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TecAmp S212/Puma500 Ultra Light Rig

#381
Tendollarcat said:
Guys,

Can I ask what genres you are currently playing? I have one mellow project and one louder rock project. I'm interested to hear about the Tecamp Puma's ability to project with a couple of guitars. Not so much a volume thing (because we play at reasonable volumes) - more presence and punch in the mix with a band.

I'm liking what i hear about the Puma but I want to understand if it is about uncoloured clarity (like EA) or if it has a vibe of it's own.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I mainly play jazz, fusion, hip hop and similar. But i do all kinds of gigs, and the tecamp stuff works for everything.
Its very clean and honest, but still very musical.
I think some hi end preamps, and other "clean" bass amps are clean but not "musical", sterile. I dont know how to define "musical" but i think you get my point.

The Puma answers great when i pick up my old fender, while im not in to that sound any longer, it does that thing great. Warm low end and punch.
So for thoose type of gigs, i maybe do some small tweeking to the EQ, but it sures sounds like the bass and the way you play.
 
#382
Thanks for the replies guys. Thats actually nailed my thinking on this. I love clean tones but I sold an iAmp last year because it felt sterile to my ears. The one really good Youtube clip I could find had the Puma sounding clean but rich and thick as well. Hmmm. Moving closer to a decision on a new bass head :D
 
#383
Tendollarcat said:
Thanks for the replies guys. Thats actually nailed my thinking on this. I love clean tones but I sold an iAmp last year because it felt sterile to my ears. The one really good Youtube clip I could find had the Puma sounding clean but rich and thick as well. Hmmm. Moving closer to a decision on a new bass head :D
Click to expand...

+1 to the above descriptions. I'm a J Bass pop/funk player, and I love the 'clean but musical' tone of my TecAmp rig. No amp or cab sounds totally transparent or 'flat', but I agree some heads that have that goal sound very 'lifeless' (the iAmp comes to mind, per your post). The TecAmp (the 500 is the head I'm familiar with) does a great job of replicating that classic Fender type growl without adding a lot to the tone IMO and IME.
 
#384
Tendollarcat said:
Thanks for the replies guys. Thats actually nailed my thinking on this. I love clean tones but I sold an iAmp last year because it felt sterile to my ears. The one really good Youtube clip I could find had the Puma sounding clean but rich and thick as well. Hmmm. Moving closer to a decision on a new bass head :D
Click to expand...

This clip has been around the block a time or two on this site, but in case you didn't hear it, here's the link. It's focused more on the Alleva-Coppolo basses, but the sound source is the Puma500/s212 set virtually flat, with just a touch of softening of the upper mids (upper mid control at 11 o'clock). It's pretty representative of the tone I hear with that rig live


[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#387
Hollow Man said:
Yes!

Glenn from Austin Bass Traders told me a few days ago that the M212 will receive the new porting, so I'm interested to hear how you say the porting on the S212 (II) compares to the previous S212. If it's a big difference, an M212 (II) may be in my near future!
Click to expand...

I'll post up in a while. My original s212 is in St. Louis now. I'm planning to drive there for a series of gigs next weekend and swap the (I) with the (II), and will do an A/B at that time.

I'm doing an outside gig with no PA support with the original s212 this weekend, which will be a good test of what that cab can do versus the big 410's I typically use in that situation.
 
#390
Been there done that, crazy rig.
The L610 is just sick when it comes to punch. The low end kick you get out of that cab is just silly.
And you start laughing when you lift it with one hand for the first time:D
 
#391
I have been slammin' away on this combo for the last couple weeks, and I have found a few strong points that I'd like to share...

