Ampeg alternative to the Rumble

Pretty nice alternative to the Rumble 100 for only a little more, with more head room and playing through a 15".

(not pushing this vendor. They’re same price everywhere)

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BA115v2--ampeg-ba-115v2-1x15-inch-150-watt-bass-combo-with-scrambler

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… and twice the weight :sweat_smile:

[EDIT] Pricewise it’s 40% more than the Rumble over here.

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Yes, because 150W and 15" is larger and weighs more than 100W and 12" because physics is a thing lol. Sorry but 45 lbs is not heavy lol.

And yes, $400 is more than $300.

Maybe it’s not for you and that’s OK. But it’s a really nice setup.

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Well, it all depends on the use :wink:
If I needed a somehow bigger amp, weight would be a criteria for me and my messed up back. Based on that, I would be more tempted by a Hartke KB15, that only weighs 35 lbs :sweat_smile:
[EDIT] Ok, that one seems to be more expensive in the US, though it’s the same price as the AMPEG BA15 over here :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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I’m not a big fan of those current Ampeg. I prefer the Ampeg tone but if I had to choose between a BA and a Rumble, I’d go for the Rumble.

I had a Ampeg BA 115 HPT, which was way higher than the current BA range (more than 200w, tube preamp …) and it was even not a very good amp. I’m happy I sold it.

just my 2 cents :slight_smile:

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Haven’t tried the BA line, but I have had something with a Scrambler on it, and it was the worst sounding distortion I have ever personally owned, IMO.

It’s sad because the Ampeg sound, especially slightly overdiving, is probably my favorite amp tone.

On the positive side it looks like the BA at least has Ultra Hi and Ultra Lo. The PF-350 doesn’t, to which I was like, wut? That’s just weird. I thought all SVT and later Ampegs had that. The larger Portaflex do, just not the 350.

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not sure about the Portaflex range ; I have a few pro musician friends and they gave me very different toughs about those amps.

  • does it sound Ampeg ? yes
  • is it convenient ? (weight/size/power ratio) yes
  • is it good for it price ? not so sure

if I wanted to buy an Ampeg, I’d search for a used solid state SVT head (might search for one, one day, because I’m an amp geek). yeah, ok, not really the same range than the BA combos. ok, ok.

otherwise, the Ampeg Micro VR sounds really good.

it’s a bit hard to understand what Ampeg is doing now.

a first gen Line 6 Bass POD (bean) maybe ? believe me, you would like it :grin:

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That’s funny. I liked it and can’t stand my Rumble anymore. We’re lucky that there are so many manufacturers and so many choices to account for all of our wildly disparate tastes.

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well yeah, if you like it, you like it , that’s fine :grin:

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I can certainly understand that. I liked my Rumble well enough but frankly, tone-wise, it was kind of boring. It had good warm tone but very vanilla. I like a little more color in my preamp than that.

Of course this would have been very different with other Fender amps, like a Bassman or something.

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The Rumble was okaaaay on my Gibson EB5. It’s objectively terrible on my Gibson SG. The G string was completely unusable and everything else just sounded bad.

OTOH I couldn’t be happier with my Thunderbolt.

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Hah I am sure I would, all their stuff is great :slight_smile:

I am pretty happy with my current amp sim, for a SVT-like tube head sound.

Plus now I have the ValveDrive. But yeah, if I were to get back in to a multieffector it would definitely be Line 6.

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yeah, it sounds good :slight_smile: the first generation Bass POD is not really a multieffector, it’s more a modeling preamp. but yeah, not sure it would perform better than your amp sim.

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@howard That bass sound is pretty damn great. Is that the sound you’ve been agling for all this time?

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Thanks! I recorded that quite a while ago, actually. IIRC that was just clean bass and compressor into the DAI, then amp and cab sim in the DAW. And yeah, that is the amp sound I want. It sounds like a slightly overdriving tube amp, without the hassle of needing an actual tube amp.

Pretty happy not needing an amp, TBH. It’s not for everyone but it works great for me.

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