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Ampeg BA115 has no low end- how to debug?

J

jamesf

Feb 5, 2010
16
4
#1
Hi folks..I've had this Amp for about 10 years and it's been ok for home practice. I recently played a jam where there was another one, and HOLY COW, it has so much punch and low end. Like a bass amp should sound. So I'm thinking there's an issue with mine. There are no abnormal buzzes or snorts, it's just lame.

Is there a way for me to debug this with a standard voltmeter or visual inspection?

I downloaded iSpectrum and played the low E, and it told me 82 Hz was the primary frequency. No idea if that was a useful test.

thanks,
jim
 
#2
Did you use your bass with the other BA115 with your usual EQ settings? Try fiddling with the EQ. Note: Boosting the Bass (Low Frequencies) consumes more power so the amp might seem quieter. Also keep in mind that when the amp sounds good on its own, it doesn't mean it will sound good in a band mix and vice versa. Mid level frequencies are mostly the important ones to be heard well in a band setting.
Some more experienced members or BA115 owners will hopefully be able to tell you how to set the EQ to get the most out of the amp. I would suggest you DISengage the Ultra-Lo switch, because it actually cuts mids instead of boosting bass and try to boost the mids.
 
#3
Yes, same bass. The EQ doesn't matter in my case- none of the EQ settings come close to the low end the cafe amp had. No U-L switch on mine, might be an older model, in which case, maybe that's the difference? I could *feel* the bass at the cafe. Mine just hurts my ears. Turning the bass all up and mids/treble all down, it's ok, but not inspiring at all.

jim

Joce said:
Did you use your bass with the other BA115 with your usual EQ settings? Try fiddling with the EQ. Note: Boosting the Bass (Low Frequencies) consumes more power so the amp might seem quieter. Also keep in mind that when the amp sounds good on its own, it doesn't mean it will sound good in a band mix and vice versa. Mid level frequencies are mostly the important ones to be heard well in a band setting.
Some more experienced members or BA115 owners will hopefully be able to tell you how to set the EQ to get the most out of the amp. I would suggest you DISengage the Ultra-Lo switch, because it actually cuts mids instead of boosting bass and try to boost the mids.
Click to expand...
 
#4
Your amp may have an incorrect cap (coupling or bypass) causing a higher frequency of high pass filtering (cutting out the low bass). More likely the amps have different drivers or a different tuning. Sometimes a cardboard port comes off inside the cab (or it may not have been installed at all), causing the cab to be tuned way too high - again, loss of bass.
 
#6
The cafe amp is in a corner, and I immediately moved mine into a corner, with absolutely no difference, surprisingly. I expected _something_. At some point I figure I'll need to open it up and see if anything's loose/missing/exploded, but I don't really know what I'm looking for unless it's obvious...
 

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