Ampeg B-2R Head

I think this was made about 6-7 years ago
This amp is the rack version. it is rated at 350 watts at 4 ohms.
it fits in with the stuff we play almost perfectly. I have used Ashdown, Marshall etc and this is easily the best amp I have ever used. It is only single channel but it doesnt need anymore. it has a send return which i have never used, it also has DI out, post and pre eq which i do use. it has a limiter and a peak level, both of which are on all the time. It only has 1 speaker output so I cant use it as a full stack, but to be honest that would be overkill. I use it for live and rehearsals and very rarely have to turn it up past 1/4 and have never made halfway. It is a solid state amp but has the warmth and depth of a tube amp, and the tone is unbelievable

I use a Rickenbacker 4003 or a Fender geddy Lee Jazz through it and the sound goes right through you. I even walked a guys pint off the table into his lap one night! We play 60/70's blues and rock and this fits in just right.
I use a wireless setup and if I stand right up against then I can get it to hum a bit. I like that it will go as loud as I want with no distortion, just pure clean tone.

I hasnt let me down but I bought it 2nd hand and that is sometimes at the back of my mind but so far so good, if it did quit on me then I would plug straight into the PA

USA made amp I live in the UK, nuff said

Been playing for 30 plus years
the only other amp I use is an Ashdown perfect ten mini rig, 65 watts
I love the sound that comes out of this amp as it shakes the walls, havent found anything I dislike.
I compared it with several other amps and even had an Ashdown mag 300 until I got this and then sold the Ashdown.
I got it with the 410hlf cab so the price reflects the cost of both but it was a real bargain, I dont think the guy selling it realised what he had. ??500 for head and cab, the heads go for that alone! Once you have used an Ampeg you realise why just about every music video has one on stage, there is just nothing any better

All the features that I would ask for from a bass amp. Poweramp in/preamp out make it expandible. Effect loop. XLR output to PA. Graphic EQ looks nice but doesn't make much difference on the sound. Same for tone controls. The ear handles on the front panel is a nice feature making it quite easy to carry this amp in one hand. 200W at 8 ohm is right for me for serious practicing and 350W at 4 ohm should be enough to handle the gigs that I will get in the foreseeable future.

Sorry, I just don't like the sound. The good term to describe it is "sterile," the neutral is "indifferent," and the bad is "dull." You can't rely on this amp to boost your emotion -- it drags it. All the EQs don't make much adjustment on the sound so I basically turn off the graphic EQ. It emphasizes more on bass than SWR Workingman's 15 and Ashdown MAG 300R that I tried, but it distorts a little when handling the low B.

No problem during the half year that I own it. The input jack was a little loose but I tightened it easily.

Never called them. The website is good and owner manual is easy to locate. Although, it's about 23 lb, instead of 15 lb that's stated in the manual.

This is a mediocre amp. I was shopping an amplifier in this wattage range. Thought about SWR WM 15 but it was not that easy to carry around so I decided to go head+cab. Finally I got this 2001 model B2R and an Eden D115T. I play a no-name 5 string bass in a jam band that likes jazz, funk, blues, and Rock. After experimenting frustratedly to get a sound that I like, I luckily traded it for a 2005 Ashdown MAG 300R. The Ashdown is a little lower at wattage (307W at 4 ohm) but provides much better tone.

It's got some nice eq features, a functional and useful fx loop, and poweramp in/preamp out jacks, so it has all the basic features that you want. The eqs have some pretty nice range, but are a bit limited. The limiter works but it 'pumps' a bit and seems to cut down the overall level too much; you're better off using a compressor in the fx loop.

It would be nice if it had a better limiter in it, and so on.

I play a number of different styles and it works for most of them...

However, it seems to have some pretty serious hiss problems at least when you turn it on, but they seem to go away eventually.

Overall it sounds kinda "sterile".. it doesn't sound 'bad', it just doesn't really have very much life in it, and if you don't use the limiter and you crank it up, the distortion sounds kinda scratchy and uncool. And, you have to have it cranked up a lot because as some of the other reviews say, it definitely is underpowered; I find it extremely hard to believe that this thing is putting out 350watts.. When you use the limiter it pumps and sounds pretty bad.

It's an Ampeg, so I really really doubt it'll break, and the warranty is amazing. It's solidly built and all the knobs and sliders feel great.

Awesome warranty, but I've never had to deal with them.

It's an ok little amp I suppose ... But, for the price the feature set is pretty weak, and the overall output is surprisingly underpowered, and it just sounds very very sterile. I've heard better sounding, cheaper amps. It's just not worth the money; you can get higher powered amps with more 'alive' sounding preamps for a lot less. With this you're really only paying for the name and a cool looking front panel.

Maybe it'll be just right for you, but for me it just doesn't do it. Play around with it in the store, and make sure you know your return policy.

Read the other reviews for the features. They are fairly decent for the price. The EQ is a nice touch and is fun to play around with--a decent variety of sounds are available. The lack of a tuner mute is rather annoying.

I have to digress from the throngs of Ampeg fanboys here...The B2R sounds fairly respectable for a mid-line amp, but I found that the tone was way too thin and brittle for my tastes. I owned the head for about 3 years and used it through a plethora of cabinets (8x8, 8x10, 4X10, 4X12, and a 2x15). I never felt like I had a true, meaty rock & roll tone. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible...but compared to the competition, I think the B2R comes up short. If you play funk rock or nu-metal, and love that bright bass sound, then the B2R may be your bag...but if your looking for a warm tone for those Led Zepplin/Black Sabbath covers, look elsewhere.

The amp is very quiet for 350 watts...People who claim that these things can keep up with a Marshall stack are stretching it a little bit...yes, it can keep up in a loud sound envrionment but you are not going to have any headroom as you will have to push the amp to be heard (trust me, I've used this thing with an 8x10). I would not recommend using this in a loud metal/rock band--stick to the upper line ampegs or check out the competition.

Can't fault the head here, this was a reliable unit.

For a large corportation, SLM is surprisingly easy to work with. You won't get the same service as a smaller mom & pop company, but they were much better to deal with than SWR.

