Ampeg Rocket Bass Combos

[Michael Eisenman]

Any suggestions on how to remove the grill

If you have or can make a very thin, flat hook, use that or a small flathead screwdriver that will fit between the grill and the tolex and and pull or pry off the grill. It’s fastened on with velcro. Put some leather or cloth between the screwdriver and the tolex so you don’t mess up the latter when you lever against it. After you remove the grill, you can attach some wide ribbon material to the back that can be used as a pull in the future.

 

[lowendrv]

I just picked up this B-100r. Any suggestions on how to remove the grill and where to get a replacement (even if just the matching cloth)? Thanks in advance.

View attachment 5152195

P.S. I did find that the Ernie Ball caster kit works if you get the one that comes with the new base plates. The stem on the caster is just slightly smaller than the original Ampeg ones, but the base plate has the exact same screw pattern. So, a quick swap and it worked perfectly and only about $20 for the set.

I used a car dash tool like this to get grille off . At bottom slide between cab and grille and turn tool 90 degrees . Best to have two . One one each side . It takes a lot of force to remove .
You can unmake a tool out of welding rod .

 

[pgpete]

Was that a tweeter issue?

No, a wire going to the mains switch had disconnected. plugged it back in and was fine

 

[Yahboy]

Drum rolling....

https://youtube.com/shorts/4znbeOIXBCk?feature=share

 

[Yahboy]

My point is the Ampeg Rocket line is not " poor quality " . Better than most lines twice their price . Just a low price point . Corners need to be cut . If this was a Heritage SVT . I would be getting better quality components .
There is nothing wrong with RB's . I would expect hiss . I have a hard believing only component quality is the reason for hiss . Most common thing to cause hiss for any amp is the environment where the amp is .
Sorry if there was a misunderstanding .

Can't agree anymore on build quality and tone, but the scratching pot issue are truly happens on mine, even after repair due warranty period.

Disappoint me that Yamapeg dint care much on defective pot since my case are only 1 or 2 they receive report.

 

[Stealth57]

I have a B-100r that had a damaged grill cloth. I order what I was told by Ampeg (Line 6) was the last 1991 (SLM era) roll. I only needed approximately 18x16 out of a 75x40 roll. If anyone needs that type of grill cloth, feel free to DM me.

Before:

After:

 

[Greenstreet]

I have a B-100r that had a damaged grill cloth. I order what I was told by Ampeg (Line 6) was the last 1991 (SLM era) roll. I only needed approximately 18x16 out of a 75x40 roll. If anyone needs that type of grill cloth, feel free to DM me.

Before:
View attachment 5172562

After:
View attachment 5172565

Looks great- nice work! There was some interest a few years back in this thread- I no longer have the amp that I wanted it for (lent it and some other gear to a friend who has since vanished. So it goes-) but some of the others might still be looking for it.

,

 

[Michael Eisenman]

I have a B-100r that had a damaged grill cloth. I order what I was told by Ampeg (Line 6) was the last 1991 (SLM era) roll. I only needed approximately 18x16 out of a 75x40 roll. If anyone needs that type of grill cloth, feel free to DM me.

Before:
View attachment 5172562

After:
View attachment 5172565

As an alternative after your cloth runs out, the grill cloth used in the new Rocket Bass line is very similar, if not identical.

 

[Yahboy]

I been share the scratching noise on both SGT knobs after replace with new preamp board previously. Now i get the another new preamp board send from Ampeg. Hopefully this one with issue free forever.....

 

[Yahboy]

Does RB112 can handle Low B ?

I been try B string (Sterling Ray5 and Ibanez SRFF805) on both Rumble V3 100 and Tech21 VT200 combo.

Rumble 100 are first out of the game, get fart and distort before volume knob pass noon.

Vt200 can handle the Low B quite well before 1 o'clock volume , over that , there are notable fart blowing air wave from both real ported and sound blurry.

How about Rb112 ?

