With my Fender Bassman Pro Neo 115 & 77 G3
The Eagle has landed. .....
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Bergantino B/Amp at NAMM
- Thread starter Munjibunga
- Start date
With my Fender Bassman Pro Neo 115 & 77 G3
The Eagle has landed. .....
So how's it feel to be walking on the moon? If you have any trouble adjusting to the gravity, just crank up the VRC and nobody will notice...
Congrats!
With my Fender Bassman Pro Neo 115 & 77 G3
The Eagle has landed. .....
I'd love to hear one with the NV215 (or 2x NV115)!
I'll surely try it with my NV215 at some stage (on some stage) I suppose I'll try the NV115 profile with it too ? ?
I had some fun today comparing the BAmp to the Mesa Subway 800+. I found an EQ on the Subway that sounds great with my custom Lull M5V w/ Nordstrand pu's and Audere pre. I was able to approximate the same EQ on the BAmp, and achieve an even more satisfying result. Both of these amps are great, but the BAmp always seems to "better" everything I can do with my other amps!
Last edited:
A few questions, with apologies if they're silly (exploring some areas I've not really messed with before) :
Where does the B|Amp effects loop (physical send/return) fit into the signal chain? Before/after input gain? Before/after EQ? Before/after effects? Selectable? The only thing I'm seeing that looks somewhat definitive in the manual is that it will always go before the DI.
Should I be able to run my HT112+EX112 and my HDN410 together if I set the impedance correctly on the B|Amp? The HT112 & EX112 are 8 ohm, and the HDN410 is 4 ohm, so:
all three should be a 2 ohm load?
just the HDN410 and the HT112 would be 2.67 ohm?
I think all the speakon connections (on both the cabinets and the B|Amp) are parallel. Does the order / arrangement of the connections to the cabinets matter?
Where does the B|Amp effects loop (physical send/return) fit into the signal chain? Before/after input gain? Before/after EQ? Before/after effects? Selectable? The only thing I'm seeing that looks somewhat definitive in the manual is that it will always go before the DI.
Should I be able to run my HT112+EX112 and my HDN410 together if I set the impedance correctly on the B|Amp? The HT112 & EX112 are 8 ohm, and the HDN410 is 4 ohm, so:
all three should be a 2 ohm load?
just the HDN410 and the HT112 would be 2.67 ohm?
I think all the speakon connections (on both the cabinets and the B|Amp) are parallel. Does the order / arrangement of the connections to the cabinets matter?
Jim Bergantino
Commercial User
Hi James.
The Effects loop is pre DSP and after the input gain which is still part of the analog front end of the amp. This would also mean pre Eq and any of the effects or compressor, as those are all part of the DSP.
If you run all 4 of your cabinets together, you are correct in that it would result in a 2 ohm load. One HT112 with teh HDN410 would be a 2.67 ohm load.
You are also correct that all the speakon connectors are in parallel.
Hope this helps!
Jim
Hey Jim. ... thanks for this amp. Being able to give a superb tone on a P (or a 77 Gibson G3) w-flats on and with pretty much no eq adjustments . ...giving a great tone with an active Jazz 5 or EBMM Stingray5 w- rounds.
You've done a great job.
Fwiw.... I had a touch of comp on, similar small amount of OD, & a slight dip at 1K (but this was at home) I'll probly have the hi mids around 800- 1k & have em flat - we'll see - at the 1st gig with it Wed night.
All the amps I've loved, I've pretty much loved em straight away - I do love to plug n play (& you can do this easily with this amp . You CAN of course, set a preset or 2 b4hand...as I've done or shift your eq centres etc. ..but as many have said after that it turns back into a typical amp.) & I loved this from the get go. As I did my Fender Super Bassman.... and previously the GB Shuttles . ..Mesa Walkabout . .. SVTs...
The Super Bassman - being 20lbs lighter than the SVT-VR is just a "nice" heavy for me. Not too much . ... The B-amp will, I'm sure, I hope , be with me a long time.
The downloadable upgrades are icing. ....
Thanks again.
You've done a great job.