This is a decent "entry level" amp---good for the high school kids getting their first stack, or for folks who gig once in a blue moon. I don't think this thing is ready for serious gigging and club shows. If you are looking for a bright tone and don't want to go the GK route, this may be the head for you. Compared to similar products from Yorkville, Kustom, Ashdown, Gallien-Krueger et-al, the B2R comes up short in my opinion. I would personally save the money and shoot for the SVT-III or check out the competition.

Bought this piece of art a few weeks ago. Simple controls, you don't need the manual, it's simplicity at it's highest. 350 watts at 4 ohm's. That quite a lot of power. Even at large venues, this amp does it's job.

Deep, beefy, punshy, loud (depends what kind of cab you use!!!!!), and it cuts like a knife. My rig is a Ampeg B 2R with an Ampeg BXT 410 HL cabinet. This it really a great and fantastic combination. The sound is extremely good. It loud, modern, accurate, you can hear that the tone is more sharp then the booming and sometimes muddy svt cabs and above all it really loud. I've tested this head with an SVT 610 Hlf, 810 cab, SVT 410, BR410,... and the BXT cab came as the winner. Don't get me wrong but the BXT 410 was actually louder with the B2R instead of the 610 HLF. I'm not joking!!!!

Well, just have it for a few weeks but something tells me that this amp is really hard to break. It's quite heavy dough but this amp is really enjoyable to play with. Also included a 5 year warranty (also for my BXT cab).

Very nice people to mail with. Very quick respons and very honest people. I asked then if the B 2R was loud enough to play death metal. They told me yes, if I use a proper cab and they immediatly suggested the BXT 410 cab. They also told me that this rig can do it's thing on small and medium sized venues. But if you hook this baby up to the P.A. system (what always the case is at medium and large venues) this rig is a very good investment. Thanks Ampeg!!!!

I'm very happy with my rig. The best thing I bought recently. Sold my other amp (the wimpy HK Bassforce XXl combo) to get this piece of machinery. It's devastating!! Buy it!! You won't regreat it!!!! The price was also very surprising, only 740 euro (850 dollars)!! Amazing. The cab was around 1010 euro or 1230 dollars... excellent value!

2004 Ampeg B2R- the bottom of the line Ampeg bass head. It features a switchable -15dB pad for basses with active electronics, bass/ultra mid/treble contols, a swtichable 9 band graphic eq, a limiter, one effects loop, tuner out, di out, etc- the typical stuff. The Limiter is a nice bonus though. My old GK 800RB didn't have one.

Fender P and J basses and a Jerry Jones Longhorn, playing a multitude of styles. I'm fortunate enough to own a wicked all tube Ampeg SVT which has been my main gigging and recording amp for 14 years. While the B2R doesn't sound as good as my SVT, it does preserve some of the same classic Ampeg tonal characteristics- at a 1/4 of the weight and 1/4 of the cost. It sounds pretty darn good at low volumes, but really does its thing best when you turn it up. The "ultra mid" control is useful, and dialing it back just tiny bit got rid of the midrange bark. Ease the "bass" control up a bit, and you've got yourself a great "meat and potatoes" bass tone, with a nice fat booty. The tone sat right in the pocket against a fairly loud Fender Super Reverb, a Marshall JCM800 2-12 combo, and a hard hitting drummer. Impressive! It doesn't come close to the buttery girth of my SVT, but for the money the B2R is pretty rockin'.

I borrowed this amp for the weekend while my SVT was being cleaned, tweaked, and retubed. The band I was playing with does two 1hr 30min. sets, and at a pretty decent volume level. I didn't notice any power sagging or noise, and the knobs and sliders all felt solid enough.

I've always had great experiences when dealing with Ampeg. 5 year warranty.

I picked up my first bass 20 years ago, and have been playing professionally (multiple bands, multiple album credits, tours, pickup gigs, etc.) for 15 years. In that time, I've played through just about every amplifier, pre amp/power amp combo, and cabinet combination that's out there. For the money spent, you get a lightweight, amply powered, well built, toneful bass head. Paired with a good cabinet(s), this amp will cover any small to med. sized gig with ease. Put it in a 3 space rack case, use good cables, and rock on.

I play a wide rage of styles punk, metal, indie, funk. I have had my B-2R for about 2 years now, and there are no problems effecting performance. The B-2R is not very versatile, but leaves room to upgrades/add-ons. The soid state electronic have proven to be dependable. There is only one channel FX loop..... I do wish it had a head phone jack, compressor, and a mute option for tuning. I guess you have to spent more money to get more. I use It with a SVT-810E for smaller to medium sized gigs, and is seems to have plenty of power to rock a house party; althought the 810 has alot to do with that. It is still an ampeg, the best bass amp brand, so I will give it a 5 for the money I have spent on it.

I have had many complements on my sound, yet the B-2R has alot to do with it, but it is still a solid state. I drive a SVT-810E, and in most cases I have had plenty of sound. When i Gig with my emo-punk band ather bass players not on how well the sound cuts through. I have not tried the FX loop so all in all i like what it has.

The fan in the back has been making a hell of a lot of noise for some time now, and i makes me nervous. I do not have the time to replace it but when i do it will not be the same one.

I have yet to need to talk with them

I have been playing for 8 years, and i do not see the need to get a different bass head unless I get realy famous.

Not many features but it has everything you need, no distortion which kinda sucks if u play metal but a pedal sounds just as good. Fairly verital amp, i mainly metal or hard rock but it sounds just as good for slapping and jazz type music. By far the best feature on this amp is the graphic 9-band EQ it sounds much better then the standard 3-band and gives it more presents. Even though it is a soild state it can stay realtively clan evean at high volumes with the limter on.

As i've said before i mainly play metal on this amp head and its a great match for that style of music. It has a light hum whenever tis on at higher volumes but nothing horrible. this head can suit you ANY style of music perfectly, with the 9-band you can dial in any sound you would ever want. I set the 9-band so im boosting the 3 bass levels a lot and the rest only a little and only at extremly high volumes it will get distotred and the limiter will let you know when your sound is starting to clip which can help live if you can clearly hear yourslef over the guitars.

