I found this old Ampeg Flip-Top at my local music store (& it sounds REALLY good) ⚡️
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- In this video, I go to my local Atlanta music store Earthshaking Music and find a 1960s Ampeg B-15 Flip-Top that sounds amazing. We talk about vintage tube amps, some tips for micing them up, and it's just a fun find.
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Philip, I'm wondering if you ever think about how we've become used to the sound of certain bass/amp combinations because of the sheer amount of records with them on it. Clearly, you're a scholar of classic R&B / Motown and yeah, the P-Bass/flats/B-15 is the easy way to get there (and/or using the Motown DI). And between the B-15 and the SVT, there's an entire industry of pedals, plugins and boxes trying to recreate that sound. But it's interesting that there isn't nearly as much interest in recreating, say, the sound of Jaco's Acoustic 360 rig, or older Hartke solid-state amps, or 80s Trace Elliots (which were ubiquitous), even though there's tons of records with amazing bass tones that use them.
It’s an interesting concept. Do we like them because they are familiar or do we actually like them better? Having played a lot of the amps you mentioned, I will still go with a vintage Ampeg any day (depending on the music) but that may just be my preference. I am featuring the things I like, but there is a whole world of other great amps out there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for watching ⚡️
It sounds really lovely. I actually don't think the new Rocket Bass amp sounded bad at all either, you say it was night and day but I felt like it was a reasonable enough take on an Ampeg sound personally, for the pricepoint. Certainly it wasn't exactly the same but I liked how it sounded in its own right too. But yeah, the old fliptop was definitely beautiful to listen to.
I couldn't agree more. I was actually shocked at how well the solid-state Rocketbass sounded next to the B15.
its just goes to show that most of the tone is in your hands. right @philipconradmusic ?
Tube amps - expensive, heavy, inefficient, beautiful and I love them
The amps sounded very different, but the new one still sounded very Ampegy and pretty dang good. Both were very usable in the right scenario.
Agreed!
Ampeg has an actual "modern version" of the fliptop. It's called the PF-50T. I have one. They're great. That would have been a more fair comparison. You were comparing the fliptop to a solid state combo amp, I believe.
Yes you are right. I say this in the video.
What's a fair price on the PF-50T?
@@tracer701 I would say $700 used. They're $1000 new. I got mine for $500, but that was in 2019. The used market prices have increased so much for everything.
@@rome8180 There's the PF-20T, which is a bit lighter, simpler, and maybe tad closer in power/tone to the B-15. Could pick one up for maybe $400-450. But, the 20 watt version might struggle to keep up in a rehearsal. It's more of a studio/recording tool. But it's very cool for that. And anyway, the PF-50T will also struggle a bit, even in a rehearsal. That's where a V-4b might come into it's own, but, it's a snarilier, grindier sound - and bigger/heavier and more expensive at about $900-1k second-hand. But if you plan to play live, or with a louder band, might be worth the extra 200. They maybe don't work quite as well as practical studio/recording tool amps as the PF-20 & 50T do though - and it's not as 'pure' a tone.
Oh wow! That is a great deal for that amp too!
Sounds fantastic
I love my ampeg v4bH with my old gk410t cab but for practise amp I have ampeg rb 108. Really good for practise amp and I recover all of my sounds with pedalboard. My amps are for some meat and potatoes bass tones!
$2,200 for that amp, these days, is a fair deal, to say the least. Certainly not a bad one, not even close to bad.
I almost bought an old B-15N amp. The local store was asking $2100. I ended up choosing the Portaflex PF-50T for less than half the cost and the peace of mind that it wouldn’t need servicing anytime soon. Sounds great and happy I got it. I also have the big brother 50th AE SVT that I use for band rehearsal. I wanted something to use at home for practice and recording however the PF-50T (50w) is quite loud as well and volume doesn’t typically go past 9 o’clock position.
I love Ampeg portoflex amps for both guitar and bass, and have an old (1963?) B12X w/12" speaker, plus tremolo and reverb, designed for guitar. I was watching one on eBay recently, but it sold yesterday I guess - for some reason this model is undervalued even though they made fewer. Besides the 12" speaker it has a horn, and a larger cabinet for a bigger sound. They are so warm and round sounding, I love mine!
