Ampeg BA-108 1x8" 25-Watt Bass Combo Reviews

My son's bass teacher has a set-up where just the head cost more than a grand and it made even my kid's little bass sound good. I started researching a replacement for the Ibanez practice amp and read the reviews for the BA-108 here. My wife bought it for my son and me for Christmas, and this amp sounds as good (to my ears) as the pro rig my son's instructor uses. I'm currently playing an old SR 300 DXF and the combo sounds awesome.

Powerful 25 watts and the sound is that of the bigger ampegs.So this is my little giant that I use to practice with all the time.I also have 75 watt amp made by Fender and I like that alot ,but this little guys tone is really awesome. I use this amp when I am alone or playing with my best friend the guitarist. Works well with my acoustic bass too. I love this little tone giant. Hope this was helpful for those who may be interested in this nice amp.

I was recommended this amp by a friend/former band mate who uses this amp as his personal monitor. I was reluctant to believe this would be powerful enough to do what I was wanting it to do. I find that exactly half throttle is PLENTY!! I use this as my monitor while playing bass at my Church, and I simultaneously use the "line out" feature to "plumb" my signal into the P.A. system where our sound tech's tailor my volume to blend with the rest of the band. Overall one of the best investments I've ever made!! Rock on guys!!!

We've used this little power house through our PA system for shows and it's hard to believe how good it sounds. I just roll the volume up on the amp and control it though the board and the volume on the bass. We're running the sound through powered speakers and for our needs with an acoustic based band the sound is great.

This review is based on the price, I got this amp since I wanted to start practicing bass guitar, but a couple of weeks I decided to try my guitar with it, since I practice guitar more often, and I loved the sound, and I only need to get the volume to 2 or 3 tops for practicing, I still have to test it with effect pedals, but I love the EQ and the CD in with independent volume, great for getting a backing track and having the volume as you needed.

Compact, but not as small or portable as a Roland Microcube,, this Ampeg is a real Bass amp, with good tone and reasonable volume for practicing.
It's also only a hundred bucks! It appears to be well built, sounds great, and if you purchase a Sub-Dude to place under it, you probably won't bother the folks in the room or apartment below you.
Highly recommend as a practice or recording amp, without all of the extras that drive the price up in other makes and models.
THIS is what a Bass amp was meant to be, and at this $100 price, well, it's a really good buy. Highly recommended UNLESS you actually need a louder, more powerful amp to play gigs. I'm glad I bought one, but I have a small area that I use for recording, and I'm not playing in large halls, stadiums, or even coffee shops. If you play amplified bass with a purely acoustic guitar group, this may do the job, otherwise you'll need more watts.

This is just the right size, easy to haul around. Doesn't take up much room when we are in close quarters. Has a great sound for its size.

Could not believe the amazing sounds coming out of an 8" speaker. The best small amp for the money. I use this small amp to jam with friends and would not be afraid to play on stage. Just wish they had made this small amp years ago. Love my little Ampeg!!!

I just got this amp and I can't say enough about it. Great tone and tons of features. For a (supposed) practice / beginner amp this little guy is just what I needed. Light enough to carry around like for a practice outside on the deck . Hook up your iPhone with the Pandora and play along. OR use your iPod or cd player. This older model also has a 1/4" output so you can plug into the board at your weekly band practice when needed. The new model with the controls on the front doesn't include the output. I have no idea why Ampeg would want to eliminate that feature. Buy this amp..you won't be sorry..

I have also Ba 115.This little bugger has the same sound qualities as the Ba115! Not as loud ,but I ran a sm57 off the Ba108 into my sound system and its loud! With the Ampeg sound! The Ba115 weighs 62 pounds,This one weighs only 27 pounds. A whole lot easier to carry from place to place! $100.00 dollars,how can you go wrong! Use this one as a monitor ,and mic it into the PA! It's a winner!!!

Great amp. very pleased cant go wrong with this one, plenty of thump!