No need to have a back-up. this is solid state so theres no tubes to replace, but i would suggest keeping an extra fuse around in case you blow your, but ive never had this problem.

never had to deal with ampeg, but i got it at guitar center and the people who work there are only mildly retarded and can help you maybe half the time.

Ive had this for about a month now, my rig is very simple i have an Ibanez SR405, Digitech BP200, Boss ODB-3, Ampeg B2R head, Ampeg BSE 410-HLF cab, no problems have occured. I would most deffinately replace this if i lost it. The best thing about this amp besides the price is the 9-band graphic EQ you can really get any kind of bass sound you need. Obviously it cant quite compair to an all tube amp at higher volumes but for this price you cant beat it. Ampeg destorys any and all other bass componys that i have seen. Gallien-Kreuger, Crate, SWR and Mesa cant touch the deep bassy tone of any Ampeg. I would like it to have some on-board distortion but not a big deal most amp distortions arent great, and it would be nice to have a head phone jack, but i have a multi-effect which has one so not a problem for me.

The amp has a -15dB pad, active bass, ulta mid (blends high and low mids) and treble contols, a 9 band graphic eq and a limiter... pretty basic, but it's a bass amp -not a freakin' space ship. Just the way it should be. It also has a built in DI wich seems to work just fine. I use this amp for small clubs and rehersals, and at 4 ohms it works fine. I've even done some gigs and rehersals with only a 15" cabinet at 8 ohms and it works, but you've really got to push it. It's got good lows and seems to respond well all over the instrument - i miss the warmth of a tube-based preamp though. I've used it with various basses - an '82 Fender P-bass 1962 reissue, a 1965 P-bass, a 75 J-bass, a Danelectro 58 Longhorn Reissue, a Hagstrom 1962 Batman, a 51 reissue P-bass and even with various uprights and it seems to work fine on prectically everything - but like I said -the warmth.....

What it could use is speakon and banana plug outputs and I wish the weight was more evenly balanced. It's heavier on one side. A footswich for the eq on the other hand would just be stupid!

See above....

It's all right. If you treat it well it'll last a lifetime. It's like everything else. Throw it around, and at will break at some point. It hasn't yet, though.

I've been playing for some 10 years. I've also got a GK head and a couple of Hartke cabinets (1x15 and 2x10 - both at 8 ohms) for basses see above.

I bought this head in november of 2002 for 450 bucks brand new.The amp is 350 watts at 4 ohms and 200 at 8 which is plenty of power for clubs. My only complaint is that it is solid state, but since im cheap i will have to learn how to deal with playing a solid state amp. It has a ton of features for the price a 9 band graphiv EQ,limiter and so on it is a basic amp for someone who isnt really into the technical aspect of their gear. For me i just like a thick sound and you can get that with any head so im not real knowledgable on the features. If you like a lot of features this amp may not be for you but if you cant afford a SVT pro series head this is the way to go.

I have three basses that i use the main one i play at shows is a Fender Deluxe J bass i love it the tone combined with the head is amazing i love it. I play hardcore so i need good tone with lots of lows for breakdowns and i like a real thick sound this amp combined with my bass has the perfect sound for my style of music. I have a couple f cabs i play through, well actually three that i alternate just depending on where im playing. my portable jam cab is just a ampe 2x10 pro which i recently sold but it sounded really good going through it. My practice cab is a ampeg 2x15 and the sound is collosal i have a boss bass overdrive pedal and that combined with the 215 cab is the meanest bass distortion i have ever heard. My gig cab is a ampeg 810 which i just bought and havent played on very much but i can guarantee itll sound nice at the shows.

Its a ampeg i own quite a few peices of ampeg equiptment and i am amazed by how well every peice holds up. Thank god i got the rackmount version because the SVT 350 would have no tolex by now. thats the one thing ampeg needs to work on. anyways its not how it looks but how it sounds and the amp sounds great and its reliable.

Well i havent had to deal with ampeg ever so i guess that is good, but i cant really comment on this. i know i have like 5 ampeg dealers all within 10 minutes of my house s if anything ever goes wrong ill have no trouble getting it repaired. It came with a 5 year warranty which is good, but im probably going to get a ampeg 400T and use this one as a back up so i may never get to so i may never see if they stand by the warranty which is fine with me. im going to give them a 10 because i havent had any problems with any of their gear.

ive been playing 6 years and i own 2 worthless crate 15" cabs as well as a ampeg 2x10, ampeg215 and a ampeg 810. if i lost this i would save up and buy a SVT pro 2 but im always looking for a excuse to upgrade, if i had to stay in this price range then the B2R without a doubt. i played a GK 7500 it was ok but nothing special and it was kind of pricey in comparison. i played a SWR workingmans 350 and a hartke 350 watt head as well as a ton of head i will never ever be able to afford.

i think it was made in 2000. It has warm tone for a solid state, especially using the 9-band EQ. It has a limiter just in case you play rough. i have it on all the time. sounds great with my 1x15 ampeg. it ONLY pumps 200w at 8ohms and 350w at 4ohms. i do think it's great for little bars or indoors. not enough power though, but great tone. pretty expensive for 350. i paid 550 brand new. it has an effects loop.

i'm was using an ibanez GSR200. i thought it was my bass making this weird noise, and it was just adding to what the head was doing. i previously have a fender now, and it makes this little hum or static noise which bugs the hell out of me, but you can fix it with your EQ. it's not very loud at humming or staticly loud, it's just behind at low level which i can hear after i stop, or before i play. i used my friends amp which is tubed, with my fender, and it sounds sweet at any level. so i know it's my amp. there's really no distortion till you take of the limiter.

i definitley rely on it. i would prefer a back up, but it's reliable all my life besides one day. just one day since i had it, didn't turn on for some weird reason. i was going to put it in to the shop to get it fix the next day, but it didn't do it again. i guess it was my fault. i still don't know what happened that day.

never had to bother with the company or my warranty.

i have been playing for 2 years and a half. i use all ampeg for my rig. i have a fender with jazz active pick ups. if it was ever stolen, i would be very sad. i would buy it again, but i will use it as a pre-amp. i wish it featured some effects or something.

