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TecAmp S212/Puma500 Ultra Light Rig
- Thread starter KJung
- Start date
Oh tanks a lot Andy, very cool to hear you like it.
Yeah, well NYC is off course a dream. Maybe in a couple of years.
Allthough im not a very good waiter
UPS was just here a couple of minutes ago with the new rig, its time to play. Damn its light!
He called me when he parked the truck, and asked me to help him up the stairs, but soon he realized he could take both the cab and the amp box himself at the same time.
I will take some pics and write a short review later today.
Excellent.
I'd also be interesting in hearing your take on the 350 versus the 500. If the specs are right on the website, the 350 is a class A/B amp and the 500 is a class D (similar to the Markbass LMII versus the F1). I know the 500 will give you more ooomph, but I wonder if it sounds significantly different also.
Enjoy, and I look forward to your review!
K
Ive played it since i unpacked it. Since i live in a apartment i can barely turn the volume over 20 % (gain 50%) but my first impression is very very good.
I have actually used the 350 with an 8 ohm version of this cab, and while that would be enough for a small gig, the 350 in 8 ohm is not enough to push the 212, at least not "make it sing"
My old rig was really nice, but it was lacking in one very important aspect, clarity.
And that is mainly because of the small cabinets. The 350 head has the same preamp as the 500, but it seems like the 500 has a little brighter and a slightly more transparent voice. I pretty much always put my EQ flat, and sometimes just work with the Dry/Rich-filter. My bass is extremely flat and clean (preamp similar to a Neve/SSL console) so i just want my amp and cabs to sound like that preamp. And this rig does that for me, its a lot cleaner than the 112, 115 setup.
Anyway, to answer your question Ken, my impression is that the 500 sounds a little cleaner and transparent. But maybe that is just the extra power pushing the cab and opens it up a little.
Thomas actually has my 350 combo right now (been having some problems with the tweeter) so i cant do a A/B. However i could plug the 500 in to the XS115 and see how that goes. Ill try to write a review later this afternoon.
I have actually used the 350 with an 8 ohm version of this cab, and while that would be enough for a small gig, the 350 in 8 ohm is not enough to push the 212, at least not "make it sing"
My old rig was really nice, but it was lacking in one very important aspect, clarity.
And that is mainly because of the small cabinets. The 350 head has the same preamp as the 500, but it seems like the 500 has a little brighter and a slightly more transparent voice. I pretty much always put my EQ flat, and sometimes just work with the Dry/Rich-filter. My bass is extremely flat and clean (preamp similar to a Neve/SSL console) so i just want my amp and cabs to sound like that preamp. And this rig does that for me, its a lot cleaner than the 112, 115 setup.
Anyway, to answer your question Ken, my impression is that the 500 sounds a little cleaner and transparent. But maybe that is just the extra power pushing the cab and opens it up a little.
Thomas actually has my 350 combo right now (been having some problems with the tweeter) so i cant do a A/B. However i could plug the 500 in to the XS115 and see how that goes. Ill try to write a review later this afternoon.
Cool! That slight increase in 'trasparency' is a hallmark of comparing similar class A/B and class D amps to my ear (like the LMII versus the F1), and that makes sense (although I also find the same thing, as you suggest, with an increase in power). Enjoy, and post up after you crank it up a bit.
I do find the 500 to be a unique combination of fat and warm down low, but really clear and pure through the mids and especially the treble (again, reminding me just a bit of some of the Glock heads). I too run mine virtually flat, with maybe a touch of mid boost with the very wide and open sounding EpiUL's, and a touch of upper mid cut with the more aggressive and punchy s212. But we are talking about a range between 11 and 1 o'clock at the most.
Exactly. I did a lot of A/B testing with the 500 and the 1000, and i really prefer the 500's voice. The 1000 is a crazy crazy head, but it has some slightly weird touch in the upper mids that sounds a little "honky" for me.
What i like with the 500 is the really clear mids, and just like you write ken, the warm lows and low mids.
A funny thing, as i am sure you noticed to (and this goes for all the tecamp heads) is that the EQ has a crazy effect on the output level. Ive never played an amp that answers that much on the EQ, and i really like it. On some gigs where i really had to "push" my 112/115 rig, i just add a little lo and lo mid, and that does a crazy effect on the output.
Since i always play it flat, this just works like an volume boost, more than changing the tone.
They are all great heads, pretty amazing actually, but the 500 does my thing best. Clean and simple. Lovin it.
+1 The 1000 has different EQ points than the 500. The EQ points on the 500 are just perfect IMO, and +1, that low mid control is really something when you need to puch the punch through a mix in some situations. And, as you state, a very little goes a very long way. The bass control is very usable also, and seems to be more of a traditional EQ than than a shelving control (i.e., even though it is listed as 30hz, it seems to impact frequencies above that, adding a lot of 'meat' to the tone if you need it). Very impressively designed preamp IMO!
You have just a wonderful solo voice. I love it. I assume you tune your 5 string E to C? Beautiful. I can see why you like the TecAmp stuff so well.... warm and musically, but brutally honest and transparent. I really like the fact that even though you have all the mid articulation in there, you also have that little bit of upper treble click going on to really bring out the attack of each note. Just beautiful playing and tone IMO! Even with the camera sound, it sounds great.
Chef
In Memoriam
Thanks a lot man! Cool to hear you like the playing.
Yeah, that rig is insane to. A little warmer, but still nice focused sound. I think the EQ on that clip is flat, maybe a little low mid boost. I really like putting the cabs a few steps from each other "bone-style", gives a nice balanced sound.
The bass on that clip is a Marusczyzk L5 tuned E-C, i dont play Marusczyzk basses any longer, but that was a really nice bass. Noll preamp, treble rolled of and bass at about 50%.
That bass had a really warm mid, and a nice upper clip. Its actually a hollowbody bass.
really excellent!
Is the Puma 1000 just like having two Puma 5000 in one amp? I'm thinking of buying the Puma 1000 or the Bonafide.
