Better than a Fender BASSMAN for Guitar? - 1969 Ampeg B15N Portaflex

Рет қаралды 23,996

Жыл бұрын

Let's answer the question no one asked: is an Ampeg B15N Portaflex any good for guitar? First we'll service one and troubleshoot a no-sound situation and then we'll find out with my 1960 Gibson ES125TDC and my Zio Meteor Signature. Buy one here: bit.ly/3EJttZD
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#guitar #repair #electronics

Пікірлер: 246

@klcbsoft Жыл бұрын

Having the schematics as overlay with arrows to designate the points of measurement was just fantastic on your part. Really appreciate this extra mile in video post 👍

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

This is my new standard.

@guitfidle Жыл бұрын

I have wanted one of these amps for decades. My old favorite local shop, Tombstone had one of these for the house demo amp. I played guitars, basses, baritone guitars, electric mandolins, whatever through that baby. Every single instrument sounded good. Guitar Center opened up less than 5 miles down the road and killed the shop. 😥😥 For anyone who knows them, Tombstone was owned and operated by Fred and Toodi of Dead Moon.

@eeniac Жыл бұрын

Excellent video! I loved the use of diagrams during signal tracing, as well as the comparison between the 6l6gc and the 5881 / 6l6wgb. Thorough and professional, and an excellent reference for servicing one of these beautiful amps.

@davepaulson287 Жыл бұрын

Hey Brad! I really enjoyed this episode and the format. I believe this is your best one to date. Thanks!

@fuzzmountain7583 Жыл бұрын

I love that you re-stuff the old can. Serious attention to detail man. Great stuff!

@Lmoes Жыл бұрын

An absolute gem of a video, and an absolute gem of an amp given new life by a skilled tech. Good stuff!

@SteveHacker Жыл бұрын

Love the green screen addition! And very relaxing clean music played with it at first. Very fitting match between the spacey imagery and clean meditative playing!

@whiterose7055 Жыл бұрын

Hey Brad ! Nice vid content. Great tech'n with them amp innards, too. I owned a Portaflex around 1966 and a ES 125 TC and it always did the job. Thanks for the smiles.

@kwoods1960 Жыл бұрын

Brad such great playing, as usual, to highlight what I think are the best attributes of this setup. I'm not sure I've heard better elusive "woodier" tones ever. Fantastic!

@williswet Жыл бұрын

You're one hell of a guitarist Brad. You make it look effortless. Great repair video. Thanks.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Thanks man.

@TheAamott12 Жыл бұрын

Dude that guitar playing at the end was memorizing and f ing fantastic! Thank you my man bravo!

@LitesLAB Жыл бұрын

Killer Job Brad! And your playing at the end …. Nothing but🔥 . Long Live the Guitologist!

@payday1963 Жыл бұрын

Nice Meteorite guitar!!

@sski Жыл бұрын

I played through a 1962 B15 for the first 2 years of my 40 year long career. Great start by accident, if you knew the backstory. That amp is iconic. It's all over everything you've heard or hear since its inception. Songs of many genres, movie soundtracks, and TV and radio commercials. It's even a basic model in most amp sim software.

@knuckleheadsaloon Жыл бұрын

Your Vids rock Mr Brad the Guitarologist. I'm always hanging for the next one !

@kenzuercher7497 Жыл бұрын

Nice job on the restoration, Brad! I do an occasional repair with cap cans too and will try your restuffing technique!

@Nemoando Жыл бұрын

Nice vid Brad, loved it! Nice to see you putting some of the items I sent, actually being used. That makes me feel good :) Nemo-

@jasonlee8497 Жыл бұрын

Way back in the day, a friend of mine had an old Ampeg amp. It actually had an input for Accordion! It had the fattest, most singing lead tone I ever played.

@billstahl9681 Жыл бұрын

I had one! ReverbRocket!

@valvenator Жыл бұрын

Back in the day just about every amp it seems had an accordion input. What's kinda funny is that it was the hi gain input since accordions put out a lower signal. The top folks at Ampeg were no fans of Rock-n-Roll. Their amps were designed for Jazz musicians. The old Fender Bassman is like that too with the guitar input having a lower gain than the bass channel.

@jasonlee8497 Жыл бұрын

@@valvenator interesting.

