Ampeg BA-500 Combo

(See other reviews) I do find the 9 band EQ extremely useful,especially gigging in smaller clubs . Ampeg has selected very usable center frequencies of the EQ . I have always been able to minimize room modes . Thats where you get boomy or muddy etc.. due to ceiling height distance to the side walls and back wall . Also the tilt back feature is very nice because you can hear your tone directly instead of having it blow past your ankles and not hear the highs .

I would say the sound quality is very good Ive used it on all my gigs for the last year , and it always gives me enough stage volume , and that includes outdoor gigs . But it is almost always plugged into the PA which will give it the extra volume needed for the big clubs and outdoor gigs . I recently purchased a David Eden Metro 2-10 combo with a 2-10 extension cabinet and although that is a great sounding amp , I like the tone of the Ampeg better in some ways . The Ampeg seems to me to have a less colored or more flat frequency response than the Eden . The Eden has a peak in the 150 to 200 Hz area which I find remimiscent of the old Peavey TNTs ( kid of farty sounding )and there is a peak in the 750 Hz range which makes it honk . I find those frquencies offensive for the bass , and the Ampeg does not have that . The Eden does seem to go a little lower in the bass altough it is a little boomy , and the highs are a little more brilliant on the Eden , but you can dial that in on the Ampeg in the graphic EQ if you want it .
I mostly use a Warwick Corvette bass , but sometimes use a Yamaha TRB6p and a custom built fretless 5-string. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that my upright sounds absolutely killer through the Ampeg flat( with no EQ boost or cut ).

The only problem I have had with this amp is that after a while the XLR out got noisy , so I use direct box instead . This seems to to be a fairly common problem with Ampegs , I have 2 friends with Ampegs and they have the same problem , and the sound guy at one of the bigger venues in town says he sees it a lot with Ampegs when touring bands come through . Everything else has been no problem .

Have not dealt with the company .

My BA-500 is a 2005. It is a very versatile amp and handles all the styles I play. Country, Rock. Blues and even Metal on occasion. If the mute function muted the DI connection to the PA it would be perfect. I play rooms which have anywhere from 200 to 600 people and have no problems but I do have an SVT 15 " cabinet that I add when playing the larger rooms. The external eq is a bit dodgy as its to exposed. It works well but one of the sliders is snapped off. I can slide it up and down by using a guitar pick.

I use a 1978 Fender pre bass with stock pickups however I have purchased a set of Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder Basslines which I will be installing soon. I also own a Yamaha BB414 but unfortunately I cannot just plug it in and play as I have to dial in a completely different sound to get it to sound good. If you want to carry a backup guitar you may want to have something similar like another pre bass. I get no noise other than the cooling fan and I get no noise or tone changes when I use my Shure wireless unit. I do on occasion get distortion when the volume is up but the limiter helps with that. Overall the amp is awesome but it is heavy at 86 pounds which is a drawback.

No problems so far

Have not needed it

Use alone in a smaller venue and add a 15"cabinet fro larger events and you wont be dissapointed

Gain, Bass, Ultra Mid, Treble, and Master + 9 band graphic EQ. Limiter, pad and mute. Wish it had some sort of compression but I'm running my bass through the Ampeg SVT Tube DI so I get a little compression from the tube. A drive knob would be nice too. I like the fact that you can put an extension cab on it and get a full 500 watts.

I have a G&L Tribute L-2500 (Korean) 5 string with active pickups. Sounds decent with my Tube SVT DI box. Sounds decent considering its a combo amp. If you play with the EQ and gain properly, you can get it all the way to 10 without distortion, but to keep the tone i want, i can't push it past 5-6 without it distorting. I'm currently looking for a 15" cab to add more depth to it. the 2-10"s are pretty deep already, but not at loud volumes.

It isn't an SVT, mesaboogie, or aguilar (although my Tube DI box adds alot to this amp).

