Origin Effects’ latest Amp Recreation pedal has arrived, and this time around, it’s the Bassrig family that has gained a new member. The Bassrig Fifteen promises to deliver the full experience of playing through one of the world's most praised studio bass amps, the Ampeg B-15 Portaflex.
As with all of Origin’s pedals, the new arrival employs an all-analogue design, and recreates the entire signal path of a B-15. The company say that they carried out a rigorous set of tests and measurements on a real, vintage example, before carefully recreating a miniature version of its circuitry using solid-state components. The resulting pedal promises not only to deliver the sound of the popular amp, but also recreate the all-important ‘feel’.
The Bassrig Fifteen doesn’t focus solely on the past, though, and comes equipped with plenty of features suited to modern rigs. Origin Effects have included a DI output with cab simulation, allowing the pedal to offer an authentic amp-like tone when connected directly to a PA, and it also has a couple of other tricks up its sleeve thanks to three modes of operation. With FX mode selected, the cabinet simulation is only active when the pedal is engaged, allowing the Bassrig Fifteen to act as a clean DI when the pedal is bypassed; On mode then leaves the simulation active at all times, meaning the pedal can serve as a cabinet simulator for other pedals; and Off bypasses the simulation even when the pedal is active, allowing users to utilise third-party cabinet simulations or record a signal with no simulation present.
Of course, a standard quarter-inch TS output is provided for running the Bassrig Fifteen into an amp. When being used in this way, users can shape the overall tone of the pedal to suit their particular amp thanks to a pair of low- and high-cut switches, and variable low- and high-frequency EQ controls.
“We’ve wanted to make a B-15 Amp Recreation for ages because it’s just such a cool sound, but it’s taken us a long time to get it right. We updated the way we approach the main circuitry, worked hard on the voicing of the cab sim, and improved the Amp Out EQ. In fact, we learnt so much while making the Bassrig Fifteen that future Amp Recreations will be much better because of it.” - John Dines, Product manager, Origin Effects
Key Features
- Faithfully recreates the sound and feel of the Ampeg B-15 amp
- Complete, valve amp-style signal path recreated in all-analogue circuitry.
- Simulated push-pull power amp with reactive load.
- All-analogue 1×15 cabinet simulator and DI output.
- Extensive Amp Out EQ controls ensure compatibility with any rig.
- Blend knob to mix in clean signal.
- High-quality buffered bypass.
- Premium components throughout.
- Designed and built in England.
To coincide with the release of the BASSRIG Fifteen, Origin Effects are now offering their Cali76 Bass Compressor in a matching ‘Fifteen Blue’ finish.
Pricing & Availability
The Bassrig Fifteen is available now, priced at $565£449 including VAT / €459.
