Ampeg B100R Rocket Bass
 

I just picked up an Ampeg B100R Rocket Bass combo amp from TB member Edward G. I was looking for something small, simple that could work for very small venues and also serve as a practise amp. I've only been doing this for a few years and I recall seeing these when I started. It's really a pretty sweet little unit, plus it has cool stage appeal. It's too bad Ampeg discontinued it. It's not for everything, but I don't do everything anyway.

I'm trying to get a handle on the controls, so any suggestions would be welcome, especially the gain and master volume as this is all solid state. I do notice a tiny bit of port chuff if I push the lows too hard, but other than that, I think this combo amp is one of the best kept secrets in bassdom.

I tended to run my master volume pretty high and use the gain control for basic volume control. I don't know how the eq controls interact, but I tried a bunch of different things including the 2-10-2 thing with the bass mid treble knobs (assuming it was like a bassman tone stack). maybe it is maybe it isn't but truthfully it was hard to get a bad sound out of it. I wish I hadn't sold it!

Switches on. Bass and treble way up. Mids all the way off. Enjoy!

I would not engage the switches at first, as I see them as "seasoning." Sell all the tone knobs to noon. I would use put the gain at noon as well, but increase or decrease for driving the tone between mellow and smooth (low) or hot and growly (high). Volume should do just that. Make it louder or softer in volume.

Add bass, mid, or treble to your liking. I tend to have the bass at noon to three o'clock, treble at noon or a bit less, and mids at 9 o'clock or off. I use Hofner basses with hollow bodies so I like that configuration.

The low switch is great for that purpose, boosting lows, the mid switch scoops the mids, and the high switch gives brightness to the tone. I sometimes use the first and/or second, never the third.

The base setting that I came up with years ago that got me closest to what I liked about my former B-15's is:

set the tone controls at 5-3-3-5. Turn all voicing pushbuttons off. Set the gain to not clip, then bring up the master.

This has sounded great with just about anything I've plugged in, from fours with flats to my six string basses.

Am I the only one noticing the port chuff?

Sorry, no help with advice on settings - it's been too long since I played through one. I am just chiming in to agree that these are wonderful amps that should not have been discontinued! :rollno: I never noticed chuffing from the ports.

Typically this is because one of the port tubes got dislodged.

My suggestion is set all the eq flat. This means all switches in up position, and all tone controls straight up. Turn the main volume to about 3 and gain all the way down. Play your bass hard and bring up the gain until the red overload light just starts to flash on your hardest notes. If you want a clean tone, then back it off a little. If you want overdrive, turn it up until the red light comes on most of the time and back off to taste. (The overdrive sound in this amp is very good IMO.) Once you have the gain set, bring up the master volume to meet your loudness needs. If you have more gain, you will typically need less master volume. So try to balance these out as needed.

To set the eq, you should try cutting first. If you boost a lot, you will likely have to adjust the gain and master again. There is nothing really wrong with this, but it is just a little harder to get where you want to go. Typical problems are muddy mids. Try cutting low mids a little. One or two notches are usually sufficient. You may want to raise the upper mids a bit to help you cut trough the mix. Often that scooped mids sounds we love so much in the bedroom just gets buried in the mix. Another trick is to cut the bass a little and boost the low mids. You may have to cut a little upper mids too and add a touch of treble. I highly recommend spending time practicing with the eq on your own. Getting accustomed to how the gain and eq work together is really key to getting a good stage sound quickly.

Finally, about the eq buttone: they are really terrific little devices. I would save those for one-stop tone changes. Let's say you are playing some trad blues: hit that bass button. Moving to modern r&b or pop: hit the mid cut switch. Wanna rock out: the treble switch will get you there in short order.

Finally, you have one of the best sounding combo amps out there at any price. I know I love mine.

They were wobbly, probably from shipping. I'll take a look.

And yes, the Ampeg B100R is an amazing amp!!

When mine was shipped one of the port tubes was rolling around in the cab. I secured both with silicone glue (aquarium glue).

If you still hear (non-bass) sounds coming from the ports after securing the port tubes its a chuffing problem. The best way to resolve chuffing is to add flared port ends (Parts Express, 268-322). This will result in a slightly lower tuning frequency, giving a little more heft to the low notes.

Those port tubes are always coming loose. I check them after every gig. This is a GREAT little amp. People are always coming up and asking me about it. I am on the lookout now for the 200 watt version, or another 100 that I can run in parallel.

I just picked up one of these today. It was such a great price I just couldn't pass it up :) Looking forward to playing it this weekend.

YEP !

I love that little amp, I have 2.

I push all the EQ buttons in
Gain (control your volume from there)
Bass is at 11 o'clock
Low-mid at 11 o'clock
High-mid at about 1 o'clock
Treble around 2 o'clock.
Master volume 5 o'clock
I am playing a passive MIA P-bass.

I looked at the part, their pic looks like it is on both ends. How does this thing open up?

Take the speaker out. Those flared ports sound like a cool mod as long as they don't add too much extra low end.

Is the grill just velcro'd on or something?

I love my lil' Rocket!
I generally have the high & low switches engaged
bass at 2oclock
low mid at 11oclock
high mids at noon
treble at 11oclock
master volume around 11oclock & gain at 1-2oclock....(these can change)

I used to gig it more, but a tear would roll down my cheek every time I snagged that beautiful blue tolex....AGAIN.