• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Ampeg 1970's V4 Cab tests

#65
John, a little off subject, but still V-4 related, is their any major tonal difference between your V-4's and V-4B? I have a V-4, which I love, but I was just curious to see if there is any real difference between the two, or is it just a subtle difference in tone?

Also - I noticed my V-4 has three N.O.S. Magnavox tubes in it, or they could be original, I'm not sure, and it has one GE 7027 tube in it. Does this setup decrease power being that it has one mismatched tube. If I replace the tubes with brand new 7027's, will it change the tone? Will it have additional power? Just curious. . . .
 
#66
dubstylee said:
John, a little off subject, but still V-4 related, is their any major tonal difference between your V-4's and V-4B? I have a V-4, which I love, but I was just curious to see if there is any real difference between the two, or is it just a subtle difference in tone?
Click to expand...

i have found a subtle difference between them, but nothing major. the V4B seems to have a little more low end than the V4's, possibly due to the coupling caps in the driver stage.

dubstylee said:
Also - I noticed my V-4 has three N.O.S. Magnavox tubes in it, or they could be original, I'm not sure, and it has one GE 7027 tube in it. Does this setup decrease power being that it has one mismatched tube. If I replace the tubes with brand new 7027's, will it change the tone? Will it have additional power? Just curious. . . .
Click to expand...

if the GE 7027 has the same current draw and transconductance of the other three, it won't decrease the power at all. a new set of 7027's may change the tone a little if they are a different brand and/or transconductance rating than what you already have. and i have no idea as to how many mA your current output tubes are pulling regarding more power output.
 
#67
Well thanks a lot for your insight! I'm always curious about things like that. Do you believe JJ's or Sovtek's are good tube replacements? I am definately just going to leave the tubes that are in there alone for now, or atleast until they die. . . So the V-4B has a little more low end huh, I guess you're saying if the EQ was set flat, it naturally has more lows, could the V-4 match that once you boosted the lows on the EQ?
 
#68
Sovtek and JJ's are fine and sound very good in a V4. you can easily mod the coupling caps in a V4 to get the V4B's little bit of extra bass response.

capacitors, C3, C6, and C7, have the same reference numbers in both the V4 and the V4B and perform the same functions. each is 0.01 microfarads in the V4 and 0.1 microfarads in the V4B. C3 only affects Channel 1 and C6 only affects Channel 2, and C7 affects both channels. Changing each of these capacitors in the V4 will give a V4 the same low frequency bandwidth as a V4B. The change isn’t drastic but does improve the clarity of the lowest four or five notes on a four string bass
 
#69
John, that's really good to know, I do notice a lack of clarity on the F through A on my P or J a lot. I do however enjoy the sound of the amp the way it is, but I may consider the modification. I would however probably take it to a tech being that I am not the best at soldering.
 
#72
Sold the original speakers and I'm about to order the Eminence 12A-2s.

WHen I opened it up I just marked every white cable that goes to positive. But on the last one the black went to positive. Weird. I am guessing the colors are just mixed up. I guess I'll just put it back like it was??? Should I be careful here?

I'm pretty stoked. Silver grillcloth and casters are next....
 
#75
funkytoe said:
John,

Do you have any experience with Eminence Delta 12B speakers? They are available in 16 ohms. I am wondering about using them in a sealed 4x12 cab with a 4 ohm total load. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I have a cab with two 16 ohm 12B's in it and it sounds nice. IMO they are a good sounding, fairly efficient speaker that handles alot of power. for me, they were just a little lacking on the top end so i installed JBL dust caps on them to brighten them up a little bit. i run them (parallel @ 8 ohms)with a GK 1001RBII and its a pretty good match. i think that they'd sound good in a 4x12 as well.

i'm thinking about trying four basslite S2012's in one of my v4 cabs. they have a decent xmax rating and go up a little higher than the Beta12B's or the 2512's (and they weigh next to nothing!).
 
#77
I know this is one dated thread, but curious as to if you're still using this cab on occasion @johnk_10? I've found one locally that already had the speaker swap and was amazingly loud with the v4b they had with it (barely reached 11 o'clock) so I'm assuming bass speaker may have been used. The speakers seamed to not like a lot of low from the amp though so I thought they could be guitar speakers.

