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ampeg v-4bh

#2
I've played on one a while back. While not an extremely loud amp, it sounded awesome and is perfect for medium to small gigs and rehearsals. It is a lot louder than 100 watts solid-state. It sounds similar to the svt, so if you like that sound, go for it.
 
#4
I have the V4BH.
You want clean sound?
Not very loud, but around the same as a decent 200-300w solid state.
It´s very varm sounding, but if you don´t care about overdrive i´d recomend some of the solid states from Ampeg.
It´s something about a feel.
If you don´t use earpluggs at rehearsals it´s enough. If you play in a loud setup, it will most likely be on the edge(you will have to sacrifice bass for volume).
Still, i do like it.
 
#6
ture, they are the same weight but the price seems so right on the 100 watter. I have an sct-350 but i would much rather have my backup head tubes.

Thanks guys im gonna try and see if i can get one off my local store for a few days, me and the owner are pretty Good friends. so i will give it a test, and if not looks like ill just drop the cash on another CL
 
#8
I had one for a while, that I bought new. I just traded it in, actually. It did alright for small venues, but I found I needed to keep the volume almost all the way up in a classic rock band featuring an electric guitar with a fairly powerful rig, an acoustic through the PA, and a medium-loud drummer.

Also, it should definitely be noted that an amplifier expert took a look inside mine (which I'd had for six months, and put through only moderate use), and it needed a good deal of repair.

To be specific, the input jack was loose, which caused one of the power tubes to come on and off, and the power board where the preamp tubes plug in was warped. Another power tube had a burnt out filament, but to be fair, I'm told that's quite a rare occurence.

...All that from six months of moderate usage, and really not getting the volume I needed in a lot of cases. The tone of it is quite good, though.

YMMV, naturally, but that's my $0.02.
 
#9
I had one before I switched it for my CL. It's a great sounding amp, but it lacks the punch and headroom the CL delivers. I had to turn the gain and volume almost all the way up, in almost all situations... I don't like that.

It could work in a not so loud band...

I would choose a solid state/hybrid amp as second head/backup... I think you could get a second hand SVT-CL for not too much money nowadays, though...
 
#10
My thoughts:

Fantastic sound quality, if you like warm and growly. Actually nicer in many cases than an SVT because you are actually working the power tubes at normal (for me at least) listening levels.

It's loud enough for a small to medium room. For me, I'm using DI / Mic for anything bigger. It's also quite a bit lighter than an SVT. I'd use it instead of a vintage V4 for the DI output, which is noisy for studio but fine for live. Also, a little boost from a sansamp or other DI before going into the input will get you a little more usable volume.

It is however, pretty large for a 100 watter.

If you need more volume for rehearsals, you should look into ear protection.
 
#11
If you do a search on "V4B" or "V4BH" you can enjoy reading testimonials from happy owners who play in a super loud rock band with Marshall stacks, drummers on crank, and no PA support. One guy played in a band with two guitarists, two drummers, full horn section, three backup singers, and a B3 organ with dual Leslies. And he only needed PA support at the huge outdoor venues. How do they do it?? Remember, these are 100 TUBE watts, not the regular kind. If you think one of these may not have enough power for your application, try this. Go down to Guitar Center on a Saturday afternoon about 2 o'clock. Plug into a V4BH with your favorite bass. Turn the gain up half way and the volume up full. Turn on the low boost and the high boost. Turn all the EQ knobs up to the max. For now, don't worry about your "tone". Start playing as hard and fast as you can on one of your favorite Death Metal bass riffs. If you can hear yourself at all above the pack of adolescent guitar masters thrashing away through every amp in the guitar section of the store, then the V4BH might be the head for you. I bought a new V4B in about 1969 and it lasted two nights on the job before I had to get rid of it. Too weak to keep up with ONE guitarist and ONE drummer. :hmm:
 
#12
...And sometime, one reaches a point in their musical career (if they have one), wherein you're actually playing OUT, professionally, in venues that have a FOH Sound system.
(Or, your "band" may even carry their own gear and do their own mix....whatever.)

THEN-you can use the balanced DI in your V4BH and have it's great tones set at the appropriate level in the mix, whether you're playing Death Metal or smooth jazz.
But that's on another level completely, isn't it?

If your criteria is playing at Guitar Center, or in your garage, or at a venue without sound reinforcement, then you need something bigger and louder, I guess.

I wouldn't know, not a concern of mine. My V4BH has worked just fine, at HOB, BB King's, Buddy Guy's, among others.

But hey-that's me! If you need somethin' bigger..
Go get it!
:cool:
 
#13
You 100 watt guys crack me up. If you are running through a nice PA or house sound system you don't even NEED a bass amp onstage. Unfortunately, many stage monitors don't reproduce the low frequencies very well. Sometimes the performers on stage, particularly the drummer and the vocalists, want to hear and FEEL the bass. If you can pull that off with your little 100 watt head, that's great. As I mentioned before, I owned a V4B. I have used (or tried to use) one of these at least a dozen times over the years. I can't recommend it for anything other than a personal stage monitor or studio work. Or backing up some folk singers. Oh, by the way, not only have I performed at Guitar Center and a few garages, but I have been gigging full time since 1965 (with and without PA support). :eyebrow:
 
#14
Since 1965??? Lessee, that's 41 years, so if you were, say 16 years old at the time of your Guitar Center/Garage/Other "professional gigs" your pushin' 60!
Nuthin' wrong with that, mind you, don't get me wrong-
Except that if you NEED a bigger amp to get your headroom and volume in a performance situation- (at that age no less---)
C'mon now JoeBeeets, get with the program- Do a REALITY CHECK!
who you playin' with, where you workin', and what you makin'?
Be real, dude...
If you are, then you'll know the REAL DEAL....
get it??:D
 
#16
My B15 Reissue is the same 100w head as the modern V4BH.

Loudness depends on the cabinet. When plugged into the sealed Ampeg B15 cabinet it can keep up with a moderate loud rock band, like classic rock and such and it has more volume than any blues band needs.

But if I plug the head into a ported Mesa cabinet it's even louder, because of a more efficient cabinet. I also get more punch out the ported cabinet at loud volumes.

So yes, it can and does work. You may not get quite the lowend punch as a 200 or 300w tube head overall, but using it as a stage monitor at your typical club with a PA, it works...but works better with the right cab.
 

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