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Ampeg B-200R, issues, dealing w/ LOUD Technologies - Sorry for the long post

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dwhite1031

May 9, 2007
43
0
#1
I've waited a long time to purchase an Ampeg. I finally did so about a month and a half ago and bought the Rocket Bass B-200R combo. I wanted to compact the amount of gear I lugged to gigs (I ain't gettin' no younger), trusted the Ampeg name and quality, and I really liked the looks and specs of the B-200R.

First thing I noticed was that every single screw had to be tightened. They weren't just a little loose, they were backed way off. Okay, no big deal, probably happened in shipping. I always check out every inch of an amp and I also noticed that the amp chassis itself looked like it had been bent at the points where it mounted into the combo cab to make it fit, like it had been really forced into place. Fired it up and sounded good, no issues.....yet.

But as I increased the volume, every time I'd hit an "A" it would make this horrendous sound like the amp was coming apart. This is a 220 watt amp, and I had the gain and master at 3. I could push on the back of the amp chassis and it wasn't as bad, and press on the top of the cabinet part and it was also not as bad.

Called Ampeg (LOUD Technologies) and got the tech support voicemail. Surprisingly they called me back. Tech didn't seem very knowledgeable and as I described the problem and the way the chassis looked, she just kind of went thru the motions. She asked me if it did the same thing by plugging into the -15db jack. I told her I was playing a passive bass and why would I do that? She said if it didn't do it then, that I could just use the amp like that and increase my volume........yeah....right.....

She said the nearest service center was in San Antonio (330 miles away) and it was probably the tube anyway.......what?...........I told her I thought it could possibly be a construction or assembly issue. She said these were made in China now, but they were built to their specs. I told them that it appeared to be very poor quality construction and I felt that LOUD should stand behind it and replace it.

Anyway their only solution was to have me ship it to San Antonio where it would be determined if it was a warranty fix or not. And that the service center would only be able to check out the amplifier electronics, not the cabinet construction. But replacement was not an option.

It's obvious this is not an electronics issue, but a quality of construction issue. I'm not thru with them yet, and I may be fighting a losing battle and I may have to eat the 700 bucks I'm out for this amp. But I am beginning to see why a lot of bass players are steering away from Ampeg since they have their products assembled in China now.
 
#2
I'm assuming that since you paid 700 bucks for this amp, it was new when purchased? If so why not return it to the store you bought it from? I know If i bought something like that from a merchant it would be returned asap!
 
#4
I used to own a b100r and found after playing a few of them, that they all seem to have air leaks in their design. The hole where the wire from the amp goes through the cab to the speaker causes a fluttering sound. I filled the gap with a piece of foam. I also found air leaks in the caster plates. Once they were sealed, the amp sounded amazing. Not sure the newer ones exhibit the same issues... just a thought.
 
#5
Bought it from ZZounds....they're in NJ and I'm in Texas.....don't get me started on them. I dealt with them for he first month and the "only thing we can do is to replace it wih the same model" and "you probably need to call Ampeg". I wanted to exchange it for either another model or brand and apply the purchase amount credit to that and they declined. We've gone back and forth for a month with me speaking to a different rep each time and now that the month is past, they don't accept returns after 30 days on amps. I understand that is their policy, but it just seemed that their "knowledgeable and friendly" customer service reps were playing the game until the 30 days had expired.
 
#6
dwhite1031 said:
Bought it from ZZounds....they're in NJ and I'm in Texas.....don't get me started on them. I dealt with them for he first month and the "only thing we can do is to replace it wih the same model" and "you probably need to call Ampeg". I wanted to exchange it for either another model or brand and apply the purchase amount credit to that and they declined. We've gone back and forth for a month with me speaking to a different rep each time and now that the month is past, they don't accept returns after 30 days on amps. I understand that is their policy, but it just seemed that their "knowledgeable and freindly" customer service reps were playing the game until the 30 days had expired.
Click to expand...

Wow that sucks. I'll have to remember not to order from them. I still think I would have accepted the replacement though. It could be that you got the dud from the batch.
FYI I to am one of those that won't be buying ampeg anymore now that they've moved to china.
 
#8
jbassbob said:
I used to own a b100r and found after playing a few of them, that they all seem to have air leaks in their design. The hole where the wire from the amp goes through the cab to the speaker causes a fluttering sound. I filled the gap with a piece of foam. I also found air leaks in the caster plates. Once they were sealed, the amp sounded amazing. Not sure the newer ones exhibit the same issues... just a thought.
Click to expand...

The B200R has a cable with a 1/4 plug that plugs into one of two jacks - with horn or without horn. It doesn't actually pass thru the cab via a hole like the B100R. Your mention of the caster plates reminded me that the Ampeg Tech also asked me if I had the wheels in or not. That sometimes the wheels vibrate and make noise. No wheels......not the problem. I'm just real disappointed with this whole experience.
 
#9
dwhite1031 said:
The B200R has a cable with a 1/4 plug that plugs into one of two jacks - with horn or without horn. It doesn't actually pass thru the cab via a hole like the B100R. Your mention of the caster plates reminded me that the Ampeg Tech also asked me if I had the wheels in or not. That sometimes the wheels vibrate and make noise. No wheels......not the problem. I'm just real disappointed with this whole experience.
Click to expand...

That's a shame to hear about the new Ampegs and your service issues. The caster plates/plugs are made of folded metal. Look inside or unscrew one and see that there are no holes in the part that goes inside the cab. If there are little holes, they make a surprising amount of noise. You can either wrap them with electrical tape or use a silicon caulk to seal them. Best of luck.
 
