Ampeg B100R vs. SWR Workingman 2x10C

imnoone · Post by **imnoone** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:04 am

I'm looking hard for a new amp and I wanted to see what you all thought: I've played the B100R and dig the sound, very natural and pretty loud. I read here about the SWR 2x10 with a whopping 280 Watts and I've got to wonder if that may be a better option in case larger venue gigs come my way... can anyone who knows these workingman amps care to comment on their sound and features vs. the B100R? Your help is much appreciated!

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:10 am

I played through a used WorkingPro 2x10 cab once & came away unimpressed. It just sounded "cheap" to my ears. Lotsa great threads here extolling the virtues of the B100R. I love mine. Bought it simply as a practice, laid back jamming amp & it's quickly turned into my main gigging amp for smaller shows. Simple, no frills (which I like) and a good creamy vintage tone. I think Ricks sound exceptionally good through them.

imnoone · Post by **imnoone** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:19 am

Chris, yep, I agree on the B100R. It was exactly what I wanted until I saw the higher wattage SWR and started thinking.....

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:42 am

You could always wait for the B-200R. Big bump in wattage, tube preamp section, XLR line-out... might very well be exactly what you're looking for!

imnoone · Post by **imnoone** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:01 am

Bob, when is that due? Any idea of the price?

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:14 am

I haven't heard of a release date yet, but with B-100's flying off the shelves at $550 I would guess the price to be at least $700. I'm currently thinking about a nice used B-100 for studio work... I really don't play out except for backing up my wife (singer-songwriter) VERY occasionally so 100 watts will set me up nicely.

imnoone · Post by **imnoone** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:24 am

I see, that's a little out of my immediate price range. I think I'll stick with the B100R and maybe I can get the rest of the muppet band I play with to keep it to a dull roar, ha!

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:47 am

I hear you Lee... hence why I'm looking for a used one! I could get away with a new one, but the CFO won't approve funding for that and the Geddy Jazz, so some creative financing may end up being involved...

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:24 am

The Ashdown Electric Blue 15-180 has 180 watts and a 15" speaker for about $350.00 USD.
The Ashdown MAG C115T 300 has 307 watts and a 15" speaker for about $400.00 USD.

imnoone · Post by **imnoone** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:59 am

Joey, how would you say they compare, tone-wise, to the ampeg?

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:13 am

The Ashdown EB180 15 is not a bad amp i have just got rid of mine to buy an Ampeg.I am looking at the BA115 but a few reports have mentioned a loud hissing noise,anyone else had this problem.

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:41 am

I haven't heard a lot of good things about the BA115...supposed to be the "entry level" Ampeg.

I might actually trade up with my B100R for the B200R.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:58 am

I had a BA115, sold it only because I didn't really need it anymore. Sounded great to me. It has a hi-freq horn so it has a certain amount of hiss common to any amp with one, the problem being it has no attenuator for it, it's on full, all the time. Only really bad if you've got some kinda o-drive/fuzz pedal on and you're not playing. Bit of a problem in the studio, live-you'd never notice it. I usually used it tilted back, next to my monitor, worked great that way.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:36 am

I have not heard hiss out of my BA115, but I don't use any pedals, either, and usually have the treble tone control turned down on it.

Also, I don't consider it the true entry-level one of the series because it has a line out - I think there is one that doesn't have that nice feature.

mikeylc · Post by **mikeylc** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:51 am

I come to really like my b100-r. I used to use an SWR Redhead which is a far better sounding amp than the working man series. However my Ampeg sounds every bit a good and is smaller and lighter. I use a SANS Amp DI to get that SVT sound.