Why is the Ampeg B15 so coveted?

[Patrice B]

I had to get one… but got a B18N instead! Perfect for the man’s cave home studio and quite loud frankly.

***If I was a gigging player (no way I’ll be one day), I would struggle ´cause I am 5´6 ” and 140 lbs with all my clothes and big winter boots…
***I’ve removed the casters as they were screwed directly to the cab (original dolly long gone…).

 

[pbass2]

I'll never get rid of my B100R. It was my go-to small gig amp for years. A great little work-horse that can get pretty loud too.

Same here, bought mine the first year they were released. Totally loud enough for an onstage monitor for 90% of my gigs, and is certainly quite B15-ish. But I err towards schlepping a 30 lb combo these days, unless I specifically want the vintage look for a video or whatever.

 

[MarshallAC50Stack]

It’s like the blackface fender deluxe of bass amps. Do you need one? No. Do they sound great? Almost every one. Is it an iconic sound? Yes.

I think some people miss that they were intended as clean amps and of course not used that way by many. For myself, I’m mostly a clean to light grit kinda guy

I need a practice amp. It may as well be something excellent. Home is a good place for a low power, somewhat heavy and awkward vintage tube amp.

 

[txhawaii]

This was one of the B-15's I've owned. I'm almost 72. I've owned a LOT of gear, and a lot of it was Ampeg. I grew up in Woodside, Queens, and used to rehearse directly across the street from the Ampeg factory, in a storefront under the #7 IRT el at 54th. st. Ampeg was at 54-09 Roosevelt ave. Oh, yeah, we all had Ampeg tube amps.
The B-15, WAS state of the art at one time. In the bands of the day, late 50's through the mid sixties, it was adequate, and in my session days- almost all the studios had some really awful sounding surplus B-15's soldiering on. I really hated those things. I recapped my '64 and put in a new speaker I got from Fliptops. It was a nice sounding amp- and had a very musical 'tube sag' at a certain point. That point, was like a VNE speed on an aircraft- once you exceed it, it's not good. The B-15, on most gigs, ended up being a bass kazoo. It's coveted now, because of the massive, really kind of undeserved credit given to it as a contributor in the sound of greats like James Jamerson and others. Trust me- the crummy studio amps I've encountered- in my opinion, is why engineers started taking us direct. I remember vividly, B-15's were in the back of almost every music store for 200 bucks. Now- 3K? I just don't see it. Just my .02.

you speak with authority. great recollection.

 

[MarshallAC50Stack]

I know it's not always the case but is a thirty watt B15 underpowered because it can't compete with a muscle bound drummer and a couple of guitarists cranking fifty or even 100 watt amps? It's going to sound like a kazoo! It has taken a long time for bass amps to catch up with the volume of guitar amps. Of course the SVT was an important step in that evolution. But most companies' top of the line bass amps were glorified versions of their guitar amps and usually using the same wattage power sections. Pardon my rant, my ears are still ringing!

BTW: Happy New Year!

 

[hennessybass]

I know it's not always the case but is a thirty watt B15 underpowered because it can't compete with a muscle bound drummer and a couple of guitarists cranking fifty or even 100 watt amps?

Drummers and loud guitar players, sure... I have found, though, it has a lot to do with the rooms and stages.
Your little combo sounds great in your bedroom, but if you put it on a big outdoor stage, you're probably not going to hear much... even in terms of having the amp as a "personal monitor" unless it's pointed right at you (excluding PA).

It can be done of course,,, but not very practical for most players in most situation. It's a specialized amp.

 

[MarshallAC50Stack]

Drummers and loud guitar players, sure... I have found, though, it has a lot to do with the rooms and stages.
Your little combo sounds great in your bedroom, but if you put it on a big outdoor stage, you're probably not going to hear much... even in terms of having the amp as a "personal monitor" unless it's pointed right at you (excluding PA).

It can be done of course,,, but not very practical for most players in most situation. It's a specialized amp.

More thinking of "back in the day," before the general realization that a bass requires way more power than a guitar just to keep things balanced. Thankfully things have changed considerably since then.

 

[txhawaii]

More thinking of "back in the day," before the general realization that a bass requires way more power than a guitar just to keep things balanced. Thankfully things have changed considerably since then.

ok so collecting a b15 is like collecting a '68 Impala or a Nikon F film body. they still work but they are highly inefficient by today's standards.

this dares me to ask ex b15 owners/users...what did you replace it with and what are you using today?

