New Ampeg Heritage B-15

[JimmyM]

George, not to worry. It's only the legacy of the greatest bass amp in history.



I'm sure they'll all be excellent and find happy homes pretty quickly. Everyone seems to agree these are amps to be taken seriously. I like how they've got just the right improvements. And thank you for not putting an XLR out on it. Somehow it seems wrong to have a DI on a B-15. Glad someone agrees with me who can do something about it.

[NY Chief]

George, congrats again! That scenario I wrote about a few years back about Metro buying out the failing Marshall brand and returning to former glory may well play out yet!!!!

Any clips of B15 yet? I know you have a pretty good bass player "on staff" over there! I must admit I don't have any first hand live expereince with a vintage B15 but it has one hell of a reputation.

[VelvetGeorge]

George, not to worry. It's only the legacy of the greatest bass amp in history.

Yeah, no pressure or anything.

It's great that everyone involved is a huge fan of B-15's. No one wanted to change anything that is a part of the legacy. Like the DI idea, it just didn't seem to fit the motif.

I worked on this with Pyotr for ages and it's been terrific. Not without a few snags and headaches along the way, of course. But I can't say enough about him as a builder, as a designer, as the guy overseeing the project and keeping things on track. Total professional and passionate about the product. It's no surprise that the Valve Jr and the Blackheart lines did so well.

Lots of other people made huge contributions as well, Mark Gandenberger's work on the cab is amazing. Jess could not be more happy.

I'm doing my part by keeping the quality control at the highest level and seeing that every NOS tube is a tone monster. The chrome has to be flawless, the trannys have to be perfect, the wiring has to be excellent etc.

george

[JimmyM]

Mark is my bro. He's made quite a few nice improvements over the original design. I have one of his cabs and he sold a few more to Talkbassers because of the flawless work he does, plus he's just plain good people. It's great to see so many people working to make this an artistic statement as well as a highly functional and roadworthy amp that will last long after we're all gone.

And shout out to Pyotr as well. This could have never happened under the former head idiot of Loud. I'm sure you know it was supposed to have happened in 2005 and didn't because of him. Glad they have someone in charge now who respects the Ampeg legacy.

Anyway, sorry if I'm gushing a little too much. I'm just blown away that Ampeg is really doing it.

[JimiJames]

...I'm doing my part by keeping the quality control at the highest level and seeing that every NOS tube is a tone monster. The chrome has to be flawless, the trannys have to be perfect, the wiring has to be excellent etc.
george

In the Amplification Dictionary, on page 32, you can find the words Perfection and Excellence right next to Metropoulos.

[demonufo]

Soooooooo, perhaps the SVT kit that you "fooled" us about in April, might not be so far-reaching after all???

Only kiddin'. Looking good George.

[VelvetGeorge]

I just seen a post on Talk Bass questioning if the amp is truly "Made in USA".

I can confirm the items that I personally contributed:

transformers and choke made in Michigan

chassis and tube cages made in Florida

component boards made here in my shop

component boards loaded here in house

signal capacitors made in USA

everything on the chassis is attached here in house

all sub-assembly work is done here in house

We are taking all the raw parts, starting with the chassis, and assembling from scratch. These are 100% Made in USA amps.

George

[demonufo]

We are taking all the raw parts, starting with the chassis, and assembling from scratch. These are 100% Made in USA amps.

Even more awesome. How many amps can claim that I wonder?

[JimmyM]

Thank you for confirming, George. Sometimes those Talkbass geeks need a little hand holding

[paulster]

Awesome work George.

I love B-15s and it's great to see them back and done properly.

[VelvetGeorge]

Looking over the bill of materials for country of origin on all parts plus the assembly an other fixed costs, we're running at over 90% USA origin on these amps. Well over the technical definition, which is based on the overall value to the end user and is somewhat more ambiguous than many people might lead you to believe.

george

[NY Chief]

So what's the latest news? NAMM?

[robert]

Hi George,

my congrats to this outstanding project!
I wonder if Jess Oliver also involved ?

BTW: I've mailed him some years ago, asking some questions about the Portaflex B18N.
He answered my quetions very quickly, and he was very friendly to me- he's a real great guy!

Best wishes from Germany to you, your kids & your futher projects

Regards

Robert

[NY Chief]

The new Ampeg (Metro built) Heritage B-15 now at Sweetwater (but you'll have to wait....)

Congrats, George!!!!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ ... 6wodKBR2Hg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AND a review....including "renowned amp builder, George Metropoulos.." Hey, we know somebody famous!!!!

http://www.gear-vault.com/namm-2011-amp ... amp-combo/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And Musicians Friend...

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com ... sku=H70989" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[myfoot]

Awesome! Congrats George!