Dang never knew you were in Atlanta. I love that store but definitely never saw this amp there.
Nice. I wonder how close to that tone one can get with just pedals.
I just love these tones, and your presentation is informative and educational - I would hope to see a video from you finding these vintage tones in modern gear.
what recording device interface did you use along side the mic?
My zoom f6
Even though I went ampless over 10 years ago, I couldn’t resist buying a Heritage B-15 that popped on sale locally last summer. This amp just sings!
I played this amp recently and it is that sound with a p bass.
That Ampeg reminds me of one of my very first bass amps, a flip-top Galanti m.bass.30, made in Italy in the early 70's and also a tube amp; My big bro had bought it in the early 80's when he joined a band for the first time in a long time, which sadly didn't last very long, though. So in '84 he kindly offered to lend me his bass, a very good 'Diamond by Aria' JazzBass copy, and I started teaching myself how to play, mostly by ear. First through a *very* basic 15W Davoli amp, also Italian-made and also belonging to my bro, which was fine for home practice and even had a fixed-setting tremolo effect! 😁
Eventually also the Galanti would move from my bro's home into the family's, so I switched to that, but before I even joined my first band, the fricken thing had some blue smoke coming out of it one afternoon and died a temporary death - until an electronics-savvy friend of my first band's guitarist revived it a couple years later! 😀👍 The downsides: He turned it into a solid-state amp, and it would also have the annoying habit of switching itself off randomly (like, every 20 minutes or so) and often sounding quite different after being switched back on! 🙄
And it was during a party in our rehearsal space which also was the 'dress rehearsal' for our first proper and quite big gig that the amp switched itself off already during the first song and refused to work again and died a second death - this time for good 😏 I remember playing the rest of the set on that 15W Davoli amp and not hearing a thing 😅 Luckily I was able to buy a friend's 150W Laney 'Pro Bass' amp only days later, after he'd replaced it with a Green Audio 'Fireball' (with built-in cigarette lighter 😄).
Hey Philip, which affordable ampeg would you recommend for home recording/ practice/ small gigs. Just bought a PBass to mess around with recording, but can’t decide on an amp…was considering the ampeg micro cl or VR - thought? Thanks mucho
The micro vr is pretty cool!
I love a dead bass tone with some warm thump
There's the Modern Portflex PF-20T too, which run about 600. What's nice about those is you get the 3-band EQ and Transformer DI output with the load box built in so you don't have to run it to a cab. Which is pretty cool, because it can run as both an amp you mic up, and as a DI you can use without any cab. Those PF-20T have more of that smooth round tone, like that one you demo'd rather than the gritty, driven sound. They're pretty small and light too. I like them, because 20 watts is great for recording. And then those Ampeg Venture heads are great for live, powerful, light and also sound really good.
I love flip tops or ampeg tube amps in general. I just can't play a show after carrying mine into the venue. Class D is where I'm stuck these days.
It's a 4 pin XLR because there are 2 pins that are used to keep the amp in standby when the speaker isn't plugged, otherwise the output transformer would blow, it's a pretty clever tip !
I have the new RB115 which I love. Mostly because I can easily move it with one hand. I’m thinking of getting another for when I want a little extra grunt. Whilst I adore the sound of flip tops, the portability of the RB115 has won me over.
Oh my that amp sounded sweet 😍 (also, we need a heart ears emoji)
Thanks Nancy! And I agree on the ear hearts 😆
Best Music shop in ATL!
I had an old Ampeg B18 that really sounded fantastic!
Very cool! I was surprised that I liked the sample played with the pick the best - I guess the technique and the tone balanced out, and it was quite a pleasing combination.
That RB is no slouch either, and would be the one going home with me, personally.
The 210 combos are great gigging amps. I have the ba-210 and I love it
My Uncle let me barrow that same amp back in the early 80's to play my guitar through when I started. What an amazing amp!!
