Ampeg tone help please.

[BigBri99]

Good morning TB. I just got a V4B and svt 212 av cab. While it sounds amazing, I think it is too loud for home use. The clean sound is great, but I can't get a good overdrive at low volume. I dimed the gain and volume and then dialed in the bass volume. I thought maybe I should exchange for a pf50t,but I didn't really like the overdrive tone on the Ampeg tv sound clips. Any suggestions are appreciated on how to achieve tube overdrive at house level. Thank you.

 

[dirtydumpling]

Yeah, I have a svt classic and that bitch will growl when cranked up, but at home, well those things are not for home use.

 

[crlujan]

Maybe look into the Ampeg SCR-DI and just use the overdrive section? Not sure if this will help. I've got the same amp and cab and do use it at home. But, I like it clean. So, I don't need to crank it so much.

 

[BigBri99]

I really like the clean tones. Would going to a 112 make much of a difference?

 

[JJR58]

I'm no expert here, but maybe using a 112 might help, you'd be running an 8 ohm cab vs. the 4ohm 212.
In theory you'd be pushing your V4 a little bit harder, but probably won't quite get you into grind territory.

Like i said, i'm no expert, that 50T packs a lot of juice for a 50 watter, and can do what you are seeking, but still might be to much for your situation.

I'm sure others will chime in that have way more knowledge about this then me.

 

[Biggbass]

might look into getting an attenuator...like a Dr Z Airbrake Lite.

 

[chaosMK]

Pedal is probably the way to go but it will be hard to beat the real thing.

 

[P-oddz]

Two options (and neither involve getting rid of the V4B/212AV because that would be very wrong):

1. Find a boost pedal that is going to push your amp at lower levels or
2. Get an "Ampeg flavored" pedal that will help drive/closely mimic your amp's drive

I've found personally, that a Catalinbread SFT works well doubled with my V4B. If you want more midrange/upper midrange centered push, the Version 2 SFT is the way to go. If you want a little more classic tubby-tone drive, look to see if you can get your hands on a version 1. I own the V2 and a built a version of the V1. Either work really well, IMO.

 

[DRafalske]

Another thing you can try is running the 212av in parallel with a 4ohm resistor off the amp's 2ohm tap. You can get them pretty cheap on Amazon but will need to solder up a plug to it. Should effectively turn the V4B into a 50 watt amp, which may still be too loud, but worth a try.

 

[coreyfyfe]

I can't get a good overdrive at low volume. I dimed the gain and volume and then dialed in the bass volume.

Just to clarify here, you dimed the gain and volume controls on the amp then adjusted your volume with the control on the bass?

If it's that case, I wouldn't expect much overdrive at all but plenty of noise. Try setting your bass volume to max, gain as high as you want, and use the master volume on the amp to control the level.

 

[Mastermold]

Don't exchange it, keep the V4B and get a 50T later. Unless you're never playing out with a band. You'll appreciate the V4B playing out with that 212.

 

[BigBri99]

Thanks everyone for the help. Unfortunately I don't play out much at all. I play at church regularly, but we run through the PA and use IEM.

Anyone have experience with the 50 and 20t overdrive tone?

 

[BigBri99]

I absolutely love the V4B tone. Just trying to justify spending that much on a rig I might never play out with. If a 20t sounds just as good clean I might just exchange for that and a 112 or even keep the 212 av cab.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I know my svt 7 doesnt give me much grind unless it is cranked

 

[Ben B]

A pf50T or SVT 112 cab will not get an overdriven tone at a volume that much quieter than your current setup. So, keep what you got. As others have suggested, get a pedal. I use a Joyo ultimate drive with my Ampeg tube amps. It does a pretty good approximation of the overdriven tube sound, and it's cheap.

 

[spaz21387]

A smaller less efficient cab would help. My v4b distorts pretty loud with my 8x10. With my carvin mbe 2x10 it breaks up at reasonable levels

 

[BigBri99]

Thanks so much everyone. I will try some of those ideas.

 

[JimmyM]

There's really no way to do it as it sits. Would have suggested cranking the gain and distorting the preamp and using master to control overall volume, but you didn't seem to like that. Cant blame you...power tube distortion is where it's at. I've heard of people pulling a couple power tubes from the ends, but that will change the speaker outs from 2-4-8 ohms to 4-8-16 ohms, so you would need to use a 2 ohm speaker out for your 212av, and according to the V4 website, it doesn't do anything to make it break up earlier.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

So your choices are either to get a lower power amp or a power attenuator, although I've never used one and I can't speak to how effective they are. The PF-50T sounds almost identical to the V4B and will cut down on volume, but it still may be too loud for home use. I haven't tried the PF-20T yet, but folks who have rave about it. I don't think it sounds identical to the V4B, but recordings I've heard do sound excellent.

Of course, the easiest solution is to buy a dirt pedal

 

[BassLover668]

Tech 21 Oxford or tube sccreamer.

 

[morgan138]

Find a boost pedal that is going to push your amp at lower levels or

It's been years, but I don't remember V-4bs getting along well with boost pedals. They need a lot of boosting to break up at the preamp stage, and don't sound particularly good when they get there.