Acoustic B200 combo

[smcbass]

I'm a bass newbie. Is there any reason I should NOT buy a Chinese-built Acoustic B200 combo, such as inherent design defects, etc.?

[Rip Topaz]

Nope. Just be careful of the tweeter. I keep mine turned off and it sounds great.

[swspiers]

It's not a 'defect' so much as a limitation. Just be aware that the external cab output is in series, not parallel. Which simply means that the overall power output is actually LESS when you hook up an external cab. You do have more speaker area, and it gets pretty loud because of it. But instead of 200 watt's, it would be reduced to around 70 watts (I think) with a typical 8-ohm cab.

Other than that, it's a great combo. Except one other thing. The notch filter is not defeatable. Kinda irritating at times.

So- it's a great combo on it's own. Just very limited for extension cabs.

[aztomr]

I bought mine about 6 weeks ago, no complaints so far, sounds great, reallly loud

[RickenBoogie]

+1 it's not the best choice if you plan on "growing" with it, or adding on more spkrs. Otherwise, it is what it is, and it sounds pretty good too.

[SactoBass]

I was at GC a few weeks ago (yeah, I know, but I was bored), and just for the heck of it, I plugged into one of these B200's.

My reaction was this:

That thing growled! Awesome tone! Almost as if it was a raging all-tube amp! For the price these go for, this amp is saWEET!

Downsides? Expandability (as already mentioned) as the internal speaker is already at 4-ohms to draw the full 200 watts from the amp, and the fact that this combo amp weighs 70 pounds (where did I put my Motrin?)

[GK guy 94]

i have the b200h (head and cab) and i blew me away the first time i played it. really powerful for 200 watts. i think with the extention speaker would be 200 at 4 ohms and 140 at 8 ohms but im not sure.

[SactoBass]

Originally Posted by GK guy 94

i have the b200h (head and cab) and i blew me away the first time i played it. really powerful for 200 watts. i think with the extention speaker would be 200 at 4 ohms and 140 at 8 ohms but im not sure.

That sounds about right.

If I were a bassist interested in having a pair of 15" cabs, I would recommend going with the separate head and cabs so that you get the full 200 watts with the pair of 8-ohm cabs. But if I were a bassist interested in only having a single 15", then I would go with the B200 combo that has the 4-ohm internal speaker so that I get the full 200 watts (although, I will admit, even though the separate head and single 15" cab only gives around 140 watts, each item would be easier to carry than the 70 pound combo!)

It's nice to have choices!

EDIT: Because of the rather odd "series" speaker connection with the B200 combo, I would *not* be interested in using the B200 combo with an extension cab (loses too much power that way). If I were to consider anything like that, I would just buy a pair of B200's and stack them, and use a Lehle splitter box to run my bass into both amps. Or, better yet, just go with the more powerful B600H head and a pair of the 15" cabs.

[MiniMoose234]

The mid notch thing gets on my nerves too. I wish I could turn it off like on the 600h. But I like my 200h and 1x15

[Robotsatemygma]

It's an interesting amp, the majority of the quarks people have already stated.

I really love it and think it's awesome for what it does. And yea, it does growl. I think it presents the whole tonal spectrum really well. But with that notch filter you really have to dial in your mids. It's also insanely loud for being only 200 watts.

I also haven't been able to find a tone I haven't liked. But I'm also a "tweaker" from all my years playing guitar. I constantly fidget with the knobs. Since I play a wide variety of bass I'll have to pick up a Tech 21 SansAmp Driver DI or VT to be able to switch styles on a whim.

[shoot-r]

Originally Posted by smcbass

I'm a bass newbie. Is there any reason I should NOT buy a Chinese-built Acoustic B200 combo, such as inherent design defects, etc.?

Out of all the Guitar Center Acoustic combos, the B200 is my favorite. Good sound, good power, good cosmetics, good price.
If you go with one, first thing I'd do is invest in some casters.
As pointed out in another post, this combo is heavy by todays standards.
As to problems with the G.C. Acoustic line, there has been some bumps in the road. But, as you read through the T.B. forum you'll see "every" amp manufacturer has some problems.

[BassLife77]

best sounding combo amp I ever bought. even my guitar sounds great through it. very punchy sound. It is very loud for its size. When the warranty expires I'm going to install a switch so I can off/on the frequency notch. I wrote Acoustic and they sent me the schematic