One of the benefits of spending a considerable part of your time in a recording studio is that you get to hear both praise and curses from musicians on just about every instrument invented. During the past couple of years, the name Alligator had been bandied about, especially by the guitar and bass playing fraternity, with the general consensus of opinion being that this make has a lot to offer. I thought it might be interesting, then, to have a look at what they could do for us drummers. So when an Ebony 200 drum amp arrived for testing, I decided that the best place to tame the brute was a studio, loaded it into my car and set off to subject it to a suitably enjoyable bit of torture.

Unpacking the amp from its cardboard box revealed a rather handsome black combo, measuring approximately 26" x 23" x 12", which was quite solid but easy to carry thanks to the inset handles on either side. Controls on the front were easy to see from a seated position (essential in a drum amp!), with the top cut back to allow the drummer to view his settings when the amp is positioned to his side and slightly back. One very useful feature, and a new approach from Alligator, is the fact that all the controls are 'fluorescent': they are coated with a paint that gathers and stores either natural or artificial light, and then emits that light to illuminate the control panel on a gloomy or deliberately unlit stage. I don't know how permanent the paint is or whether it will lose its efficacy with age; but even if it does, it shouldn't be too problematical to have a new coating applied. And of course, it offers all manner of advantages compared with conventional panel illumination, in terms of reliability (there's nothing to go wrong!) and freedom from electrical interference.

On to the control layout itself, and from left to right it's as follows. Seven line in jack sockets come first, all with their own slider/fader volume. Channels 1-5 are a sub-group with overall bass and treble controls, while channels 6 and 7 possess their own individual bass and treble knobs, and that again is a thoughtful approach. Following on come two mike inputs — essential for use with acoustic snare or bass drums — and alongside these are three FX send volume controls. Next is a 4-band graphic, giving one low, two mid and one high bands, and lastly you have fader controls for master volume and FX. The back panel reveals the usual IEC mains socket, with a substantial, illuminated on/off rocker switch. As today's needs dictate, the Ebony has facility for a slave, plus headphone and output sockets. Although the headphone socket, which puts out a reduced signal, is marked, the one below is not marked at all, and would certainly give you GBH of the eardrums if you plugged into it by mistake! This should be corrected in the interests of safety if for no other reason, and I understand that since my sample was delivered this has, in fact, received attention. Using either of these output sockets isolates the main speakers, thus preventing any possibility of overload. This obviously has technical merits, but I do feel that an amp like this should also have a D.I. facility to permit output to PA or recording mixers whilst still retaining its usability for backline stage or monitor work.

Arriving at the speakers, we find a bullet horn and two 10" drivers which are safely protected by kick-proof grills that would certainly take some 'ammer. My information is that these ultra-heavy duty speakers were developed for Alligator by Volt, undergoing long and exhaustive tests to ensure that they will not only reproduce the wide frequency range demanded by percussion, but do so at high output for a long time. Those using electronic drums will almost certainly have encountered the limitations of either bass amplification or all but the mightiest PA rig for this purpose, so I was interested to see if I could blow up the Volt units!

Having worked out what did what, my next step was to apply the power and see how the Alligator would work with the studio Roland TR707, which I'd managed to sneak away from a drummer who was busily using it, with the promise of a pint plus a free pair of sticks from the studio shop (some people drive a hard bargain!). Being rated at 200w, I decided to treat the volume with respect, allowing the machine to run through a pattern that featured different sounds, so I could mess around and get the settings clear in my mind. Surprisingly, this didn't take long at all, with all controls working as I'd expected — in that department one doesn't always get what one expects, so Alligator are to be congratulated for giving a good layout, with everything doing what the instructions state they will! Sound quality was superb, far above what I'd thought a combo with such specifications could produce, and I decided to see what could be done with the TR707's weakest sound; the cymbals. With a bit of fiddling I managed to get a more acceptable sound from the Roland than I'd ever found possible in the past — after all, no amp can create something that isn't in the drum machine's chip in the first place, but the Alligator had a damned good try!

Getting brave, I increased the volume to see how the horn and two tens would respond to brute force. An added feature which I should have mentioned at the outset is the inclusion of an overload warning light which works with the volume faders. This will operate on each and all channels, making it simple to detect exactly which one needs a slight downward nudge. I finally managed to get the light going bonkers all of the time (no prizes for that, of course!), but even at the point where everything was virtually on afterburn, there was no audible objection from the speakers — so to make this Alligator groan, you have to twist its tail all the way!

Next off, I persuaded the drummer who'd parted with the 707 to take it back and let me use the studio's acoustic kit to try out the mike inputs (an exercise that cost me another can of lager, I might add!). Experimenting with mikes in the line inputs, I encountered numerous problems with matching impedance. A swift call to the Alligator factory confirmed that this was to be expected on this model, but if any drummer orders one for use with mikes, they will be happy to supply one modified accordingly.

Placing an AKG D12 inside the bass drum and a condenser mike over the top of the kit swiftly showed why the two mike inputs were there. For the drummer playing a mixture of acoustic and electronic drums (which seems to be an increasingly popular format), the Ebony 200 offers just what you need. By using the line in facilities for pads and the mike sockets for acoustic drums, you're not stuck with an inflexible system: the Alligator will handle both comfortably. I enjoyed experimenting with this mixture, and, by careful use of the channel grouping and the efficient FX send and return loop, got some useful sounds when employing both reverb and an MTR dual noise gate. Of course, the sound you want is a matter of personal taste; but certainly the Ebony can deliver both accurate 'straight' sounds and a wide range of effected sounds which you might want but be unable to get with your normal setup. I also put an SDS 9 through its paces on the combo, and the results were much the same as with the TR707, so I won't bore you by repeating myself — suffice it to say that the Alligator did its stuff in a very creditable manner!

Drum amplification is still a relatively new area, which makes comparisons difficult, especially as (like most drummers) I don't have the electronics experience or technical knowledge of my keyboard-playing or string-picking amigos. For this reason alone it was a relief to get to grips with a drum amplifier that even a newcomer to electronics can quickly and painlessly learn to get good results from. No drummer need fear the Ebony on that score!

As its 200w output suggests, the Alligator is loud. It's certainly no exaggeration to say that its power is bound to satisfy the volume requirements of the majority of drummers reading this article. Whilst it isn't a lightweight combo, the balance is very good (a fan-cooled transistor head keeps the bottom section well weighted), and even if you suffer from having sand kicked in your face or can't even lift a Bullworker, the amp won't do you a mischief.

Just a couple of extras would make this super combo perfect for me: the addition of a D.I. facility, and the addition of a six-band graphic to give finer control of the top and bottom ends, and the four-band graphic has its limitations. The marking of that other output I mentioned is really the only other niggle I have, so it would seem Alligator have done their research and development thoroughly and well. It was nice, too, to see an amp come with a damp-proof cover as standard, and with a large zip pocket for leads.

At £450 the Ebony isn't a cheapie, but nor does it perform like one, and with few others to compare in this sector of amplification I can only say that it's miles ahead of any competition I've tried. If you use either a purely electronic set or a mixture of acoustic and electronic percussion in anything from a duo upwards, it might easily pay you to snap up an Alligator!

RRP £450 inc. VAT

More details on Alligator from Langlois, Son & Partner Ltd., (Contact Details).