Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	Jay Storey
Manufacturer	Acoustic
Model	220 Head
Price	$330 (in 1978), $150 or so used today

Dimensions	28" w x 6" h x 12" d about 30 lbs.
Wattage	125 @ 4 ohms, 160 @ 2ohms (5% distortion!)
EQ	passive bass, mid, treble, 5 band Graphic
Controls	Volume, 3 EQ pots, power boost control bright switch
Other	Pre-Amp Out, Power Amp in, Hi & Lo Input Jacks,
	Footswtitchable (Proprietary Switch) Graphic EQ
	Two 1/4" speaker jacks

I bought this amp new in 1978 and used it heavily (3 - 5 nights per week) for ten years. In 1978 it kicked serious butt, but of course nowdays it's kind of wimpy. This is the most reliable piece of gear I've ever owned - one time it fell off my amp stack ONTO A CONCRETE FLOOR while I was playing. The only reason I noticed was the cabinets fell face down too and the sound got muffled - the amp was still going strong. I pulled it out to see if it worked about 6 months ago - it did, after 10 years of non-use. The ONLY thing to ever go wrong with this amp was that the power switch stopped functioning (power stayed on when you plugged it in). I opened it up and found one of the leads on a capacitor soldered to the switch had broken off (probably that concrete thing). Soldered it back on - problem fixed.

This would be a great piece for the bassist starting out - the only caveat is that the rated power (125 watts @ 4 ohms) is at 5% DISTORTION. Since many newer amps are rated at .05% this thing gets kinda furry long before you hit 125 watts. I never used it at 2 ohms, so I can't comment on the sound or longevity at 2 ohms. Another minor point is that the footswitchable graphic eq takes a special proprietary switch - since you pretty much have to use the graphic to get a decent tone this is not really a drawback.

I started to use it again occasionally, with a 2 x 10" cab, when playing small places, or when I don't feel like dragging out my rack rig, and considering it's vintage and specs, it does a good job. If the guitar and drums aren't raging in volume it still holds it's own.

Construction	100%
(I wished they built cars like this)
Loudness	50%
(100% in 1978, it's a little low on power now)
Clarity	50%
Tone	80%
(sounds good if you keep the mids real low)
Size/Bulkiness	80%
Value	90%
Overall	80%