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Ampeg vs Acoustic

R

Robotsatemygma

Jan 17, 2010
119
1
#1
I think I've narrowed my results down a wee bit more in my quest for a bass rig.

At first I was thinking about building a rig, with a preamp, power amp, power conditioner, tuner, and maybe a rack mount multi fx unit. Then I realized, well, it'd take forever. And I'm a results driven I need it now or don't waste my time kinda guy. Plus I did something similar with my old guitar rig. Which was, Line 6 Pod, power amp, then cab. And I absolutely HATED it! I went back to tubes soon after.

Then I was wondering about that Ampeg Micro VR and the Line 6 Lowdown HD400 head. I asked you guys and well, I wasn't to thrilled about either after some contemplating. After dozens of youtube videos, reviews, and crunching... not for me.

Well here I am, between two more amps.

Ampeg B2RE and an Acoustic B200 1x15 Combo.

What are the pros and cons of these 2 amps?

I know with the Acoustic I could add an additional cab, thus moving more air, but then I'm limited to 200 watts. But then again... I could only use the amp for smaller occasions, less to move around, and a happier, peppier version of me. :)

But with the Ampeg I could run either 1 cab (at 8 ohms for 250 watts or 4 ohms for 450 watts) or 2 8ohm cabs at 4 ohms total for 450 watts. Either way I think it's a win win situation. I'll have plenty of power either way.

Either way... thoughts on these 2 amps? I'm starting to lean towards the Ampeg.

Thanks to any and all advice!
 
#2
I have the B2RE,currently I have it connected to (2) Ampeg BSeries 8 Ohm 15" cabs, kind of a retro sound but with the 2 seperate cabs and on wheels I have more possiblilites. The amp itself is powerful and it has more posibilities than the Acoustic. I have also run (1) 410HLF cab which is preferred. The fan is loud but you only hear it when your not playing. This amp is a big step up and worth buying it new with a warranty. :)
 
#3
I have the B2RE,currently I have it connected to (2) Ampeg BSeries 8 Ohm 15" cabs, kind of a retro sound but with the 2 seperate cabs and on wheels I have more possiblilites. The amp itself is more powerful than the Acoustic. I have also run (1) 410HLF cab which is preferred. The fan is loud but you only hear it when your not playing. This amp is a big step up and worth buying it new with a warranty. :)
 
#4
what kind of sound are you going for?
Ampeg and acoustic have two different sounds.

How many cabs do you Intend on using?
What kind of shows and venues are you playing?

I'm going from using my Ampeg SVT-cl to a Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 with my Emperor 6x12 to ease some of my lifting but not sacrifice any of my tone.
 
#5
ItsMichaelYeah said:
what kind of sound are you going for?
Ampeg and acoustic have two different sounds.

How many cabs do you Intend on using?
What kind of shows and venues are you playing?

I'm going from using my Ampeg SVT-cl to a Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 with my Emperor 6x12 to ease some of my lifting but not sacrifice any of my tone.
Click to expand...

Tone wise I want something smooth but with a bark to it, based on my finger attack. Needs to pick up everything I do, as I do tap on bass also. I'm not much of a slap/pop player anymore due to my wrists.

Cab use will depend on the size of the venue. I'd very much like to use a 1x15 and 4x10, as it's always been a dream setup of mine.

Musically I'll be going in between metal and jazz. My dream is to play in a jazz fusion type of band with a wide variety of influences.

I'll mainly be using my Jazz Bass, but an Ibanez BTB will be making an appearance at some point in the future.
 
#6
I am currently running an Acoustic B200H head through an Ampeg B410HE cab. This seems to be a fairly popular combination lately based on a number of threads I've seen on this and other sites. I happened on the combination by spending a couple of hours playing through every head/cab combination possible at a local music store. This included Hartke, Epiphani, SWG, Fender and a few others I don't remember. My bass is a Stuart Spector NS (twin passive EMG humbuckers with on-board preamp). I really like the sound I get with this amp/cab combination as well as the tone options from the 6-band EQ on the Acoustic head. It has been plenty loud enough for school auditorium sized venues as well as outdoor concert stages. I tried the Ampeg Micro VR set up as well as the B2re. The Vr's cab can't handle much volume before the speakers start to break up. The amp produced a lot of hiss through the cab and the cooling fan was unnecessarily (irritatingly) loud. As has been reported by others in this thread, the Ampeg B2re head has the same drawback. The Acoustic's fan and electronics are wonderfully quiet. I am considering adding the Ampeg B115E to the bottom of my rig. Although the B200H should technically handle the two cabs in terms of power, there are a few other considerations which may result in me moving up to the Acoustic B600H head: the bass eq centers at 63 Hz (+/- 12dB) and the low mid at 150 Hz (+/- 12 dB) on the 200. However, on the 600, the bass eq centers on 40 Hz and the low mid at 120 Hz. This allows for more bottom end, which is particularly important if delving into the world of low B or if using an octave peddle with any regularity. Other additional features on the 600 over the 200 are (obviously..) a bit more power headroom but, also, a pre/post switch is added for the D.I., dry/wet mix for the FX loop, mute switch, tuner send output and footswitch. All for an additional $250 over the 200. Ampeg is coming out with their new Portaflex amps in March. Of interest for this discussion is the PF 500, which is a solid state amp. Unlike the B2re, the PF 500 has the same eq controls as the SVT Classic plus some other interesting features such as 1/8 mini jacks for using an ipod for practicing, compression, etc. The bass eq centers at 40 Hz (+/- 12 dB). I intend to wait until this unit comes out before deciding on the Acoustic B600H. I am curious to see if the fan/electronics are as noisy as Ampeg's other solid state offerings and how the eq/overall sound compares with the Acoustic. Happy shopping.
 
#7
If you decide to go the Acoustic route, get a B200h not the combo. Avoid Acoustic cabs like the plague. From what I've heard their heads are pretty good, but I've used their cabs and they are junk.
 

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