Small and light, yes, but it comes with great power and punch. Meet the king of compact bass amps.

AER amp one

WHAT IT IS: Compact bass amplifier combo.
LUST FACTOR: Big, powerful sound and adherence to high-fidelity reproduction. Tonally versatile. Light.
REALITY CHECK: Nothing.
PRICE: RM6,770
DISTRIBUTOR: THE GUITAR STORE (03- 9133 2822 / 2300 2822 / 7710 5822)

LIGHT and compact enough to lug around without hurting my back or shoulders, powerful enough to hold its own against the wall of noise generated by the drums and distortion-laden electric guitars, and electronically very stable – this would be the perfect compact bass combo for me.

The real deal: The AER amp one ... small, and yet, so big in sound.

Of course, it has to sound good, too ...

A number of compact bass amp combos have passed through my hands, and none passed all the criteria.

My last such run-in was with a Mesa Walkabout 12 – after a few sessions of carting it around, I decided it didn’t meet the weight requirement, although a burlier bassist may have no issue in this department.

Then, the AER amp one arrived.

The German company is renowned as a maker of compact amplification for acoustic guitars and upright basses, so it was only a matter of time before “electric” territory got some attention.

Built big and small

This combo mates a 200-watt amplifier to a 10-inch neodymium driver from Italy’s Sica, which AER says is best suited for small bass-reflex enclosures. The package weighs 13.5kg, very comfortable, for me at least.

AER uses a substantial power supply to drive the analogue amplifier; the company has forged its own alternative approach here, eschewing the digital path.

The cabinet is made of 15mm birch plywood and finished in water-based, acrylic black spatter, giving it a rugged look. A handle is provided on top, and included is a case with a cutout for the handle.

The speaker is protected by a metal grille, and a slit port at the rear takes care of the reflex loading.

Each combo measures 396 x 320 x 285mm (h/w/d) – pretty handy to transport in a small car, or even bike or bus!

The electronic components are mounted at the back and top edge of the cabinet, and isolated from the speaker enclosure.

Arrayed on top are a single input (with a button for high/low gain), gain control, clip LED, mute button, equaliser controls that work in tandem with the “tone balance” section, compressor and master volume.

The EQ section has controls for bass, mid and treble, with frequency/bandwidth selectors for the midrange, bass boost and a “colour” (a contouring mid-filter) button. The balance/intensity controls additionally let you fine-tune the amp one for room requirements.

The compressor section has an engage button, and threshold and ratio controls.

At the back are the power receptacle and switch, pre/post balanced DI output/level, and a variety of connections options – headphones, sub output, line out, footswitch (for mute and effects), send/return, insert (pre/post-EQ), aux in/level and tuner out. There’s a fan here, too, protected by a grille.

The amp one is substantially built (in Germany), like all other AER amplification products, and should withstand years of robust use.

Never fazed

Initially, I used the amp one for solo sessions and jams with my prog-rock outfit, and this was where the combo passed the hardest test with flying colours. Set near the drums, and with a loud guitar amp in operation, the amp one could be heard clearly, without seeming to work too hard.

My Rickenbacker 4001v63 bass has a high output, so to ensure the preamp didn’t clip, I settled for a low gain setting and relied on the master volume to get the level I wanted. The results were indisputable.

I also used a Sadowsky Vintage Jazz and Epiphone Thunderbird Goth with impressive results. Later, I had the bassist of my acoustic-electric band plugging in with an Epiphone El Capitan – equally effective!

This is a superb and solid bass amp, with lows that belied its 10-inch speaker. Of course, it didn’t sound as deep as a 15-inch cab, but the lows were tight and big, with loads of growl and punch, and allowing the character of one’s bass to emerge. A good instrument certainly helped explore the amp’s full potential.

The colour button is an interesting feature - engage it and you’re taken into slap territory, with better definition and sparkle, yet with the lows still snappy and substantial. Disengaging this mode made the amp one sound thicker and murkier, which will suit some styles.

I didn’t have to cycle through settings to get an addictive tone – mostly, I worked with the EQ flat.

The compressor was useful, allowing subtle variations in tone, and I left it on most of the time for better control of dynamics.

There was never a time the amp one was caught out, but this statement must be taken in the context of the environment in which it was required to operate. You can supplement the amp one with an active sub-woofer and this apart, it didn’t betray a chink in its armour.

A total sell

Such capabilities and quality come at a price, but considering that AER’s upright bass amps have price tags that run into five figures, the amp one’s cost seems almost modest.

It goes loud, is built like a tank, punches hard and seldom loses control, and has features that ensure maximum flexibility.

There’s nothing more to ask for in compact bass amplification. I’m totally sold.