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Ampeg V4B 1976 & 810 CTS Flatbacks in the house!

Sparkl

Sparkl

Apr 23, 2011
1,710
1,443
Europe
#1
Hey guys!

I just brought home one of my dream stacks and indeed it kicks ass! Just thought I would show the world this since I am over hyped right now :D

I came across an Ampeg V4B 1976 and the Ampeg 810 with old CTS alnico flatbacks. I wished to own the flatbacks for a while since every single video I checked when people compared speakers in different Ampeg 810 cabs, alnicos always sounded the best for me.

The amp is completely operable, was NOS for a long time and is in absolute mint condition.

The cab enclosure has been custom made since the original box could not be salvaged. Exactly the same design only better since it is all completely handmade by a world class professional using the best woods available.

The cab is rated around 250W and believe me, this thing is LOUD. And I mean LOUD. And deep. And fat. And harmonically rich.

You can see on the picture my Hartke/Ampeg stack. The V4B/CTS combo goes wider, deeper and louder than that. Blew my mind since I always questioned myself whether 100w tube will be enough to drive an 810 for my desired loudness and I can say that it does and much more.

Happy camper! :D

IMG_20190820_010627.jpg IMG_20190820_010256.jpg IMG_20190820_010742.jpgIMG_20190820_010903.jpg
 
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#5
Sparkl said:
The speakers. It is to reference to the old CTS alnico speakers Ampeg used in their 810 cabs in their beginnings. They have that famous "brick-type" magnet fitted in the back.

Like so:
Click to expand...

AFAIK it references the shape of the cab: I.E. the original 810s had "flat backs" and a dolly.

Here's a nice looking example.

Link RemovedLink Removed

Compare to a the later tilt back style.

Link Removed
 
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#6
Wasnex said:
AFAIK it references the shape of the cab: I.E. the original 810s had "flat backs" and a dolly.

Here's a nice looking example.

Link RemovedLink Removed

Compare to a the later tilt back style.

Link Removed
Click to expand...
Yep, wasn't a reference to the speakers, as the follow-up Eminences they used after CTS in 1974 looked the same (although I believe they had ceramic and not alnico magnets).
 
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#7
Oh, thanks for rhe correction. Did not know that.

Everytime you google CTS flatback 10 you would usually get these speakers and never thought they would be called like that because of the cab design. Then again, it always felt weird to me why would the speaker be called a flatback since most of the magnets are flat on the back anyways :D
 
#9
JimmyM said:
A 73 V4B and a flatback was my first big amp. Played that thing into the ground, too, right up until it got burned up in a bar fire 11 or 12 years later. Enjoy!
Click to expand...
76V4B and SVT810 Tilt-back towel bar cab was my first big amp also. Gigged with that setup all over the South Jersey club circuit from 76 through the mid eighties. To this day I still say it was the best sounding rig I've ever owned!
 
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#10
johnpbass said:
76V4B and SVT810 Tilt-back towel bar cab was my first big amp also. Gigged with that setup all over the South Jersey club circuit from 76 through the mid eighties. To this day I still say it was the best sounding rig I've ever owned!
Click to expand...

I really don't want this to sound like a marketing trick for tube/810 stacks but man honestly, there is no comparison to the newer small amps and half stacks. This thing has like 250w rms and the amp is a 100w yet sounds bigger, fuller and way more impactful than my Barefaced Big Twin 2 + EBS Fafner rig ever did. Which I find totally amazing. To me this is a great school of how we buy equipment based on numbers basically nowadays. You buy a certain cab because it looks amazing on the paper. 1000 w rms handling, 900w amp, rock on... This combination has all the depth and low end I could ever wish for! And will easily follow with loud guitars and drums if needed, with headroom to spare!

Being brai washed by the watt marketing nowadays I really didn't know what to expect from a 250w 810 - boy was I wrong, in a pleasant way! :D

Finally I can start looking at which sound I dig instead of getting me cabs with a ton of headroom that I probably will never need.
 
#13
Sparkl said:
I really don't want this to sound like a marketing trick for tube/810 stacks but man honestly, there is no comparison to the newer small amps and half stacks. This thing has like 250w rms and the amp is a 100w yet sounds bigger, fuller and way more impactful than my Barefaced Big Twin 2 + EBS Fafner rig ever did. Which I find totally amazing. To me this is a great school of how we buy equipment based on numbers basically nowadays. You buy a certain cab because it looks amazing on the paper. 1000 w rms handling, 900w amp, rock on... This combination has all the depth and low end I could ever wish for! And will easily follow with loud guitars and drums if needed, with headroom to spare!

Being brai washed by the watt marketing nowadays I really didn't know what to expect from a 250w 810 - boy was I wrong, in a pleasant way! :D

Finally I can start looking at which sound I dig instead of getting me cabs with a ton of headroom that I probably will never need.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. It's amazing how loud 100 watts sounds combined with that cab!
 
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#16
so what's "the finest woods available" for cab construction?
is that just marketing-speak for void free baltic birch?
(i'm not trying to rain on your new gear parade by any means. there's a lot of fluffy verbiage when it comes to describing geetar gear components that irks me... i wouldn't touch an amp with "all NOS capacitors" in it with a 2x4... which is what i'd need in the event that one of them old electrolytics failed short!)
 
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#18
thetragichero said:
so what's "the finest woods available" for cab construction?
is that just marketing-speak for void free baltic birch?
(i'm not trying to rain on your new gear parade by any means. there's a lot of fluffy verbiage when it comes to describing geetar gear components that irks me... i wouldn't touch an amp with "all NOS capacitors" in it with a 2x4... which is what i'd need in the event that one of them old electrolytics failed short!)
Click to expand...

Well yes I get you. To my knowledge, void free baltic birch is one of the finest woods for cab construction and this was the wood used for this cab. There are also othee options obviously but this one is kind of the most popular and proved.

The amp is NOS basically but a lot of electrolytes (although the core electrolytes are still very functional and remain original) has been replaced with new HQ parts (you can partially see that on a backside pic of the amp).

Regardless, it works like a charm! I am not a collector so having a 100% original gear doesn't bother me one bit, I much more prefer road-readines and reliability. The way this gear has been treated by the previous owner (and serviced) I have no doubt this set delivers to my expectations.
 
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#20
Sparkl said:
although the core electrolytes are still very functional and remain original

Regardless, it works like a charm! I am not a collector so having a 100% original gear doesn't bother me one bit, I much more prefer road-readines and reliability. The way this gear has been treated by the previous owner (and serviced) I have no doubt this set delivers to my expectations.
Click to expand...
i would replace any that haven't been replaced. the rub with old electro caps is that they work fine... until they don't (and they could indeed be leaky already). the worst thing for them is to sit for long periods of time without being used. having seen (and smelled!) exploded electro caps, i don't mess around with a component that costs very little dollar wise)

that being said, there is a reason that an svt + 810 is THE bass sound for many styles of music. these things RIP! (i dig the old alnico speakers too... have some in my acoustic cab)
 
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