#11
kayakbass said:
Wow, that's a real shame..... I haven't heard much good about Ampeg since the giant sucking sound east happened. Was price or service your deciding factor in going with the retailer you chose to purchase through? Just curious....
Click to expand...

I had bought items from ZZounds before, mics, cables, EQ's, smaller items, etc., because of competitive price and the lowest shipping charges. Also I could purchase from them and still beat the price of the local guys even with shipping. My local guys don't have a big inventory and for instance, a Shure SM58 mic goes here at Mom & Pop's Music Emporium for $149 and ZZounds or one of the other online retailers for $99, so while I'm all for supporting the local economy, I'm also all for affording groceries as well.

This is the 1st time I've made what is an expensive purchase for my bank account from them. I had gotten good service before, but this time I took a nose dive with them.
 
#12
maevinj said:
Wow that sucks. I'll have to remember not to order from them. I still think I would have accepted the replacement though. It could be that you got the dud from the batch.
FYI I to am one of those that won't be buying ampeg anymore now that they've moved to china.
Click to expand...

In retrospect, you may be right. But then again, I am seeing a lot of posts out there about the same problem with these B200R amps. My case was that they had my money, why not let me exchange it for another model or different brand. I was willng to pay any restocking fees. They weren't going to lose any cash. It could be that they see there are issues with this model and don't want them back.......I can understand that.

I don't really have a problem with ZZounds per se. My issue is with their customer service and that is also my issue with LOUD/Ampeg, in addition to the poor quality. 700 bucks is not pocket change for a lot of us out there.
 
#13
OP, did you check/tighten the screws that hold the speaker to the baffle board? If they are loose the speaker can vibrate against the board and make the sounds you are describing. Given that many other screws were loose, I'd suspect they might be as well.

I make a point to check the speaker mounting screws once a year just to make sure they're not working themselves free from the vibrations.
 
#14
EASonBass said:
OP, did you check/tighten the screws that hold the speaker to the baffle board? If they are loose the speaker can vibrate against the board and make the sounds you are describing. Given that many other screws were loose, I'd suspect they might be as well.

I make a point to check the speaker mounting screws once a year just to make sure they're not working themselves free from the vibrations.
Click to expand...

Thanks and yes sir, I did that as well. Surprisingly, they were the only tight screws..... I'm gonna check the baffle board tonite where it is connected to the top of the combo cabinet to make sure it hasn't come unglued or something. Reason being is that you can press down on the top and the vibration is greatly reduced, but not gone. As I mentioned, there aren't any braces whatsoever inside the cab with the exception of the speaker baffle. I have a 410 Carvin cab, and have owned PV combos and cabs before and they all have additional bracing inside on the walls. There's a lot of force/air pressure being displaced inside a bass cab of any kind.
 
#15
fenderhutz said:
Off Topic but another funny/sad story. Ampeg/Loud stopped making the 10 inch speaker guitar amps (Reverb-o-Rocket etc). When my guitarist emailed and asked why this happened, he got a response in the tune of (I can't remember if it was Dino or Van Pamel) said "Well 12's are louder aren't they?"

:rollno:
Click to expand...

That is priceless, man! I really felt bad for the poor young lady from Ampeg/LOUD tech support I spoke to because you could tell she was going thru an obvious checklist and that she probably wasn't really a "tech", so to speak.

That's as good as one of the guys in the band I play in (Mr. type A personality) telling me that you ALWAYS plug into the right side speaker jack on the PA mains and not the left one........even though they're wired parallel.....he claims you lose power if you don't use the right side jack on the jack plate......
 
#16
dwhite1031 said:
I had bought items from ZZounds before, mics, cables, EQ's, smaller items, etc., because of competitive price and the lowest shipping charges. Also I could purchase from them and still beat the price of the local guys even with shipping. My local guys don't have a big inventory and for instance, a Shure SM58 mic goes here at Mom & Pop's Music Emporium for $149 and ZZounds or one of the other online retailers for $99, so while I'm all for supporting the local economy, I'm also all for affording groceries as well.

This is the 1st time I've made what is an expensive purchase for my bank account from them. I had gotten good service before, but this time I took a nose dive with them.
Click to expand...

Since you've had some positive experience with them in the past I can see why you would have considered them for this purchase. It's tough to find that magic marriage of price and service......
 
#17
dwhite1031:

Well, since you're stuck with the amp anyway by the looks why not pull it apart and add bracing, fix the vibration, fill any leaks, etc... As long as the amp itself works the only problems you'll have to fix will be structural. No point in just eating the 700$ and then just throwing the amp in a closet to forget about.
 
#18
Honestly this guy isn't real bad to deal with and explain it to him. He gave me this info in an email when I had a question for him. Talk to someone that can actually do something about it.

[email protected]

Kevin Van Pamel
Director of Marketing & Product Development-Ampeg, Alvarez,
Crate &SLM Marketplace
Loud Technologies, Inc
Office +1 xxx-xxx-6305 (yes I xxx it out)- fenderhutz
Mobile +1 xxx xxx-5232
16220 Wood-Red Road NE
Woodinville, WA 98072
 
#19
I had a similar situation here at my store. The guy purchased 3 Ampeg B200R's from me, each one developed a problem after a couple weeks. We even ordered one direct from Ampeg sealed in a box (just to take the "floor model" part out of the equasion) and same thing. Buzzing and rattling after a couple weeks. I returned the amp for him and got him into a different setup. It's a bummer because when those amps work, they sound great!
 

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