Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-210 2x10" 500-watt Bass Combo Amp Reviews

My Ampeg RB210 sounds just as pure and nice as my other favorite bass amps: Fender Rumble 800 and Fender Bassman 800 and Hartke LH1000. This Ampeg is solidly built. The sound is clean and pure: No discernible distortion at high volumes.
The frequency response is full: Highs, mids and lows come through just fine. It has a dirty "grit" switch/option that I personally would never use so I cannot judge that feature. It is clearly worth every penny and more. Although not necessary, it also nicely drives an additional speaker cabinet. Ever since the late 1960's I have preferred solid state amps for bass and this Ampeg RB210 is as good as any. To my taste, the sound is much better (cleaner) than the big Ampeg SVT tube amps.

This amp sounds as good or better than my SVT 2 pro . Lots of power and excellent through sound system not to mention it only weighs 38 .

Better than I expected

Reggae might be the only thing this amp doesn't do well. But for every other form, the 2x10s provide clarity and definition and plenty of bass. And if you can and want to play reggae, you can get a 15" or 18" cabinet and the amp will have plenty of power to handle it. It is bulky to carry by yourself but the weight isn't bad, especially compared with older tube models. It looks cool and sounds cool. What could be better?

My previous amp began to let me down and I needed a good reliable amp to gig with. I use 2 different instruments in our show, so I needed 2 inputs. This amp met all my requirements. I play small to medium clubs and occasionally do outdoor gigs. This amp meets all my requirements! Highly recommend !!!

I've put off making this review for 7 months to truly put this beast to the test, and by god has it passed (almost) all of them. It's light, it's practical, and boy is it loud. Like really loud. I've played this at gigs where everything was mic'd EXCEPT this amp. That grit is so good it nearly elimates the use for a fuzz pedal if you aren't too picky. It's also visually impressive for a combo amp. The grill is beautiful and that classic Ampeg wrap is timeless. The Pictures on Sweetwater just don't do it justice. Below should be a picture of the amp and my bass for scale. Each time my band has opened for a show, the headliner's bassist eventually makes his way over to this rig and inevitably asks if they can play thru it for their act. What an ego boost lol. It's durable too! Mine's been through rain, hot cars, bumpy roads and an electrical surge at a gig (just my luck) and it's still going strong.

That being said it is a little unwieldly- it's wide and tall but fortunately not heavy. I've noticed a hum when playing through the main input, but for the music I play it doesn't make a significant impact. That being said, plugging up through the decibal cut does make a significant difference, but does not eliminate the noise issue completely. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend recording with it. Also, a footswitch pedal would have been nice but you can get them dirt cheap at pretty much any music store.

Suffice to say I'll never return to a Fender Rumble anytime soon.

Would also like to say thank you to Zach for being the GOAT and helping me on my sweetwater journey!

This amp does a great job of highlighting the tonal qualities of my basses while giving the sound a nice vintage-like roundness. It's a good size and weigh for transport but plenty of power and projection for club for rehearsal and club gigs. I'm a proud owner!

Sounds fantastic, Incredibly powerful when running a second cab. Suitably powerful just by itself. The switchable overdrive is a ton of fun as well. It doesn't come with the footswitch but
I found a generic one for cheap and it operates it just fine. I never thought I would be a combo guy but this amp made me a believer!

Lightweight, Portable yet still packing a punch. EQ section lets me dial in a nice variety of tone plus adding a bit of grit with the SGT if needed. Phones and aux inputs very useful practice tools, plus dir out along with speaker ext( i'm already eyeing up a 15 cab to go with it) are useful features. effects loop is there also if needed. Classic looks and tone. Very happy with it..

Bought this compact little amp for practice with the new band , and to use at the house. Classic Ampeg sound I've come to know and love. I've been an Ampeg enthusiast for many years and have owned several. I love the portability, and for what I need right now, it gets the job done for a reasonable price. Working with Daniel was a pleasure.

Awesome looking style, well built, light at 39 lbs., and simple controls. Performs similar to the Ampeg BA 2-10 tilt-back which is still performing like new for me after 5 yrs of gigging.

With the new RB 2-10, I use the Ampeg 1-15 LF extension cabinet at larger gigs and sounds amazing! Plenty of power & crystal clear on the low B of a 5 string bass. I have the tone I want, and the power to push it.

Good sounding amp . Top that all off with great customer service from Sweetwater and it's a win win!!

Bought this earlier in the year, and after using it extensively; thought I'd leave a review for others considering it. I compared this pretty hard to the Rumble 500 V3, b/c I'm very familiar with the Rumble series & it was natural for me to lean that way. I did a side by side comparison, and both are great amps.
What made me ultimately pick this was the Ultra Lo & Hi and the SGT circuit, couple that with the "Ampeg sound", and it won me over. It's plenty loud for live gigging, and still sounds good when it's pushed. The most I've had to push the master was to noon(was a tough room acoustically), but I run direct to the board(XLR is post only) and we have a Bose PA with an 18" sub. I don't use any effects besides a stereo chorus which sounds great, but I can't speak to how it handles multiple effects or the FX loop. I wish it did have a gain knob like the Rumble, but I use the SGT with the Grit at 1 and Level it out for a little boost and sounds great. The fan is quieter than the Rumble 500's.
They are very similar amps regarding capability & weight, but the Ampeg sounds a little better, in my opinion. Sitting on top of 15" cab, you unlock the full 500 watts and it really rounds out the sound. I plan on getting a Portaflex 115 cab in the near future for that reason. That said, it sounds really good just as a stand alone amp, and gets the job done at 250 watts.

I use this amp for practice at Home and at the Community Center. When at home this amp sounds absolutely Fabulous. When I play it at the community center...The Bass(low) sound is to low. It seems to produce an echo effect and sounds to deep. I am able to get the sound a lot better by turning the Bass knob down to the lowest setting and the treble and mid range down to 1/4 settings. The sound is pretty good then but I have lost a lot of the volume. I normally play my Ampeg 6/10 at the community center. I have only had the new amp for about 3 weeks. So I figure I will eventually figure this problem out. Our hall is known for bad acoustics anyway. Overall I would still recommend this amp. I do have an active bass guitar. That extra oomph coming from my bass may be part of the issue...It is the Best Amp I have ever owned not counting my 6/10 Ampeg. I am able to adjust the echo out of it with ease....So go ahead and buy this one. Just kind of letting you know my personal situation...Play on !!!

Recently purchased the ampeg 2x10 combo and all was just fine and dandy till I turned on the high frequency horn. The amp started to make a horrible electric hissing sound the first time the horn was turned on. I contacted sweetwater engineers and they were convince i had a faulty amp and sent me a replacement. Not only does the replacement amps horn make the same hissing sound regardless of input or power source but it was seriously beaten up in transit. The new one unfortunately has multiple dents in it and noticeable difference in volume output aswell. I should've just stuck with the original and taken the discount. I really wanted to like this amp but if I were you id steer clear, there are almost certainly more reliable options available.

I played through one of these the other night at an open stage. I have to say I have never seen an amplifier that large put out so little sound.. it was just lame. Messing with the limited EQ and gain did nothing to solve the problem. And it was not a loud stage. It could not keep up with a drummer and guitar playing thru a 10 watt 1x10 tube amp. Not even close. Had everything dimed and still could not hear the bass at all, and had to basically fly blind.

Based on my experience, i would never recommend buying one of these at any price. Too big for a home practice amp, not enough spl's to play with a band.