Customer Reviews

Yorkville XM100C Bass Amplifier

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Mine is a 2003 model XM100C. There are two models available: the XM100C in black ozite carpet, and the XM100 ($50-$60 more money) in black ultrathane rubberized paint. Otherwise they are identical: a 100 watt, single 15" speaker, single-channel, solid-state bass combo amplifier, with no tweeter. Basic, and it does the job.

The amp is very solid and well built, especially for the price, and includes a decent set of essential features: low-gain (passive pickup) and high-gain (active pickup) 1/4" phono plug inputs, dual RCA line inputs (for CD player/iPod input) bridged to mono, a master Volume control, Bass-Mid-Treble rotary controls with +/- 15 dB ranges, a Contour midrange-notch rotary control, XLR out with pre-EQ (DI)/post-EQ (line out) push switch, effects loop send and return, and a stereo 1/4" phono headphone jack (though it sends out sound only in mono). The power switch is a basic black plastic rocker, and the single power light is a funky blue LED.

The speaker is a 15" 200 watt Eminence (apparently), and is housed in a birch plywood closed-back cabinet with no port, and with a single top strap. There is no built-in compressor or limiter, nor any Presence or Aural Enhancer controls as on some other small combos, just the Contour knob. The knobs themselves are chromed and knurled, with a small chrome pointer. They turn smoothly and feel good, but do seem a bit slippery and are hard to read from any distance -- you won't be checking your amp settings from across the room very easily with them. (Then again, at least you can see them; many amps in this class mount the controls at the back of the top of the cabinet where they're invisible unless you're above the amp.)

All controls and ports except the power jack are on the front (even the XLR out and effects loop), on a reasonably attractive curved control panel above a very solid wide-mesh steel speaker grille. Nice touch: the amp includes a velcro strap to secure the included power cable to the back of the amp when you wrap it up. It's light enough to carry (22 kg/50 lbs, or lighter than my six-year-old daughter, who doesn't include a handle), but if you want to add casters any standard set will do, or Yorkville will be happy to sell you theirs.

I'm a drummer by trade, so I use the Yorkville XM100 mostly for practice at home, but it debuted at the New Year's Eve 2004/2005 gig my band (www.theneurotics.com) played at a large and high-end restaurant in Vancouver, with an audience of a couple of hundred people. There, my bass player used it straight off the floor, with no DI into the PA system, playing with my Precision Bass and a Boss Limiter/Enhancer pedal in the effects loop -- otherwise dry. He usually plays a Gallien-Krueger 400RB head into a JBL monitor speaker with horn, but he liked the Yorkville, and it was plenty loud enough even at 12 to 1 o'clock on the dial, competing with my drums and two electric guitars with smallish combo amps. We've used it numerous times since.

So, for a basic, intro-level 100 watt bass amp, it's got the goods, and works for real gigs, not just the basement or garage. If it had a built-in compressor or limiter and enhancer, a speaker-out jack, and maybe a tweeter, it would be nearly perfect, but if you want that, you have to spend a lot more money. It's a fine amp as it is, and the best choice in its category and price range -- I really checked around before I bought it. And it's made in Canada, eh, just like me!

I have the Yorkville XM200C bass combo amp (actually two of them: one with the two 10s and horn and the other with a 15" and horn) that I use in live performing. They are, by far, the most durable, powerful and quality built bass combo amps in the market today. No China or overseas construction here, folks. This is pure North American (Canadian) quality, unsurpassed in today's market of who-knows-where-it-came-from products. Traynor is the parent company and that's a name that should be familiar with folks who were around in the 60s and 70s when the built-like-a-truck amplifiers were being used. Yorkville didn't chintz on anything, from the thick plywood frame construction to the heavy duty Emminence drivers used in the sound output. The wattage is underrated as these put out more oomph than amps costing twice as much. Plus they look rugged, modern, and tough. Can't go wrong here!