I test with my mod B std PJ bass along with Sadowsky Black nickel round wound 60-125T (skip the 40 G)bass string loaded. The neck pickup are 13K overwound and Model J on bridge, high output combination.
No farted , distorted even blown tone on it when volume knob point at 1.30 o'clock (EQ flat on both Bass and MID, 3 o'clock on Treble along with Ultra Hi ON only). Cover the Nickel back song from dark horse album, the B string sound quality and tonal are keep well balance to the rest !

Exclude the scratching noise issue on my case , i do believe there are no others combo with similar price tag , same wattage, same 12' driver , similar size can handle well on Low B at medium high volume.

Well done YamaPeg ! except the low quality pot use.....

 

[iagtrplyr]

Does RB112 can handle Low B ?

I been try B string (Sterling Ray5 and Ibanez SRFF805) on both Rumble V3 100 and Tech21 VT200 combo.

Rumble 100 are first out of the game, get fart and distort before volume knob pass noon.

Vt200 can handle the Low B quite well before 1 o'clock volume , over that , there are notable fart blowing air wave from both real ported and sound blurry.

How about Rb112 ?

I test with my mod B std PJ bass along with Sadowsky Black nickel round wound 60-125T (skip the 40 G)bass string loaded. The neck pickup are 13K overwound and Model J on bridge, high output combination.
No farted , distorted even blown tone on it when volume knob point at 1.30 o'clock (EQ flat on both Bass and MID, 3 o'clock on Treble along with Ultra Hi ON only). Cover the Nickel back song from dark horse album, the B string sound quality and tonal are keep well balance to the rest !

Exclude the scratching noise issue on my case , i do believe there are no others combo with similar price tag , same wattage, same 12' driver , similar size can handle well on Low B at medium high volume.

Well done YamaPeg ! except the low quality pot use.....

Yahboy, I bought a Ray5 back in July or August and have played it through a Rumble 40, Katana 110, and RB112. I didn’t dime the volumes but played them as I thought they could handle it, and surprisingly all did pretty well.

The R40 will handle the B-string as long as you don’t overload the output; the Katana kicked some booty and sounded terrific. My favorite had to be the Rocket Bass because it had the most bass and had no trouble even at higher volumes. Plus, it sounded really good too.

It makes me wonder how the RB115 would do in a similar situation?

 

[Yahboy]

Yahboy, I bought a Ray5 back in July or August and have played it through a Rumble 40, Katana 110, and RB112. I didn’t dime the volumes but played them as I thought they could handle it, and surprisingly all did pretty well.

The R40 will handle the B-string as long as you don’t overload the output; the Katana kicked some booty and sounded terrific. My favorite had to be the Rocket Bass because it had the most bass and had no trouble even at higher volumes. Plus, it sounded really good too.

It makes me wonder how the RB115 would do in a similar situation?

Seem we are prove same result on RB112 Low B experience.

My first RB combo are Rb115, but i dint have any 5 string bass on that time. I do believe RB115 able handle the Low B better than RB112 on high volume setting.

Now i have an idea , how about get second RB112 for daisy chain.... RB212 !

 

[Zarcsby]

Although I believe I've already asked this question many pages back in this thread, given the recent Ampeg Venture series cabinets announcement, I thought I would check in again with my fellow Rocket Bass owners.

Curious if anybody in here currently uses their RB210 combo daisy chained to a RB115 combo beneath it via the effects loops and can tell me if they liked the results? I often already do this with two Rumble 100 combos chained together via the effects loops, and I use a piggyback power cable so that I only need one wall outlet to power both combo amps.

I'm mostly asking because I currently own the RB115, and I was hoping for an updated/matching Ampeg 1x15" or 2x10" cabinet model to use with it, but it doesn't look like the new Venture cabinets seem entirely worth it to me given the listed prices.

The newly-announced Venture series cabinets are cool and all, but I'm not thrilled about paying $850 USD (approx $1100 CAD) for the VB115 @ 250W RMS, or $899 USD (approx $1200 CAD) for the VB210 @ 300W RMS, when I could instead just go out and buy the RB210 combo for approx $670 USD ($850 CAD is currently the regular price at L&M in Canada) and stack it perfectly on top of my RB115 or vice-versa.

