Acoustic B200 1x15 Combo

Just got back from stopping by GC during my lunch break, and tried out the Acoustic B200 1x15 combo.

Well, I could only turn it up till the basses on the walls shook a bit, but, using a 2008 MIA P-Bass, this thing had an excellent lo-fi sound at a moderately loud volume. The low E held together well, running the gain knob hot yielded a gritty, old-school growl, the six-band rotary EQ was plenty flexible, and the notch knob provided good basic tone shaping. I like especially that they label the rotary EQ section like a graphic, using frequencies rather than descriptors like "lo-mid, "hi-treble," etc. Always found that confusing.

At $350, I'm mighty tempted to replace my disintegrating Ampeg B200R (I'd have to play the Acoustic longer and louder before I did, though). The sales dude said revived Acoustic was one of GC's house brands and that this sort of arrangement generally yielded a fairly good product line.

(busily looking for coins in the couch cushions) Lowbrow

Made in China is indeed what appears on the amp.

Lowbrow

fenderhutz said:

I didn't mean break up on a good way, meant it farts out easily.

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You must have gotten a bad egg... my B200 puts out tone and volume just as good as my B200R, without the rattling. Holds its own with the band cranked, with headroom to spare.

Good and loud; loud and good.

funkytoe said:

In sum, excellent practice or recording amp at low moderate volume. But, I would not gig with it.

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Well, it doesn't make sense to go back and forth when obviously each of us hears what we hear.

It could be that, while playing in a high-powered punk/pop band with two guitars, my success with the B200 benefits from the fact that we're all seasoned players who have a good idea about how loud is loud enough (guitars prefer to overdrive a Peavey Vintage 30 than crank a Marshall halfstack), and that out of the three stringed instruments, My B200 has the most wattage out of any of the amps we use.

That said, I keep the gain at noon-plus, and have never had to push the volume past 2-plus o'clock, and at that setting it's very loud without any unpleasant flatulence. I dial in plenty of nasty tone, but never get to the point where I'm dealing with "bad" speaker distortion, which is what it sounds like you're describing.


Lowbrow

fenderhutz said:

And breaks up quite easily. Sounds great at lower volumes, I agree.

When turned up they get real papery and distort.

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So guess what? I just returned from another 3-hr band rehearsal using my B200. As someone who's been playing more than 30 years, and after about 15 hours using the unit, I feel confident in judging this low-priced combo as GREAT sounding at a usable and loud volume.

It's one thing to go into GC and crank up an amp till it distorts, it's another to play the unit in a real-life situation, spending time listening and tweaking the EQ, gain, and notch filter; turning the tweeter on and off (I leave it OFF, BTW).

You can make any amp sound "bad," especially when you want to test its limits. The real proof of an amp's nature is working to make it sound "good," and then judging just how good that outcome is, and if it's loud enough to fill your needs.

IMHO, after many joyful hours of careful attention, the B200 really is good AND loud, an old-school, raucous rock machine, that I am delighted to own and put to use.

Listen:
When I first tried the B200 at GC in late June, I cranked it, and some unpleasant salesman came by and told me to turn down.

"It's a 200-watt amp," I said. "I'm a performer -- how am I supposed to hear what it can do?" He answered, "You have 30 days to bring it back if it doesn't work for you."

I thought he was a real jerk (and maybe he was). BUT, if I hadn't taken it to my studio and spent some real time with it, I would still be sure it sounded great at low volumes and somewhat dubious about it's performance at high volumes. Well, jerk GC salesman, thanks for telling me to take the time, because now I know better!