Ampeg Rocket Bass Combos

[JeezyMcNuggles]

i played the RB210 and RB112 next to the Rumble 500 and Rumble 200. I once owned a Rumble 800 head and now own an RB210 (thats been at the tech for 3 weeks now with anannoying rattle or blown speaker)

Rumbles are way more mid forward, more boomy and muddy too, more “Mike Dirnt” out of the box. Rumbles Seem to have more headroom and are quieter (noise wise).
But the Tone of the RBs is killer. More depth, they really have that vintage Ampeg thump.

The SGT overdrive is really great. Doesent cut any low end vs the Rumble overdrive. Rumble overdrive sound pretty awesome but is useless since it cuts too much low end.

Rumbles seem to have overall better durability and quality craftsmanship.

hope that helps.

Your tech is an idiot. The rattle is the tweeter. Pull it out, and tighten it. Screw it back down, or just leave it out like I did. It'll save you 3 lbs, and be dead silent from then on.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I've been using my RB-210 at band practice for about 8 weeks, so it has about 20 hours of use. It is working well for me.

To me the horn was noisy, so I turned it off. Also, to me the ultra-hi button doesn't do anything. The drummer says it works so I'll take his word for it, it must be my ears that don't work.

To my ears, the lo and hi buttons don't do anything on these combos. But, they do. You just don't notice it.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I think the RB112 has enough juice you could use it with a drummer too. So long as your guitar players can keep their volume under control.

You can. It holds its own just fine. Heck, it even does just fine with a whole band and no PA. But, don't expect the audience to be swaying to the bass groove.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

The rattle is the tweeter. You need to tighten it. The plastic horn that screws on the tweeter, comes loose. Tighten it once, and it won't happen again. It's just not tightened enough from the factory. One twist. That's all.

Come on guys. You'd think, if there was a problem, you would put your ear to it, and figure it out. At least where it's coming from.

 

[jeff7bass]

no the tweeter really is noisy. It makes an hissing noise in the background all the time. You can live with it though, but not optimal for recording thats for sure

Might be some ground issue going on there but the SVT210AV doesn't have a tweeter and it's an ideal sound IMO. Every note balanced and clear with plenty of detail.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Might be some ground issue going on there but the SVT210AV doesn't have a tweeter and it's an ideal sound IMO. Every note balanced and clear with plenty of detail.

Yeah, just no low end. Even with two of them. Every other ampeg 10 cab does. Just not those ones. The cabs aren't exactly optimized for the speakers in them. The cabinets are too small.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I was curious was frequencies the EQ are - they are 40, 500, 4k, and I found that the THD for all Rocket Amps but for the 210 and 15 are 10%
210 is 5% THD
Yet the 15 is 0.5%

I find that interesting.

No tweeter

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Does anyone have experience with both the RB115 and the Orange Crush Bass 100? Are they comparable?

My buddy has the orange. He says it's very quiet unless you want fuzzy distortion. I sold him my rb112. He loves it. Says it's everything he's been looking for in a bass amp.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I am both aggressive and irresponsible; the first thing I did with the 110 when I got home with it was to dime it with the bass at 3o, mids at noon, and treble at 3. Zero complaints except when I hit the resonant frequency of the room, which was apparently a B. Then it was briefly like being at a Skrillex show at the drop.

I dimed every knob on my 210 when it showed up. Played til the tweeter came loose. Pulled it out, tightened it, kept going. Not one problem the rest of the time. I removed the tweeter later. Still no problem. And, no hum. And lighter. Boom.

210's going strong still, months later. Loud practices and performances, running a 115hlf with it, any eq. Not one problem at all. Takes whatever I throw at it.

 

[jeff7bass]

Yeah, just no low end. Even with two of them. Every other ampeg 10 cab does. Just not those ones. The cabs aren't exactly optimized for the speakers in them. The cabinets are too small.

I don't know. I thought it balanced well when I played through one. It's a cut through the mix cab. Too much low-end can muddy things up IMO. It depends on what type of music you play.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I don't know. I thought it balanced well when I played through one. It's a cut through the mix cab. Too much low-end can muddy things up IMO. It depends on what type of music you play.

Yeah, I had two of them. I sold them for a 410he. World of a difference.

