Well, I finally managed to get into the Burlington L&M store this afternoon and tried out the DB 300 (1x12") combo and the 1x12 extension cabinet.
Sorry Reverend Groove that I missed you. The place was a madhouse and I didn't want to take you away from your work.
The DB 300 is a pretty nice little amp. First off, it looks good and seems solid. As Rev says, the eq seems to be flat when set in the flat (12 o'clock) position. The bass adds bass, the low mids and a bit of punch, etc.
It's a loud little sucker even without the extension cab. But it isn't a fat and warm sounding amp. Very little real bottom end even with a lot of bass boost. For some players it would be plenty and if you want lots of mids and highs this amp can really crank them out. I was using a new American Fender P through it and managed to get a compromise tone I liked with it by using a fair bit of the scoop control, a bit of bass boost and a bit of low mids. It's not an amp for the "old school" type players or anyone who wants a pillowy bottom.
I got it uncomfortably loud without any distortion from the speaker or the amp. If you want to "cut through the mix" this amp can do it. I was able to easily drown out the guitar wankers going at it in the store.
Adding the 1x12 extension didn't really add much bottom. It just got louder and kept the same tone. The stack would make quite a capable rig for gigging that isn't too hard to cart around and doesn't take up much space. You could easily fit the two into the back seat of a little compact like my Kia Rio and still have room for a couple basses.
I think Traynor will sell a lot of these if they can keep the prices down.
For me, I wouldn't use it for a big and fat R&B sound on a gig. It just won't put out enough below about 70 Hz to do that, even with the extension cabinet. No amount of bass boost will force it to do it. The specs Traynor has on their website for the 1x12 cabinet are a bit optimistic in the bottom. I shut the tweeter off in the combo and turned down the tweeter in the cabinet using the control and still had plenty of top end. I'd never use the tweeter at all myself. It's just not needed. If you're a slapper this amp will really punch it out. It'd be good for hard rock stuff too. Just don't expect any big, heavy bass. The sound actually reminds me a lot of the old Acoustic with the 1x18 folded horn cabinet when that was set flat. It won't play that loud of course but that was sort of the character of the amp.
So, all in all, it's pretty impressive for the size and price. It looks very well made and should stand up to real gig use.
I didn't get a chance to try the 300T combo with the 2x8" speakers. I imagine it would sound a lot different and not have the volume the 1x12 combo put out.
I'd recommend this amp to anyone. Just try one first to make sure you like the sound. Again, it is really a loud little thing if you want it to be and the price is right.
Sorry Reverend Groove that I missed you. The place was a madhouse and I didn't want to take you away from your work.
The DB 300 is a pretty nice little amp. First off, it looks good and seems solid. As Rev says, the eq seems to be flat when set in the flat (12 o'clock) position. The bass adds bass, the low mids and a bit of punch, etc.
It's a loud little sucker even without the extension cab. But it isn't a fat and warm sounding amp. Very little real bottom end even with a lot of bass boost. For some players it would be plenty and if you want lots of mids and highs this amp can really crank them out. I was using a new American Fender P through it and managed to get a compromise tone I liked with it by using a fair bit of the scoop control, a bit of bass boost and a bit of low mids. It's not an amp for the "old school" type players or anyone who wants a pillowy bottom.
I got it uncomfortably loud without any distortion from the speaker or the amp. If you want to "cut through the mix" this amp can do it. I was able to easily drown out the guitar wankers going at it in the store.
Adding the 1x12 extension didn't really add much bottom. It just got louder and kept the same tone. The stack would make quite a capable rig for gigging that isn't too hard to cart around and doesn't take up much space. You could easily fit the two into the back seat of a little compact like my Kia Rio and still have room for a couple basses.
I think Traynor will sell a lot of these if they can keep the prices down.
For me, I wouldn't use it for a big and fat R&B sound on a gig. It just won't put out enough below about 70 Hz to do that, even with the extension cabinet. No amount of bass boost will force it to do it. The specs Traynor has on their website for the 1x12 cabinet are a bit optimistic in the bottom. I shut the tweeter off in the combo and turned down the tweeter in the cabinet using the control and still had plenty of top end. I'd never use the tweeter at all myself. It's just not needed. If you're a slapper this amp will really punch it out. It'd be good for hard rock stuff too. Just don't expect any big, heavy bass. The sound actually reminds me a lot of the old Acoustic with the 1x18 folded horn cabinet when that was set flat. It won't play that loud of course but that was sort of the character of the amp.
So, all in all, it's pretty impressive for the size and price. It looks very well made and should stand up to real gig use.
I didn't get a chance to try the 300T combo with the 2x8" speakers. I imagine it would sound a lot different and not have the volume the 1x12 combo put out.
I'd recommend this amp to anyone. Just try one first to make sure you like the sound. Again, it is really a loud little thing if you want it to be and the price is right.
When I was playing pro I used a new Monoblock B and then a Monoblock II. Yes, I blew a couple of speakers (my fault), but never those Traynor heads!
