HazBeen

It copes really well, I stack a lot of dirt and it all came through as articulate as I expected. But that undoubtedly is also due to the Subway pre which is a great bit of kit.

Okay, so I have done a gig with it and two 3 hour band rehearsals. Time for some further feedback/intel. Firstly I am pretty sure this D class Power Amp is at least in part an own design, so it is difficult to compare directly with a “normal” Ice/B&O. The combo Subway/Sumo is most definitely louder than my Darkglass M900 and it has zero problem to keep up in full band setting with ample headroom to spare, I was unable to turn volume knob past 60% as it was just too loud. I have also been changing from Sumo to Mesa M600 fx loop in to compare the Sumo against 600w Mosfet. The Mosfet is slightly warmer and has the typical mosfet low end girth, the Sumo is very transparent and responsive and actually seems to cut through a little better with the same EQ settings on the Subway. I have tried a Subway 800 and “from memory” the Sumo/Subway combo sounds very close to the 800 and most certainly is as loud and has the same authority I liked in the 800. I do use the deep switch with the Sumo, not with the M600. I would say the Sumo/Subway is about as loud as the Mesa M600. Like most D Class amps I doubt the Sumo gives the full 1000w all the time, but it is certainly not lacking in any way, it is crisp, has enough weight and has consistent volume/tone. I use Tecamp L212s that have a wide frequency response, the Subway/Sumo is a good match. The unit is passively cooled and does get hot, after a 3 hour session it is quite warm to the touch but not mega hot and when switched off cools down quickly so heat dissipation seems pretty efficient. What I really like is that I now control both my amp and DI sound from my pedal board, and clearly I can use any amp with an fx loop as power amp so we are talking consistent sound/setup regardless of venue. Time will tell if I start missing my full sized Mesa, but for now I am very very happy and the Sumo is delivering the goods. Very impressed, especially given it’s price point. Some pics: https://imgur.com/gallery/ohjQF

I most certainly will!

I owned 3 of them in 5 string models in the late 90’s. Truly great sounding jazz basses. Astonishing value for money.

After acquiring and really liking the Mesa Subway Preamp pedal, I decided I would like to buy a Poweramp - ideally small - to give me a small but powerful gigging set Ultimately ended up buying this: GSS Sumo 1000 Thus far I am blown away by the size and power. My Mesa MPulse 600 is a very loud amp, the Subway/Sumo combo is easily as loud whilst giving me the Mesa tone I like at a fraction of the weight. Pretty good on “girth” too! Still needs lots of road testing etc, but so far so good!

Yes, but how do you pronounce this Gibson you speak of? Is the G silent?

I am happily GAS free re the AOU, my normal AO is more than fine. But interesting bit of kit. I am quite a fan of DSP, but - for me - one nut that still needs cracking is dirt modeling. It sounds “close but no cigar”, it’s like driving a Ferrari Dino or Porsche 944.

I get that totally. I have the exact same with the Bogarts, they enable things I just can’t do on other basses, and then they just grow or become part of you and what once was “ugly” becomes beautiful.

Sorry, but this just looks like a love child of swamp thing and darth vader. I am not overly concerned about “ugly” - my Bogarts are an acquired taste too - if it sounds good and ergonomics are spot on, so fingers crossed then... a very small market for it I imagine.