1. 5 pounds total weight
2. 50 watts clean output power   &   85 watts full power and distortion.
3. All tube power amplification - all analog, not "hybrid" or class D or "digital" anything.
4. Auto-Everything™

   • Play-Any-Tube™ - Mix and match any combination of common "octal" output tubes for tone and power. Escape from "matched pairs" or even matched types and choose your own voicing and tonality with whatever tubes you have or prefer (i.e., any "octal" output tube, pentode or beam tetrode, having RETMA standard 7AC style base and pinout).
     • 6L6, KT66, EL37, 5881, 7581, 6P1P-EV, 6P3S-E, 6P6S
     • EL34, KT77, 6CA7
     • 6550, KT88
     • 6V6, 6EY6, 6EZ5, 6P6S, 6AY5, 587, 5871, 7184, 7408, 7EY6

   • Auto-Bias - Never worry or adjust bias again. GAGA-50 automatically biases any combination of output tubes for full performance.
   • Auto-Standby™ - No "standby" switch as GAGA-50 automatically keeps its output tubes ready to deliver full power and performance instantly, seamlessly, reliably.
   • World-Power-Ready™ - Plug in anywhere on Earth. Standards compliance 90-240VAC @ 50/60Hz, RoHS, CE.
   • Drive-Anything™ - Nothing to set, match, mismatch, or confuse: Single 1/4-inch output jack drives any reasonable combination of speakers or cabinets.
   • Blow-Proof™ - Sustains dead-shorts or no-load total-opens without self-destructing, including the taboo of using instrument cables in place of speaker wires. No more fear or blown output transformers as with typical tube amps.
5. Power-Step™ - Allows volume to be losslessly turned down to bedroom level while keeping output tube distortion, overload, response, feel and tone the same.
6. Extremely Agile and Resilient Response - Upon overload, the sound "does not collapse and fold back over on itself." Tone remains powerful, play remains agile, response remains constant. Per-note speed and accuracy never bogs in overload and always amplifies precisely. "This amp is fast." Instantaneous recovery allows players to variably evoke as much overload distortion as desired on a per-note basis without any hangover. R. G. Keen may have highlighted an universal truth in writing: "What makes for a good opamp versus a bad one? ... The ones that sound good seem to all make a point that they recover from overdrive gracefully." [»]
7. Super-Infra-Sonic™ - Phase-accurate, impactful, full-bodied tone with harshless alacrity: Flat frequency response across entire spectrum at full power, heretofore unattainable in tube amplifiers. "This is a tube amp like you've never heard a tube amp, doing things that shouldn't be possible..."
8. Extended Tube Lifetimes - Years to a decade or longer of useful, working life (expected) with reduced stress and insensitivity to microphonics and aging. GAGA-50 can sometimes also use tubes that have been "worn out" by and will not work satisfactorily in other amps.
9. P3 Phantom Powered Pedal System® - Provides up to 3 amperes of regulated 9-volt DC to remotely power guitar pedals and/or pedalboard breakout boxes. P3 is available on the INPUT jack and also on the SEND jack. P3 is switched independently on both jacks. A front panel pilot lamp indicates 9-volt P3 power is switched on and is supplied at one or both jacks.
10. Advanced power supplies recharge and regulate all internal supplies hundreds of thousands of times per second, far surpassing traditional power supplies which operate at 60 times per second. Notes carry impact and overloads stay overloaded.
11. Proper design - Nothing about GAGA-50 harkens from the past except only the most desirable qualities of vacuum tube amplification, particularly all the beneficial tonal and response characteristics.
12. Quality parts - 'above mil-spec' circuit boards, chassis-mountable power tube sockets, smooth potentiometers, and point-to-point wiring where appropriate. Not constrained to a target price, no corners cut or shortcuts taken. GAGA-50 is sturdy and stands alone (Marshall 20-watt head footprint), or mounts in 4U rackspace, or installs into standard cabinets.
13. American made by experienced designers and manufacturers whose products have received glowing reviews over decades of time. The BaM tube car amp has been in continuous production for nearly 25 years, demonstrating commitment and pride in design and craftsmanship. GAGA-50 will be no less.
14. Available 2010. Pricing ~$2k.

Notes and Quotes from NAMM, Jan 2010

"Wow" was the most common reaction to GAGA-50.

"Just played your GAGA50 at NAMM today. WOW!!! what an amp. What a GREAT sound. Please let me know when it's ready for sale. I want one. ...No bull, I was REALLY impressed. I love people that think outside of the normal box." --Perry Robertson, Guitarist, Supervising Sound Editor and co-owner of Ear Candy Post ("UP IN THE AIR", "JUNO", "HALLOWEEN", "RAMBO")

"That amp sounds great. Perfect. Perfect studio amp. You don't even need distortion pedals anymore." --Ryan Curtis, Denmar Guitars

"This is the way it ought to be done." --Kirkwood Rough, Upstairs Amps

"Nice. Very nice." --Frank Gambale

"What a beautiful sound. Punchy and full and really clear. It doesn't muddy up at all, the high-end doesn't crash and fold over. It stays clean and smooth when pushed hard." --Seth Carlson, SRC Amplifiers

"[WTF] is going on in Maryland, man!? P3 Technology and now P3 pedals, GAGA, Power Chain -- all this new stuff -- what, did the aliens land?" --Don, guitarist

"Tonally great, there's so much color. I don't want to push it and blow the speaker, but it already sounds like there's more there, and deeper, than I get with my [ported 15-inch] bass rig." --Chuck, bassist playing GAGA through single 12-inch Vintage-30 in open-back cabinet.

"Nice smooth compression. This is thirty-thousand dollar sound." --Nate Flom

"Great tone....warm with full body..."

"Speechless."

"The older and fatter I get, the less I need my gear to weigh. The sound is great, by the way. You can tell that because when people come up and play it, they keep on playing it without fiddling around or tweaking with the controls - and that's because they get great tone right away." --Brian Smith, bassist

"I get so many different sounds out of this little amp, I could play it for hours." --Dave Koval

Interview regarding GAGA-50 on sonicstate.com: "...GAGA 50 is a super lightweight (5 lbs) all tube amp which allows you to swap and interchange the tubes to get the sound that you desire. An interesting concept, it has no [audio output transformer] which means two things - it's lighter and [gives] a much more characterful tone." Change tubes in GAGA and everything changes, the entire sound. GAGA accepts any standard octal output tube to give maximum variety, color and tone. Play four different output tubes, or three of the same or any combination, or a 6550 versus a 6V6, or whatever. Forget about "matched pairs" or even matching types. Plug in what you want to get the sound you desire immediately.

Preliminary information will change. Last updated 9 Mar 2010