Ampeg B-100R Rocket Bass Amp

The features have been covered in the other reviews. The control panel is cool, neat chicken head knobs, and the tone controls all really DO something. Very cool retro look and feel (especially when you have to lift it)!

It's got one sound, that vintage Ampeg sound. Nothing much beats this sound, however. If you want monster vintage tone in a small package, you just found it.

Has a 5 year warranty. Some have complained about Ampeg's build quality, so I'm hoping that has all long been sorted out.

Received an immediate e-mail response to a question I asked.

I traded a BA115 in for this. The BA115 was also a great amp, but I'm not big on tweeters and wanted the vintage vibe. The B-100R has that in spades. Anyone who says this can't be used for band practice or at a small/medium gig needs to stop smoking those funny cigarettes. This is plenty loud, and can be gigged without maxing it out. I was using a Carvin PB100 for practice (now that amp is way too lame to gig with), and it was totally dimed to keep up with moderate practice sound levels. Not the Ampeg, this thing is one great amp. Tired of lugging around your half-stack-and-head to small gigs or practice? Then get one of these.
Only complaint, overpriced.

2005 B-100R. It is versatile, one needs only to make adjustments to the 4 band EQ and or the low/mid/high buttons. You all know the rest of the features. I don't wish it had anything else; I use a Radial JDI passive DI box, which is far, far better than anything in any amp, whenever I need to go to the board. This amp is used in small to medium venues. Plug in, turn the Master to 10, Bass to 10, Treble to 10, leave the mids and Gain on 5, and depress all of the bass/mid/treble buttons and stand back. Awwww yeaaahhh!

P/J active Koa Fender, U.S.A. Jazz and Precision, Dirnt P-Bass, Pink Paisley '54 P-Bass with TI Jazz Flats, (all others have Rotosound Swing Bass 66). I play anything from funk to folk to hip-hop and this amp is great. You see, the sound of a bass also comes from your soul and your hands. The amp, well, amplifies that and this one does it superbly. Turn down the tone knob on your bass and play near the neck with the side of your index = Jamerson. Run everything on your flatwound equipped bass wide open, damp the strings and play with a pick = Carol Kaye. Or just plug in a Jazz, crank it up and slap away. Doesn't matter. This amp will help all of your styles cut through. Clean, quiet, very powerful lil' combo. The limiter doesn't make its presence known like on other amps, such as SWR. It has rich bass that doesn't seem loud when you're standing in front of it (but does shake your pants legs). However, tand back a few feet so you can hear the propagation of the long bass waves and you will truly understand how powerful this amp is. 100 watts@4 ohms into a 4 ohm 150 watt speaker = just crank it up. Nice. Only a 9 because the only perfect sound I've heard is an SVT Classic through the 4 x 10 HLF Classic Cabinet. BUT, I didn't want to spend $2000 and have a monster to schlep around.

I have a BA-112 and my brother a BA-115 for a few years now with not troubles whatsoever. None. I don't expect anything different from this but don't know enough to comment right now. Ask me in 10 years. However, based on my and others' experience with Ampeg bass amps I intend to use it without a backup.

I emailed Ampeg customer support about where its parts, cabs, and speakers are made and received a personal response within 24 hours. On a Sunday. 5 year warranty on the amp and 2 on the speaker is pretty generous. Just keep your original sales receipt! Otherwise, neither I nor anyone I know who has a solid state Ampeg has needed to have it serviced. My rating is based on the quick, informed, friendly response I received from customer support.

Been playing for a while ;-) Read the above and you'll know what I have. If it were stolen I would buy another one right away without a second thought. I spent a year playing every brand and type of bass combo out there and this one is the best. Screw Genz-Benz, Ashdown, and Eden and all of their farting speakers, ridiculous prices, and "glassy" sound. Ick. The new, silver face Fender Bassmans are nice for the price. However, for a very small amount more money the Ampeg has a sound that is great deal better and an amp that can be pushed much harder and still remain clean. Forget GK Backline combos; they fart like the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles. A worthy, albeit $300 more expensive, contender to this Rocket is the venerable GK MB150E. I had one just recently (these sell quickly on eBay :-)) but still prefer the sound of the Ampeg.

