Laney Amplification has expanded its bass amp range with the Digbeth Foundry Series, and it is promising something for all bassists in a suit of amps that range from the ubiquitous bedroom-friendly combo to a high-powered gig-ready head.
Let’s start out small with the DBF30, a compact 30-watt combo with a single 8” HH driver that retails for just £169 and is ideal for practice or beginner players. It weights just 8.3kg but it shares the aesthetic, build and some of the features of its larger siblings.
You’ve got the 12mm MDF cabinet with steel reinforced corners. You’ve got ample options for shaping your bass guitar tone, including a Preshape function that lets you sculpt the mids with the flick of a switch, which is of course going to be of interest to slap and percussive players. The control panel also features 3-band EQ, a Tilt EQ, and a Drive switch for tube-style grit, and there is an aux in and headphones out, too.
Elsewhere in the range, there is also a 200-watt combo with a 15” driver and a 200-watt head, plus 50-watt and 100-watt combos, too.
Laney artist Charles Berthoud argues that any of these could handle a gig.
“The Digbeth Foundry have incredible power and versatility for their size,” says Charles Berthoud. “The DBF30 has so much bass response for something so small and budget friendly. Rear panel options like DI Out and FX Loop on the DBF50 and above are exactly what you need, any one of these amps could easily do a session or a gig, let alone for practice and rehearsal.”
The 50-watt DBF50 expands on the theme. It has a 10” HH speaker, two footswitchable channels (FET and tube-style), and you get an effects loop. The 100-watt DBF100 sizes up again with 1x12” while the DBF200 has a single 15” HH driver. One particularly cool feature here is a Mix setting that allows you to get the best of both worlds from the FET and Drive channels.
“The Digbeth Foundry Series takes the power, dynamism and response of our acclaimed Digbeth Bass amp range and forges them into creative, affordable, high-quality amplifiers that are practical, portable and a lot of fun,” says James Laney. “Following the huge success of our award-winning Foundry guitar amps, we worked hard to develop a range of Foundry bass amps ensuring that the power, versatility and class of the Digbeth amp range was maintained.”
The Digbeth Foundry Series is available now, priced from £169 street for the DBF30 to £449 for the DBF200. See Laney Amplification for more details.
