Ampeg B-15 thread... first ever?

[Psycho Ward]

Interesting to see the porting on the B-15R in this photo...

have you hooked up your B-15R cabs to your vintage B-18?

would be cool if you could compare/contrast the new cab with a vintage B-15N...

I don't know that much about amps and cabs. I've been thinking about building an B-15N cab clone out of italian poplar and putting a neodymium driver in it, specifically to have a lightweight portable amp for my oliver heads. Although, a B-15N cab with just the speaker and no amp, actually isn't that heavy...so maybe I should just buy one from fliptops and spend my time actually playing music???

oh, by the way, just noticed that framed photo on the desk. I'm hoping it isn't what I think it is.

I haven't tried the B18 head with the B15 cabs because of the B18's speaker cable is a strange XLR affair.

And yes that is the now infamous SR5 picture.

 

[madlee]

I haven't tried the B18 head with the B15 cabs because of the B18's speaker cable is a strange XLR affair.

And yes that is the now infamous SR5 picture.

fliptops.net sells a cable set that will allow you connect them..

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[madlee]

On the second generation of the portaflex there are two toggle switches for each channel, an "ultra-lo" and an "ultra-hi." I think I read somewhere that enabling these cause the 2nd generation portaflex to emulate the 1st generation. Does anybody have any information/thoughts about this?

 

[cymbop]

I may have the chance to trade some gear for a 1976 B-15S this weekend, so I've been reading this thread with drool coming out of both sides of my mouth. Can I solicit from you guys any more comments about the B-15S in particular? How far off of The Tone of the B-15N is it? Will I be able to experiment by pairing it with different cabs? Assuming it's like this guy will I need the XLR-to-1/4 in. converter mentioned above? Your wisdom is greatly appreciated.

 

[madlee]

Here's what Jess Oliver said about it from ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-AMPEG-B...ryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

“Make ours bigger, make ours more powerful.” That’s what my old boss said when he saw my Oliver Powerflex Bassamp that I came out with after I left Ampeg. Although Hull had sold the company, the new owners kept him for a while. That’s how this amp, Model B15S was born. Hull had engineering redesign my B15N, making it bigger and like the Oliver P500, twice the power. The circuit and tube complement is like my B18N design, which I believe was discontinued at about the time they started making the B15S.



They were still in Linden, NJ at this time, I think around 1969, Ampeg had gone public so they had enough money to make improvements such as the three position rotary switch, Bass, Flat and Guitar, added to channel one, and an extra input added to channel two. Each of the two channels has a bright and a normal input. They kept my fail-safe way of protecting the output transformer by putting the amp on standby if the speaker is not connected .They went back to including a tilt back leg as on my early Portaflexes. They went back to polished chrome hardware, such as the corners, instead of nickel- plated. They went back to cups in the amp bottom to help register the rubber bumpers on the detachable dolly..Some of these things the early Ampeg “bean counters” had changed or eliminated back around 1965.



This B15 is a very clean one; it doesn’t look like it was used very much in the last 38 years but I gave it what it needed to put it in perfect electronic condition and very good cosmetic condition. With the new authentic grill replacement, it really looks new.

The first batch Ampeg made of this model had defective blue colored

silk screening on the front panel. This is not one of them. The

lettering is permanent and perfect..

I have two oliver heads that are supposedly the same as the oliver powerflex. I haven't plugged them into my 70's B-15N yet, because I need to make a 4 pin xlr cable in order to do so.

However, I will say that the oliver heads do sound somewhat similar to my B-15n, when played through another 15" cab...maybe a bit brighter. This is probably caused more by the cab than the amp. The olivers have 6eu7 preamp tubes which are different than the b-15n (6sl7) and the b-15s (12ax7).

I would say that the b-15n and the b-15s are probably similar sounding enough.

 

[cymbop]

That's great info, Madlee. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this trade will go through in the next two hours.

 

[cymbop]

I just made the Best Barter Ever. My first bass combo amp was an SWR Workingman's 15. As I honed in on the Sound in my Head, I grew to hate it -- all solid state, hi-fi sounding, mid-scooped, tinny, characterless, and completely anemic in a band setting. It's been serving as a beer rest ever since I got a Traynor head and Ampeg 8x10. Well, I found a guy on Cragslist who needed to trade his amp for a smaller combo because his wouldn't fit on the tour bus with his 8-piece beach band. He plays an active-pickup 5-string, so the SWR was actually a good fit for him, as he only needed it for a stage monitor. He traded me straight-up for this:

1976 Ampeg B-15S Portaflex. Weighs over a hundred pounds -- they sure as s**t don't build 'em like this anymore. It's pretty well beat-up, but was retubed in the last year and sounds great, quite surprisingly loud for 60 watts. It's got four different inputs each with its own range of tones, so I have only begun to bask in its warm, tubey goodness.

