Ampeg B-15N Portaflex

1965 (serial # 000051) model. Two separate channels, each with individual volume, bass, and treble controls, as well as Ultra Hi and Ultra Lo selectors. Each channel has both bright and normal inputs as well. 30 watts, all tube. Two 6L6-GC power tubes, three 6SL7 preamp tubes, and one 5AR4 rectifier tube. Cabinet is the taller, Thiele design with the blue/silver grill cloth. The stock 15" speaker was replaced with a 150 watt Eminence 15" from one of the recent B-15R reissue amps.

It's not something I'd consider using live with a full band. At 30 watts, it can't hold its own with loud drummers and loud guitarists.

The only things I wish it had are: 1. About 30 more watts. 2. Ohm selector, so different cabinets could be used, which brings me to.....3. A speaker jack, rather than having the speaker cable permanently hooked up to the amp. Also, the speaker cable is not 1/4", meaning that the matching 1x15 cab must be used. Not that I'm complaining, really. After all, if so inclined you CAN run another 8 ohm cabinet using the Ext. Speaker jack, which IS 1/4".

Honestly, it's the best sounding bass amp I've ever used. I play a 1983 MIJ Squier Precision Bass through it, and nothing can touch it. Sounds best with the amp's volume at about 10:00. It has just a slight overdrive and sounds incredibly warm, for lack of a better term. Anything above that and you are into major overdrive, which sounds pretty good also. I like to activate both the Ultra Hi and Ultra Lo switches, keep the treble at 12:00, and the bass at about 4:00. If only it was louder.....but I didn't purchase this to play with live. It will make an awesome recording amp (do some research anywhere....these are considered the "holy grail" of bass amps for studio use), and it's a great amp to keep around the house to practice on.

I haven't had it long enough to comment on this. One of the transformers, the filter cap, and the two power tubes have all been replaced at some point by the previous owner. I suspect it has a lot of life left in it.

I put a Sansamp Bass Driver pedal in front of it the other day, just to see how it sounded, and after about 10 minutes one of the power tubes began to glow bright red, so I quickly switched the amp to standby, took the Sansamp out of the signal chain, and flipped the amp back on. No problem since.

No opinion here. If it breaks, I have a tech who I will take it to.

I love old Ampegs. Used to own a V-4B, and currently own a VT-22, plus this. All of them sound(ed) great! I have a newer SVT Classic and 8x10 cab which I use live, but I much prefer the sound of the B-15N. Like I said before, if only it was a little louder. I imagine the SVT's of this era would pretty much be exactly what I'm looking for: B-15N tone in a much more powerful package. Back to this amp....The fliptop feature is just awesome. It's compact (fits perfectly into the backseat of my car), and not TOO heavy, all things considered (the entire thing is probably about 80 lbs.).

Seriously though, this amp plus a P-bass is unbeatable. You will not convince me otherwise. I want another one so I can play them in stereo. As the value is constantly increasing on vintage Ampegs however, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

I'd be devastated if this was stolen. Don't steal it. I will kill you.

Mine is a 1960. It is the most versatile amp I have ever owned. I still can't believe how sweet the guitar tone is with my G&l F-100. The bass tone is just gorgeous, not loud but TONE!!! It can rattle the windows, but that's not the point. It is original as far as I can tell. Most of the tubes still have the Ampeg logo on them.

Heavenly. This is bass tone. Period. Not one bit noisy. It will get a nice bark with guitar at 5 or so. When I restrung my '73 Rick 4001 and plugged in I nearly fell off my chair. My Fender Jaguar Bass sounds nice through it too, I'm going to have to spend more time getting them to "cooperate", if you will.

She's 47...I know it was owned by a professional and it looks to me like everything component-wise is original. I would have to say that it it reliable. I would not use a backup. There is no other amp that could back it up!

If you do get one, the controls will more than likely be in need of cleaning. I plan on working on it myself, I've been working with electronics all of my life. It is a shame that Ampeg will no longer be manufactured in America. I was looking at new SVT's but could not bring myself to buy one made anywhere but here.

I've played bass for 14 years, on and off. If it were stolen I would replace it. I love everything about it. It is so straightforward. Everything on it is there for a reason. No frills, unless the chrome plating on the chassis is considered a frill. In 1960, nearly every damn thing was chrome plated! What do I hate? The fact that there are not more out there. More people should experience these. The world would be a better place. Well, it would sound better anyway!

