Understanding the Bergantino B-Amp

[BassMike14]

Hi folks,

I am shopping for a lighter and better head to replace my long-serving but really heavy SWR rig. I just bought a Bergantino cabinet and was looking at the B-Amp. I guess the really issue is that I don't clearly understand how all the controls work and if this is going to end up being so complex that I will get lost in the details. Any thoughts about how to educate myself? In truth, as I read through many of the posts, I'm not sure I really understand what all the variables you more expert players discuss mean in terms of what I am going to hear.

 

[chris_b]

Jim Bergantino is a genius. He came up with the Forte for Luddites like me. The Forte HP is right at the top of my "interesting amps to check out" list.

 

[PotsdamBass8]

I have a B Amp, I got it used a few months ago. It’s designed incredibly well for a bunch of reasons, but one of the most unique is that the extended features are all totally optional. You can use it just like the forte where all you adjust is the gain, 4 band eq, and master. All of those can be adjusted with the physical knobs on the front without going into the menus.

But if you want to dig into the menus (they’re not that complicated to get into), you have the option to change the eq frequencies, add different overdrive distortion circuits that can be blended to your liking, add parallel or series compression, add HPF and LPF, use the cab profiles, and even make 3 different channels. Again, all of this is totally optional, and the drive circuits and compression are super easy to use. They sound good and don’t require a bunch of fiddling to sound like a useable effect.

The cab profiles are something no one else does, and it’s basically a way to make your amp and cab sound as close to flat as possible (without effecting the DI). Again, it will sound great without using the profiles, but you have the option to use them if wanted.

 

[Robf]

I have a B|Amp and it's been my main amp at home for practice. Honestly, I came from a Mesa 800+ and somewhat miss having the dials vs using the menu on the B|Amp. You can save the settings for various tones with the B|Amp, overdrive, fuzz, but I'm finding that I rather just flip a physical switch. You have the option of the footswitch which reduces the need to use the menus.
The big win for me on this amp is reducing my need for pedals, tuner is built in, fuzz, I'm pretty much set.

If you don't want to mess around with the settings, you can just work off the default view of the EQ settings (these are always displayed on the front of the menu LCD).

 

[Jefenator]

IME it's more confusing reading about it than it is when you get your hands on one. You'll need to orient yourself with the manual but once you do, there's not actually *that* much stuff to wrench on. (My latest digital camera by comparison is much, much more complex - yet unforgiving.)
I'm a "set & forget" kind of guy and I like the fact that the settings can't get all tweaked around in transport (as can often happen with micro heads with flat grip knobs). I do use memory scenes, as I prefer some compression and EQ for electric and ruler flat w/ zero compression for upright. It's pretty cool being able to toggle between groups of settings with just one press of a knob.
I'm usually an EQ hater but I actually like using it on this amp because it is responsive and intuitive - and it sounds good. Ditto the compression.
I haven't felt the need to shift frequency centers, adjust Q or deploy the notch filter but if ever I do, I remember where to find them. (There's really not that many different places to go looking.)
A menu-driven interface like this is inevitably more involved than something all analog, but IMHO the benefits are commensurate.