TC Electronics Bam200 thread

[stereoplayer]

There’s not a lot of threads regarding this little head. So I’m starting a permanent thread devoted to the Class Head TC Electronics Bam200 bass head.

NAD the Bam200
 
I tested it through a 4 ohm 18” Acoustic 301 cabinet. It’s probably not the ideal cab for test this…I previously test a MB200 through it and it sounded great.

My other bass speaker cabs are loaded up in my car for gigs.
I got this head for small gigs/stages that wouldn’t fit my mini stereo GK/MB rig.
And as a backup. 

1st impressions…

It seems to have plenty of power in regards to the rated 200 watts at 4 ohms.
My impression is that it sounds kind of raw if that makes sense. It doesn’t sound as smooth as some other heads I own.

I had to crank the bass control to get the bass oomph I wanted. The same for treble control on the crunch. The mids were ok. 
The manual states to turn the gain to where the indicator LED is just starting to blink. I found that I needed to set the gain a little higher to get the punch that I wanted. More experiments to come.

I’m perplexed by the sales ad stating that the head weighs 1 lb. And the manual says 2 lbs. It is very small and dense. It must be really packed tight inside.

I’m sure I will keep it and the price is very affordable. 

Specs from the sales ad:

Brand TC Electronic
Output Wattage 200 Watts
Item Dimensions LxWxH 6.46 x 5.24 x 1.69 inches
Item Weight 454 Grams
Model Name BAM200 Ultra-Compact 200 Watt Bass Head
About this item 
 

 

200 Watt portable micro bass head amplifier for stage and studio

Ultra-compact and lightweight design for ultimate portability

Cutting-edge Class-D amplifier technology for incredible power and sonic performance

TC Electronic Preamplifier design for authentic sound and feel of a tube amp

3-Band EQ section provides ultimate tone shaping control

 

 

I’m sure I’ll post more in the future. But feel free to add to the discussion. 


Although I did mention another brand amp head, let make this thread mainly about the TC Electronics Bam200.

Edited June 15, 2022 by stereoplayer

[stereoplayer]

I did notice the cooling fan come on after 15-20 minutes of playing.  It was pretty quiet though.

[JohnDaBass]

Great little amps, I built one into a micro combo with a 6ins Faital driver.

 

[wrinkleygit]

Love mine to bits, gig it regularly with a 112 Ashdown cab, 8ohm, plenty of bottom with either of my P basses, I was confused initially by the manual info on the gain led, until I realised it blinks green when a signal is detected, then through amber as the gain is increased, finally to red on overload, something the manual fails to mention.

  At £129 it’s amazing value for money, never had issues and would certainly buy another if it ever needs replacement.

[stereoplayer]

26 minutes ago, wrinkleygit said:

Love mine to bits, gig it regularly with a 112 Ashdown cab, 8ohm, plenty of bottom with either of my P basses, I was confused initially by the manual info on the gain led, until I realised it blinks green when a signal is detected, then through amber as the gain is increased, finally to red on overload, something the manual fails to mention.

  At £129 it’s amazing value for money, never had issues and would certainly buy another if it ever needs replacement.

Thanks for that, I read the manual but  I failed to realize how it worked that way. Very helpful!

 

I was turning up the gain to achieve enough volume.  I will try it more now next time.

Edited June 16, 2022 by stereoplayer

[stereoplayer]

4 hours ago, wrinkleygit said:

Love mine to bits, gig it regularly with a 112 Ashdown cab, 8ohm, plenty of bottom with either of my P basses, I was confused initially by the manual info on the gain led, until I realised it blinks green when a signal is detected, then through amber as the gain is increased, finally to red on overload, something the manual fails to mention.

  At £129 it’s amazing value for money, never had issues and would certainly buy another if it ever needs replacement.

I just checked my gain LED’s, they do not have an amber light between the green and red.  Maybe it was changed at some point.

But, you can turn the gain up pretty far before the red starts blinking.

Edited June 16, 2022 by stereoplayer

[Aalin]

On 15/06/2022 at 22:39, stereoplayer said:

The manual states to turn the gain to where the indicator LED is just starting to blink. I found that I needed to set the gain a little higher to get the punch that I wanted. More experiments to come.
I’m perplexed by the sales ad stating that the head weighs 1 lb. And the manual says 2 lbs. It is very small and dense. It must be really packed tight inside.

With only 200 W, you need to set the gain quite high to have a good level. So the light turns quickly to green and stay there.

The weight of that amp is more around 2 lbs instead of 1.

For the EQ, here is a file to know how to set the TC 200 Bam flat. Could help, after every body can do his own.

ToneStack BAM200.pdf

[stereoplayer]

36 minutes ago, Aalin said:

With only 200 W, you need to set the gain quite high to have a good level. So the light turns quickly to green and stay there.

The weight of that amp is more around 2 lbs instead of 1.

For the EQ, here is a file to know how to set the TC 200 Bam flat. Could help, after every body can do his own.

ToneStack BAM200.pdf 463.67 kB · 2 downloads

Thanks. Very helpful.

