Ampeg V-4B for home recording. Total noob here

[Y_S_Rickenbach]

TL; DR: Can I use an Ampeg V-4B for home recording without getting the cops called? I live in a city but not an apartment.


Hey Folks! I'm new here and need some advice. Quick and dirty for context: I'm a life-long guitar player who has always been a pretty good bassist too, but have never owned much by the way of quality bass gear. Over the past year I've begun building a modest recording setup at home to produce and record my own music (as a hobby - until I reach youtube fame). I have been mic-ing a small Fender Rumble 40 with surprising good results, but have recently decided to upgrade my tone.

I picked up a Rickenbacker 4003. I now need a decent amp. I play a lot of 60s blues/psychedelic style music and much prefer a tube amp. For guitar sounds I use a Fender hand wired 57 deluxe (which I can crank at home just fine despite it being pretty loud). I want to get a nice warm vintage bass tone and have landed on the V-4B based on a very brief trial in a music shop and listening to countless clips. It has the tone I'm looking for...however: is it too loud to play at home? Can I dial in decent tube breakup (not fully cranked - just a little sumthin) without shattered my windows? I don't have a sense of reference for what a 100 watt bass tube amp really means (I understand guitar amps just fine). It doesn't need to be "bedroom" level, I just need to be able to get a decent tone without punishing anyone. From what I have read on this forum it is not an overly loud amp, but then again the comparisons tend to be the SVT or other high wattage amps.

 

[Lammchop93]

I had a v4b. It can be used at home, but the PF50-T would be an ideal amp. I’ve owned both, and they sound identical.
The pf50t can also be plugged into a DI and powered on without a cab. I don’t know another tube amp that can do that.

 

[Y_S_Rickenbach]

Yes I was looking at that one too. Similar tone? Is the quality the same? I think the Portaflex is Chinese made?

 

[Jim C]

This takes work but IMO, it's the best bass tone I ever got in the studio and this is from a recording engineer who had access to lots of DI boxes.
Buy a 200 watt ballast resistor, and make a base for it (old 2x4) and a cable and plug (18 gauge hook up sire to a 1/4" jack) it into your speaker output to protect the output stage. Use whatever ohmage as the cabinet you plan to use so you won't forget to switch impedances.
Take the pre-amp out to your recording console.
Run input volume at 12:00 and output a little lower at amp. Start with EQ flat and no boost switches on.
Super deep rich DI tone controllable from your amp.

You want to use a speaker, you say?
Best sounding bass amp I ever owned was an older V4B. Liked it more than my SVT.

 

[takeout]

Alternate suggestion: there are a number of V4-B plugins that work REALLY well. I highly recommend any of the Brainworx Ampegs for home recording purposes.

 

[hbabels]

Yeah you can totally use it for home recording. You can always add something like a Two Notes Captor X or Suhr reactive load IR to load it and get some great micd cab sounds direct at any volume.

 

[Funk With Me]

If you’re not playing live it’s probably overkill. Here’s the deal. For recording it’s one thing getting a good sound from an amp, and it’s another thing altogether to capture that sound via your signal chain, whatever that may be. I myself prefer a nice preamp recorded direct. I’m using a Great River me-1nv currently. It’s great for bass and many other things as well.

 

[Lammchop93]

Yes I was looking at that one too. Similar tone? Is the quality the same? I think the Portaflex is Chinese made?

im pretty sure both are Chinese made. If you wanted amp to do gigs and home use, the V4b is the way to go. If you want strictly home use, and small bar-sized gigs, the PF50-T is perfect. I seriously couldn't tell a difference between the two when I owned them

 

[Y_S_Rickenbach]

If you’re not playing live it’s probably overkill. Here’s the deal. For recording it’s one thing getting a good sound from an amp, and it’s another thing altogether to capture that sound via your signal chain, whatever that may be. I myself prefer a nice preamp recorded direct. I’m using a Great River me-1nv currently. It’s great for bass and many other things as well.

View attachment 4384159

SO I've definitely considered this route. I was looking at the Great River and the BAE 1073DMP for maybe a little more vintage transformer coloration. And the nice thing here is I would also get a mic pre out of it (current mic pre is just the built in one on my Solid State Logic interface - plenty good for my purposes but I could definitely use an upgrade). This is probably the most practical and cost effective choice, but I'm a dumb guitarist and I like loud poopie. Derpa.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

TL; DR: Can I use an Ampeg V-4B for home recording without getting the cops called? I live in a city but not an apartment.


Hey Folks! I'm new here and need some advice. Quick and dirty for context: I'm a life-long guitar player who has always been a pretty good bassist too, but have never owned much by the way of quality bass gear. Over the past year I've begun building a modest recording setup at home to produce and record my own music (as a hobby - until I reach youtube fame). I have been mic-ing a small Fender Rumble 40 with surprising good results, but have recently decided to upgrade my tone.

I picked up a Rickenbacker 4003. I now need a decent amp. I play a lot of 60s blues/psychedelic style music and much prefer a tube amp. For guitar sounds I use a Fender hand wired 57 deluxe (which I can crank at home just fine despite it being pretty loud). I want to get a nice warm vintage bass tone and have landed on the V-4B based on a very brief trial in a music shop and listening to countless clips. It has the tone I'm looking for...however: is it too loud to play at home? Can I dial in decent tube breakup (not fully cranked - just a little sumthin) without shattered my windows? I don't have a sense of reference for what a 100 watt bass tube amp really means (I understand guitar amps just fine). It doesn't need to be "bedroom" level, I just need to be able to get a decent tone without punishing anyone. From what I have read on this forum it is not an overly loud amp, but then again the comparisons tend to be the SVT or other high wattage amps.

