Abusing an Ampeg VT-40

[dukeplaysbass]

Hey there-

One of my co-workers just GAVE me a minty-mint late 70's Ampeg VT-40. It's a 60w all-tube 4x10 guitar combo (yeah, I know, he deserves a couple of my prized Cubans for this!)

It's way too heavy to trot around with but it sounds pretty good at first listen (about ten minutes was all I had time for last night). It might become my main house practice amp just for the warmth alone.

Anyone else ever run a bass through these amps? Any idea what all the 3 posiiton rocker switches do?

Thanks!

-Duke

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

It's too nice an amp to blow out the open backed 4x10's with bass. Unplug them and use a bass cab. Oughta be a nice practice amp.

 

[xyllion]

Open back cabs don't work well for bass. I don't remember all the reasoning behind it, but you need a sealed or a vented enclosure to have any amount of efficiency out of a bass cab.

 

[ihixulu]

The reasoning is that with the amount of movement required to generate bass frequencies, without some kind of motion limiting air pressure (provided by sealing the cab or properly venting it), the speakers would quickly move beyond their capability and mechanically break.

 

[dukeplaysbass]

Originally posted by ihixulu
The reasoning is that with the amount of movement required to generate bass frequencies, without some kind of motion limiting air pressure (provided by sealing the cab or properly venting it), the speakers would quickly move beyond their capability and mechanically break.

Ah, OK, I get it. Yeah, it is a VERY nice amp, way too nice to blow out like that, especially out of ignorance. Thanks for the info. I'll keep it as a guitar amp and continue to use one of the small bass amps for practice.

-Duke