 

[MarshallAC50Stack]

Still use my SB12 for practice/rehearsal at my house and it’s a keeper! Past Ampegs include two B15s, a different SB12 and a B-100. Live and learn about buy and sell. Not really a collector though!

 

[hennessybass]

ok so collecting a b15 is like collecting a '68 Impala or a Nikon F film body. they still work but they are highly inefficient by today's standards.

Maybe - not a bad analogy.

Like if you want to make photos for your art gallery show, you might use your Nikon film camera, but if you get a gig shooting a wedding, you would probably bring all your modern digital equipment.
Or if you wanted to make recordings for your originals album, you might use a B15, but if you got hired to play a wedding, you would probably bring your B15 preamp pedal and in-ears.

this dares me to ask ex b15 owners/users...what did you replace it with and what are you using today?

I used my B-15 - not a ton - but I did use it for recording and gigging.
I traded mine to a dude who runs a studio for a cool vintage guitar amp, and cash so I could buy a guitar. I hadn't really used it (except for at home) for years. I don't like to have stuff just to have stuff so I traded it for something new that I wanted to check out and I would actually use... and, I bet that dude with the studio is using it on the regular. That's cool to me that that amp is still making music and records 50-60 years on.

I use a 212 (or 210 or 115) and class D head with lots of watts because it works for nearly every gig I've played for the past 15 years from small to big. I do have other amps - including a custom 60w tube head based on the B15 for those special occasions.

 

[tvbop]

especially that Jamerson recorded all those Motown records with a B15

Sadly not...he went direct to board thru a seperate pre amp...anyway. Yes they sound Ampeggy and they look amazing and if my BA 110 can sound good live thu the PA then Im sure these would too

 

[TheArchitect]

But is it? Which sound? The Motown sound is *not* a B15, for instance.

West coast. The Wrecking Crew. Lots of players everywhere used them for recording and still do now.

 

[TheArchitect]

But is it? Which sound? The Motown sound is *not* a B15, for instance.

You have a lot of attitude for something you have never used and it seems were not around for in its heyday

 

[Boneless]

West coast. The Wrecking Crew. Lots of players everywhere used them for recording and still do now.

The Wrecking Crew? It depends. Carol Kaye used Fender amps (and often open-backed ones, by the way).

 

[Boneless]

You have a lot of attitude for something you have never used and it seems were not around for in its heyday

As I said, if emulations are faithful to the source (I'm using Brainworx's emulation) I find that the sweet spot is very narrow.

 

[TheArchitect]

The Wrecking Crew? It depends. Carol Kaye used Fender amps (and often open-backed ones, by the way).

Carol Kay was hardly the only bass player in LA. Those amps were everywhere in their day and still common in studios today

 

[TheArchitect]

As I said, if emulations are faithful to the source (I'm using Brainworx's emulation) I find that the sweet spot is very narrow.

That's why it's called a sweet spot

 

[beans-on-toast]

Jamerson had no problem keeping up on stage with a B-15 using DI, otherwise he had a more powerful amp when needed.

 

[Jack Butler]

To be clear though, I’m just talking about the sweet spot where it really sounded good. I could certainly turn the volume down enough to practice with a sleeping baby in the next room, but then the sound would be nothing special.

So funny with ALL the threads asking if 350 watts and a 215 are sufficient for home practice...

TB is a most strange place.

 

[DJ Bebop]

ok so collecting a b15 is like collecting a '68 Impala or a Nikon F film body. they still work but they are highly inefficient by today's standards.

this dares me to ask ex b15 owners/users...what did you replace it with and what are you using today?

I had my dad's B-15 he used it to amplify his electric piano and a PA, drink stand, ashtray holder sort of affair. As much as I liked it and the history of it. It had been road hard and put up wet you might say. So I sold it and took the funds and bought this...

Never been happier. I don't miss the B-15 because I can get a better B-15 sound out of this at a louder volume without the buzzes and rattles.

I get why people love the originals but mine was going to take some money to rehab it and I didn't have it or the patient to do it. This was a better option for me.

Still kinda miss the Steampunk, Frankenstein's lab equipment look of the ol' B-15