Ampeg B-100R Rocket Bass Amp

My B-100 was made in 1997or 98. This amp is extremely versatile, I've used it in many different playing situations and environments. I play mostly rock, but it also works great as a blues style bass amp. As far as the baloons and whisles that alot of other amps have (including newer Ampeg) it remains a bass amp. If you want all the toys, buy some pedals. It doesn't have an XLR out, but I've had it so long, and haven't cried about that once.

I've used a vast aray of basses through it, my P-bass with a Basslines Quarter Pound P pickup, my Ric 4003, a Modulus, a '74 Gibson Ripper, and my '92 Jazz Bass with EMG's. The B-100 sounds great with everything I've thrown at it. I use it for practices, and small venues such as smaller bars. There never seems to be a noise factor except from the basses themselves. The B100 is like a "budget" Porta-Flex, and may not sound as good, but is a hell of alot cheaper, and sounds incredable for solid state and for its price. I give it a 10 because you'd be hard pressed to find another amp in this price range that can even compare.

Goin' on 6 problem free years with this amp. The tolex has a few scuffs, but are minute compare to what the entire SVT Clasic line looks like after the same amount of time. This amp has been through hell and back.

It came with a 3 year warenty, but I never needed it.

This amp is definately the way to go if you're just looking for a good practice/light gig amp. If you want to spend more for another solid state combo, go ahead, but I've tried other combos costing way more (such as SWR, Eden, Polytone, etc.) and none have sounded "better" to me. It does have the Ampeg sound.

I bought this amp new in Dec. 2002, so I guess it has been made in 2002...

This amp has neither too few nor too many features. The way these features are implemented makes it more versatile than many other combos, IMO.

This amp is made of solid state technology and has 1 channel. It has 2 distinct inputs for passive or active basses, but whatever bass I use, I plug it into the passive input, then I adjust the input level to avoid clipping.

The main features are :
4 tone controls (low, low-mid, hi-mid, hi)
3 boosters (low, mid, hi) - the tone controls are so efficient that I almost never use any booster
A line out - an XLR DI output, independant from the general volume of the amp, would be more appropriate

I use this amp for practising, but also on rehearsal, and I even did a gig with it. The sound engineer was amazed of my volume and tone.

I mainly use a Music Man StingRay 5 and a MIJ Fender Precision 70's reissue. I basically love "classic" tones, the all-treble glassy bass sound is not for me. This amp perfectly suits my needs.

This amp is very quiet. Noise often comes from cranking up the treble controls, which I don't.

I believe this amp is able to suit many styles, though you'll probably always keep that Ampeg typical tone, warm and deep. You get a distorted tone only if you want it, by cranking up the input volume, which is not much recommended.

I did not find a better combo in this price range, so I believe this deserves a 10.

This thing is built like a tank. I did not experience the least problem.

Didn't have to deal with.

I've been playing bass for 27+ years. This is my only amp. In studio, I use a Line 6 Bass Pod, though.

It this amp were stolen, the first thing I'd buy is a gun, to find out the stealer... Sure, I'd replace this amp in a heartbeat.

There's nothing I hate about this amp. As I said before, I only wish it had an XLR D.I. output, but this doesn't bothers me in 99.9 % of using it.

Well, let's remember this is a combo. Though it's rated at 100 W RMS, it is able to kill many amps rated at 200 or 300 W. For example, I had tried a Hughes & Kettner BassForce XXL (300 W), and it didn't have so many balls. Same thing for the Peavey TNT.

However, the B-100R isn't loud enough if you want to be heard properly on stage while playing through a big P.A. system. That's why, while keeping my B-100R, I plan to get a "real" rig with much more watts. Of course, due to my satisfaction, the first brand I will turn on is Ampeg, and if I can find the money I believe I'll pick up an SVT-4PRO head with an SVT-810E cab.

Very easy to use, not too many knobs or buttons, but all that is necessary to find whatever sound you're looking for. Very broad range of sounds you can achieve.

Oh, the sound. I play with a Spector NS2000/4 (also an amazing product) so I look for somewhat of a heavy powerful sound. Before the B100R, I owned a Fender Bassman 60w amp that was not good for finding wholesome sounds. There is a much more broad range of sounds on this amp, from a sharp treble sound to a powerful low tone. And most importantly, this amp gets VERY loud without the static and farting of most other amps.

The B100R is very reliable, as it comes with a substantial warranty. The electronics are very well protected, so there isn't much concern about dust or dirt getting in the system. I would most definately use this amp in small gigs without worry of it breaking down on my. Very well protected.

Haven't had to deal with customer support yet.

Absolutely perfect amp for small gigs, practicing at home, and just screwing around trying to make noise. Very strong and durable, built to last more than just a few years. Volume and sound quality are its most powerful assets. I strongly recommend this amp for those who are in an organized band who are trying to find new sounds.

As described by the other reviewers. Not very much features, but adequate for what it does.

