TC BAM200 first impressions

[cbd]

I've been wanting one of these super tiny bass heads for a while, but could never find much in the way of demos or reviews of any of them (TC, Trace or Warwick). However last week I saw an ex-demo BAM200 for sale so thought I'd go for it, and it arrived this morning I've been using a GK MB200 for the last 5 years or so, so that's what I'm comparing it to.

There were a few things I couldn't find out before I bought it, so in no particular order:

- There's a load of preamp compression available, depending on where you set the gain (also affected by diming the EQ, so I guess the compression is happening after EQ). This even happens with the master volume turned down, so this is a nice change from my MB200 where you only get the punchy limiter sound at deafening volumes.

- It's waaaay less scooped EQ-wise than the MB200. There's definitely something subtle happening in the preamp making the tone more interesting than just using a PA speaker, but it's subtle, and in general it seems pretty clean. A P-bass and my active 6-string both sound awesome plugged straight in. However, my series-wired Jazz (series to add more mids to counteract the GK scooped EQ) is now pretty honky and nasty, at least with the EQ all at 12 o'clock.

- Background hiss isn't silent, but it's pretty low. I tried a few small heads last year (the Markbass Nano 300 and the Warwick LWA500), and this is about the same as the Markbass. (The LWA500 was _silent_, I'd have kept it if the compressor worked). Unfortunately there is a fan, which has just come on after 10 minutes of bedroom-volume noodling. It's no louder than a laptop fan really so I'm not too worried, but worth knowing about if you care about fan noise.

- I'm quite enjoying the sound, it feels very "balanced" - I usually roll off quite a bit of the highs, either on the bass or on the amp, but even then all the notes are clear, e.g. I can play 5ths low down and it's not a pile of mud. It works a lot better in the acoustically-dubious corner of a small room than the GK, which is very bassy by default and can be quite difficult to tame.

Hopefully that's interesting/useful to someone. If there's anything anyone would like me to try out or find out then do let me know.

Cheers!

[Phil Starr]

Interested in this, I've been contemplating building a lightweight small combo for semi acoustic work and the odd open mic, maybe for rehearsals too when drummist brings a cut down rig. I've been looking at a number of Chinese made circuit boards with an aim to building the amp but the total cost of these is approaching the TC BAM by the time you've factored in the case. Using the BAM seems a no brainer and it could potentially be unplugged and used as a back up amp.

So yes it would be great to hear what you make of it over time, maybe even a few clips of how it sounds?

[Woodinblack]

I got my BAM200 when behringer were doing the ebay bstock things, so mine was £85. i run it at home into my BC112 cab, sounds great. All my home practice is through it.

[Phil Starr]

Look forward to hearing it at the next Bass Bash through one of our BC designs

[Woodinblack]

Yes, true I can bring it, only needs a spare pocket!

[cbd]

On 26/05/2021 at 12:25, Phil Starr said:

Interested in this, I've been contemplating building a lightweight small combo for semi acoustic work and the odd open mic, maybe for rehearsals too when drummist brings a cut down rig. I've been looking at a number of Chinese made circuit boards with an aim to building the amp but the total cost of these is approaching the TC BAM by the time you've factored in the case. Using the BAM seems a no brainer and it could potentially be unplugged and used as a back up amp.

So yes it would be great to hear what you make of it over time, maybe even a few clips of how it sounds?

Of course! I think I can probably cobble together a quick demo of some kind, give me a week or so...

I'd be interested to see what you come up with as a lightweight small combo. My current cab is a 2x6 I built a few years ago. I didn't quite know how it would turn out but it's actually pretty versatile - I've done a lot more than acoustic stuff with it (like function sets at weddings with loud drummers) and never run out of power! I'm curious how the TC will compare to the MB200 once that stuff starts happening again.

[Phil Starr]

29 minutes ago, cbd said:

Of course! I think I can probably cobble together a quick demo of some kind, give me a week or so...

