Ampeg B-18-N

by **Andrew** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 12:04 am

Hello everyone,

Well I just bought a B18 and I'm stoked :D . Don't think I'll ever need to buy another Bass amp again. Looks a bit dirty now but I'm going to restore it (got the deoxit and progold and rust remover) hopefully by next week. Its US voltage so I'll have to get a stepdown transfer if my engineer friend can't find a correct tap on a transformer, he's qualified and know's that stuff, I'm not so I won't touch any of the power side. One of the tubes is missing, it says 7027A on the back. Does anyone know of a source for one of these in Aus. I'm in Perth?

Thanks,
Andrew.

by **PeterR** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:09 am

7027a is a reasonably common power amp valve. www.evatco.com.au have 'em, they're in Melbourne. Im sure other places have it. Im not aware of any places in Perth but im sure there are plenty.

The existing PT might have a tap for 220-240v if you're lucky. If not, Evatco also stock hammond transformers. You could get your mate to check the HT secondary and get him to match it up with a suitable PT. It should be checked loaded and unloaded I guess to make sure of the specs. Check with Rob or Howard or Rick on that. That will solve your power problems the neatest way. Make sure it can supply enough current for the tubes AND their heaters.

A call to Ampeg might be helpful, depends on the people as to whether or not they want to help a "second hander"

by **rick** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:04 pm

i have one of these and i am sure its the best recording bass amp ever made. ( mine belonged to ac/dc for twenty years)

there is no 220/240 tap, mine has a replacement transformer courtesy of it going to england at some point in its life.

the simplest thing is a seperate stepdown transformer ( make sure its rated high enough)

the ampeg has a balanced look asethically and you will not find a transformer that will fit easily so .... leave it alone.

recapp it , retube it and keep it fo ever.

did you get the box or just the head ( ebay...?)
and yes.... its meant to be distorted

by **Andrew** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 1:20 am

Hey thanks so much Peter & Rick for your info. I checked out that shop and had no idea tubes are so replaceable/sourceable? I thought I would have to sell my best equipment to import it from the deepest parts of russia at a extremely high price. I also found a write up about using different tubes for the ampeg and will post it up later. Its got some serious voltage inside so I'm not going to mess with it but wil definatly recapp as this write up I was reading said you could fry all your tubes if your capps are gone :cry: . I'm glad to hear it will sound tuby distorted, I'm a little bit fed up with ultra clean digital type sounds. Yes Rick I have to confess to getting it off evilbay (but it was a bargain...I think), only the head, I'm going to have a look round for a suitable speaker and make up a box. Hey speaking of ebay, has anyone heard that song by weird al yankovic? I have a friend who plays it when I'm spending too much time on the computer.

by **Text_Edifice** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:17 pm

Great find! Just out of interest where did you hunt the amp down? I've been looking for a 'vintage' tube bass amp for recording for a while now and have had limited luck (there's a lot of vintage Australian brands like Goldentone out there but Ampeg's seem a bit harder to find).

Cheers.

Text_Edifice

by **kassonica** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:29 pm

Great score on the amp front. Another place to source lots of valves and transformers is retrovox.com.au

by **Andrew** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 4:41 pm

Hey Kassonica and Text_Edifice :wink: . Text_Edifice I got it from the US. You'll probably find one if you look around a bit. These things sometimes need a little bit of work to get going so you need to know something about electronics or know someone who does to avoid any mishaps :shock: (electrocution). I've got just about everything I need except that multitap capacitor (Mallory type FP, 40/40/40 500vdc 65degrees). I'm going to have a serious search once I finished the rest.....maybe I should write a new post 'what not to do when restoring equipment and what to do when you did what not to do'?

by **Text_Edifice** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 4:47 pm

Thanks Andrew,

Did you find the Ampeg via Ebay or some other audio specific site?

Athread on what to do when you've done what not to do would be informative, or at the very least entertaining :wink: :wink:

Regards.

Text_Edifice

Ampeg B-18-N

Ampeg B-18-N

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