El ampli es muy versatil, puede sonar brutal, funky o dulce y brillante... lo uso hasta para la guitarra como etapa de potencia... y potencia tiene...aajaja...el ampli no tiene casi nada... input, volume, graves, medios, agudos... master... eq grafica (no la uso)... el hecho de que no tenga tantas paridas me gusta... es un ampli que suena de muerte no una nave espacial. no quiero botones de mute ni gilipolleces de esas que no sirven para nada... entre el bajo activo, las pedaleras y toda la mierda es para volverse loco... tengo mas ecualizaciones que la ostia... a tomar por culo....cada cosa para lo que es... tiene loop de efectos pero me la suda... todo p'al input... lo estube usando un tiempo para los pedales de efectos... hasta que me canse de cables i mierdas.... me gusta mas directamente al previo,

Suena brutal si quieres o jazzero. yo opto por un brutal-jazzero. graves a tope, medios al medio y agudos a las 4 en punto... TRACAA!! uso mucho la ecualizacion del bajo activo... el bajo es muy versatil... no se como podria sonar con otro bajo... un colega lo probo con un cort con bartolinis i flipo el nene... tiene un peavey de 700 W...i fijo que se pilla un ampeg...jajajajaj... yo toco rollo tool y mudvayne, efectos a punta pala, sonido contundente y que llene una sola guitarra... rokea si lo sabes hacer rokear...uso un ibanez BTB-705ol, una serie my rara, es el BAJO, el mejor que he probado y la envidia de quien lo ve (www.F4K3.tk)... de pedales uso un boss chorus, un wah dunlop jimi hendrix, dos multiefectos zoom y un ibanez tubescreamer... el ampli i cajas ampeg classi de 4 10"+tweeter i una de 15"... el cacharro rokea...

si lo tiro por el balcon no pasa na, fijo... como si le prendes fuego..jajaaja mejor no.

Features: 1 input, -12 dB pad, gain, master, 3 band eq, 9 band (I think), graphic eq, limiter, effects loop, preamp out, poweramp in, output to PA or board, 2 speaker outputs. 350 watts at 4 ohms, 200 at 8 ohms. No speakon outputs and only 1 instrumentinput. Besides those small nitpicks, I think the B2R is an extremely versatile amp. Its simple enough for those people who are obsessed with simplicity, yet has enough features to keep the knob turner happy. Even the limiter is decent. 350 watts is more than enough for the gigs that I'm playing, and anything bigger, I would go through the PA anyway.

My rig:
Fender MiM J bass
Takamine G Series Acoustic/Electric
BBE Sonic MAximizer
Ampeg B2R
Hartke 2100 Pro Series Cab

It took me no time at all to find a brutal rock sound with my j bass. Using the graphic eq, i can mimic almost any tone i hear. Marcus Miller slap? No problem (the sound, not the playing). Jaco? Sure! This amp has every sound possible built into it. I play alot of jazz, and with my current band, this amp sounded incredible! I had many comments on my sound after that first gig I played with this amp. The fan is noisy in my room, but besides that, no one has ever noticed it.

5 year warrantee. Its Ampeg, its dependable! I bought it 6 months ago and have NEVER had a problem with it.

Ampeg customer support is great! The people there are friendly and answer my questions intelligently. The customer service at Ampeg truly is customer service at its finest.

I have been playing bass for 3 years, and piano for 8. I stated my gear in the other section above. If it were stolen, I'd find the person who stole it, beat him over the head with the amp, then put it back in my rack case. I compared this head to various other heads including the Hartke 3500, SWR 350x, SWR Workingmans 2002, and the Fender bassman 400. The Ampeg completely blew the competition away. I played the Ampeg last, and was all set to buy the Hartke until I played this amp. I immediately fell in love with it!

this amp was bought new about a year and a half ago. it is bare-bones-bass at its best. one channel,3band eq,graphic eq,(that i don,t even need) good clean power. the reason i play bass is that i can only count to 4 (HA HA) the simpler the better as far as i,m concerned. you could take the graphic eq off and this amp does plenty good. i,ll give it a 9. i like the simplicity.

i play a stock jazz with stock passive pickups.i play a wide variety of styles, mainly fingerpick and some slap. with rotos on my bass this thing does it all. no distotion (if you need that on bass) i set the bass knob at about 3 o'clock ,mid at 1 or 2 o'clock and trebel at 12 o'clock. this setting works for everything i do.i've never had to turn it up over half-way and it doesn't clip.

when i first purchased this amp it had a bad fan in it. it shut down after an hour or so of use....but ampeg has a great protection circuit and no dammage done. it has never failed me yet since then..and i've put her through the wringer.

check this out. when the fan went bad the place where i purcaced it took it to the authorized repair person (IN PERSON)-had it repaired that same day and (get this) DELIVERED IT TO ME AT THE GIG THAT NIGHT! 5 year warranty best in the biz!

i've been blaying bass for 30 years and have owned it all. boogies-carvns-peaveys. also many fancy expensive basses. my set-up (B2R 4x10 and 1x15 ampeg classic series cabinets-and a stock jazz with rotos) is definately the best sound i have had. and for much-MUCH less money than any of my other set ups.this head is it for me!

New 2002 B2R Head.
Nice EQ, pre-out, go for this price range

Playing through an Ampeg BSE410H, and sounds great. When shopping played thru Aguilar GS121(great), Eden 210 (fair), Ampeg BXT115 (muddy by itself). Liked the versatility of the 4X10 cab + I can add a something later on

New, but have read and heard good things about non abused Ampeg Gear

5 year warranty to the original purchaser, so Ampeg (SLM) believes in what they make. Made in the USA, which is always a plus for me.