@mohamedtlass3842 Жыл бұрын

Like on the Gemini series amps!

@davidmolina3520 Жыл бұрын

Most excellent sir ! Dig the repair segment and your atmospheric Jam 🌌

@francesnieznay6623 Жыл бұрын

Glad to see you back on amps ,they also make good keyboard amps , used a v-4 for many years.

@rickycompton2610 Жыл бұрын

Killer video Brad , great service on the porta Flex, Man your playing on this video is kick ass.

@patrickgormley2806 Жыл бұрын

Brad I think your "green screen" is the BOMB! I love the universe background along with the music.

@mechajabo Жыл бұрын

Making Pappy proud. That dirt tone on the Zio sounded killer man, awesome work Brad!

@payday1963 Жыл бұрын

Nice Zio Meteorite guitar!!

@jetsonIFY Жыл бұрын

Hi Brad. What a great Sunday afternoon surprise!!!!!!

@davidflamee Жыл бұрын

Great video and some nice sonics on the playout there. Put me in mind of black oak Arkansas, X rated LP bump and grind etc. Very neat amp and, versatile too. Loving the use of the new studio space.

@chriskilgore930 Жыл бұрын

Great job on the amp plus an awesome demo!

@Damaraja Жыл бұрын

We had a ‘69 version in the auditorium back stage music room at my high school (along with a Rhodes and other gear) and I spent much of my time practicing down there on this amp. It sounded warm and clear no matter what was played through it. I now have a collection of Oliver heads and use them as part of my main rig. Fond memories of this ol’ Ampeg. Thanks, B. Aloha 🤙 BTW, this video was very helpful. Great explanation through thought processes. Really appreciated the corresponding highlights on schematic segment. Thanks again ✌️

@pablo.l Жыл бұрын

great episode brad!

@chokkan7 Жыл бұрын

Another nicely done presentation, Brad. Have to love the engineering that went into these. Quick question: if the Wyman-owned version of this amp sold for $47K, then shouldn't the Guitologist-enhanced version sell for $70-80K or so? Just kidding...glad to see you back at the bench.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Shouldn’t bring a penny under $100k Zimbabwean dollars.

@robertthrelfall2650 Жыл бұрын

Hey Brad, been a few years since I've seen one of your vids. All I can say is, I feel your pain. I can see it and I feel it too. On another note, great job on the old Ampeg. Sounds great. But, we all know 80% of the "tone" is in the fingers. Great job, glad to see you are still plugging along nicely. All the best.

@flyonwall360 Жыл бұрын

When I was about 14 my brother traded me his amp for mine. He had just become a father and needed something a bit quieter. I had an inexpensive solid state combo practice amp, I think it was from Sears. In exchange my brother gave me his 1960 Ampeg B15-XY. That amp was amazing. I held on to that amp until 1997. At 33 I was going through a nasty divorce and needed cash. Years later I learned that the XY was an experimental model. I don't miss how heavy the thing was.

@jasonkirkham550 Жыл бұрын

Great video ! Guitar work and all. I really wish I would have brought a B15 N years ago.

@jonathanstrand2474 Жыл бұрын

Awesome video Brad, your cap stuffing is very cool, keep an historic amp looking original, and the repair price low, plus your closeups of the lettering stencils and the sensitivity and tone shift switch’s tell me that my V4 is a 68 or 69, it had an ungrounded power cord and auxiliary power plug, so I know it’s about that old. I had it recapped and a grounded cord added, fabulous bass amp, although mine is the guitar version with reverb

@gearmeister Жыл бұрын

I've gotta say that an old school tube guy, first thing I do is turn the amp on in standby, look at each tube for the proper glow & plate color & if there's anything wrong, I stop right there. I had time to watch the whole repair video & I don't think I could picture anyone more detailed & thorough as Bradley.. you should build a simple 10 watt amp head with a heyboer transformer & call it "The Bradley"... I'm serious, I'd order it right now

@timothyb1559 Жыл бұрын

Outstanding episode! I would've liked to have heard a bass demo. That being said, after all these years, I think we know what a P bass through a B-15 sounds like. Absolutely crushing guitar tone! Playing a hollow body with that pure of tone is not an easy thing to do and you nailed it. Loved the green screen. I think your best is yet to come. 👍

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

I would have if I had the original cab for it. I have no good bass cab in the studio right now.

