Vintage Ampeg 2x15s

[DavidLopezJr]

Hey guys I've been offered a Ampeg B-25B 2x15 cabinet. I'll plan on using it with an Ampeg V-4. Now I know there a couple of vintage Ampeg 215s such as the V-4B and the V-6B. Are there any major differences between these 215 cabs? I'm mainly looking for info about the cabs and not so much on the speakers inside them.

[RickenBoogie]

It's a 16 ohm cab, which makes it kinda weird. Could probably be re-wired to 4 ohms. Not alot of power handling, depending on the amp you use.

[sammyfallen]

to get the most from your v4 the v4b is your best bet.

The folded horn design will really through the sound out there...

[ampegfuzz]

I think i seen "din of win" with an old b25-b cab under His new traynor yba-3 which puts out 120w of tube thump i would hit him up.

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by ampegfuzz

I think i seen "din of win" with an old b25-b cab under His new traynor yba-3 which puts out 120w of tube thump i would hit him up.

Yessir! My favorite cab i own.

This is how i've used it the past decade:


...and this is how i use it now:



It still has the original speakers in it and the tone is awesome! I would totally jump on another one if i had the chance, and though they're fairly rare, when they DO pop up they tend to go for relatively cheap. I got mine from the local used gear place for about $200 back in late 2000.

I know there are different versions of the cab, and pardon my ignorance, but my cab has a switch in the back to toggle between 16 ohms and 4 ohms. I actually use both. MOSTLY (i.e. 95% of the time) it's used at 4 ohms, but i also have an early 70's Kustom50 guitar amp (seriously... AMAZING reverb tank on it... you can keep your Fender Reverbs and Vox AC30s...) that i use at 16 ohms.

Anyways, i'm terrible about describing tone, but it's very boomy and deep, in a good way. The cab's pretty narrow and the... i dunno... thickness of the sound is really surprising! It definatly HAS that vintage sound to it, and it sounds, in my opinion, MUCH better with a vintage amp.

In regards to the op's sittuation, the ONLY ampeg amp i've used with it IS infact a V4! Seriously... A...MAZING sound. I love those amps, and if i hadn't gotten such a good deal on the YBA-3, i was on the hunt for a V4. I used it in a live setting, in a venue with a 500ish capacity mic'd, and in a 250ish capacity space unmic'd. Evan at 'only' 100 watts () i didn't have to crank the V4 much past half way to almost drown out 2 half-stack weilding guitarists (1 with a peavey 100w VTM and 1 with a Sunn 2000s).

So yeah... i apolagize for being long-winded here and i don't really know where i'm going with it...

TL;DR - GET THE CAB, BE STOKED!!

[craig.p]

Yes, there are differences.

The B25B cab was an infinite-baffle cab with what's known as "leaks" routed into the baffle board.

The V6B was a reflex cab with a common center vent.

The V4B was a folded horn cab.

I owned the first two and occasionally stacked them horizontally and drove them with a V4B head. I liked both of them, though the V6B went louder and deeper, while the B25B had a bit more character at volume. However, the drivers weren't the same, so I can't attribute the differences in sound solely to the cab designs. If my memory serves me right, I think the V6B cab had a 4/16 ohm slide switch on the back.

The V4B can be useful, but in many cases it's more trouble than it's worth, and in cases where you've got bass support through the mains it will definitely be a liability. I've heard V4B cabs and played through them and was allowed to "test" how one transports. Even after 30+ years since they came out, well, I'll be diplomatic here and simply say that I remain thoroughly unimpressed. I could expand on this but I don't want to jack the thread.

Final notes on the first two cabs: they become killers with the correct premium drivers installed. Back when those things were being made, players used to stick either D140s or 421s into them. Not as much character as the stock crap drivers, but they sure ran much louder and much cleaner.

Hope this helps.

[metalmariachi]

Ampeg made multiple 2x15 cabs back then, the V4-B which is the same size and look of the SVT fridge,
A V6 which had the 16/4 ohm switch, built in wheels, around 48 in tall.
The B-25 was square back, 16 ohm, 48 in tall with 3 strap handles on the side and glides on the bottom and one side.
Most are found with CTS 15s, but they did have the Altec & JBL options.

They all sound great.
Like the Acoustic folded horn 18 the V4-B has almost too much bass and was hard to hear on stage (no monitors back in the day) while killing every one 20 ft or farther away.

