Review: Ampeg Classic Analog Bass Preamp

[isaac42]

Ampeg Classic Analog Bass Preamp

 

It comes in a carboard box. Thin, but corrugated, so it provides some protection. Inside, the pedal is in a plastic bag, along with a dessicant packet and a little booklet called the Quick Start Guide. The instructions are in English, Spanish, French and German. Standard Setup is as you'd expect, bass into the input, output to the amp. It also shows the output going to what appears to be the power amp in on the back of an amp. More on that later. The PA/Recording Setup is similar, with the output going to either an amp, which then goes to the board, or straight into the board. More on that, too.

 

The next page shows the controls: Volume, Bass, Mid and Treble knobs, and two pushbuttons, Ultra Lo and Ultra Hi, along with a footswitch for cutting it in and out. Inside the box is a space for a battery and a jumper for reducing the gain by 15 dB.

 

Technical specs are as follows:

Signal to Noise Ratio 75 dB

Maximum Gain 18 dB

Power Requirements Internal 9V battery, External 9VDC, ≥20 ma

Size (H x W x D) 2.2 x 2.6 x 4.5 in, 56 x 66 x 114 mm

Weight 0.6 lb, 0.3 kg

 

The pedal looks and feels solid. It has a flat black finish with white graphics that were easy to read under stage lights. The Ampeg logo is in silver. The knobs are a kind of mini-chicken head design with a white stripe at the "beak" making them easy to see, too. The bottom plate has four rubber feet and four #1 Phillips screws holding it on. These have to be removed to access the battery or change the gain, as there is no battery door.

 

So, how does it sound? The short answer is, it sounds good. Really good. I've never had an Ampeg amp, but I imagine that this is what they're supposed to sound like. With all of the controls set at 12 o'clock, it sounds as though it has a bit of a bass and treble boost and some mid scoop. That should work well in most situations, but if you play with a guitarist who scoops his mids, you might not blend well. The controls all work as you'd expect, boosting and cutting in their respective bands. The Ultra Lo really filled in the bottom end through my Sunn Model 215, but wasn't as obvious through my 4x10. I think that's because the 4x10 doesn't go low enough to benefit much from the frequencies being boosted. On the other hand, the Ultra Hi didn't do much through the 2x15 cabinet, but was quite obvious through the 4x10. Running into the PA or through a full range rig will really get the most out of this unit.

 

In one of my bands, I play several songs with a pick. The pick generates a lot of high frequencies, which become very obvious with this pedal. I found I preferred the picked sound with the pedal off, or with the treble rolled off.

 

I play bass in three different bands, and all three like the sound, preferring it to my sound without it. However, it should be noted that all three bands prefer a deep sound without a huge amount of midrange. That kind of sound fills in the bottom, but can leave the bass sounding less defined. It can also use a lot of power to push the air for those low frequencies, which could lead a lower powered amp to distort. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Some people really like that sound, but it does rather limit your headroom.

 

What else does it do? It's called a preamp, but will it really do the job? Yes and no. Rehearsing for an acoustig gig, I ran my bass into the pedal and from there into a line input on the board. Worked great, and sounded superb. However, it didn't have enough output to drive my Crown XLS1500 power amp to full output, even when the pedal's output was quite distorted. So, I have to say, you're gonna need a preamp with that. Which means that you can turn the preamp up high to get some grit, and turn the preamp down to control your volume, but I personally wouldn't be likely to run it into the power amp in on a bass amp. But for recording or running into the PA, it should work beautifully.

 

I found it to be a bit noisy, but not excessively so. No one ever commented on it, and the noise was pretty much inaudible when the rest of the band was fired up. I also found that a significant part of the noise was coming from the AC adapter I was using, which was a cheap wall wart. When I installed a 9V battery, a lot of the noise went away, and it was pretty quiet. Speaking of which, it's a bit annoying to have to remove the four screws to remove the base plate in order to install or replace the battery. A small annoyance, to be sure, and putting in a battery compartment door would probably have raised the price a bit. I can live with that choice.

 

Another thing is that, other than the footswitch, none of the controls are easily accessible by foot. I've taken to placing the pedal on my amp, where I can adjust the level and tone controls easily and reach the Ultra Hi and Lo push buttons with my fingers. That's okay, because I like the pedal so much that I'll rarely be turning it off.

 

If the battery were to go dead or the power supply die, just hit the foot switch. The pedal turns off, and the signal goes straight through. I don't know if this is true bypass or not, but I think it is. DC resistance on both the input and output is off scale on my digital multimeter (>2000 megohms) and near zero on both the hot and ground going through the pedal. That's close enough for me.

 

Conclusion

 

This is a very nice unit. Even if you already like your sound, as I did, this may well make you like it more. Use it as a tone control in addition to your amp, as a clean boost to overdrive your preamp, or as a line driver and preamp for recording. If recording, I recommend using a battery to minimize noise. Even if you don't feel the need of a pedal like this to improve your sound, it could still be useful for kicking things up a notch when the music calls for it, or if you take the occasional lead. Having used it, I'll keep using it until it or I break down!

[nice keetee]

Hmmm.. Because of you I might try one of these devices tomorrow and spend on more stuff lol

[Phil O'Keefe]

Well-done on the review Isaac!

[isaac42]

Hmmm.. Because of you I might try one of these devices tomorrow and spend on more stuff lol

I think you should try one out. You might really like it.

[isaac42]

Well-done on the review Isaac!

Thanks, Phil.

[nice keetee]

I visited my local music emporium today to check one out, alas, they were out of stock.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I visited my local music emporium today to check one out' date=' alas, they were out of stock.[/quote']

 

That sucks. Are they planning on getting more in?

 

 

[Mikeo]

I visited my local music emporium today to check one out' date=' alas, they were out of stock.[/quote']

 

 

Was that Parkway.

 

Tom, Matt and company I'm sure will have more coming.

I usually call, before I make the drive from MA to Clifton Park.

 

The sad part is I have the phone number in my head.

One of the best shops around.

 

 

For those who don't know Parkway. Matt's the bald guy and Tom is in the green shirt w/ the Les Paul.

 

 

I don't know who had the backing $$$ fr the new place, but someone set em up right.

 

I have most purchased amps and effects from them. A couple of my Mesa amps and my Dr Z came from there.

They area Gibson and Fender dealer, with a nice mix of gear.

 

 

 

 

I wouldn't mind a ES 330 w a bigsby. It's on my list, but so are a few other guitars.