Am I thinking about this the wrong way value-wise, given that I already love the tone of my RB115 and I'm only really looking for more speaker-pushing-air & overall power?

Newer/better(?) speaker technology/efficiency in the Venture series cabinets aside, the RB210 and RB115 combos daisy chained together via the effects loops would bring me to a total of 350W at worst if I went by their conservative power ratings listed in the Rocket Bass manual. Noting that Dino mentioned in the zZounds video interview that these Rocket Bass combo amps run approx 2/3rds of their total wattage to their internal speakers when there is no extension cabinet speaker attached to the jack on the amp, making the RB210 around 335W to the internal 2x10" speakers, and the RB115 sending around 135W to the internal 1x15", thereby totaling approximately 470W when daisy chained together via their effects loops.

 

[pgpete]

I have an RB-210, and I have a SVT 7Pro and a SVT HLF 410. - I use the SVT rig when i need a lot of grunt eg outdoor gigs, and the RB-210 at band rehearsal and in small room pub gigs. The RB-210 is 250W without using an external speaker.

The RB-210 is good for small room gigs - but its at its max - there's no more in reserve and it hasn't much headroom - (in a way its kinda like a form of compression).

I can tell you now ( I have an electronics background) you can add another speaker to get you an extra 100W or so, but will only make things a *bit* louder - its a logarithmic thing - you need 10 times the power to make it twice as loud. That's why they do the 1200 W venture amp for example - because this will be twice as loud as a 120W amp.

So, the rocket bass line of amps is meant for small combos and personal practice, or low volume stage stuff. - its kinda entry level.

The next level up was the porta-flex stuff - more watts - but still portable and usable in a small club - this has been discontinued and replaced by the Venture stuff.

The next level after that is the SVT stuff. - more watts, heavier build, built for the big venue stages.

In your case you are trying to get more out of a 100W combo amp than what you've got - sure you can daisy chain one amp to the next ( you will need a DI balanced to unbalanced lead to do that ) but at the end of the day you are defeating the purpose of these small portable combo amps - creating a rig that will be twice as difficult to transport and set up.

I suggest just using the RB-115 for home practice and getting a venture rig that has the configuration and power that you need. That way you end up spending more time on making music than being a sound tech/ hacker.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Does anyone ultimately see Ampeg switching out the RB line in favor of a Venture series of combos? Boy, I’d hate to see what those babies would run. As it stands, Ampeg is nearing GK’s Legacy line, cost wise, and they won’t be built in America. What are they up to?

 

[Lemur Bassman]

Although I believe I've already asked this question many pages back in this thread, given the recent Ampeg Venture series cabinets announcement, I thought I would check in again with my fellow Rocket Bass owners.

Curious if anybody in here currently uses their RB210 combo daisy chained to a RB115 combo beneath it via the effects loops and can tell me if they liked the results? I often already do this with two Rumble 100 combos chained together via the effects loops, and I use a piggyback power cable so that I only need one wall outlet to power both combo amps.

I'm mostly asking because I currently own the RB115, and I was hoping for an updated/matching Ampeg 1x15" or 2x10" cabinet model to use with it, but it doesn't look like the new Venture cabinets seem entirely worth it to me given the listed prices.

The newly-announced Venture series cabinets are cool and all, but I'm not thrilled about paying $850 USD (approx $1100 CAD) for the VB115 @ 250W RMS, or $899 USD (approx $1200 CAD) for the VB210 @ 300W RMS, when I could instead just go out and buy the RB210 combo for approx $670 USD ($850 CAD is currently the regular price at L&M in Canada) and stack it perfectly on top of my RB115 or vice-versa.

Am I thinking about this the wrong way value-wise, given that I already love the tone of my RB115 and I'm only really looking for more speaker-pushing-air & overall power?

