Palmer Pocket Amp Bass - opinions?

[Jonrh98]

Hi all, considering the Palmer Pocket Amp Bass as my option for totally ampless gigs (rare for me as my TC rig is compact and I love the DI sound from it, but always a possibility) and at-home practice through headphones and with backing tracks. At the moment I use a Valeton GP-200, but as I no longer play electric guitar, and the bass amp models aren't my favourite, I wanted to switch to something more bass-oriented and smaller.

 

Anyone who's used it - general opinions? Feature-wise, it's great - saturation control, simple switchable cab models, DI/headphone/aux ports, mute switch - but I've heard occasional reviews say it has a very high noise level. Anyone able to shed light on this?

 

Alternatively, do I spend the extra 80-100 quid on a Zoom B2 Four? I love the Zoom stuff, but simplicity is king for me right now and I don't want to get anything unnecessary.

 

Cheers!

[PaulThePlug]

Howzabout...

 

[Jonrh98]

3 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Howzabout...

 

Sadly, no aux in or mute switch (only a bypass switch), both important for me.

[sandy_r]

2 hours ago, Jonrh98 said:

Hi all, considering the Palmer Pocket Amp Bass as my option for totally ampless gigs  ... and at-home practice through headphones and with backing tracks. At the moment I use a Valeton GP-200, but  ... I wanted to switch to something more bass-oriented and smaller.

 

Anyone who's used it - general opinions? Feature-wise, it's great - saturation control, simple switchable cab models, DI/headphone/aux ports, mute switch - but I've heard occasional reviews say it has a very high noise level. Anyone able to shed light on this?

 

 

hi Jon

 

i was halfway through building my own 'wishlist'  preamp (shown below, along with the Palmer) and then I saw the Palmer with a few more features (eg, drive/blend, soft compression, pads, amp styles, battery/external), ready to go, and the Palmer won. So, I'm very happy with the features

 

I can detect a slight background hiss when I'm not actually playing and certain functions are enabled, or some controls are increased: as you'ld expect, the background noise increases on fuzz & overdrive with more blend control, and with High EQ turned up

 

This hasn't been a problem for me, so far, because I prefer to let the natural sounds of my fretless basses come through, and mainly use the EQ controls and amp selection

 

I would have preferred the sockets to be located each side, rather than front & back, but right-angled jacks sort the front out ok (the back isn't a problem)

 

The one control which seems rather er, subtle is Saturation - I've given it the benefit of the doubt above and called it 'soft compression'. Palmer describe it as the effect of beginning to overdrive a tape system ...er, ok

 

All in all, I've been very pleased with it:  it's well-made, robust, and very compact for both band/personal practice and gigging (I had to buy a mains adaptor separately - a few pounds on eB*y or Am*z*n)

 

Hope this helps

Edited August 21, 2023 by sandy_r

[Rodders]

I've used the Palmer for about a year for home practice 99% of the time and used it to DI to the PA once at a rehearsal. Works for my needs. I don't really use or need any of the features (cab sims, OD, fuzz etc) but the EQ suits me and I can plug my phone into it. Something a bit more stripped down basic would be my preference but certainly does the job.

[Jonrh98]

22 hours ago, sandy_r said:

 

hi Jon

 

i was halfway through building my own 'wishlist'  preamp (shown below, along with the Palmer) and then I saw the Palmer with a few more features (eg, drive/blend, soft compression, pads, amp styles, battery/external), ready to go, and the Palmer won. So, I'm very happy with the features

 

I can detect a slight background hiss when I'm not actually playing and certain functions are enabled, or some controls are increased: as you'ld expect, the background noise increases on fuzz & overdrive with more blend control, and with High EQ turned up

 

This hasn't been a problem for me, so far, because I prefer to let the natural sounds of my fretless basses come through, and mainly use the EQ controls and amp selection

 

I would have preferred the sockets to be located each side, rather than front & back, but right-angled jacks sort the front out ok (the back isn't a problem)

 

The one control which seems rather er, subtle is Saturation - I've given it the benefit of the doubt above and called it 'soft compression'. Palmer describe it as the effect of beginning to overdrive a tape system ...er, ok

 

All in all, I've been very pleased with it:  it's well-made, robust, and very compact for both band/personal practice and gigging (I had to buy a mains adaptor separately - a few pounds on eB*y or Am*z*n)

 

Hope this helps

That's really helpful, thanks! 

 

Interesting insight into the saturation - I assumed it was basically just a compressor, which is something I that is a bit of a need for me really. I like a relatively light compression that maintains my low end and warms up my higher notes, so it might be suitable.

[Jonrh98]

12 hours ago, Rodders said:

I've used the Palmer for about a year for home practice 99% of the time and used it to DI to the PA once at a rehearsal. Works for my needs. I don't really use or need any of the features (cab sims, OD, fuzz etc) but the EQ suits me and I can plug my phone into it. Something a bit more stripped down basic would be my preference but certainly does the job.

Awesome, thanks! It sounds like a really nice practice and portable gig solution.