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2013 Ampeg V-4B 100W Reissue Pt2

#501
Rattle when you shake the tube only occurs when the glue gets loose. Many times the bond fails and the glass simply separates from the base. It can vibrate when playing. If you press down on the envelope, it doesn't allow it to vibrate.

The thing that takes some experience is how much soaking is needed to soften the glue. If you don't do it long enough just the surface softens and the bond is not as strong. If it doesn't work the first time, not a big deal, the procedure can be retried. I figure that it is worth a shot. It never hurts to have a backup set (of JJ's).
 
#503
JimmyM said:
Also, re: the single 210av, I've done it and it sounds way good, but I wouldn't be cranking it up into the red with only one.
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TXLawDawg said:
Just fine. As with any small cab setup, IMHO, it definitely sounds better with two cabs. Normally though, if I'm running just one of the 210s, I just use my PF500 because I'm probably looking at a crunch for space and it's just easier.
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Cheers guys, I was just interested how it would hold up as if the V4-B is anything like the VR the it's going to be an extremely loud 100 watts! I would probably only use the one cab for smaller venues or when my Barefaced '69er would be overkill so I can't see I'd be running it too loud.
 
#504
cheezewiz said:
long SIIIIGGGHHHHHH. My head was DOA. Luckily, I decided to fire it up this morning for a pretest for tonight's gig. The stand by light, red, comes on, but when switched to the on position, everything dies. No tube glow at any point. No sound. Dammit. Anyway, I'm very glad I bought from Sweetwater, who not only gave me a great price, but whose customer service is A-1. They are shipping out a replacement with a return tag first thing Monday morning. I'm not bitching about Ampeg yet. I FULLY understand these things happen, especially when things are shipped.
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What happened with your replacement head? Did it show up, is everything good?
 
#508
I am getting closer to buying a V4B. My options will be to pair it with either two 210AV cabs or two 112AV cabs. I will not be vertically stacking the 210s if I go that way, so that is not a consideration. In the opinion of those who have tried both options, what are the tonal/volume advantages and disadvantages of one over the other.
 
#509
I play through a V4B and two of the SVT-112AV cabs and love the setup. I find the tone to be full - plenty of lows, the signature Ampeg midrange growl, and great clarity and articulation. I pretty much leave the the EQ knobs in their "noon" positions, and I switch between pick and finger style a lot. I use the tone control on my bass to take out some highs for the pick. Finger style can be very punchy and articulate by cutting the lows a bit and boosting mids in the 3k range...great attack!

Ive gigged this setup no less than once a week for about 2 months now and haven't had any issues with the amp or cabs. The cabs have tweeters, but I've never turned them on.
 
#510
dukeisdog said:
Can anyone give me a quick rundown of any issues that these reissues are having in the first run? How long have they even been out for? I'm having a lot of problems with my Mesa prodigy and although I love this amp my old V4BH is getting most of my bass playing now as every time I take the Prodigy out of the house I seemingly have problems with it.

I wanted something light and small but my old V4BH sounds killer so if these new ones sound better I'm in! I'd love to hear of any reliability issues as I really want to feel good taking this amp out if the house without a backup.
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Here's the deal on that...tubes are always a wild card. Generally, tubes will last a decently long time, but now and then you get a bad one. For that reason alone, it's never a bad idea to take a backup. I usually bring the PF800 because it's small. But mine is from the very first run and I got it the day they became available, and it's still a champ. Did have to replace a preamp tube, but that was because I dropped it from 3 ft onto a concrete floor. But that was the only problem I had after dropping it.

As for the tone, with knobs at noon the V4B is pretty flat response but otherwise behaves similarly to an SVT-CL. Not played the V4BH but I hear tell it's voiced almost the same as an SVT.
 
#513
cheezewiz said:
I'm starting to get a bit unhappy. My replacement was also DOA. This one lit up correctly, but still no sound. I checked all the usuals, cable, speaker cable, etc. Sweetwater is going to get one out of the box, test it, and ship it to me tomorrow.
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Looks like they might have had a bad batch or something. I hope this gets gets resolved Quick for you. Sweetwater has very good customer service and will take care of this I'm sure.
 
#514
You did turn the standby off, right?

:D

Wow man, sorry you're having problems getting one that works. Most likely a tube issue. But good on Sweetwater for being on it. They're a really good place to buy stuff.
 
#515
I asked if they had any other recent defective returns and CS said they couldn't tell because their system was currently down. Things like this are exactly why I buy from sweetwater though. I'm confident I will eventually get a working amp! I wouldnt be so sure with MF, etc.

It IS really frustrating though. I mean, if I wanted to buy an amp that would ship non working twice in a row, I would have saved some money and bought one of those awesome all tube self biasing Booger-as!
 
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#516
I'm now 100 percent unhappy with Ampeg's quality control. My Sweetwater rep just called me, said they opened another V4B to test it out before they shipped it to me, and it's also dead. They apparently got an entire bad batch from Ampeg. I'm seriously considering the Bassman 100T. I always did like Fender stuff when I was a kid. I may also just spend a bit more and have them send me an SVT, although I really don't want to deal with an 80lb head
 
#518
I agree Jimmy. You normally never see me bashing Ampeg (except the SVT 3 and B2R) :) I emailed loud tech customer service and let them know I was pretty unhappy. I'm probably the type that is the meat and potatoes of their business. Semi pro player, 70+ dates a year, who also works full time at a "real job". I would think I'd be the exact type of player they'd want to keep happy. I guess we'll see. Sweetwater offered me a really nice discount on an SVT Classic instead, but then I have to dick around with grill cloths on my new SVT212AV cab, and have to carry an 80 lb amp. I like the sound of 41lbs better, and I would really only need the 100 watts of the V4B for stage volume.
 
#519
The reissue V4B is an excellent design, layout, and build. A cut above other amps that I see. Quality components are used. It is built a bit heavier duty to take the rigors of the road.

Unfortunately, Loud has egg on it's face with these units. I'm sure that they are scrambling to fix it and to determine how these units got through their quality control process. I'd be frustrated as well. Once it is sorted out, I think that you'll be pleased with the amp.

Why not also send a copy of your email to Hodgy here on TB. He might be able to help expedite you getting a replacement through Sweetwater.
 
#520
Oh, I trust Sweetwater is doing all they can. It's just that they don't have a delivery date for when more V4B's are arriving. It could be 2 weeks, it could be 2 months. Who knows?

Loud already emailed me back, asking if I had any serial numbers. The writer was wondering if they were accidentally shipped 240v units by mistake.
 

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