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Official Ampeg Portaflex Club

#1,281
I forgot to mention that there are commercial versions of dummy loads.

I've have one made by Groove Tubes called the "Speaker Emulator". This is the newer version called the SE II, (Link Removed). It has a dummy load and a speaker motor in it to simulate the varying inductance of a working speaker.

Weber sells a simpler version that is based on either a purely resistive load or a combination of a resistive load and a speaker motor (Link Removed).


David
 
#1,283
jnewmark said:
Thanks, David. You're right, it is more complicated than I thought! I can see right nowI will have to have my tech guy build me this dummy load. Makes me wonder why somebody has'nt built a stand alone preamp based on the B15? Or have they?
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There are a handful...Low End True Voice is the closest I've heard on recordings. The A-Designs REDDI is the very closest I've heard, but it's a DI that weighs 10 lbs and is 14 inches long, and doesn't allow pass-through of the DI sound to the amp. Not great for touring.

But at the risk of getting thrown out of the club I started, I have to put in a good word for the Tech 21 VT Bass pedal for recording. Honestly, I can't tell the difference on recordings. It's close enough to where I record with it most of the time instead of using my amps.
 
#1,284
JimmyM said:
There are a handful...Low End True Voice is the closest I've heard on recordings. The A-Designs REDDI is the very closest I've heard, but it's a DI that weighs 10 lbs and is 14 inches long, and doesn't allow pass-through of the DI sound to the amp. Not great for touring.

But at the risk of getting thrown out of the club I started, I have to put in a good word for the Tech 21 VT Bass pedal for recording. Honestly, I can't tell the difference on recordings. It's close enough to where I record with it most of the time instead of using my amps.
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I'm mainly looking for something to use live. I love the sound of my B15N, but it just is'nt loud enough.
 
#1,285
Then you'll be needing an SVT ;) Or a V4B if you can get by with 120w. But for live work, a VT into any amp will be plenty close enough. You can use it to drive a power amp, but you'll still need a DI since it doesn't have one. I'm down with the boutique preamps, but for $150, you can't beat the VT, especially for live work. Pedal of the future.
 
#1,286
JimmyM said:
I have to put in a good word for the Tech 21 VT Bass pedal for recording. Honestly, I can't tell the difference on recordings. It's close enough to where I record with it most of the time instead of using my amps.
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+1 Jimmy! I plug mine directly into the analog port on my Mac and it sounds really great. I'd love to try it through a higher quality A/D like an Apogee Duet or One.


David
 
#1,287
JimmyM said:
Then you'll be needing an SVT ;) Or a V4B if you can get by with 120w. But for live work, a VT into any amp will be plenty close enough. You can use it to drive a power amp, but you'll still need a DI since it doesn't have one. I'm down with the boutique preamps, but for $150, you can't beat the VT, especially for live work. Pedal of the future.
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So, you are saying this pedal would drive a power amp?
 
#1,289
JimmyM said:
From all reports on here, yes. However, it's a bit fussy with knobs and on the fly changes aren't especially easy at first, so I might recommend using another preamp with it for quick and dirty changes until you get used to the VT.
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Very cool. I assume you put the " character " setting at 12 noon? ;). How about the other controls? I just want a B15N tone.
 
#1,290
OK, my favorite 60's B-15 tone (works with clean or dirty) is mids and character on 12:00, low at about a little less than 12:15, and highs at 10:00. To sound more like a 70's B-15N, cut the highs all the way and back down the character to 11:00 or so. Character is just another mid knob if you ask me. It seems to be centered at around 800 hz.
 
#1,291
JimmyM said:
OK, my favorite 60's B-15 tone (works with clean or dirty) is mids and character on 12:00, low at about a little less than 12:15, and highs at 10:00. To sound more like a 70's B-15N, cut the highs all the way and back down the character to 11:00 or so. Character is just another mid knob if you ask me. It seems to be centered at around 800 hz.
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Thanks.
 
#1,292
The VT Bass is one of the best pedal investments you can make.

I like to start with MID, CHARACTER, LOW, and HIGH all at noon. I usually boost the low to around 1, drop the high to 11, and then nudge up the mid and character a hair.

I find it best to use a power adapter (Power-All) instead of a battery.


David
 
#1,293
David, you take that setting and add a goodly amount of drive to it, and it sounds a lot like a real badass distortion I would get from running my B-15N flat out into this old Tube Works 410T cab and boosting the treble and bass knob. Cool stuff. Glad to see I'm not the only fliptop guy slumming with the VT!
 
#1,296
woodyng said:
i purchased an sb-12 about a year ago,but have not had much access to it (it's in another state) (don't ask!):rollno: so,can i hava numba? it's pretty cool-i get to play with it on vacation....
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#105 woodyng

That's got to hurt to be separated from your Fliptop. I know the feeling sort of...I just had to get a new cap installed on mine and it took a month.
 
#1,297
Okay, anyone had THIS happen???

I left my B-15N on for 3 days (yes I'm an idiot). So, in the middle of a rehearsal today, my volume just disappears. I was only getting a very quiet, very slightly distorted sound. I turned the amp off. The right transformer seemed very warm - not burning hot, but very warm. I turned the amp off for an hour, turned it back on, and it worked fine, but I only used it for a couple of minutes. This sound familiar to anyone, or am I breaking new ground here?
 
#1,298
It could be anything thermally related that is causing your problem including a bad tube, a tube socket that needs re-tensioning, a bad capacitor, a solder joint gone bad, or some other component. Something is operating marginally and the heat is pushing it over the edge.

If you are gigging with the amp and rely on it working properly, I'd have it looked at. Otherwise, keep using it and see if you can duplicate the problem. On the other hand, under normal operating conditions, the problem may never show up again.

David
 
#1,300
Scarvin1 said:
Detroit Craigs list. I got lucky the music store the guy took it to didn't have any tubes in stock. Fortunately, I do!!!

Hey, can someone help me identify the speaker? I can't find a code on the frame or bell cover. Here is a pic.
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I'm replying to this way late but... This is a Jensen speaker - if you look carefully at the back of the bell cover there should be a silvery-looking Ampeg "Custom Design" logo sticker over the screw hole that holds the bell cap on.

The B18X was equipped with the Fane speakers with the big round magnet and green basket (this cabinet had a tweeter horn and single rectangular port). The metal speaker frame and magnet were painted light green. The Fane speakers had a reputation for lacking definition (i.e., muddy) and the horn was added to brighten up the overall sound.

The square 24x24 B18 cabinet with double baffle (8 ports around the edge of the front speaker mounting board) was equipped with the Fane speakers at first, then over time (I don't know when) the Cleveland speakers were used instead. As a special order, the B18 could be bought with Jensen speakers (aka Ampeg Custom Design), a premium option with a premium price. I don't know how much more the Ampeg (Jensen) cost compared to the standard Fane or Cleveland speaker. It seems that the Ampeg speaker option was available during the time when the Cleveland speakers were the standard option.

I asked Jess about this and he didn't recall one way or the other which led me to go on a mission to dig up what information I could find.

The Jensen speaker sounds better than the Fane, imho. The Jensen has a fairly flat pattern from 70-1750Hz and drops off rapidly after 1750. The Fane drops off rapidly at 1200Hz.

Compared to the B15N with Thiele cabinet and square CTS speaker the B18 Ampeg speaker is about 6dB less efficient and has a lot less highs - it has a bit more low rumble but does not have the low mids hump that the Thiele has.

Hiss and string noise are not reproduced well with the B18 Ampeg speaker - can't hear it at all with the Fane.
 

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