@timothyb1559 Жыл бұрын

@@TheGuitologist I know exactly how you feel. I have more amps than my local Guitar Center but no bass amps. And I'm originally a bass player!

@michaelperry2446 Жыл бұрын

thanks Brad! love your vids and playing! i hope u stick with this but whatever u do I hope its joyful and fun! ur vids are too me, ty

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoy it

@silviopimentel7247 Ай бұрын

That beast sounds glorious!!! That lush midrange is phenomenal!! ❤

@sharonlee4773 Жыл бұрын

Great playing there man!

@mikeh892 Жыл бұрын

"I don't know where I'd find an output transformer". And if you do find one, good lord it'll cost ya LOL. Great vid, man. As an aside, that apple on the bench is tripping me out. Someone I knew had one when I was a kid. It jingles when you shake it, as I recall. Edit: those poor 5881s...

@hoboroadie Жыл бұрын

Having moved, and flipped, a few Porta-Flex amps back in the day, I have always dreamed of plugging one into the array to get a taste of what tones could be squozen out of those enormous transformers. Thanks Bradley, not surprised.

@jonathanstrand2474 Жыл бұрын

Your Brad custom sounds just fabulous, soapbar tone without the hum! I have that SD pick up too

@David-ei5lq Жыл бұрын

A friend of mine in ‘64 had that amp with a flip top and an SG. It sounded great!

@Cluless02 8 ай бұрын

Excellent video!! Those old Ampegs are really fine amplifiers. Love the Indian sort of style, cool mood. Reminds of the late 60s.☮️

@Dissentient01 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your hard work!

@JR-qj6wg Жыл бұрын

You got her singing again! Beautiful.

@esquared232 6 ай бұрын

Phenomenal playing dude

@326vince Жыл бұрын

I believe I have one of these. It actually flipped over into a cab. It got blown out with a heavy fuse. Hopefully I can get it fixed. If so I’d love to have a tube amp again. Great video. Thanks

@zandig666 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Brad for another great video !!!!!!🤟🤟🤟🤟

@justgary4342 Жыл бұрын

Kickin' ass and takin' names at the end there. Nice!

@fasteagle9959 8 ай бұрын

That damn thing is a beast. Bridge those inputs and wow man, I can’t imagine. I want !!

@epah9829 Жыл бұрын

liking the staging, and clean playing

@VashStarwind Жыл бұрын

Hell yeah! Been loving the end-of-video shreds lately. This one was badass with the green screen and space haha. Green screen was a good idea lol.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Thanks. Glad you dug it.

@jameslewis2635 Жыл бұрын

I do like that you bothered re-stuffing the cap can like that. It was one of those efforts that I am sure a lot of people wouldn't bother with but it is good that you took care to maintain the original layout and aesthetics of this classic amp. Considering this thing was voiced for bass, it sounds pretty good as a guitar amp to my ears, I have heard a lot worse.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I didn't expect much at all with a guitar. Figured it would be muddy and flubby. Not the case.

@samizdat113 Жыл бұрын

@@TheGuitologist That amp sounds great. I bet it gets even better with a 808 hitting the front.

@patreidcocolditzcastle632 8 ай бұрын

been watching brads channel for years and his given me great tips in email before. i just want to say how entertains for a amp nerd like me he is. out of all the channels him and stuart amp guy uk ,jason headfirst these 3 are all you need to learn more and not get bored threw the process.but Brad is the sort of dude you want to have a beer with and he sticks it to the big companies so you tend to trust his head..also extremely good at what he does. if he had a social media manager he be massive id say but then he probably would lose that one on one charm..i think id like dudes from kentucky . Brad does not have that american know it all trait his first to say hey i was wrong and that is what a genius is. well done legend and keep it coming

@wrenchhead6840 Жыл бұрын

Great fix, great jam…. Thank you

@metalmig Жыл бұрын

great playing mate!

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Thanks for listening

@ianharris8706 Жыл бұрын

Sounds great, nice playing also!

@erikvaldur3334 Жыл бұрын

Nice Amp. I had one like it 10 or so years ago. Had many old Ampegs I used mainly for bass. I'm mainly a guitarist though. One I wish I never sold/traded was my B12N. Same as this but with 12"speaker and maybe half or so of the wattage. That was great for guitar with much earlier break up. Bass was a blast with that punchy break up. Great bass tone for stoner rock. Try the B12 if you can find one. Much more rare than the B15 but they're out there.