Newer/better(?) speaker technology/efficiency in the Venture series cabinets aside, the RB210 and RB115 combos daisy chained together via the effects loops would bring me to a total of 350W at worst if I went by their conservative power ratings listed in the Rocket Bass manual. Noting that Dino mentioned in the zZounds video interview that these Rocket Bass combo amps run approx 2/3rds of their total wattage to their internal speakers when there is no extension cabinet speaker attached to the jack on the amp, making the RB210 around 335W to the internal 2x10" speakers, and the RB115 sending around 135W to the internal 1x15", thereby totaling approximately 470W when daisy chained together via their effects loops.

I play an RB-115 hooked up to an Ampeg 115 Portaflex and absolutely love it! What I am going to do since I already have a second 115 Portaflex and love the RB 115, I am purchasing another RB 115 and hook it up to my second Portaflex 115 BUT, I will be using the Orange Amp Detonator Buffered A/B/Y Switcher Pedal which would result in 2 RB 115’s and 2 Portaflex 115’s.

I am (was) excited about the Venture series until I saw the prices on the Cabs! Granted, they are lighter and that's the BIG selling point over the existing/older stuff. I think each cab is 20 lbs lighter than my Portaflex. which is still manageable and I love the sound. Second strike is that they are all speakOn cables.

Have fun!
Bill

 

[Yahboy]

Although I believe I've already asked this question many pages back in this thread, given the recent Ampeg Venture series cabinets announcement, I thought I would check in again with my fellow Rocket Bass owners.

Curious if anybody in here currently uses their RB210 combo daisy chained to a RB115 combo beneath it via the effects loops and can tell me if they liked the results? I often already do this with two Rumble 100 combos chained together via the effects loops, and I use a piggyback power cable so that I only need one wall outlet to power both combo amps.

I'm mostly asking because I currently own the RB115, and I was hoping for an updated/matching Ampeg 1x15" or 2x10" cabinet model to use with it, but it doesn't look like the new Venture cabinets seem entirely worth it to me given the listed prices.

The newly-announced Venture series cabinets are cool and all, but I'm not thrilled about paying $850 USD (approx $1100 CAD) for the VB115 @ 250W RMS, or $899 USD (approx $1200 CAD) for the VB210 @ 300W RMS, when I could instead just go out and buy the RB210 combo for approx $670 USD ($850 CAD is currently the regular price at L&M in Canada) and stack it perfectly on top of my RB115 or vice-versa.

Am I thinking about this the wrong way value-wise, given that I already love the tone of my RB115 and I'm only really looking for more speaker-pushing-air & overall power?

Newer/better(?) speaker technology/efficiency in the Venture series cabinets aside, the RB210 and RB115 combos daisy chained together via the effects loops would bring me to a total of 350W at worst if I went by their conservative power ratings listed in the Rocket Bass manual. Noting that Dino mentioned in the zZounds video interview that these Rocket Bass combo amps run approx 2/3rds of their total wattage to their internal speakers when there is no extension cabinet speaker attached to the jack on the amp, making the RB210 around 335W to the internal 2x10" speakers, and the RB115 sending around 135W to the internal 1x15", thereby totaling approximately 470W when daisy chained together via their effects loops.

I also found the new Venture series are overprice compare to PF line. Few cab price tag are higher than SVT cab too.

How about PF 115LF for your RB115 ? Since both has pretty close cab width.
Ampeg PF-115LF 1x15" 400-watt Portaflex Bass Cabinet

Another reason are PF cab has same torlex pattern and grille to RB 115.


Since i been try the SGT-Di and impressive with the SVT/B15 features and tone quality, the V3 and VB212 become my next purchase actually.

But the price tag seem not friendly to my wallet. Now , either get another RB112 for daisy chain , or keep RB112 and get the PF350+PF115HE for B15-ist tone.

Ampeg Portaflex PF-350 Head and PF115 Cabinet Stack

 

[Yahboy]

Although I believe I've already asked this question many pages back in this thread, given the recent Ampeg Venture series cabinets announcement, I thought I would check in again with my fellow Rocket Bass owners.