It sounds great flat... Period. I haven't experienced this 'flatness' to this degree with any of my other rigs in the same rooms. Between that little 'taste' knob and my fbass pre in any of it's three positions (single coil/hum canceling/passive) I can cover all my favorite tones without even touching the Puma's EQ?!?! Occasionally some minor eq adjustments are required in a tough spot... but otherwise it's perfect as is. This must be because the amp and cab are SOoo well matched (nicely engineered by the guys at tecamp!), the voice of the amp, and the size/voice of the cab go so great together. :cool:

This combo is clean AND musical... as stated above. I pointed out earlier how I was apprehensive about Tecamp not sounding as thick and musical as all the other cabs and amps I've played (being micro AND neo)... but this amp/cab/combo does an excellent job of delivering a hefty, warm and accurate tone through all registers. The top end is very nice, but I think will take some getting used to... my ears are still so partial to that sweet bergie bullet tweeter. :hmm:

Simple, Powerful and light... is the name of the game here! The puma Is a very basic amp all over, and you can hear why... it doesn't need any bells n' whistles to get a GREAT sound out of it, just plug n' play. I'm also STUNNED at how loud this 212 really is, at only 360 watts into 8 ohms! Now... I know this will sound rediculous, but I think it may be louder than my berg stack :eek: Well okay, how about... there's more usable volume in this rig because it sounds fuller and louder all the way down to the low B without giving up. (I'm sure this would not be the case up against the IPER's) It breaks up nicely when pushed to its maximum output, and stays well balanced (not too peaky or compressed) all the way there.

Since I have played with both my bands now, and our practice sessions are very similar in volume and overall setup to most of our more casual gigs... the response has been ecstatic! Everyone really loves the retro look and diminutive size, but mostly, I'm getting comments about how much 'harder it hits' and how much more 'REAL' bass is now in the mix. I was actually getting flamed by a few of my buddies last saturday for not finding this rig earlier! :p :help: I guess it sounds good to everyone else too :D

Well, there you have it... another Tecamp success story, go figure :)

Pat.
 
#393
Big String said:
Hey Pat
Grats on a nice combo rig.
I assume you went with an 8ohm version for expansion... ?
thanks
Dean
Click to expand...

Tecnically speaking, it's only available in 8 ohms. You can custom order it in 4 ohm configuration, but it's not warranted because you can still add another 4 ohm cab to the 'extension out'... resulting in an 'illegal' 2 ohm load, which may damage the amp. :hmm: Then there's the issue of the drivers overpowering the tweeter which is designed to match the 8 ohm config.... etc. etc.

There's definitely room for expansion being 8 ohms... adding another s212 would be pretty sick! or any other 8 ohm cab for that matter.

Personally, I have NO need for 4x12's. :smug:

Pat.
 
#394
speyer said:
I have been slammin' away on this combo for the last couple weeks, and I have found a few strong points that I'd like to share...

It sounds great flat... Period. I haven't experienced this 'flatness' to this degree with any of my other rigs in the same rooms. Between that little 'taste' knob and my fbass pre in any of it's three positions (single coil/hum canceling/passive) I can cover all my favorite tones without even touching the Puma's EQ?!?! Occasionally some minor eq adjustments are required in a tough spot... but otherwise it's perfect as is. This must be because the amp and cab are SOoo well matched (nicely engineered by the guys at tecamp!), the voice of the amp, and the size/voice of the cab go so great together. :cool:

This combo is clean AND musical... as stated above. I pointed out earlier how I was apprehensive about Tecamp not sounding as thick and musical as all the other cabs and amps I've played (being micro AND neo)... but this amp/cab/combo does an excellent job of delivering a hefty, warm and accurate tone through all registers. The top end is very nice, but I think will take some getting used to... my ears are still so partial to that sweet bergie bullet tweeter. :hmm:

Simple, Powerful and light... is the name of the game here! The puma Is a very basic amp all over, and you can hear why... it doesn't need any bells n' whistles to get a GREAT sound out of it, just plug n' play. I'm also STUNNED at how loud this 212 really is, at only 360 watts into 8 ohms! Now... I know this will sound rediculous, but I think it may be louder than my berg stack :eek: Well okay, how about... there's more usable volume in this rig because it sounds fuller and louder all the way down to the low B without giving up. (I'm sure this would not be the case up against the IPER's) It breaks up nicely when pushed to its maximum output, and stays well balanced (not too peaky or compressed) all the way there.

