Too busy playing!
I have an entire album coming out in the next month, though, using the B|Amp on every track with a touch of overdrive. People should feel free to get that if they want to hear what it sounds like.
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Bergantino B/Amp at NAMM
- Thread starter Munjibunga
- Start date
Too busy playing!
I have an entire album coming out in the next month, though, using the B|Amp on every track with a touch of overdrive. People should feel free to get that if they want to hear what it sounds like.
Mine has finally landed in Greece and I'm psyched too! Hopefully it will be here in a few days... Until then your "first impressions" report will have to keep me busy!Big brown truck says tomorrow.
Well my B|Amp continues to amaze and inspire me. I recently picked up a new bass that required some way different EQ than my "normal" basses. It's so nice to know that I'm not bound by another amp manufacturers EQ points and have 4 semi-parametric bands (actually 5 with the adjustable bright switch) to adjust and a whole host of other tone shaping options (compression, HPF, drive).
I'm wondering how the B/Amp would work with the Berg Ht/Ex Mini Stack. I use a Demeter HBP1 into a Crown Microtech 1200 with these cabs for a practice rig. I like the fact that I can boost 60Hz on the parametric EQ on the Demeter. I don't see a profile for the Mini Stack.
I had that exact rig. The HT112/EX112 were my first Berg speaker cabs. Then, I bought the HDN212, and when I did an A/B, I found the HT112/EX112 to be kinda "blah", especially compared to the HDN212. I used the HT112 profile on the B|Amp. Shortly thereafter, I sold the HT112/EX112 and bought a HDN210. The HDN cabs just blow me away - amazing sound!
Id just choose a profile that has ceramic speakers. Maybe the HD series. I have AE's and stack those but there is no profile available. Jim had me select the HDN. Sounds killer
My gigging rig is a Genz Benz Streamliner 900 into a Berg HD112. 2-HD112's for the bigger shows. We play one small place where I only take the Genz & the HT112. I've been experimenting with the settings to get my sound, full deep lows,not too crazy on the mids unless I can't hear myself & enough on top if I need to slap. I have no problem getting the Genz to work with the HD112. On the HT112 I'm trying to cut mids,600Hz, at 9 o'clock, treble at 11 o'clock & the tweeter cut back to 9 o'clock. So far it seems to take some of that hi fi mid push off of this cabinet.
OK, mine is finally here! It's very early to have a solid opinion, but so far I'm very impressed, can't find something to complain. One thing that worried me -self noise- seems like a non-issue. It's a bid noisier than my Glockenklang Heart Rock but nothing to worry about. I love the plethora of options and the basic sound seems great too - full, clear, unforgiving (easily as unforgiving as my Glock). This thing is top quality. Oh and I also tried a few profiles, the HDN112 profile seems to give a nice beefier sound to my Glockenklang 212. The effects are OK, not bad but nothing to write home about either - I could see the overdrive in lower setting being useful if you need a little grit, but I don't think I'd use any as a dirty/distorted sound. I'm curious about the new effects though, I'll look into getting the latest firmware.
I'll report back once I've had more time with it! From what I've seen/heard so far, my respects to mr. Bergantino...
I'll report back once I've had more time with it! From what I've seen/heard so far, my respects to mr. Bergantino...
I received an e-mail yesterday from Bergantino with v3.20 of the firmware, which updates/upgrades the distortion options. If you don't have it yet, it'll be coming soon (you have to register your B|Amp on the website to get the e-mails).
I am interested to hear your input regarding the tone quality of the B|Amp vs. the class A/B Heart Rock. That is a big discussion topic on TB right now. I came close to buying a HR II several years ago, and I'm glad I didn't.
You just decreased the weight of your rig by approximately 40 lbs., if I'm not mistaken.
I'm very curious too! I need some time to come to a safe conclusion. I also thought that the Glockenklang Steamhammer was a worthy replacement for my HR at first, but after extended A/B I decided to return it. After that I was afraid that I just don't get along well with class D and I was prepared for the chance that I'll also need to move the B|Amp and live with the 40 lbs of the HR (which is an amazing amp if you don't get back pains!), it was like "OK, lets give class D one last chance". So far, to my relief, it sounds good. But I'll take my time with it, because it came down to almost nitpicking with the Steamhammer, so I want to become more familiar with the B|Amp's sound too and do more comparisons, so far I've only played it for like 15 minutes. I'll report back as soon as possible!I received an e-mail yesterday from Bergantino with v3.20 of the firmware, which updates/upgrades the distortion options. If you don't have it yet, it'll be coming soon (you have to register your B|Amp on the website to get the e-mails).
I am interested to hear your input regarding the tone quality of the B|Amp vs. the class A/B Heart Rock. That is a big discussion topic on TB right now. I came close to buying a HR II several years ago, and I'm glad I didn't.