100 WATT 15" SPEAKER

i play a hofner club bass and a guild pilot thru this and it sounds really good.
I play classic rock and blues and it sounds really nice.It sounds great for a solid state combo amp.I use this as a practice amp and a backup amp for my 1967 fender blackface bassman (212 jenson cab)This amp doesn't come close to the sound of my vintage bassman but will work fine as a backup amp.I was playing a gig and the tubes started going in the bassman so i played the rest of the night thru the ampeg and it got me thru the night with a decent sound.

Ive been playing for about 30 years.
If it were stolen id probably buy another one.for the money and features this is a good amp.plenty loud for most gigs

see below

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This is an update to my previous review.
I am not sure if anyone below has already mentioned this but this amp is 4ohms.That explains why it is considerably louder than most 100 watt combos which are almost always only 8ohms.
I am currently trying to start a "power trio" and have been using the little B100 quite alot.I jammed in a mid-sized rehearsel/studio with a guitarist playing through a brutal loud vintage Marshall combo and a drummer who plays like John Bonham and Bill Ward(Black Sabbath)
and I was asked to "turn down."

for a combo amp this thing is amazing, there is no other 100 watt combo i would rather have. this thing has a gain and level that is easy to under stand. it has a signal and limiter lights so that you actually can tell how to se it. i have seen some of the new ampeg combos and they dont have signal and limiter lights. how do you know if you are setting it too high? i play in an emo/indie rock band and this thing has always been big enough for me. i have played gigs with no pa and this thing has cranked up loud enough. i like the 0 and -15 inputs. then you dont have to set the gain at .0005 if you have active pickups, or just a strong signal. this thing gets loud. good eq also.

this amp creates no while noise at all. it is silent. as for variety i dont really know because i dont really play many styles. this thing has good lows with the 15 inch speaker but also you can get supprisingly good high's out of it. it has a low boost, mid boost, and high boost. these dont really seem to do that much, but they can be helpful, or just make you feel like you are doing somthing. really not much distortion at all unless you put the gain up to high and limit alot.

i use this at a gig with no back up, mainly because i dont have another amp. i dont feel like a need a backup though. this thing is reliable. the only 2things i have realized on mine is that the cardboard on the inside of the back soundholes falls out sometimes. also the attractive outside covering can tear if you let it rub against somthing pretty hard. it takes quite a lot though. never failed on me yet. no falling off knobs or anything.

i didnt have any casters for this thing so i emailed ampeg and asked them what kind to get, and they just sent me some for free, so that was pretty neat of them.

this is a great 100 watt combo. there is nothing else i would rather have. i would recomend this to anyone looking for a great 100 watt amp. great sound, reliable, what more could you ask for. i like it much more than the fender bassman. that thing is a hunk of junk. if someone stole this, i unfortunatly would not buy another one though, only because i would want to get a 4x10. i would be sure to buy an ampeg though. :)

I bought it brand new from a local shop. Please read the other reviews for features or go to the Ampeg website (even better).

Really nice tone from my '77 p-bass. Weird rattle of a back panel at high volumes.

No problems other than the rattle mentioned above.

Haven't dealt with SLM--hope I don't have to.

I've been playing this same bass since my parents gave it to me in 1977. I played through a Peavey Century until I got the B100r. No comparison. The B100r is clean, simple, vintage in all ways (except no tubes). I really enjoy playing through it and I expect anyone out there who is considering one would agree

100 watts and 15" speaker.4 parametric eq knobs and 3 boost buttons(ultra low,mid,high)Gain and master volume.With the master turned all the way this amp can get a bit of overdrive.I bought this amp in 1997.I adore this amp but more on that later.I am compelled to comment on statements made by other reviewers on this amp as well as other reviews I have seen for other amps.How does an amp "not keep up"or not be "loud enough"? I always see a comment like this:"..this amp sounds pretty good but it just can't cut it with a loud drummer" or "..my guitarist plays a 100 watt tube stack and I just can't be heard." THER ARE TWO VERY IMPORTANT INVENTIONS THAT EVERYONE MUST BE MADE AWARE OF--ONE IS CALLED A PA SYSTEM AND THE OTHER IS CALLED A MIXER.Honestly,if you want to split hairs a bassist doesn't even need an amp for recording or live shows---GO DIRECT with a decent D.I box.I went to a popular night club in Dallas(@400-500 standing room)a few years ago to see this really loud Punk band and they were a trio and the guitarist had a full Marshall stack and the bassist was playing through an AMPEG B-100R combo and despite the drummer beating the skins like Animal from the muppets I had no problem hearing the bass.If you are in a band and you can't be heard I can assure you the problem is NOT with your amp.P.A. IS NOT JUST FOR VOCALS PEOPLE.Learn how to use a mixing board--pros do it.

