By Graeme Carswell
I'm reviewing the TecAmp Puma 350 bass amp head. Having known that Richard Bona was recently signed as an endorsee to the brand was a good start for me when I did my research on this unit. I had played through Aguilar heads in rehearsal studios and had read online that these were as good if not better sounding so I knew I was onto a good sound with this.
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Amp Head
The head itself is extremely small in size (2U high, half a rack space wide) but are VERY big in sound! I tried it out recently at a gig in Sammy Dow's pub in Glasgow with a 3K rig behind the band, so I had to be 'heard' and this amp didn't come up short.
The amp is built with an ultra-flat input stage so your tone isn't muddied by electronics, delivering the true sound of your bass. There is an built-in effects loop to this head as well although when I used it it seemed very hissy when used with my Boss ME8B effects unit, a hiss which isn't reproduced when I use it before the preamp stage.
Controls
There is a four band tone shaping which has a huge range of tonal possibilities but for me its the TASTE control which adds a great dimension to this little head. All the way left the sound can be quite thin, but great if you're trying to dig in on the back pup for a funk tone as it filters out ultra-low frequencies but pronounces the mids, or all the way round to the right makes the bass sound like chocolate, I kid you not......real warmth and great for laying down a solid low-end groove. Set to the centre the control has no effect on the tone.
Other Features
Additional features like DI out with pre/post switch, Tuner out, LIne Out, two speakon outputs (no jack outputs here) are nice touches, combined with a selectable voltage switch at the back means that the travelling bassist (I should be that lucky) can take this head worldwide.
Conclusions
I really like this amphead. It's really versatile regards sound, its small and light when carrying around, but it also sounds much bigger than it really is.
I use this head with two Aguilar DB112 cabs which I'll be reviewing in a separate article soon.
For more impormation visit www.tec-amp.com
Specification
Here are the stats from the TecAmp site.
Preamp:
solid state preamp with gain, taste, lo, lomid, himid, hi, master controls, switchable mute, DI pre/post, XLR balanced DI out, serial effects loop, tuner out, line out, line in
Output RMS:
350 w (4 ohms), 250 w (8 ohms)
Power Amp:
Class AB amplifier module
Power Supply:
switching power supply
Cooling:
high quality temperature controlled fan
Dimensions (W x H x D):
10,6" x 3,1" x 10"
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About Graeme Carswell
Graeme has been playing bass for 19yrs now, having first found his love for the instrument after hearing The Spirit Of Radio by Rush. Graeme considers Geddy Lee as his teacher in the early days as he tried to learn all Rush's back catalogue, and since then has caught onto other inspiring artists like Marcus Miller, Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooton, Chris Squire, Adam Nitti, Jaco and many more to influence his playing. "The internet has been a godsend...it makes it so easy to find, hear and watch inspiring musicians from across the globe".
Graeme has played in venues up and down the UK from small pubs with thriving music scenes in Pollockshaws, to The Armadillo in Glasgow. Graeme is currently involved with recording artist John Gilmour Smith, who was signed last year to Aquarian Nation Records. Graeme recorded bass on this John's first album on the label, due for release in 2010. Other than this he has been involved with many corporate acts as 'dep of choice', with his own prog rock covers band and newly formed functions bands Graeme is busier than ever it seems and is happy to be part of the Songstuff collaborative and looks forward to reviewing gear and taking care of bass-related articles.
