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TecAmp amplification club.....is there such a thing yet
- Thread starter g4string
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Just went and got the cab this morning - test drive will be tomorrow! Will post pictures and how I like it...
Tried her out at last rehearsal. This cab has a very clear sound to it. I turned open the bass knob both on my bass preamp and head and she handled it very well, still defined. The mids are very strong and clear, somewhat deeper than both my SVT410he's. Seems very well constructed and leightweight for such a big cab. Found out she's 8 ohms and 1200 watts instead of 2400 watts and 4 ohms.... but all that doesn't matter. She sounds pretty fantastic. May want to upgrade from my PF500 head to something with more head room. What heads are you guys using on your Tecamp cabs?
I purchased a used puma 500 (older one that's a 2 rack space one) here on talkbass and I love it. I feel like I could use a little more power though and saw the puma 900. Anyone know how much the 900 is or if any US retailers would take my 500 in on a trade towards a 900?
- Apr 29, 2003
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- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
I'm pretty sure Donovan at fretspot.com would take it in trade. He does a lot of that. He also has his prices advertised, check his eBay store. Glenn at austin bass traders may take it in trade as well. I also went from an older 500 to a newer 900, and haven't looked back.
Jake Morris said:
I think the 900 goes for somewhere around 1350ish, but memory isn't great. You probably already know, but the newer single rack space versions sound significantly different than the older version you have. It's not just a power change. There are many previous posts about it so I won't go into details.
I can't find much on the net about this head. Can someone tell me something about this amp? Tone, ease of use, fat, warm, tubey or high-fi etc?
I'm rolling one. It is fantastic. It is certainly a clear and clean sound, capable of hi-fi personality. It isn't super warm, but can be warm enough and very musical. I tend to EQ with the Taste setting to get a base sound (a little tweak goes a long way) Then I use the various EQ settings to dial in the rest. I tend to work mostly with the lo-mid and hi-mid controls, and I like the option to move the EQ points with the switches provided (I run three different basses with varying setups - Dingwall ABZ5, Nash PB63, Warwick Corvette $$, each currently with flats). There is plenty of bass on tap, and the boost is quite a goose of low end. I'm not a treble type of guy, so I don't ever add the high boost, but I've toyed with it and it is certainly more of a "sparkle" than a "cut" sound.
It can sound a touch flat and sterile at low volumes without using the comp or Rock settings. The comp doesn't need much. I usually set it to fast setting and no more than 9 (noon if I'm really looking to squash). Honestly, settings higher than noon just feel like they add more noise to the signal. Is it better than my Diamond Bass Comp? No. Is it useable? Yes. The Rock also adds some grunt and warmth. Don't expect fuzzy distortion. It almost feels like a mid-boost with a touch of rumble and growl. It will impact your DI signal level too.
I don't use the effects loop, but it looks powerful.
The power amp section is flexy in terms of cab combo options. I mostly bridge the amp and run it into my single fEARful 15/6 (no tweet) for 600w of power. It certainly has some muscle. I've only tried it a bit with my Mesa PH 115 cab, and it sounds pretty strong with that cab. More low-end oomph bias at lower volumes.
The fan doesn't punch on often, but it is very quiet when it does.
It is a dandy of a head. It is just a bit more spendy than I'd like it to be for the extra features over the Puma, which I tried/owned briefly. For the "best" sound and money option, I'd say a Puma with a Diamond Bass Comp and a pre-amp/fuzz pedal (I use a Darkglass B7k) would be a cheaper way to go. However, that set-up requires a pedal board and a power supply, etc, so for ease of gig transport and set-up, I like being able to bring just my head and my cab. It sounds damn good, and I don't "miss" my other pedals.
Any other questions?
