Is it modifying/ upgrading an Ampeg Rocket B100R?

[pbman1953]

I just picked up a cool Ampeg B-100 R for small to midsize gigs.


I was wondering if there any internal improvements that are worth doing or just leave it. It's the one with the oldie style checkered cloth but it's SS.


100 watts


15" driver


 
https://ampeg.com/products/diamondbluebass/b100r/










Thanks

[PRR]

"Why Ampeg? "Because of the quality of sound and if it ain't broke, don't break it!""
Bootsy Collins (Parliament, Funkadelic, James Brown)

[pbman1953]

Enough said, I only posted because this is the home of improvement.


Thanks!!

[PRR]

The schematic seems mostly very ordinary chippy implementation of classic Ampeg bits. Nothing begs for change. And I *suspect* it is all packed-in SMD and a real pain to modify?

Yes, I knew Bootsy when he was in the groove, a long time ago, and today's words are probably paid-for. Did he really say that, or is the deal between Bootsy's manager and Ampeg's blurb-writers? Nevertheless, on the face of it, I'd be inclined to beat a lot of Funk (or Rock or Polka) before starting a slice-n-dice job.

The speaker, OTOH, is an obvious target. Getting good bass in the given box is not easy, and Ampeg would know how to get 90% of what is theoretically possible. Market-price might slide that down to 80%. If you spend a lot more than they spent on a driver, you just might get a bigger ballsier sound. Would be expensive to buy and try and buy and try, unless you worked in a high-end speaker warehouse.

Whatever is in there, I'm sure a four-15" cab would be BIGGER! sound. But won't fit in a mini-van. And far beyond what I care to lift these days.

[SoundmasterG]

Add some wheels to it...thats about it. Great amps.

Greg

[pbman1953]

A quick revisit-


I used the amp last night at a gig and it did real well against a hard hitting drummer, keyboard ,guitar and singers. The one thing I noticed is that the low E had a weaker output compared to the other stirrings. I'm ruling out the bass because it's  been used many times on private and public rigs.


I'm wondering if the caps- c 33 & 34 would be better off replacing to help ?


4700 mf @ 50 v


If I went for a driver replacement whats a good choice?


Thanks

[shooter]

low E had a weaker output

did you play with all the switches and pots?  ultra low in, ultra high out, bass knob way up kinda thing?

[PRR]

Speaker.

[pbman1953]

I think Eminence supplied  most of the speakers for Ampeg. I'll write them to see what they used and some options if they'll tell me.


Thanks

[pbman1953]

I just heard back from Eminence and the stock driver is theirs and here's what they suggested-




From: Eminence-


Hi Rich,

That is indeed one of ours.  You could upgrade to the Delta-15LF-4.  This would give you more excursion and low frequency output at the expense of some high frequency range.

     Compared to the stock driver the Delta-15LF-4 has a longer voice coil winding, which will help to move more air.  Lower frequencies, like your low E, have a longer wavelength…..more air means more bass.  There’s always a trade-off in speaker design. 

http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speaker-detail/?model=Delta_15LF_4


Please let me know if you think this is good way to go


Thanks!

[PRR]

> the stock driver is theirs

But you have not tole us what it is (or is-like). How can we know if the suggested speaker is an upgrade for you? (It's an obvious upgrade for Eminence's pocket...)

The suggested product is a fine speaker.

I must point out that for Bass, THE upgrade is ALWAYS a bigger box and more cone area. (And money for roadies...)

[pbman1953]

All I can say is that I took a picture of the sticker on the magnet and sent it to Eminence hoping it was theirs and that they could look it up and see what could be an upgrade. The speaker they used was a private label and here are no published specs for OEM manufacturers.




 They came back with the Delta 15 LF which has the larger coil and more cone travel. The Delta may not of been made when my amp came out. But I'm not sure 100% on that.




I can dig a little more now that I have the Delta specs. Are there any brands you feel to check into. I a big fan of the  JBL 140 series. Also, I like Altec 15L and the Black Widow  if they have the metal dust cap like the JBL's

[smackoj]

 I agree totally that there isn't any good reason to try and 'hot rod' that Peg.

I have a Lab Series bass box I found at the pawn shop. It is a well made box but the 15" spkr is Eminence and, for whatever reason, Lab Series put a relatively low watt (small magnet, small voice coil) in such a nice box? But that story told, I would not get in a rush and find either a JBL or Electro Voice speaker on the used market. You can also look for drivers made by Community Sound which I believe were Altec and equal to JBL and EV. There was a guy on FB Market recently selling 2 Comm Sound PA spkrs with 15" bass and a crackin' HF horn drivers for 80.00! I was so tempted but had no place to put the boxes and didn't need the horns so I passed. But those types of deals are out there if you can take your time about it.

I hear, or see ads claiming, that the Neodyne bass spkrs are much lighter and may have caused the early retirement of many a roadie, but that is only rumor. I know nothing about the real life performance of this type of spkr so I can't recommend or caution against them.

[pbman1953]

Actually, I reached out to Eminence because the stock driver was theirs. They suggested a Delta LF model. I did a bit of research on the driver and it's a decent , plus economical and compliant  , model which parameter wise would be a good fit. The tech rep said that it had a larger voice coil an a longer travel for lower range extension. After firing it up it definitely had more bang for the buck. The back cover really rattled on certain notes. I took the back off and adhered some rubber window insulator around the outside edge and the rattled stopped.


Plus I don't need as much bass control adjustment or volume level ,too, So far so good.