@darrellkelly7614 Жыл бұрын

GREAT content buddy..

@saw1331 Жыл бұрын

I met a neighbor about 10 years ago at a Garage sale. He sold me a 60's B12 Portaflex Fliptop (diamond pattern tolex) with a 12" for $115 cause it had no sound. All it needed was new latches (as they carry the signal to the speaker, but were a little rusty / corroded)! Amp was all original down to the bugle boy tubes and jensen speaker, but a little rough (torn tolex, chrome parts a lightly corroded, etc).. Sounded great! Loved it! Kept it for a while and ended up trading it for a Dr. Z maz 18 head.. Best amp deal I ever made!

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Hard to find deals like that. It’s why i got into amp repair, if you can repair, you can take advantage of deals.

@saw1331 Жыл бұрын

@@TheGuitologist Found an old soundcheck video I did with the amp with pics.. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bKlkhNZnsZunlYE.html&ab_channel=saw1331

@jimirox1928 Жыл бұрын

WOW! An actual amplifier repair on Brads channel rather than the usual bullshit. I had to look at the date posted to make sure it wasn't from 5 years ago when this channel was worth watching. Good job.

@johnpick8336 Жыл бұрын

Back then we used a Bogen or Layfette Tube P.A. with 2x12 Bassman Cabs on either side of the stage....if you could afford it this was the standard back in the 60's . My older B 15 had an XLR out but as you can see back them most P.A.'s did not have XLR connections to overcome the B 15 low volume output. Thanks for the Blast from my Past !

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

This one has a 1/4" preamp output.

@christopherallen5603 Жыл бұрын

Man those chassis guts are beautiful, looks completely original

@keithnorris6348 Жыл бұрын

I have a ` VL - 1002 ` Ampeg and I do like the sound it gives my bass in both a 4 x 10" and a single 15" . It is also very attractive to look at.

@jasonlee8497 Жыл бұрын

Oh… and nice playing Brad.

@ant1sokolow Жыл бұрын

The night sky demo (first part ..) made me think i was on a Chord of Orion video... Not a bad thing I never looked inside the chassis of this kind of amps before. The printed/point to point hybrid circuit is quite clever, remaining as much serviceable than a pure turret /eyelet board one.

@Cluless02 8 ай бұрын

Wow fabulous outro thing, sort of Blackmore style, really cool!

@murfmurphy6212 Жыл бұрын

However you setup the microphones at the end sounded great in headphones. Another awesome video but the ending jam was really moving. Thanks Brad..I hope all is well with you.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

I’m trying to take a bit more time dialing in the sound at the board. I’m usually pretty negligent about that part.

@themk7587 Жыл бұрын

I like the background on the green screen.

@rustyrobinson8027 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Brad

@kwoods1960 Жыл бұрын

Son, you're going to have Bonamassa coming for that thing! Great demo AND playing!

@NEILBSMITH Жыл бұрын

125 TDC? Nice. Amp sounds amazing. Nice work.

@payday1963 Жыл бұрын

Nice Meteorite guitar!!

@brettbunke9096 Жыл бұрын

Thank you Brad!!!!!

@gerrickreidenbach8147 Жыл бұрын

Enjoyed the restoration, Brad, you may want to look into Hayseed Hamfest for future multi-section cap replacements. I think they will manufacture almost any type.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

First Ive heard of them! Thank you!

@gerrickreidenbach8147 Жыл бұрын

@@TheGuitologist I have seen their products on occasion and they seem quite good. They have made a reputation for themselves with some of the hobbiests in the area.

@piratestudiosproductions Жыл бұрын

Hey man, not sure how to get a hold of you, but I wanted to ask a question. I've got a Crate turbovalve 120 head, and it came with 5881 sovtek tubes, and I was wondering if I can safely mix 6l6 sovtek with them?

@pauldavis6356 Жыл бұрын

From what I've seen on these B-15-N's is they have a 4-pin "XLR" style connector where the B+ is passed through the speaker cabinet as a fail safe for the output tubes and the output transformer. If there's no speaker load the output is shunted to ground.

