~1971 Ampeg B15-N Amp Head

Offered for sale:

Used c1971 Ampeg B-15N (head only).

This bass head is in very good condition, fully functional. Cosmetically showing playing time and associated wear. The original wooden base, a signature feature that allows the head to be inverted and stored within the speaker cabinet, has been modified to create a chassis base for the head.

Reverb states:

“In 1960, The Ampeg Company, Inc. introduced the first combination amplifier dedicated to the bass guitar: the B-15. Conceived in 1958 by the late legend Jess Oliver (aka that dude who first put reverb into a guitar amp), the B-15 grew up alongside our modern music industry. Like a lot of the popular sewing machines at the time, the B-15 stored inside of itself, as players moving from gig to gig only had to flip over the amp head to get moving. From its early days as a union-provided amp on the Manhattan Bass Club scene to its storied history inside the world’s elite studios, the Fliptop B-15 is iconic and inescapable.”

“Bass players of every genre and decade have favored the different flavors of the B-15 as a trusty sidekick in some of the most memorable performances in recorded history. Rick Danko used a B-15 with The Band and even used a B-15S on The Last Waltz. Motown fixture and demigod James Jamerson used a B-15 for all of his live performances as well as the majority of his non-Motown sessions in Los Angeles. As Eddie Kramer recounts, John Paul Jones would wheel his B-15 into their Led Zeppelin recording sessions. Hell, even Jimi Hendrix was known to plug into a B-15 or two, like during this performance on Dick Cavett.”

1968

“The last group of changes that Ampeg made to the tube-powered B-15 were made in 1968. From the jump, you can plainly see that the B15-NF’s aesthetic is different. There’s no light-up Lucite logo. There’s no blue-checkered vinyl (though that change started in 1967). Ampeg also traded chrome for aluminum, and the understated script nameplate for the new and current “A” logo. Behind the 1968-1977 era B-15N’s apparent visual modifications were a few extra technical bells and whistles worth mentioning.

First off, Ampeg added a second input jack for its second channel. Ampeg also introduced Ultra High and Ultra Low switches on each channel. These switches function like Pultec style EQs, meaning that they emphasize certain frequencies by reducing the directly adjacent frequencies. The Ultra Low switch is centered at 160Hz, and the Ultra High switch is centered at 8kHz.”

Imperial Guitar says:

Ampeg B-15 amps are the holy grail of tube bass tone. With this modified piece you can have that classic tone thru your favorite bass cabinet(s).

AMP SPECS:

Weight lbs.: 23.6

Width in.: 17 ¼”

Depth in.: 8 5/8”

Height in.: 9”

TUBES:

Rectifier: 5AR4

Preamp: 6L6, 6L6

Power: 6SL7, 6SL7, 6SL7

*Please note: we do our best giving descriptions of used pieces. We have found it impossible to describe every mark on an instrument or amp that is not in the "mint" category. Also, what's important to you may not be important to someone else. For example, you may say, "I don't care what it looks like as long as it plays or sounds well." Another person may say, "Body cosmetics are very important to me so tell me about every scratch, nick and blemish." So, please ask the questions that are most important to you. If you ask they will be answered. They are free and there's no limit. Additional photos can also be made available.

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