Reviewer Benjamin Loy, Player for 7 years, NYC
Manufacturer Acoustic Image
Model Contra
Price $675.00

Dimensions 14"high x 16" deep
Wattage 300 Watts RMS
Speaker(s) 5" high/midrange driver, 10" downfiring woofer
EQ Volume, Input Impedance, Bass, Mid, Treble, "Brite", & Master
Volume
Effects Effects Loop
Controls Power Switch
Other Balanced XLR out, External cabinet output.

This is one excellent amplifier. Volume, punch, and CLARITY more than adequate for most gigs. Low end presence is fat and punchy without getting bloomy. It's optimally voiced to work as an amp for an acoustic upright, but it works very well with electric basses too. And the size...this thing is unbelieveably small for the amount of sound it puts out. The downfiring woofer contributes to this...turns the whole stage into a subwoofer...

It is expensive (not as much as the Euphonic Audio cabs), but $600 is far less than you would pay for a back operation after lugging a heavy amp around for twenty or so years. 300 watts and not much bigger than a Polytone...I'm hooked.

I haven't tried it on an obscenely loud gig...I imagine it wouldn't perform as well as my GK 800/Acme 2x10 in a modern rock setting without PA support, but it definately delivers the goods for playing in combos, trios, even a jump blues band with loud electric guitar/drums/3 piece horn section.

They're still pretty scarce (I bought mine from David Gage in NYC), but if you find one you can probably take it out on a gig before you buy it to find out if it'll really work for you.

The only thing I'm iffy about is its road-worthiness...the speaker grilles are made out of plastic which flexes when I push it. Who knows, it might take a lot of punishment...I'll post an update in a couple months...


Construction 80%
(Looks pretty rugged...we'll see...)
Loudness 110%
Clarity 110%
Tone 110%
Size/Bulkiness 110%
(Ahh...subway trips are so much easier...)
Value 100%
Overall 99%

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