Ampeg advice

[William James Easton]

Well now that im back into my music and enjoy playing again, it's only gonna be a matter of time before i need to get a decent rig. I have always loved ampeg but for some reason opted for an ashdown a few years back as my live set up. However i got rid of that last year and have been playing through a laney combo since.

Now to cut a long story short, im gonna save up my pocket money and buy a new amp next year. Hopefully an Ampeg.
Price wise i wont be able to get a valve head so solid state it is and dont have the transport for a 810 cab so 410 is what i'll aim for.
also want minamal knobs, buttons, and gizmos. plug in and play.
Lookeds at the B1RE 300w. got all the dials i need anyone got one? anygood? what else could i get as an alternative to that or should i look at the second hand market?

[coasterbass]

I'd recommend the 2nd hand market, and you don't need to look far from these very pages

With the £ in deep decline against the $ I can see new Ampeg prices climbing in the near future, so there's another reason.

Starting with speakers... the 410HLF is a killer cab and I had one for the last 10 years. No other single cab goes so low, but it is a bitch to handle. Its almost 2 feet deep, and weight wise is a right fat git. Great sound though.

I ran it with an SVT4 Pro with no problems. You should be able to pick up one of these, or an SVT3 for a good price 2nd hand. Either will serve you well.
If you are on a tight budget, but really want the valve tone, then consider an SVP preamp and a budget poweramp.
The SVP is tremendous and is much lighter (even with a poweramp) than the SVT2 or SVT4. The sound rivals that of the SVT2. Its quality, but at a reasonable price.
Sadly I can't advise you on the B2/B3 range as I haven't tried them.

Good luck

[op76]

[quote name='coasterbass' post='316778' date='Oct 28 2008, 03:27 PM']I'd recommend the 2nd hand market, and you don't need to look far from these very pages

With the £ in deep decline against the $ I can see new Ampeg prices climbing in the near future, so there's another reason.

Starting with speakers... the 410HLF is a killer cab and I had one for the last 10 years. No other single cab goes so low, but it is a bitch to handle. Its almost 2 feet deep, and weight wise is a right fat git. Great sound though.

I ran it with an SVT4 Pro with no problems. You should be able to pick up one of these, or an SVT3 for a good price 2nd hand. Either will serve you well.
If you are on a tight budget, but really want the valve tone, then consider an SVP preamp and a budget poweramp.
The SVP is tremendous and is much lighter (even with a poweramp) than the SVT2 or SVT4. The sound rivals that of the SVT2. Its quality, but at a reasonable price.
Sadly I can't advise you on the B2/B3 range as I haven't tried them.

Good luck[/quote]
I'm in a similar situation having just got a cheap B410 cabinet - £215 from Reverb (HLF versions too big for me) and looking for a used amp to match. From what I can see the B2re seems more common than the B1re (only difference is more power and a 9 band graphic I think) so I may go for one. An SVT 3 pro would be a nice compact solution but can't see any used examples. May check out the SVT pre-amp - didn't know there was one.

Let us know what you get....

[bremen]

[quote name='coasterbass' post='316778' date='Oct 28 2008, 03:27 PM']If you are on a tight budget, but really want the valve tone, then consider an SVP preamp and a budget poweramp.
The SVP is tremendous and is much lighter (even with a poweramp) than the SVT2 or SVT4. The sound rivals that of the SVT2. Its quality, but at a reasonable price.[/quote]

+1

No longer manufactured though, as far as I know.

[coasterbass]

[quote name='bremen' post='318204' date='Oct 30 2008, 10:16 AM']+1

No longer manufactured though, as far as I know.[/quote]


Yep, probably true, but they crop up on here quite often - thats where mine came from.
Preamps are a great bit of 2nd hand kit because its quite hard to abuse them, unlike powerstages and speakers.

Also, I see there's a nice SVT3 going at the moment for a good price.

[bremen]

[quote name='coasterbass' post='318343' date='Oct 30 2008, 01:29 PM']Yep, probably true, but they crop up on here quite often - thats where mine came from.[/quote]

I think it was your rave review that made me get one.

Or was it my rave review made you get yours?

Still love it.

[coasterbass]

[quote name='bremen' post='318354' date='Oct 30 2008, 01:47 PM']I think it was your rave review that made me get one.

Or was it my rave review made you get yours?

Still love it.[/quote]


Could be... I tend to harp on about it quite a bit Its by no means the 'greatest amp in the world ever!' - but what is?! I got to run it direct to a 50kw Crown/EAW PA the other week and it brought a big smile to my face
Glad you're enjoying yours too. I can't believe they stopped making them. Silly Ampeg.

[steve-soar]

[quote name='coasterbass' post='318492' date='Oct 30 2008, 04:42 PM']Could be... I tend to harp on about it quite a bit Its by no means the 'greatest amp in the world ever!' - but what is?! I got to run it direct to a 50kw Crown/EAW PA the other week and it brought a big smile to my face
Glad you're enjoying yours too. I can't believe they stopped making them. Silly Ampeg.[/quote]Now that I would like to hear.
I've had the SVP Pro and I still have the SVT IIP preamp and they are great bits of kit. The SVP is more versatile as in you can dial in a great distorted tone but IMHO the SVT IIP has a rounder, deeper, more 3D sound, brilliant for making the tone of your bass smack you in the nads.
Any Ampeg pre will float your boat, they dont make them anymore because clued up bassists bought them to go with powerful P.A. amps, so as to get the Ampeg tone with massive power and less weight, so Ampeg ceased production, as it was robbing them of their SVT sales.
You could get a nice light power amp like a Crown XTi 1000, link em all together into a nice light 4 ohm 4x10 and go melt some face.