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Old 09-30-2009, 06:47 PM
Larry Pattis's Avatar
Larry Pattis Larry Pattis is offline
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Default BagAmp in the house!

Well, okay...I have one.

Where to start....?

This is going to be a real stream-of-consciousness report...and perhaps more of a cursory/initial overview. Testing against the Bose will have to wait...

Initial impression: The BagAmp is one really nifty piece of gear.

I can see that I will be using this amp for *all* my house-concert gigs, and also for larger gigs as well. I can't predict yet what room-size will be the upper-limits for the BA, but I'm guessing in the 100-150 people range. I could be wrong.

I'm getting to inaugurate my new upstairs office/lounge/recording space with the testing of the BA...it's an irregularly shaped, large room...enough size to crank things a little bit. Larger than 25 x 25.

First surprise: the BagAmp is substantially smaller than the SoloAmp. The SA requires a full size speaker-stand, the BA comes with a much smaller stand. The quality of the stand is great, and any smaller (especially the footprint) would be too small...but it seems to be "just right," and this keeps the overall weight of the carry-bag down.

Don't mistake the size difference for a bad thing...it's just truly portable (we don't need no stinkin' wheels), and the quality is definitely there...again, it was just a surprise.

The BA has got a very low noise/hum threshold when turned on and plugged in direct...this pleases me, because it will be used (for me) with mostly extremely acute listening circumstances. It got a little noisier when I plugged in my Bose T1 mixing board (primarily how I would use this gear), but not unacceptably so. I have yet to plug in the PAMDI, but I'm sure it will be great.

The BagAmp basic EQ and Reverb controls have reasonable function to them, but I would likely use my own reverb 100% of the time, and the EQ is going to happen with either the T1 or the Highlander PAMDI. If my other gear malfunctioned I could "get by," but it would not be my first choice, based on my fairly stiff requirements for super-high-quality functionality in these areas. As far as *I* am concerned, they could have left all EQ and reverb *off* of this unit, and that would have suited me just fine! The built-in reverb is rather "present," and if I had to use it for my guitar, it would be right at it's lowest noticeable setting.

Okay, I did not want to get caught up in the minutia...the basic thing for me is, how good does it sound?

Quite good, Darned good. Really quite darned good.

It's full, warm, crisp, and present....and there is plenty of "oomph". Plugged in directly (HIghlander IP-1 active pick-up) I was at 1/2 of the Master and about 1/3 of the channel-gain...and that was as loud as I wanted to go in my big room. Plenty of headroom for a larger and/or noisy room.

I can't really get too much more specific (as of this moment) as to the overall sound quality and qualities. I already said "full, warm, crisp, and present," and this is true...it's a really nice sounding piece of equipment.

It also appears that it has similar "projection" qualities as the Bose gear...I can stand 5-7 feet in front of the BagAmp, and it's not too loud for me...and 25 feet away it has similar volume, so the sound propagation is good. This was the main area that the SoloAmp lost me on...when the volume was "right" for the audience, I could not be standing in front of it, without being rather uncomfortable.

So the BagAmp is a REAL piece of gear...and so far (after 2 hours of home-testing) it seems to be a real-nice piece of gear, as well.

I'm not sure who else might be getting one of these first units (that were apparently air-freighted, and not currently "on the boat")...but I know there will be other reports eventually...and *I* will be able to report in more depth over the next several days.

Well, that was quite a bit longer than I wanted (I didn't even get to comment on the carry-bag...it's "just right"), but that's the way it is....
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  #2  
Old 09-30-2009, 06:56 PM
kramster kramster is offline
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So there is such a thing?? Nice. Great report too. Thank you.
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Old 09-30-2009, 08:35 PM
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thanks Larry. It sounds like a great piece of gear. I'm looking forward to reading more reviews of it.

and who knows, maybe I'll be lucky enough to win the Oct. giveaway
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Old 09-30-2009, 08:35 PM
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Thanks, Larry. I know how discerning you are so this review was really valuable. It must be good.
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Old 09-30-2009, 08:55 PM
aboutjack aboutjack is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by royd View Post
thanks Larry. It sounds like a great piece of gear. I'm looking forward to reading more reviews of it.

and who knows, maybe I'll be lucky enough to win the Oct. giveaway
Maybe so... Our drawing method is pretty unpredictable. My wife scrolls through all the email without looking, and puts her finger on the screen. I look, and whoever's there gets the thing. :-) There may be under a thousand candidates in this current drawing because of the short time involved.

Last edited by aboutjack; 09-30-2009 at 09:12 PM.
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Old 09-30-2009, 09:26 PM
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Larry Pattis Larry Pattis is offline
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Well, the evening has progressed, and I've gotten a much better feel for running the BagAmp...I'm mostly enjoying things with the Highlander PAMDI as the guitar pre-amp right now, with my Dr. Scientist Radical Red Reverberator for effects.

Folks, no kidding, this amp is the real-deal...it's a terrific sound...and my wife, who usually ignores stuff like this came up and listened for a while...she was really digging the sound.

I was afraid to say too much in my earlier post, and I'm afraid to go overboard now...but suffice it to say that IMO Mr. Campbell has a massive winner of a product on his hands, and when the for-sale units hit the shores I think there is going to be a bit of an uproar (in a good way) over this amp.

No kidding.

P.S. I had that small noise-problem when I plugged in my Bose T1 mixing board into the BagAmp, but I figured out it was an electrical problem, and purely related to the T1...so all is well.

