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Ampeg B100r

M

MarkyMark

Dec 11, 2005
81
0
#1
I got one of these beasts last year and I absolutely love it but the only thing I don't like is that the sound at medium to low volumes isn't beautiful. It only sounds deep and niiiiiiice when I crank it which I can rarely do seeing as it is 100 watts of tube.

Is this a common problem with tube amps (sorry but I am fairly new to this whole thing)?
 
#5
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh realllllllllllllly

wow... that is really interesting. Boy, I really learned something today.

well, it's freakin' loud for solid state then. Darn, I thought it was all tube:hmm: :crying:

oh well, I really like the sound when it cranked.

Like I said, I'm really new to the bass scene (been playing seriously for a little over a year now).
 
#6
MarkyMark said:
Like I said, I'm really new to the bass scene (been playing seriously for a little over a year now).
Click to expand...

ALOT and I mean ALOT of beginning players would love to have an amp THAT GOOD right out of the shoot.

Do yourself a favor and hang on to it even if/when you upgrade to something louder, bigger etc...

I had a ampeg B50R once, its the ONLY amp I really regret selling :crying: If I had the 100 I would regret even more because it should be loud enough for drums, the B50r was not or should I say BARELY if the drummer restrained himself :hmm:
 
#7
oh yeah, I run it at around 5 or 6 (out of 10) and there are NO problems with being heard. I played a show and I had my amp sitting behind everything (about 8 feet behind the drummer) and I only had it on 7 and I was told that it was too loud. oops.


Yes, I'm very grateful for this amp, I love it. Now I just need a bass worthwhile. This mexican made Fender Jazz isn't fairing so well. Twisted and bent neck, horrid pickups, won't stay in tune (machine heads bad?). I'm looking into a Conklin GT 5
 
#12
The piezo junk is easily turned off, or replaced with a soft dome something from madisound.
My 100R sounds "big" at low levels, so I dunno what your issue might be there...The only thing that would get me to part with it is....a 200R:)
 
#14
I finally got one in the home to use. First off, it is a great looking piece. It sits next to my 1966 SB 12 and gets respect. Mine has come up short on dependabilty. Well... the blue power light is dead, burned bulb, happens when you put 36 volts into a bulb rated for 28 volts... Input jack broke the solder joints out of the PC board, plastic jack and nut loosens and puts load on solder???... port tubes feel apart, the tubes are press fit cardboard into the plastic flanges, fell off into cab...when I pulled the speakers to GLUE them back on I noticed only the speaker mounting board is plywood, the rest is pressboard, not even MDF... I guess something fried on the circutboard, I hear no difference playing through the high gain input and the reduced db input and I might be stuck on low gain... 3 of the 5 pots are lose and when I pulled the nobs to tighten I found flimsy, cheap plastic pot shafts and very small ones at that... the stitching on the leather like handle has come undone.... Now you are thinking used hard and often. Not so. This was taken care of, this stuff just happened, no abuse? Don't get me wrong. I think the amp looks cool. If you are looking for something to play in the garage with a quiet drummer and reasonable guitar volumes this can pull it off. It has great bottom tone, works nicely with my Precision. It has little or no high tone, forget about slap, active tones. It will make you look bad. Don't depend on this for gigging. Something can pop up at any minute to ruin your job. For the money, a good looking, deep bottom, rehersal amp it is.
 
#15
Ampeg's use of cheesy pressboard is BAD. This "blue check" stuff is supposed to be special -- and they use the cheapest and heaviest crap available. I'm sure the cost upgrade to real plywood isn't that great.

It's not just Ampeg, of course. Trace used to do that, too. And I'm a Trace boy, through and through. But crap is crap -- it doesn't matter what you call that glue-based concotion -- and I don't think there's any excuse for it. Especially if you want your customers to think your products are some high standard of excellence.

You'd think that they would have more pride.

In fact, I think TalkBass ought to have a PRESS-BOARD resource where the cabinets of all amp/cab companies are listed for materials. It's just a thought.
 
#16
MarkyMark said:
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh realllllllllllllly

wow... that is really interesting. Boy, I really learned something today.

well, it's freakin' loud for solid state then. Darn, I thought it was all tube:hmm: :crying:

oh well, I really like the sound when it cranked.

Like I said, I'm really new to the bass scene (been playing seriously for a little over a year now).
Click to expand...

It is surprisingly loud for a SS 100-watt amp. In fact, I once did a gig with one in a band that featured 2 guitarists, a keyboard player and drums as well. It held its own quite nicely, believe it or not, though it was a very small venue.
 
#17
MrBonex said:
Ampeg's use of cheesy pressboard is BAD. This "blue check" stuff is supposed to be special -- and they use the cheapest and heaviest crap available. I'm sure the cost upgrade to real plywood isn't that great.

It's not just Ampeg, of course. Trace used to do that, too. And I'm a Trace boy, through and through. But crap is crap -- it doesn't matter what you call that glue-based concotion -- and I don't think there's any excuse for it. Especially if you want your customers to think your products are some high standard of excellence.

You'd think that they would have more pride.

In fact, I think TalkBass ought to have a PRESS-BOARD resource where the cabinets of all amp/cab companies are listed for materials. It's just a thought.
Click to expand...
Yep. Fake wood is an insult. That rubs me so wrong. Chinchy construction just plain sux. Everything today is a replica. Replica wood, tolex, solder, screws, wire, stitches. Where does it end?
 
#19
I have one where I teach and it has been used, abused, and mistreated and it has never failed or had any problems. I have had it on a few small gigs and it held it's own. I prefer the sound with passive basses and I've gotten a mean slap tone with a Lakland DJ4. When you stick some casters on it, it's pretty easy to move around too. As far as not sounding good at low volume levels, I haven't experienced that. Can't wait to try the 200 watt version.
 
#20
Mcrelly said:
ALOT and I mean ALOT of beginning players would love to have an amp THAT GOOD right out of the shoot.

Do yourself a favor and hang on to it even if/when you upgrade to something louder, bigger etc...
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure. That was my first amp, and I never had much love for it. Granted, it wasn't really the right tone for me to begin with. I always had trouble hearing myself with it, even when I really cranked it. It just didn't seem to get as loud as other 15" combos I've tried. Also, it was HEAVY. Of the combos I've tried, I'd take one of those G-K kickbacks any day.
 

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