I own 4 Ampeg Products for the past 7 years. Never had a problem with any of them. A harke that I got though... them aluminum cones are sketch.

i know a technician, he's really nice, he knows alot about everything. thats bout it.

its heavy,

Amp has good features, nothing great but good.

This amp totally surprised me on how good the deep bass is for 2-10" speakers. I hadn't even played one before just took a chance and bought it without playing one first. I have owned several ampeg amps in the past. I love the sound. Play vintage fender bass. I will never sell this amp.

Never had any trouble.

I've never had to deal with them.

I have been playing for 35 years. I would buy another on in a second but I don't think make this amp any more. I just keep this one going.

This is a very versatile and gig-worthy stage amp. I play an Ibanez 5 string and use an Ampeg 18" cab as an extension when we play bigger venues, a sick combination by the way. Nice cut-through due to the tens, and the 18'll make the low hanging fruit recoil in fear. Truly, the only thing I want that this amp doesn't offer is a bona fide "mute" switch, for tuning purposes and instrument change-outs. For some reason, they designed this so that the mute doesn't affect the XLR out at all. This can be problematic. To wit, I use a Boss pedal tuner while on stage, and run my sound out the XLR to the mixer for a bit of bass in the mains. Although the mute button does mute the stage set, you can hear the tuning through the mains. No big deal, usually, unless I'm playing in a tight space and clock something with my headstock, requiring a quick tune between songs. I have to walk over to the amp, pull my input jack out of the amp enough to cut the signal path, then do my tuning or instrument swap out. (I also hit the mute button just to minimize crackle.) It's a minor pain, yes, but I thought I'd mention it.

The sound quality is pure heaven. I've experimented with many an axe/amp setup to try to find a thick and smooth tone. This thing gives it to me in spades. I use an Ibanez 5 string and the low B's purity is tremendous even without the extension cab. Previously I ran a Music Man Sterling (4) through a Line 6 Bass POD XT Pro/Behringer EP2500 head to a Trace Elliot stack (4 x 10s and a 1 x 15), and found this setup to be too tight, and weak, sounding. Not to single out any one piece of the stuff I was using then, but that setup just didn't satisfy. I made a sea change in music gear all at once, finding what I wanted in the Ibanez/Ampeg combo I now play. I'm done searching folks. I credit the tonal Nirvana to the Ampeg mostly, though I do give my new axe props too.

No issues. Tank-like construction, far as I can tell. What else is there to say? It's freaking heavy, so grab a friend, or two. (If you get two, you can weasel out of moving it entirely!) You'll be glad it's got casters.

No experience with them.

I got mine used on Craigslist for $500 and it's in perfect condition. Talk about value! But even at the street price of $850 I think this is a good value. I'll give it an 8, because you probably are paying a little more for the name than you'd have to otherwise. But then, an amp by any other name just ain't the same!

I tried one at guitar Center. All solid state 350W as is. 540W with additionnal speaker. You can stack in over a B115E or SVT15E.

At my own taste, This the absolute best sounding and most powerful Bass Combo for that price range. It's small and fits easily in a car trunck, but yet it is very powerfull and very loud with strong mids that only 10 inches drivers can deliver. With the 9 bands graphic EQ and progressive countour, it's easy to get the sound you want. It's even powerful enough to hook a secondary 15'speaker.

And you get Ampeg sound in extra.

When I first hooked it up, what surprised me first is that it sounded like a Mesa Boogie Power House 1000. That is due to the loud and tight 10 inches drivers. It's an excellent classic rock or funck machine. Thick ear popping sound. If you're use to play live, you know what mids are all about.

If you seek these great mids which cuts through, don't look further. You want this G&K liveliness, well simply cranck 2K, 5K and 9K by 6db on the EQ and here you go.

By the way, I compared this one against the Gallien & Krueger 400RB/210 and the BA500 is much more powerful and has more low end. It's normal because it's a bit larger, more powerfull and more expensive.

When reharsing by yourself, you have to low down the volume dramaticaly, because this is designed to cut through mid size live or studio situation.