You just decreased the weight of your rig by approximately 40 lbs., if I'm not mistaken.
That's good info on the Steamhammer. Glock has a reputation for very "flat" sounding amps, that are extremely clean and sterile-sounding. I owned a Blue Sky for a couple years, but I recently sold it, because it didn't give me the sound I wanted. I was curious about the Steamhammer, and the only demo video available is terrible; it gives no idea of what the amp sounds like. I have seen descriptions of the Steamhammer as the first Glock amp that will actually generate significant gain/distortion and does not sound like the Glockenklang amps before it. If the B|Amp outperforms the Steamhammer, I'll know that I made the right choice.
I've written quite a few thoughts in the Steamhammer thread from when I had it here! It's not really that different, it does sound more focused/less "open" than previous Glocks, especially the other class Ds, and you can lead the gain to overdrive levels (you can also do that with the HR, but not to the same extent). The basic sound was still clean/detailed, just a little less. At the end of the day I sent it back because of a somewhat digital/annoying quality in the tone, that wasn't very distinguishable at first but once I heard it I couldn't unhear it. I think I'd be pretty happy with it though if I didn't do such extensive comparisons to the HR.That's good info on the Steamhammer. Glock has a reputation for very "flat" sounding amps, that are extremely clean and sterile-sounding. I owned a Blue Sky for a couple years, but I recently sold it, because it didn't give me the sound I wanted. I was curious about the Steamhammer, and the only demo video available is terrible; it gives no idea of what the amp sounds like. I have seen descriptions of the Steamhammer as the first Glock amp that will actually generate significant gain/distortion and does not sound like the Glockenklang amps before it. If the B|Amp outperforms the Steamhammer, I'll know that I made the right choice.
For checking out the B|Amp. I hope it works for you.Out of curiosity, what cab(s?) are you driving? I see you have the Glockenklang 212; is that 4 ohms or 8 ohms? Any other cabs?
No, I only have a Glockenklang Double, 500W, 8 ohm. I like nice things but can't afford too many of them, so I prefer to buy whatever seems top to me and stick with it. I only have one bass as well, my Dingwall Voodoo Prima - toying with the idea of having a local luthier make me a fanned fret acoustic sometime down the road. I'll try downsizing to two lighter 112s next. I'm considering a German small builder, FMC, who is like Avatar or something (hardly ever mentioned in TB but seems to be pretty well known in Germany) or maybe Vanderkley, but I'm starting to get tempted to go with two HDN112s and take advantage of the profiles as well. We'll see though because the price difference is significant (almost double compared to FMC).
Out of curiosity, what cab(s?) are you driving? I see you have the Glockenklang 212; is that 4 ohms or 8 ohms? Any other cabs?
Yes, in Europe, the USA products come with a premium in cost. I do believe you would be extremely pleased with 2xHDN112's. But, I also understand what you are up against. If I were in Europe, I might also check out the BF offerings.The reason I asked you about the cab is that your comments in the AB vs D thread and in this thread regarding your other Class D experience made me curious. The fact that you are trying to use a Class D amp to drive an 8 ohm load, and I presume to reasonable rock gig levels, makes your previous posts a little more sensible to me.
The one area where I have never been impressed with Class D is when I have tried to drive the Class D hard into an 8 ohm impedance. That is where I have run into issues; and not with the B|Amp, because I haven't tried to push it in that way. Just a general comment: the more general Class D bass heads out there just tend to open up and deliver into 4 ohms. You can run them into 8 ohms, and they work to a certain degree; but the heftier AB output transformers just seem to be better at that particular mode of use. Just something IME, and that I tend to factor into my gear. I do use and gig an HD112 with the B|Amp; and that works just fine. But, I use that for lower volume gigs and don't force the issue. For bigger gigs, I'm driving Class D into 4 ohms. I'm not saying that is necessarily what you are hearing in your comparisons; but, that has been my impression. I have had some discussions with @agedhorse about that aspect of Class D; and there is no doubt more to it.
LOL, talk about speaking too soon... I loaded the new firmware (first try, very easy with the instructions) and the new distortions are really at another level! I actually feel like the overdrive is now the less impressive of the three! Great work, Jim and husky!
You made the right choiceIf the B|Amp outperforms the Steamhammer, I'll know that I made the right choice.
You should be able to use the HDN322 profile for that. I think they would work pretty well together, given they are both 8-ohm cabs. The HDN210 is a great practice amp cab; I probably wouldn't gig with it, simply because I have an HDN212 that is an absolute monster. For practice, you could use either cab by itself, then put them together for gigs. I'd like to hear the outcome of that experiment.
