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Ampeg V4BH - struggle for volume

#21
Jazz_bass2664 said:
I got an old 1970 V4 and love it. That things louder than hell. I have 6550 power tubes in it though which does bump up the output some. Sounds like your amp may be biased too cold. I never get past 1/2 volume on mine. Course it doesn't have a master volume knob. I run it into either a 1x15 or an 8x10
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I used to have one as well, earlier 70s model, converted to 6550s, could be loud as all hell. Ended up trading it to a guy in cali for an SVT. I used mine with a 4x10 mostly, eventually moved up to an 8x10 but I could barely turn it up or I was blasting away. That said, I don't think the modern V4BH that the OP is talking about gets quite the same tone. Not that I don't think it should be pretty loud, but I certainly don't think they have as much volume and mid-range punch as the older models so it's hard to say (from my experience) how loud his amp should be.
 
#22
:cool:

The V4BH is one of my favorite amps.
I run it with a NV610, or a custom Schroeder 2x15.
This head and a good overdrive pedal= super tone.
As everyone said it is still only 100 watts, and don't sell your SVT. But great for anything other than big volume gigs.
It just need the right cab.
 
#24
IMG_6594.jpg
here's my blue panel V4
 
#26
christw said:
WANT!

So, is a 6550 conversion on the modern V4BH out of the question?
paranoid.gif
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It's not really worth it. You don't get any added wattage out of the 6550s as the ouput is limited by the transformer. JohnK did some testing with his three V4/V4B's a while back and they all topped out at around 108-112 watts clean running 7027s and it's probably about the same with 6550s. When I bought my V4 it was from a guy running sovtek 6550WEs and using the amp for guitar. I had my tech check out the amp and he said it was sort of converted for 6550s so I had him clean it up and get it in shape to run some winged C's. The downside is that running 6550s puts greater stress on the power transformer. The later 70s V4s were actually sold with 6550s as a "performance upgrade" package, but I don't know if they used the same power transformer or not.
 
#27
Jazz_bass2664 said:
I think my v4 checked out at 185 watts or so last time I had it on the bench. I personally like it better than my 75 SVT!
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You miscalculated, or you were running it so distorted it was putting out a square wave. Even with 6550's in there instead of 7027A's, there's only so much power you can get out of 540VDC going into that output transformer primary impedance. 105Watts is about it.

Chris
 
#30
I had a V4B for a short while. Not a lot of volume, and it would start break up very early.

I use a Fender Bassman 100, and it outdoes the V4B no question. Much more clean headroom, and it sounds pretty cool too. The V4B has the Bassman beat on features - built in shock mount, ohm selector, etc.. but I think the Bassman 100 outplays it. The Bassman 100 weighs a lot less too. Even with the bassman, though, you still need the right cab to get up to volume with a loud band.

I feel like I've gotten more clean volume out of some 30 -50 watt tube heads vs. the V4B.
 
#31
Thunderbirds, V4BH, and low ported cabs (In this pic, the B15 head is running the 4x12)


portaflex-bastard001.jpg


I have used my V4BH with a 2x15 (similar to the 410HLF) and have no problems keeping up with a Marshall half stack and a 5150 half stack. Hard to see my settings (and they vary - esp on the mid range) but I run the gain usually at about 1:00, and the master at 1:00 or 2:00 also. Ultra Lo is engaged, bass is bumped- treble at 1:00, mids cycled at 800 or 450 depending on the bass and either dipped slighlty at 11:00 or bumped just a hair at 12:30.

My question for you is - what year is your Thunderbird? Not all TB+ pups are created equal...

I have a 2007 Sunburst Gibson Thunderbird IV that had pickups that were very weak compared to my '00 Blackbird and my '08 5'er. When I would switch between the two basses during the course of a night, it was like someone cut the volume knob in half on my rig. In fact the plain old Epiphone Thunderbird pups were much hotter and fuller sounding comapred to my '07 Gibson. After a search on ebay and other sites, I found a set of TB+ pups that matched my Blackbird and wallah~ problem solved. That bass now hangs with my others for hot output and big deep tone. If you take a look at the underside of your pups, it might give you an idea of which version of TB+ you have.


Thunderbird pups:
Top "204" = weak 2007; Left "214" = Hot 2000 Blackbird; Right = Replacement Pup
tbirdpupzzzzz001.jpg
 
#32
hennessybass said:
I had a V4B for a short while. Not a lot of volume, and it would start break up very early.

I use a Fender Bassman 100, and it outdoes the V4B no question. Much more clean headroom, and it sounds pretty cool too. The V4B has the Bassman beat on features - built in shock mount, ohm selector, etc.. but I think the Bassman 100 outplays it. The Bassman 100 weighs a lot less too. Even with the bassman, though, you still need the right cab to get up to volume with a loud band.

I feel like I've gotten more clean volume out of some 30 -50 watt tube heads vs. the V4B.
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I had a V4, Bassman 70, Bassman 135, and Musicman HD130 all around the same time and the V4 ate the rest of them for lunch on volume. If you were only getting 30-50 watts worth of volume from that head there must have been something wrong with it.
 
#33
coreyfyfe said:
I had a V4, Bassman 70, Bassman 135, and Musicman HD130 all around the same time and the V4 ate the rest of them for lunch on volume. If you were only getting 30-50 watts worth of volume from that head there must have been something wrong with it.
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Maybe... It had a complete cap job, new tubes, and gone over by good amp techs. Might have been a funky head... I sold it after what I felt like was some disappointing performance.

I don't think I was getting 30/50 watts out of it, but it just broke up very early - so with all that distortion, there is a perceived drop in volume. I would say that the V4B+1x15 was about the same as my Ashdown LB30+2x15.
 
#35
If you really need more volume, couldn't you just run a Countryman DI through the speaker out and run the signal from the DI to a power amp or another head? That way you could get that sweet warmth from the power section of the V4 with enough headroom for the gig.
 
#36
Yeah I think I might have miscalculated but it still has more headroom with the 6550s. Damn what a sound with a 15 on that thing. It's my go to jazz amp. Hangs in there just fine with an 8x10 though in a loud rock setting. Gets maybe a little louder than my GK 700rbII which I think sounds fantastic also! Nice looking 2x15 Btw!
 
#38
Threads like this make me really appreciate my band. I have headroom when I use a B-15 on our gigs, even when we have to run stage volume. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen, and I pull it off every time. We aren't screaming loud but we aren't quiet, either. 100w is actually gross overkill for me. Youse should all be so lucky ;)
 
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#39
you're lucky Jimmy. sometimes our band plays in loud clubs w/no FOH and we can get pretty loud (especially our drummer which is what i base my volume on), so i can easily see how 100 watts wouldn't cut it, especially if you want to play perfectly clean. for me 200 watts (my super twin 2x15 K140 rig, or my SVT w/4x12 v4 cab) is the minimum of what i take along.

IME, i generally takes a band comprised of seasoned veterans to get the band's stage volume under control enough to be able to use a 30-100w bass amp.
 
#40
The more serious musicians I played with allowed me to get away with my Mesa 210 and a Peavey head clocking a hot 50 watts into that cab running a Bronco bass with a guitar humbucker in it. That was cool. I've made up rigs of all sizes now but the V4BH just doesn't do it for me. I'm doing it in for an SVT again!

As an aside, my house mates and friends rarely get to ear piercing levels which is great too.
 

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