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Ampeg Rocket Bass Combos

Great review/history there, @Kerry Brown. After moving down here in the early 80s, I miss my trips to your town. How is "The Chief" rock formation doing?
The Chief will be here long after us humans are gone :) It is changing though. There have been several rockfalls in recent years. Luckily no one was hurt. They had to close a couple of the climbing routes. Rain gets in the cracks and years of freezing and thawing the cracks get wider. The recent very hot summers have exacerbated the problem as the rock gets very hot in the day then cool at night. So far most of the rock falls have been at night or in the early morning. There are some pretty spectacular videos on YouTube of sparks flying at night from the rockfalls.
 
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I played through a rocket bass 210 yesterday and loved it so much I'm considering selling my Aguilar rig and buying one. can anyone tell me about any issues with them? guitar player friend of mine warned me that ampeg has reliability issues and if thats the case I'll stay away

I absolutely love it. I have a PF-115HE below it and it just shakes.

Only bad thing I've experienced myself (and a couple others here) is that the amp DI is relatively noisy compared to the other models (as in, the other models are dead-silent, and under some conditions there is a noticeable "buzz" NOT a hum, etc. with any kind of gain on the DI signal).

That being said, I'm using a SCR-DI for DI anyway, so not really an issue anymore.
 
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Great question. AS I read the manual specs it will serve 100 watts into the internal 8-ohm speaker. Add another 8-ohm speaker (total 4 ohm) and you will get the full 200 watts.
re. volume: I think it's safe to say that the 1-15 would be the better amp for full band/performance volume.
according to dino monoxelis it's 150 watts to the internal speaker, the rumble 200 is 140 watts to internal speaker, so maybe? I have one , you can swap to a 4ohm spkr for 200 watts to internal but it's only 3db louder. I use it as is in a power rock trio....it's pretty loud and that ever present ballsy B15/SVT sound helps.

cue up 6:50
 
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Ampeg Rocket Bass-9.jpg
 
So people here are saying the Rocket 210 has a noisy DI? Some people might be happy using a DI on their pedal board, but then what is the point of bringing the ampeg to gigs if you aren't providing the post-EQ ampeg sound to the audience? That combined with the fact that the DI is post-volume is making me pause on pulling the trigger.


But i have to say, both the RB110 and RB210 are the exact ideal bass tone I have in my head. I already have the 110 at home for practice, but the DI situation on the 210 is giving me pause for making it my gigging amp.
 
I played through a rocket bass 210 yesterday and loved it so much I'm considering selling my Aguilar rig and buying one. can anyone tell me about any issues with them? guitar player friend of mine warned me that ampeg has reliability issues and if thats the case I'll stay away
Great choice! I had one and sold it for the RB-115 and hooked up a Ampeg LF115 portaflex cab to it and never looked back. The 115 RB has more "beef" to it than the 210 RB if that's your tone. It's really loud too with a cab. The BIG thing I would say if you are going to hook a cab up to it is to use the pig hog 1/4 speaker cable (zzounds sells them and they are great). They are tour worthy and encased in a rubber so that things won't ever cut out due to the speaker cable. When I first hooked up my RB 210 to the cab it cut out a little and was like "What the F...!" I called Ampeg and told them my problem. They told me to try several things and it turned out to be the speaker cable I was using; I was using a less expensive cable that wasn't encased in rubber where the plug-in was and that was causing the problem. Since I changed it, it never happened again and it never happened with my RB 115 either since I've been using these cables (Invalid Link Removed). I love these Ampeg Rocket amps and I only GREAT things to say about them! And, the tone is incredible! I hope this helps!
 
So people here are saying the Rocket 210 has a noisy DI? Some people might be happy using a DI on their pedal board, but then what is the point of bringing the ampeg to gigs if you aren't providing the post-EQ ampeg sound to the audience? That combined with the fact that the DI is post-volume is making me pause on pulling the trigger.


But i have to say, both the RB110 and RB210 are the exact ideal bass tone I have in my head. I already have the 110 at home for practice, but the DI situation on the 210 is giving me pause for making it my gigging amp.

I'm using a SCR-DI so it's mostly the same Ampeg flavor.

It's been a while since I tried the amp DI. But since we're on the subject in this thread again I'll probably start playing with it.

FWIW I distinctly remember that once I got the master vol. past like 12 o'clock I didn't need to put much gain on the PA/interface, and the noise was not nearly as noticeable.

I have long suspected something to do with the tweeter adding signal noise, but haven't tried removing the tweeter and seeing that effect yet.
 
RB115 with EQ lo at 11 o'clock, Mid 1.30 and treble at noon can mimic the B15 voice with P bass.

But I prefer RB112 which sound tighter and more present upper mid bite.

thanks, yahboy. I’m hoping to hear direct a/b comparisons, as they’re still not locally available to try out. Good to hear the rb115 has that b15 voice.

among other details, im also interested to find how it does when being pushed fairly hard. The b100r sounds glorious when pushed, and its seperate gain and vol knobs allow it to be set appropriately for digging in hard when pushing its volume, which is key for a precision-flats-heavy handed pick player like me at times. I’m wondering how the rb115 does in that regard considering it doesn’t have seperate gain/volume controls. Witthout a seperate gain control, I’m worried it’ll peak/spike too much at moderate and higher volumes with a driving right handed pick attack.
 