Been playing bass since 1969! Recently returned to bass playing (after 10 years on guitar). This the first new bass amp I have ever owned and sounds worlds above the Fenders and Traynors I used before.
I plan to gig with it once my chops are back and we'll see how it holds up. I play a US Jazz Bass and US Precision Deluxe. If this amp holds up as well as my Marshalls (for the guitars) I will remain a happy camper.

Pretty good. It has a 9 band graphic EQ with a 40hz band which is nice for that low end rumble. Then it has three eq knobs and a gain knob and the -15dB pad (like anyone uses it) and a limiter. It also has a balanced line out and FX loop and all that stuff. 350w into 4 ohms and all that. Check the ampeg site... A hi low boost would be nice but whatever...

I can get any sound from it. I have a fender with some really hot DiMarzio pickups in a homemade bridgespot and they really put out a serious grunt. I bought an ampeg svt 610 with it which was a mistake because the amp is REALLY powerful and needs more power handling. A compressor helps but i shouldn't have to have one. I Play pop punk which means i beat the strings on high gain to death and wish for the best. The EQ is a little funky because if you crank the bass on the graphic and 3 band at the same time it blows the speakers so you hafta balance it all out. The limiter SUX because when you start slapping with it on or strumming, it backs off so much the sound is all wavy and sounds terrible. But without it the speakers could blow. However, despite all these things, i'm sure with an 8x10, it would sound AWESOME.

racked it, dropped it out of the car, still works like a dream.

Never had to deal with them but 90 percent of customer service people are rude in this world.

I like it. I have weird gear combos and am extremely demanding so with a 4x10 or an 810 it'd be great. I have a theory on how the ca is wired but i don't have the time. I reccomend it

my B2R ampeg head was made 2001! Made in USA! it is an awesome head! it has eq's. it has 350 watts that really sounds good! it's a solid-state or mosfet! no tubes! it has a -15dB, gain, bass, ultra mid, treble, and master. it also comes with a limiter so it won't get to the point of nasty distortion and won't clip. it also has a peak light that tells you when your over the limit!

oh man! it has a really good deep bass! the mid's get out of hand when there's a lot of treble and no bass, but really awesome for slaping like mad! the treble gives out nice clean notes, making it stick out instead of hidden! i use a nice 1x15 ampeg cab that gets full filling deep bassy notes! i usually use my big muff (over drive or distortion pedal) to make it sound fuzzy or really distorted! i also have a baseball pedal (a filter) that makes it sound funky but awesome and crazy with the big muff. i usually turn up my bass and treble really high and mid's in mid range. i usually get a water-y or fuzz-y distored sound! it's really good for indoors. it really gives a punch and powerful sound! i really like how it sounds when bassy, but get's static-y when mid's and treble's or really high! but it's usually like that with any head!

this head will be well worth taking to a gig or concert! weighs about 15 pounds! really small and portable! some weight is more on one side of the head, so watch out for that, you don't want to drop it! it's really reliable! it also has a fan that has variable speeds depending on the heat! this puppy will really last a long time, unless you droped it, but it'll probably surpass the damage! it has really solid and strudy hardware that will last! maybe a knob or 2 can be loose, but it can be fix! i would definately use it for a gig without a backup!

the people that helped me fine my head and amp were really helpful! they helped because i was a beginner and got me a beginner bass guitar and got me a good reliable head and amp! after having it for about 6 months, i had never returned it or sent it back for repair! i have 2 year warranty on the speaker! and a 5 year warranty on my head and amp!!!

i've been playing bass for a year now and i also play the acoustic guitar! if my bass was stolen, i will probably buy some thing different! i love feeling the bass-y motion of the bass head! i don't like how my mid's get static-y, but that could be my bass guitar!

i should of tried out all the other bass heads, but the B2R gave me a gutt feeling and it was afordable and felt really nice! i tried about 4 different heads, so i think i made a good decision! plus, all of them that i tried were ampegs, so i wouldn't go wrong with what i picked!

Real basic head. One input with -15 dB pad, three band eq with "ultra-mid" control, gain, master volume, and a 9 band graphic eq that can be switched on with a button on the front panel. Back panel has 2 speaker outs, effects loop, pre out, power in, direct out with various options, a cooling fan, and a power cord. Pretty basic, but has most of what you need. Could use Speakon or banana plugs and a footswitch jack for the graphic. Perhaps I will add one of those myself.

Using a fender jazz with emgs. It sounds good. Rich and warm, but more modern sounding than the all tub SVT's. I like it. Its not as sterile as SWR, has way more balls then GK, and is versital enough with its limited features to get pretty much any tone you might need. Never gets real gritty and the eq is usable throughout its range. Its much harder to get a bad sound out of this thing than to get a good one. Pretty much a set and forget deal. The cab you use makes a huge difference. Right now I am pushing 350 watts into an older carvin 4 ohm 2x10 and it sounds pretty good. I have tried it with an SWR Goliath 4x10 and it was considerably better. Then I tried it with a Bergantino 3x10 and it might have been the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Those things are expensive. Will probably buy an Eden 1x15 and 2x10 when I have some savings. That will do the trick

Alright then.....So I bought this thing used in an SKB rack case. Everything was lovely for a while and then the variable speed fan burned out. They use a weird design in the fan that only turns on when it heats up. This design is apparently pretty fragile. When it burned out (at a gig no less) it fried much of the insides. It would make these strange sucking noises when it got warmed up which....sucked. So I took it in to have it fixed (no warranty on used gear) and the guy brought most of it back to spec and changed the fan to a sturdier design that is on all the time (like a regular bass amp), but it was still acting strange after about 30 minutes into a set. So I took it to another repair guy and he replaced a fried opamp and apparently it's fine now. I will pick it up tommorrow and find out. The thing is, this is NOT REAL PRO GEAR. It is a good amp for a serious amatuer to a begining pro, but it has neither the features nor the ruggedness to be used in a real pro rig. This is a very inexpensive head for what it gives you and they had to cut costs somehow. Be gentle with it and keep some kind of backup.

