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Ampeg B2RE, deal or no deal?

B

BDR

Nov 4, 2007
73
1
#1
I just found a 1 year old B2RE with a cheap rack close to me. Sounds very clean, comes with the factory manual, and cable for $300. I'm fairly new to bass amps and right now I'm playing on a Peavey Max 115. Story goes 4 weeks ago I bought a American jazz at my local shop but tried it on a Ampeg B2RE and really liked the tone. So does this sound like a good deal? And what cabinets would you look at for it. It's just my son and I playing around the house but we like to be heard!:D
 
#3
seems like a very fair price since it includes the rack as well. I believe those amps put out
around 450w @ 4 ohms, so a 4ohm 4X10 cab would be a nice match and be very gigable or an 8ohm 210 on top of an 8ohm 115. trust your ears and let your wallet decide.
 
#8
Well I just got home with the amp head and it's like brand new. It's 2 years old but like I said it looks new and it came with a rack, cords, and book. Now after the holidays to start saving for a cabinet. Thanks guys for your input and Happy Holidays to you!
 
#9
Good luck, I used a B2RE for a long time, and had great success using it with SWR cabs. I ran two SWR 4x10's, but ended up selling them and getting a SVT-610HLF. I think the B2RE sounded better with the SWR cabs though.
 
#10
Update, Santa got me a cabinet today!:hyper: I ended up with a Ampeg SVT-410HLF and all I can say is WOW. What tone and punch with it. I do have one question for someone that uses this set up. I know that the cab is 4ohms and the head is rated for 4ohms, so does that mean that I can't add another cab much later if I want too?? Or do I install the other cab on the other channel were you plug the cab in on the back of the head? Thanks guys and Merry Christmas!!:hiding:
 
#11
BDR said:
Update, Santa got me a cabinet today!:hyper: I ended up with a Ampeg SVT-410HLF and all I can say is WOW. What tone and punch with it. I do have one question for someone that uses this set up. I know that the cab is 4ohms and the head is rated for 4ohms, so does that mean that I can't add another cab much later if I want too?? Or do I install the other cab on the other channel were you plug the cab in on the back of the head? Thanks guys and Merry Christmas!!:hiding:
Click to expand...

A 4 ohm load is minimum that amp will take so you are done. The only way to add a second cabinet is to get two different cabinets that are 8 ohms (or higher) each. Using the other speaker output(s) on the back of the amp will wire the cabinets in parallel dropping the impedance to half (i.e. pair of 4's = 2 ohm load: not recommended, pair of 8's = 4, one 4 and one 8 = 6 : not recommended).

I believe this is all spelled out in page 5 of the manual which is in Adobe PDF version here.

I have used the same amp and in that configuration it can be painfully loud - 450 watts is no joke. The only time I would possibly recommend running two cabinets is if you had a really, really loud band playing a really large outdoor venue. If that is the case you will have a house PA system with soundman and will be able to use the DI out for the house keeping your current setup as a stage monitor. Otherwise two cabinets is more to buy, more to haul, more to load, more to store and more to setup. Unless you have an inferiority complex, experience has taught me that one cabinet will be more than plenty for 99% of the gigs most people will ever play.

You have a killer rig for not much green - I guess you were good this year! :smug: Happy playing.
 
#14
georgestrings said:
That's wrong info - a 4 ohm and an 8 ohm paralleled equals approx. 2.6 ohms - and most certainly not 6 ohms...
Click to expand...

Correct, if it were indeed 6 ohms, it would work just fine. Amps (solid state) don't generally match impedance, so they just have a minimum load, normally 4 ohms. They only list the 8 ohm spec because 8 ohm cabs are so common, but a 6 will put you about half way between the 4 and 8 ohm spec, and is well withing the range of that head. Several cabinets are only available in a 6 ohm configuration, as a matter of fact.
 

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