 

[droo46]

Seeing all these issues people are having with these amps is really vindicating my decision to hold off on buying one. I had a feeling after the Portaflex fiasco that it would be worth seeing how they actually hold up in the real world. That said, they seem to sound really incredible and I'm sad that there seems to be a higher than expected amount of poor QC.

 

[Mastermold]

Are they having poor QC issues?

 

[Lowbrow]

Are they having poor QC issues?

Um ... I saw like one person on this thread with some real issue a few others who complained about tweeter hiss (pretty much a given IMO especially in a small bedroom space; I've always disengaged these anyway). I have two of these amps and no issues whatsoever.

 

[Mastermold]

Um ... I saw like one person on this thread with some real issue a few others who complained about tweeter hiss (pretty much a given IMO especially in a small bedroom space; I've always disengaged these anyway). I have two of these amps and no issues whatsoever.

That was my impression but wasn’t sure if I missed something.

 

[Bass]

Um ... I saw like one person on this thread with some real issue a few others who complained about tweeter hiss (pretty much a given IMO especially in a small bedroom space; I've always disengaged these anyway)... I have two of these amps and no issues whatsoever.

+1 to the above. Like a few others here, I have been following this thread since the very beginning. There is one person who got a lemon.

I am guilty of accusing the tweeter of hissing. In my opinion this is not a defect or a QC issue, it is just the way the amp works. I turned the volume of the tweeter down and now it doesn't hiss anymore.

I'm super happy with this amp, it sounds great, it looks great, it is light, and I can finally hear myself properly at band practice. I have the RB-210 and for me this is all the power I will ever need, especially with the extension speaker. Time will tell but I expect this amp will last me a long long time, probably forever.

 

[Le beau JP]

+1 to the above. Like a few others here, I have been following this thread since the very beginning. There is one person who got a lemon.

I am guilty of accusing the tweeter of hissing. In my opinion this is not a defect or a QC issue, it is just the way the amp works. I turned the volume of the tweeter down and now it doesn't hiss anymore.

I'm super happy with this amp, it sounds great, it looks great, it is light, and I can finally hear myself properly at band practice. I have the RB-210 and for me this is all the power I will ever need, especially with the extension speaker. Time will tell but I expect this amp will last me a long long time, probably forever.

I am the one that got the Lemon. I remember I saw another guy in another thread or maybe this one that opened his RB and found everything loose inside and poor assembly.
The hissing noise the tweeter makes is livable in band practices situations. I found out the amp made the tweeter hiss a lot too on my Subway 115 cab. The hissing noise stops on both the cab and RB when I turned it off. So I guess its an amp related issue or misconception, and not the actual tweeter being noisy.

people say you pay for what you get. But a 1000$ (CaD) combo is nowhere cheap ImO and we must admit the Rumble 500 is better.

the tone however, especially the Ultra buttons and the SGT are downright wonderful.

So I guess the best bet in the line up are the 112 and 115. No tweeter hiss to mess with, quite a bit less expensive and you get all the same great tone. But an extension cab is mandatory for playing in a full band.

 

[jeff7bass]

I am the one that got the Lemon. I remember I saw another guy in another thread or maybe this one that opened his RB and found everything loose inside and poor assembly.
The hissing noise the tweeter makes is livable in band practices situations. I found out the amp made the tweeter hiss a lot too on my Subway 115 cab. The hissing noise stops on both the cab and RB when I turned it off. So I guess its an amp related issue or misconception, and not the actual tweeter being noisy.

people say you pay for what you get. But a 1000$ (CaD) combo is nowhere cheap ImO and we must admit the Rumble 500 is better.

the tone however, especially the Ultra buttons and the SGT are downright wonderful.

So I guess the best bet in the line up are the 112 and 115. No tweeter hiss to mess with, quite a bit less expensive and you get all the same great tone. But an extension cab is mandatory for playing in a full band.

The 112 is the one I've wanted from the start. All hundred watts go to the woofer so plenty of "focus". Great little grab and go practice/small gig combo.

 

[Le beau JP]

The 112 is the one I've wanted from the start. All hundred watts go to the woofer so plenty of "focus". Great little grab and go practice/small gig combo.

Yeah! And surprisingly generous on the low end for its size! Good choice all around

 

[Bass]

I am the one that got the Lemon. I remember I saw another guy in another thread or maybe this one that opened his RB and found everything loose inside and poor assembly...

Oh yes, that's right, and he posted a video. He had to plug in some wires that had come disconnected.