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thanks, yahboy. I’m hoping to hear direct a/b comparisons, as they’re still not locally available to try out. Good to hear the rb115 has that b15 voice.

among other details, im also interested to find how it does when being pushed fairly hard. The b100r sounds glorious when pushed, and its seperate gain and vol knobs allow it to be set appropriately for digging in hard when pushing its volume, which is key for a precision-flats-heavy handed pick player like me at times. I’m wondering how the rb115 does in that regard considering it doesn’t have seperate gain/volume controls. Witthout a seperate gain control, I’m worried it’ll peak/spike too much at moderate and higher volumes with a driving right handed pick attack.
I have the RB 115 and I hook it up to the Ampeg 115 LF cab. It's loud and beefy in this arrangement! By itself, I don't find it overly loud. I highly recommend a cab with it.
 
I have the RB 115 and I hook it up to the Ampeg 115 LF cab. It's loud and beefy in this arrangement! By itself, I don't find it overly loud. I highly recommend a cab with it.

thanks lemur! I’m wondering if it might be able to replace my trusty b100r, but am wary considering the details I shared above about what I’d need it to do with my playing style/attack. It may be that amps without seperate gain and volume controls aren’t a good fit for me and what I need it to do? I haven’t owned one without seperate gain vol controls since my peavey micro bass days decades ago.
 
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thanks lemur! I’m wondering if it might be able to replace my trusty b100r, but am wary considering the details I shared above about what I’d need it to do with my playing style/attack. It may be that amps without seperate gain and volume controls aren’t a good fit for me and what I need it to do? I haven’t owned one without seperate gain vol controls since my peavey micro bass days decades ago.
Well, I am a blues rock-classic rock guy and I keep my Ultra Low and High buttons always on, my midrange and treble are almost to zero. I can tell you this that these Ampeg Rockets have PLENTY of HIGH end without a doubt, even with my 115LF cab that doesn't have a horn there is plenty of high-end brightness if that's your tone.
 
thanks, yahboy. I’m hoping to hear direct a/b comparisons, as they’re still not locally available to try out. Good to hear the rb115 has that b15 voice.

among other details, im also interested to find how it does when being pushed fairly hard. The b100r sounds glorious when pushed, and its seperate gain and vol knobs allow it to be set appropriately for digging in hard when pushing its volume, which is key for a precision-flats-heavy handed pick player like me at times. I’m wondering how the rb115 does in that regard considering it doesn’t have seperate gain/volume controls. Witthout a seperate gain control, I’m worried it’ll peak/spike too much at moderate and higher volumes with a driving right handed pick attack.

You can try SGT ON with full level and tweak the grid to taste.
I prefer add some Ampeg heft with SGT , 8 o'clock Grid and 3 o'clock level.

ZH1 Dirt SGT RB112 V50P pick 3 nths JF344
 
You can try SGT ON with full level and tweak the grid to taste.
I prefer add some Ampeg heft with SGT , 8 o'clock Grid and 3 o'clock level.

ZH1 Dirt SGT RB112 V50P pick 3 nths JF344
YES! The "SGT" switch is always on for me (LEVEL up all the way; it acts as a boost) and then dial in your tone/grit from there...I love this dial/switch! Thanks for pointing this very important part out
 
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YES! The "SGT" switch is always on for me (LEVEL up all the way; it acts as a boost) and then dial in your tone/grit from there...I love this dial/switch! Thanks for pointing this very important part out

The new SGT give me more tube-py thing than previous distortion BA scrambler. She not just thicken up or heft the tone , she also give you tiny compressor to make the P bass E string sound tight solid meanwhile beefy up the G string.
 
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I have the RB 115 and I hook it up to the Ampeg 115 LF cab. It's loud and beefy in this arrangement! By itself, I don't find it overly loud. I highly recommend a cab with it.

Good to know, thanks Lemur. Hoping someone with direct B100R experience can chime in to share how it compares volume wise being pushed fairly hard in live gig situations. I only rarely needed anything louder than my B100R, and if the RB115 wouldn't perform as well in a gig environment for the way I play, adding a second cabinet would defeat the purpose for me in replacing my B100R. Thoroughly love my B100R - I'd only replace it to reduce the weight (60something vs 30something pounds is no joke) if it could perform as I need it to.

Well, I am a blues rock-classic rock guy and I keep my Ultra Low and High buttons always on, my midrange and treble are almost to zero. I can tell you this that these Ampeg Rockets have PLENTY of HIGH end without a doubt, even with my 115LF cab that doesn't have a horn there is plenty of high-end brightness if that's your tone.

Thanks for those details, Lemur. My go to settings on my B100R are super simple - Fender Precision, Labella Flats, thick alternate pick attack, no ultra low or ultra highs engaged, slight boost to lows and low mids, adjusting to taste for the room, and flat on high mids (around 5/mid dial) and cutting the highs (about 2 or 3 on the dial).

You can try SGT ON with full level and tweak the grid to taste.
I prefer add some Ampeg heft with SGT , 8 o'clock Grid and 3 o'clock level.

ZH1 Dirt SGT RB112 V50P pick 3 nths JF344

Sounds like a great option to try. Looking forward to a few months when one of these will be in stock locally. In the meantime, I'm hoping a B100R owner that regularly pushes their amp can chime in at some point and detail how they find the SGT level adjusting performs with the volume control, mimicking the gain/vol on the B100R.

I have the RB112. I haven't gigged with it and really have no intention of doing so. I use it at home as my practice amp and bring it to rehearsals with one of my bands and it is absolutely prefect for that. I've had it for awhile now and really like it.

Great stuff, Tin. What model did you go with for home/rehearsal crossover duty, and what's your gigging setup?
 
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