I have been playing on this thing for several months, and besides the overheating issue, I have been very happy. I have assembled probably the cheapest useable semi-pro rig in existence and this head is a key part of it. You can't get anywhere near the sound quality with any competitively priced product, or with many considerably more expensive amps. This head with a good cab will sound incredible. I would probably get another if stolen. But I have a bit more cash now so I might go with an SVT III pro, to get the pro features that this head lacks.

I don't have my amp right next to me, so I'm going by my crappy memory. I think it has: Active bass "buffer" (lowers input gain something like 15db),gain, bass, ultra mid(really cool parametric-ish mid control that blends high mids and low mids), treble, master volume, limiter, 9-band eq (switchable), on/off switch!!!, speakon outs, 1/4" outs, xlr balanced out thingy, an electricity cord! yep, the same as most nice amps minus a few unneccessary features.

This amp is friggin' loud for my needs which include coffee shop gigs, 400-capacity theatres, small outdoors gigs, and other 100-500 person venues. I play it through a hartke 410, and it supplies plenty of volume but I guess would be twice as loud with a 15 or another 410 added to my setup. my active yamaha rbx-765 is sooo beefy though it, yet can also get a nice high-mid growl at the same time. I love it. this thing can also supply the loudest, bassiest, most evil guitar on the block with my zoom 505II and ibanez ax-120. this is the perfect amp for a po' foo' tryin' ta fake tha funk in a small band that aint goin' no wea'. i love it, once again.

uhh I've dropped this amp on the sidewalk before without a rack case (i'm too po to buy an skb case) and it still works fine and has only a .5-square centimeter scrape in it's ugly gray paint. it kicks ass.

I've never had to deal with an ampeg dealer except my friend jeff who was mad that I didn't buy it from the store he works at.

The amp was made in 2000, it's a 350W @ 4ohms head(solid state). (or 200W @ 8ohms)
it has a 9 band graphic eq,plus the usual Bass,ultra Mid and treble controls, as well as a gain and master volume.
The graphic eq has an on\off button (i would have prefered a footswitch) and it has a really positive effect on sound. Some amps the graphic eq is only a decoration and has no effect on the sound but on this amp the slighest change unleashs new tones.

This amp is'nt exactly loaded with features (it only has the necessary) but that makes it a good first amp for people like me (been playing for 2 years with small to medium gig requirements)

The controls are laid out in an easy way and are basiclly idiot proof.
And other than no tuner out,no footswitch i have no real complaints
so it gets what it does.

I have played this amp through 2 diferent cabs at the store (an Ashdown 410 and a AmpegvSVT-610.) the sound was the same through both, a crazy growling tone that would put most active bass players to shame.(i play a passive Fender Jazz 5) I had to have this amp. it will be the perfect sound for my bands music. (i play in one Creed style alternative band and another that is like the mellower Gun's and Roses stuff.)

so for pure sound quality and earth destroying volume (through the SVT) i have to give it a ten.

I have only had it for a month and have never played beyond 4 on the volume so i guess i have'nt really tested it. but Ampeg has a really good reputation for reliability and customer service . And i was able to get a good waranty package from the store that i bought it at.
(basicly lifetime as long i dont do something stupid with it)

So because of my lack of test time and it being new i am forced to give a no opinion.

never delt with'em. and wont have to if it holds up to Ampeg's reputation.

I have been playing for about 2 years and i use this amp with ampeg SVT 610 (for the volume and it's a 4ohm cab) i use only 3 effects (boss bass overdrive ,a crybaby bass wah and a EH q-tron.) and it delivers all the sounds without any traces of sound altering.
I compared it to similerly priced products from Eden,SWR,Ashdown and Trace, but chose this one because it has alot more power and is equal to all the others on sound (not to mention it was cheeper.) so i would definetly buy it again if it was stollen.

pros-
1. price.very inexpensive.
2. sound. very verstile.
3. it's an Ampeg!!
4. it's probobly gonna out-live me. It's built like a tank.
5. EASE OF USE!! it's idiot-proof.
6. the +-15dcb pad thing comes in handy at gigs where your singer says his intestines are shaking....(nice litle feature)

cons-
1.no foot-switch on eq. so cant be used as second channel.
2.for a litle sucker it'heavy!!!
3.no speakon out-put.
4.4ohm minimum load (can't use 2 cabs.)

Allow me to begin by saying that to discursively reflect on the quality of one's equipment-in-current-use is destined to carry the tone (sic) of the proverbial love-hate what-can-we-do-to-better-our-relationship marriage counseling mantra, not yet the cynicism of past relationships, but certainly at least a "wish-list" of areas for betterment. That being said, I am now gigging and practicing with the Ampeg B2R Bass Head and I have some problems. I am not a big 'features' person when it comes to bass playing, I would prefer to have a simple, intelligent unit with a consistent and reliable sound. And my predilection for simplicity is fortunate considering the B2R is virtually feature-free. You have your on/off toggle 9-band graphics, your line-out, your 2 speaker outs, mid-range, low and high EQ, a useless limiter and a useless attenuation toggle. Your range of sounds with this amplifier is extraordinarily limited, and that is fine with me; that is why I will 'officially' rate features as "no opinion".

Sounds; let's see - I would suggest that the goal for most non-professional gigsters is to achieve the most professional-sounding tone with an amateur budget. The B2R would assuredly be affordable for most low-mid budget players who want a solid brand name. However, what are you losing to save money here? I would say, in this case, you are losing the ability to REALLY drive your rig with a 'gutty' sound and retain perfect clarity. When I equalise the tone to my liking at low decibels I have the distinct 'ampeg' warm mid-range sound with a bit of growl and plenty of pop, but when pushing it at practice or gig volumes, it simply gets overdriven; something has to give to maintain clarity. I am using a Fender Jazz Deluxe and two Peavey cabs, an older 410S and a new 115X Black Widow. The compromise comes when you have to relinquish 1 or more of the following to keep the head from peaking, especially on the low notes: 1.) A heavy pick or finger attack (whereby you limit a certain dynamic range) 2.) Full active electronics on the bass itself (whereby your tone is heavily 'flattened' and banal-ized) 3.) liberal use of the drive control on the amp (again, a flatter sound, less growl than you might want) 4.) Liberal use of the 'ultra-mid' dial on the amp (no more warm ampeggy mid-range, you get a more hollow sound). Of course, the pre/post EQ XLR line-out allows you to jam through the house system whereby you can turn down on stage. As long as you respect the limits of the amplifier you can achieve an agreeable tone with a personality that only ampeg stuff has. Again, as mentioned in the features section, this amp is simple. You have one setting on the amp and you do the rest with dynamics and instrument electronics adjustment - the B2R can easily accommodate a terrifying balls-and-chunk neck pick-up sound or a sweet swooning bridge pick-up sound, per the caveat above. To streamline all of these (sometimes contradictory) thoughts, I will settle with a '6' rating for sound.