@2dazetake Жыл бұрын

That's the best guitar on the market,looks like it has great balance,I really like the looks of the neck, and those pickups kick butt,they nailed it as far as signature guitars go ,I'm a offset guitar fan,not only for the looks,but because they over come neck dive problems, the last thing you want to do, is hold the neck up while trying to play,not a fan of the color,but I think this guitar would look great in turquoise.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

He’ll make it in any color you want

@kennethquintini658 Жыл бұрын

The Guitologist rules!!!!

@richardweidner1625 4 ай бұрын

nice playing

@R3TR0R4V3 Жыл бұрын

What a cool, legendary amp! Sounded great with guitar. That's great you were able to save the outer cover for the can cap too. 👍 I take it you got beef with CE Manufacturing though? I'm curious what that's about.. AFAIK, they're about one of the few, decent companies still making cans nowadays.

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

I don’t do business with them anymore

@meblaw1 Жыл бұрын

Is the 250 ohm 10 watt resistor a shunt to protect the output transformer ? I made an amp head and wanted to to do similar in case amp was powered on without a speaker load …any recommendations? Thanks . Mike

@bobperu1 8 ай бұрын

You sure are a talented dude for shore.

@Beautiful_Evil Жыл бұрын

$355 seems so cheap for an amplifier these days but then if you do the inflation calculator from 1969 until now that actually equates to almost $3000 lol. I think it's like $2880 or some shit. That doesn't seem so cheap anymore lol man, the history behind this stuff is just fascinating to me. Some thing about looking back on these old electronics is really just quite fascinating and I really just love listening to you talk about where these amplifiers came from and who built them etc. Great video brad.

@bottomkitchen250 5 ай бұрын

One of the nicest sounding amps I've ever tried was an Ampeg. It was at a local shop and the owner said it was actually bass amp. It had a hefty price tag. I can't remember any other details unfortunately.

@PabloCubarle 7 ай бұрын

Hey Brad I have the exact same amp. I’d like it to be checked by you. Where are you located? Please let me know. Thanks so much for the amazing video

@brian50g Жыл бұрын

Dude!! Yer playin guitar in outer space?!?!?! My mind is blown

@Netlife-001 Жыл бұрын

Go Brad!

@void0094 Жыл бұрын

Have you ever played through an Ampeg B-12-XY? If you did, what was it like?

@Zeinzu2 Жыл бұрын

THAT. SHIT. SOUNDED. AMAZING.

@rcjward Жыл бұрын

I love those vintage Ampegs! They have a unique design and can achieve a great scooped clean tone for bass and/or guitar. How did you get the distorted tones, Brad? I assume you just pushed the front end?

@TheGuitologist Жыл бұрын

Set the switches to max gain and just crank it. I could have also jumped channels and eeked even more out of it.

@framusburns-hagstromiii808 Жыл бұрын

Ampeg made some killer amps back in the day. Jesse Oliver knew his stuff!! I always thought that amp had kind of a 'Frankensteins laboratory' kind of vibe but the idea of flipping the chassis over to let the heat flow up away from the internals was smart, even if it didn't look as cool as a tuck-and-roll Kustom , it made sense. Nice work as always and cool video green-screen effects while you were playing..must have taken a lot of extra effort. Thanks!!

@jonathanstrand2474 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for that, I didn’t notice the star field!

@pharmerdavid1432 Жыл бұрын

I think it looks very cool with the guts showing, and as you said - it also makes sense for dissipating heat.

@richreid7098 Жыл бұрын

Very nice.

@mrpbody44 6 ай бұрын

I just found 3 of these in the trash. Thanks for posting this

@TheGuitologist 6 ай бұрын

You’re joking.

@mrpbody44 6 ай бұрын

No not joking at all @@TheGuitologist

@patrickgormley2806 Жыл бұрын

Also I had a BT-15b back in the day that had the luminescent panel.

@jackbyrd4921 Жыл бұрын

It has the bassman vibe the amp rocks surely a rare find .

@jdwild1698 Жыл бұрын

WHOA ... that some killa tone bro ! WTF , damn dude you rock the shit out that thing! :>)

@RedArrow73 Жыл бұрын

Along with switching to SVT's for stage amps, The Rolling Stones used amps from this period in the studio. The B-15N, most likely by Bill Wyman, so that's Fender Mustang bass thru B-15N.