Burman Power Pak 100

The Burman power pak is a modular design. Very cleverly, if cumbersome by modern standards, the power amps are fed by one pre amp and can be linked in series through the slave imputs on the back. i think the idea was that Burman could manufacture the power amp seperately and the player would use as many hundred watt slaves as needed. The unit has a simple switch for on/off on the front panel and a red light to tell you if it is fired up or not. The fuse is also on the front panel so you can change them really quickly, between songs in fact, although ive only ever blown one and that was my fault(see reliability) The back panel has two speaker outs, two slave link imputs and voltage and speaker impedence selectors. Ive tested the link with four slaves running in a chain and the signal level doesnt reduce AT ALL. I was using the MPA pre amp with four slaves into four 4x12's and it sounded DEADLY with bass. Greg told me they were deigned to be used with full range 4x12's so i did. it was louder and clearer than my Ampeg SVT, but some of the slaves have different valves, though i believe they came with mullard EL34's but i dont know for sure.
the only reason i dont give this amp 10 is because as a pure power amp it can be tricky to match the imput with modern equipment. Although, considering the amps were made in the seventies and early eighties that is understandable.

Ive used these units werever a very high quality valve(or tube) sound is required. using a mesa boogie studio pre amp it sounds monster although it is VERY loud, too loud for most players.

Using a spirit folio pocket mixer and two pak's for stereo gives you a sweet yet powerfull sound.......i rigged it up for a laugh really, then ended up using it for rehearsals, then for small gigs, these are just great amps.

the amps sound great, really great, though it depends on what you put into them...as i say the mesa pre amp worked well, although i couldnt get it to mate properly with the slave-although im sure a guitarist could find a way-im a bass player guys!! it tended to become a bit snotty sounding if you pushed the output on the pre amp too much

with a mixer(i used a spirit folio notepad mixer) they sound glassy and rich, but using valve amps for PA always has its problems at high volumes.when u crank them they break up as any valve amp does.

BUT if u use either the BURMAN MPA(pa pre amp) or GPA(guitar pre amp) they come alive. they sound like a fender bassman only....more? the tone controls do just a little bit more and to my ears the output is significantly louder on the model ive gigged with for the last year.

i use the MPA pre amp because it has master volume, and input volume on the four paired imputs (classic old PA style) mostly because im a bass player. the tone controls are standard really, bass middle treble and presence. the GPA has the same controls as the MPA without master volume.

the MPA also has reverb on some earlier models which is definately in the same league as fenders classic silver face style valve reverb. warm and short with the knob set low and just gets a longer as you set the knob higher. it doesnt really get huge but the who uses huge hall type reverbs on guitars/basses? it does get pretty damn big however.

the great thing about the slaves is their versatility i suppose....they sound great with most applications.

By modern standards they are bulky but they are smaller than most amps of its age....im suprised that there isnt a review already on this site.

I use my Burmans when im playing smaller venues where my Ampeg SVT is too loud, one power pack and a four twelve is good, but if u use two slaves and two four twelves it competes with the SVT nicely....with four it blows it away heh heh heh....but that is a pure volume thing, i love my SVT. And its nice to have both.

The only problem ive ever had with mine is when i blew a fuse on the power pack because i forgot the pre amp once and used a compressor as a pre amp. everything went fine till i put on my big muff and q tron........but thats my fault for trying to be bootsy collins without the pre amp.

The first power pack i bought worked fine for ages, when i blew the fuse i replaced it and slid the amp out of its super solid box....only to find one of the transformers had been pulled out and twisted....some idiot had been messing so i got it serviced and it came back sounding better....thats why i bought another three of them over the next few years, in case they became unreliable, im still waiting for even a hint of that 4 years later. A testament to the design if it still works in bad condition.

the quality of construction is unbeliavable. two huge transformers and very neat right angled wiring, no printed circuits or cheap components here.

i personally think these are the best amps ever made in this country(UK!) when british engineering was a matter of pride.

OK an example of these amps quality....

i was playing in a covers band, running a single power pack with the MPA pre amp. i always put a mic in the bass drum and plug it into another channel on the MPA, with my bass going in too. The guitarist was using a JTM 45 reissue(or similar-definately marshall,i forget, i do a lot of gigs!) and he blew the transformer mid gig. So i put the guitar through it too (a clapton sig. strat) and the look on his face when he hit a big chord! So there we were using a small vocal rig with everything else going through the Burman, kick drum, Bass and Guitar. obviously, not ideal but i still managed to keep the bass and kick fairly clean while while the guitar had this great overdrive.
The mid boost on the clapton strat helped a lot but the Burman certainly stole that show.

Ive only met Greg Burman once through a mutual friend, when i was recording an album. The producer had used burmans in the seventies and had a misty, rosy look in his eyes when he told me about the sound....thats why i bought one originally.

Although Burman as a company is no longer trading Greg is still working on things as far as i know he just does it for enjoyment and a genuine interest in sound technology.

Ive heard stories of people blowing speakers and Greg replacing the whole cabinet!

ive already said it all i guess, I love these amps. ive flighted my MPA and 1 power pak out of its original box, which drops about a quarter of the weight, better for gigging muso's.

i have a few stock ones that i could part with to the right person, if your interested, hedofire@yahoo.co.uk my names Graeme.

id love to hear from anyone else who has a burman amp-im a studio tech too so im interested in trades/swaps or buying a guitar combo for recording