I have good experience with Ampeg so far. Ampeg 5 years transferrable warranty, what else would you want.

It's easy to get an Ampeg technician on the phone.

This is really a great value. I already spent a lot of money on larger rig and I didn't want to spend that much on a combo. But if I had more budget or if I wanted to do everything with a single combo, I would have chosen this one. It's really an affordable and powerful do it all.

My favorite quality of this amp is that it sounds great with the 350 through its own cab but you can plug in an external 15" cab and it sounds F#@ing sweet!! I like this ability for playing shows/venues that have a crappy or no PA, but without having to lug the 15" around to practice or small shows.

Other than that-everything you're going to need is pretty much here, and it should be if you just shelled out 950 bucks. the eq is straight forward and works great. limiter, pad, and eq on/off buttons are all straight forward and easy to use. It shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to get a killing sound out of this guy.

by itself - good. with 15" plugged in- like a million bucks. just be careful you can afford the electricy bill.

fine so far, but bass amps seem to always get "weird" the longer you keep them around.

If you want to a loud tight sound for practice or small venues- get it. If you want to play mid-size clubs without a PA, get an additional cab and take advantage of those extra 150W you paid for. You're not at the top of the line, but you'll get pretty close for a fairly good deal.

mine was made in 2005. This amp has a 5 band EQ, and on top of that a 9 band graphic EQ, so it's extremely versatile in tone. I generally have it at 3 on all the 5 band settings, and go straight into the 9 band setting. there i nearly scoop the mids and boost bass and treble. I play a wide range of music styles, ranging from rock to reggae, and this suits em all, i can always find what i'm looking for in each music style. it's only got one channel, but it hasn't got a headphone jack, which bothers me, although it's only a minute flaw, it does. Other than that, everything i wish for in an amp is there. It's POWERFUL. You could probably bring down a skyscraper with the bass out of this thing.

I play through a Status Energy with Hyperactive active pickups. Don't use any effects, although this is because of my lack of credits to purchase them. This amp, as stated above, is extremely versatile. It gets a bit noisy on high settings, but you can't hear it when you play, so it doesn't bother me. With my EQ settings, this amp can make a grown man weep like a sobbing child when i play harmonics through it. Extremely clear and full sound.

it hasn't broken down on me yet, and i down expect it to.

Haven't dealt with them.

I've been playing for a little over 4 years, bought an Ashdown a while back, recently the speaker got ripped. I had it repaired, and went ahead and had it sold and bought this baby. I have no expectation whatsoever as to having to buy another amp. Not unless it would get stolen, in which case i'd buy another. I love it. A good candidate for the best feature of this amp is that it's on wheels. I think it to be crucial. as heavy as this thing is, i tell ya, it better had. Anyway, iv'e fallen in love with it, wouldn't trade it for the world.

Bought the amp new in September 2005. Solid state. 350w(at 4 ohms) 210 combo with a horn. 500w(at 2 ohms) with external cab. 5 band Eq, and a 9 band graphic EQ. input pad, limiter, effects loop, tuner mute, tuner out, kickback. Plenty of features. I could never imagine personally needing anything more in the way of features that this amp offers. An overdrive channel could be cool, but how often is that really used? It seems to me that this combo is essentially an SVT350H head paired with a 210 cabinet. Ive played through 350H's and I believe this sounds a bit better (could be due to the cabinet construction). This thing is LOUD. In my room for practice I leave the master on 1, gain on 4 and my guitar on 7ish with the pad on. Even at these low settings, this thing still rumbles pretty deep. I risk a noise complaint everytime I play. At practice, I turn the master up too 4 with the pad on. I have never gigged with it but I am sure, even without the extension cabinet, that It would be plenty powerful for a small bar type venue(which is all I would ever play).

Very heavy. 95lbs. Casters make moving it easier. It can fit in the back seat of my corolla with some positioning and seat sliding.