I'd be interested to see what you come up with as a lightweight small combo. My current cab is a 2x6 I built a few years ago. I didn't quite know how it would turn out but it's actually pretty versatile - I've done a lot more than acoustic stuff with it (like function sets at weddings with loud drummers) and never run out of power! I'm curious how the TC will compare to the MB200 once that stuff starts happening again.

Funnily enough one of the things I'm playing around with at the moment is a pair of 6" cabs. Probably though  I will end up with a single 10 and a lightweight horn.

And thanks it would be good to hear what you come up with.

[StickyDBRmf]

On 26/05/2021 at 16:16, Woodinblack said:

I got my BAM200 when behringer were doing the ebay bstock things, so mine was £85. i run it at home into my BC112 cab, sounds great. All my home practice is through it.

How's the Railboard sound thru it? And is the BC112 a bass cab?

[Woodinblack]

8 hours ago, StickyDBRmf said:

How's the Railboard sound thru it? And is the BC112 a bass cab?

Sounds fine, its quite a colourless amp. Yes, the BC112 is the basschat bass cab.

[cbd]

Following up... Another thing I've just noticed is the _tiny_ rubber feet on these things.

I didn't spot it before because I was putting it on top of other gear, but the feet on these are only 5mm tall, which isn't enough to clear the handle on my cabinet.

Fortunately they screw on, so it should be straightforward to swap them for some bigger ones once some longer screws arrive. (I think they're M3 but we'll find out for sure in a couple of days).

[Woodinblack]

10 minutes ago, cbd said:

Following up... Another thing I've just noticed is the _tiny_ rubber feet on these things.

I didn't spot it before because I was putting it on top of other gear, but the feet on these are only 5mm tall, which isn't enough to clear the handle on my cabinet.

They are fairly well proportioned though - I mean the amp is only 35mm high in the case, I certainly wouldn't want the feet to be any higher than that.

[cbd]

Yeah, the low profile of it does look cool. I just need to stop it wobbling about and rattling on top of the cab! The bigger feet I've got lying around are only about ~1cm so I don't think it'll look too silly.

[Downunderwonder]

12 hours ago, cbd said:

Following up... Another thing I've just noticed is the _tiny_ rubber feet on these things.

I didn't spot it before because I was putting it on top of other gear, but the feet on these are only 5mm tall, which isn't enough to clear the handle on my cabinet.

Fortunately they screw on, so it should be straightforward to swap them for some bigger ones once some longer screws arrive. (I think they're M3 but we'll find out for sure in a couple of days).

 

Be very careful with substitute screws that they aren't too long. If they go through to the amp guts beyond the captive nut it's all over sometimes.

[bornagainbass65]

I just got one of these to use as a back up amp and it sounds great for such a tiny unit. One question, it seems to get quite warm when you have been playing for about 40 mins or so.  Is that normal for these units? It hasn't cut out or done anything odd, and the fan appears to be working and the vents aren't covered.   I don't think it is overheating but when I put my hand on the top casing, well, if it was a radiator you would definitely know that it was on.  I'll take it to a rehearsal tonight and see if it gets through it.

[Woodinblack]

31 minutes ago, bornagainbass65 said:

I just got one of these to use as a back up amp and it sounds great for such a tiny unit. One question, it seems to get quite warm when you have been playing for about 40 mins or so.  Is that normal for these units?

Yes, its putting out a lot of power and doesn't have much surface area, so you would expect it to get fairly warm. I only tend to use mine as a backup so it gets used mostly at home. even then it gets warm.

[bornagainbass65]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Yes, its putting out a lot of power and doesn't have much surface area, so you would expect it to get fairly warm. I only tend to use mine as a backup so it gets used mostly at home. even then it gets warm.

Thanks Woodinblack, that's helpful. I'll give it a test tonight.

[Linus27]

Interesting reading, thank you for posting. I'm thinking of getting either one of these, an Elf or the new Warwick Gnome as a back up and home practice rig. I think the BAM200 is the cheapest of the 3.