Great, I use this amp's poweramp only, as I use an Aguilar DB680 as preamp. combined with the aguilar, this amp is capable of 'the oldest school' tones you can imagine. In addition, it is also pretty loud for a 100-watt amp.Compared to my big rig, an EBS fafner head with an ampeg 212 speaker enclosure, it sounds less clean, but way more punchy. I play this amp with either a '69 jazz bass, a gibson thunderbird or a precision. Also, it smokes when used with my EUB.

Great, have had the amp for 3 years now, never broken

never had to deal with them

I am a professional player, for the real small gigs I have an EBS drome 12' combo. The drome has more features, but doesn't sound as good with my aguilar preamp. Also, this is the most cool looking combo you can buy.(well, you could buy an ampeg B15r, which is even cooler, but way too expensive)

Failrly basic. I am a guitarist who plays bass and I was sick of borrowing amps, so I bought one. I know absolutely NOTHING about bass amps other than they need to be more powerful than guitar amps. I thought I would need about 300W but after playing through a 65W at an acoustic gig (no drummer) I decided a 150W combo would be fine. I shortlisted the Ashdown Blue range and Roland DB500 (12 inch speaker but it looks cool). I tried both of these amps and liked them both a lot. The Ashdown was just a nice powerful amp, the Roland was really odd. It was really powerful without being loud, you could almost feel the air moving before the actual note. It was ridiculously loud for 160W through a 12 inch speaker, and if I needed power in a small box then this or the Roland DB700 (this must be a seriously loud thing; I wouldn't touch a DB900 with a barge pole!) would be it. But as I couldn't decide which to buy I saw an Ampeg 100 which looked awesome, and the bass guy played it for me and it sounded different class. I think its had a bit of trouble in the past (a brand new ex demo model with a sticker on the back saying it blew up or something but its OK-work that one out!!!) which the sales bloke tried to conceal from me but I didn't really care cos its a good store with good warranties.


Anyway, features:-
Basic tone stuff, line out which is really good and er, a speaker and a power lead. Plug comes with plastic travel cover which I lost; where can I buy more of these? Nice handle. Good switch, very good switch actually. Possibly better than the eye moving switch on the back of action man's head. Possibly could use an onboard compressor but I think I'd rather use an outboard unit. Could possibly use more EQ but not from my point of view, I don't really use what I have.

Use it with a Peavey Dynabass with cheap humbuckers (I presume since the bass was cheap). Absolutely awesome sound; its my first bass amp but it sounds exactly what a bass amp should sound like IMO so it will possibly be my last as well. I don't know enough about bass amps to comment a great deal here, but I can say a few things:
-it sounds really nice with a guitar plugged in; very clean and glassy and clean; I really like very clean and loud and this is good for that. Don't think its as loud as a 100W guitar amp for guitar but I've not a lot of experience with 100W guitar amps either.
-it doesn't get a lot louder as the master gets past 1/2, just better. I have it on full all the time and it sounds so goos. Don't touch the preamp gain. To be honest I don't really care where the tone controls on this amp are if the gain and master are set well (9-10 o'clock and full) it sounds awesome whatever, just different. Tone sweep is not huge. Again I'm a little inexperienced in this field and don't really have anything to compare it to.
-for some reason you get that 1000W 18inch sub thing where it gets louder as you get further away. It has the strange ability to project with NO volume dropoff. I don't know how they've done this but its good. Probably really annoys the neighbours cos they probably get it as loud as me, then again I'm a tasteful bitchass and they probably enjoy it. I've given it a 10 because this really is ultimate bass sound for me. I haven't heard a lot but now I have no need to. Perfect.

Not had it long enough. Very heavy and solid though. Love the tolex.

Not dealt with them.

I love this amp but I've said everything you're supposed to say here in the other bits so that'll do. No rating for this because it seems a bit pointless. Ratings are poor opinions are good. Thats my opinion anyway and I rate it highly(!!!)

Two inputs (0db for passive pickups, -15db for active). Four EQ knobs (bass, mid-low, mid-high, treble), three boost buttons (bass, mid, treble), gain control, and master speaker volume control. Balanced 1/4" line out and headphone out. 100W Solid State.

I play a cheap $75 bass that I bought in India and I also use a Fender Fretless Jazz bass. Somehow, for some reason, when I play the Indian bass with this Ampeg, it sounds *just* like John Entwistle's tone from '76-'79. I loved the tone so much that I even paid $60 to get the damn bass repaired when the headstock broke. I'm not a fan of the speaker's output. It's loud (it could hold its own against my old band's guitarists' half-stacks) but just doesn't punch. However... if you feed your line out to a PA or don't require very loud volume, it's a beauty. When I record on it, I turn the the bass to 5, mid ranges to 0 and treble to 10. It'll punch through any mix. All of the above refers to regular roundwound fretted basses... now for fretless...

If you play fretless, THIS AMP IS NOT MEANT FOR YOU. You'll get the dullest tones ever.

This amp is so solid, that there's a hole in my basement wall from it being moved.

The tone is godly. Just don't use it for big loud shows.