 

[madlee]

unbelievable deal.

 

[pedro]

I should never have read this thread. (Pedro seriously jonesing for the Fliptop he tried out yesterday.)

 

[BG6654]

Great thread..
I've a 61' B12N that's recently had new caps and tubes. The speaker for a 46 year old Jensen is in good shape but decided save it and pulled it for an Eminence red/white/blue.
Used it in the studio early 90's. Engineers loved using it with 2 channels for bass: DI on bass and one with mic on amp.
Warmest tone but at 25 watts it doesn't leave the house.

I've been craving a more powerful tube amp not as large as SVT but could handle a moderate band format if need be.
I've not played thru or heard live the new B15R but was hoping at 100 watts w/ext cab it would be answer. The attraction was mostly the watts and newer features, XLR out, etc..
Anyone have this set-up that likes it??

 

[main_sale]

Yeah, I've got an Ampeg B-15R/15E and I like it. It does not sound nearly as good as my '67 B-15-N but it has that retro look and sounds very good, just not like a vintage B-15-N, but nothing does. I retubed it with better tubes and switched the output tubes to EL-34L's and that helped.

 

[hansC]

I've got the same amp..B-15N. Bought it in 1970 used. What a sweet sounding, ultra reliable workhorse it has been.( for small gigs, practice and recording). Its always been very quiet and the tubes seem to last forever in it. In fact is still has the original Mullard rectifier tube in it. I wouldnt give it up for anything.

 

[jom6420]

i recently came accross a B15S cab pretty beat up but still in perfect working condition, im currently running it through a sunn 2000s head. i monsterous probably close to 80 pound head pumps some serious power through that 15" speaker. ive been looking for an original fliptop head although im starting to second guess myself. the fliptop head would definitly be more portable but would lack the amount of power i can crank out with the 2000s

 

[madlee]

So the main out on the B-15n is 16ohm correct?

And when you engage the ext. speaker plug which is 8 ohm, the main out switches to 8 ohm correct?

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

So the main out on the B-15n is 16ohm correct?

And when you engage the ext. speaker plug which is 8 ohm, the main out switches to 8 ohm correct?

No, the main out is 8 ohms, and the extension speaker jack is 8 ohms wired in series with it. The extension out, if used by itself, is 16 ohms.

 

[madlee]

No, the main out is 8 ohms, and the extension speaker jack is 8 ohms wired in series with it. The extension out, if used by itself, is 16 ohms.

I'm confused...

The main out of a B15N is 16 ohms; the extension is a separate 8 ohm tap. Neither would be suited to 4 ohm load. You'll work the output tubes WAY too hard and may even burn out the rectifier tube trying to supply the additional current. It won't hurt the cabinet, but you'll probably damage the amp. There is NO such thing as "underpowering," in and of itself and even at continuous full square wave clip (which the B15N can't even do, let alone into a 4 ohm load) you'd be "hammering" your NV610 with a whopping 70 watts of horrible sounding distortion. It's not enough to hurt even a single speaker in that cabinet.

 

[Wesley R]

It was with me from Jan. 1975 through spring (I think) of 2005 or 2006.

Best of Luck,
Wesley R.

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I'm confused...

The second quote was the result of a barely readable schematic that looked that way. I found a better version which cleared things up. There is no marking for main output impedance on the back of mine. Sorry for the confusion; I'll fix the quote.

ed note: It won't let me edit the post. I guess it's too old. At any rate, my latest post is the correct one.

 

[Thomas Peasley]

Got a B-12 top that I got from a friend who was going to give it to the trashman. It plays well but has quite a hum in it. Once I get that out it will be a good match for a 1-12" cab.
It puts out about 50 watts and has the plexi logo that lights up blue now that I replaced the lamps with blue LEDs ;+).-Tp

 

[Mcrelly]

if anyones interested "Jim Harm's My Music Store" in golden valley minnesota has two vintage B15's I think. they're not mine and I'm not Jim Harms and I don't work for him!!!!

he has other great vintage guitars, basses, horns, amps etc...

plus new stuff.