The Company Line

If I told most players I know that I was heading out to a gig with an “AER amp three,” I would likely meet with more than a few quizzical looks and confused expressions. If I told those same players that I was heading out to a gig with a “kick-ass little German combo amp that thinks it’s a big rig,” those confused looks turn to nods of approval and renewed interest. The truth is, the AER name is not as well known as perhaps it should be here in the USA, especially among bass players who wear their instrument on a strap.AER is seeking to change this with their “Bottom Line” product lineup, which includes the amp one (200-watt 1x10), amp two (240- watt 1x12 with a 4” mid-high driver), and the latest addition, the amp three (200-watt 2x8).

Discriminating upright players and more than a few electric players may be more familiar with AER’s higher-end BassCube2, which sits atop the “Acoustic Line” of products. This highly regarded combo (550-watts, 1x12 plus 1” coax tweeter) and also the BasicPerformer (four 50-watt amplifiers pushing four 8” twincone drivers) are in the Acoustic Line for a reason. They use twochannel preamps, which allow for a wider range of pickup options (and simultaneous use of mic and pickup),they are voiced for acoustic instruments (though work very well on electric basses), and have an extremely wide usable frequency range. The Bottom Line combos are each designed to have their own voice, but they are definitely more squarely aimed at electric players, though perfectly capable of handling most acoustic instruments (if you don’t need an XLR input).

Ever since AER began production in 1992, they have billed themselves as “The Acoustic People,” and their diverse product lines certainly bear this out. Being Germans, they take their job very seriously and they are constantly seeking to improve upon their past efforts. Authenticity and creativity are the prime motivating factors behind any AER product, and the amp three is no exception.

First Impressions

Even as smaller bass combos go, the amp three is a fairly diminutive affair.The two 8” drivers are positioned diagonally and make efficient use of the real estate provided. The combo comes in at just a touch over 14” by 16” by 12”, and it weighed in at 35 lbs on the money on my scale. My expectations were good tone (at least from the low-mids on up), but limited volume. Boy, was I in for a surprise!This is one loud amp, and the deep, full low end is entirely beyond what anyone could reasonably expect from such a small box. Major “instant grin” factor! Happily thumping away, I could not resist turning it up a bit. And then a bit more… Okay, just a bit more… Man, it’s still kicking! Surely, this is too good to be true, and I’m about to hit its limits and make this fine little combo go up in a puff of smoke, but I just have to find out what it can do! Well, guess what? I did hit its limits, but not in the way that I had feared. Even with the compressor turned off, there is some definite limiting going on – and that is a very good thing! The amp three’s limiter is pretty aggressive when it kicks in, but it is fairly musical, and it definitely keeps you from blowing it up (despite my best efforts).

Setting aside the sonic impressions for a moment, the amp three makes a good physical impression, as well.The spray-on coating is among the best that I have seen, being reasonably smooth, though far from slippery, and seemingly quite durable. The sturdy leather handle is undoubtedly stronger than it need be, and it makes for a very comfortable carry. Unpacking the box, I was pleased to find that the amp three comes with its own zip-shut padded cover. I will confess that I was initially somewhat skeptical of the skinny knobs, fearing not only longterm durability, but also possibly impaired usability. With my fat fingers, I sometimes find that skinnier knobs don’t have a good “feel,” or else it’s too easy to turn them too far, too fast. Fortunately, after playing around with them a bit, my fears were dispelled; the positive feedback and tactile feeling of the knobs was quite good. In talking to the folks at AER, it is clear that they put a lot of thought into the details, especially when it comes to making gear that is compact and lightweight. Smaller, but sturdy, knobs are part of this effort. The plastic I/O jacks on the back panel also bear some special mention. These are specially made for AER by Neutrik™, and they are epoxied to the PCB. Not needing an external retention washer means that they can be placed closer together (and save some weight). Very clever!

A Closer Look

The amp three has one (high impedance) input jack, and features a “high/low” gain switch. The clip light appears to monitor the signal not only at the input gain, but also through the EQ section and the master gain stage, as boosting too much at any point in the signal path with cause the clip LED to light up. This is a nice, and very useful, touch. The mute function renders the amp utterly and completely silent, no matter how recklessly the user unplugs instruments, drops the cable, or plugs in different basses (even with the gain turned up). The colour switch is basically a mid-cut, treble-boost circuit. While it does introduce a touch more noise and some bite to the high end which I couldn’t quite dial out, in general, I really liked what it did for the amp three’s tone, and I left it on most of the time. The lows actually seem to tighten up a bit with the colour turned on. It gets just as “big,” but the lows are more defined.

With an amp this full-sounding to begin with, the bass boost (+10dB at 55Hz) is not really needed, though it was entirely useable, if you desire a very bottom-heavy tone. The bass and treble controls are straightforward and appear to be relatively conventional in use (though the treble control is a touch more subtle than I had expected). The parametric midrange control features a choice of a narrow or broad bandwidth, in addition to control over the boost/cut and the center frequency. I’m a big fan of shelving controls for bass/treble, matched up with (semi) parametric midrange control(s), and AER tone stack is relatively simple, yet quite flexible.

But wait, there’s more! AER also provides a tone balance control (which is a relatively new feature to AER products). The balance knob allows you to dial in an emphasis in the bass region when turned counter-clockwise or in the treble region when turned clockwise.The intensity knob adjusts – predictably – the intensity of this emphasis. I’ve played other amps with similar (though typically oneknob) controls, and some of them can lead to major tone changes. This control, however, seems more adept at fine-tuning than dramatic shifts, and seems more noticeable in the lows. This is due in part to the fact that the tone balance control is run in parallel to the input signal, so the inherent tone of the instrument is preserved.

The compressor is nicely transparent when set fairly low. I like having both threshold and ratio controls (from 1:1 to 5:1), but I will note that if you get aggressive with each of them, it clamps down so hard, it is not really usable. The back panel cluster features a ground lift, headphone out, line out, sub out, footswitch (for mute and effects loop in/out), effects send/return, an aux in, and a DI with adjustable level and the option of sending a pre/post EQ signal.

Comparatively Speaking

While the two definitely strike a different pose, the amp three has a lot in common with one of my all-time favorite bass combos, the SWR Baby Blue II. After a bit of head-to-head comparison, the basic tone profiles were in the same ballpark, especially through the mids (though they each deliver the midrange in their own fashion). The SWR stood out as sounding smoother, overall; the BBII has this certain smooth sweetness to its high end that I just cannot replicate with any other combo. The AER is louder, bigger in the lows, brighter (colour on), and more aggressive. The BBII is a touch more warm/round. With the colour turned on, the AER was more articulate and clear, but with it off, the SWR is more clear and present up high.

I was also able to compare the amp three to the Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.0/12. The Genz-Benz is more airy up high, more open and clear through the mids, but not as full down low.The AER is more full and round from top to bottom, much bigger in the lows, and seems to hit harder. When each combo is pushed hard, the AER has more low to low-mid punch, and the Shuttle has more upper-mid to high end attack. On the whole, these two combos put up a pretty fair fight, and it would certainly be a matter of personal tone preference more than differences in quality/features/capabilities which would declare a winner.

Lasting Impressions

If you can’t tell by now, I really liked this combo. The controls are very well thought out, it is tonally very flexible, and it has fullness and volume which seem to defy physics.It is nigh impossible to blow up, even when you try. It’s cute, but sturdy, and it comes in a cool padded carrying case.What’s not to love?