Music

Roadies rejoice! The foam combo amp that weighs under 20 pounds

Roadies rejoice! The foam combo amp that weighs under 20 pounds
Brisbane's Tym Guitars has housed a 50W combo amp in a foam frame, making the FAMP a lightweight answer to lugging equipment around
Brisbane's Tym Guitars has housed a 50W combo amp in a foam frame, making the FAMP a lightweight answer to lugging equipment around
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The back panel pulls down to reveal the 50W solid state amp inside the foam-encased combo FAMP
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The back panel pulls down to reveal the 50W solid state amp inside the foam-encased combo FAMP
Players are offered volume, bass and treble dials to help shape the tone
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Players are offered volume, bass and treble dials to help shape the tone
Brisbane's Tym Guitars has housed a 50W combo amp in a foam frame, making the FAMP a lightweight answer to lugging equipment around
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Brisbane's Tym Guitars has housed a 50W combo amp in a foam frame, making the FAMP a lightweight answer to lugging equipment around
A 2 x 12-inch, 120W speaker cabinet that weighs in at just 20.9 pounds has also been developed
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A 2 x 12-inch, 120W speaker cabinet that weighs in at just 20.9 pounds has also been developed
The back panel pulls down to reveal the 50W solid state amp inside the foam-encased combo FAMP
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The back panel pulls down to reveal the 50W solid state amp inside the foam-encased combo FAMP
View gallery - 5 images

As most musicians will tell you, playing in front of a live audience is what makes it all worthwhile. Unless you're successful enough to have a dedicated road crew, though, loading and unloading the equipment can be backbreaking work. All that could change thanks to an experiment in "what if" amp building by Tim Brennan of Brisbane's Tym Guitars. He says that late nights, stupid conversations and an obsession with building things that people might laugh at has resulted in the FAMP – a 50W guitar amp combo encased in a foam housing.

Brennan claims that the high-density foam used to house the Tym 50W solid state amp – with hand-built preamp and PCB 50W power stage, and 60W, 12-inch speaker – is durable enough to withstand being stood on, or you can even "kick it down the street (Tym Guitars does not endorse or recommend kicking an amp down the street), and it will still work."

The back panel pulls down to reveal the 50W solid state amp inside the foam-encased combo FAMP
The back panel pulls down to reveal the 50W solid state amp inside the foam-encased combo FAMP

A waterproof coating is applied the outer face of the foam, which strengthens the structure, and there's security mesh between the grill cloth and the speaker to help prevent accidental damage. The whole setup tips the scales at under 20 pounds (9kg), which Brennan says is so light that his 2 year-old offspring can pick it up. He adds that he could have made the FAMP even lighter if he'd used switch mode power supplies, but prefers the better tone offered by a toroidal transformer.

To play through the 16.5 x 16.5 x 10.6-inch (42 X 42 X 27-cm) combo, you'll need to open up the back – after which it closes up tight, so that nothing's left protruding out. The amp has bass, treble and volume dials and the speaker throws out 4, 8 or 16 ohm, although 8 is optimal.

Brennan told Gizmag that he's working on the development of production models, but pricing and availability information won't be known before June. To lower the cost and make manufacture a little easier, he's currently toying with the idea of using expanding foam in molds for future models, rather than cutting, gluing and painting the high-density foam by hand.

A 2 x 12-inch, 120W speaker cabinet that weighs in at just 20.9 pounds has also been developed
A 2 x 12-inch, 120W speaker cabinet that weighs in at just 20.9 pounds has also been developed

A 100W version of the FAMP is now also under development, and a 2 x 12-inch, 120W speaker cabinet that weighs in at just 20.9 pounds (9.5kg), as well as a 4 x 12-inch, 400W speaker cabinet weighing under 33 pounds (15kg), are also joining the foam party.

View gallery - 5 images
4 comments
4 comments
Mr Stiffy
Hmm that is a clever idea.....
I myself have a fetish for good strong, well glued and screwed thick plywood.....
And I am not saying this is dumb...
I suppose a heavy non resonant cabinet, would perform more or less identically to a very light non resonant cabinet.
I also suppose that if you look after your gear... that this could work out to be a very good idea.
Flammability might be an issue if the very remote possibility occurs that the amp - made of fire retardant components, ever catches fire...
I heavy aluminum foil lining around the amp would kill any of that off.
Hmmmmmmm Good thinking. Good Doing.
Roger Merritt
But how does it sound??
Facebook User
Can\'t see this being any improvement for weight or sound. The transformers are the big weights in a amp not the case. Too light a foam and its sound dampening, denser stuff is just as heavy as wood and would still resonate differently then wood. You might save a few pounds on a big case but at what cost for tone?
I\'ll stick to pine. There has been a lot of testing on how different wood types change the sound. And some are better than others for what is being played. This stuff has been out and used for lots of stuff for years. If you look you\'ll find where the big players have tried this out.
James Van Damme
A class D amp and a switching supply would cut it down a lot.