Ampeg B-115N

PortaFlex Bass Amp

Hi n-Trackers:

It been a wish of mine to one day be the proud owner of an Ampeg PortaFlex Bass Amp…



This amp has been maintained by me ever sense the amp was bought new from the Musicstop where I worked servicing music equipment from as far back as the
mid ‘70’s…
As I understand, the PortaFlex Amp was factory supplied with two 15’ speakers…
One being a CTS standard (I believe) or an Altec Lansing 15’…
I forget the model # However, this amp has the Altec Speaker as factory installed…



The amp was originally built for the Stand-up Bass player who needed some Stage amplification…
This amp became the standard amp for that application as well as the Studio Bass amp…
It makes about 30 watts output…


The amp is presently owned by the bass player of a local Gospel Group…


The market value of this amps depend on their condition, of course…
This one has seen many thousands of miles of road use, …
BUT…
it is original in all respects…
These amps can be had for 12-15 hundred dollars, on the right day…
Today, he was offered 1250.00 for it…
Then he came over to visit me…


We talked about this amp for more than 25 years, if and in the event he wanted to part with this amp…


I can only hope that he doesn’t change his mind and let this amp go to someone else…



You see…
I am scheduled for Cataract Eye Surgery in another week…
Health benefits do not cover eye surgery in these parts… By the time that gets done it’s some 500.00 per eye
:)
???
We’ll see…
I hope I can see…
:)





Bill…

Oh, man, those are great amps on every way. A bass player I played with a while back had one - great live and in the studio. <br />
Hmmm. Eyes or amp?

:laugh:

Hi Bill. Ask him straight - bid him in the nuts with $1255.00.
Better still - if you end up having it at your place for a pre-sale service, stop anwering the door and calls from him :laugh:

He had it in the trunk of his car, yesterday…
If I had the money, it would have been in the studio…
I believe it’s the only one in captivity, in these parts…



What happens over here is, The amp (or guitar, the Selmer Sax, the Ludwig Drum Kit, the Bagpipes, or whatever) leaves the closet, where they’ve been for years…
gets posted on E-Bay and leaves for someplace in the USA…
Never to be seen again…
No doubt, they find good homes… BbUuTt…


That’s what happened to my '61 Jazz Bass…
My '63 '64 BassMan Amp

sigh…
Whatever was not right about my Gray Matter…
????
Who only knows…
:disagree:
:laugh:






Bill…

We exchanged phone numbers, before he left with that amp… :whistle: I hope I don’t forget where I put it… OR… loose it

Bill, we Yanks love to buy things from other countries. Anything! Computers, poison-laced pet food, sweatshop made clothing, you name it! That’s one of the reasons our economy is doing so well. (bit of sarcasm here.)

I just checked E-Bay and there happens to be one there (complete) approx $1200
and another one (just the Amp section) approx $475…

The complete one appears to have a replacement Power Transformer, on it…
Everything else looks O.K.
but it don’t sound so good…
Just my opinion…
Could be the replacement power transformer, causing it to sound the way it does…
Maybe, tubes ????..
The cabinet appears to have a CTS Standard speaker installed in it…
The Ampeg Home page doesn’t seem to have-or-show the original Porta Flex Amp…
But the later version has a D.I. Output circuit in it…
Much sought after upgrade…
The D.I. circuit along with the normal cabinet speaker with a mic pointed at the speaker and a room mic is mixed on several tracks from the session tracks…


The hair on the back of my neck is standing on-end and I just got a hair cut.
:)
:p
:laugh:


What a Way-to-Go…
:)




Anyway, back in the mid '90’s I was in central Tennessee and was talking to a guitar player at an outdoor concert, fronted by a Barry White, at the time…
He was using two guitar amps on that stage… One,
a Fender Black-faced Twin (original) and a new Vox AC 30 Amp…
I asked him if the AC-30 Amp was original (in it’s design)…
He replied…
It better be…
And a big laugh came outta him…
He said, he paid 2400.00 for the amp…


