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Ampeg v4b reissue problems.

#42
Funkabilly said:
Well crap! I think I got a bad one. I cant seem to get a clean low end and the high notes make a strange wawawawa sound, like its out of tune. I thought my battery may be dead in my bass, so i switched basses. I thought it may be the 8 ohm speaker, so i switched to a 4 ohm cabinet. Im still holding hope that i can take it to my tech and he can straighten it out. I cant really tell a difference when i put ultra high and low on. The low notes just fart if i play hard at all. I dont like a dirty sound, so im kinda unhappy with it right now.
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Assuming you bought it new. Just send it back and swap it out for a new one.
 
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#48
Funkabilly said:
Took it to my tech.. had a driver tube that was bad. Played a gig tonight with it... it was freaking awesome!!!!!!!!!!
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There ya go....:D

I've been holding on to a keyboardist friend's SVT-CL for a while (backline stock, he's stopped the rental side) contemplating buying it. But the last 4 gigs I've taken it out on have nearly killed me getting it in and out of my Nissan Armada and that's with a front porch that's almost level with the truck.

So I'm considering a V4B as an alternative. This was a good thread to come across.
 
#49
Geri O said:
There ya go....:D

I've been holding on to a keyboardist friend's SVT-CL for a while (backline stock, he's stopped the rental side) contemplating buying it. But the last 4 gigs I've taken it out on have nearly killed me getting it in and out of my Nissan Armada and that's with a front porch that's almost level with the truck.

So I'm considering a V4B as an alternative. This was a good thread to come across.
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Very manageable in weight, and plenty of power.
 
#51
One added note... my tech is a good friend of mine, and a certified Ampeg tech. This was the first v4b he had opened up. This is a relatively small town, with musicians that cant afford the nicer things... anywho, I asked him to take a look at the solders while he had it opened up. He said it was a well made amp, and he was surprised at the Chinese workmanship. He just happens to be a bassist too, and said he is gonna get one. I feel good about my purchase!
 
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#52
Funkabilly said:
One added note... my tech is a good friend of mine, and a certified Ampeg tech. This was the first v4b he had opened up. This is a relatively small town, with musicians that cant afford the nicer things... anywho, I asked him to take a look at the solders while he had it opened up. He said it was a well made amp, and he was surprised at the Chinese workmanship. He just happens to be a bassist too, and said he is gonna get one. I feel good about my purchase!
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The amp circuit board is well layed out and is spread out over a larger sized chassis than you normally find. This makes servicing easier. The reissue's power supply is better designed. One feature, the preamp tube heaters use DC voltage. Makes the amp quieter. They use a larger wattage metal film resistors (1W) in comparision to the 1/2W used in the original. Again quieter. The reissue uses the most common tubes and they are readily available.

These technical features make the V4B reissue a very nice amp. It also helps that it sounds pretty good as well.
 
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#55
beans-on-toast said:
I'd hate to ever drop my '71 SVT. But the thing is built like a tank and it too can take a beating.
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I was in a rush trying to pull my flatback cab with the head on top down the sidewalk with little casters on the bottom and they caught in a sidewalk crack, I was sweating until I plugged it in, haste makes waste. Did make a little dent in the concrete though:laugh:.
 
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#56
bobyoung53 said:
I was in a rush trying to pull my flatback cab with the head on top down the sidewalk with little casters on the bottom and they caught in a sidewalk crack, I was sweating until I plugged it in, haste makes waste. Did make a little dent in the concrete though:laugh:.
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Did the same with my V4 and a B40 4x10. The amp was in a case so it had a little added protection but it hit hard enough to knock all the power tubes out. Set them back in, fired it up and it was good to go. Robust amps.
 
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#58
Funkabilly said:
Ok, I have a stupid question. Ive never seen different outputs for different ohms before. Can you run an 8 ohm cabinet and a 4 ohm at the same time using the correct output?
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No questions are stupid.

You can not mix taps on the V4B and most other musical instrument amps. It will compromise the impedance match that the tubes see and there are issues with current draw. You should only use one tap at a time.

Some rare amp designs have more than one output transformer. These were intended to be used together with different speaker impedance loads.
 

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