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Ampeg B-100r Rocket Aficionados
- Thread starter barroso
- Start date
So do you guys think that if I got thicker gauged speaker wire for my B50R, that it would make an improvement as well?? I want to do this now..... Can anywhere possibly share a link so I know exactly what type wire to get to replace wire inside the B50R??
If your B50R has really small gage speaker wire, I would consider replacing it with larger gage wire. I used some generic 16 ga copper speaker wire, like that available at Radio Shack, Lowes, etc. It's an easy modification, does no harm, and you may hear an improvement.
Looks like I may be going to radio shack!
thanks guys. I'll let y'all know if there's any improvement.
We'll this is what those two wires connect to.
Are the 100's like that?? I'm not to familiar with how to work and or solder wires into these plugs.......
Are the 100's like that?? I'm not to familiar with how to work and or solder wires into these plugs.......
We'll this is what those two wires connect to.
Are the 100's like that?? I'm not to familiar with how to work and or solder wires into these plugs.......
The connections are very similar to those in the B100R. The wires are distinctly thicker than those I found in my B100R. I don't think I would bother, especially if soldering is new to you. Good solder joints are essential. It's not like you can't learn, but these need to be good ones. Make sure the connectors fit tightly at the amp and speaker ends.
I just bought one of these off ebay yesterday, buy it now of $250 plus $45 shipping, couldn't resist seemed like a fair deal. I've heard so many good things about these combos & I could use a more portable load in friendly rig for the local bar type gigs. I plan on moving it with a foldable magna cart with bungees & maybe a moving blanket to protect the covering as I've read that it is delicate.
It should have wheels. It's not really that heavy anyway. Get a cover, you'll be all set.
I received the amp today. The covering is in good shape, only light scuff marks, this amp is definitely a looker & my 6th grader said it was beautiful, I like the old school Ampeg logo. There were 2 issues, the blue power led is dead, don't know how easy it will be to find that & install it. The other issue was a slight noise when playing intermittently, like a static or loose wire bad jack kind of noise. The noise seemed to disappear, but I'll spary all the necessary parts with electronic spray & check out the speaker wires & maybe put new heavier gauge wire there if they look too light of a gauge. The tone is pure 60's & begs to be played with flatwounds which I don't use, but this amps got me thinking of researching a set for my p bass. The amp is very midrange heavy & I did find the 5,3,3,5 eq setting others suggested as a good starting point. I'm also debating getting casters & making a cover. It's not that heavy compared to an SVT or most cabinets I've owned so my collapsible hand truck might be overkill.
Congrats on the amp. The issues you have have been covered in a few places here, so there should be some solutions to be found. Nothing too drastic.
I love mine with flats (GHS Precisions) on my Jazz. Tons of growl. I'm running my eq at 7, 4.5, 6, 7. I don't see myself ever getting rid of it.
I love mine with flats (GHS Precisions) on my Jazz. Tons of growl. I'm running my eq at 7, 4.5, 6, 7. I don't see myself ever getting rid of it.
I have very little experience with flats, tried Chromes previously not sure I am sold on trying them again. I've heard good things about GHS, Fenders & Sadowsky, definitively don't want the dead out of the package sound. I have the gain up around 7 or 8 as well & its still clean. I didn't notice the speaker pop issue when turning off the amp so thats one less issue & I didn't notice the other noise when playing it again so it could have been just be a little oxidation on the input jack.
I am not sure about this - but I think the speaker pops when the working light bulb turns off (when you power the amp down).
You might want to try the Fender flats - they are fairly bright and they are very inexpensive.
Maybe I wont fix the led then. The Fenders, GHS, & Labellas are at the top of my list to try. I watched the movie "Dallas Buyers Club" last nite & this track caught my attention, apparently Wilton Felder played on it, probably with the old Fender or Labella flats?
Thanks for the recommendations, I'm leaning towards the GHS & Fenders, Thomastik might be too low tension from what I've read & I don't want to depart too far from the typical flatwound sound. I could see this amp being the perfect recording amp, I have ideas for single or double micing it with another signal going to the VTBassDI. I'm not playing out in the near future but I would love to push it & see how it sounds with musicians with tasteful volumes. I think I'm partial to smaller 15" cabinets, the other cabinet that I liked more recently was a Bag end S15D. The Bag End while more modern sounding had a similar mid focus with the lows & highs attenuated.
GHS's are good. Newer Fenders felt cool the one time I tried them on a bass at the store but I don't know much about them. I use Chromes for flats but Fenders felt kinda sorta similar. LaBellas are thumpy but the high end is so bright and piercing for my tastes.
I might try the Fender 9050L set in the future. I've gotten away from playing my P bass lately but this amps native tone is matched perfectly for a p bass, the dead sounding Fender nickel rounds the bass is wearing sound good. The setting I'm leaning towards is one from a list I made copied from TB recommendations, goes like this: starting with Gain 7, 6, 4, 4, 6, filters out & master volume as needed. The noise issue I heard when I first un boxed the amp has not shown up, I think it could have been condensation on the input jack coming in to my house from a cold UPS truck & there is still no speaker pop on powering down, so the broken blue power LED could have something to do with that as someone alluded to. I like shiny lights but would rather live without it if it is keeping that slight issue at bay.