My B15 is 66' model, all original at this point except for a JBL D140F speaker. It is a 30-watt tube amp with 2 channels: channel 1 has a separate input for guitar and bass. Channel 2 is labled "instrument", more than likely intended for accordian, an instrument which Ampeg's founder was fond of. each channel has a volume, bass, and treble control. Simple, and maybe obsolete in this day and age, but very effective. Of course, power-wise, 30 watts is low power for a bass amp today, but I got it for a practice/rehearsal amp, so I find it very adequate for these applications.

I am a bass player, so I'm obviously using the amp to play bass through (I Think). I use vintage Fender Jazz and Precision basses. I find the P-bass sounds exceptional on this amp. I have owned and played through various amps in my time playing bass, and I must say, without a biased opinion, that the B15 is the most musical sounding amp I've come across. Even with just bass and treble controls, it has a great mid-range voice. Roll off the tone and I get a deep, thumpy, reggae-type tone out of it. You can also get loads of treble out of it for an edgier tone, but I prefer the rich, round, and full sound I get with the treble cut back a bit.

Since this is a vintage amp that has had no service over the years other than a set of output tubes, plus a rectifier tube, I don't expect it to be problem-free, but after a month of daily use several hours a day, I would say it is in great shape for its 41 years. I plan to have an amp tech check it out in the near future. It must certainly need a cap job, since it seems to be all original inside, but at this point, it is still sounding and functioning beautifully. This is certainly of great credit to the Ampeg factory of the 60's.

I've been playing for well over 20 years, and have had a lot of different amps, but in the two-decade search for the tone I like, I swear by Ampeg. I gig with a 70'SVT, or a mid 70's V4B head with a 94'Ampeg 8X10 cab. The great sound of my gigging amps is what led me to get the B15, so I could enjoy the ampeg sound in a smaller package I can play in the house. If I were to lose this amp for any reason, I would be looking for another one immediately, for sure!! Comparing it to other 15" combos I've owned, I would say for me, the B15's my best amp yet. If you like the vintage sound, like I do, then this it! It's all about what works best for you.

Made in '64 this B15NC has 3 inputs (bass,guitar,bass) 2 channels with each volume treble and bass controls. Standby switch, ground switch and On/Off. On the back you can connect to an external speaker or use a line out from another source. The speaker is mounted in the early cabinet version. This cabinet looks bigger than the later versions (B15NF) but has the same dimensions.
Tubes are 5AR4(rectifier) 6sl7 (pre-amp) and 6L6 (power) delivering 50W, but it does sound like a lot more.
Being at home I'd like a headphome jack but it'll never sound the same.

I use it with a stock Fender P-bass with flatwounds.
Styles is Pop/Rock from the 60's and 70's.
Although only Volume, Treble and Bass controls you can make a lot of different sounds with this amp, which all sound very good.
This amp is very useful for studios and at home.

Can't really say as I 've had it now for 2 months but the build quality is very high. But beware: If you buy one on the net, move the amp and cabinet separately. The shock mountings under the amp can get loose resulting in the amp smashing the speaker magnet and the fuse. This happened when I purchased a second B15N for my brother. When it was delivered it had a broken speaker, the fuse was torn off, the tube cage and the finish on the transformers were damaged. This can all be fixed but the main thing is you got to replace the speaker by a suitable one. So replace the shock mountings by better ones and then this thing is perfect.

I've e-mailed the inventor (Jess Oliver) who is still alive to ask him which finish there is on the transformers. It is black wrinkle paint which can be found in car restoring garages. This man is truly helpful and cares for his amps.
I don't think I will ever need Ampeg for "customer Support". The electric scheme is in the amp, just loosen the two big screws and it's there. Any amp tech that is also a bass player will love working on this amp. Tubes are still available so no problems there. The transformers may be the only hard thing to acquire. Schematic for the B15NC and NF version are a bit different as is the inside, but the sound is the same.

I've been playing for 16 years now, mainly guitar and piano.
I love the style of this amp, it is such a wonderful design, and it sounds the way it looks too! I bought one without ever hearing it, but the seller said it worked, and it did. (there was nothing wrong with it) I bought a 300W 220/110V converter to use it in Europe. Altough there seems to be a PT108 transfromer with 220V wiring available for $220.
If it were lost or stolen I'd try and find another.

I bought my 1965 B-15-N head only in 1973 for $60. I worked with a home made cabinet with 2 15" speakers for a few years, then I found a 1970's vintage B 15 cabinet without a head for sale. The look is not quite exact matching styles, but the flip top brackets match up, and it works great.

The head is 1965, there is no serial # to look up, but there are dates on some of the components, all say 1965. A web site gave instructions on how to find the date.

