Amp merry-go-round (B-12)

drbassman · October 28, 2013, 08:43:23 AM

Quote from: jumbodbassman on October 28, 2013, 08:42:13 AM

I always thought the 12 was a smaller profile. my early 70's b15 is 21" wide by 24 tall.

~~I was always told they used the same cab for both.~~ I just read some post at TB about the B-12 and it seems it is a smaller cab. A little less heavy could be nice. I might just set the amp on top of my Ampeg PF115 for practice at home purposes! I'll find out when it arrives!

drbassman · October 28, 2013, 08:48:06 AM

~~I checked pictures of the inside of the cab and I don't see the oblong double baffle slots, so it's probably just a single baffle.~~ Man, I am way off base today, think I'll go back to bed! The B-12 cab coming in does have the typical vertical baffles.

So, I've learned today that the cab is smaller than a B-15 and the baffle board is a different configuration.

dadagoboi · October 28, 2013, 08:58:59 AM

Quote from: drbassman on October 28, 2013, 08:42:02 AM
BTW, that amp and cab are beautiful!

Thanks, bought it from the original owner's nephew. It had been sitting in a cedar closet for a long time.

Cabinet size on both my '64 and '67 is 19x19x14 inches. Speaker "frame" is larger on the 67. The 70s cabs are "Thiele" cabs, shelf port takes up the added 4 inches in height.

PF115 should be a good match.

drbassman · October 28, 2013, 01:31:37 PM

Quote from: dadagoboi on October 28, 2013, 08:58:59 AM

PF115 should be a good match.

Yeah, it sounds good with the Prodigy when I'm practicing, the Ampeg should be right at home with the PF 115.

slinkp · October 28, 2013, 01:45:18 PM

Am I crazy or was there a B18?
I think I remember playing through one during a recording session about 15 years ago. It was definitely a portaflex of some sort. I remember what song it was - I got a very dark, smooth sound compared to my usual sound of the time - but I can't remember exactly what the amp was.

OldManC · October 28, 2013, 02:18:36 PM

There was a B18. I've heard they sounded kind of tubby due to the speaker size, but I've never played through one.

drbassman · October 28, 2013, 02:42:42 PM

Yep, there was a B-18 as well. Big cabinet for a Portaflex!

Hörnisse · October 28, 2013, 06:59:12 PM

A few years ago at Bass Emporium they had either a 2x15 or 2x18 Ampeg Portaflex. Wish I took a photo of it.

jumbodbassman · October 28, 2013, 09:24:41 PM

IIRC the 2 speaker units were only solid state heads but i could be wrong....

Guy named styles72 or something like that has one. He is a TB guy but i thought he also was on this site a while ago.

B18 I played thru was rather tubby compared to the B15 but I rather liked it.....
I also believe the b18 was only with the 30 watt head. the b15 has either 25 or 30 watt heads and i think the b12 was only 25 watts.

Dave W · October 28, 2013, 09:54:05 PM

Quote from: jumbodbassman on October 28, 2013, 09:24:41 PM
IIRC the 2 speaker units were only solid state heads but i could be wrong....

Guy named styles72 or something like that has one. He is a TB guy but i thought he also was on this site a while ago.

B18 I played thru was rather tubby compared to the B15 but I rather liked it.....
I also believe the b18 was only with the 30 watt head. the b15 has either 25 or 30 watt heads and i think the b12 was only 25 watts.

stiles72, with an "i"

He was showing an Ampeg combo in Doc's "MusicMan HD130 and Ampeg cab review" thread.

rahock · October 29, 2013, 05:38:48 AM

Quote from: drbassman on October 28, 2013, 02:42:42 PM
Yep, there was a B-18 as well. Big cabinet for a Portaflex!

One of the forgotten Ampegs, the B-18. I love them

. A lot of people didn't. I sat in with a really good Blues group many years ago and used their bass players B-18 and was really impressed. Although not a real powerhouse, it still had the ability to fill the room. 18 inch speakers have a tendency to do that. The bottom end tone fills the room and doesn't dilute. You feel that rich bottom end throughout the room without a boatload of wattage to make it happen. I can't think of another amp that can do that as well as the B-18. Still, they were not very popular. I went on a quest about 20 years ago to find one, and believe me, there aren't a whole lot of them around. There was also a B-18X with a horn added which was mainly for keyboards. Very rare.
Rick

FrankieTbird · October 29, 2013, 04:04:54 PM

I have a B-18N that is a very sweet amp but I can't use it with my band cause we're too loud. I also have the 2x15" version of the Portaflex (BT-15C) but I sold off the crappy SS amp and modified the top board to hold a very early B-18N chassis that I had. That's a cool amp too but I'm not crazy about the stock speakers. By the way, the B-18's were rated at 50W.

According to the Ampeg book, there was also a very short-lived tube Portaflex amp with a 2x15" cabinet dubbed the B-15NC, although I've never seen one or even pictures of one. Growing up in NJ, there were always lots of Ampegs around.

rahock · October 29, 2013, 05:55:25 PM

Quote from: FrankieTbird on October 29, 2013, 04:04:54 PM
I have a B-18N that is a very sweet amp but I can't use it with my band cause we're too loud. I also have the 2x15" version of the Portaflex (BT-15C) but I sold off the crappy SS amp and modified the top board to hold a very early B-18N chassis that I had. That's a cool amp too but I'm not crazy about the stock speakers. By the way, the B-18's were rated at 50W.

According to the Ampeg book, there was also a very short-lived tube Portaflex amp with a 2x15" cabinet dubbed the B-15NC, although I've never seen one or even pictures of one. Growing up in NJ, there were always lots of Ampegs around.

I've still got a BT-15 something portaflex with 2 15" Altec Lansings and 235 watts. They had 3 different model numbers for one with CTS speakers, another with Altecs and yet another with JBLs. I've got it written down somewhere, but I can't remember what number mine is

. It served me well for many years but it has been tucked away in favor of better and smaller gear for 20 some years.
Rick

FrankieTbird · October 30, 2013, 02:20:06 AM

Quote from: rahock on October 29, 2013, 05:55:25 PM
I've still got a BT-15 something portaflex with 2 15" Altec Lansings and 235 watts. They had 3 different model numbers for one with CTS speakers, another with Altecs and yet another with JBLs. I've got it written down somewhere, but I can't remember what number mine is . It served me well for many years but it has been tucked away in favor of better and smaller gear for 20 some years.
Rick

I'm pretty sure mine has the CTS speakers. They're definitely not Altecs or JBLs. Not a great rig but it sure looks cool! Are you sure about that 235W rating? That seems somewhat high for the technology of the time.

rahock · October 30, 2013, 05:47:26 AM

Quote from: FrankieTbird on October 30, 2013, 02:20:06 AM

I'm pretty sure mine has the CTS speakers. They're definitely not Altecs or JBLs. Not a great rig but it sure looks cool! Are you sure about that 235W rating? That seems somewhat high for the technology of the time.

I got that power rating from the unofficial Ampeg site. They are a pretty good source of info. I also tracked the year it was made by serial number through that site. Mine is a 1967. I've had it since late 68 or early 69. I had some work done on mine to beef the output a little back in the early 70s when I cooked the head. I've blown the top speaker several times. I used to run an extension cabinet with 2 more Altec 15s. It never had a real big bottom sound but it was great for that treble zingy sound that I used to like. I have since outgrown that and gone to the big bottom sound and the old Ampeg has been in mothballs ever since.
Rick