Fwiw.... I had a touch of comp on, similar small amount of OD, & a slight dip at 1K (but this was at home) I'll probly have the hi mids around 800- 1k & have em flat - we'll see - at the 1st gig with it Wed night.
All the amps I've loved, I've pretty much loved em straight away - I do love to plug n play (& you can do this easily with this amp . You CAN of course, set a preset or 2 b4hand...as I've done or shift your eq centres etc. ..but as many have said after that it turns back into a typical amp.) & I loved this from the get go. As I did my Fender Super Bassman.... and previously the GB Shuttles . ..Mesa Walkabout . .. SVTs...
The Super Bassman - being 20lbs lighter than the SVT-VR is just a "nice" heavy for me. Not too much . ... The B-amp will, I'm sure, I hope , be with me a long time.
The downloadable upgrades are icing. ....
Thanks again.
Thanks, that does help - don't want to smoke anything (well, except maybe a turkey sometime next week)
So are all the following equivalent (given .A and .B as the two speakon connections)?
B|AMP.A<->HDN410.A / HDN410.B<-> HT112.A / HT112.B <-> EX112.A
B|AMP.A<->HDN410.A / B|AMP.B<-> HT112.A / HT112.B <-> EX112.A
B|AMP.A<->HDN410.A / HDN410.B<-> HT112.A / B|AMP.B <-> EX112.A
Is there any reason to prefer a certain configuration?
Are speakon cables wired consistently, or (assuming they're working fine with a single cabinet) do I need to make sure they're not configured with some alternate wiring that will confuse things (like an ethernet crossover cable) ?
Finally, more as a preference question, would you expect the best results from the HDN410 alone, HDN410+HT112, HDN410+EX112, or all three together?
Jim Bergantino
Commercial User
So is this what I should come to expect when a software guy purchases new hardware? ;-}
All those configurations would work equally well and the resulting impedance is 2 ohms. All speakon connectors should be wired correctly (1+ to 1+, etc), but I'm sure there's always a possibility of one slipping through the cracks.
And to be honest, I really can't answer your preference question as I have never had the opportunity to hear those combinations. It would always be fun to experiment, though, but at the end of the day I would think to keep them as 2 separate rigs, the HDN410 as a stand alone, and the HT/EX112's as a pair. Of course if more volume is needed, you could always "pile" on!
To be real. ... George (your Aus dealer at Bass Gear Direct ) has been very helpful re the memory stick (thumb drive) USB stick. .. whatever they're called in various parts of the world. .. and I'm sure I'll have a few more questions for him as new firmware comes up. mine came with the VRC & Drive, Distortion & fuzz all included . so. ..none of the FAT32 stuff needed to be done by myself as yet.
Jim Bergantino
Commercial User
To be real. ... George (your Aus dealer at Bass Gear Direct ) has been very helpful re the memory stick (thumb drive) USB stick. .. whatever they're called in various parts of the world. .. and I'm sure I'll have a few more questions for him as new firmware comes up. mine came with the VRC & Drive, Distortion & fuzz all included . so. ..none of the FAT32 stuff needed to be done by myself as yet.
George is a great dealer for us and cares very much about his customers. We feel very fortunate having him represent our products to the Australian market. And don't worry about a firmware update. It really is very quick and easy.
If said software guy has enough experience to understand the risks of incorrectly connecting hardware (but not enough to be sure that the desired configuration will be safe), enough prudence to actually RTFM and then seek advice on things he/she doesn't completely grok instead of just trying something that might let the smoke out, enough disposable income to afford your amazing gear but not enough to nonchalantly buy replacements when they burn them up being careless? Not to mention a bit of OCD on the side? Yeah, seems about right...
Seriously though, I've never tried three cabinets together, nor have I really worried much about speaker impedance in the past, so I wanted to be sure I wasn't about to make some rookie mistake with my new toys (ahem, tools...). I _did_ figure it out myself - in theory - just wanted to have my findings validated by someone who's "been-there-done-that" before putting them into practice. Given your somewhat unique authority to speak in these matters, I'll consider these questions most satisfactorily answered...