I have 2 basses. I have an Ibanez srx700 and a fender mexi pbass. Both sound really nice through this amp but personally I think that nothing sounds better then a fender passive bass through an ampeg. I play punk with a pick and ska with fingers. It sounds great in both styles. I used the rock preset that comes in the manual for the 5 band EQ, then for the graphic EQ ive got the low and low mids pulled up, high mids pulled down, and the very highs slightly pulled up. This thing has tons of punch. With the 300hz pulled up this thing cuts right through. Sounds great, no problem being heard over the drummer or guitarist. It has a wide range of sounds. With the 2 EQs, (3 Eqs if you count your guitar) I cant imagine anyone not finding their sound with it. I go for a sound similar to Alkaline Trio's Dan Adriano. (He uses several SVT Classics and 810 cabs). Im not claiming this is an acceptable alternative to an SVT classic, but you wont be disapointed with its impersonation. This gets an 8 only because its not an SVT Classic.

Ampeg solid state amp. I believe I will never need another amp. Very solidly built. I would gig without a backup only because I do not have a backup. I have not had it long enough to give it a fair rating, but it definitely seems solid.

Have not had to deal with them and I hope I never will.

Ive been playing bass for about 4 years. My first amp was a fender bassman 50(all tube) and 215 cabinet. It was way to big to bring to school with me so it sits in my bedroom back home. I bought a behringer 15w thunderbird for practice in my dorm. Recently I found myself in need of a rig for a band and my search began. I purchased a Gallien Krueger Backline 115 combo (125w to internal, 175w to external 115 combo) for 399.99. Sounded like a GK, only a little worse, but wasnt very loud. After a few band practices I decided my initial price range I set for myself was too low for what I wanted. The GK was a great amp, but I needed bigger and I wanted something that I could build upon. So I took guitar center up on their 30 day money back policy and got the BA500. Quite a step up. (399.99 to 1099.99) It was well worth it. I could build a big rig out of this thing if I ever needed too.

Basically, if youre starting out just needing a self contained rig thats portable for a good price, this is your amp. It sounds great, its small (compared to an SVT350 and a 410 cab) and it has the possibly to be built upon. Someday ill buy an additional cab.

As far as combos go, this is top of the line. I could only suggest looking at some of the Eden Nemesis combos if youre looking for an alternative in the same ballpark. If you were looking at getting an SVT350H, i would suggest this over it. If you were looking at getting an end-all rig, you wouldnt be reading this anyways :)

Great combo. I couldnt be happier. I give it a 10 as far as combos go. The only thing I could ever see myself replacing it with would be an SVT classic.

you can find the specs at ampeg.com so i'll just say what i like and dont like. it doesnt have a headphonejack that sucks most of them do. their is a fan that ALWAYS runs to keep the amp cool. which is great if you hook up another cabinet and use all 500 watts and play loud. (you wont hear it then) and it definetaley gets loud enough for personal, band, and gigging use. if you were to play a REALLY large venue, then they will probably have a PA and can mic your amp anyway. so you are safe. i would only go bigger if i were playing huge-stadium sized places. HOWEVER, that fan can be heard if you are just practicing by yourself at low levels. it also seems to excentuate the treble "hiss" just a little.
it does have a 5band EQ and a seperate 9-10 band EQ that is AWESOME!!!huge tonal versatility.
it does drop the bass that you can FEEL if you hook up an extension cab. and is even too loud sometimes.
personally i would only hook up a fender showman vintage 2x12 cab and that sounded nice and was real loud. too loud even.
it does have a open space under the speakers (dont know the name) and this is good for the low end i heard.
the wheels make it easy to move, you can also remove them. the handles are solid.
but this amp is HEAVY 95lbs. easy to wheel heavy to lift.
the balanced line out i used in recording, but i personally would prefer to mike the cab.
the horn control on back can give ear blistering highs if youre into that, i keep it low though.
i like the clipper (i guess its called) that prevents the amp from taking in a signal too gained out, this prevents damage to amp.
2x10s and a horn is good.