Nighty-night...
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Last edited by Larry Pattis; 09-30-2009 at 09:33 PM.
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Old 09-30-2009, 10:05 PM
DMZ DMZ is offline
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Great to hear a positive review about this product. Hope to see more and maybe try one someday. Thanks guys.
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Old 09-30-2009, 10:59 PM
lpa53 lpa53 is offline
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Larry, I've been waiting to hear your review ever since I heard about the other forum's thread where Jack was looking for testing volunteers. Glad to hear it is indeed real and good-sounding. I bought an SA the other week but don't all the additional gear you have. but with the BA's lower cost I guess I could spring fo some.

One of the worries about the BA expressed on some recent threads has been that the speaker surfaces are unprotected and could be easily damaged. From your brief examination does this appear to be a potential problem?

Are the speakers different from the SA in that they point in differring directions?

Also, when you add on your other gear to the BA does it make it more comparable to the Soloamp in portability. even so, the BA is soon to offering its own odd-ons and how Jack will handle all those in a still light and portable package will be something to see.

Still eager to try one out...
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Old 09-30-2009, 11:18 PM
alohachris alohachris is offline
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Default I Apologize Jack - Good Luck With Your New Product1

Aloha Friends & Jack Campbell,

You know, when it took so long for the product to materialize after advanced fanfare and your hyping Jack, my natural NYC BS Deflector just naturally kicked in. I thought we were being had and offered some rather unvarnished taunts to you Jack. I'm sorry for my vitriol. I tend to rage against the machine at times. And I couldn't see that that was exactly what you are doing with this product of yours.

I sincerely apologize to you, Jack. Hey if our esteemed and respected friend Larry Pattis gives it a thumbs up, then I'll eat my words, change my tune and offer sincerest congratulations of its maiden voyage. Though I'm sure it'll take awhile longer than most places, I look forward to trying out the Bagamp as soon as it hits the Island here.

Jack, I guess you also learned something about letting the cat out of the bag too early, huh? Eh, that's why we're here - to learn and help each other along.

All the best.

A Hui Hou!
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Old 09-30-2009, 11:39 PM
aboutjack aboutjack is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alohachris View Post
Jack, I guess you also learned something about letting the cat out of the bag too early, huh? Eh, that's why we're here - to learn and help each other along.

All the best.

A Hui Hou!
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Hi Chris,

No problem -- at all. Look... we're poor here, having to pull together all sorts of cooperative deals amongst several parties behind the scenes to get this manufacturing deal done and a real product to market. I have no cash, but I have moxie, chutzpah, and tenacity enough for 20 normal people -- and enough raw stupidity to simply not understand the word no. So, that's what I've used to drag this thing from a great idea to being a great product. As I've said elsewhere, I want to repeatedly and profusely thank my primary partners in this deal, Collins America in Nashville, and our China manufacturing partner. It's their money and backing that got me this far with this project.

When you have no money, the way you get attention to a great new product (and dealers and distributors) is to do anything possible to create buzz. So, that's what I've done... talked about this product everywhere, incessantly, every way possible for as long as needed.

We got here.

We'll be filling retail orders in the USA and Europe in 3-weeks.

Note that there are a handful of early seed products that will be hitting people's doors as UPS does its thing over the next few days, so I expect more online reactions to begin appearing.

And, finally, maybe I can take a break from telling everybody how darned wonderful this thing is, and simply shut up and let real users tell the tale. :-)

Last edited by aboutjack; 10-07-2009 at 08:00 PM.
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  #11  
Old 10-01-2009, 05:58 AM
Towzer Towzer is offline
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Default Bagamp

I am wondering how the vocals sound on it
That will be the deal breaker for a lot of gigging musicians
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Old 10-01-2009, 06:22 AM
lpa53 lpa53 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Towzer View Post
I am wondering how the vocals sound on it
That will be the deal breaker for a lot of gigging musicians
You beat me to the question! And still wondering about speaker durability questions raised ...
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Old 10-01-2009, 06:34 AM
jackstrat jackstrat is offline
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And here is what I said when the naysayers were bashing the bagamp:

This reminds me of the euro-jig (dovetail jig for woodworkers) . An artist's rendering of a futuristic dovetail jig was perhaps prematurely released to the woodworking world. 99% of the posts on the various boards said it was a hoax, that the inventor was blowing smoke, that there was no way it could work or meet the inventor's claims.

Long story short, it took a few years and several delays but the jig is a sensation and is very much real. I own two.

Any startup by individual inventors will be painful and require tons of dollars and will bring tons of headaches.

So I say to the Bagamp man, bring it on. None of us are holding our breath, but we all welcome alternatives at decent prices.

By the way, and I may be wrong since I was not a big Bose fan, but hasn't the Bose (or at least a scaled down version) come down in price since the release of the Fishman SoloAmp?

Peace, Love, and Understanding...Give the guy a chance. Plus, my understanding is that he has not accepted $$$ yet, but will soon. Also the price went up $100 ($699).

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...+bagamp&page=2



JackL
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  #14  
Old 10-01-2009, 06:36 AM
zb0430 zb0430 is offline
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Interested to hear one for myself some time. Hopefully sooner than later!
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Old 10-01-2009, 07:10 AM
gordee gordee is offline
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Larry.
Are you using just the BagAmp by itself or with one of the other components such as the sub? I only did a cursory look at the website so I don't know what's included or needed for a complete system.
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