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As some of you already know, The Hellborg amplification system got a very good review in Bass Player Magazine.
Here it is:
I’M ALREADY PLOT TING MY REPLY TO YOUR LETTERS. AND ALLOW
me to paraphrase the future you: “Why waste space writing about a rig
nobody can afford?” Because it’s cool, that’s why. So there. Discovering
what happens when an amp designer makes no concession whatsoever
to price, market viability, or production cost, instead focusing exclusively
on sound, is both fascinating and important in terms of the evolution
of amp design. And it’s even cooler when the designer is Jonas
Hellborg, a virtuoso bassist whose brilliant career exhibits the same
steadfast integrity as his eponymous amp.
Hellborg has long nurtured a fascination with the intricacies of audioequipment
engineering, especially after he bought a Neve recording
console—the Cadillac of analog studio desks—without the benefit of a
maintenance technician in 1985. While he has been professionally
involved with a variety of amp manufacturers (even culminating in
a short-lived signature amp with the Italian company FBT), the
Warwick Hellborg line is the truest realization of Hellborg’s esoteric
engineering concepts. Chief among these was an uncompro m i s i n g
commitment to ultra-high-quality components, thus the exceptionally
h i g h price (the weak dollar sure doesn’t help).
In addition to first-rate c o n s t ruction, there are several other key pillars
to Hellborg’s amp and speaker design philosophy. He loves transformers.
No, the rig doesn’t turn into a block-busting robot; I’m talking about the electrical device made up of a bunch
of wire wrapped around a ferrous core. In audio,
transformers perform a lot of necessary tasks,
like changing a signal’s voltage and current, as
well as determining the input and output
impedances of a device. To Jonas (and he’s got
a lot of company among audio geeks), transformers
impart a special quality to an audio
circuit—a sonic quality often touted as superior
to that of their alternatives. Part i c u l a r l y
i n s p i red by his Neve console, which is
renowned for its transformer-equipped preamps,
Hellborg knew he wanted to use a transf
o rmer to couple the amp’s input to the first
gain stage—unusual for a bass amp. The Hellborg
amp’s eccentricity continues into its versatile
EQ section, which uses coil-based
inductive EQ, like a Neve board, and a Baxandall-
style circuit for hi-fi symmetry in the BASS
and TREBLE shelving curves.
The Hellborg power amp is slightly more
typical, but for one highly unusual design
quirk: It utilizes an output transformer (OT)
for interfacing with speakers. OTs are norm a l l y
used only in tube amps due to tubes’ extreme
sensitivity to load impedance—they convert
the high-voltage, high-impedance, lowcurrent
output of a tube power amp to a lowvoltage,
low-impedance, high-current signal
a p p ropriate for speakers. While these are an
output transformer’s essential roles, OTs also
have a few side benefits, like protecting speakers
from a cone-shredding DC signal (audio is
AC) and more important, introducing a small
amount of pleasing distortion into a signal
when pushed hard. Finally, by lowering the
output impedance, OTs have a significant effect
on “damping factor,” the degree to which an
amp is able to control the movement of a
speaker’s voice coil. Due to their inhere n t l y
ultra-low output impedances, solid-state amps
don’t care all that much about speaker load
impedance, at least not when compared to tube
amps, so they almost never use an OT. But
Hellborg believes that a lot of the magical allure
of tube amps—fat tone and a musically
dynamic responsiveness—is due to their
OT-equipped design, so he added one onto his
solid-state amp. In the stereo model I reviewed
( t h e re are two mono Hellborg power amps)
t h e re are three large transformers in the
chassis: the power transformer, and one OT
per side. This is why the power amp is absurdly
heavy and absolutely no fun to schlep around.
While not as radical as the amps, the
Hellborg cabs are still a tad left of center. The
two I reviewed, a 15 with a coaxial tweeter and
a conventional 15 with no tweeter, are aug-
mented in the line by a 2x15 and a 2x12.
Hellb o rg likes coaxial drivers for their good
phase linearity: the high- and low-frequency
audio emanates from the same physical location,
which some argue benefits fidelity and
sonic coherency. In practice, the coax-equipped
Club Cab was, as expected, brighter with more
treble extension. Both are capable on their own.
Delightfully, in contrast to the power amp, the
cabinets were light and portable. And like the
preamp and power amp, the cabinets were
beautifully constructed, although I’d pre f e r
m o re robust corners than the modest metal
ones provided.
S O N IC ASSI M I LAT IO N
Is it worth it? How good should an amp sound
if it costs as much as a car? To answer this, we
enter the realm of the highly subjective. I’ve previously
argued that high fidelity does not necessarily
equal good tone; there are numerous
other factors, not the least of which is the instrument
and the player. But the amp is an integral
component, and as such, ought to work with
the player musically, presenting no impediment
to free expression, and, in the best cases, actually
inspiring musical ideas. To this end, the Hellborg
rig is successful. It’s an ingenious concept
that, despite its look and price, is not centered
on an obsession with pristine fidelity, but rather
on fostering a musical partnership with the player.
I’ve never heard an amp that sounds anything
like the Hellborg. It’s exceptionally difficult
to attribute its unique sonic signature to
one design aspect, although it’s easy to corro borate
the intended results of his ideas. The amp
has a remarkable feel; its fast attack is leavened
with a plush note envelope, giving it a buttery,
tube-like character but without any sludge on
the uptake. The EQ is seamlessly integrated,
although with the preamp’s beguiling disposition
when flat, I generally favored the EQ-off
option. The transformer-equipped D I O U T
tracked beautifully: The Hellborg preamp
would make an excellent alternative to one of
the many instrument-input-equipped highend
preamps often favored for recording bass
(Avalon U5, Millennia TD-1, Universal Audio
LA-610, etc.). In fact, the Hellborg preamp
incorporates several features more typical of
serious recording gear, like a unity gain position
on the G A I N and M A S T E R knobs and a
–10dBV/+4dBu switch for the effect loop to
ensure optimum gain staging for both professional
and consumer effects.
Despite the Hellborg power amp’s relatively
low power rating, I was never wanting for headroom
or volume on several big gigs. Its stereo
design promotes bi-amping, but the mono preamp
eliminates that option without a third -
party crossover. Since it incorporates an output
t r a n s f o rm e r, there ’s an impedance selector
switch on the rear panel, like with tube amps.
Perhaps it’s the use of an output transformer
(actually, it probably is, considering the amp
is otherwise a pretty straightforward Class AB
design), but the Hellborg power amp has a
uniquely full-throated and pliant attack. Partnered
with the balanced- and poised-sounding
cabinets, the rig projected bro a d - s p e c t rum
warmth into a room but was able to dart out
quickly and brightly for the stray pop, retaining
coherence as my bass line fell back into a
consistent dynamic range. The rig was all-over
sweet and beautiful sounding, not at all sterile
or twinkly.
The Jonas Hellborg rig is one of the hippestsounding
amps I’ve heard. Its precision and swift
attack is couched in an overall coziness that’s
immediately seductive. Bonus: It looks seriously
cool, especially if, like a hungry squid, you love
bright lights. Yeah, most of us will never indulge
in such a luxury, but aren’t you glad it exists?
The Hellborg rig is packed with clever ideas
that work—maybe some will trickle into gear
we could actually buy. BP
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