I just realized that I hadn't posted a pic of my rig at a sub gig I did recently. These cabs 'kill it!' - SO happy with them for the last 13 months, as have been the sound techs and band members in every setting I've used them in.
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Baer Amplification Megathread!
- Thread starter KJung
- Start date
I just realized that I hadn't posted a pic of my rig at a sub gig I did recently. These cabs 'kill it!' - SO happy with them for the last 13 months, as have been the sound techs and band members in every setting I've used them in.
And me too!
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Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
I'm liking that bass too.I just realized that I hadn't posted a pic of my rig at a sub gig I did recently. These cabs 'kill it!' - SO happy with them for the last 13 months, as have been the sound techs and band members in every setting I've used them in.
And yesterday, March 25, I received my first Baer Amplification amplifier, a mint Valkyrie. I am the second owner. In my lifetime, I will be the last.
How fitting it would be to say of the Valkyrie amp that they will have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. I mean, you know... the Valkyries and all. Dead guys, ravens, Valhalla.
A Valkyrie rides into a bar on a white horse. The bartender says to the horse, "Why the long face?" Then to the Valkyrie, "What can I get you, lady?" Brushing her long cape to one side, breastplate shining, the Valkyrie replies "Mead!" The bartender smiles as says "Ma'am, I have mead to die for."
Though I got to play it only at low volume last night, I am pretty sure that the Valkyrie is the lead sled bass amplifier I was waiting for.
- A seemingly bottomless well of dynamic response throughout the spectrum, with a striking fineness and aliveness of midrange texture
- A front end that reminded me of the Millennia Media TD-1, not only for its "twin topology" scheme, but for the unqualified musicality of its solid state path
- A tube-based front end path that dispenses with distortion and instead mines a small, sweet range of overdrive texture and glare (my vintage tubes anxiously await a chance to be rolled into this circuit).
First I played the Valkyrie through a floor mounted Baer ML-112, which stack made the sound that won me over at once. Then I played it through an elevated AudioKinesis Hathor 1203, which also sounded excellent, though without the floor baffle effect. Later today I will play it through a MAS-112 Eminence (4 ohms), from which event I expect great things.
The high Q factor (or resonance, whichever it is) of the midrange EQ bands was interesting; and from where I stood, the Deep EQ band was quite subtle. In general use rather than scrutiny, however, the EQ section was useful and effective. Like everything else in the Valkyrie that I had time to experience, the EQ was simply musical.
Praise Odin. Such a fine bass amplifier.
My thanks to Roger Baer for making this amp, and to TB member double8vb for parting with it. I promise to take good care of this unicorn. In a few weeks or so, I should have a lidded head case for the Valkyrie. It will look as much like the original ones as possible, in black tolex, but with the corners on the lids instead of the case body.
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Mead? Is that still a thing?
EDIT: Holy cow! Not only is it still a thing, there's a million different varieties!
Glad you enjoy the amp. Sometimes you just gotta use the big stuff.
EDIT: Holy cow! Not only is it still a thing, there's a million different varieties!
Glad you enjoy the amp. Sometimes you just gotta use the big stuff.
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IT'S NOT EVEN BIG
I'd recommend checking with Roger to see if that head has been back for updates yet. There's a change to the gain stage in the front end and some changes to power components that gives you more headroom at the input and a decent bit more power output.
It's too bad people are such wimps about heads nowadays because this thing seriously is the best amp ever made. If Roger eventually comes out with a simpler Class-D head he's going to sell a bajillion of them, but I'll never part with my Valkyrie.
I'd recommend checking with Roger to see if that head has been back for updates yet. There's a change to the gain stage in the front end and some changes to power components that gives you more headroom at the input and a decent bit more power output.
It's too bad people are such wimps about heads nowadays because this thing seriously is the best amp ever made. If Roger eventually comes out with a simpler Class-D head he's going to sell a bajillion of them, but I'll never part with my Valkyrie.
Very cool you managed to snag one of these. So, a couple of notes on your comments. That the amp reminds you of a high end piece of studio gear is not surprising. The amp was designed by the same guy that did a lot of the Summit Audio stuff, so it's got high end studio gear lineage. The front end of the Valkyrie is actually all solid state. Hard to tell from listening as we tried to make it very warm, with a little bit of plushness under the fingertips. The switchable tube section then comes after the solid state preamp and before the power amp, so technically, the amp is either all solid state, or a hybrid, depending on the switch position.