I have a couple curious questions before I truly dip into it.

A. Have you tried other speakers since those days? I recall in all my searches you've used the basslites, the 12A, and one other.

Any thoughts on the Celestion pulse 12's? I noticed that blog post where someone used them, but figured you have some more knowledge on how that would compare with what you have tried. It's no guarantee I'd use them, but in case the drivers in the cab aren't up to snuff for more wattage I'd like to explore other options.

B. I saw you mentioned it handling the TC BH800, did it feel like you were starting to over power the drivers? Have you tried it with some heavy dirt too?

I'm on the fence as I really like the sealed response of my pf210 over my 610hlf and felt like this would be a good step toward getting more air movement while retaining that nice punch. The pf210 gets tons of loudness and punch for its size, but does start to lose steam in the mix when playing in a real loud group.

Any additional thoughts on it are appreciated. On a side note, the grill was black on it and appeared to match the typical black material used in recent decades by ampegs, but I haven't seen it on a V4 before. It's definitely aged, possibly original. Any idea on what years may have had that if original?
 
#78
Novarocker said:
I know this is one dated thread, but curious as to if you're still using this cab on occasion @johnk_10? I've found one locally that already had the speaker swap and was amazingly loud with the v4b they had with it (barely reached 11 o'clock) so I'm assuming bass speaker may have been used. The speakers seamed to not like a lot of low from the amp though so I thought they could be guitar speakers.

I have a couple curious questions before I truly dip into it.

A. Have you tried other speakers since those days? I recall in all my searches you've used the basslites, the 12A, and one other.

Any thoughts on the Celestion pulse 12's? I noticed that blog post where someone used them, but figured you have some more knowledge on how that would compare with what you have tried. It's no guarantee I'd use them, but in case the drivers in the cab aren't up to snuff for more wattage I'd like to explore other options.

B. I saw you mentioned it handling the TC BH800, did it feel like you were starting to over power the drivers? Have you tried it with some heavy dirt too?

I'm on the fence as I really like the sealed response of my pf210 over my 610hlf and felt like this would be a good step toward getting more air movement while retaining that nice punch. The pf210 gets tons of loudness and punch for its size, but does start to lose steam in the mix when playing in a real loud group.

Any additional thoughts on it are appreciated. On a side note, the grill was black on it and appeared to match the typical black material used in recent decades by ampegs, but I haven't seen it on a V4 before. It's definitely aged, possibly original. Any idea on what years may have had that if original?
Click to expand...

A answer:
i have since sold my V4 cabs since i moved on to lighter weight ones. the 2512's are the only ones that i tried in it, and that was with a vintage SVT head, or a and SVT-VR. i did really like the sound of those with an SVT though.

B answer:
i never felt like i was overpowering them. i preferred the sound of it to my 610 hlf (which i also sold years ago).
mine was a vintage V4 cab and i've never seen on with anything other than the vintage blue cloth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Novarocker
#79
johnk_10 said:
A answer:
i have since sold my V4 cabs since i moved on to lighter weight ones. the 2512's are the only ones that i tried in it, and that was with a vintage SVT head, or a and SVT-VR. i did really like the sound of those with an SVT though.

B answer:
i never felt like i was overpowering them. i preferred the sound of it to my 610 hlf (which i also sold years ago).
mine was a vintage V4 cab and i've never seen on with anything other than the vintage blue cloth.
Click to expand...

Ah yeah, the 2512's. It must have been someone else using the 2012's.

I think I'm going to go for it and redo the grill. Great to hear you didn't feel like you were pushing the limit. I just haven't been as satisfied with my 610 (even with an hpf in front) as the 210. I really notice a difference with my ashdown BTA. The ABM I have doesn't have as much difference, but really the sound from the sealed is much more in line with what I'd like. I loved using both fridges I've run them through, but I'm trying to keep under 100lbs now.

If you don't mind me asking, what cabinets have you settled on now? I've been contemplating building my own sealed 4x12 or pair of 2x12.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back