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Ampeg BA-108 Coffeeshop Micro Rig
- Thread starter Woodstockz
- Start date
So this idea is in reference to the v2? Would it be a bad idea to try a 4 ohm speaker in the v1? I'm starting to think about speaker options for this thing. Would it be worth it to try one the 0 speakers if I didn't want to deal with port tuning? Or should I stick to something like the Alpha 8a?
The thread is worth a read - the port is worth it, depending on how you want to tune your BA108.
I just used the Alpha 8a and left the porting alone and it sounds fine. You're talking about a $100 combo amp that does 20 or 25w. I don't even know if it'll operate at 4 ohms, and even if it did, the volume gains wouldn't be much.
The fact that a driver is expensive doesn't bypass the necessity for it to be in a correctly sized and tuned enclosure in order to sound best. It may be forgiving in one or two aspects, in some way correlated with cost, that could indeed offset a less than optimal placement, such as having a high wideband sensitivity, or (it's often "or" rather than "and") a high excursion. But you can't know from the price tag alone (i.e. those winning aspects are known on paper but the aforementioned offsetting - how "good enough" the driver would be in a box poorly tuned for it - would be up to you to decide), and it's a costly way of avoiding homework.
Besides, and even more importantly, getting something like a Faitalpro 8PR200 for a 20W combo would be wasting most of its capabilities (as in, not using, as opposed to ruining them, which it wouldn't). It literally wouldn't sound anywhere near 4 times as good as an Alpha 8A, because it would never be fully earning its pay.
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As @HaphAsSard mentions, you would not take advantage of the features of a $200 driver in a 20 watt combo. In other words, you would be wasting your money. I researched it, and I concluded that for cost and performance, you can't beat the Alpha-8a in a BA-108 V1 or V2.
If the high priced alternatives were significantly more efficient, such as 98-100 db or if they weight 2 pounds less than an Alpha-8a, then I maybe could have justified their cost. But the fact is they are not more efficient and they are not lighter--they just cost more.
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I know I'm stating the obvious here: the buzz will go away with a speaker swap only if the buzzing is caused by the speaker.
I found that the original driver distorted when the volume knob was raised above the 9:00 o'clock position. By 10:00, it was horrible. This distortion was gone once I did the speaker swap. I can now turn the amp up to about 11:00 before hitting power amp distortion which sounds pretty cool.
Now, if you are trying to find the cause of a buzz that you don't hear through headphones, first try connecting the amp to a separate cabinet. If the buzz remains, then the problem is the amp, not the speaker.
Yes. The buzz is one thing. It was not present in headphones, but it was present with an external speaker cab. Even if this buzz is common, I think I got a particularly bad one. It seems a little too noticeable for any name-brand amp, $100 or not. I actually ordered an older non-tiltback version from a popular online music gear site, to possibly swap the amp, but the seller just messaged me and told me he can't find it.
Anyway, the new speaker would be for "fart-out" as the volume increases, not the buzz.
I think you have an amp with a problem. I don't think this is a design issue. I had a BA-110 V1 and now I have a BA 108 V2. Neither have a buzz like you described in your earlier post. The BA 110 only had normal amp distortion at higher volume. The BA 108 had speaker fart until I replaced the speaker. Now it just gets normal amp distortion at higher volumes.
- Oct 22, 2015
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As a BA108v2 player it appears this little box is capable of some light work in modest settings. Let me get this straight:
The speaker replacement will add neither volume nor new tone but will keep the combo from farting out and/or blowing the driver if I'm overly aggressive with my pedal(s).
It's a direct swap; nothing beyond a screwdriver required? (I've no way to drill anything! Nor would I. /me no touch power tools.)
Soldering iron needed? Any real benefit to acoustic foam?
FWIW I really like the tone of the BA108. I've got a big rig for big stuff. [Nearly wishing] for a SVT210AV and a Micro VR or PF-350 for the smaller situations. I didn't write that last sentence. The devil made me do it.
The speaker replacement will add neither volume nor new tone but will keep the combo from farting out and/or blowing the driver if I'm overly aggressive with my pedal(s).
It's a direct swap; nothing beyond a screwdriver required? (I've no way to drill anything! Nor would I. /me no touch power tools.)
Soldering iron needed? Any real benefit to acoustic foam?
FWIW I really like the tone of the BA108. I've got a big rig for big stuff. [Nearly wishing] for a SVT210AV and a Micro VR or PF-350 for the smaller situations. I didn't write that last sentence. The devil made me do it.
As a BA108v2 player it appears this little box is capable of some light work in modest settings. Let me get this straight:
The speaker replacement will add neither volume nor new tone but will keep the combo from farting out and/or blowing the driver if I'm overly aggressive with my pedal(s).
It's a direct swap; nothing beyond a screwdriver required? (I've no way to drill anything! Nor would I. /me no touch power tools.)
Soldering iron needed? Any real benefit to acoustic foam?
FWIW I really like the tone of the BA108. I've got a big rig for big stuff. [Nearly wishing] for a SVT210AV and a Micro VR or PF-350 for the smaller situations. I didn't write that last sentence. The devil made me do it.
To answer your questions:
---Speaker replacement...correct on all counts IMHO, although one could say that because the Alpha takes more power cleanly that you might eke out a tad more volume. I couldn't tell you in a direct comparo since I was overly aggressive with my pedals.
---Direct swap, although you might want to get a gasket for the underside of the Alpha's rim since it doesn't come with one, or at least mine didn't. And yes, it's all done with a screwdriver, no soldering required. The speakers have little tabs and the wires have connectors that you push onto the tabs.
---I added a little bit of that NuFoam you get at craft stores to my V1 in the places that weren't covered by the stock padding. Did not make it sound any different but did clear up a tiny rattle. The V2 is made better IMHO, though, so if you're not getting any rattling, I wouldn't sweat it.
Just for the record guys I replaced the speaker on my BA108 V.2 and it required drilling new holes(the original holes don't quite line up). I used an Alpha 8A. The speaker in my combo had a voice coil rub which was the reason for my replacement. Tonally its marginally better, I'd probably sooner stick with the stock speaker, but its not a bad upgrade, just not a HUGE difference in tone.
I can't explain why you had to drill holes. My Alpha 8A lined up perfectly with the existing holes. What was off with the holes? The diameter of the screw pattern? Were the 4 holes on the baffle not at 90 degree increments?
Correct, the tone is not much different. The two improvements I noticed were:
1. I could turn up the volume quite a bit higher because the new speaker will not fart out.
2. After porting the cabinet, there was more low end and a tad more volume. I also added some lining when I did the porting. I'm not sure if the additional lining had any affect, but it a recommended procedure in cabinet building, so, I did it.
The hole pattern lines up fine, but the stock speaker frame is slightly smaller. I could have forced the screws in as the original holes showed slightly, but its MDF and I didn't want to risk that.
@AMJBASS , just curious. When your original speaker developed the voice coil rub, did you price out a factory replacement speaker? If so, what was the price including shipping? I had only thought of the Alpha 8a in the context of upgrading, not as a replacement to a blown driver.
It actually came with a voice coil rub, but I needed the amp for a gig last weekend(using it as a floor wedge with a pretty powerful FOH) so I just picked up the Alpha 8A locally. Took 10 mins to install even with the new pilot holes.
Great thread Woodstockz! Thank you for this! Would you know if Phase 1C can be installed on a BA-110?
