From mlongo@highmarkdesign.com Wed Dec 12 09:17:33 2001
Subject:Re: Noisy Barbetta


I often use a Barbetta Sona 41 (2 10" speakers). It is very
clean, quiet, and the tone is quite crisp. Listening to this amp, it
seems to amplify exactly what the keyboard is putting out down to the
smallest details, without adding any noticable coloration of it's own.

Volume is a relative thing. It can be very loud for one person's
application, and not loud enough for the next guy. My own experience
is that in a small to medium sized club (100+ people capacity), this
amp will not really hold it's own volume-wise against a drummer
playing at moderate volume, plus guitar and bass. You can hear it if
it's sitting near you, but it does not have enough presence out in
the middle of the audience.

My band often plays in clubs that have a good house PA doing
sound reinforcement for the whole band. In those situations I sit
the Barbetta on top of my Leslie and use it as a stage monitor, while
sending a monitor send from my little line mixer to the house board.
In that situation, the Barbetta is loud enough for stage use and the
band can hear it OK (with maybe a little monitor wedge support on the
far side of the stage) and I can hear it fine. Plus it's light
weight and sounds good. When playing clubs without house sound I
always use a bigger amp.

I have had no trouble with reliability on the Barbetta.

Mark Longo