Money…
No Object… sigh…


That Twin Amp sounded So Nice…
I didn’t ask him about the Twin Amp…
I expect it was an import from outta the Country…
Well…
A “Canuck Twin”…
not the “Bush Plane”…
hehe






Bill…

Hey, we’re no longer a bushy nation, we’re Obama people now! :)

I’ve had several great amps that, at the time, I did not realize were great, and then sold… including an AC 30…

DA Plane…
Boss…
DA Plane…


:p
:laugh:
The Sitcom…

However, not to be Political in nature…
I think Obama is not very well received in the State of Pennsylvania, as I’ve heard…


Either is Harper, in Nova Scotia, for that matter…




Bill…

Is Harper well received anywhere?

NO… He’s a Westerner… :) :p :laugh: He’s full of Oil Sand… Careful… Ox…

Wikipedia says that his first job was in the mail room at Imperial Oil.
:laugh:

Why do I always giggle when I hear “privy council”?

A lot of great people stem from reading other people’s mail…
:p
:laugh:

Today, I’m gonna load up the truck with recycled blue bags from the end of driveways…
I figure about 50 loads might be enough to trade for that Porta Flex Amp…
:p
:laugh:



No wonder he has a closeness to those oil sands…
He’s trying his best to tax the canuck people into prosperity…





Bill…

how comes u guyz liek such the old gears?
nu stuff it is better 4 u and not zapp u an not blowing up in the face.

Quote: (Horace Frankendingle @ Sep. 20 2010, 4:35 PM)

how comes u guyz liek such the old gears?
nu stuff it is better 4 u and not zapp u an not blowing up in the face.

Hi Horace Frankendingle:

You got IT,
Sir..
Restoring old amps..
Playing with the power supplies and discharging the hi-voltage caps with your fingers.. AND...
re-curling whatever gray hair is left on top..
They don't make stuff like that anymore..



The new stuff has no Character.. :)


Anyway, I gave the guy a call on the phone..
I'm prepared to offer him 850.00 for the amp..
I told him, and he knows that I'm going in the hospital for eye surgery next week..


I checked E-Bay again and the Porta Flex Amp that is listed in there did not sell..
It appears that he is re-offering the bid on the amp at a higher price..
It's now at 1400.00..
I think he wants too much for that amp..
It doesn't have the original Power Transformer..






Bill..

I like old stuff b/c I’m old.
:laugh:

Actually, I do like my Carr Mercury, and it’s not old.

Bill, is playing the “eye surgery pity card” cricket?

If only Bill were a ten year old harp playing, Judy Garland in a wheelchair and Simon Cowell as judge - the amp would be in the bag.
:laugh:
Jokin’, guys.

“Buster”…
is the guy who owns the amp…
We go back many years…
However, I am unable to see what’s boiling away, between his ears…
I tell him what I think and he does the same, with me…
He’s a walking Bass Store
:)
:p
:laugh:
He’s got too many basses and too many amps to go with them…





BuT… I only want the Porta Flex…

sigh…



To restore the amp is gonna run into several hundred loonies…



The right 6SL7 preamp tubes are almost impossible to round up, these days… I got some, but they may not be any better than the ones that are already in the amp…
The cabinet has the resonate frequency buzzes in it…
It happens over the years of nightly use…

The right 6L6’s are pretty easy to come by…

However, again, that’s only part of the restoration…





I still want the amp…
:)




Bill…

Hi Gents:

I’ve completed the deal on the Ampeg B15N Bass Amp…
I have the amp in the studio…
It arrived some 30 minutes ago…
Tomorrow it’s go to Bob’s shop where we’ll take some photos of it in it’s present condition…



:agree:
:O
:p
I’m looking forward to starting work on this project…





Bill…

Dang, you are an amp fiend these days, Bill! :agree: