UF NAD: Ampeg Micro VR Stack

[JimmyM]

It stands for "Unexpected Free New Amp Day."



this was quite the day for me! the most unbelievable thing happened...a rather well-to-do friend of mine and my band who likes to play bass and is into ampegs like me sent me a freakin' micro vr and 210av for christmas! man, sometimes the kindness of people really blows me away...especially since all i got him was a nice bottle of wine and a card...better go get him another bottle or 5!

it came as i was loading up for my gig, so i figured what the hell...it's cold out, this thing is nice and light, and it'll frighten and confuse the other guys in the band, so i threw it in the van and played an outdoor gig in front of about 3000 people with a micro amp i had just unboxed a couple hours before. yeah, that's livin', baby!

up until today, i had only played them at stores and had no idea what it would do onstage, so i chickened out on using a mic and just used a separate di. and that way i could play with the gain knob and not make levels go wild, too. turns out i really should have mic'ed it. it may be a lower wattage small class ab micro rig, but it's an amazing sounding lower wattage small class ab micro rig.

i won't lie to you...if you're blindfolded and you hear the micro vr/210av ab'd with an svt-vr/810e, you're going to be able to tell the difference but for a micro rig with a 210, they managed to squeeze a hell of a lot of what people like about svt's and b-15's into it. everyone in the band who looked at me funny when i brought it up there were giving it respect by the end of the night. there was no shortage of air movement, that's for sure.

i went through the controls trying a bunch of different stuff...clean and even response tones, jamersonish slight breakup, fat clean low end with no treble, 70's rock, leaning on the gain...did it all very well and filled the stage nicely. it won't blow your head off with volume or get as dirty as a b-15 on 10, but it does a great job of copping the tones you expect from ampeg tubers, the cab moves as much air as a good 115 and has a hefty yet tight bottom end just how i like it, and it will get a good head of steam going for its size and wattage (150w @ 8, 200w @ 4). it also has really good dispersion. one column of 10"s disperses mids and highs better than two because of the beaming effect, so i was able to walk the stage and have more mids and highs off axis than the 810 and 215 rigs i usually use. that was very nice.

now i know all you folks who complain about never seeing any cons in reviews are just dying to hear my list of cons, but as of my first 4 hours playing it i haven't found any. it's got plenty of power and kick for my needs, it really does sound like a miniature svt, the whole rig weighs just a little over 40 lbs., and it's in a class by itself in the micro rig looks department. i love my tube ampegs, but all my gigs are one nighters and i must admit that at my advanced age it's started to wear me down to lug a bass, an upright, a pedalboard, and a heavy tube amp and cab(s) to play oldies at low stage volume. so i will show this friend of mine (to whom i shall now refer to as "the most wonderful human being to ever walk the planet") my appreciation for this great christmas present by putting it to work pretty regularly.

i am feeling very blessed tonight, no doubt about it! hope you all have a joyous holiday season filled with phat bass tones!

EDIT: Added a pic...Micro VR + Dano Longhorn, my other early christmas present from my wife.

[will33]

Merry Christmas Jimmy.

I've tinkered with them in stores but often balked at the price although being the Ampeg guy you are, your impression carries a good bit more weight. Although, when you boil it down to watts and ohms, etc., turns out I've played plenty of gigs successfully with 150 watts and a 210 and still will.

That shouldn't be any surprise to somebody who can gig with a B15...........a real B15.

I'm guessing it has it in all the right areas to mix well with a band.

[fu22ba55]

Congrats Jimmy. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

At this point Ampeg should be sending you stuff for all the good press you give them here on TB.

Now you have an excuse for an updated family pic! Maybe take advantage of forced perspective and make the micro rig look as big as your macro rig!

Happy Decemberween to you, and may your tubes glow with the warmth of fat fuzz!

[will33]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

it does a great job of copping the tones you expect from ampeg tubers, the cab moves as much air as a good 115 and has a hefty yet tight bottom end

If you ever see that in an ad copy, send 'em a bill.

[JimmyM]

yeah, i'm sure they're really scrambling to get an endorsement from bowzer's bass player...i'll bet it would pay me in the tens of dollars nah, not looking for that and neither are they. i just like to talk about gear i like and use.

thanks guys...awesome stuff like this never happens to me, so please forgive my giddyness.

[kosmicwizard]

I am happy for you Jimmy! Have a great new year, I hope you wife lets you get a second 2x10av for your new stack! All the best. Cheers.

[baron665]

You lucky SOB. I mean that with all respect.

[s_mcsleazy]

jesus all i get for christmas is personalised picks that break after 20 mins

[Freddels]

Nice. So, I guess you'll be changing your rider to this amp now.

Which mike are you going to use next time?

[Vintage-Blue]

Jimmy - It seems to me you left out an obvious con. Just think about the muscle tone you're going to lose by not lugging all that weight around!

Congratulations on your new amp. That's a great story!

[fivestringgecko]

+1, Congratulations! That's quite a friend you've got there Jimmy!

Since we've been posting in some of the same threads lately, you know I've never had much experience with Ampeg, other than the B-15 being my Holy Grail. To hear someone who gigs one say positive thing about an amp I've sort of dismissed as "cute," well... that certainly carries some weight. Next time I'm at Guitar Center, I'll make it a point to check it out!

Happy Holidays to you (and everyone else) and may we all have quality time with family, friends and basses!

5sg.

[countrybassist]

Thats awesome man!!!!!!

[benjammin420]

wow thats great, I love those little amps

[MingusBass]

Congrats. It really is a cool rig. I think the cab is the real star, but the head is pretty cool as well.

[T. Alan Smith]

Congrats and nice review. Can I have your friend's address? I have a bottle of wine to drop off.

[JulienJeff]

awesome !
I think it's time for me to find some other friends :-) friends who make such gifts

[aborgman]

Originally Posted by fivestringgecko

Next time I'm at Guitar Center, I'll make it a point to check it out!

I tried...

...but every amp at my local GC had power, but no speaker cables.

Not one.

Not a single, non-combo in the place playable.

Even tube amps. Plugged in to power, no speaker cable.

I wonder how long that SVT in there is going to last before someone toasts the output transformer.

[coreyfyfe]

Congrats on the amp Jimmy. It's not a bad head. I've only played the cab in stores, don't have one although I've been thinking about picking one up (though I think the wife would kill me if I had another cab stacked up in our living room).

Originally Posted by aborgman

I wonder how long that SVT in there is going to last before someone toasts the output transformer.

Last time I was at GC (last weekend) the SVT-CL was on - speaker cable plugged in at least - but just on and sitting there. Ready to play. I put the thing in standby at least and was going to shut it off before I left the store if no one was playing it but I forgot all about it after waiting in line 20 minutes to get a mic clip.

[beans-on-toast]

Congratulations Jimmy, what a wonderful gift!

I know that you dislike a 410 stacked on a 115, maybe a 210 on a 15 won't sound half as bad.

Merry Christmas everyone.


David

[jlepre]

No PICS = "Unexpected Free New Amp Day."