DAR FBM-100H review

[Mr. Burton]

Went to Ruff Track Recording in Palo Alto this evening and tested out the DAR FBM-100H. Absolutely brutal metal amp. The build quality is out of this world and gain structure is like nothing I have ever heard. Mike from DAR was on the dials and I was admittedly not playing an ideal guitar (Fender TC-90 w/bigsby) but I was simply amazed with the sheer amount of gain on tap. I had Mike dime the gain at first and I was not surprisingly having some feedback issues, but once he dialed in the gate and tweaked the preamp a bit I was quite pleasantly surprised with the tone.

I listened to a few other players including fellow RT'er hellaboogie and I can easily say that there is nothing like DAR currently on the market. The 4 6c33B power tubes have a character all their own. For tube purists I could easily see this being a big detractor. This particular model is obviously tailored for drop tuned chugging and completely destroys anything I've heard in this arena. I thoroughly enjoyed putting it through it's paces and loved that I got some weird looks dropping some Lay It Down on this thing. The aspect I liked most is that I was able to play open chords and still retain a significant amount of definition. I used the bigsby quite a bit and the bends did not get lost under the mountainous amount of saturation.

I spoke to Mike for a bit after the demo and plan to stop out at his shop in the next couple of weeks to try the Forza and maybe a Tuzzia. Hilligan's Forza was sitting in the back of the room behind the FBM100H and I desperately wanted to try it out, but alas not enough time.

If you are looking for something completely different I highly recommend checking one of these out.

 

[rottingcorpse]

this is the only amp squarely in my gun sights. been waiting for a couple of people on the first run to get theirs, so i could get an opinion or two from guys that can spend some real time tweaking them.

very feature laden amp. great price point. very different. made for the brutals.

god, i really want one.

 

[Spaceboy]

I'm waiting for the big version of the amplifier, with the IR machine built-in.

And, of course for these amps to actually start getting into customers' hands.

 

[xXDaveyJonesXx]

I hear ya, guys. Davey likey..

 

[killertone]

I'd like to hear the final versions and I will at NAMM. The DAR amp I played there I think was the basis for the FBM but it was nothing sonically like the op states in his review.

 

[hellaboogie]

Went to Ruff Track Recording in Palo Alto this evening and tested out the DAR FBM-100H. Absolutely brutal metal amp. The build quality is out of this world and gain structure is like nothing I have ever heard. Mike from DAR was on the dials and I was admittedly not playing an ideal guitar (Fender TC-90 w/bigsby) but I was simply amazed with the sheer amount of gain on tap. I had Mike dime the gain at first and I was not surprisingly having some feedback issues, but once he dialed in the gate and tweaked the preamp a bit I was quite pleasantly surprised with the tone.

I listened to a few other players including fellow RT'er hellaboogie and I can easily say that there is nothing like DAR currently on the market. The 4 6c33B power tubes have a character all their own. For tube purists I could easily see this being a big detractor. This particular model is obviously tailored for drop tuned chugging and completely destroys anything I've heard in this arena. I thoroughly enjoyed putting it through it's paces and loved that I got some weird looks dropping some Lay It Down on this thing. The aspect I liked most is that I was able to play open chords and still retain a significant amount of definition. I used the bigsby quite a bit and the bends did not get lost under the mountainous amount of saturation.

I spoke to Mike for a bit after the demo and plan to stop out at his shop in the next couple of weeks to try the Forza and maybe a Tuzzia. Hilligan's Forza was sitting in the back of the room behind the FBM100H and I desperately wanted to try it out, but alas not enough time.

If you are looking for something completely different I highly recommend checking one of these out.

I agree this amp FBM-100H is a standout from all the amps I've personally owned or played on, It's a high gain beast like no other, it met and exceeded all my expectations.