My ampeg v4 build thread

[3mrhythm]

i posted these pics on the v4 thread but figured i could share the process in its own thread .


I recently got two vt22 combos. after trying one of them as a head for my 15" cab loaded with a ev 15L i decided it was going to definitely use one as a bass head.

So i took out the head from the combo took some measurements and went a couple streets up to homedepot and bought a sheet of birch.


I had them cut it at homedepot to save me some time. Its freaking cold right now and I didnt feel like digging my table saw out of the shed.

I put the box together and made sure everything fit..
The print on the faceplate was really worn.. so i cleaned everything off.. I plan to have some decals made up for the knob IDs



I also decided i wanted to trim the box out in aluminum to give it a very agressive look




MY band Vessel (www.facebook.com/vesselrock) has an octopus theme on the album we just released.. So i figured it would be fitting to carry the theme to my gear.


I drew an ocotopus in pencil on the top piece of birch and then wood burned the image in








After wood burning the image on the top I decided to also put anchors on the sides.

Once the wood burning was done i stained the top and sides leaving the octopus unstained until i could pick up a different color stain. (shows rough fitment of trim too)


I picked up some sedona red minwax stain and did the octopus in the red. In hindsight i think i might have been happier not staining the octopus.. i think it stood out better being lighter.. but either way i'm happy with the outcome.

I stained the inside of the box and poly sealed it with the waterbased minwax. Cut and fixed the trim to the box also and put the head back in.





to protect the tubes i made a piece of wood for the rear





then i needed a grill for the front. I hit up my local music store to see what they had.. nothing.. so i went back home and started rummaging through a pile of junk.. i found a couple pieces of square tubing from another project and some metal grate from some random thing i found earlier this summer.. I tend to keep interesting metal scraps .. you never know when you can use them..

So i removed the logo from the vt22 combo i gutted and used that to decide the spacing on the grill..


i'm completely stoked at how this came together. looks super agressive and is certainly one of a kind.





I plan to get a flight case made up for it so i dont have to bother with handles. I'll grab one of the cases where the top lifts off.

I would also like to get a wider cab at some point so i can put the head directly on the cab without it hanging over the edges. Right now i will put the head on a keyboard stand that will sit over my current 15" cab.

looks kind of odd right now.. but i'll get something figured out.



I'll update this as i progress.. chances are i'll come up with something else to do to it.



PS..i had fun with this project.. i woudnt mind making more unique boxes for other v4 owners (as long the sizes are the same) can use different materials, looks.. etc.. i'll have to figure out some sort of pricing.. might barter the labor for gear

[Edword]

Good work

[mjac28]

Very cool looks great.

[3mrhythm]

Thanks guys.. I really want. A matching cab now .

[christw]

I dig it! I'm trying to restrain myself from tearing apart my VT-22 just yet but this isn't helping!

[3mrhythm]

I took the speakers out of my vt22 this morning and put them on ebay.. hope to make enough to buy a flight case it.

[JimmyM]

Maybe one of these cabs would work?

[3mrhythm]

I have an old steamer trunk here at the house that i could build my 15" ev 15L into... Might even have room for another one .. muahahha

[3mrhythm]

btw.. how hard would it be to take the reverb out of the vt22 head? i hear the spring vibrate pretty good when i place the head directly on the cab

[christw]

I'll let you know as soon as I pull mine apart. Playing loudly is enough to unlock the reverb on my VT-22 so I know I'll want a solution for that myself.

[3mrhythm]

So here is the old trunk I have.. could easily be turned into a solid cab. Could line the interior with birch and. Build my ev into the center of it.. could probably fit another one in there. Inside is about 32x19x18.. I think the current inside dimensions of my flight case cab is 16x16x16

[3mrhythm]

I am thinking I could even make the top clamp on for safe travels... and I could easily trim the face of it with the same aluminum. Just do it a little wider

[3mrhythm]

so what would be beter?

ampeg 4x10 classic
or
73 ampeg b25b (2x15) loaded with eminence beta 15s


I play post rock..so i like nice clean tones when playing softly but nice and growly when playing the heavier parts.

[3mrhythm]

I was able to gig the head last week. Thing sounds great.. all the other bass players loved the look of the head too :P

can't wait to have the funds to work on the cab or get another cab.

my guitarist that is usually opposite the drummer said he was able to hear me much better this show. that the bass was cutting through the mix very well.



two other bands played that night. One bassist had a vintage svt with 8x10 cab the other had a sunn head with two 4x10s stacked. I certainly wish i had the room to transport an 8x10 stack.. they do sound pretty awesome.. and push some serious air

[Bert Slide]

That looks great. I had a VT-22 I used for guitar in several bands in the 80's. Wish I still had it. My main rig now for all but the largest rooms is an early 70's V4-B with a custom LDS 215. Plenty loud and half the weight of my fridge.

[3mrhythm]

Originally Posted by Bert Slide

That looks great. I had a VT-22 I used for guitar in several bands in the 80's. Wish I still had it. My main rig now for all but the largest rooms is an early 70's V4-B with a custom LDS 215. Plenty loud and half the weight of my fridge.

i have a 73 vt22 for sale :P all original

[Bert Slide]

Originally Posted by 3mrhythm

i have a 73 vt22 for sale :P all original

Tempting but I can't do it right now. Have too many amps and I may be moving at the end of next month.

That amp is a tank. In high school I played in an electric pep band that played at the football games. My school won state twice in my four years and we played most of our games in the big stadium that the U of Louisville played in. I would lug that beast high up into the stands with the band. Crazy band leader/teacher was old hippie who played in bands in the Haught/ashbury scene in the 60's. We were the Trinity Shamrocks so we played a mean version of "We will rock you/ We are the Champions". I also drug that amp off to college where I played it in a few bands. NEVER babied it. It took a lickin' and kept on tickin'. Man if I hadn't just spent so much on some other GAS related items I'd buy it just for the nostalgia factor.

[3mrhythm]

Nice. Many of those things are the reason I decided to put the time into making a v4 head.

I plow in the winter and my salting truck just blew its transmission.. I'm hot to sell the vt22 now to soften the blow

[3mrhythm]

stack complete.

when i first plugged in i was getting a fair amount of breakup and distortion.. so i backed off the low eq knob on my bass and centered my pickup blend and pulled back the bass a little on the head.. and it sounds awesome.

has perfect tone for my liking. isn't super bright sounding has a great punch to it and has a nice hair to it to give it a little edge. Suprisingly light for the size too

when the tolex has completely had it i will refinish it like my head.. but for now i like the look of it. I will probably use it with the cab on its side though so it has more contact with the floor.

[3mrhythm]

cab on its side..

looks better when the logos line up in the upright position.. but i like it on the side too..