New Acoustic Bass Amps

[HornetAMX]

A while back I bought an Acoustic B20 combo for a practice amp.  Went to the local GC and see that they've come out with a few new models.  http://www.acousticamplification.com/  I bought the B200H head as it sounded great through their 410 and 115 stack.  Will gig with it this weekend and let you know how it did.  I'm going back on Monday for the 410 cab. 

[pedro]

I've tried it and think its pretty nifty for the price and watts. I'll be real curious how your gig goes.

[godofthunder]

 I have tried a few of the combos at the local GC. They seem well made, I think they have plywood cabs, they sure don't feel like partical board. Plenty of power, simple controls (I love that). The only negative I have is that they are to clean for me. I had a ROAD solid state amp that I could drive the snot out of with the channel/master volume controls, sounded killer. The only SS amp I ever liked. I bet these would sound great with a bass POD. I have been thinking of buying one for rehersal, the Sound City is always in need of something.

[godofthunder]

 I was reading up a bit on their site, sounds like I should be able to get some grind out of 100 or 200, I'll give another try next week.

[HornetAMX]

I have to say I'm very impressed with the B200H.  It was every bit as loud as my 800RB and was very easy to dial in a good sound.  I was using it with a GK 410 cabinet which was rated at 8 ohms and still had plenty of volume.  I was running the DI to the board and had a bit of problem with it clipping so I had to turn the DI volume to half. (I was running it full up)  The fan kept the head cool.  It never got warm at all.  I kept most of the controls at or around flat.  The master volume was at 3 o'clock and the gain never went above 12 o'clock.  I was using my Yamaha TRB5 with the rig.  For $249 you can't beat it!

[HornetAMX]

Went back this past Tuesday and bought the B410 and will get the B115 tomorrow. (that tax rebate check is going to good use!)  Will be using the stack at Cool River Cafe in Austin on Friday 5/23 if any of you guys around the Austin area want to hear it.  I'm certain it will be an impressive sound. (regardless of the bass player! )  We landed a fill in gig and Cool River is a fun club to play at. 

[HornetAMX]

I wanted to update that the Acoustic stack was very impressive at the 05/23 Cool River gig.  I had plenty of headroom and only had the master at 1 o'clock and the gain never went above 11 o'clock all night.  I used one of the recommended settings in the manual and it was a very usable sound.  Went through the house PA with the DI out and we used one of Austin's best Dave Barrows on sound.  He seemed pleased with the sound as I was.  Kept the DI volume at half and it was perfect.  We are playing an outdoor festival in a little over a week so I will get to use it in an outdoor setting.  GC got another stack in last week and it was gone within 2 days.  I think this is a very good deal for roughly $750 and a 3 year warranty.

On another note I finally got around to take my '70 straightback Ampeg SVT cabinet to my buddy John Mergili for a refurb.  It has all of the original CTS speakers and funky hex wood screws and will soon get a new covering of tolex and grill cloth.  I'll be searching for a similar era SVT head in the near future!

[HornetAMX]

Here is a photo of the stack taken at Carlos n' Charlie's on 7/19.  I took this with my cell phone at 12:30 a.m. so excuse the quality.  The stack sounded great as always.  This weekend is our first weekend off after 5 straight Saturday gigs.  These were all outdoor gigs and if you live in Texas you know how hot it has been.  It is an impressive stack and I always get comments about it. 

[Lightyear]

You must have lucked out or I just have sucky luck.  Me and a buddy went to to GC today to check out amps, his Ampeg combo is starting to crap out, and I'm in the market for something gig worthy.  Specifically I was interested in the B200 head - couldn't get a damn thing out of it but a hum - a kid that worked there confirmed that "yeah, it's broke "  So we try the combo - same head with a 15 - man we were both disappointed - it just sounded cheap and tinny.  I'm not sure what the deal is because the smallest practice amp they are making sounded fantastic - this was just a drag   I'm going to try again. 

I did try the little Markbass head and it was just a killer!  But $600 is bit more than the Acoustic    

[HornetAMX]

That is strange about the problems with the amps at your GC.  I bought this one just a few days after it came in for display so maybe a bunch of people had not yet blasted through it.  But I've used mine in 90+ degree heat for the past 5 weekends doing 4 hour sets so maybe I did luck out.

The Markbass stuff is cool but I just loved the Acoustic's retro look.

[Lightyear]

I was bummed that the Acoustic stuff didn't work right - I haven't given up and will try again.  I'm an Acoustic guy from way back - I used a 370 for years and loved it.  I'll give them another go - you never know what evils have been done to gear by kids at the typical GC. 

[Pilgrim]

I was bummed that the Acoustic stuff didn't work right - I haven't given up and will try again.  I'm an Acoustic guy from way back - I used a 370 for years and loved it.  I'll give them another go - you never know what evils have been done to gear by kids at the typical GC. 

Your experience sounds very atypical.  Most of those who have tried the Acoustics seem to like them.  I'd say evildoers beat you to that head and screwed it up.

To quote Stewie, "Damn their eyes!"

[gweimer]

I tried that B200H head at GC recently.  I liked what I heard.  Of course, I'm not in the market for an amp, but if I was looking for a good amp to cover a mid-sized room, I'd consider the Acoustic.