There's a new bass amp in town and this one goes by the name of Blacksmith. For Winter NAMM 2011, TC Electronic introduced the Blacksmith, the latest addition to the company's Bass amp 2.0 line.

With a power output of 1,600W (4,500W peak), onstage power is not an issue for the Blacksmith, whether it's being used for large clubs, major venues, or full-scale stadiums, says TC Electronic. According to the manufacturer, the Blacksmith bass amp provides huge bass tone that will follow the user’s slightest moves while playing hard-rocking bass lines and hammering riffs.

In addition to loads of power, the Blacksmith offers Bass amp 2.0 features such as the integrated chromatic bass tuner, refined tone-shaping tools (including four bands of EQ), SpectraComp "per string compression,", TubeTone "complete Tube pre- and power amp recreation," TweeterTone "intelligent HF control," and three user-defined memories.

Like TC says, anyone using different basses or changing playing style during shows knows that a few amp presets would be welcome. For that reason, Blacksmith provides three onboard user memories for switching between 4- and 5-string basses, or Rickenbackers and Fenders for that matter. Alternatively, three entirely different tones for one bass (overdrive, slap, and a vintage tone, for example) can be stored as well.

In addition, the Blacksmith offers your choice of 8, 4 or 2 ohms. The bass amplifier is capable of handling cabinet combinations all the way down to 2 ohms, making it possible for four RS410 cabinets to be used simultaneously.

Blacksmith features at a glance:

• Power: 1,600W (4,500W peak)
• Presets: 3 user-defined presets
• Onboard chromatic tuner: active for instant pitch monitoring at any time
• SpectraComp multiband compression
• TubeTone: emulation of both the tube preamp and tube power amp sections
• 4-Band EQ: Semi-parametric Bass, Lo-Mid, Hi-Mid, and Treble
• TweeterTone: front-panel tweeter level control for crisp and modern bass tones
• Transformer balanced Line Driver: studio-grade DI for clean signals to PAs or DAWs

TC Electronic expects to begin shipping the new Blacksmith bass amp in March, 2011 for $3,599 (MSRP). For more information, please visit tcelectronic.com/blacksmith.