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Ampeg Rocket Bass Combos

#341
JimmyM said:
People will whine about anything you do no matter who you are and what you do. I think I misunderstood your original post, though. That'll learn me to post on here while I'm on break from work :D However, I believe they came out with them first (well, second) because combos are the best selling amps on the market these days by far and they want more market share.
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I don't blame them, I'm still waiting on Traynor to make a 20-50 watt bass head.

Ampeg thread, I know. These combos look great, I like 'em.
 
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#342
JimmyM said:
People will whine about anything you do no matter who you are and what you do. I think I misunderstood your original post, though. That'll learn me to post on here while I'm on break from work :D However, I believe they came out with them first (well, second) because combos are the best selling amps on the market these days by far and they want more market share.
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I didn’t think about combos being market leaders but I guess that makes sense. Most everyone needs a practice amp. Combos are great for that.
 
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#343
JimmyM said:
People will whine about anything you do no matter who you are and what you do.
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Agreed. And people that deride lightweight vintage voiced/styled combos as 'boring' would likely greet something ground-breaking with outrage that traditions were being abandoned somehow. Yamaha knows what people love about Ampeg and what made (and maintains) the company's rep.
 
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#344
Lowbrow said:
Agreed. And people that deride lightweight vintage voiced/styled combos as 'boring' would likely greet something ground-breaking with outrage that traditions were being abandoned somehow. Yamaha knows what people love about Ampeg and what made (and maintains) the company's rep.
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There's a lot of really experienced people on TB including yourself which is awesome, but sometimes I think people (not you) forget that there are people who like playing bass just as much but have way less experience with gear. I, for example, have owned three bass amps in my life (and we're talking over nearly 20 years, I'm not that young, just haven't spent a lot of money on amps and have never been a position where I need to be THAT loud): First, a 15w Crate practice amp (still use as part of a drum machine setup); Second, an SWR LA115 100w 1x15 combo (sold); and Third (current), a GK MB112-II 200w combo.

From my inexperienced perspective, and having always wanted to have an Ampeg toned amp but never been all that excited about the older heavy ass Ampeg combos, I am truly ecstatic about these new Ampeg amps specifically because they are what some people would consider "boring" and more of the same. I don't consider it boring at all, I consider it really f'ing awesome and exciting that I get to buy this new, lightweight amp that sounds pretty classic and much different than what I have. Yamaha/Ampeg aren't trying to appease people who want state of the art $2000 amp heads with this, so I don't know why people who want state of the art $2000 amp heads feel the need to bash it.
 
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#345
BooshBass said:
There's a lot of really experienced people on TB including yourself which is awesome, but sometimes I think people (not you) forget that there are people who like playing bass just as much but have way less experience with gear. I, for example, have owned three bass amps in my life (and we're talking over nearly 20 years, I'm not that young, just haven't spent a lot of money on amps and have never been a position where I need to be THAT loud): First, a 15w Crate practice amp (still use as part of a drum machine setup); Second, an SWR LA115 100w 1x15 combo (sold); and Third (current), a GK MB112-II 200w combo.

From my inexperienced perspective, and having always wanted to have an Ampeg toned amp but never been all that excited about the older heavy ass Ampeg combos, I am truly ecstatic about these new Ampeg amps specifically because they are what some people would consider "boring" and more of the same. I don't consider it boring at all, I consider it really f'ing awesome and exciting that I get to buy this new, lightweight amp that sounds pretty classic and much different than what I have. Yamaha/Ampeg aren't trying to appease people who want state of the art $2000 amp heads with this, so I don't know why people who want state of the art $2000 amp heads feel the need to bash it.
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Nice post, Boosh. One of the things you'll notice is that "Bashing" is typically a "Boy thing". I truly believe that Testosterone is the Culprit. It's also much more evident with the onset of "Social Media". If you look at the Beatles during the Height of their Fame, how much "stuff" did they have? Not much. No pedal boards. No Real "Excess". Nothing they weren't using was loaded into the Van. Today is much different.

I find the current "Monster Pedalboard" thing hysterical. :roflmao: Having said that, I've owned well over 100 Basses and Amps and needed my own Dodge Van to carry JUST MY Bass gear from gig to gig....... but I bought my gear, an addiction to be honest, when we actually made good money playing gigs. That's no longer the Case. I was very fortunate to have been born when I was. Never worry about "Keeping up" as far as Gear goes....cuz there WILL come a Day when you totally understand that the "Good Old Days" are gone.....and they won't be coming back. Get yourself a nice Genzler ...or an Ampeg (both would be nice) if Ampeg leaves GC before going broke, and you'll be a happy guy :)
 
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#346
R Briere said:
I find the current "Monster Pedalboard" thing hysterical. :roflmao:
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This is such a funny thing. When I brought my massive bass pedal board over to my buddy's dad's house to jam quite a few years ago he's just like, why would a bass player every need that that's ridiculous haha. Truth is, I never had a guitar for so long and was so into playing over my own loops (see the link in my signature...) changing the sound of my bass drastically was essential to distinguish each part and extreme amounts of fun.

