Very impressed by the AMpeg BA115.

TUEP · #1 04-22-2011, 06:50 PM

I got to demo a Ampeg BA115 today. Great tone and lots of juice for a 100 watts. I don't see what people are talking about when they say it isn't loud enough. More loud than my Acoustic B100 and a bit louder (though not as smooth) as my old Ampeg B100R.

Also it was beefier than my old GK Backline 210 combo. Great tone! I would love to get one of these babies.

Josh20g · #2 04-22-2011, 06:53 PM

that amp is plenty loud my biggest deal was the tweeter i went threw 2 of them.

Zitch · #3 04-22-2011, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TUEP

I got to demo a Ampeg BA115 today. Great tone and lots of juice for a 100 watts. I don't see what people are talking about when they say it isn't loud enough. More loud than my Acoustic B100 and a bit louder (though not as smooth) as my old Ampeg B100R.

Also it was beefier than my old GK Backline 210 combo. Great tone! I would love to get one of these babies.

Have you tried it with two tube guitar stacks and a loud drummer?

philter25 · #4 04-22-2011, 07:37 PM

My older amp was the BA115HPT.... the 220 watt preamptube version.

It was just loud enough for small venue gigs. I had the gain up and the master volume at 4:00.... it was almost pinned.

I guess it depends on who you play with. But for my 6 piece cover band, it wasnt loud enough for stage volume.

baileyboy · #5 04-22-2011, 07:53 PM

I've used a solid state Ampeg B3 for indoor and outdoor gigs before. For outdoor gigs we simply mic'd it through the PA, no problems, great sound.

jjk2007 · #6 04-22-2011, 08:51 PM

I had one. Developed some strange buzzes and got relegated to the music room for solo practice. Sounded good when new, but I wasn't impressed with the volume. That was running the mids on the "3" setting with no extreme EQ settings.

JimmyM · #7 04-22-2011, 09:09 PM

in its price range, i consider it untouchable.

TUEP · #8 04-23-2011, 06:41 AM

The thing is for most applications like practice. Me and my guitarist usually use 100 watt combos. For small gigs that is what we use. More often than not I find that many guitar players and bass players assume they need to crank the gain or the volume to cut through. When in actuality a EQ tweak in the mid range or a adjustment on the bass can be all that is needed. I would never try using it in a 6 piece cover band or against 2 guitar tube stacks. But for practice and small gigs, and recording, it would be great.

georgestrings · #9 04-23-2011, 08:50 AM

I've attempted to use a BA115 several times in a band setting, and it's inadequate for any band I play in - for rehearsals or gigs...

- georgestrings

georgestrings · #10 04-23-2011, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zitch

Have you tried it with two tube guitar stacks and a loud drummer?

It wouldn't cut it with one tube half stack and a moderately loud drummer *for me*...

Of course, I'm not surprised that someone who likes the B2RE would also be impressed with the BA115...

- georgestrings

robertusf · #11 04-23-2011, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

in its price range, i consider it untouchable.

+1
I have a BA115 and have used at many venues with PA support.

C.Linton · #12 04-23-2011, 12:48 PM

That's where I figure you would get the most out of it. DI into the PA, and, with the tiltback feature, you have yourself a nice dedicated powered bass monitor.

MUSHROOMSeAcOw · #13 04-23-2011, 12:53 PM

It works pretty well for me for practice and the very smallest of gigs. Great sound, and a decent amount of power to compete with a 100W tube combo and a hard-hitting drummer. That's pushing it though. Good thing I like a little bit of natural OD.

arthur31686 · #14 04-23-2011, 01:40 PM

This little combo was my first REAL amp in high school (after the squier practice amp). It got me through many years of band practices in our parents basements, church/basement shows and talent shows.

And it still sounds great for what it is! Crank that sucker and it can hang in a small enough room.

But here's the dark side of that amp: after using it so much and watching it fall over at countless parties and shows when people sit on it and don't realize it can lean back it has started to overheat considerably. Its now at point where it is unreliable to use since it will sporadically stop working while I'm using it (this happened when I played at a friends wedding...ugh). Of course I've had it for close to 9 years at this point. If you keep it away from rowdy high school and college kids I'm sure it can last you much longer.

Once I get the money I plan on repairing it....though my sunn beta bass combo has been working for small gigs since.

Use the BA115 and a vt bass and you're golden at any small gig.

sec106 · #15 04-23-2011, 04:52 PM

Played through it as a house amp a couple of weeks ago and loved it.
Playing the same room next week and plan on paying much closer attention to its overall tone.

lucas vigor · #16 04-23-2011, 05:03 PM

I have found it to be a reliable and warm sounding amp, especially for rootsy music....jazz, blues, folk, world, etc...it works VERY good with upright bass for those same styles I just mentioned.