- Jan 12, 2011
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- Artist, Trickfish Amplification Bartolini Emerging Artist, MTD Kingston Emerging Artist. Artist, Tsunami Cables
Not finding much love for tecamp/puma's in my neck of the woods. I know of only one other guy that has a Puma 500. In a strange way I kinda like it because I'm running something that hardly no one else has. I'm going to a bass workshop at a local music store on Nov 3rd. I'm taking my Puma 500 there just to see what kind of reaction I'll get. There will be plenty of Aguilar, Fender, Hartke stuff there. Also taking my Brubaker Brutes with me and there is no Brubaker stuff around either. I hope they don't try to run me out of the store. They are going to have specials that day and I have simply grown to where I no longer by gear from local music stores. I have tried to inspre the store owner before to become a dealer for some of the stuff I play through. I think I'll maintain a low profile and answer questions about what I have if asked.
- Jan 12, 2011
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- Artist, Trickfish Amplification Bartolini Emerging Artist, MTD Kingston Emerging Artist. Artist, Tsunami Cables
Hey Virgil it's me Walt Finnerty. I don't have a blackjag but I have a Puma 500 that you can check out. We can get together. You can check out the Puma, and I can check out the Glasstone LIL G.
I'd say that if he likes the Puma sound, he'll like the Jag (I'd have a hard time telling the sonic difference, if any). Then it will be a question of $$$ and features.
- Jan 12, 2011
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- Artist, Trickfish Amplification Bartolini Emerging Artist, MTD Kingston Emerging Artist. Artist, Tsunami Cables
Very cool, thanks for the headsup. I've spoken to Virgill on the phone before. He's a cool guy with some very nice toys in his bassment.
Is that fearful cab 4 ohm? If so, why aren't you getting the full 900 watts? Did you have the Puma 1000, 900 or 500? Did they all sound alike, just with different power supply? I don't use comp nor any effects. Are you suggesting that the Jag sounds like the other heads, but just has more tweakability, if that's a word?
Why did you have the Puma for such a short period of time? Do you anyone who is selling theirs?
- Jan 12, 2011
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- Artist, Trickfish Amplification Bartolini Emerging Artist, MTD Kingston Emerging Artist. Artist, Tsunami Cables
Is that fearful cab 4 ohm? If so, why aren't you getting the full 900 watts? Did you have the Puma 1000, 900 or 500? Did they all sound alike, just with different power supply? I don't use comp nor any effects. Are you suggesting that the Jag sounds like the other heads, but just has more tweakability, if that's a word?
fEARful is 8 ohms (as noted above). I haven't played around with the poweramp configurations (A, B, B-filtered, Bridged), but there are afew different ways to pull a wide range of power-amp wattages.
I had the Puma 900 (newer ICE, not older Powersoft). Yes, they sound very much alike, just with different power sections, which also sound/feel similar.
I bought the Puma because I wanted a small, light head. After a few rehearsals, I found the small size a pain to deal with. I didn't have a carry case for it (other than the TecAmp one, which blows goats for nickels). I got sick of having to put the head in a carry bag to put it in a bigger bag. I did, however, have a 2-space rack-bag and the Jag is super light. I decided to do the upgrade because I felt that if I was going to be dragging the head around to shows and rehearsals, I wanted something that gave me a more durable sense of it. I also decided that the Rock and Comp might be nice features to have. They aren't what I expected them to be, but they aren't bad and are useable. I also decided the tweakability of the EQ section would be worth it to adapt the sounds of a few of my basses (I'd probably have sold my Dingwall ABZ5 because I wasn't getting what I wanted out of it).
I went through Glenn at Austin Bass Traders. He was super awesome to deal with. I don't know anyone else who owns one of these, let alone selling one.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
monsterthompson said:
I have been talking to Glenn at Austin Bass Traders about one. He swears that the Black Jags EQ section is worth the investment, especially when playing in rooms with bad acoustics. That's a lot of bread to put out for an amp. My Epi 902 was in the same ball park, but I got great service from it. The other issue is getting it serviced if I have a problem with it. I have read that it has taken months to get them repaired.
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