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1970's Ampeg V4 mod ??

grouse789

grouse789

Jun 13, 2004
984
935
Westchester NY
#1
So Ive got a line on a VT22/V4 with the distortion on channel one, and the standard BMT on channel 2 including reverb.
There seems to be an extra knob added after the reverb. Im guessing it was a Mod. (Master Volume?)
2 things. How will this affect the amp?
How should this be reflected in the price?
Thanks

EDIT: Current owner says the knob doesnt do anything to the volume or tone. He has only owned this amp for a short while.
ampeg V4.jpg
 
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#3
I agree with the above.
In my area, you can't give these away due to weight and the fact that they have to be really loud to sound good.
I actually did give my VT40 to a guitar player with no money over 10 years ago and it was half the power with 4x 10's.
If it sounds good and is working properly, its worth $200 tops IMO.

It's a really loud 100 watts:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#4
I agree. I would remove the head to its own case, then run it out to my bass cab. It's the V4 begging escape to be used as a bass amp.

I find it interesting that 1970's V4b's sell for higher prices thN the vt22 which has the same head. He is asking 500, but said it's totally negotiable.

I'm guessing I would be pouring money into it to bring it up to speed. So. bargain may not be a bargain.
 
#5
grouse789 said:
So Ive got a line on a VT22/V4 with the distortion on channel one, and the standard BMT on channel 2 including reverb..
Click to expand...

I do not understand this. My VT-22 has reverb, but not distort. In fact, as near as I can tell, this amp WILL NOT distort. This is part of the reason why steel guitar players like them so much. But I think nobody really knows whether they will distort or not since operating them at that volume would cause death. Maybe some people knew, but they would all be dead.

I agree this amp has danger signals.
 
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#6
Old Fart said:
I do not understand this. My VT-22 has reverb, but not distort. In fact, as near as I can tell, this amp WILL NOT distort. This is part of the reason why steel guitar players like them so much. But I think nobody really knows whether they will distort or not since operating them at that volume would cause death. Maybe some people knew, but they would all be dead.

I agree this amp has danger signals.
Click to expand...
The later versions had a distortion knob on channel one.
You ever use the vt22 head for bass?
 
#7
Yes I have, but not with those speakers except in the bedroom. I have a V4, which I am happy to gig with. Neither my V4 nor my VT-22 have a distortion knob. Both have a master volume. Perhaps this is why I have not seen a unit with distortion. I am not sure what distortion would be, except to overdrive the output section by playing the two volume knobs against one another.
 
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#8
grouse789 said:
The later versions had a distortion knob on channel one.
You ever use the vt22 head for bass?
Click to expand...

The distortion models were a slightly different circuit than the standard V4/VT22. They tend to be less popular/less in demand than a standard model V series amp, and the later 70s style V series less in demand than the earlier V series layout despite being essentially the same outside of cosmetics.
 
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#12
Jim C said:
Correct, they have sensitivity rocker switches with pre-set gain structure that allow for a distorted signal.
It's all here:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

This is consistent with my understanding. My units have the sensitivity switch, as do all V4s, V4Bs and VT-22s I have seen. None of the ones I have seen have had a "Distortion" switch or knob. Getting distortion is a matter of over-driving the output tubes. I am not a bass player who seeks distortion. A little growl is cool, but I avoid output tube distortion generally.
 
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#14
Like earlier said: There are at least THREE different versions of VT-22! Two of those three versions have those sensitivity switches to control input gain and one version has a diode clipping circuit with "Distortion" control. One of the versions with sensitivity switches has a "Master Volume" control and the other doesn't.
 
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#15
Old Fart said:
This is consistent with my understanding. My units have the sensitivity switch, as do all V4s, V4Bs and VT-22s I have seen. None of the ones I have seen have had a "Distortion" switch or knob. Getting distortion is a matter of over-driving the output tubes. I am not a bass player who seeks distortion. A little growl is cool, but I avoid output tube distortion generally.
Click to expand...

V4B don’t have the sensitivity switches, they were only on the V4/VT22.

As mentioned the distortion model was a separate model in the late 70s. There are a collection of schematics here, the first two in the “more schematics” section are for the distortion models.

Schematics :: Ampeg V4.com | All Ampeg All The Time
 

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