This is a little tone machine .I love this little guy , It even sounds better than my big amps! I just can't believe my ears.It also has a cd input or ipod. I use this most of the time now instead of my fender practice amp. I never had an ampeg before ,I'm glad I took a chance on this puppy. And you won't be sorry you did ethier.

When's the last time you got more than you bargained for? For me it was when this amp arrived. Was looking for something cheap to play at homewithout breaking the piggy bank (or my wife's ear drums) and this thing's sound just blew my mind. Nice round sound and plenty of pleasing kick for those moments when,I have the house to myself.

A little background, I'm a guitar player first. I own 4 guitars, 2 combo amps, a tube half stack and a designated amp head, lots of pedals, etc. I decided that I needed to widen my understanding of music by learning bass and becoming a bass "player". My priority was to purchase a bass guitar and an amp with the intention of learning how to play bass. No requirement for the best or the most feature laden starter set-up. So I purchased this amp after studying all of the available amps. I wanted to keep it at $150 max. When I watched online videos of similar competitors amps I decided on this amp. I was very happily impressed at the solid build quality of this unit, the deep bass response and the overall detail of the fit and finish. I believe that AMPEG designed this amp as a legitimate model that was intended to introduce first time buyers such as myself to their name brand. If I decide that I will move to the next level and purchase a unit that will be a small venue amp I would buy AMPEG's next level up. After hearing the full deep bass response from this I could imagine this unit being mic'd through a venue's PA system. Really! AMPEG has already introduced a new model line, if I were you I would jump on this for $99, because the new one has front mounted dials and this one has top mounted which for me is more desireable from a standing gigging position.

So far excellent for the money

I was looking for a small combo for my bedroom since all of my other amps are big.
I own Mesa and SWR anps, so I figured I'd get a small Ampeg for a change of pace.

I was blown away at the BIG BOOM this amp gets for only having an 8" speaker and 25 watts. It is a perfect bedroom amp and I could see using it for low volume rehearsals and any coffee house gig.

Ampeg tone ? YUP ! It has the definitive SVT tone. I was quite amazed.

So for $99 bucks new, portable big sound and SVT tone, you can't go wrong with this combo.

It Puts out a nice sound and has not only inputs but out puts and back for Effects, and a line out both with 1/4". Like the volume control knob for the CD Input. What more can I say it's a Ampeg.

Amazing full sound from this 8" speaker. Excellent quality. The Ampeg includes features often not found at an entry level amp. A great practice or first bass amp.

What can I say, best $100 bucks I ever spent. No negatives, just a great sounding bass amp that's perfect for home use and small venues.

Purchased this to do some home recording and to play with some friends in a pretty quiet setting.

I was blown away by the warm, full tone that comes out of this guy. It sounds like a much more expensive amp than it is. I got all the volume i needed with the dial at around 3-4.

My keyboard sounds great out of it as well, and it would definitely be suitable for small gigs.

Feel pretty confident that there is nothing comparable in this price range. HIghly recommended.

received this amp today, all i can say is WOW and i threw my fender rumble 15 in the trash . buy it, you wont be disappointed!!!!

This is a great Amp - especially for the money. It has a great sound, and some nice features built in. I use it as a practice amp, but it could be used for small venues. I really like the "CD" input through RCA jacks, as well as the headphone jack. I can play songs through the input to play along. I have also used it as an amp for my iPod while working in my shop. It sounds amazing good in this mode in spite of being a bass amp. I highly recommend this for an inexpensive and very portable bass amp. Ampeg did a greg job and Sweetwater can't be beat for great customer service!! I am also actually using this amp as a PA for some lecture work I am doing as well.

Wow! I bough this amp for an inexpensive solution for rehearsals and for practice at home. I tried it in a band rehearsal and I was amazed. I cannot believe how good (and loud) it sounds! Of course it's a small amp and will not compete with big amplifier but for the price I'm just amazed. And after all I can always put on a mic or use the line out. It sounds good no matter it's a smooth bass sound or an aggressive attach sound. It is small and easy to carry, but it has a huge sound. We tried a classical nylon strings guitar on it and the result was a nice and rich sound. So it's becoming not only extremely good but extremely versatile. Five stars for this one.

