Ampeg BA300 210 Bass combo, horrific experience..

[Mattbass97]

Hello! After tonight's band practice i don't think i can sleep without sharing this with someone.

We rent out a practice room for a couple hours once a week and we have been for over a year now in a well known facility in belfast.

Now ive seen many bass amps come and go there including a peavey tnt fender rumble and roland cube, but recently a new ampeg has arrived! The BA300 210 now considering it was the best option i always go for it and have done for the past couple practices. Now this amp is like 2-3 months old so theres nothing wrong with it but let me start..

Ill just talk about tonight as it was probably the worst.

So i start getting my stuff set up including my pedalboard, all thats left is to turn on the amp and plug in! Right so i plug my bass in and turn it on... it literally takes about 5 seconds to actually produce sound which actually is only half the volume its set at then 3 seconds later it bumps up to the volume that has been dialled in. Right okay i understand maybe it needs time so i dont mind.

This is a 300 watt 2 10" bass amp! now i have to set this damn thing to about 3/4 the way up on both volumes to even compete with the rest of the band. However my 210 fender rumble only needs to be turned up to about 4 for practice which is about just after 1/4. (i honestly think im gonna start bringing my amp again as this sucks.)

So ive finally got my volume set and everything quick once over that everything is working right and my tone is set before it hits the amp, now this amp has more treble than a guitar bumped up 2 octaves. its disgusting and tinny and hurts and sounds rubbish and ugh!! I had to dial back the treble to about 9 oclock... and it still had wayyyyy too much and i mean too much. Now to my understanding there is a controllable tweeter that if i checked correctly was maxed out if so then sorry for the misunderstanding but its just put me off.

Now mids wise i cant complain with like 6 different pre amp settings or something i can get different mid range sounds and the eq control for mid range seems to be fine. Bass wise well umm i dont like it haha, i turn the bass up nearly 3/4's and its still a little low and i dont want to hit the ultra bass or ultra high buttons as these seem to throw off the eq.

I havent even started playing with the band yet and its already p'ing me off.

If i run any drive or fuzz through this amp it just comes through tinny and clanky.

So i finally have this thing set up to an acceptable standard before we start playing. Now through out the 3hrs rehearsal we had my amp must have stopped working about 3 times and by stop working i mean it randomly drops the volume and just buzzes anytime i play a note and it sounds like hugely blown out speakers. I turn it off and on again wait the designated 8 seconds or so for the thing to actually work and im off again.

Now i know im not the only one having volume problems because everytime i turn up the volume is either more or the same from what i usually have it at and eq wise all the other bassists must use a pick and play sum41 or blink 182 because the eq is always set with boosted treble and its honestly sore to listen to...

So for a close to £700 amp im absolutely shocked at its performance, i would choose my fender rumble over it any day not even joking on that one the ampeg has really surprised me. Im not going to want to use this amp again its just an unreliable pain in the back side and to my ears!!

Rant over haha. Either this model sucks or im getting bad luck, im guessing i might get people telling me that ampeg rule and i need to go rethink what ive said or something but honestly this has been an awful experience with this amp.

Hopefully ill have someone agree and i wont feel full of bad luck haha.

And just before i end this, im in no means a snob im giving my gods honest experience with this amp tonight and god was it shocking haha.

Thanks for reading comment if youve got any experiences with this guy or similar experiences!

[JTUK]

I've used the 600 version ( 600watts, my arse ) and the best thing you could say about it was it was new and borrowed so I didn't have to carry if but it was poor EQ wise...as most Ampegs are, IMV...it is just that everything else is right with the BIg valves jobs that
you don't need to twiddle the useless nobs. This is where Ampeg has earnt its corn and the laurels it lives off....but there you go.

The only thing I can offer is that there is no legislating what some people do to hired amps, so it may have had some nasty abuse in its short life.
In my recent experience, rehearsal amps need constant looking after or servicing as most seem to 'surge';... I wonder what people do to them...???

I never take for granted anyones offered backline and refuse it if at all poss... and I wil extrend that thinking to rehearsal amps as well.. as nothing is worth the sound you have to put up with..IMRE, of course

[Musky]

I've never used a BA300 so I can't really comment on what they usually sound like. But the one in the studio was clearly knackered, so I'm not sure the sound was a true reflection of what they're capable of.

So, when did you report the problem to the studio.

[Mattbass97]

Haha i think next time over ill let them know just i didnt want them to think i did damage haha

[xgsjx]

[indent=1]Kinda goes to show that watts has sod all to do with volume & that some companies sell things just on their brand image.[/indent]

[indent=1]There used to be a Carlsberg Bass Bomber combo in our studio (abuot 6 years ago) & whilst it wasn't the best sounding thing, it could certainly blast out the 100 odd watts it had to be heard.[/indent]

[Lozz196]

I think, going by the description, that something was wrong with the amp. I know some people don`t like Ampeg tone, and have to admit myself that the power ratings are quite conservative, but from the description given, well it doesn`t sound at all as if the amp was working properly.