Now that I was finally able to buy a couple of sweet guitars and play guitar much, much more than I used to, my bass board has reduced to only an envelope filter and compressor, and I am much more interested in MORE BASS AMPS!!!!! I really wish I could try that 20w Ampeg Portaflex tube it's just too expensive for me to justify when all I do is make music in my basement for my own selfish enjoyment and jam with friends.
 
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#352
Bass said:
I have the RB210 on order. I'm going to set it on top of a 210 cab and blow the guitar player's face off.
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What extension cab do you plan on using? I think I'm going to try to score a Kustom deep 210 and see how that works.

EDIT: I guess I'll just open it up and ask anybody/everybody what would be a good extension for the RB-210?
 
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#353
It will be interesting to watch the shootout in the market with these Rockets vs. the Rumbles.

I do wish that Yamaha would revisit / re-issue the flip-tops. IF they were of a mind to do it, James Demeter has already done all the homework for a modern version . . . . . . I STILL kick myself that some years back I didn't buy the SLM-era re-issue with the matching extension. Oh well . . . . .
 
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#355
Bassdoggydogg said:
...what would be a good extension for the RB-210?
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I have an Avatar 210 cab over 15 years old sitting unused in the basement. It will work and raise the amp but it's not ideal.

Probably the extension cab should be the same width as the amp, 20 1/4" inches. And I have to wonder if orientation of the speakers makes a difference.
 
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#357
Bass said:
Probably the extension cab should be the same width as the amp, 20 1/4" inches. And I have to wonder if orientation of the speakers makes a difference.
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Back in the 80s, I had the SVT (?800?) with two of the 8x10" cabinets. I used to separate the cabinets a bit and have the "feet" of the head going into two of the divots of each cabinet. So, the width of one cabinet might make a difference, but if you can see your way clear to using two ...

Like Lowbrow said, if there's 40K users on this site, you'll probably get 35,000 different opinions about cabinet placement. I'll add my 2¢: I suspect ambient acoustics will have much more affect on sound then cabinet placement. I will give a nod to putting the speakers right up against a concrete block foundation wall will be different than in the middle of the same room, but I think that kind of makes my point.
 
#358
This is possibly a stupid question, but please bear with me. I am considering one of the new Rocket Bass amps. If I understand correctly, the RB-115 is 200 watts with an external speaker at 4 ohms. But, the internal speaker is 8 ohms and the amp is only 100 watts with an external speaker at 8 ohms. Does that mean that without an external speaker the amp will only be 50 watts and, therefore, quieter than the RB-112?
 
#359
motron said:
This is possibly a stupid question, but please bear with me. I am considering one of the new Rocket Bass amps. If I understand correctly, the RB-115 is 200 watts with an external speaker at 4 ohms. But, the internal speaker is 8 ohms and the amp is only 100 watts with an external speaker at 8 ohms. Does that mean that without an external speaker the amp will only be 50 watts and, therefore, quieter than the RB-112?
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it's outputting 100w as is and allows you to get the other 100w when you hook up another 8 ohm cab, the 12 puts out 100w as well but no external hookup
 
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#360
Michael Stanley 2112 said:
Back in the 80s, I had the SVT (?800?) with two of the 8x10" cabinets. I used to separate the cabinets a bit and have the "feet" of the head going into two of the divots of each cabinet. So, the width of one cabinet might make a difference, but if you can see your way clear to using two ...

Like Lowbrow said, if there's 40K users on this site, you'll probably get 35,000 different opinions about cabinet placement. I'll add my 2¢: I suspect ambient acoustics will have much more affect on sound then cabinet placement. I will give a nod to putting the speakers right up against a concrete block foundation wall will be different than in the middle of the same room, but I think that kind of makes my point.
Click to expand...
Spot on, the room has so much to do with the sound. My old rumble sounded ok at our old home, newer home it just boomed, couldn't eq it to save my life. only sounded good in the dining room which was a no go. My Acoustic sounded great in most rooms, I just got tired of the notch filter so I'm looking forward to the RB12
 
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