Bass Amp - Any Advice?

[JimN]

Good choice.

Ampeg started with bass amps and were always famous for them, more so than their guitar amps, which never really caught on this side of the Atlantic. They even made bass guitars, though not, as far as I know, guitars.

A bass-playing friend and colleague of mine used to have the B-18, which was the larger, 50w, version of the Portaflex - the one where the amp-head stored away inside the cab when being transported, but was flipped the "right way up" to sit on top of the cab, piggy-back-style, when in use.

Bit like this:

http://www.ampeg.com/products/diamondbluebass/b15/images/B15R_LG.jpg

JN

[AndyKC]

Ampeg did have a line of guitars in the late 60s-early 70s, perspex-bodied ones with interchangeable pickups, made by Dan Armstrong. Amongst the more notable users was Keith Richards. I believe Ampeg continues to make a retro-styled 100-watt Portaflex and you might be able to find one here in the UK if you keep your nose to the ground. They also make a nice 100-watt combo called the B100. If a Vox look is more to your liking you might find one of the Korg-built T60s floating about somewhere. Quite portable, not terribly loud but it does have a line out so you can bung it through the PA, and fairly inexpensive.

[RUSSET]

My brother who plays bass in my band, who is also into his '60s now, always considers the weight question. He uses an Ampeg 1 x 15" cab on casters, probably similar to the one you have, & a Peavey 160w head. For home practise he has a Roland BassCube 100, which is an excellent little combo.

Tony.

[abstamaria]

Our bassist Anna has been using an Ampeg head (an all-tube BH10, I recall) with an Ampeg vab with a 15" speaker, also on casters. It sounds really sweet, with a good vintage tone, but is not easy to bring around. I have been looking for a smaller Ampeg; they had an attractive "blue-series" before, but seem to have discontinued this.
The only picture of Anna's rig I have is this one, blocked by Anna unfortunately!

Andy

Anna w Ampeg & PB.jpg

(115.54 KiB) Downloaded 13483 times

[David Martin]

I still use a Genz benz Shuttle Combo... only a 12 inch speaker, but 300 watts of pure thrutch (a bassplayers' term) Lift with one hand too... add a 2x10 for 600 watts (and still lift the cab with one hand)

Great advice from here

http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Benz_Shuttle_6.0_12T_Combo.html

[Dranna]

I love that Ampeg. I started out last Saturday with a different amp but I wasn't happy with the sound. I switched to the Ampeg and the difference was night and day. Too bad you can hardly see it in the photo, sorry!

Warm regards,
Anna

[Iain Purdon]

I still use a Genz benz Shuttle Combo

Any chance you might bring it -- and chiefly of course yourselves -- to Warwick some time?

We could have a "rig-off" with Mike's Ampeg and my Ashdown!!

Cheers - I

[David Martin]

Once the riding season is over it's a possibility... maybe I'll see you this coming weekend Iain...

[abstamaria]

I picked up a Fender Bassman TV15 amp the past Friday from the local Fender dealer, who had a freshly arrived one, still in a box (I thought Fender had discontinued the TV series). It is quite large and heavy - 64 lbs. Although it has pop-in casters, it would be difficult to lift and fit it into the trunk of a car. By the way, it came with a red tag that recommended removing the casters when playing to improve the sound and avoid rattles.

This our bassist Anna's amp, and we plan to use the TV15 only in the studio and the occasional show. It looks very vintage and would look great on stage. I tried it Saturday, and my impression is that it sounds more defined that the Ampeg Anna referred to above, which has a lovely, very vintage tone and is my standard. However, the Fender will not sound out of place, I think, in an early Shadows piece, as it also has a "vintage" tone to it; the 15" speaker helps. That was not the case with a new model Bassman I had some years ago, which had a very modern, punchy bass sound that I didn't like and couldn't compensate for with the tone controls.

I used a fairly new Precision Bass with the TV15 and noted that pushing the button on the PBass's volume knob has a more pronounced effect on tone than on the Ampeg. It would be great for a quick tone shift for "36-24-26." I should do a back-to-back comparison, though, as memory isn't a very reliable standard.

The TV15 has the old-style passive tone controls, where, according to what I gathered from the Internet, treble and bass are boost only and middle reduce only. A flat setting,, is 0-10-0 (treble, middle, bass). The owner's manual just says "these are tone controls" and is no help at all.

I played the TV15 (which is rated at 350W) with the volume knob about midway, expecting to be drowned by the bass in my small garage studio. But the sound was still quite clean and not oppressive at all. However, one of our staff who was some 30 meters away, working behind a low set of garages, later came to me and said it was surprising how very clearly he could hear me. It wasn't like that with the Ampeg (100W). That is a credit perhaps to the newly applied acoustic treatment in the garage/studio and also the power of the TV15. Or maybe it was a quieter day than usual, with the wind blowing in the right direction.

I think the all-tube Ampeg still has the sweeter and more refined sound. But I am not a bass player, so I am eager to have the band and Anna try the Fender out. I will request her to post a report when she does.

Best,

Andy

[Iain Purdon]

I have just acquired a Mark Bass 121P



Small, doesn't even come up to my knee. Easy to carry but huge sound. And it will take an extension cab if needed.

Iain