Ampeg Portabass

[munkonthehill]

Hola my good good people,

So just picked up an ampeg 250H and matching 2x10portabass cab on Friday.

Recently i have been really hankering for some of this boutique lightweight ampage. Ive heard great things about the markbass combos/rigs and the orange new line bass terror and matching cabs. However due to the high retail price and not being able to try them out before i buy them 2nd hand, this has been the bloody thorn in my side.

So as an ampeg user I was very interested when I happened to read an old thread regarding the sale of an ampeg portabass rig.. So after a quite a few emails to our very own Mr Bassman i am now the proud owner of this rig.

So today was my first chance to try it in anger at rehersals. I would say at times i can be quite and aggresive player so I was a tad worried how this lightweight gear would hold up compared to its ampeg big brothers that i have?????????????

This rig freakin rocks brothers and sisters. its punchy (tweeter was not used at all) and loud with a lovely room filling ampeg tone. I could honestly say that I would swear I was using the B5R head, it has all the lovely ampeg tone with half the weight. The cab in fairness probably isnt as room filling as the 4x10 (i wouldnt expect it to) however it cut through two bleeding guitarists who love to be heard and just sat in the mix so well. In saying that though if I wanted to I could easily adjust the EQ and have any flavour of bass tone I wanted due to its 4 band EQ system with frequency shifting options too.

I had my MM bongo over one shoulder, the portabass head in its carrybag over the other shoulder and the cab was an easy 1 hand lift. I cant believe that in 1 trip to the car I was ready to rock and inturn I wasnt gasping for breath or reaching for the backbrace.

I was asking Keith if this is a gigable rig,,Well folks it really is, its not going to blow away hampden stadium, but for the type of gigs I play (the band members double the amount of punters in the pub) I would be very happy to use this rig as it is. I will be mainly using the B5R head as my main gigging amp, but the 250H is a remarkable backup that may be used depending on how i feel before a gig.

So lets do a checklist on this.

Is it portable and lightweight.................................Check
Does it have the tone and tonal control I want........Check
Is it gigable.........................................................Check
Does it look good.................................................Check

So there you have it folks, I now own lighweight portable gear and get to keep the ampeg sound im used to and love.

This really has been a good day folks and thanks for reading.

[Cat Burrito]

Nice one I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it

[munkonthehill]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='983929' date='Oct 10 2010, 11:12 PM']Nice one I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it[/quote]

Cheers buddy.





does anyone have any experience in gigging this gear????

[indiegrungesound]

I had a full Ampeg Portabass 250 combo a few years back after my old Trace Elliot Commando died a sudden death. Dead light. Nice tone. I like the head more than the cab though, as the 2 x 10's only went so far. Ended up part exing it for a Hartke rig as I wanted a louder rig. I think Hartke's heads are fantastic. That said, I'd be more than happy to get a Portabass head if one ever turns up 2nd hand somewhere!

Anyway, just my own opinion. Hope you enjoy it!

[munkonthehill]

[quote name='indiegrungesound' post='985913' date='Oct 12 2010, 04:49 PM']I had a full Ampeg Portabass 250 combo a few years back after my old Trace Elliot Commando died a sudden death. Dead light. Nice tone. I like the head more than the cab though, as the 2 x 10's only went so far. Ended up part exing it for a Hartke rig as I wanted a louder rig. I think Hartke's heads are fantastic. That said, I'd be more than happy to get a Portabass head if one ever turns up 2nd hand somewhere!

Anyway, just my own opinion. Hope you enjoy it![/quote]

Yeah im very suprised with the tone from the head.....love it to bits, although i would kinda disagree about the cab matey, I think the 2x10 has a wicked sound. In saying that i aint gigged it yet so I totally disagree......YET hahahahaha

[indiegrungesound]

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='986138' date='Oct 12 2010, 07:54 PM']Yeah im very suprised with the tone from the head.....love it to bits, although i would kinda disagree about the cab matey, I think the 2x10 has a wicked sound. In saying that i aint gigged it yet so I totally disagree......YET hahahahaha[/quote]

Actually, I've gigged with this quite a few times with other bands using the amp as well. It worked pretty well in a small club venue without either a mic or the use of the DI. So basically, you should be fine if you use either of those. (Mind you, if the DI the head if you use it with your 4 x 10" then you'll have no problem at all.)

Hope that is of some help.

[MacDaddy]

i had a porta bass rig about 5 years ago. Loved it, totally gave the Ampeg sound. Only problem for me was that for rehearsals I had to put the head through a 4 x 10 to compete with loud metal guitars.

[Mr Bassman]

Glad you like it Steven

[munkonthehill]

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='988526' date='Oct 14 2010, 10:16 PM']Glad you like it Steven[/quote]

Yeah, love it more and more Keith, I am just suprised at the output it has. Plus I got the oppertunity to meet you and your good lady. I really think it makes the deal a bit more enjoyable when you meet up.

Thankfully my genre is rock blues, so I dont have the issue as MacDaddy was having as my drummer (my brother-in-law) is pure blues and only goes crazy once in a while, which is something i wish he would do more of!!!!!!

As soon as I get gigs lined up with my new band I may use this as my main head at somepoint, however I will have the B5R with me just incase