I just received this amp last week and I am blown away by it! The BA-108 has just as much Ampeg tone as it's larger siblings plus everything you would ever need in a home/practice rig. It has a big full low end, clean highs and can be mellow or when pushed can get that nice Ampeg growl.

The MP3 in and volume control is perfect for solo practice sessions and the line out makes this a viable backup rig for playing out through the PA. I was also surprised to see an Effects Loop which wasn't listed as a feature.

You can't beat this thing for the money and I would recommend it to anyone!

Wonderful sounding little bass amp. Would you guess anything else from Ampeg? Seasoned musicians were amazed by this amp for a lower volume practice situation. Line out can produce big sound into PA system and monitors. For the price and for practice I cannot impagine anything better.

i got this amp to take on the truck with me.its small & sounds very good.i was suprised how good it sounded&how stout it is for $99.00.

Great for practice at home, input on top make it easy to play along with CD. It can also be used as monitor when playing through PA system. The lineout was one of the main reasons I got this amp, it wasn't available on other amps in this price range.

My first experience with a BA-108 was as a rehearsal amp. A buddy brought it (from another friend) for me rather than make me lug my Rumble 350 around. It was a pretty loud garage rehearsal: two guitars, loud drummer, and bass. I was blown away that this tiny amp could hold its own without even cranking it.

After that, I knew if I needed a smaller amp that this would be something to revisit. That happened recently. Bought this after the previous experience, just hoping that it was the same one I remembered.
It was. Playing with a loud drummer as a two piece, it was more than loud enough. At 3 or 4, it was enough to be heard easily. Definitely better suited for my apartment too. Even at 1 it is louder than I though.

The EQ section is great. Each knob is tuned very well for getting a lot of tones from one amp. No problem getting a thumpy scoop or an aggressive midrange. The 8-inch speaker surprising doesn't lack any lows or punch. The addition of a CD/Aux level knob is great too. An effects loop and line out are shocking at this price, no complaints there.

Overall this is a very solid buy for a rehearsal amp, apartment amp, or even just a home recording rig. It is NOT a junky amp for beginners. It's the real deal, sounds even better than my Fender Rumble 350 (and no loud hissing tweeter or fan).
Only avoid if you need something with built-in overdrive or a gain control. You'll need some pedals to get some grind.

Nice amp for the price. Has great sound from an 8" speaker. Nice setup for controls. Well constructed. Used line out with D.I. for playing live and works really well. Very satisfied.

Really want more can I say from this little guy. Great sound. For 99 bones, how can you go wrong?

Great amp for using in the house. Can play and plug in the headphones and noone knows I'm playing. Puts out great volume for those times I want to play it loud. Would recommend to anyone wanting a practice amp.

I have to knock it down a bit as the first one I received was defective, some weird resonance/distortion thing going on on certain notes. Called Tech Support and they promptly sent out a new one and arranged for the old one to go back. Solid amp, good tone, plenty of volume for my needs. The new one doesn't tilt. The first one did but it seemed kind of wobbly when tilted. For $99 it's a great little home amp. It has all the things you'd need, line in, headphone jack, line out, effects loop.

To start with - sounds great, a nice gig amp for small spaces or running through a PA. I used it this past weekend and it got rave reviews.

Minor issues - the screw holding the BNC connectors (for the MP3 input) sheered off in transit; I had to disassemble and replace. Also, the black textured covering was coming loose at the back, out of the box had to reglue that.

I *love* the effects send / receive (I threw my tuner in there) although the effects is behind the line out. And throwing a DI off the line out seemed to knock down the amp volume somewhat. So I skipped the line out and mic'd the amp directly and it was fine.

I wanted a little amp to use while having a casual practice session, and this fits the bill perfectly! Clean sound, lots of bottom end. Seems to be built solidly, easy to carry. Great little amp!