MM

[coreyfyfe]

The B25 cab also came with the 4/16 ohm switch as it was sold to be paired with either the SVT, V4, or B25. (29" wide, 40" tall, 11.5" deep)

The V4B cab was the folded horn 2x15 as said above and is freaking huge. (approximately 26" wide, 23" deep, 48" high)

The V6B cab was a larger, tilt-back, front firing, ported 2x15. (approximately 44" wide, 15" deep, 24" high - I think that's a typo in the book, should be 44 high, 24 wide to match the head)

The product literature I have lists the B25B cab as a "reflex ported" design, whereas the V6B is listed as "active ducted port design" but I'm not exactly sure what that translates to. Probably, as CraigP said, "standard" ports in the V6B and a vented baffle (similar to the B15 cabs?) in the B25.

*all this comes from a 73 catalog, can't read the fractions next to some numbers because the scan is blurry so I just listed them as approximate

[beebassdude]

i have a 71 V4 that i run with 2 V6-B cabs. they sound awesome to me, great bass response and good mids. the selector switch is helpful too, i run them both at 16 ohms and the V4 head at 8 ohms. originally i had the V4 running at 2 ohms into the cabs at 4 ohms each but i know 2 ohms is tough for heads to run, especially 40 year old heads.

side note, if i ran the v4 at 2 ohms into the cabs at 4 ohms, would i get more volume out of them than i do now?

[coreyfyfe]

Originally Posted by beebassdude

side note, if i ran the v4 at 2 ohms into the cabs at 4 ohms, would i get more volume out of them than i do now?

No. The point of the output transformer is to match the high impedance of the tubes to the low impedance of the cab. The selector switch changes the number of windings being used, determining the ratio at which the tubes and cab are matched, not the actual output of the tubes, thus you end up with essentially the same wattage. (I think I got that right, not an expert but I've been reading )

[craig.p]

Couple of very minor points here.

1. Corey points out the differences between the marketing verbiage and the true nature of the cabs. The B25B is a "leaky" infinite baffle cab while the V6B is nothing more than a bass-reflex cab.

2. The V4B cab, at least the ones I was exposed to, were far deeper and far more massive than the relatively puny SVT cabs. When you kick back a V4B cab and start rolling it across the floor, the first impression you get is that you're relocating approximately half the plywood stock of your local Home Depot in one trip. The sheer inertia of the thing once it gets rolling is scary.

[beebassdude]

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

No. The point of the output transformer is to match the high impedance of the tubes to the low impedance of the cab. The selector switch changes the number of windings being used, determining the ratio at which the tubes and cab are matched, not the actual output of the tubes, thus you end up with essentially the same wattage. (I think I got that right, not an expert but I've been reading )

didnt think so, just wanted to ask. so many people talk about these things being so friggin loud. well theyre definitely loud, but they aint SVT loud thats for sure. the volume peaks around 12pm and anything past that is just breakup.

[DavidLopezJr]

Well the cab is as good as mine but it's a state away so now I wait till I can get to the state, it's in like mint condition besides the speakers being blown so I'm looking for options on that. Recone or replace the speakers? (I'm getting the info on what type of speakers they are) Plan on running it with an Ampeg V-4 head I'm possibly getting.

Also this if kinda off topic but while we're on the topic of cabinets, I've heard that the Ampeg B-40 cabinet is basically an original Design SVT fridge cut in half. Is there any truth in that for design and how does the tone compare?

Also off topic as well I might also might be getting a pretty beat Ampeg V-4 4x12 cabinet, now I know people switch the speakers to bass speakers to work for bass but has anyone found a good speaker type that works great for both? If not I'll keep the this cabinet just for guitar and/or another one for bass.

*I dont feel like making 3 more threads lol

[GlennW]

I had a late '60s B-25 (B?) cab a couple years ago. It had the original speakers, two 8 ohm Jensen C15N's wired in series for 16 ohms.

For bass, I wouldn't recommend going to the expense of reconing Jensens.

[DavidLopezJr]

Only and last bump for questions in post #13.

[craig.p]

On the speaker question, I think it depends on a) how loud you want to go and b) whether you want an "original" tone. If you want to stay close to original, maybe give fliptops.net a call and let them tell you what options you have.