1968 Ampeg B25

metallicafan18 · #1 03-13-2011, 11:59 AM

I've never been an Ampeg guy at all, but I've been offered a 1968 Ampeg B-25 in perfect condition for $375.

Can someone tell me about these amps and if this is a good price?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I've only owned one other tube amp before and it was a '68 Traynor YBA-1A. It was $80, so I had to get it. Ended up selling it later just because it didn't have enough watts. It was like 25 watts or so.

Thanks!

coreyfyfe · #2 03-13-2011, 12:04 PM

That's a fair price. The only drawback of a B25 IMO is the output impedance. The main out is 16 ohms and if you place a dummy plug into the jack and use the secondary output you can do 8 ohms, but it tends to limit your cabinet selection.

metallicafan18 · #3 03-13-2011, 12:05 PM

I saw that they are only 55 watts. I know it is a tube amp, but is this enough power for a gig, or is it mainly used as a studio amp?

will33 · #4 03-13-2011, 12:09 PM

IMO only enough for the smallest of "rig only, no PA" gigs. Nice studio/home amp.

metallicafan18 · #5 03-13-2011, 12:12 PM

How's the tone in these as well?

coreyfyfe · #6 03-13-2011, 12:28 PM

Depends on your gigging and cab situation. I play a 25 watt B-15 for most shows with one of my bands but it's typically a lower volume affair. Big gigs with those guy I still haul out the SVT and a small cab. My covers gig where I'm filling the room that would never work. I used to play in a heavier rock band and I used a V4 and just upped the cab size when I thought I'd need more volume. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it really depends. If you have enough cone area, 5 watts could be enough.

As far as tone, it's subjective. I haven't heard one in a long time and haven't played one personally, but when I heard one it sounded good. Not like an SVT (as I expected looking at it the first time) but good in it's own way.

metallicafan18 · #7 03-13-2011, 12:42 PM

I have a GK 4x10, and a 2x12. Could I run both of these cabs into the head. Both cabs are 8 ohms. I have a Ric 4001 that would probably sound pretty sweet through it, especially if I was going for that vintage. I was reading up that they don't have a very punchy tone. They made it sound like it was a thin tone.

JimmyM · #8 03-13-2011, 12:51 PM

if i were you i'd pass. sounds like it won't be loud enough for you. plus you wouldn't be able to run both your cabs with it without jumping through a hoop or two.

groovaholic · #9 03-13-2011, 01:35 PM

If the YBA-1A wasn't loud enough for you, the B25 wouldn't have a chance.

B25s sound fantastic though, but then so do the Traynors.

metallicafan18 · #10 03-13-2011, 01:39 PM

I loved the tone of the Traynor at the low volumes, but once I pushed it more than half way, it was just fuzz. Then again, at the time, I was playing through an active bass. That probably affected it as well. I'll go check this out and see how it sounds.

groovaholic · #11 03-13-2011, 02:19 PM

If the YBA-1A wasn't loud enough for you, the B25 wouldn't have a chance.

B25s sound fantastic though, but then so do the Traynors.

godofthunder59 · #12 03-13-2011, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicafan18

I saw that they are only 55 watts. I know it is a tube amp, but is this enough power for a gig, or is it mainly used as a studio amp?

I use mine to rehearse and record FANTASTIC for that!

godofthunder59 · #13 03-13-2011, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicafan18

I loved the tone of the Traynor at the low volumes, but once I pushed it more than half way, it was just fuzz. Then again, at the time, I was playing through an active bass. That probably affected it as well. I'll go check this out and see how it sounds.

B25Bs have thick meaty tone they break up nice right around 10- 11 O'clock.

metallicafan18 · #14 03-13-2011, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by godofthunder59

B25Bs have thick meaty tone they break up nice right around 10- 11 O'clock.

I've been looking for a chunky amp with some bite to it, so I'll check it out!

will33 · #15 03-13-2011, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicafan18

I loved the tone of the Traynor at the low volumes, but once I pushed it more than half way, it was just fuzz. Then again, at the time, I was playing through an active bass. That probably affected it as well. I'll go check this out and see how it sounds.

If you're looking for "warm but relatively clean/thumpy" it likely ain't gonna do it for ya. Even if you want cranked amp grit all the time, it seems like it could still get drowned out by a guitar amp and heavy-handed drummer. If you're looking for a good sounding studio/home/recording/practice amp, it'll do a good job of that.

SBrown · #16 03-13-2011, 02:30 PM

I had the B25B head and 2x15 combo (16ohm) and the tone was beautiful. It sat perfectly in the mix with the blues bands I was playing with, but with the rock band, it wasn't quite enough. That caused me to sell it, which I regretted later after the rock band fell apart. You have to be honest about what you expect it to do, blues and jazz- or recording, its one of the best. When I had the equipment and sound guy that allowed me to mic the cab, it was great. You can put a "dummy jack" in the extension cab out and play 8ohm cabs. When the ext. cab out is used, the amp switches to 8ohm. This won't increase your output with a tube power section, but it will open up some cab possibilities.

Farfetched · #17 03-14-2011, 01:33 AM

Yea that Traynor yba-1a should be ~100 watts

Oren Hudson · #18 03-14-2011, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicafan18

I've never been an Ampeg guy at all, but I've been offered a 1968 Ampeg B-25 in perfect condition for $375.

Can someone tell me about these amps and if this is a good price?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I've only owned one other tube amp before and it was a '68 Traynor YBA-1A. It was $80, so I had to get it. Ended up selling it later just because it didn't have enough watts. It was like 25 watts or so.

Thanks!

The answer to your first question is yes. The price is real good, exceptional if it has the optional Altec Lansing 421A speakers.

In addition to the responses herein, the search function is your best friend. I know of at least a couple of good threads on exactly what you seek that have run within the last year. Check it out.

Bassmec · #19 03-14-2011, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oren Hudson

The answer to your first question is yes. The price is real good, exceptional if it has the optional Altec Lansing 421A speakers.

In addition to the responses herein, the search function is your best friend. I know of at least a couple of good threads on exactly what you seek that have run within the last year. Check it out.

Those old Altecs sound great with a good mic on them in the studio, not enough power live though!
but if you want to use it live if you get a couple of old ridiculously efficient acoustic 408 cabs:

coupling 8 X 15" in a good efficient pair of cabs will get
you loud enough, if you re-wire them series parallel and then run the two then in series there is your sixteen ohms.
Come to think of it!, as they are 2 ohms stock you could just get eight of them in series!. then you would be really loud.
50watt amp + loads of efficient 100dB + SPL @ 1 watt drivers works just as well and looks and feels far better than. 1000watts of amp power and a high x-max 2 X 10 tuned for 35 hz in a small box.
(Transport/Handling excluded of course)

robgrow · #20 03-14-2011, 09:21 AM

Back in the 70's I used an Ampeg B-25 cab with Altec 421A's and an Ampeg V-4B head. For a steady night club gig I had (remember those?) that rig sounded great. In a larger room though, it reached its limit pretty quickly, and I had to go back to my Acoustic 360, which always worked great in the larger rooms. The B-25 amp sounds great, but it's not really capable of loud rock&roll.