Tubes in Ampeg V4-B Classic Series (90s)

vincentw · #1 03-30-2011, 11:14 AM

Hey guys: I'm new to bass tube amps and I just purchased this Ampeg. It has 4 tubes. When powered, only the 2 left tubes are getting hot. The 2 right tubes do not appear to be warming at all. The amp sounds good to my ears, low lows and high highs ... I am assuming that if just one tube wasn't functioning properly then the amp wouldn't function properly, i.e., would sound bad. Can someone tell me if this sounds normal for this amp?

TimmyP · #2 03-30-2011, 10:27 PM

It might be tubes, it might be a disconnected heater wire. Take it to a tech.

stiles72 · #3 03-31-2011, 11:08 AM

If the amp works fine and sounds good - don't worry about it.

Are the power tubes different brands? Not all tubes will appear to "heat up" or glow the same as others. Some emit a soft purple glow, some look like just the heaters are turning red, others may not look like they have anything going on at all.

vincentw · #4 03-31-2011, 03:03 PM

they aren't heating up at all as far as I can tell. I played the amp for a couple hours the other night and the two left tubes were hot like you'd expect and the two right tubes weren't hot. I'm going to take it to a tech...I have a feeling something's not right, and I want to make sure my Ampeg sounds as good as it should.

hbarcat · #5 04-01-2011, 09:41 PM

Don't screw around with the inside of a high power amp if you don't know what you're doing. This isn't just for the obvious reason that you're far more likely to do more harm than good, but there is a genuine risk of electrocuting yourself by touching the wrong thing even if the amp isn't plugged in.

Diagnosing problems like this online is nearly impossible. But it's very likely a professional amp tech can figure out the problem pretty easy.

Take it in.