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Ampeg V4B problem

B

Bassy105

Supporting Member
Mar 21, 2014
18
2
Maryland
#1
Well my new V4B and 112 cab came today! Opened the V4B box(double box, really great shipping design), pull out the head and immediately hear a rattle:roll no:,not a great sign. I look in the back and see a preamp tube cover rolling around. I think, wow, this box must have been dropped pretty hard to jar a spring loaded preamp tube cover. I take the back off and remove a power tube so I can get to the preamp tube, take it out and look at it and it appears to be ok. Put it back in and take the other preamp tube covers off and visually look at the other tubes. Everything looks ok. Plug the cab, guitar, and the power cord in and power it up. The red light comes on and everything looks good except, can't see any tubes lighting up. Take it off standby and the red light on front fades to off and all I get through the speaker is a low level hum.:crying:
I turn everything off unplug it and check the fuse on the back panel, looks perfectly good.
Try it one more time, same result.
Before I take this head back to order a replacement, is there something simple I can try to fix the problem? I'm not electrically inclined and know just enough about tube amps to be dangerous.
I suspect this head was dropped or thrown around pretty darn hard somewhere along the road. It looks cosmetically perfect. I'm afraid there is one or more areas damaged in the circuit during shipping.
Any ideas???
Thanks for your help.
 
#3
My "NEW" Ampeg V4B had problems within 2 months of purchase, and it is still in the shop..... Whether or not it was dropped or thrown down, your taking a chance when purchasing a new Ampeg......
 
#7
Don't know yet, but my SVT Classic which was relatively new as well had the same problem - the master volume was/is extremely loud at the lowest settings, not all the time but most of the time and is pretty hard on my cabs! The SVT was fixed under warranty and I was told the tech replaced 2 resistors. I also bought an Ampeg SVT 3 Pro recently that would just cut out and have loud noises coming out of it even after it was "fixed" the store let me take it back and I got a new Ampeg 810AV to match my V4B, I really love my Ampegs! But have been let down!
 
#8
redhed said:
Don't know yet, but my SVT Classic which was relatively new as well had the same problem - the master volume was/is extremely loud at the lowest settings, not all the time but most of the time and is pretty hard on my cabs! The SVT was fixed under warranty and I was told the tech replaced 2 resistors. I also bought an Ampeg SVT 3 Pro recently that would just cut out and have loud noises coming out of it even after it was "fixed" the store let me take it back and I got a new Ampeg 810AV to match my V4B, I really love my Ampegs! But have been let down!
Click to expand...

Man that sucks I'm not sure if mine has an issue but I get no sound until I'm at 9:00 on the master and gain my Mesa has a much better range. I hope this thing doesn't blow up on me the nearest Ampeg shop is a car ride away and at both shops the guys sound like jerks.
 
#13
Sounds like it took a big hit if a pre tube was loose. Could have busted enough tubes not to work. That's a solidly built little amp. I've had it fall from a 3 ft distance onto a concrete floor with no case or cover and all I did was bust a preamp tube and scrape the tolex around the chassis. If you don't want to send it back, you could call Ampeg tomorrow and see if they think a new set of tubes will fix you up, or you could just send it back and try another one. It really is a solid little amp based on my dropping experience, and I think it was package mishandling that did it.
 
#16
Get on the phone with the dealer you bought it from ASAP, otherwise get on the phone with Ampeg pronto.

It was certainly dropped or otherwise mishandled during shipping and needs to be either thoroughly inspected and repaired or better yet replaced.

It's disappointing I know, but better to take the time now to get it made right so you can enjoy a great tube head down the road without a bunch of headaches.
 
#18
That thing must have been thrown around because the factory packaging is really good I loved the fact it was double boxed the FedEx girl that delivered mine was about 5'2" and I know she dropped mine at least once.
 
#19
I would try reseating all the tubes. You said that you inspected them, I wasn't sure if you tried pushing them all in.

There are some additional fuses inside the chassis. The heater, which makes the tubes light up, has an 8A fuse for example. There are also come connectors that can be reseated to ensure that they are all plugged in properly. Checking these things would require opening up the amp though.
 

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