There are 2 channels, no foot pedal, the amp can also be used for guitar or other instruments. No fancy bells and whistles. Volume, bass, treble controls only. There is an amp out, and I have used the B-15 as a pre-amp with my big Peavy Head.

It is my practice amp, but I use it for small gigs also.

I have an old original 1965 Fender Jazz Bass, the combination is perfect.

The tone is beautiful, sounds pure bass, I don't use any effects with it. Excellent clarity at normal volumes.

I won't say that it has a lot of distortion sound, but the speaker is over driven at high volume settings.

This is more reliable that any piece of equipment I have had. I recently took it to a shop to have it cleaned up (gave it a bath) reattached some loose solders, and new tubes.

I also bought the decorative lucite logo from a web site in New Hampshire. There are other original looking items like knobs, tube cover, etc.

I had to replace the fuse holder long ago because it broke off in transit. I bought the parts at Radio Shack, and easily soldered it in myself.

I found a web site that has info, Gretch/Ampeg doesn't have much info on this amp.

I was referred to a web site that had good info, St. Louis Music, Inc. I am looking for an owner's manual, or other product info.

Work I have had done is through local stores with tech departments. I bought this Amp used, there was never any warranty.

I have been playing guitar and Bass for 40 years, since 1964. I have lots of PA, lighting, amps, TV gear, mics, etc.

I have 5 guitars: 1) 1965 Fender Jazz Bass, all original, bought 1972; 2) I play classical guitar, I have a Dolphin 60, bought 1980; 3) 1967 Telecaster with a Bigsby, bought 1974;
4) 1968 Ovation model 2, gift from Charles Kaman to my dad, who gave it to me; 5) Yamaha nylon string guitar, this is my bang around guitar.

I bought the 1965 Ampeg B-15_N, because I needed a bass amp, it was for sale, and a friend referred me to the buyer.

Made in the mid 60's mine is very tatty (but who cares!). I use it for practice and in the studio as it's not that loud (40-60w). It has 2 channels and bass/treble controls only, but that's all I need as for further eq-ing i use a tech 21 bass driver. It's a flip top, valve amp from the 60's so it hasn't much in way of extra features.

I'm using a '62 Jazz bass reissue with it, usually through a sansamp first, and the sound is incredible. Rich, velvety, golden tones with plently of weight and definition. You also get a slight valve compression, which is lovely. It's the best bass amp i've ever owned, heard or seen (in terms of sound).

About a month after I first bought one of the transformers burnt out (which was frightening!) and I had a hard time getting a replacement..so a friend arranged a specialist to make one, which was expensive! No other problems since then though (fingers crossed).

Ampeg wern't at all helpfull about the transformer replacement. Mind you, why should they bother about amps from the 60's when they're busy selling re-issues?

I've been playing over 20 years and, in terms of sound, this is the amp to have in the studio. However, it's no good for live work or touring so I use a Galien Kreuger out in the field. I wouldn't swap it for anything and if stolen I'd definitely try and find another one (but they are rare in the UK). If you record a lot..get one!!

I'm Pretty sure mine was made in 1962....thats what I was told anyways. Before I got mine though, someone thought it was a great idea to remove the head and make it into a cabinet. It makes a really nice cab, but I would like to hear what the head sounds like. I play whatever music im in the mood for right now...mainly Indie/Grunge and I really like vintage equipment and this is a great addition to my collection. Its very loud, it still has the original JBL speaker in it. It sounds really good clean, and when distorted and cranked up it sounds even better.

I have a variety of guitars that I use with this amp, Mustang, Hiflier, Strat, Tele, etc. They all sound really good, im into twang a lot. This cab lets me play whatever I want to....if im in a loud rocking mood at a gig or at home, or if I want to play reverby vintage sounding blues....its always there for me.

I have a few amps I use on stage (same time...I like it LOUD). I use a Fender London 185 head with this cab. The head is another story, but I would trust the cab for whatever. It sat in a basement for quite some time before I found it and fell in love with it and bugged the owner for it untill he gave in, so its got more than its share of tears...cloth and tolex, I dont care about looks though, its all about sound to me.

Ive been playing for 10 years and I have a select few brands that I like/trust. I dont like anything new, theres no comparison between this and a new amp. If it were to die on me.....I would rebuild it...or try to. If it were stolen, Id cry, then look for one like it, but never find one probably. Id like to have the head with this one, but oh well.