Since I have played with both my bands now, and our practice sessions are very similar in volume and overall setup to most of our more casual gigs... the response has been ecstatic! Everyone really loves the retro look and diminutive size, but mostly, I'm getting comments about how much 'harder it hits' and how much more 'REAL' bass is now in the mix. I was actually getting flamed by a few of my buddies last saturday for not finding this rig earlier! :p :help: I guess it sounds good to everyone else too :D

Well, there you have it... another Tecamp success story, go figure :)

Pat.
Click to expand...

Very cool! Yes, the even extension down to the low B is just beautiful on this rig... almost spooky how even it is, given the small cab size. It won't do the huge fundamental thing, but as you point out, the usable low end is really cool, and there doesn't seem to be a bit of roll-off or change in tone throughout the entire range of my 5 strings.

My s212(II) is 'out for delivery' today:bassist:
 
#395
Big String said:
Hey Pat
Grats on a nice combo rig.
I assume you went with an 8ohm version for expansion... ?
thanks
Dean
Click to expand...

+1 to the point above. The combo's have a fixed mid driver that is voiced to the 8ohm woofers. This, combined with the fact that the Puma heads are only rated to 4ohms results in the combo's only offered in 8ohm version.

The stand alone s212 (as we've discussed above), has the same woofers, but has the more traditional tweeter with adjustable crossover/attenuator, and is available in 8ohm or 4ohm depending on you needs.
 
#396
KJung said:
+1 to the point above. The combo's have a fixed mid driver that is voiced to the 8ohm woofers. This, combined with the fact that the Puma heads are only rated to 4ohms results in the combo's only offered in 8ohm version.

The stand alone s212 (as we've discussed above), has the same woofers, but has the more traditional tweeter with adjustable crossover/attenuator, and is available in 8ohm or 4ohm depending on you needs.
Click to expand...

http://www.tecamp.de/index.php?id=141
see this link... it states 4ohm but I might be misunderstanding the spec on the upper right in English.
 
#399
Big String said:
Thanks for clearing that up.. .that changes my mind some.
I guess the alternative would be to get a 112 combo and then get an 8ohm 212, that would be a killer 3-12 rig IMO.
Click to expand...

Why not the Puma500 and 4ohm s212 or m212 (if you are interested in the TecAmp stuff)? You can get the cab in 4ohm version, and while I'm sure the mid driver on the combo's sounds great, the switchable crossover and tweeter in the stand-alone cabs is a total, complete, amazing thing of absolute beauty:bassist:

Your 112 combo idea isn't optimal, since the 112 combo has the 350 as the power section. Also, the internal combo driver would be getting twice the wattage of the 212 8ohm extension... not good. It would sound OK of course, but not as good as some additional watts driving those speakers (i.e., Puma500/s or M 212 4ohm). The s212 can take ALL of the Puma500 at 4ohms.

IMO and IME!
 
#400
KJung said:
Why not the Puma500 and 4ohm s212 or m212 (if you are interested in the TecAmp stuff)? You can get the cab in 4ohm version, and while I'm sure the mid driver on the combo's sounds great, the switchable crossover and tweeter in the stand-alone cabs is a total, complete, amazing thing of absolute beauty:bassist:

Your 112 combo idea isn't optimal, since the 112 combo has the 350 as the power section. Also, the internal combo driver would be getting twice the wattage of the 212 8ohm extension... not good. It would sound OK of course, but not as good as some additional watts driving those speakers (i.e., Puma500/s or M 212 4ohm). The s212 can take ALL of the Puma500 at 4ohms.

IMO and IME!
Click to expand...


+1 to that! :bassist:

Ken... i think Dean is drawn to the form factor of the combo. ;) That's kinda what did it for me too!

But if you're committed to needing a 4 ohm cab... The s212/Puma IS the way to go for sure. :cool:

Pat.
 

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