I just got my Ampeg BA-108 delivered. I wanted to get some opinions before I contacted sweetwater since I am new to bass. It works but to me seems to be lacking. It's a 25 watt 8 inch, I haven't tried turning it up very loud but it seems to be very quiet. I've had it up to 5 maybe 6 on the dial and it's closer to what I expected at about maybe 2. It also seems to have a distorted buzz to it, is that because I'm at low volumes or it's new? I have years of car audio experience and to me when a woofer sounds like that it is either blown or because it is under powered, not sure if it's the same. Anyway yea, it seems like I am turning it up alot higher than I should to get sound out of it and the speaker has a distorted buzz. I didn't think I was expecting too much, even out of an 8 in practice amp. Any input?
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My first amp.
- Thread starter neo27ny
- Start date
Is there a way you can let us know the volume. Like could it keep up with an acoustic guitar?
Without being in front of the amp and trying it yourself, how can you state fact?
Without being in front of the amp and trying it yourself, how can you state fact?
Sorry, but it might be true. You might be expecting too much. In general, bass amps require more wattage and bigger speakers to be "loud" with decent tone compare to other instruments, like electric guitar. But, it is always nice to have a small amp to practice, learn songs, and play along to albums.
Sound like he us reaching the limits of a low watrage amp. Also I said "think" which us my opinion from the information given.
To the op. There is no such thing as underpowering a speaker.
Which you followed up with fact. Glad your cleared up the contradiction though
. Opinions are not facts.From the description it is hard to know if he is expecting too much or if it is a defective unit.
We need more info I think.
What kind of info would help? I don't know what to say about it, being my first bass setup. It seems like it's just getting within a decent practice volume at 10 but like I said I'm new to bass. The tone is horrible though no matter how you look at it. I messed with the volume up and down, EQ knobs, and tone and volume knobs on the bass itself. It buzzes and distorts terribly, you have to have everything adjusted perfect and it still sounds like crap in my opinion. I don't have the experience to say if it's defective or not. Thanks for all the replies.
25 watts won't get you much volume for a live bass instrument. Remember that there is no compression or other processing like you will get with recorded music so the car audio experience gains you zip. You're in a whole new field now.
That said you should be able to get a clean sweet tone from it at audible levels. Playing with an acoustic guitarist not beating the guitar to pieces should be possible. If you can't get that, then it was probably damaged in shipping.
That said you should be able to get a clean sweet tone from it at audible levels. Playing with an acoustic guitarist not beating the guitar to pieces should be possible. If you can't get that, then it was probably damaged in shipping.
That's the most helpful description so far. Thats what I was expecting...a clean smooth tone that is decently audible. Now that I messed around with it some I would say the volume is acceptable but the tone is still horrible, it buzzes and distorts. I am just trying to figure out if I should contact them to get a replacement. Thanks again.25 watts won't get you much volume for a live bass instrument. Remember that there is no compression or other processing like you will get with recorded music so the car audio experience gains you zip. You're in a whole new field now.
That said you should be able to get a clean sweet tone from it at audible levels. Playing with an acoustic guitarist not beating the guitar to pieces should be possible. If you can't get that, then it was probably damaged in shipping.
I have one of them, and it sounds to me like its working properly, as that's about on the dial mine starts to break up, depending on the bass of course. The BA108 is a cool little practice amp, but it's not going to blow you away with volume. So I'm reasonably sure you're expecting too much out of it.
Where does it start to break up on the dial? Mine sounds terrible at all volumes. I have to dial everything way back to get it "ok" sounding but then it's barely audible.
A 25W amp is considered a practice amp. Many small combos will give you clean sound up to perhaps 40% of 50% of the marked gain (4 or 5 out of 10) and soon after that will begin to distort.
With your EQ at centered settings, you should be able to get clean sound out of it at lower settings. BUT - if you have an active bass and perhaps the battery is getting old, you can experience distortion caused by the bass itself.