I had the amazing luck to buy a fully restored ( by the inventor of the design himself, Jess Oliver!!) 1965/1966 model Two channels, 'Bass" and'Guitar' with Treble and Bass controls for each. The cabinet is special design, the one with the double baffle, slots on the inner baffle, spacers and a secondary baffle to extend the path of the rear sound wave, making it a superior bass reflex design. It is very loud and full for it's size and the tone is gorgeously warm and round. NOTHING beats the all-tube format, in my opinion. Perfect for my living room. I am originally a guitarist and got into bass last year. I don't gig any more and so I won't have to deal with horsing this amp around.Thank God it has the dolly attached.

I have a 2001 American P Bass strung with heavy flatwounds (salute to Jamerson) and I just got a Jerry Jones Longhorn with medium rounds on it.The amp is super quiet and well suited to the vintage R & B and reggae tones I am seeking.After all, this is the amp used to cut 99% of those classic tracks. Jess slapped a 15" alnico Eminence special design woofer in it and it will just knock you on your ass.

Well, Jess says it should last another 40 years easy! It's staying home so that should extend it's life considerably. B-15s are known for being bulletproof. It is so retro and so industrial-looking, it's fun just to look at it! Kind of like a post-modern toaster oven.

N/A, but Jess Oliver is still fixing and selling amps out of his NY shop. I called him and what a nice guy! I feel like I just bought a Twin from Leo Fender, R.I.P. When these old guys have all passed, the world will be a much dimmer place. How can you even measure the contribution of perfecting the first electric bass amp?

I have been playing for 36 years (I'm 47) and now that I am not scuffling in the bar wars I can finally afford at least some of the gear I always wanted. I own too much stuff to list here, but I have fondness for the old stuff especially with the history and pedigree of this particular Portaflex.

This was an all-tube Ampeg Portaflex. I say ?was? because I don?t own it any more. I don?t know when it was built. I got it used (in mint condition) in 1980, and traded it (stupidly) in 1982. There were 2 channels, with the ability to link the signal from 1st channel to 2nd one (just like the old Marshall heads). I used this amp everywhere : at home, on rehearsal, in studio, on stage. Also bass and treble boosters. And at last, that funny flip-top : after playing, you reverse the head to close the cab. You just to wait for the tubes to come a bit colder, hey.

While I had this amp, I played a Rickenbacker 4001, a Fender Telecaster Bass and a Music Man Stingray. Except with the Tele Bass, it was very hard for me to get a crappy sound out of this wonderful amp. If God were a bass player, we would probably use a B-15N. Though, the main problem with this amp was its serious lack of power. Rated at 50 or 60 W, it was really hard to cut through while playing in a regular rock?n?roll band. But except that point, that was an awesome amp.

I never experienced any kind of problem with this amp.

I never had to deal with the customer service.

20 years after letting it go, I still regret. But at this time I was into drug addiction, and I believe this biased my sights and perceptions of things. I really thought, at this time, that dB were more important than tone. So I let this amp go for a Peavey rig. It?s at the same time I let my Stingray go, too... If I could make a journey through the past, I?d go back to that day when I sold it. I?d keep it and keep my Stingray too. One should never get apart from such an amp, even because of its VERY heavy weight or VERY low volume. Because it has THE tone. I mean the ULTIMATE tone. The tone you can?t be wrong with, in any situation.

Mine is a 1964 B-115NF. Blue tolex, light-up AMPEG logo, flip-top, 2 6sl7 tubes, one 6sn7, two 6l6GC power tubes and a GZ34 rectifier. Fantastic old capacitors, "black cat" brand, add to the vibe and sound. Two channels, base, guitar and inst inputs. Vol., Bass., and Treb for both chanells. Very basic eq, but all you need to nail that '60's Stax Volt R&B sound. Mine has the screw-on dolly on the bottom -- very helpful getting around. makes it easy to move with the flip-top. Moderately heavy.

THis is probably the most recoreded bass amp in history. Most mowtown and R&B bass lines you have heard are likely off an old B-15. I love the sound of this amp -- suprizingly loud for 40 watts.I use it solo for small venue jazz and blues gigs. With an old P-Bass, you are in bass tone heaven.

I've had mine for 15 years. Only normal power tube replacement needed. All preamp and rectifier tubes are original and working fine (just had them tested) and sound great. I had the speaker rebuilt, by WeberVST, recently to tighten up the sound (great). After 30+ years, the old cone was just too soft. Mine is all original -- nothing ever failed!

NA -- never broke.

I've been playing since 1968. THis is the classic sound. Can't be beat for recording and small venue gigs. For Jass players, this amp is the deal to match with a string bass -- very live and harmonic.