And in case it hasn't been mentioned enough already, it is REALLY great to have you participating in the forums here. Your responsiveness, helpfulness, and patience is much appreciated!
Jim Bergantino
Commercial User
I do appreciate your post and I hope I have contributed useful and helpful information, not just on our products, but with bass amplification in general. Like I've mentioned before, I've come to know some really great people through this forum and have actually learned much from them too!
Last edited:
Well. ..forgot to take gig pics
But glad to report the B-Amp thru my 115 Fender Bassman Pro Neo Sounded superb at our regular jazz/blues gig last night. I used my 62AVRI Precision with GHS Precision flats . ... gawjus tone. I didn't even TOUCH the eq all night. Alterations to my right hand position gave everything I needed.
Terrific!
But glad to report the B-Amp thru my 115 Fender Bassman Pro Neo Sounded superb at our regular jazz/blues gig last night. I used my 62AVRI Precision with GHS Precision flats . ... gawjus tone. I didn't even TOUCH the eq all night. Alterations to my right hand position gave everything I needed.
Terrific!
PROBLEM SOLVED!
I spent a good chunk of yesterday's afternoon at the AD with the B|Amp.
Working with them and with Jim on the phone, the software was upgraded from Version 1.2 to Version 3.0.
There was no issue with the unit.
The inability to download the bampfw.hex file was coming from the keys I/we where using.
View attachment 985483
This is a picture of some of the keys I own and use frequently. Both of them work flawlessly. I keep the one on the left on my keychain (with heavy OTFE).
It's a USB 2.0 thumb drive bought at the Apple store 3 years ago.
The one on the right is a USB 3.0 and when a dialogue is established between it and a USB port, a little light located at the end blinks frenetically.
I'm no expert but, it seems to me that the B|Amp didn't like any of my USB 2.0 flash drives. I don't understand it but maybe Jim will be able to shed some light on this or, will disprove this theory.
There might be other variables that I'm not aware that would explain why some users had to try a few flash drives to install the software.
Regarding the use of USB 3.0, the ones I had managed to gathered didn't successfully download the Version to the unit. I was going through the motion and the LED on the various keys where blinking. In my book, it meant that everything was "working". By "working", I was ruling out the keys as the culprit and, seems like the USB port was defective (or flash drive formatting/software corrupted/...).
Wrong.
After trying various keys at the store with a salesman and the store manager, a 3.0 with a blinking LED did the trick.
What I observed is the following:
Because of the recess port and cutout size on the metal fascia of the B|Amp, some keys don't make a proper connection, they need to be inserted a bit more (1-2 mm) to operate properly.
The problem, in my case, was that the outer body of the keys we tried had a diameter that limited the penetration depth when hitting the faceplate (don't quote this out of context please...).
They connected enough to make the LED blink but, the contact wasn't proper and the data wasn't migrating. Using a USB 3.0 key with the size/design of the one picture on the left seems like the way to go for future updates.
That's what I'll try when Jim release the auto-wah/phaser/B15 emulator on Version 3.5.
There you have it folks!
Had similar issues finding the right stick for the job.
The one on the left is a newer USB 3.0. It would be recognized by the B|AMP, but would never update (program button would just remain lit). I believe it is because there is a password protection software for the device. Unfortunately that can't be bypassed, removed, or (the partition with the PW info) reformatted.
The middle one is a USB 2.0 from about 2 years ago. Pretty basic, and no protection or any software on it what so ever. That also would not update the B|AMP (program button would just remain lit). It was reformatted as well.
The one on the right is a USB 2.0 from this year. Also pretty basic, and no protection or any software on it what so ever. This one would not seat into the USB port all the way. So I ended up removing it from it's case, inserted, and success! Version 3.0 software installed.
I'll be searching for a proper USB thumb drive to perform the next update.
Nice job on the compressor BTW!
I don't have B amp, but you're definitly going to want a a drive that isn't encyrpted. An encrypted drive is ideal for protecting your data, but I wouldn't imagine the amp can authenticate through the protection to access the update.
So . ..... how do we buy/know that a particular USB stick/thumb drive etc. .. is not encrypted ?
