| Reviewer
| Brad Maestas
|
| Experience
| 16+
|
| Review date
| February 20 2004
|
| Manufacturer
| Ampeg
|
| Model
| 1510-HE
|
| Price
| $300 (used)
|
| Item owned for
| 1-2 years
|
| |
|
| Dimensions
| ~25 x 24 x 16
|
| Weight
| ~55 lbs.
|
| Power
| 250-300
|
| Speakers
| 1x15, 1x10, 1 Fostex-type horn tweeter
|
| Ohms
| 4-ohms?
|
| Other
| Front-ported Classic Series (black tolex, black removable grill with w |
| |
ooden frame, casters, three-position horn attenuator, 2x1/4" inputs, indents o |
| |
n top for stacking other cabs)
|
| |
|
I bought this used about a year and a half ago at Mass Street Music while
looking for another backup enclosure. I often find myself renting it out
to my various bass-playing friends when they are experiencing some form of
gear trouble and need a cab. When I first saw it at the store I almost
felt sorry for it. The tolex is pretty nasty. The covering is almost
completely absent from the top of the enclosure! I find now that it has
lots of personality because of it. I'm not a person that really cares
about how it looks. I am only concerned with its sound. I don't know
how many previous owners it has had but the drivers are definitely
broken-in (maybe a little too much). I always liked the sound of the SWR
Triad enclosure but it was just as overpriced as the others in SWR's
line. This cab is a perfect compromise to the sound/price/weight
balance.
Sorry for the approximations of size, weight and power handling. They're
very close, though. I am assuming mine is a 4-ohm model. They may have
been available in an 8-ohm wiring as well. I haven't handled it or taken
it out on a gig for quite a while. It stays at my rehearsal space and
doesn't move much. It is quite reliable. The construction is typical
Ampeg: solid and sound. I blew the 10" driver soon after I bought it but
haven't had any other troubles worth mentioning. However, I feel it
cannot be relied upon alone to deliver the goods (>85dB) in large indoor
venues and definitely not outside. It works the best with my Baby Blue II
combo plugged into the head alone (160W). It seems I can't use any other
high-powered amplifiers without being overly-cautious.
It has a good, solid sound and fairly good projection. After switching
almost exclusively to AccuGroove cabs I can more readily home-in on all of
its weaknesses. It seems to fall in between the traditional Ampeg sound
and a hi-fi sound. It possesses good low-end and plenty of low-mids. Not
too much upper-mids here. Kind of veiled. Then of course you've got
your plastic-frame Fostex-type horn tweet. It's kind of a joke, really.
It makes no attempt to blend in harmoniously with the other drivers. I
typically leave the attenuator set to "off" or at the middle position
(-6dB).
Finding any kind of information on this guy (including where to play/buy
one) is next-to-impossible. I wonder how many were made? While writing
this (02-20-04) I Googled "ampeg 1510-HE" and found a few Talk Bass
digest archives, one used one for sale at Earhart Music for $200(!) and
about 20 non-english sites mentioning it. I wish Ampeg had a
"discontinued" section for information regarding these items. I even
tried some of the non-official Ampeg sites to no avail. I also used to
own an "865" which also has the same annoying information-challenged
status. It had eight 6.5" drivers with a tweeter! Not much use without
a sub, huh?! Anyhow, try this 1510 cab if you need something fairly
light, cheap and versatile.
| Construction
| 95% | 
|
| (Held up fine this long!)
|
| Clarity
| 75% |
|
| (Most is left to the imagination)
|
| Volume
| 75% |
|
| (Can't cut and fill large rooms)
|
| Portability
| 95% |
|
| (Suprisingly light)
|
| Customer Service
| 100% |
|
| (I have my Ampeg-certified tech work it)
|
| Value
| 98% |
|
| (Seems like prices most are asking are steals)
|
| Overall
| 95% |
|
| (Good working-man's cab)
|
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