If you built a modern-day fliptop.....

[henryjurstin13]

How would you do it? It doesn't have to be Ampeg, tube, or even a 15" speaker.... if you wanted a nice convenient package that yielded some very classic bass tones, but maybe you could push it a bit to overdrive like a tube amp. And maybe you really appreciated the convenience of tucking the head down into the cabinet for smaller transport.

Here's some that come to mind.

 

[Hoochie Coochie Man]

Sorry if it goes against the spirit of this thread, but I own five flip top Ampeg amplifiers, and nine, (I may be forgetting one or two here) flip top speaker cabinets, like my "63 B-15, and also including two SB-12s, a mighty 1967 B12-XTC, and some modern PF rigs including a PF50-T, and a PF-500, and only one is actually set up as a flip top out of all of them That is one of the SB-12s.

I do not find the feature to be useful at all. I use Pelican or other similar cases for amps that leave the house.

Here is my PF-50T in a Rigid watertight tool box as an example.


Granted it's not a one-handed haul, but it works for me.

 

[henryjurstin13]

Sorry if it goes against the spirit of this thread, but I own five flip top Ampeg amplifiers, and nine, (I may be forgetting one or two here) flip top speaker cabinets, ranging from a "63 B-15, and also including two SB-12s, a mighty 1967 B12-XTC, and some modern PF rigs including a PF50-T, and a PF-500, and only one is actually set up as a flip top out of all of them That is one of the SB-12s.

I do not find the feature to be useful at all. I use Pelican, or other similar cases for amps that leave the house.

Here is my PF-50T in a Rigid watertight tool box as an example.

View attachment 7445847
Granted it is not a one-handed transport, but it works for me.

I didn't mean just the actual physical fliptop feature... I meant the overall vibe of a B15, but with modern cabs/heads.. possibly in a convenient one-handed carry.

 

[Hoochie Coochie Man]

The Mesa Walkabout would possibly be an example of what you are talking about. There are some others that are similar, but off the top of my head I can't recall any particular examples.

I think a light weight combo version of the old Mesa Boogie Road Ready Diesel 15 inch cabinets would be in the vein of what you are talking about. I don't have a photo of my old Road Ready cabinets handy to show what I am talking about, but the idea is that the cabinet is its own road case with a front panel that unlatches for use. A combo amp in that style would be cool.

Edited to add:

I found an example of the cabinet I am talking about.

It would be like this but with the amp behind the removable front panel for transport.

I guess it would essentially be a Road Ready combo amplifier. With modern Neo speakers, class D amplifiers, and lightweight aircraft style wood construction cabinet designs, some weight could be taken off the old ones like the one above, but it would still probably not be practical.

 

[NKBassman]

I didn't mean just the actual physical fliptop feature... I meant the overall vibe of a B15, but with modern cabs/heads.. possibly in a convenient one-handed carry.

Before I sold it, I did a lot of gigs with a Broughton P15 tube preamp running into the poweramp input on my Aguilar TH500, into whatever cab.

The tube pre gives you all the vibe you'd ever want. Lightweight, clean, Class D amplification is widely available these days, and you can mix-and-match cabs to your heart's content.

 

[LowWay]

I'd build a way to mount a Quilter bass block V803 to a barefaced Two10.

For a fully modern version, I'd do a Barefaced BigBaby3 or the (212 version) and a Bergantino head.

 

[henryjurstin13]

I'd build a way to mount a Quilter bass block V803 to a barefaced Two10.

For a fully modern version, I'd do a Barefaced BigBaby3 or the (212 version) and a Bergantino head.

See, that’s what I’m talking about! Go ahead & ask ChatGPT to mock it up for ya…

 

[J Wilson]

Ampeg under the St Louis Music ownership re-issued (IIIRC) a modernised 100w tube fliptop with a 15 and a matching 15 extension. Somebody straighten this out if I've got that wrong.

But someone HAS built a modern-day fliptop.

Demeter 112 Neo Fliptop Cabinet, here with a Demeter Bass 400 amp. Yes, it lifts, flips, and disappears into it.

1×12 Neo Flip Top Bass Amp Combo Cabinet | Demeter Amplification

demeteramps.com

It's a real hoot to watch the vid and hear JD talk about their initial reverse-engineering an original, putting modern power to it, and it got real obvious real quick THAT wasn't going to work. Haven't heard one of these myself, but knowing the quality of Demeter's work, I'd be shocked if it wasn't My-T-Fine.

 

[Stewie]

Does it have to be a flip top? Or could it be a relatively lightweight combo that just did everything you asked it to?

 

[henryjurstin13]

Does it have to be a flip top? Or could it be a relatively lightweight combo that just did everything you asked it to?View attachment 7445970

Flips are not required!!!

 

[Phreaky Phriday]

Did ampeg discontinue the pf20t and pf50t? Seems like the obvious answer

 

[bass player 53]

There’s a Canadian company, Trinity Amps that’s been making B-15 Portaflex clones for years. Google reveals several other companies as well.

 

[Aric Bjorn]

Flips are not required!!!

14kg 500w 112 + extension

UK-OBM-C112-500

Please note: All UK-built products are made to order. The approximate lead time is 20 days. For more information, please email: [email protected] The Ashdown UK-OBM-C112T-500 is a UK-built, Ice Blue, lightweight 500 watt kickback combo designed for powerful tone in a compact format...

ashdownmusic.com

 

[Bighands Bill]

This 50w tube amp through a 10" cabinet is what I use for practice at home. Close to the old flip top vibe. I love the chicken head knobs!

 

[Levitamin]

I have the Orange Terror Bass MkII with the matching 12” cab. I owned two B-15s, one vintage and one from the early 2000s. The Orange gets me in the same ballpark tonally, but unlike a B-15, the head is about the weight of a small bag of groceries and the cab is also very light and easy to pickup with one hand. And it’s 250 watts at 8ohms, and 500 watts at 4ohms.

 

[Iristone]

IIRC Ashdown makes a real flip-top, but I'm not sure if it sounds like an old Portaflex.

 

[JohnnyChatter]

Oi! I feel like a modern flip top (for me) would be a Ampeg SVT classic built into a Schroeder 2x12. If you put it on a tilt bar with wheels it would make carrying an SVT less of a pain. Would for sure need tube retainers….

Mesa made a tube combo way back when now that I think about it. But it was a 210 and awkward.

 

[gtirard]

For a small modern day flip top, I would take my Quilter Interbass with the "warm" voicing and Barefaced One 10



For a super loud modern day flip top, I would take my Jad Freer Sisma (who's preamp is inspired from the B15) and Barefaced Super Compact

 

[Levitamin]

Ampeg under the St Louis Music ownership re-issued (IIIRC) a modernised 100w tube fliptop with a 15 and a matching 15 extension. Somebody straighten this out if I've got that wrong.

Yes, I owned this amp twenty years ago. It was 100 watts but you could switch it down to 30 watts. It sounded phenomenal but it was one of the heaviest amps I’ve ever owned, and I had an SVT Classic with a 6x10 cabinet for a bit. I do not miss any of these amps at all.

 

[pfschim]

Oi! I feel like a modern flip top (for me) would be a Ampeg SVT classic built into a Schroeder 2x12. If you put it on a tilt bar with wheels it would make carrying an SVT less of a pain. Would for sure need tube retainers….

Mesa made a tube combo way back when now that I think about it. But it was a 210 and awkward.

your possibly talking about the Mesa Buster combo. There was a 2x10 version, a 1x15 version, and the amp came stand alone as well. 200w all tube amp. Not very B15 sounding though.