All user reviews for the Hughes & Kettner BassForce XXL Head

Solid-state amp head that delivers 300 Watts into 4ohms and 150W into 8 ohms.
It has one passive and one active input, plus a footswitch connector.
One xlr line output, an effects loop and a headphone out.
It has a 4-preset EQ switch, like the combo series:
normal/slap/rock/fretless

USE

Very easy to dial in, with one gain pot for the preamp and 1 volume pot for the amp.
3-band EQ + 1 band to fine-tune the mids. A blinking overload indicator to protect the amp (dynaclip).
Very good and PRECISE sound, pretty modern with the 4x10" huges&kettner. I only miss some tube-like warmth, but it's very clean and transparent to play soft.
The manual couldn't be clearer because it's very simple.

SOUND

You can play anything with it, but it was surely conceived to attack the 4x10" + a 15" !!!
It seriously lacks some power below 80Hz. I'd say 100 W with the 4 speakers! It's excellent for rock blues jazz funk with my active cort nb4 because it's very clean and doesn't seem to "color" sound like, an swr....I think it deserves a preamp-type effect without amp. The slap sound is also very precise and faithful. In short, it's a quite transparent amp head and you are forced to use the 4 presets mentioned above to really make the best of it.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it for two years with a bass/drums/guitar pop rock combo and it does its job.
It's nevertheless a pain to have to lug around the 4 speakers when certain 150w combos do the same job with the same output power. To summarize: Obvious lack of power (it's more like 150w, not 300w); the 4 presets are a bit stunning; simplicity; very clear and precise sound; very versatile for not too heavy styles; price: It's not manufactured anymore, but if you found one secondhand for 300 euros, it's a good deal (the bassbase have taken its place). I bought the 300w head + 10" speakers new for 750 euros (at my local store). I admit that, given the price, I hesitated pretty long between this one and the hartke 3500 + 4 speakers (no aluminum cone), so I don't think I'd buy it again because it was on sale at the store, which doesn't happen much.

A brief reply to the review by Alois: I by and large agree with his review, except when he says the amp lacks power. I have an ampeg b2r (350W) amp head and this hughes and kettner, so I was able to compare both: The b2r is more powerful, with more lows, but to say that the hughes and kettner is only 150W, is an exaggeration. I don't think the difference in terms of SPL is that big, the 300W it's rated at aren't false. At a gig together with a punk-hardcore band, their bassist borrowed it from me and I can tell you it really kicks ass (although I must say he had a music man with a 8x10 ampeg, very good gear, indeed: But the amp head did a very good job, all the same)!
Compared to the b2r, it's true that the hughes and kettner has less lows, it doesn't have that particular tone the ampegs have, full of low mids. It doesn't have that really fat sound of the b2r, but ti's not cold; I think it sounds very nice when you play certain notes, with a less intrusive personality than the b2r, more subtle. It's more discreet (which doesn't mean it doesn't have a personality of its own) but, at the same time, it's more precise than the b2r. So it all depends on the sound you are looking for.