Yes. But your neighbors will not like you. Buy a two notes torpedo. It's a load box with an attenuator and a DI out. Then, you can play your glorious V4b, with or without a speaker attached, and attenuate the volume into a speaker however you like with your power section still dishing out full tube bliss.

 

[coreyfyfe]

Yeah you can totally use it for home recording. You can always add something like a Two Notes Captor X or Suhr reactive load IR to load it and get some great micd cab sounds direct at any volume.

Second this. Have a captor X and use it for recording and practice with most of my tube heads. Sounds great and has a ton of options for cabs, mics, etc.

 

[micguy]

You can use it for home recording. One of many ways, but yeah, a V4B can get LOUD.

During lockdown, I did a lot of home recording, but aside from the first one I did (long story) everything was direct - used my pedalboard into my computer, with a Broughton low pass as a speaker emulator - the most critical thing to emulate is the rolloff of a cabinet, the Broughton does that pretty well.

There are a lot of ways to do home recording well. If it inspires to you make a lot of noise, and that makes you play better, go for it. If not, then do it another way - my setup allows me to record at any time in a townhouse, without disturbing the neighbors. For me, that's the ticket - for you, another way might work better.

Whatever works, works.

 

[Y_S_Rickenbach]

You can use it for home recording. One of many ways, but yeah, a V4B can get LOUD.

During lockdown, I did a lot of home recording, but aside from the first one I did (long story) everything was direct - used my pedalboard into my computer, with a Broughton low pass as a speaker emulator - the most critical thing to emulate is the rolloff of a cabinet, the Broughton does that pretty well.

There are a lot of ways to do home recording well. If it inspires to you make a lot of noise, and that makes you play better, go for it. If not, then do it another way - my setup allows me to record at any time in a townhouse, without disturbing the neighbors. For me, that's the ticket - for you, another way might work better.

Whatever works, works.

What's "a lot" of noise to you? I crank my Fender Deluxe during the afternoons no problem without complaints. It's a LOUD 12 watt guitar amp, but no clean headroom, all vintage dirt. So the perception of its loudness maybe less than a cleaner headroom amp. If I was playing my Fender Deluxe live with someone on the V4B would the bass amp overpower it? Or would it be the right match of power?

 

[beans-on-toast]

SO I've definitely considered this route. I was looking at the Great River and the BAE 1073DMP for maybe a little more vintage transformer coloration. And the nice thing here is I would also get a mic pre out of it (current mic pre is just the built in one on my Solid State Logic interface - plenty good for my purposes but I could definitely use an upgrade). This is probably the most practical and cost effective choice, but I'm a dumb guitarist and I like loud poopie. Derpa.

I have a BAE box, they are very nice. The boards inside are copies of the original Neve units. The DMP is a good choice.

Take a serious look at the Two Notes Torpedo if you want to record with the V4B.

 

[micguy]

What's "a lot" of noise to you?

We're talking home recording here. Depending on how far away the neighbors are, A V4B can easily be too much. Live, a V4B can still get decently loud - depends on the efficiency of your cabinets as to how far you can take it, but I've played in loud rock bands with a 100 watt amp with no need for more power.

 

[MichelD]

I love my old V4B but it hums and buzzes and hisses to much for recording.

 

[T-boneParish]

V4B is a ton of amp for your purposes, but it can be great too. If you're looking to push the tubes to get that warm, squishy, on-the-verge-of-breaking-up sound, just add a reactive load box (Two Notes Torpedo, etc) as others have said.

I'm in a similar situation, with guitar and bass amps that have way more horsepower than I need for my home use. Load boxes and attenuators were made for people like me and you.

Best of luck!

 

[Deleted member 165050]

TL; DR: Can I use an Ampeg V-4B for home recording without getting the cops called? I live in a city but not an apartment.


Hey Folks! I'm new here and need some advice. Quick and dirty for context: I'm a life-long guitar player who has always been a pretty good bassist too, but have never owned much by the way of quality bass gear. Over the past year I've begun building a modest recording setup at home to produce and record my own music (as a hobby - until I reach youtube fame). I have been mic-ing a small Fender Rumble 40 with surprising good results, but have recently decided to upgrade my tone.

I picked up a Rickenbacker 4003. I now need a decent amp. I play a lot of 60s blues/psychedelic style music and much prefer a tube amp. For guitar sounds I use a Fender hand wired 57 deluxe (which I can crank at home just fine despite it being pretty loud). I want to get a nice warm vintage bass tone and have landed on the V-4B based on a very brief trial in a music shop and listening to countless clips. It has the tone I'm looking for...however: is it too loud to play at home? Can I dial in decent tube breakup (not fully cranked - just a little sumthin) without shattered my windows? I don't have a sense of reference for what a 100 watt bass tube amp really means (I understand guitar amps just fine). It doesn't need to be "bedroom" level, I just need to be able to get a decent tone without punishing anyone. From what I have read on this forum it is not an overly loud amp, but then again the comparisons tend to be the SVT or other high wattage amps.

You can use a V-4B with a load box but if what you want is purely home recording I'd get a PF-20t which has a built in dummy load like the Pf-50t but if you want to use it through a cab can be pushed into power tube breakup a little earlier, but even the 20 can get loud. A V-4B through a cab is probably ott for home use.

 

[Biggbass]

Just get a REDDI...home recording noise level problem solved.

 

[captainofsmooth]

I’m not sure why anyone hasn’t mentioned the fact that the V4-B reissues have separate Gain and Master Volume controls. I’ve never had an issue with getting a good vintage grit at a volume that won’t offend the neighbors. I use mine to record all of the time. I think for what you’re looking for, you’ve made the right choice. No, as great as the PF solid state heads sound, they do not sound the same as a tube amp breaking up. They break up just fine, but it’s not the same. The pf50t and 20t are excellent suggestions. Just my two pennies.