Took Ampeg this long for their answer to Fender’s current Rumbles? (Even took the flaws like DI After EQ and volume…) Either way, I like them. Too bad they were around a year ago.
4 Likes
I saw it on either the Sweetwater site or the Ampeg site. I don’t remember. @JT already dug it up.
Or just a pre/post switch. I don’t know if this adds some significant cost or if it’s just a way of making the more expensive heads more attractive.
Yeah. Preamps are cool. 
3 Likes
Does anyone know what the actual wattage is? For example, the 500 combo says 500 watts, but 200 watts with an 8 ohm speaker. Is that like the Fender Rumbles then, that you need to add another cabinet to get the full 500 watts? If so, Fender beats them here. The Rumble 500 is 350 watts without an added cabinet and the Rumble 200 is 140 watts.
1 Like
I haven’t seen the numbers you are mentioning. As far as I can tell they are exactly what they say on the tin. If it says 500w, it is 500w. This is what others have said is impressive about the amps.
The 500w amp is 500w @ 4 Ohm Internal and can support an additional 250w @ 8 Ohm extension cabinet.
The 100w amp is 100w @ 4 Ohm
Etc.
Here is the full manual (now available) and you can see the specifications of each in the later sheets. Unless I’m reading this wrong, which is possible. 
1 Like
I’m not sure. Here is what the manual says
200 Watts RMS @ 4 ohm 3% THD+N (with external speaker)
100 Watts RMS @ 8 ohm 10% THD+N (with external speaker)
1 x 15" custom Eminence speaker, 8 ohm
So if the internal speaker is 8 ohms, then wouldn’t it run at 100 watts? That’s how the Fender Rumbles work.
For the 500, its a says 250 at 8 ohm and the 2 built in speakers run at 8 ohms.
Don’t know if I am right or wrong, just posing a question based on the Rumbles.
Thom
1 Like
I think it’s just how they are presenting it in the manual that’s confusing. If you look at the ones without external speaker possibilities, they are all the exact wattage they specify. e.g. The 100W Amp is using 100W @ 4 Ohm.
For the example you use of the 200w Amp, I believe the internal speaker runs at 200W @ 4 Ohms and you can add an additional speaker that runs at 100W @ 8 Ohms.
1 Like
Based on the manuals, here is how they compare…
Ampeg 200 runs at 100 watts and runs at 200 watts with extension speaker.
Ampeg 500 runs at 250 watts and runs at 500 watts with extension speaker.
Fender 200 runs at 140 watts. and runs at 200 watts with extension speaker.
Fender 500 runs at 350 watts and runs at 500 watts with extension speaker.
4 Likes
Thanks, Eric . . . that’s what I thought . . .
I was getting a bit confused 
Cheers
Joe
1 Like
But it’s an Ampeg and they make better bass amps than Fender
Full transparency, I may be a bit biased
This is not at all how I read it. You are basically saying that the 100W and 200W Ampegs have the same output unless you use an extension speaker? On TB people are saying what’s great about these amps is that they actually output as much as they say they do.
I could be wrong though. The Ohm stuff confuses me.
1 Like
According to the documentation, that is correct.
From the manual…
Output Power Rating
200 Watts RMS @ 4 3% THD+N (with external speaker)
100 Watts RMS @ 8 10% THD+N (with external speaker)
It runs at 8 ohms with the internal speaker. If you add an 8 ohm external speaker then the combined total is 4 ohms.
Their is what looks like a copy/paste error in the documentation where they have “(with external speaker)” beside both entries.
1 Like
Interesting. I do find it strange though. The 2nd line of the 500W and 200W Amps say 250W and 100W respectively, and that happens to be what they support for the external speaker, so I was reading that as the output for the external speaker only. e.g. The 500W is 500W for the internal speaker and supports and additional 250W for the external. But I think you are right that as it is written, it doesn’t look like that is the case.
1 Like
Actually this is pretty common with combos. The Ibanez Promethean line is the same.
1 Like
On the 200Wand 500W you will need the extension to get full Watts unless you change the speaker to a 4 ohm one, at which point you will no longer be able to use an extension cab without causing damage.
Unless the comments on TalkBass come from a rep, be weary of the information. (I also trust official schematics over “expert opinion”)
4 Likes
Here’s a recent review of the Rocket Bass RB-115 
4 Likes
I picked up a Rocket 50 and really like it. My old Rumble 15 is out of work.
I went with the 50 for a couple reasons. I’ve no intention of gigging soon, and if I do, I’ll get a cab because I like the bass on a 10" speaker.
The grit sounds good on my Schecter, big improvement overall. Happy with the choice
2 Likes
Good on you @Wombat-metal!
It’s good to hear when people find something that works for them. I expect we are going to hear more people gravitating to the new Rocket Bass Amps
I think you’re right. They are effectively going for the Fender Rumble market. What will be interesting is to see if/how Fender reacts. The Rumble v3 series is 7 years old or something so might get a refresh. I’m not sure what they’d do to them though. They are already great amps.
2 Likes
I read somewhere the Rumble v3 are the best selling bass amps of any company ever. I wouldn’t expect them to change anything until they saw some real competition. With Ampeg making the Rockets more expensive across the board, I don’t see this happening.
What I’m hoping is Yamaha will flex it’s massive production muscles and quickly bring a Rocket Bass preamp to market. I would love to add that sound into my pedal chain.
5 Likes
Or even just fix the SCR-DI’s distortion. The SGT sounds way better than the Scrambler did.
2 Likes