I purchased my Ampeg B2R about 4 months ago, so I have not experienced any of the hardware difficulties that may occur in an aged amp. It seems to be resilient against my persistent sonic abuse (and some physical as well, although I recommend a rack for gigsters - it is well designed for this). This is, currently, my one-and-only fully operation bass amplifier, so I am counting on its reliability; I would think you can as well. I will say '9' here.

Again, new amp, no problems. 'No Opinion' here.

In relation to what I have played in the past, this is a solid amp. If you have a larger budget than myself, I would seriously recommend that you as a buyer consider going with the Ampeg SVT3-Pro as your main source of amplification. This amp has a similar sound-quality with more wattage and can save your tone even at unbelievable volumes. I have delimited the B2R's shortcomings that, frankly, are to be expected in the price range at which it is sold. When I purchased my B2R at the local music equipment store, I tried this amp through a 4x10 alongside a same-cost same-wattage Peavey amplifier through the same cabinet: the result? No contest, Ampeg, dollar-for-dollar, watt-for-watt, makes better bass gear than most other manufacturers. All told, I will give the Ampeg B2R a respcetable '7' in overall rating.

This is the rackmount Head only version of the Ampeg B2 Combo amp.

I bought it for a great deal, because it had been refurbished by Ampeg. I believe this head was made in 1997 or 1998. The newer ones are just the same, only the front panel graphics are different. Frankly I prefer this version, it has the older style Blue/Black graphics instead of the newer black/grey graphics.

It's a solid state design (pre-amp and power amp), and besides being available as a combo (with either a 15" speaker, or four 8" speakers), it's also available as a "head in a wood SVT style cabinet" called the SVT-350H. The SVT-350H is identical, other than having a slanted front panel. What I find interesting is that the SVT-350H version costs a lot more, like $200 more. that's a lot for just some wood and some tolex.

I bought this head to use at practice at my keyboard player's house, and for smaller gigs. I have a large, multi-cabinet bi-amped setup that's usually too much (2350 watts), and too big to cart around except for that stadium gig I still haven't gotten.

The plan is to use the B2-R with one of my 2 x 10" Carvin cabinets, which at 4 ohms would draw the entire 350 watts from the amp.

This is pretty much a straight ahead, rock style bass amp, although I'm sure it would work well for most styles. It's bonehead simple, so if you just like an amp that amplifies, rather than a tone tweak machine, then this amp is for you.

It's only one channel, but has a 9 band graphic EQ, BUT unlike many other Ampeg amps, the graphic is not footswitchable, so you can't really use it like a second channel.

The amp, like I said is pretty basic, a gain knob (for dialing in your level from your bass), and input pad (for active or hot passive basses), bass, midrange, and treble controls, and then a master level control. The EQ is 9 band, and unlike my SVP-Pro preamp, there is not an overall level control for the Graphic EQ.

There is also a built in limiter, which I found colored the sound too much, but if you're running a small cabinet, this might come in handy.

Around back there are two loops, one labeled Effects in/out, the other a Preamp out/Power amp in loop. I'm a little unclear on these two, as they are both Post EQ, so it seems like they are really the same. I guess you could run two separate effects that way.

There is also an XLR DI, with a level select switch between mic level out and line level out. this is nice, as if your board can take a balanced XLR line level in, you can pump line level through your snake rather than mic level, in order to increase your signal to noise ratio at the Front of House console. The DI also has a pre-Post switch.

There are two speaker outs, both quarter inch jacks, at least they are on the other side of the amp so you don't get confused as to which ones are the speaker jacks.

Underneath is a heat sink/vent panel (in the bottom center), and at one end is a variable speed fan. This works great in that it often doesn't cut on at all. Compared to a lot of SWR and Eden amps, which sound like vacuum cleaners at idle, this puppy is usually dead quiet.

No headphone jack, but I don't really miss that feature.

Features I wished it had:

1. Neutrik Speakon, and/or bannana connections for the speaker outs
2. Tube based preamp - this thing sounds really good, but not as good
as my Ampeg SVP-Pro preamp does.
3. Tuner send - you can use one of the loop outs, but I wish there was
a dedicated send that worked when you had the volume turned off
4. Mute function, footswitchable like on my SVP-Pro, and the SVT III
5. I wish the toroidal power supply (which is very heavy) was more in
the center, so the head didn't lurch to one side when you pick it
up.
6. Ability to run 2 ohm loads, 4 ohms is the minimum with this head, and all of my bass cabs are 4 ohm, so I can only use one with this head.

Features 1 through 4 are available, along with another 100 watt

I'm using this mainly with a Fender "Geddy Lee" Jazz bass, with the stock passive pickups. The amp sounds great, it also sounds great with my Ibanez SR-1200 (active P/J pickups with variable mid control).

Something about this amp just sounds thick and beefy, like the way it's built. It really does have a lot of guts compared to many other heads I've checked out.

Plenty of headroom, never sounds like it's running out of steam.

One really nice feature is the mid-range control, which is called Ampeg's "ultra mid" control. What this actually is, is a mid range tone control that simultaneously adds mid-range to one band (upper mids) while cutting mid range in another band (low mid range).

this sounds weird, but the effect is that you can dial in lots of mids for definition to your sound, without making the sound tubby, or honky.

