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Settings for an Ampeg B50R

#5
Yep, gigging tonight.

Got nothing to tell you...never played a B50R. But I have played the B100R a handful of times, and it's a hottie. I'd say just set everything at noon and twist each knob and see what happens, then make a few educated guesses as to what you should use. The cool thing about Ampegs is almost every sound you get out of them is usable, so it's really just a matter of taste.
 
#6
Hey travisme123,
I dont own a B50R, but I'll share the knob settings I use when I play my Ampeg B100R with my bands:

Firstly, I always have my gain knob adjusted up until the peak light just starts to flash red on the loudest E-string notes I'll be playing.

Then I usually start out with my :
Bass knob set to 7,
Low Mid: 7
High Mid: gets set to taste, higher positions cut through a loud band mix better, lower positions sound better to me when practicing solo.
Treble: 4
Master: gets set to volume needed.

If you play with a loudish band, Ive found It really helps to lean the combo back against the wall at an angle where its securely balanced. If you want more bass response, lean it back against the very corner of the room. I can just leave the 2 rear casters on my B100R when leaning my amp like this on carpet, (because my 2 rear rubber feet will get a good enough grip) but I usually remove the 2 rear casters when leaning the combo on hard floor surfaces like tile.
 
#7
Travis, I had a B50R several years back. Loved it! If one comes up for sale locally I would get it. Regarding your question, I remember I would bump the low mids to arourd 7, and decrease the hi mids to 3 or 4. The rest of the knobs were nooned. It always sounded freakin' sweet! Your milage may vary depending on bass and technique. Enjoy. :bassist:
 
#8
To get more volume out of my B100R, I run my bass into a clean boost pedal, then that into the input. It really makes a huge difference if you like a little more hair in your tone..., and the amp is much louder. The OEM speaker is a 300 watter in the 100W 100R, I'm not sure which is in the 50R.
 
#10
BoomBoomOGTL said:
The OEM speaker is a 300 watter in the 100W 100R, I'm not sure which is in the 50R.
Click to expand...

I was always told the factory B100R speaker was rated at 150-watt, and I believe this to be true.

Where did you get that 300-watt specification from, some parts salesman at Ampeg over the phone?
(and was he possibly quoting some type of peak rating, or a continues type rating?)

I've got an original speaker I removed from one of my B100R combos, It doesn't have any power rating Info printed on it, and I havent been able to find any credible info/specifications from Ampeg about this subject...
 
#11
I got that from 'some guy on the internet'.

Actually I had read it in another B100R post here and was simply repeating what i had read.

anderbass said:
I was always told the factory B100R speaker was rated at 150-watt, and I believe this to be true.

Where did you get that 300-watt specification from, some parts salesman at Ampeg over the phone?
(and was he possibly quoting some type of peak rating, or a continues type rating?)

I've got an original speaker I removed from one of my B100R combos, It doesn't have any power rating Info printed on it, and I havent been able to find any credible info/specifications from Ampeg about this subject...
Click to expand...
 
#12
On my Ampeg B50R, I play with Hofner basses with flats. I set the bass at noon, and the treble at noon, or a bit lower. I turn the mids down. Volume at noon or three o'clock and sounds great to me. LOVE this amp!
 
#14
You should disregard the advice from people who are talking about the B100R because it's a very different beast from the B50R. (With one exception: Jimmy is right than on either, the best advice is to just start flat and then tweak as necessary.) For one, the 50 does not have a gain control, so you can't adjust the input level separately from output volume. For another, the 50 is already way loud, and you probably don't want or need to boost the signal going into it (which I agree is often helpful with the 100). For another-another, the 100 has a much deeper voice than the 50, with a lot more bottom-end, so the adjustments you'll need to make to get any particular sound will be very different. For example, I usually find myself slightly boosting the bass and/or low-mids on the 50, but slightly lowering them on the 100.

In the end, though what works for you will depend on what sound you like, in addition to all the usual factors such as the tone and settings of your bass, the surface the amp is sitting on, where the amp is located relative to walls, various characteristics of the room, and so forth.
 
#15
Cool, awesome advice Lobster!
I've never even tried out a B50R, so I totally believe you know way more about this subject than me :cool:

(edit)
I'd also like to just add that I always get a much better tone/feel If I patch my sansamp VT-pedal when using my B100R. And that's whether I'm just practicing solo, or playing/gigging with my loud-ish rock bands.
 
#16
anderbass said:
Cool, awesome advice Lobster!
I've never even tried out a B50R, so I totally believe you know way more about this subject than me :cool:
Click to expand...

Well, I just happen to have both, and got the 100 precisely because as much as I liked the 50, I wanted something with a little beefier bottom end. (Actually, using the two of them together is awesome, with the 100 providing the low-end booty and the 50 the rich mids and upper-mids.)

anderbass said:
I'd also like to just add that I always get a much better tone/feel If I patch my sansamp VT-pedal when using my B100R. And that's whether I'm just practicing solo, or playing/gigging with my loud-ish rock bands.
Click to expand...

That's because the VT makes everything sound better! I use one too....
 
#17
Yeah, at the end of the day, you need to play with the amp and get the tone that sounds good to you. One person may say, "Set the amp XYZ." And another person will say, "set it ABC." Really, none of that matters. Only YOU can decide if the tone you are using is good for you.

That's why I always use amp settings that I like and don't ask advice on forums for such things. All people can tell you is what THEY like and there are dozens of opinions out there.
 
#18
I was going wrong with the bass and treble knobs. I nooned those like a few said and now I'm much closer to what I want. Thanks a lot for the help guys.

And as search tip on guitar center when looking for used gear, type in any way the name of something maybe type. For instance for this amp I would always search:b-50r, b50-r, b50r. And I would get different b50 amps for each search. Its finicky like that.
 

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