Despite the trend toward combos, amp heads (especially for bass) have a lot in their favour. New on the scene is HH's 100 series range of both combos & heads. We selected their B100 bass head model for an IN TUNE test.

However appealing bass combos might seem (whether from a price or transportability angle), they remain a compromise. Put the - relatively - delicate electronic components of an amplifier inside the same cabinet as a bass speaker, shake them around whenever you hit the loud pedal, and it's not hard to see the potential damage that the vibrations alone can cause.

Still worse is that, in trying to keep their prices competitive, bass combo manufacturers often fit relatively low specification speakers into simple cabinets. Buy a head and you can choose your own speakers and cab design - not to mention safeguard your reliability by keeping the amp apart from the shaking caused by high sound pressure levels. This, by the way, isn't meant to be a criticism of HH Electronics, whose bass combos have always counted among the best of the breed, but it is true that, given the choice of a manufacturer's bass head or their combo alternative, a head coupled to your own speakers will often produce a better sound - and more reliably, too. To get down to specifics, HH's B100 head is part of this maker's recently launched '100 Series', a range comprising the L100 guitar combo, the K100 keyboard combo and head, and the matching B100 head/combo bass models along with, of course, separate cabs designed to mate with the keyboard and bass amp tops.

Without disparaging the HH B100 combo version (with its single HH 15" speaker) we chose to look at their new 100 watt head, to see how well it would perform with a selection of speakers specifically chosen to suit an individual player's style - this sort of flexibility being, we believe, what's needed for contemporary bassists who want to decide on a choice of speakers for themselves.

THE DETAILS

The new HH B100 is impressively light in weight; so much so in fact, at a mere 12 lbs., that you'd have to be a bit careful that you didn't pull it right off the top of your speakers - especially if you were using either a short or tightly coiled lead! The HH backs this low weight with a remarkably small size, measuring (approximately) a mere 19 1/2"x4 3/4"x12". Constructionally, the B100 follows this maker's tendency towards economical, neat graphic and physical design. The internal chassis is made of steel, the front and back panels are of extruded aluminium, and typically HH sturdy end-cap sections of ABS complete the picture - these last, incidentally, providing a pair of useful carrying handles.

Facilities on the HH are curiously sparse, but still manage to comprise what most club/pub semi-pro bassists will, practically, need. The back panel provides the usual IEC mains socket connection (a lead is supplied) along with a rocker switch for mains on/off. Cleverly, the mains input doubles as a fuse holder. For the most part, the HH's connections all share this back panel, and include a headphone socket (suitable for 4-16 Ohm cans), and twin speaker jack sockets (suited for a minimum 4 Ohms impedance level). At the far end of the rear panel you'll find a mono jack socket designed for use with a slave amp, plus effects send and return sockets. There is no provision for bi-amping use.

The HH's front panel is equally simple in layout and options. Twin jack inputs handle high and low sources, and following these comes the input processing stage, with a single Gain control with a 'pull' facility for compression. Allied to this feature are two LEDs, one green, one red, to display overload conditions where the compressor cuts in to reduce the possibility of distortion. The vital tone (Eq if you prefer) stage of this amp is also exceptionally straightforward, two rotary pots offering bass and treble (+10dB, -12dB at 100 Hz and +10dB, -12dB at 10kHz).

The remaining tonal control comes via a graphic equaliser offering ±12dB cut and boost across six frequencies; 70, 125, 350, 800, 2,000 and 4,000 Hz. Ending the front panel's controls are a single master volume control and a jack socket for 'Direct Inject' feeds (via a balanced stereo outlet).

IN USE

Although arguably a bit unexciting, the HH B100 head does its job extremely well. We used it to fire-up two cabs, one fitted with four 10" Celestion speakers, the other with a single Fane 15" driver, and the sound we got was both well controlled and very powerful. 100 watts isn't a lot for today's bassist (250 watts would be nearer the mark for bigger gigs, even given good speaker efficiency), but our chosen speaker setup gave a great sound for both slap/funk bass styles and more traditional approaches, with bags of tonal control in the vital frequency ranges through the easy to use and understand graphic equaliser. Volume-wise it would have suited any pub and most club-sized gigs.

On the question of maximum available power/volume, the HH's compressor works extremely well, the green LED lighting when peaks are hit, the red when the compressor's 30dB maximum is exceeded. Smooth and relatively hiss-free in operation, it provides the ability to both limit unwanted (distortion producing) overload peaks and give that tight 'compressed' sound, depending on how much of its effect you select. HH claim that their compressor circuitry allows sharp transients to be well exhibited, and we'd accept that - it's great for slap bass!

THE VERDICT

A very worthy 'workhorse', this new HH is a strange introduction from a manufacturer with HH's record of advanced design. It offers a straight 100 watt output, reasonably advanced tonal facilities and fairly average output and effects loop options, without being exceptional in any department. However, where you might in the past have expected the typical HH product to be a bit pricey but quite technically advanced, this amp sees them moving in a new direction, with a very basic product selling quite noticeably below the market average. It's true that some of the less well known amp producers can equal or better the HH's price and facilities, but to be fair, buying a product from a maker of this class does make one feel secure - HH have a fine reliability track record at stake. They are unlikely to have risked losing it.

For the semi-pro or pro bassist who wants a straightforward, reliable 100 watt transistorised bass head with clean, versatile performance, no gimmicks and a great price, the new HH B100 head must be on your shortlist of ones to try. It may not be the super-duper advanced HH product which we've come to expect, but it's honest, efficient and very well priced. Quietly, unobtrusively, it could sell very well indeed.

RRP £173 Inc. VAT

More info from HH Electronics Ltd., (Contact Details).