Curious if anybody in here currently uses their RB210 combo daisy chained to a RB115 combo beneath it via the effects loops and can tell me if they liked the results? I often already do this with two Rumble 100 combos chained together via the effects loops, and I use a piggyback power cable so that I only need one wall outlet to power both combo amps.

I'm mostly asking because I currently own the RB115, and I was hoping for an updated/matching Ampeg 1x15" or 2x10" cabinet model to use with it, but it doesn't look like the new Venture cabinets seem entirely worth it to me given the listed prices.

The newly-announced Venture series cabinets are cool and all, but I'm not thrilled about paying $850 USD (approx $1100 CAD) for the VB115 @ 250W RMS, or $899 USD (approx $1200 CAD) for the VB210 @ 300W RMS, when I could instead just go out and buy the RB210 combo for approx $670 USD ($850 CAD is currently the regular price at L&M in Canada) and stack it perfectly on top of my RB115 or vice-versa.

Am I thinking about this the wrong way value-wise, given that I already love the tone of my RB115 and I'm only really looking for more speaker-pushing-air & overall power?

Newer/better(?) speaker technology/efficiency in the Venture series cabinets aside, the RB210 and RB115 combos daisy chained together via the effects loops would bring me to a total of 350W at worst if I went by their conservative power ratings listed in the Rocket Bass manual. Noting that Dino mentioned in the zZounds video interview that these Rocket Bass combo amps run approx 2/3rds of their total wattage to their internal speakers when there is no extension cabinet speaker attached to the jack on the amp, making the RB210 around 335W to the internal 2x10" speakers, and the RB115 sending around 135W to the internal 1x15", thereby totaling approximately 470W when daisy chained together via their effects loops.

You spot out should " RB115 sending around 135W to the internal 1x15" ".

I agree with you, the Rumble 200/150 combo@140w internal driver, still louder than Rb115. R200C able get close to Hartke KB15 too.

My first Rb115 not louder than Rb112 , except wider low end spread and lacking some upper MID bite.

 

[Yahboy]

I have an RB-210, and I have a SVT 7Pro and a SVT HLF 410. - I use the SVT rig when i need a lot of grunt eg outdoor gigs, and the RB-210 at band rehearsal and in small room pub gigs. The RB-210 is 250W without using an external speaker.

The RB-210 is good for small room gigs - but its at its max - there's no more in reserve and it hasn't much headroom - (in a way its kinda like a form of compression).

I can tell you now ( I have an electronics background) you can add another speaker to get you an extra 100W or so, but will only make things a *bit* louder - its a logarithmic thing - you need 10 times the power to make it twice as loud. That's why they do the 1200 W venture amp for example - because this will be twice as loud as a 120W amp.

So, the rocket bass line of amps is meant for small combos and personal practice, or low volume stage stuff. - its kinda entry level.

The next level up was the porta-flex stuff - more watts - but still portable and usable in a small club - this has been discontinued and replaced by the Venture stuff.

The next level after that is the SVT stuff. - more watts, heavier build, built for the big venue stages.

In your case you are trying to get more out of a 100W combo amp than what you've got - sure you can daisy chain one amp to the next ( you will need a DI balanced to unbalanced lead to do that ) but at the end of the day you are defeating the purpose of these small portable combo amps - creating a rig that will be twice as difficult to transport and set up.

I suggest just using the RB-115 for home practice and getting a venture rig that has the configuration and power that you need. That way you end up spending more time on making music than being a sound tech/ hacker.

Ampeg still keep production on PF cab 112,115 and 210 for their PF20T and 50T.

But, i predict Yamapeg will replace both PF20T and 50T to Venture tuby version to match new VB cab line soon.

 

[Yahboy]

Does anyone ultimately see Ampeg switching out the RB line in favor of a Venture series of combos? Boy, I’d hate to see what those babies would run. As it stands, Ampeg is nearing GK’s Legacy line, cost wise, and they won’t be built in America. What are they up to?

All about profit margin on Yamaha Co. after adopting Ampeg. I also believe they follow current day FMIC marketing tactic too.