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Ampeg BA-108 Coffeeshop Micro Rig

#301
Hello,

First i apologize for my bad english!

I seek for an ultraweight amp to go to my friend home and play with 2 unplugged acoustics guitar (so i don't need a too powerful amp).

Today i went to the big town in my area and tried some amp in this category :
- a roland micro cube rx bass
- a roland cube 20xl
- an ibanez soundwave 15
- a marshall MB30
- a minimark cmd 802
- an ampeg ba108

I had a bad opinion of the ampeg because i had tried an ampeg ba115 a few months ago and i was very disapointed because of an annoying "breath" (sorry i don't know the word in english maybe "hum" ?).

When i tried this ba108 i immediately had a favorite (a "coup de coeur")!
And despite its price is more important in France than in the US (120€...damn it's like 150$!) it was far from the most expensive amp among those i tried but sounded the best at my hears!

I would have buy it but there was a problem. With certain notes (like a G on the lower string) the amp produce an irritating noise/hiss.
We check the amp with the sale assistant and it seems that the noise came from near the power switch. When the amp was on power and we tapped on this part, the noise also appeared.
He will open the amp and try to fix the issue.
Do you have an idea of the origin of this problem? Is it a problem of the seam of the cab (but why it appears when we tap near the transformer) ? So maybe a problem with the transformer ?
If you have a solution i will tell him that i take it with the problem but with a discount!

An another problem is it a little too heavy for my use (i need something very portable).
So i planned to change the speaker for a neo (the s2010).
If someone has the stock speaker unmounted, can you weigh it (in order to compare with the weigh of the basslite)?

Thank you very much for those who had read my message, it would have be paintful because of my bad english!
 
#302
Haven't weighed it, but it's not super heavy. The Basslite is probably a little lighter and a higher grade speaker, but how much do you want to spend on a practice amp?

As for that problem, it's possible the carpet padding covering the back wall of the cab has come loose inside or there's an air leak, and it can fool you into thinking it's happening in the head part of the combo. Not guaranteeing that that's the problem, but it has happened in the past and it always seems to affect only one or two notes. It can usually be fixed by reattaching the carpet padding and/or covering all surfaces inside the cab except the speaker baffle with padding (cheap mattress padding or Nu-Foam is good for that), but if that doesn't work, you may want to run a bead of wood glue along all inside seams. And if that doesn't work, then try another one. Actually, I'd probably just try another one anyway and save myself the work ;)
 
#303
sakurazuka38 said:
...snip...

An another problem is it a little too heavy for my use (i need something very portable).
So i planned to change the speaker for a neo (the s2010).
If someone has the stock speaker unmounted, can you weigh it (in order to compare with the weigh of the basslite)?

Thank you very much for those who had read my message, it would have be paintful because of my bad english!
Click to expand...

The S2010 is a 10" speaker, so you will have to do a little cutting to get it into a BA-108. Most people don't want to go through all of that. The 8" upgrade might be a better choice, depending on your woodworking skills. But the BA-108 is just a little smaller than a BA-110, and the S2010 fits right into a BA-110. Four screws.
 
#304
I use the Roland Bass Cube 20xl and I'm very happy with it for the uses you have listed. Be sure you are looking at a Roland Bass Cube, the Roland 20xl guitar amp will not work satisfactory as a long term bass amp (different voicing of both amp and speaker).
In the US a new Roland Bass 20xl is more than twice the price of a new Ampeg BA108. Since both have the same sized 8 inch speaker and same 20 watt power rating, are very similar in size and weight and during my testing produced about the same usable volume levels (I tend to use the Ampeg SVT setting on the Roland) I would have purchased the Ampeg had I bought a new amp. However, I found a really good deal on a very lightly used Roland, so that is the one I purchased. Because I play a 4 string bass 95% of the time, the low G issue you mentioned is not a concern for me. The times I have used a 5 string any notes played on the low B string have been accurately reproduced with no noticeable speaker break up. Keep in mind a small cabinet and small speaker will not produce a lot of clean volume on very low notes. Hope this helps some.
 
#305
Thank you for the messages.

I've just call the shop to have news about the amp problem.
They send it back to the distributor and the new one will arrive next week.
They just received a ba 110 so i will try it in comparison of the ba 108. It will help to make my decision. However the ba 110 is a bit pricy (209€!).

For the mod, I'm okay with woodworking (My hobby is guitar building. This summer it will be a jazzmaster and a telemaster). However I'm a total newbie in cab conception but I will learn!
 
#306
I am modding a BA108 as suggested with a 10 inch Emenence neo. My question is about the port size and location. The cardboard port tube is about 2.875 dia which is 6.5 Square inches of area. A 10 inch, in the ratio used, should be 8.11 inches, or say 2 x 4. First, is the cardboard tube used really necessary or desirable? Years ago when building enclosures, we just used a rectangular port in the front, below the speaker. I am proposing to do just this. Should a "tube" be used? and should the port be in the back?

Second, should all interior surfaces be covered with fiberglass? They only have the forward facing area covering the amp covered with what looks like a rag content felt about 1/4 inch thick. I am thinking about using carpet and either stapling it or gluing it all over, Necessary, or beneficial?

Thanks for your help, this forum is a great resource.
 
#307
Use 1" thick Nu-Foam and attach it with double stick carpet tape IMHO. Available at most fabric/crafts shops. Cover all surfaces except the baffle.

The rest of the modding, you're on your own or you need to consult with Woodstockz, as that's the only mod I did to mine.
 