It would not be my first choice for rock or anything else, unless it is rock from the 50s or 1960s.

It's been my main gigging amp for about 7-8 years now. Never had any issues whatsoever with it, except that the DI in the back is not great. The volume effects the DI output, so to get a decent signal you have to crank the amp up too much. Better to go with a separate DI.

Miking it is not a good idea, as you cannot turn off the horn tweeter and it tends to hiss a lot.

Other then that, this amp sounds surprisingly tube- like and warm! If you want that Jamerson or Duck Dunn sound...it's really good for that! Sounds fabulous with my PA bass and flats!

C.Linton · #17 04-23-2011, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucas vigor

I have found it to be a reliable and warm sounding amp, especially for rootsy music....jazz, blues, folk, world, etc...it works VERY good with upright bass for those same styles I just mentioned.

It would not be my first choice for rock or anything else, unless it is rock from the 50s or 1960s.

It's been my main gigging amp for about 7-8 years now. Never had any issues whatsoever with it, except that the DI in the back is not great. The volume effects the DI output, so to get a decent signal you have to crank the amp up too much. Better to go with a separate DI.

Miking it is not a good idea, as you cannot turn off the horn tweeter and it tends to hiss a lot.
Other then that, this amp sounds surprisingly tube- like and warm! If you want that Jamerson or Duck Dunn sound...it's really good for that! Sounds fabulous with my PA bass and flats!

But you can easily disable the tweeter, if you don't mind losing those high freqs. I plan on doing this to mine at some point. I'm not a big fan of a lot of treble on my bass.

TUEP · #18 04-24-2011, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgestrings

It wouldn't cut it with one tube half stack and a moderately loud drummer *for me*...

Of course, I'm not surprised that someone who likes the B2RE would also be impressed with the BA115...

- georgestrings

You just can't stand it when people like stuff you don't like. Its just freakin gear dude. That is why they make ice cream in different flavors. I have yet to play an Ampeg, that can't give me the volume and tone I need. Most of the clubs around here in NC are small to medium. So my SVT350/B2RE does just fine.

I can't understand why anyone would like black cherry ice cream, but my aunt and my dad eat the stuff up. Does that make them wrong in liking it?

As far as the SVT-350/B2RE goes, it hangs just fine with a loud drummer and my guitar players Randall 220 Watt SS half stack. That also happens to be with a below average beat to crap Fender 4x10. As I said up top a lot of times your cut through is with the EQ more so than the volume or gain controls. I run the Behringer BDI21 (only thing that company made I like) into the head for some dirt and presence and with out PA help was able to fill a medium size club.

So my next purchase would be this little amp hopefully.

georgestrings · #19 04-24-2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TUEP

You just can't stand it when people like stuff you don't like. Its just freakin gear dude. That is why they make ice cream in different flavors. I have yet to play an Ampeg, that can't give me the volume and tone I need. Most of the clubs around here in NC are small to medium. So my SVT350/B2RE does just fine.

I can't understand why anyone would like black cherry ice cream, but my aunt and my dad eat the stuff up. Does that make them wrong in liking it?

As far as the SVT-350/B2RE goes, it hangs just fine with a loud drummer and my guitar players Randall 220 Watt SS half stack. That also happens to be with a below average beat to crap Fender 4x10. As I said up top a lot of times your cut through is with the EQ more so than the volume or gain controls. I run the Behringer BDI21 (only thing that company made I like) into the head for some dirt and presence and with out PA help was able to fill a medium size club.

So my next purchase would be this little amp hopefully.

Or, you can't stand it when it's pointed out that you're impressed with mediocre gear... There's one of those combos at a rehearsal space I've used a few times, and I actually tried to make it work so that I wouldn't have to haul gear there - but it wouldn't get the job done *for me*...

I really don't care what anyone plays, to be honest - but don't get butthurt when other people aren't as easily impressed as you are, and you've invited comments on a public forum...

I swear, some Ampeg fanboi's would think a turd sounded great if it was sporting an Ampeg badge...

- georgestrings

C.Linton · #20 04-24-2011, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgestrings

Or, you can't stand it when it's pointed out that you're impressed with mediocre gear... There's one of those combos at a rehearsal space I've used a few times, and I actually tried to make it work so that I wouldn't have to haul gear there - but it wouldn't get the job done *for me*...

I really don't care what anyone plays, to be honest - but don't get butthurt when other people aren't as easily impressed as you are, and you've invited comments on a public forum...

I swear, some Ampeg fanboi's would think a turd sounded great if it was sporting an Ampeg badge...

- georgestrings

And a gear snob raises it's ugly head ...