but please keep in mind, other than a cheap crappy 15watt this is the only amp i have owned. but i have played through gallien kruger head and cabs and think that this sounds better.

i play a spector bass with passive EMG pickups and active tone controls. to my ear the sound never gets distorted no matter how high i crank it. i play it with the gain, bass, and mid at 10 the treble at 5 and the master as needed. after owning it for a year, i think i like this the best. i dont really take advantage of the extra 10 strand EQ. but like that i can if i want.

the only noisy part is that fan** see above but its not redichulous or anything.

the tonal range is HUGE, with the 2 EQ's and a horn control with a huge pot, you can get whatever you want. im pretty sure any style of music can be played through this.

i love that ampeg tone, i only give it a 9 cause its solid state. only a high powered tube amp would get a 10.

its got great smooth bass you can feel tone with gentle to poppy highs that just depends on how you set it up.

personally i love it!!!

i feel i can depend on it, ive owned it for a year without a single problem.

havent used any yet

ive been playing seriously and in bands for 1.5 years, but i have a good ear.

like i said i use a spector bass with it. love that too.

theres nothing i hate about it, but i would like a headphone jack and an on/off switch for the fan

its perfect for me i can transport it (im strong enough to by myself) but if you cant lift 95 lbs it might be a pain to move it. i can play it at home loudly, quietly, or i can take it to my drummers house and hook up an extension cab to get the full 500watts (350watts without extension)

perfect for home practice, hookup an extension for band practice and gigs. mic it if you play HUGE venues. its all you need. and very versatile in setup in sound etc. but i wouldnt pay more than 1000 i overpaid to a music store commission lackey (1200)

This amp is new for 2005. I have been looking for a high powered combo for stage use and since I am already an Ampeg owner, this was a natural choice. 350 watts at 4 ohms (internal speakers)and 500 watts at 2 ohms (allows use of a 4 ohm extension cabinet). All solid state, similar to the other B series amps. 3 band eq, foot switchable graphic eq, line out with pre and post switch, pre in and out jacks. Really, just about all the standard features you would expect from a pro level combo amp. 2 cast frame 10" speakers plus a horn tweeter with attenuator. Typical Ampeg construction with black tolex cover, metal corners and black grill. Amp comes with pop out casters (you'll need them) and kick's back at 45 degrees for tight stage use. Only things I would change is to possiblly use the new light weight drivers and a lighter cabinet material to bring the overall weight down.

I use both active and passive Fender Jazz and Precision basses and an active Spector Euro Deluxe 4 string. I play in a modern rock / classic rock cover and original band. This amp covers all the bases for me. It is very loud for it's size and is capable of more deep bass than most combos I have tried in this size and price range. Sound is typical Ampeg, with a bit more definition and punch. This may be due to the cast frame drivers with 54 oz magnets that are different than the usual stamped frame 30 oz. magnet drivers that the classic series normally uses.

I've had the amp for only a couple weeks, so it's difficult to say at this time. My experience in the past with Ampeg gear has been very good. Almost no problems and it is well built and rugged.

I've dealt with ampeg in the past with other gear. They are always very quick to answer questions and give tips on their equipment. For a relatively large company I think they do pretty well. Service centers in my area are abundant. Also, all Ampeg gear comes with a five year transferable warranty - few companies have this feature.

I've been playing on and off for 20+ years. I've always been a fan of Ampeg gear have owned quite a bit of it. This amp meets my expectations so far. With a couple of minor tweaks it would be darn near perfect for my needs. I do wish it was about 10 to 15 pounds lighter - it is a bit of a beast. The casters do help once you have it on a flat surface.

I did a lot of shopping before purchasing this amp, trying similar high powered combos from Mesa, GK, Genz Benz, Eden and SWR. This amp came closest to meeting my needs and desires for tone, portability and features. The kick back feature is one that most of the competition lacks and was very important to me. If it was stolen I suspect I would purchase another. Good job, Ampeg.