A 25W amp may be loud for a bedroom, but it's not good for much more than that. I've used an Ibanez 35W combo to play a duet with a single guitar in the corner of a hotel ballroom during a social hour, and that was about all it was good for other than practice.
With your EQ at centered settings, you should be able to get clean sound out of it at lower settings. BUT - if you have an active bass and perhaps the battery is getting old, you can experience distortion caused by the bass itself.
A 25W amp may be loud for a bedroom, but it's not good for much more than that. I've used an Ibanez 35W combo to play a duet with a single guitar in the corner of a hotel ballroom during a social hour, and that was about all it was good for other than practice.
Hmm....Ok, so practice amps breakup at fairly low levels. Now that you mention it, I do have an active bass. I didn't realize it when I ordered it, description never stated it was active, but it's got some cheap battery in it. Should I replace it? Like I said I've only had the bass maybe a week but how long do these basses sit with the batteries in?
Most batteries will last months in an active bass, but cheap batteries will usually last less time. I'd at least throw an Energizer or Duracell in there.
Also, see if the -15db input works better for you. I'm not a fan of it but it does help active basses with very hot output not overload some preamps.
Also, see if the -15db input works better for you. I'm not a fan of it but it does help active basses with very hot output not overload some preamps.
If you leave the cable plugged in when not using it the battery still drains (in case you didn't know this). With an active bass you may need to back down the bass's volume some. Change the battery first.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess I was just expecting too much. I do have to roll the volume back quite a bit both on the bass and amp though to get a nice clean sound. I'm prob just used to guitar. There is quite the volume difference, a 25W guitar amp would be pretty loud to me. I just have to get adjusted to the new spectrum of bass. Once I get playing along with a song I can hear the amp better and how loud it actually is. Thanks again everyone.
So far I'm loving bass and this site. Very helpful people here. Bass players seem laid back and alot less arrogant than guitar players LOL.
So far I'm loving bass and this site. Very helpful people here. Bass players seem laid back and alot less arrogant than guitar players LOL.
That is exactly right. 25w on a guitar amp with an 8" is capable of blasting quite loudly. 25w on a bass amp with an 8", especially a solid state bass amp, is capable of your wife asking you to turn it down a little if she's on the phone.
Honestly, the sweet spot between volume and size in the Ampeg practice amps is the BA112. The bigger speaker and the double wattage combine to make it significantly louder than the BA108. Might not be an amp you'd be able to join Metallica with, but it much louder than the BA108. The BA115 could actually do medium gigs, but the size kind of takes it out of practice amp land, so the BA112 is a good tweener kind of amp.
But I love the BA108. I use it on gigs where I play with acoustic instruments and the like where you just try to get a good mix with them and not be too loud. Not the best amp I ever played, but for $100 it's as good as a practice amp gets, and even outclasses some that cost more IMHO.
BTW, bass players are every bit as arrogant as guitarists, but in a different and slightly more positive way. Guitar players never want to tell you anything about how they get certain sounds or what gear they use. Bass players want you to use the exact gear they use and think you're an idiot if you want to use something else, so they will talk about what they use for days and just annoy you to no end
Honestly, the sweet spot between volume and size in the Ampeg practice amps is the BA112. The bigger speaker and the double wattage combine to make it significantly louder than the BA108. Might not be an amp you'd be able to join Metallica with, but it much louder than the BA108. The BA115 could actually do medium gigs, but the size kind of takes it out of practice amp land, so the BA112 is a good tweener kind of amp.
But I love the BA108. I use it on gigs where I play with acoustic instruments and the like where you just try to get a good mix with them and not be too loud. Not the best amp I ever played, but for $100 it's as good as a practice amp gets, and even outclasses some that cost more IMHO.
BTW, bass players are every bit as arrogant as guitarists, but in a different and slightly more positive way. Guitar players never want to tell you anything about how they get certain sounds or what gear they use. Bass players want you to use the exact gear they use and think you're an idiot if you want to use something else, so they will talk about what they use for days and just annoy you to no end