Your'e right in that we didn't design the tube path for distortion. Basically, there's a separate little tube amp in there, complete with its own output transformer. It was designed to add pleasing tube harmonics and overtones, without getting into a lot of distortion. We felt this added the kind of really nice three dimensionality and liveliness you hear in high end tube studio gear, while still keeping the sound nice and tight and articulate.
The DEEP control was designed to be very subtle as it only has +/-6db @40Hz. This is a frequency band that while useful, can also get you into trouble in the mix. Boost too much and you can really muddy up the music as a whole. It is also very demanding of your speakers. I initially had two reasons for adding this control. 1) To be able to cut your deepest lows, while you boost the BASS @80Hz. This makes for a really tight, focused punchy low end. I use mine with the DEEP at 9:00 and the BASS at 2:00 most of the time. 2) I tend to switch off between pick and finger playing, so when I'm playing a song with a pick, I will boost the DEEP up to about 3:00, or 4:00. This helps put back some of those deep lows I lose when playing with a pick. So yes, the DEEP was designed to be very subtle, but also quite useful.
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BassByBaldSteve
Supporting Member
- Nov 17, 2011
- 703
- 742
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- Endorsing Artist: Fodera Basses, Aguilar Amplification
Good lord. Roger, you know exactly the sort of tonal flexibility and options bassists want. I really, really hope you've got a class D head in development.
Cutting the deep knob + boosting the bass knob is The Bad Room Solver.
Thanks, Jason. I will ask Roger.
Thank you, Sir.
What about the upgrade: how can I tell whether my Valkyrie has it? (I know, I know... first I have to get the lid off. Inside joke!)Extra-cool.
That's right! The little tube amp. I should have remembered reading about that sometime ago. I think I even replied to a post of yours, of a few several years ago, saying how great it was that you spec-ed 12AU7 for this application. Thanks for the reminder. People need to know!
Today I played the Valkyrie more, mostly through my MAS-112 Eminence, and again through my M-112 Series 1. On reading this description of yours after playing, it corroborated my new experience with the Valkyrie's DEEP control. The MAS-112 presented its effect very well.
Great stuff, Roger.
Damn straight it's still a thing. And the number one beverage choice in Valhalla!
Thank you very much. It is so much fun to play. So natural-feeling.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Nice. I'll just have to live vicariously through your experiences. That's my dream amp right there.
Thank you, man. If ever I hit the skids and have to divest everything, you will have first dibs at this amp!
I wouldn't rule it out at some point. Right now the focus is to get some products out there that have a broader market appeal. I would really like to bring the Valkyrie back though. It's something I'm really proud of and would love to see it live again.
Hey, @R Baer , your cabs are featured in a Joss Whedon "short film"! 
Friday I was looking through online videos to remember how many cabs I needed for this venue. This was my first time to notice how well the cabs stand-out (about 20 sec. in).
(Friday we shared the bill with an all-female Ween tribute band, called Poon.)
Friday I was looking through online videos to remember how many cabs I needed for this venue. This was my first time to notice how well the cabs stand-out (about 20 sec. in).
(Friday we shared the bill with an all-female Ween tribute band, called Poon.)
Yesterday I swapped vintage tubes into the Valkyrie. After the swap, the circuit's voice is basically the same, but with a nicer version of that voice: it is less harsh, with finer and clearer highs, and is more relaxed-sounding.
Probably I won't do much tube rolling in the Valkyrie. I might try a 12AU7 in V1. Mostly I wanted to see if this aspect of its sound could be improved slightly. Now that is done.
About the upgrade: It turned out that my amp does not have it. After I asked Roger about the upgrade, we concluded that my foreseeable use of the Valkyrie did not justify the effort. FYI, the upgrade 1. always increases input headroom, and 2. may or may not increase output by up to 9 percent (50 to 75 watts typical).
While some tube circuit designs can be very finicky about the tubes that are used, the design in the Valkyrie is very forgiving allows you to swap different tubes types, but you'll probably notice that changes in tone will be rather subtle. You can also try reversing the tubes so you have the AU7 in V1 and the AX7 in V2. I think more than tonal changes, you will probably find the biggest difference being the level of distortion that you get from using different tubes. And don't be limited to expensive vintage tubes in there. I've had good results dropping in a cheap, high gain Chinese AX7 for a little extra grit.