#308
quarternote said:
I am modding a BA108 as suggested with a 10 inch Emenence neo. My question is about the port size and location. The cardboard port tube is about 2.875 dia which is 6.5 Square inches of area. A 10 inch, in the ratio used, should be 8.11 inches, or say 2 x 4. First, is the cardboard tube used really necessary or desirable? Years ago when building enclosures, we just used a rectangular port in the front, below the speaker. I am proposing to do just this. Should a "tube" be used? and should the port be in the back?
Click to expand...

The BA-108 can be an impressive little workhorse. Jimmy has the lining question covered.

Most people modding stay with the 8s - there are a couple of 8 inchers that are drop in replacements. Going from an 8 to a 10 will work because the box is pretty big for an 8, it is an in smaller than a BA-110 in each dimension. It is actually slightly bigger than a GK Backline110.

The stock port is about 3 inches in diameter, and about 3 inches long. Changing to a 10 requires rethinking the port, and the port location. The larger diameter will place the speaker closer to the port and may weaken the baffle in that area, so I closed it off. I went with the rear port because I wanted a flared port, and there wasn't enough real estate in the front. Flared ports keep the air flow smooth and resists turbulence [chuffing].

You should model your proposed port in WinISD or some other tuning software in order to get the tuning right. Stock port tubes are often cardboard and work OK. Often ABS tubes are used, and that is what I had in the Precision port. Precision ports has a modelling program on their website. Precision Ports look pretty cool to me, are reasonably priced, and some high end cab makers use them. You should look into it. Good luck on your project, and let us know what you decide.
 
#309
quarternote said:
I am modding a BA108 as suggested with a 10 inch Emenence neo. My question is about the port size and location. The cardboard port tube is about 2.875 dia which is 6.5 Square inches of area. A 10 inch, in the ratio used, should be 8.11 inches, or say 2 x 4. First, is the cardboard tube used really necessary or desirable? Years ago when building enclosures, we just used a rectangular port in the front, below the speaker. I am proposing to do just this. Should a "tube" be used? and should the port be in the back?

Second, should all interior surfaces be covered with fiberglass? They only have the forward facing area covering the amp covered with what looks like a rag content felt about 1/4 inch thick. I am thinking about using carpet and either stapling it or gluing it all over, Necessary, or beneficial?

Thanks for your help, this forum is a great resource.
Click to expand...

Check out older posts from Bill Fitzmaurice.
Also, here is a little light reading on speaker box design from fdeck:

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#310
Woodstockz said:
Check out older posts from Bill Fitzmaurice.
Also, here is a little light reading on speaker box design from fdeck:

Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

is that still possible to build a small bottom-front ported design just like this picture?

606_open.jpg
 
#312
As the proud owner of a Hartke kickback 10 (another pint sized power house), I find this thread very interesting. I saw a BA108 at Guitar Center yesterday. While I didn't try it out, I did find it awesome just for it's compact design and Ampeg-ness.

What I've found most interesting about this thread, is the modular nature of the preamp. I've never heard of opamps before. Is that fairly common and something that can be swapped out in other combos?

The one downside to these small amps is the relatively low wattage. What, if anything, can be done to boost the watts of power? Could you hack (ie with new parts and mods) the head unit and bump the wattage from 25W to 100W....or at least 50W?
 
#314
tubatodd said:
As the proud owner of a Hartke kickback 10 (another pint sized power house), I find this thread very interesting. I saw a BA108 at Guitar Center yesterday. While I didn't try it out, I did find it awesome just for it's compact design and Ampeg-ness.

What I've found most interesting about this thread, is the modular nature of the preamp. I've never heard of opamps before. Is that fairly common and something that can be swapped out in other combos?

The one downside to these small amps is the relatively low wattage. What, if anything, can be done to boost the watts of power? Could you hack (ie with new parts and mods) the head unit and bump the wattage from 25W to 100W....or at least 50W?
Click to expand...

Sometimes, amps have a hiss. Sometimes, that can be traced to stock TL072 opamps. I replaced them with low noise op amps.

As for bumping up the power, I upgraded the transistors. I also replaced the current limiting resistors to provide more power to the upgraded transistors. I haven't measured the power increase, but I estimate another 10-15 Watts, conservatively. I have some B.A.T.s (Big Ass Transistors) that I can try if I ever get back to the project, but I'm working on other things right now.
 
#315
Woodstockz said:
That looks like an Electro-Voice TL-606 (15 in) or TL-806 (12 in) cabinet. Do a search on those.
Click to expand...

Woodstockz. Thanks for the info.
In searching TL-806 I came across Invalid Link Removedthat suggests the tl-806 was designed more for guitar
with a low end cut off around 82-83hz, open low E on guitar (see post #24) than bass guitar with a low frequency around 40 Hz.
Is the low end limitation specific to the speaker being use or the general design of the TL-806 cabinet?
If this is too far off topic for the BA108 thread, please direct me to an appropriate area to get an answer for non-audio geeks.
 
#320
Good thought...thanks! Pics will follow as I attempt to replicate Woodstockz' efforts.

Out of the box, the 108 is compact, but solid. I ran a few baseline tests to see how the stock unit performed, and was pleased to find no baffle rattle on my particular model. My plan is to swap the speaker, reline the interior with sound absorptive material and reevaluate. I believe I read that the 108's amp section is identical to the 110's with a 35 watt output...is that correct?
 

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