NAD - Fuchs FBT300

[lowend1]

When Andy Fuchs told me he was FINALLY building a bass amp for production, I was immediately interested. Andy periodically enlists my help in designing the graphics for his products - control panels, pedals and so forth - so it's a subject I've pestered him with fairly regularly. Actually, there are four models - two solid state versions with a preamp patterned after the elusive Walter Woods amps, and two hybrids, with their tube preamp roots in the Ampeg SVT. Both use the same Class D ICE power modules for their output section. There are 300 and 700-watt versions of each. Oh, and they weigh in at about 5 pounds. As an (aging) dyed-in-the-wool Ampeg guy, the thought of a 5 lb amp that did a reasonable facsimile of an SVT was cause for both curiosity and celebration (the fact that it is built here in Dirty Jersey is just icing on the cake). So after demo-ing the prototype for the 700-watter, I took the plunge on a 300 for myself. I have uploaded a couple of quick, sloppy, iPhone audio samples here for comparison and review. One is my 1972 SVT head through its matching 810 cab, and the other is the Fuchs through the same box. Just an MIM P-Bass with rounds. I'll let you all figure out which is which.

[Ken]

Cool!  I'm gonna guess 79 is the Fuchs and 81 is the SVT.

[morrow]

I can’t get them into my tablet , and it’s probably my own stupidity.

But that looks interesting!

[Alanko]

I'm thinking 79 is the Fuchs? A little colder and 'faster' speaking, if that makes sense.

[lowend1]

#79 is the SVT.
Both amps were set flat for the comparison, so some of the differences could likely be EQ'd out. The SVT had a hair more growl and the Fuchs was just a tiny bit tighter. Of course, given the difference in the output section, the two amps "feel" a little different. I couldn't crank either one up enough in the house to compare natural breakup at volume, but my guess is that the Fuchs would stay focused longer than the SVT. One really cool feature is that it doesn't require termination - a speaker cabinet - so you can run it into a USB audio interface and record "silent" as well. I think this one is a winner.

[BTL]

Nice! The Class D ICE power modules are making gear hauling as a bass player much easier to manage.

[morrow]

Yes indeed , and there are some nice lightweight cabs these days. That accept serious wattage.

I drive my stuff downtown every weekend. It makes life much easier.

[lowend1]

Yes indeed , and there are some nice lightweight cabs these days. That accept serious wattage.

I drive my stuff downtown every weekend. It makes life much easier.

Fuchs also has cabinets in the pipeline - just not quite ready for production yet. I played through a 210 prototype loaded with neos at the shop. It was pretty impressive - and a one-hand carry.