Ampeg B-25B

[godofthunder59]

I have the full rig (with 2x15cab)and it's a great small venue amp (with PA support) rehearsal amp or recording for classic rock. I don't see it being much use for a loud Metal band. Sounds fantastic with my 60's Thunderbirds. Nice score great price on that!

 

[dmac1961]

I've owned a couple of these, they are sweet amps. Only rated 5w more than a Bassman, but has considerably more useable volume. Stays clean up to a point and then the grit kicks in. It will hang with loud guitar and drummer if you jumper the channels and play with the ultra switches, but it will be dirty....sweet and dirty. I've always found this amp a little too powerful for studio work, and a little weak for live work. If you've got 2 bills to burn, it's a great deal.

 

[Lex Slade]

I think it's 55w. Might be 60, but pretty sure it's 55. Would be a great amp if you want distortion all the time in your metal band but want to keep volumes semi-reasonable. Only "issue" would be that each of the speaker outs in the B25B are 16 ohm, but old Ampegs can easily withstand a 2:1 impedance difference, even if you crank it, because their transformers are overbuilt. So you could take an 810e and run half of it through one speaker out and the other half through the other speaker out and I think it would work great. Or if you're anal about impedances, you can get one of those boxes that converts your cabs to serial wiring, hook up each half of the 810e to it, and it would combine 8 ohm halves into a 16 ohm load, which is regulation. But if you're looking for clean tones, forget about it. I'd get it anyway, just because it's $200, but it's a specialized tool, and not the first amp I'd think of for metal clean tones.

Man, this is Greek to me. I only have experience using my guitar half-stack with a head/cab combo that are made to go together, so I get completely lost when people talk about ohms and impedence. Care to elaborate or send me a link to some resources?

 

[Lex Slade]

And an update - I figure I'll go to the store and try it out and see how it works. In my band I play a P-bass that has a lot of bite and growl to it, so my heavy picking style distorts it anyway. A little grit wouldn't hurt at all with how we sound. This store doesn't have a return policy, but I figure if it doesn't work out for me I could always re-sell it.

What I also like about this amp is how versatile it could be. I'd ideally use it for my metal band, but I also play lots of different styles of music. I think Andy Rourke used one of these in the Smiths, which is about as far away from metal as one can get, and he still got great sounds out of it.

 

[JimmyM]

Man, this is Greek to me. I only have experience using my guitar half-stack with a head/cab combo that are made to go together, so I get completely lost when people talk about ohms and impedence. Care to elaborate or send me a link to some resources?

Not necessary. It's really not any big deal. But every thread about the B25B talks about its impedance because it's unusual, so just do a search on it and you'll find out all you need to know.

 

[johnpbass]

Don't know about using it for loud Metal, but a buddy of mine back in the day had the B25B + 215 setup. IIRC it worked just fine filling medium sized school auditoriums in a band with drums, 1 guitar, keys, and lead vocal. No FOH, unless you call a Shure Vocal Master PA FOH. (The Shure Vocal Master only old guys like me will remember! LOL!)
For that price/condition, I'd nab it.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

the B25b has been my main amp for 35 years now. Mine is beat up and the tubes are sovtecs and I replaced the big cab that came with it with a handbuilt small cab with 1 12in. JBL. It works great for small clubs and rehearsal space, but for larger venues I run direct to PA and use the little rig for monitor.It DOES get fuzzy when you turn it up.But Im not metal guy so....no prob

 

[beans-on-toast]

For $200

Everybody should have a tube amp like a B25B
Overbuilt like a tank
Good for bass
Good for you

How could you go wrong
It's a good investment
If you don't use it for metal
Stash it now, cash it later

 

[Ric Vice]

For $200

Everybody should have a tube amp like a B25B
Overbuilt like a tank
Good for bass
Good for you

How could you go wrong
It's a good investment
If you don't use it for metal
Stash it now, cash it later

+1 That's probably less for the head than it cost originally, if you bought a standalone head. If I remember correctly, a B25B was somewhere in the neighborhood of $500.00-$600.00. I always though of this amp as
the Ampeg upgrade version of a Fender Bassman. It sounded better.