It was hard to tell from the short duration and through my laptop speakers. What was the night and day difference between the old tubes and the modern solid state?
I have a 61 and a 66 b15n. The 61 growls with a JBL D130!
I’ve dreamed about this amp but never owned it. Have you tried a b25?
I had a B15 flip top I think it was a '69 that I used for guitar and it sounded great.
i love your channel ! you always talk about the stuff i nerd out about! my fav channel in terms of bass content without a doubt wow !
That bass tone is perfection. I’m chasing
Philip - Have you ever needed to replace tubes? I've owned a number of guitar and bass amps and have NEVER needed to replace a tube. (I come from the "only fix it if it breaks" school of thought.) And I gig fairly frequently. I think tubes last a lot longer than most people think they will. Or maybe I've just been lucky thus far...
I have had to change tubes before but not often. I find they do sound different after a lot of use. Thanks for watching!
Very nice
The pick demo has that old good vibrations sound to it.
That was my first amp around 1972. It rattled like hell. Each note vibrated a different section!
Using a PF50 now. Like it except at idle there is a large amount if humm..The direct out is amazing.
I had one in the 1960's 30 watts of farting. It was not adequate to gig with doing rock. In the 1970's you could but these used for $50-75 because much more powerful amps came out. I noticed the plastic Ampeg name plate was cut down and in the wrong position. Ampeg had a deal that if you bought the amp, you could send them the name plate and they would engrave your name on it so they cut off the original owners name.
Bro you need that amp, sell your car and get it
Great video, if that shop was near me I would just have to buy it
I think it’s still there. Maybe you could have it shipped….
@@philipconradmusic thank you very much Philip, unfortunately I’m in the uk so fee’s would probably make it too expensive, nice playing and a great sound from yourself on that video 👍
$2,200?! That is such a good deal for something in such good condition!
Yes, agreed!
I love B15s. So rad
Great!
First you slide into my DMs tempting me with this and now you make a video of it? Unfair, sir! Unfair!
42m drive from the house, but much shorter from work... I may have to swing by there on my way home Thursday.
😂 Call first, it may be long gone!
@@philipconradmusic All good. I'm more looking to drop by to give them a look see. Now that I'm having to go down to the airport 2-3 days a week, dropping by there is a little more likely. :)
@@philipconradmusic At that price - and after this video, I would think it should sell quickly. I'd buy it if I lived nearby, to compliment my B12X.
I don't really understand why the B-15 is held in such high regard. It's a good sounding amp, yeah, if your idea of what a bass amp should sound like is limited to the quieter styles of the 1960s, like Motown, but it just doesn't cut it for anything else. It simply cannot handle the requirements of modern music, and couldn't handle the rock and roll of its own time, either. It's not a spectacular amp, merely a good one. My first bass amp in the mid-90s, when I switched to bass, was a borrowed vintage (late 60s, I believe) B-15 Portaflex, and it just did not cut the mustard for our rock band. The previous bassist had been using a Fender Studio Bass combo. I replaced that B-15 as soon as possible with a used Trace Elliot Series 6 head and a Pierce Electronics 1x15 cabinet, which I later supplemented with a Fender Bassman 1x15 cab.
It’s cool that you know what you like and don’t like. Yeah, B15 is not something I would probably use for a modern rock band. Thanks for watching!
Back then you couldn't mic amps through a good PA, but it would work better now perhaps? Jimi Hendrix played through a B12X (it looks like one) in a Dick Cavett video on youtube, so they CAN rock too.
The B15 certainly does not have the power to handle a large stage or to stand up to a really heavy hitting rock drummer but that certainly does not make it a mediocre bass amp. It about the tone and in the studio it's power output is pretty much perfect. With a good PA system one could certainly put a mic in front of the B15 just as many people do when using smaller guitar amps on stage. Really the bigger issue is that carting vintage gear around regularly to gigs can be hard on it so most of vintage stuff stays at home or in studio and only maybe occasionally goes out for a special gig.
My B-15N is a treasure for sure, whoever picks that up will be very happy!
Agreed!