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Ampeg? Looking for studio/home small setup

M

marco1977

Sep 11, 2007
100
1
#1
Hi guys,

Currently i'm planning on buying a small combo for Home studio use.
As the B15's are out of my range, i'm looking for the next best thing.

So, I'm looking for a vintage style (and more important: sounding) combo / small setup (already have a 'Big' setup)

I was looking for a B50R/B100R/B200R, but because of availability here in europe I'm also looking at the VR Micro stack.

Anyone else care to share their opinion(s) on the Micro / or drop suggestions for other combo's out there?

Many Thanks

Marco
 
#2
I've had a Polytone Mini Brute for many years and its a great practice and recording amp. I originally bought it as a practice amp, but with a 1x12" and 100 watts, it turned out to be useful in the ballroom dance band I was in at the time. By itself, the tone is clean, but with a Tech 21 Sans Amp Bass DI (and of course the right settings!) I get a nice tube-like tone. I've seen them on ebay for as little as a few hundred dollars, and even on consignment in some music stores (which is how I got mine). Most Mini Brutes also have a line-out and an extension speaker output.

And I'm with you on the Ampeg B15s - I bought a 1970s model a few months back and its all I want to play through!
 
#3
I have both a '63 B15 and a B-100R, and for the $$$ you can't go wrong with the B-100R. It will get you 90% of the B15 tone at a fraction of the cost, plus you get the cool vintage looks. It also has it's own unique mojo - especially for a solid sate amp. When I got mine I popped the top just to verify there wasn't a tube preamp in it!
 
#5
I bought a b200r about 5 months ago. Great amp. I got one of the last b stocks ampeg had maybe they have more now. It went dead about two months after I got it. There was a local guy who fixed it under warranty. Now it works great. Its very loud and a good gigger, because its not to heavy. It gives some really nice tone. People always ask me "is that yours? its really cool looking and sounds great"

Since its been fixed its very reliable the only complaint I have is the chassis buzzes a bit. It can give you a screaming tube distortion, southern blues, a vintage tone, a low growl, or a nice victer wooten tone. It sounds really good. I have a 5 string and the low B really growls. Mine has wheels (angelic choir now) its really great to be able to roll it around.

Just make sure you have a good repair man in the area just in case. I wouldn't worry about one that's been around for a while. Just one from ampeg recently even the people who fix them there don't what they are doing. The local repairman did.

By the way it sounds great on guitar or on the keys. I always play with the tweeter. I think this amp sounds a lot better than the micro stack personally. Good luck that is if you are still looking.

peace,
matt
 
#7
i would absolutely use a micro vr in the studio. the b50r, b100r, b200r, and ba112 i would also use. none sound just like a b-15, but they have the ampeg tone and sound pretty close in their own ways. and the micro vr really does sound like a small svt, so micing it would sound excellent.

but i must admit that i have gone to the dark side for recording. i use the tech 21 vt bass character pedal, even though i have a 64 b-15n and a really good mic. it sounds so much like a mic'ed b-15 that i can't tell the difference on recordings, and by the time the song's mixed, nobody else will be able to, either.

edit: actually nobody will be able to tell the difference whether it's mixed in a song or not, but there's always someone who will claim they can.
 
#8
stiles72 said:
I have both a '63 B15 and a B-100R, and for the $$$ you can't go wrong with the B-100R. It will get you 90% of the B15 tone at a fraction of the cost, plus you get the cool vintage looks. It also has it's own unique mojo - especially for a solid sate amp. When I got mine I popped the top just to verify there wasn't a tube preamp in it!
Click to expand...

This.
 

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