Ampeg-sounding rehearsal amp. Recommendations needed.

[P-punk]

Hi all.

First of all, excuse my English. As you probably understand, English is not my first language.

I need some help in finding a rehearsal amp which is also powerful enough to play small gigs with. Not talking about full band, but just a not-to-loud guitarist and drummer, or piano and singer etc.

After over 20 years of (ab)use my rather crappy Marshall combo is finally dead. I've got some money saved up on my gear account. The plan was to buy yet another a bass, but now I've got to spend them on a new amp.

In our rehearsal room there is an Ampeg SVT-450H with a Mesa Boogie 410, and when we play live I use an Ampeg SVT VR with an Ampeg SVT-810 AV. Even though they don't sound exactly the same, the sound is quite similar.

What I am looking for is a rehearsal amp with a sound pretty close to these two amps. In my small town (and neighboring towns) the music shops only carry a few amps. Therefore I will have to buy the amp from one of the bigger European webshops like Thomann or DV247.

Based on sound clips on the net I know that the Ampeg Micro VR and the Ampeg BA300/115 will give me the sound I'm looking for.

I am not an Ampeg fan bpy. I like the sound of them, but my new amp doesn't HAVE to be an Ampeg.

Anyone have some recommendations for Ampeg-sounding amps? My budget is around 600-800 €/$.

All help appreciated.

[JET-1977]

Your english was perfect.

[UncleFluffy]

Have you considered a VT Bass pedal? That would allow you to add some "Ampeg-ness" to whichever amp you have available. Maybe not the perfect solution, but gives you many more choices of amp.

[TheMutt]

+1 to the VT Bass. I use mine with my Markbass LM-II to get Ampeg sounds without the Ampeg weight.

[Nedmundo]

The Roland Cube 100 has two Ampeg models, one of the Portaflex ("Flip Top"), and one of an SVT rig ("Concert 810"). On the Flip Top model, it sounds almost exactly like an Ampeg B100R combo. But if you find a better combo for the money, the VT pedal is probably a great option.

[P-punk]

Hi guys, and thanks for the answers.

I've already got a Behringer BDI21 which pretty much is a rip-off of the SansAmp BDDI. I suppose the VT bass makes a better Ampeg-sound than the BDI21 or BDDI, but the Behringer actually made my Marshall combo sound half decent.

I'll check out the Roland Cube. I know my local music store (yes, there is only one in my town) at least has a Roland Cube 30, not sure about the 100, but I've never bothered to try it out. I've always thought of it as a beginners amp.

Anyhow I need a new amp. The Marshall combo is dead, and as it was the cheapest combo I could find 20 years ago I don't care to spend any money trying to fix it.

So I am open to any suggestions.

[BBQV]

An Ampeg Micro VR maybe?

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbas...v_583101_2.jpg

[JxBass]

Originally Posted by BBQV

An Ampeg Micro VR maybe?

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbas...v_583101_2.jpg

+1. Why not, since you already like the tone?

[P-punk]

I might end up buying the Micro VR, but I got a feeling that I pay just as much for the design and Ampeg-logo as for the amp itself. I mean, I can get for instance an Ashdown Mag 300 + a 410 for about the same price as the Micro VR.

[coreyfyfe]

Originally Posted by P-punk

I might end up buying the Micro VR, but I got a feeling that I pay just as much for the design and Ampeg-logo as for the amp itself. I mean, I can get for instance an Ashdown Mag 300 + a 410 for about the same price as the Micro VR.

Do you need a head and cab or just a head? The Micro VR head is pretty cheap (although, being that you're in europe, the prices are probably shifted in the other direction for you). You seem to have enough of a budget that I think you could probably get something with a little more power for light gigging use.

[P-punk]

Need both head and cab.

The European prices are generally a bit higher than US prices. Most of the time it's like €=$, so the Micro VR top is 299€ in Europe and 299$ in the US.