Hiss or white noise also happen on my second RB112 which has new larvoce driver. Notable when I stand 3 feet face to combo and Ultra Hi engage. The first RB112 almost silent.
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Ampeg Rocket Bass Combos
- Thread starter kranahan
- Start date
There is an additional noise with the horn on but even with it off the hiss is noticeable with it off. This is with volume at 0, EQ at noon.
I see a few complaints in various places online about the RB210 noise/hiss in particular. It may just be the design. It would be tolerable in a noisy venue since it does not get amplified. It's basically a noise floor. But the type of gigs I'm looking at are with quiet audience with someone speaking between songs. In that situation the noise would be an issue.
This noise is not affected by the volume setting. It is a background his that can't be affected except by EQ.Any amp will hum if you crank the EQ knobs. You can’t turn up frequencies without turning up the noise floor. And usually when you use an amp, you can hear it better if you turn the volume up. But seriously, you are always welcome to reach out to Ampeg CS.
I'm comparing side-by-side with my RB112. It is a noticeable noise, like "what the hell is that hiss?" type of thing.
I have the 500c with an SGT-DI. The key, per the Rumble gurus, is to run the SGT-DI into the FX Return and not use the Send. That supposedly by-passes the Rumble pre-amp and the power amp volume control. So, the pedal controls the volume as well. I have a B-15 and can say that the pedal does a good job of replicating that sound.
It appears to be within the amp rather than the horn revealing the high frequency hiss. That would drive me nuts in a situation like you described. Customer service might be able to help.
Part of the same problem is also compared to my RB115 there’s a loud ‘blip’ when the sound comes on after a couple of seconds turning the power on. So my uneducated guess is it’s something different with the power circuit than on the RB115.
Yes, but it’s much more obvious on the RB210 than on the RB115.
This is not anything that bothers me since the 210 combo always works fine with no problems but the difference compared to the RB115 is very clear and interesting.
I know the 210 is only 250W without extension but I thought getting up to 500W might be able to handle pretty much anything our group would need to play. Not sure a 2nd 112 would be enough (200W total).
Planning to take the 210 to rehearsal next week and see if the noise is a problem.
The 210 noise wasn't audible at rehearsal so I'm planning to keep the amp. If I crank up the treble EQ it might be an issue but at normal levels it's OK.
I got my RB210 last week after originally trying out a Boss Katana 210. To my ears, there is a gentle mid scoop but otherwise a pretty flat sounding amp. I haven't had a chance to use it a gig (we normally just use ears), but I have an Elton John Tribute show and a large festival coming up next week.
I did get to use it at band rehearsal and it sounded great. I wish it had a master volume so I could make volume changes to the amp without affecting the DI volume. For this reason I'm gonna be using it strictly as a stage monitor and I'll just use the DI on my Zoom B6.
I did get to use it at band rehearsal and it sounded great. I wish it had a master volume so I could make volume changes to the amp without affecting the DI volume. For this reason I'm gonna be using it strictly as a stage monitor and I'll just use the DI on my Zoom B6.
I just got a RB210 for a great deal. I noticed the same thing that others mentioned. The tweeter hisses terribly and it has a white noise sound when you go about halfway on the volume. It's probably no problem during a gig, but sitting right next to the amp in a quiet room its very noticeable. One thing I can't stand about it is the amp having no gain knob. It just has a volume knob and the first 1/3 volume of the amp is quiet and when you reach noon on the volume knob it gets loud fast. Kinda weird. But the amp is built like a tank and feels very solid when compared to the Rumble 500. It has no rattles when being pushed.
Yeah. Even my RB110 practice amp does it. I ended up selling my RB115 and buying a used PF500 and PF115 cab so now I have that plus another PF115. Quiet as a mouse.
Nice. My amp will be just used as a practice amp, so it's not a big deal. I've owned the RB112 and don't remember the white noise that the RB210 has.
It could be helped by using a power conditioner strip. That has helped other noisey amps I've had in the past. It helped my RB115, but I wanted more power than 200w which is why I got the PF500.
I had an Ampeg Rocket 210 for a little over a day. When I pushed the volume the speakers broke up so I returned it. I ended up getting a Hartke KB15 and never looked back. My reason was there’s a local club that provides sound reinforcement, a sound tech and a backline. They’ve been using the KB15 for several years and it still performs like a new one. That was good enough for me.
Hmm. I didn't notice any speaker breakup when pushed. I've owned the KB15 and loved it. It was lightweight and sounded great. The downside for me was the horrible speaker rattle that developed after one gig. Sweetwater sent another one and it had the same rattle. I ended up putting a different speaker in the KB15, but it made the cab very heavy. But it sounded great!
Maybe, but its a shame really. I was hoping the amp wouldn't be as noisy, but again I got the amp for a bargain so I'm going to live with it.
