Graham English Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 I'm thinking about buying the Barbetta Sona 41 amp. Anyone using this or a smiliar model? It's kind of expensive so if you have other suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I play with a very loud drummer and a guitar player with a vintage hot-rodded Marshall- so I need it loud. Thanks all! ++ Graham English ++ Ear Training, Songwriting Tips, and Music Theory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman1 Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 Hello, I use a Barbetta 32C. In general, it has a great quality sound. But..if your drummer plays "aggresively" as does ours, then you may need two of them. At any rate, the Barbetta stuff sounds better (to my ears) than anything else out there...especially when you consider the size/weight factor. I'm actually considering getting a pair of Mackie SRM450's (down the road) and using the 32C as a monitor. Good luck-- Tom Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 Originally posted by analogman1@aol.com: At any rate, the Barbetta stuff sounds better (to my ears) than anything else out there...especially when you consider the size/weight factor. Fully agreed. Their stuff is excellent. I highly recommend it. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve44 Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 Speaking of which, I wonder what people's comments are on Keyboard's Amplifier roundup from January. I think it was a very sketchy job, giving barely more than simple product information and not having enough comparisons between different brands.. It was nice to see some intelligent opinions on the Barbettas and the Genz Benz amps that you never see, but without reference to how they sound in comparison to the fenders and the rolands, I found the article rather useless. Anyone agree? Disagree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman1 Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 I agree with Steve44. The article was too general for my taste - I suppose if it was a software comparison or sound card evaluation, they would have gone much more in depth. As I've said before, I really enjoy Keyboard Mag. I just wish it were more geared to the "working musician" instead of the home composers/producers. Tom Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guestuserguestuser.com Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 Originally posted by Steve44: but without reference to how they sound in comparison to the fenders and the rolands, I found the article rather useless. Anyone agree? Disagree? Yes, I totally agree. For them to do such a shallow article on such an important subject to keyboard players was very disapointing. I'm not sure why everybody raves so much about those Barbetta amps. They're good in theory. I used to own a pair of Sona 31c's. Pretty good, but, what's with that piezo tweeter? If it's supposed to be a high-quality system, why can't they put a compression driver in it? Then there's the service issue. There's a music store here in Toronto that started to sell Barbetta's for a while. One of mine started to develop this problem where it would emit a loud popping noise every so often. Took it to this store to have them repair it. Guess what, even though they were a Barbetta dealer, they were unable to repair the amps, because Barbetta wouldn't send them the schematics. I was forced to sell my Barbettas. I like them in principle, I like the light-weight, small design. But they're not as great as Keyboard paints them to be, and they don't sound as good as JBL Eons, or Mackie SRM450's. I bought mine sight-unseen based on a Keyboard rave review of some years back (at that time, no one sold them in Toronto, so I couldn't audition them anywhere, and I had to have light-weight amps because of a back problem). It was a painful but useful lesson: never take someone else's opinion for granted. Check it out for yourself and make your own decision based on your own ears and eyes and brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makalei Posted February 25, 2001 Share Posted February 25, 2001 I wanted two run stereo out of my kurz so after playing through different amp's at the local music store I bought the jbl eon g2's. makalei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casper Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 I have been using a Barbetta 3200(one of the first production models). I purchased it around early 90's. I heard about this model through a friend. When I heard it I was immediatley impressed with the sound. After owning the amp I found out it was also very rugged. I had a problem once with a blown amplifier. I just removed the amplifier module and sent it to Tony for repair. He even updated the amp to the newest revisions at no extra charge. It is great to recieve such good service and actually speak with the owner. I owned a Roland Cube 60 before this amp and it doesnt compare. The Bi-amplification really ensures a clean undistorted and punchy sound. It works well as a monitor or main amp. Even though this company is not on the same scale as Roland,Peavey, or Crate their product is well engineered and sounds great. That's all I am really interested in when I am shopping around for musical equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham English Posted February 27, 2001 Author Share Posted February 27, 2001 Thanks for all of your responses! I ordered the Sona 41C and should have it by Wednesday http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I actually thought the Keyboard article was very informative. Maybe they didn't cover very many models, but there input was valuable, I thought. Anyway, I usually end up trusting the Keyboard staff and they haven't steered me wrong yet. Thanks again. ++ Graham English ++ Ear Training, Songwriting Tips, and Music Theory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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