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ampeg v4b
- Thread starter mescalito
- Start date
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
I do remember blowing a 100 watt 15" speaker with it
that's not difficult to do, since alot of 100 watt speakers can handle the thermal rating, but not its mechanical one.
Don't leave home without it.......I've had two, my current V4B is only a few years old, run it through Ampeg Classic 6 ten. Plenty loud enough, lots of headroom. Large, round, warm buttery sound. I get compliments every night on the tone. I've been playing regular since 1970 and have owned or used almost every brand available in search of " the sound "...... This is it!
I used to own a mid 70s V4B and now I own a V4BH. They're different. Both are great amps.
V4BH (and SLM-era V4B re-issue)
- uses tubes that are commonly available today (6L6 output tubes)
- 4 and 8 ohm taps on the output transformer
- very similar sounding preamp to the SVT-CL (a bit woolier than the pre-SLM SVT)
- has a master volume so you can dial in lots of preamp grit at lower volumes (if you like that sound)
- built-in DI that sounds pretty nice according to a few FOH guys I've heard from after my gigs
- modern parts used
- same case as all the current SVT models, so it's 24" wide
original V4B and V4
- vintage, so you might have to deal with parts that are a bit harder to find than parts for the V4BH, especially some of ampeg's caps, if you want the exact replacements.
- 7027 output tubes. Only Sovtek makes them. They're not the greatest sounding tubes out there, if you're a bit of tone snob. Sockets are apparently easy to mod to take 6L6. There are some very nice 6L6 tubes available.
- 2,4,8 ohm taps on the output transformer
- a bit bigger or well-rounded tone than the V4BH
- no master volume, so it's clean when it's quiet and gets dirtier the louder you play
- no DI
- oversized case (I think it's 26" wide but I'm not sure). It might look oversized on your cabs, depending on what you have.
- very cool but heavy spring-loaded shock suspension built into the case
- when I bought mine it came loaded with the original RCA tubes that absolutely KILLED. You could get this lucky!
For the vintage amps, the late 70s models (post 75 I believe) were master volume and the boxes were indeed 26" wide. Not really noticeable in most cases, but if you're a little OCD about that kind of thing it might bother you aesthetically.
I also have owned both.
As great as the SVT is, I prefer the tone of the V4B.
I found the 100-120 watts very usable.
Mine was post '75 and had no master volume. It was a V4B, not a V4. Maybe the V4 had a master volume?
I have to say that the single handle on top of the case was a PITA.
The oversized box is no big deal. I listed it because it's just another thing I thought was relevant as a difference.
+1
My V4BH was recently serviced by my tech. He replaced the stock Sovtek 5881 tubes with JJ 6L6 tubes and biased it, and while he was in there he replaced the inverter tubes with ones that he sorted out because they were balanced. My estimation is that with the 5881 tubes it had way less headroom and wasn't as loud. Now it's louder, has more headroom, and more even response than it did before. While it certainly doesn't sound like an old V4B, it sounds really nice now. I don't hesitate to use it in a rock band setting.
In my market, the V4BH sells for much less than an SVT2-Pro, which was a much more expensive amp when new. Somewhere around $300-400 cheaper, but your market might be completely different.
Ampeg didn't make as many of these as they did of the SVT-CL or SVT2-Pro, so you might have to be very patient to find one. When mine showed up, I snatched it up immediately.
I think you're right, the V4 went to master volume with the 75 graphics change layout, but I can't find much if any info on V4B with master volume. The top handle was a big pain. I put mine in a road case so it had side handles. It added weight but actually made carrying it easier. As far as the box, it always bothered me that it was wider than my 8x10. A minor bother, but a bother none the less
Yep, Mine already had the 6L6GC's in it when I got it. The tech told Me that He could get the 7027 if I had to have'em, but I decided to stay with the get anywhere all day 6L6 and I'm glad I did.
I'm no amp tech, but I recall at the time my tech suggesting that the current production Sovtek 7027 is just a 6L6 with the internal stuff connected differently to the pins. I might be misremembering things though. Maybe someone can confirm this for us. Regardless, the 6L6 makes a fine replacement. The JJ is really nice and comes quite close to richness of the old RCA.
I had some noise trouble with my vintage V4B, so while it was on my tech's bench we switched out the old RCA tubes for the new Sovtek 7027 as part of a trouble shooting procedure. We hooked it all up with all her guts hanging out. The old tubes had noticeably better tone (plus we determined that the intermittent noise wasn't coming from the power tubes, so we put the old ones back in).
We couldn't get to the bottom of the noise problem so I had to sell the amp for very cheap. The guy I sold it to took it to some other techs who couldn't figure it out either, and these guys are the local gurus. He ended up selling it as well. As much as I love vintage gear, and it's generally much better put together than the current production stuff, it is possible to come across a problem that requires a serious investment in bench fees at your tech. With all of my vintage gear, this is the only time I've had something like this happen.
If we're talking about the same currency, that price is too high IMO. They weren't even $900 when they were new. $500 is a reasonable starting point. Like I said, your market could be completely different from mine.
I think nowadays $650~$700 seem to be what they go for. If the SVT 2 is a non-pro, I'd seriously consider it. When I first started out, Master Volume seemed like a great idea, but I've come to really love the open sound of my SVT-II and SVT-VR rather than held-back. They still sound good at low volumes but they sound even better at high volumes, and I've embraced the volume that came w/ the tone.
