleasant. I'd say less "brown" than Elf and less dry than MB200. My bassist friend was equally impressed with the performance through a bass cab. No wonder Thomann is out of stock already.
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thanks for for the report Gitterbug ,
"warm full and pleasant" sounds just right for what I want ...
Thomann says mine is on the way ....
Great .... I love light gear !!
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I'm really interested in acquiring one of these, however I worry about the usability of the eq- what are the respective bands used ,does anyone know? Beyond that I'd love to hear it in front of one of those polytone preamp pedals.
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my Bam200 turned up today
gonna have a proper play with it tonight
through a couple different small speakers
try the eq out etc etc
at home. levels
will get back to you ...
i wont get a chance to try it with a band
for a couple of weeks .....
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Bass ±15 dB @ 80 Hz,
Originally Posted by Zedism
shelving/ Middle 400 Hz @ Gain: ±15 dB
Treble ±15 dB @ 4.2 kHz, shelving
might work ok
ill have a play later
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ok so here's my new baby Bam
with a JBL control 1 speaker
sounds good (on a home test only so far)
its all there
it will deffo be fine for rehearsals and small gigs etc
(as you see this whole rig weighs 7lbs11oz !! i LOVE that ...)
we’ll see how it goes with a band tho
probably need a ballsier speaker to hang with a drummer ....
the eq is cool , smooth controls , feel well built
the amp gets warm in use , but not hot
it has a fan which comes on after a bit
But it is VERY quiet , not an issue
the gain up with master down dirto thing doesn’t really work well
you’d need a pedal for dirto sounds
So far so good , I'm VERY pleased
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Now to just find some compatible speaker options. I notice the JBL you're using is rated for 150w at 4ohms, but I was looking to drive a single 8 or a 10" driver- However I'm having trouble finding anything at 4ohms. I'd love a Beta 8 or 10a, but they're both rated at an, so unless I'm doubling up that's a no go.
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You can certainly use 8 ohm speakers without any problems, other than a slightly lower output volume. The only reason they rate an amp at 4 ohms is to get a bigger number and make customers think the amp is more powerful. If you go to full open on the volulme control, you might get 1 dB less volume with an 8 ohm speaker, that's the only difference.
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looks great! Especially for the price it costs half as much as the dv mark micro jazz. I'm waiting for some video.
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Is the bass knob in any of the "guitar range", or do you set it to zero and leave it there? (Low E is 82 Hz) Originally Posted by pingu
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I had it at about 2 o clock with the JBL (5.5" speaker)
it will go much warmer if you need it to
its got some thump on the front of the notes
Sorry if I didn't understand , did that answer your Qu ?
also tried it with an 8 ohm Ariston 6" speaker and it went just as loud
so I think 8ohm eminence Beta 8 or 10 will be just fine
Note it is just a clean loud jazz sound I'm after ( and I got)
no rock , fusion or crunch type sounds here
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Lovely. I'm thinking I'll sort out a cab solution properly then pull the trigger on this, it seems like a such a tight little rig to have. I reckon i'll want to chuck my empress paraEQ on the front, either that or I've been following the polytone in a pedal thread too and that might be a good choice of preamp to color it/something similar.
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Any suggestions for a super light box for an 8" speaker?
(I've got a Beta8 I could use)
The Orange PPC108 looks good, but too heavy at jut under 9lbs (yes I'm obsessed with weight).
Maybe I should make a speaker box out of pine ....
Any thoughts?
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Randall RG8 cab, Zzounds and a couple of other places sell them for $69. I have two of these cabs and replaced the speaker in one with Dayton Audio PA200-8 8" Pro Woofer Speaker. Works great for bass or guitar/six string or acoustic/electric. I'm using one of those dreaded "Behringer" Ultrabass 3000 heads, not tiny but light weight, good features, sounds good to me and has a two year Sweetwater warranty if it breaks. cheers
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The problem that I had with bass Amps it s the bass knob, very heavy bottom end.
I had a Rumble 15 and that I finally sold.
It is difficult for me to set the eq correctly so that the bass do not saturate and generate feedback.
I hace a Laney vc 15 and I m very satisfied , but the portability and the price of the Tc it s very tempting
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