Ric

 

[waltdogg]

+1 That's probably less for the head than it cost originally, if you bought a standalone head. If I remember correctly, a B25B was somewhere in the neighborhood of $500.00-$600.00. I always though of this amp as
the Ampeg upgrade version of a Fender Bassman. It sounded better.

Ric

I've always though of Ampeg as an upgrade from everything.

 

[will33]

For $200 you should've grabbed it already before I beat you to the store.

It's 55 watts of pure tone.

Re: the EQ. If you want a mid cut, boost bass and treble and you have one. If you want a mid boost, lower bass and treble and up the volume and you have one.

What the hell are you waiting for?

 

[Ric Vice]

......If you want a mid cut, boost bass and treble and you have one. If you want a mid boost, lower bass and treble and up the volume and you have one.....

That's what set the redesigns by Rodger Cox et al. apart from the Blue Check amps. The Ultra High and Ultra Low switches work beautifully with the tone stack, to
give the user lots of options. Walter Woods took that concept and added two three way toggle switches adjacent his bass and treble controls on his MI series amplifiers. That
provided for either a -10 db cut, flat, or +10 db boost to the lows or the highs. Walter refined the Ultra Hi and Ultra Low, but Rodger Cox developed and designed the idea.

 

[paparoof]

Not necessary. It's really not any big deal. But every thread about the B25B talks about its impedance because it's unusual, so just do a search on it and you'll find out all you need to know.

I have the full B25 rig too (with the 215 cab). When I had it recapped I asked the tech about the possibility of adding an 8-ohm speaker output. He told me just plug an unused 1/4" plug (open - not shorted) into the main speaker output jack and the secondary speaker output will be at 8 ohms.

Also - definitely play around with jumpering the two input channels - tons more tonal options when you combine both channels and start playing with the hi/lo switches. I've gotten SVT'ish sounds out of mine.

But yeah it won't be loud enough for a loud metal band. As everyone else is saying though - buy it anyway. Great amp, great price.

 

[RoadRanger]

If I knew where it was and it was close it'd be long gone by now .

 

[will33]

If I knew where it was and it was close it'd be long gone by now .

Just to slam the point home...at that price...I think the OP is a damn fool if it's not in his hands by now.

If I could get to wherever it is and back in a day, it wouldn't be for sale anymore...because it is mine. Might even stay the night if it's a weekend....clutching my new B25B in my arms while sleeping in my station wagon at a truckstop....with my trusty widowmaker at the ready in case anyone wanted to strip me of my new prize......or my pants.

 

[Ben B]

If I knew where it was and it was close it'd be long gone by now .

+1. I have one already. For $200 I'd have 2.

I have the full B25 rig too (with the 215 cab). When I had it recapped I asked the tech about the possibility of adding an 8-ohm speaker output. He told me just plug an unused 1/4" plug (open - not shorted) into the main speaker output jack and the secondary speaker output will be at 8 ohms.

That's right. The output transformer has a 16 and an 8 ohm tap. Plugging into the external speaker jack switches it to 8 ohm.

 

[BassPlayer19]

As you may know, I'm a big Ampeg fan and I'm looking to get a better rig for live settings. I was in a local vintage music shop and they had a B-25B from 1972 there for only about $200. I thought that's a damn good deal for an Ampeg. I watched some videos online of people playing it and it definitely had that "punch" I like in a bass.

Only one thing, though: When I looked it up online I realized that the EQ only has knobs for bass and treble, no middle. How are you supposed to control the midrange on these? Has anyone who ever used one shed some light on this?

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I have that same amp; my Dad got his used when he was only 16-17 years old in 1980 (for only $75, WITH the cabinet!), then I got it from him years later when I started playing bass, also around 16-17 years old. I use an old MXR 10-Band Graphic EQ (no power switch, just a power cord and input/output jacks) for the midrange.