Ampeg BT-15 115 Combo

To the best of my knowledge, my BT-15 was made in 1969. Thats what it says on the schematic.

I bought mine used in a local music store in about 1993, for $100. It replaced a cheapie Sears amp that somehow turned on on its own and fried itself into a cloud of smoke.

The sound is super clean due to the solid state. It has bass, treble, and ultra treble boost on 2 channels. No mid control. No effects loops or headphone jack. But it does have a 2nd speaker jack. It has a polarity switch, but is not used anymore since I added the grounding plug. Sometimes I think the sound is too clean, but it is nice when adding effects pedals inline, because I know what Im getting from it. I like the sound when using a Tube Works Blue Tube with my 6 string fretless bass. Another plus with the clean sound and bright treble, is it works very nicely as a music amplifier for parties.

The features I wished mine had, I added. I added casters to the bottom. After getting shocked too many times, I replaced the cord with one that had a ground plug. And I built a little cage that slips over the head and supports a 1x10 cabinet I built from the speaker in the old Sears amp, so I can get a punchier sound if I want.

I just use the amp for practicing at home, and sometimes with family members in the garage. It holds its own just fine. It is also light enough to carry around by myself.

I think the electroluminescent panel is the coolest thing. However it burned out after awhile.

I use the amp with a few basses. Occassionally my first bass, a Harmony with what appears to be Gibson pickups. An Ibanez EX 5 string, with Select pickups. And a homemade 6 string fretless, with Carvin humbuckers. All passive electronics.

My music style is typically a fretless sound with some tube and chorus sound mixed in, sounding a bit like a synth. It works well for me. The amp itself does not make much of a range of sounds at all. It does distort if the bass control is turned up too much, and does not sound good at all like that.

The amp itself is very free of hum and background noise. I have turned it way down and plugged a tape recorder into the aux speaker jack and it turned out well.

When I bought the amp, the dealer said the 2nd channel didnt work. With some wiggling of wires, I got it to work. Eventually it quit again, and the main capacitor lead broke. I repaired it. I never had any other problems with it besides the electroluminescent panel quitting, but that is just cosmetic. The original speaker still works fine, and I never had any trouble with the pots getting dirty. It is very old style construction and seeing it internally, I would keep a backup on the road. It works best as a home practice amp. I dont see it standing up to the rigors of the road for very long.

An electrical schematic is included under the head cover, and the construction is very old school and simple. It could be repaired easily by someone with average electronics knowledge. Ive never dealt with Ampeg, so I dont know.

Ive been playing since 1992. For many years I toted the amp everywhere, at least 100 miles a week, until the late 90s when I bought a large Peavey stack. However I still have the Ampeg and use it as a practice amp in my bedroom. I also dont play as much as I used to. If the Ampeg were lost or stolen, I wouldnt replace it. My favorite part is the electroluminescent panel (when it worked). I dont hate anything about it. I chose this one because I was looking for a cheap higher powered amp for home and garage, and I was 16.

Ok i have a 1969 model.. this is the solistate version too... Its old but is still rockin.. very very loud... its god your basic treble and bass ultra bass and ultra treble.... i have a eq pedal i got running with it so i get more options... its sounds great...

the sound i good... its old and humms a bit mainly cause it is 30+ years old... its got a connection problem from all the flipping its gone through but still its got a good sound...

30+ years and it is still alive..... Its a tank!!!

ummmm i wonder if ampeg would even talk to me... or would they just laugh and hang up??

I got this from a dude that works at the local music store he said a lady just came in and said how much can i get for this? and they did'nt know what it was.. (just looked like an ampeg cab) she had it in storage and was gonna lose it the next day. so she said screw it and just gave it to the dude.. not the music store te dude!!! why can stuff like that happen to me?? Anyway he took it in the back found out that it flipped and it was a nice amp... so he said to a young bass player like my self.. he would give it to me cheap. since i am just startin to gig with my band.. www.clutteredband.com (i needed a gigable amp...) i havent giged with this amp yet... im still trying to fine my sound.... but yeah this is a good amp in my opinion...!!

I own a 1974 Ampeg BT-15 portaflex combo. It is the solid state version of the B-15. same standard features as a late B15. Cool flip top, electro-luminescent panel, 2 independent channels ultra high/low swithches. 100 watts

This amp has an incredible sound. It sounds very different from it's tubed brother. There is much more growl and attack in this amplifier. The simpleton EQ is actually a blessing, nothing to mess up. this is definetly a rockin' little amp. Relatively clean sound, not noisy, about the voulume you would expect from a 100 combo.

This amp is currently not working. 25 years have taken thier toll on the caps and transistors. It is currently getting re-capped. Try to have spare transistors on hand Just in case. I am the 3rd owner and I knew the second owner eho bought it from a club musician. Overall I's fairly reliable, but it is 25 years old!

Ampeg was bought up by SLM in 1986. Since this was a rather obsure model, information is sparse. However it is a rather basic circuit, so almost any qualified technician can repair it

This amp is not a B-15 but then again it is not a fender Zodiac ( thank God) If it were stolen I would probably buy a newer ampeg. but it was free