If practice this works much better than the "sweepable mids" you see on a lot of bass amps, because you are boosting AND cutting mids in two different bands.

I'm not sure what the freqs and bandwidths are, but I know it sounds perfect for bass.

It reminds me of the EQ on high end recording consoles. There are really no "bad" settings, you just turn the knobs to get a different sound, and stop when it's the sound you want.

Compared to trying to dial in the average quasi-parametric mid range sweep on most bass heads, it's very simple and very intuitive.

For my style (rock and prog rock) it sounds excellent. Like I said, my SVP-Pro sounds better, and is more flexible, but for a basic, solid tone the B2-R sounds great to me.

I'm sure it would be a very good amp for Jazz and Country as well.

It's got a little hum and hiss, but overall it's very quiet. Since the fan rarely runs it's very quiet overall, much quieter than the average power amp is.

Not a lot of variety of sounds, but it does have the "Ampeg" sound, just a lot of girth and fatness, combined with a cutting top end. Like I keep saying, this amp is for someone that gets their tone from their bass and their hands and just wants a louder version of that.

If you write down different graphic EQ settings for each sound in your set, this amp isn't for you.

It's just a set it, forget it and play kind of rig.

Distortion - doesn't really apply here - it's a bass amp, but I did notice that higher settings of the gain control give you a little more "growl" to the tone.

When I plugged it into my Carvin 2 x 10", I turned it up to about 3/4's and the amp just kept kicking - didn't wheeze or fart out, just got pretty friggin loud (keep in mind I'm used to 2300 watts), this thing does very well for being "only 350 watts".

I'm taking a couple of points off for lack of Ampeg "tube tone", but overall I think the amp sounds excellent, especially for a $500 head.

Ampeg stuff is generally regarded as pretty solid.

When I first fired this up, I smelled the unmistakeable smell of "the magic smoke". Whoever originally owned this thing blew it up at some point. No telling what they did though (ran a speaker out into the preamp out or something).

The amp is really solid, built like a tank - I'm going to use it for a while, but if it's like most Ampeg stuff I'd gig without backup.

One important thing - Ampeg's warranty (on the amps) is 5 YEARS, MUCH longer than the competition, and transferable. If you sell the amp, just give the buyer the original bill of sale, that's all you need for the warranty, no warranty card stuff. In fact the new ones don't even come with warranty cards.

Even though mine's a refurb, and was previously blown, I'm getting a new 5 year warranty with it, so I'm confident.

Gotta take a couple of points off for the thing having blown up once though...

I've never had to deal with them, but I've heard Ampeg is really good, they don't try to play games with "it's really your fault that you blew the amp".

I've heard that if you blow one, no matter what, just call them, get an RA and send it in -it gets fixed , no questions asked.

Ampeg's warranty is 5 years on electronics, 3 years on speakers.

SWR and Eden make great gear, and have pretty good warranty's and warranty policies, but try to find 5 years for any piece of gear out there (except for Community Loudspeakers, which have a 10 year warranty).

Unless the Hartke "sound" really tickles your fancy, there's not way I would buy a Korean "waiting to fry" Hartke over an Ampeg.

I've been playing bass for too long - I started when Nixon was president, so that tells you something, huh.

I bought the B2-R to replace an old Acoustic 220 head that I was using for practice at the keyboard player's house. The Acoustic (which I've owned since 1978) sounded pretty good, but just didn't have enough balls for me (125 watts at 4 ohms, but AT 5% DISTORTION - so it was probably more like 80 watts at 4 ohms at low distortion).

The B2-R, being a modern design, puts the Acoustic on the sidelines, relegated to third string backup duty.

My main system is a rack based system, using an Ampeg SVP-Pro Preamp, through a Ashly crossover, biamping into Carvin Cabinets (two 1 x 18" cabs and two 1 x 15" cabs for lows, two 2 x 10" cabs for highs), powered by a Mackie M-1400 for lows and a QSC-1400 for highs. I also have a homemade cabinet (with two EV Force 10" speakers) that is driven full range by a Carvin HT750 power amp for behind the drummer.

Needless to say this rig just kills and is quite dangerous, but I was really suprised at how well just the B2-R through one Carvin 2 x 10" cab held up. My bandmates told me "that thing sounds great, I can't believe that little rig is that loud". For a combined weight of 70 pounds (with the B2-R in a rack) and able to fit into the trunk of an Acura Integra, it's a hard setup to beat.

At this point, I'm happy enough with it to buy another one if it got lost or stolen. I'd probably be more happy with an SVT-III, but that's another 15 pounds and probably twice the money.

Don't really hate anything about the amp, just wished it had a least a tuner out. I love the thick tone, the simplicity, and the relatively light weight (I have two Ampeg catalogs, which list the weight as 15 and 18 pounds, I think it's more like 20 - 22 pounds. In a two space SKB style rack, the whole thing is about 30 pounds).

I originally was looking at various combos (Hartke Kickback 10"/12", the small Ampeg B-3 series, Nemesis 210P, Carvin Cyclops, etc.), but I realized that I needed more than 100 -150 watts.

I sort of looked at some higher end combos like the SWR Redhead, and Eden Metro, but these things were $1200 - $1400.

Since I already had some 2 x 10" cabs (the Carvin RL-210T's) that I could use, I decided to go the Head route, I looked at some SWR Workingman's series, along with Gallien-Krueger 400/700 RBIII, and some other amps, but I kept coming back to the Ampeg stuff.

Great look, great warranty, the Ampeg "cachet". When I found that I could get a B2-R refurb for only $349 ($368 shipped), I realized it was probably the best, and certainly the lowest cost solution for me.

The last thing I wanted to do was spend a lot of cash on a rig that I would be using maybe 3 times a month, so for a total of $760 (counting what one of my Carvin cabs cost me, with shipping AND a cover), and an SKB style two space rack for the B2-R) I think I did really well.

This head rocks! If you're looking for the Ampeg tone in a basic package without a lot of complication, then this is the amp for you.

Highly recommended.