This is by far the warmest solid state bass amp I have ever heard.I bought this amp in fall of 97 the day I was awarded an $8000 settlement from an auto injury accident.With 80 hundred dollar bills in my wallet I could have bought any amp in the store but I chose the B100R.I tested an EDEN 4x10 combo,a couple of SWRs,WORKINGMAN 15 and BASIC BLACK 15.I also tried an AMPEG B2 combo but the B100R had the sweetist classic bass tone that I want.I play two USA FENDERS,a JAZZ and a PRECISION.Both are strung with flatwounds.Punchy,warm and deep are the virtues of this amp.

One of the pots was dirty upon purchase(made a "staticy" sound)so GUITAR CENTER serviced it for free.No problems since.

Never dealt with SLM directly.5 year waaranty upon purchase.

As stated,I love this little gem of a bass amp.I have owned a few decent bass rigs since I bought the AMPEG combo but tonewise the B100R has bested them all.(GK 800RB 1x15 and 2x10,ASHDOWN MAG 400 w/2 4x10s)I love the basss sound of classic era rock and motown and I can achieve this sound perfectly.

Bought The Ampeg B100r as a replacement for my 10 year old Hartke combo that had died. This B100r was made in 2002. I agree with the review that the amp has a mud bass sound. Besides that it does not do anything else.I play in a alternative c/w roots rock cover band. It has 1 channel 2 imputs (passive and active). It has a headphone jack. It says 100 watts rms but I doubt that. My old 100 watt Yamaha blows the Ampeg's doors off!
I use the amp for practice and it ain't loud enough to keep up with a 100 watt Marshall 4x10 combo or a 65 Fender Twin reverb.

I play a Sting 51 P bass reissue and a 78 Rick. Both have flat wound strings. I figured classic look, classic sound, and the price was right and Ampeg. The amp is quiet no white noise. I've tried to use it as a bass monitor with it hooked into our PA. We have a big PA with Subs. The B100r could not cut it. It started distorting bad about 1 hour into the gig so I took it to the shop.

The amp was light use for 6 months. I babyed it. Had a custom made cover made for it. Well to continue the shop kept the B100r for 3 weeks. They stated the could not find anything wrong with it. It was an authorized Ampeg repair shop in Memphis, TN where I live. They said I have a 5 year warranty BUT they charged me $43.75 because they could not find anything wrong with it. They said the warranty only covered repairs!!! Would never take this to a gig. I called Ampeg/SLM in St. Louis Infact it is up for sell. I am taking a beating.

5 year warranty.The people at SLM/Ampeg were nice saying that I could send the amp back to them. HMMM. Let me see. $37.50 local or I can ship it to St. Louis for, $37.50. My advice is blow it up and then take it in.

I've had the old V4b and SVT. Don't waste your time or money on solid state ampeg bass equipment. Their tube stuff is still excellent. Solid state buy Hartke or GK or SWR. Also don't think your warranty covers everything. It doesn't!!! Buy more watts than you think you will need. A 100 watt tube amp is twice as loud as a solid state amp, unless you have an 1970's Sunn Concert Bass or and old Acoustic amp.

To the person who posted on 08/07/2003, to get this amp to not sound like mud, you need to turn down the lower mids, up the upper mids, and that'll take care of all muddiness.

Mabye I tried out a BAD one but the TONE everyone has been talking about was nowhere to be found. You could get a decent tone at what might be called large room volumes but that was about it. Anything past halfway up and the amp had major flubb outs with the speaker making crackling sounds. I tried it with a Mex P base with rounds and my Ibanez P/J with flats that I brought to try amps with. Couldnt get anywhere with it. The flats were a def a no go with this amp, major MUDDD.

I was reading the reviews here and figured this amp was right up my alley in the tone and gig ability. Not to mention it would look cool next to my Vintage ampeg reverberocket guitar amp. I dont know...like I said befor I must have been trying one that was a Lemon...all these good reviews cant be wrong.