I'm assuming it was made this year, but who knows. It's a vintage-style bass amp. Very simple, no major bells and whistles. Gain control with indicator LEDs, 4-band EQ, master value, high/low input, headphones and line out jacks. It's a solid state amp, but you'd never know it. For a 100watt 15" amp, it is damn loud and can be cranked without noticable distortion. VERY impressive.

Incredible sound. I play in a Beatles cover band. here in the Phoenix metro area. I have been playing a Fender BXR-100 up until now, and had always struggled with getting the thing EQed right for the basses I play (Hofner Cavern, two Rickenbacker 4003s, and a Fender Jazz with active EMG pickups). I went down the aisle of bass amps, testing out each one within my prace range ($400 to 700), these included Crate, Gallien-Krueger, Ashdown, Fender, and Ampegs. I tried out two other Ampegs and wasn't incredibly impressed with the output, then just before giving up, decided to plug into this little vintage looking box that seemed more like a practice amp than one that could be used for small gigs. Wow! For an amp with so few modeling features, it's very versatile in the tones it can produce, and matches the Beatles songs I play perfectly. No noise, no distortion at any volume. Very hard to overdrive. Incredible little amp.

I've only had it a day, so I can't say for sure, but I know Ampegs to be incredibly reliable. It's solid state electronics, and seems to be built very sturdy.

Haven't had to deal with Ampeg

I've been playing for around 4 or 5 years. For the price, and the sound it produces, if it were lost, I'd definitely buy another. Seriously, I tried a few other Ampegs, and this one had the tone I was looking for. Compared to the Fender BXR-100 I have, it's is "light years" ahead in tone and overall sound quality.

brand new. some reviewers complain this amp isn't very versatile-I find it produces all the tones i could want...I play mostly rock and blues, funk, some slap, works well ,even for slap (would sound better w/a tweeter, methinks...) Would like a 1/4" external spkr jack. Plenty of power (100W) Does everything I want.

Creates a very ballsy, enveloping, harmonically-flavored rumble...very tasty! I find the sound from the 15" isn't that loud up close, but apparently VERY loud 10' + away (my bandmates are always telling me to turn down...none of us can hear anything anyways!) Very quiet amp, has 2 ported openings in back to control amount of cabinet bass projected.
Makes variations of one super nice sound...Tube-y, very fat, compressed sound...lots like James Jamerson, no distortion at any volume (this is nice!)

Seems super sturdy. The Blue Tolex covering is cool looking. Super heavy (62 lb.) Speaker does make a pop when power is turned off...so do some of my other amps. 5 year warranty. Everyone who owns an AMPEG has told me good things! Always turns on, at least, and doesn't heat up (no fan, though)

as mentioned, 5 year warranty. Haven't dealt w/ St Louis music...heard good things, though

Been playing approx. 5 years. Own an ibanez ATK-100, Samick PBass, Samick amp, old harmony amp from '60's, Epiphone Les Paul, etc....
Love the sound-SUPER LOUD< NICE BOTTOM END, looks cool too!!! No stores around here had Ampegs...tried SWR wm 10, 12 etc. even 2004 head, and tried many hartke products. Stick w/ampeg! For low-end ($500 aint bad) portable combo, this does the trick better than most. I'm super happy I got it....you should seriously consider this amp.

This is a pretty simple amp with four band EQ and low/high boost buttons. One 15 inch speaker in a small cabinet. No effects loop but it does have an unbalanced line out (great for a tuner) and a headphone socket. All solid state. It's simple but it's good.

It has a nice, warm tone, very much like an old Ampeg Portaflex combo. Not much in the way of bells and whistles but great sound none the less. Probably not the thing if you're interested in a modern, clean, clinical sounding amp.

It only a couple of weeks old so who knows? Given Ampeg's reputation it'll probably last for years.

No idea

For it's size, weight and cost I think this is a great combo. Good enough for small venues. The warmth of the sound is just what I was looking for and it's superior (IMHO) to the Eden WT-400 and Mesa Walkabout heads that I tried out (with a 1x15 Bag End cabinet).

Made in America, 2002. This amp has simple controls; if you like Spartan simplicity as I do you will love this one. 2 inputs, active or passive. It's got everything I will ever need: the unbalanced line out is the ticket;I run the line to our PA and roll with it. 100 watts into a vintage style 15 inch speaker. No effects loop or speaker extension, but does what it's designed for.

I use a 1994 USA Fender P-Bass with stock pickups and flatwound strings. For what I do it's perfect. I play in a working cover band that plays a little bit of everything. I love this amp. KILLER TONE!!!! Stays clean all the way up, thump and punch for days; this is a real bass amp with mucho huevos, folks. Classic tone in a cool, vintage package. Plenty loud for all styles.

It's an Ampeg. Solid as a rock. I haven't had it very long, but if my prior experience with ampeg is any indication, it will last for years. I've had an SVT solid state since 1989, never had any problems with it. But since it is fairly new, I will have to pass on this category.

I've never had any dealings with Ampeg. I've heard good things about them though.

I've been playing 15 yrs. Mostly rock, pop, blues, and funk. If it were stolen, I would be suffer deep depression and then go buy another one. It's simple and affordable and sounds great. An outstanding value, I would say.