Excellent little unit for mobile use and for private practice. I Actually purchased this amp for my 17 year old niece in florida. I live in New York. She told me about 2 months ago she would love to learn how to play bass, so I told her I would see what I could do about getting her some gear to get her started. I checked out sweetwater and found this amp. Excellent for beginners, intermediate level players and pros as well. Ampeg is my personal preference in pro bass amplification. I'm a former pro player and I have always recommended Ampeg Bass gear.
I just recently got to demo the Ampeg BA-108, very pleased with the sound and the price. My niece is love with it as well. Thanks for the quick delivery and quality of service.

Let's be clear. This is a practice amp for bass guitar. Any suggestion that it's anything more is just disingenuous at worst or wishful thinking at best. This said, it's a great practice amp for bass, and, oddly enough, it's an excellent amp for acoustic guitar. A friend brought his Takamine over and used this amp with it. Sounded wonderful: clear, full, and lush. For bass practice, which is why I bought it, it's just fine: clean at low levels and every note seems to be there. For this price, and at low levels, it works great. Push it and it sounds, well, terrible. Be conservative with it, and you'll be far happier.

A very nice practice amp that has good sound at low to mid volumes. As with anything for bass with less than 50 watts don't expect it to do more than what it was intended for. With 25 watts it will not sound like an 8-10's cabinet nor have tons of headroom. Very nice for the price. Works okay for guitar too.

I"m a beginner bass player, so I needed something inexpensive to get me going. This is just the ticket. Solid construction for the price point with lots of features. A good taste of Ampeg for us newbies.

I have a Peavey Bass with active pickups (+12 dB), a Korg AX 3000B multi-effects board, and a Fender Rumble 150 as my gig set-up. These all work great together, but I also have an apartment. That and the rumble don't get along too well. So I decided it was in my best interest to get a little practice amp that didn't have as much power and was more portable.
Big plusses for me were the padded input option (so I can actually use the volume knob), effects loop (unheard of at this price point), portability (I play at 2 or 3 different places a week), and aux input volume switch (tired of blowing my ears out trying to practice with music).
Thus far I am really impressed with this little guy. The sound quality is good, tone is preserved well throughout the range, and for the price nobody could touch the overall character. I also tried out the 110 (next size up) which I originally intended to buy. But the difference between it and this little guy was pretty negligible, and the price nearly double. This amp is perfect for practicing at my apartment, or practicing with the band. It will not hold out for a live performance in a bar scene or if your buddies like to crank it up at practice. But, if you are doing lighter sets like open mics or at a lounge this just might do the trick.
I didn't give a full 5 stars as it does start to falter with lower tones at increased volume, this is going to happen, but I had expected a larger wedge of the volume knob to be usable than I have experienced thus far. With a little knob fiddling you can tune out the distortion but it's still a drawback in my opinion.
Overall I would recommend this amp to pretty much anyone. I think for $100 you'd struggle to do any better. This amp covers the full range of needs for the average player, and with it's relatively low price you can afford to buy a more powerful rig if you play larger/noisier venues.

I have had two Ampeg BA108 bass amps. The first one hummed so badly right out of the box that I sent it back to Sweetwater for another one. The second one also hummed, though not as loudly. The power supply filter capacitors are not adequate. Otherwise it seems to be a good amp at a good price.

This thing rattles like crazy. If you go over half the volume it sounds like it will explode. Very poor cabinet quality. The plastic covering the cabinet comes off like it was glued with spit. I am very disappointed. Not a serious buy.

This amp has a terrible sound because the cabinet rattles so bad. Sounds like a nightmare. I tried tightening all the screws, but the cabinet is made of such shoddy material (some kind of pressed paperboard) the screws strip the holes and just spin and spin.

The headphone jack works OK. And the speaker works when I take it out of the cabinet. Just the cabinet is junk.

I didn't send it back because I'd have to pay the shipping. Gambled on this cheap amp and lost.