[stereoplayer]

Well… I tried it on a gig last night. TC head/one 4 Ohm MarkBass 102 cab. Maybe turned up half way. I was starting to kinda like the tone…it cut into the mix very well.

It started cutting in/out after 12 songs…very hot. I could leave my hand on the top of it very long. No smells of electronic burning.
I had my other GK head with me and it…as usual…sounded great and most importantly, it didn’t fail me.

As much as I want to keep it…it’s going back…

if I get one super cheap, I may get another just for around the house…but after one gig/test it failed me.

Edited June 25, 2022 by stereoplayer

[Woodinblack]

Was the fan working flat out at that time? they do get hot but shouldn't get that hot.

[stereoplayer]

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Was the fan working flat out at that time? they do get hot but shouldn't get that hot.

I didn’t take notice at the time whether the fan was working or not…it was cutting  out  mid song. It was very hot, even the ac cord end and speaker plug was hot.  The metal case seemed to be burn you hand hot!

The fan worked a couple of days ago when I tested at my home.

 

I already returned it and even got a credit on my account already.  I really wanted another GK MB-200 but Amazon didn’t have any, my credit was on my account at Amazon.

 

I did get an ELF class D head.  I’ve wanted one of those too for a while.  Although…twice the price or so.

 

We’ll see what happens next.

Edited June 25, 2022 by stereoplayer

[lewiswhitebass]

I gigged mine last night at a wedding because my Darkglass AO 500 is being serviced (thats for another thread)

 

I agree with the above comments about having to boost the low end to get the oomph you need to drive a band out of the head. Through my Zilla 1x12 it was holding its own but if you play in a loud band or have a loud drummer it might start to run out of puff. Last nights venue was about the size of a basketball court with a high ceiling and the head did just fine. 

 

it does get rather hot even with the cooling fan on but nothing too crazy.

 

For the money its a superb head that I have gigged many times and would warmly recommend to anyone as a backup head or a head for small gigs. 

[Franticsmurf]

I rehearsed last night using mine. It was on for more than 2.5 hours and at the end of the night it was hot but not too hot to touch, more like a newly activated hand warmer. Ideal for winter gigs. 😀

[Stealth]

I want one

[stereoplayer]

1 hour ago, Stealth said:

I want one

Very affordable!  I’ll get another I’m sure!

[Aalin]

On 6/25/2022 at 7:34 PM, stereoplayer said:

It was very hot, even the ac cord end and speaker plug was hot.  The metal case seemed to be burn you hand hot!

 

Reading us, It seems that some of us say that it can become very hot, and others don’t.

Mine stay cool.
Are there good numbers and bad one ???

Edited June 28, 2022 by Aalin

[Woodinblack]

Mine gets hot, but not burning hot

[MungoBass]

17 hours ago, Stealth said:

I want one

 

You could always look to see if there is a nice, nearly new boxed one for sale on Basschat!!!!  😁

 

They are great little amps!

[raelalt]

I plugged my new BAM200 into this speaker cabinet (Sound Town 2x10 also new) and am getting very little sound out of it. This is with both gain and volume set at max. Is this a mismatch or is something faulty?

 

https://www.soundtown.com/products/bgc210or

 

Okay I am officially an idiot. After swapping out amps, cables and then basses, the last was what made me realize that the battery for the active circuitry in the first bass (also brand new) tested was dead. But that brings up another question though, how do I keep the battery from draining so quickly (I'm new to active basses)? Will unplugging the instrument cable from the bass shut down the circuitry and safe battery life?

Edited May 21 by raelalt
I'm a bonehead.

[BreadBin]

3 hours ago, raelalt said:

I plugged my new BAM200 into this speaker cabinet (Sound Town 2x10 also new) and am getting very little sound out of it. This is with both gain and volume set at max. Is this a mismatch or is something faulty?

 

https://www.soundtown.com/products/bgc210or

 

Okay I am officially an idiot. After swapping out amps, cables and then basses, the last was what made me realize that the battery for the active circuitry in the first bass (also brand new) tested was dead. But that brings up another question though, how do I keep the battery from draining so quickly (I'm new to active basses)? Will unplugging the instrument cable from the bass shut down the circuitry and safe battery life?

Yes, always unplug an active bass as the socket is the switch (in nearly every case).

[Franticsmurf]

9 hours ago, raelalt said:

I plugged my new BAM200 into this speaker cabinet (Sound Town 2x10 also new) and am getting very little sound out of it. This is with both gain and volume set at max. Is this a mismatch or is something faulty?

 

https://www.soundtown.com/products/bgc210or

 

Okay I am officially an idiot. After swapping out amps, cables and then basses, the last was what made me realize that the battery for the active circuitry in the first bass (also brand new) tested was dead. But that brings up another question though, how do I keep the battery from draining so quickly (I'm new to active basses)? Will unplugging the instrument cable from the bass shut down the circuitry and safe battery life?

As above, always unplug. And keep a spare battery handy, just in case. I've found that rechargeable ones don't tend to last as long but are handy as a spare.