Another V4-B Cab

[jastacey]

I acquired another V4-B cabinet, was looking around on FB market place, and saw it, and bought it, seems to be in very good shape, it appears to a late era model, as it has the EV 15L's in it ( I believe orgional speakers were the Altec Lansing 421 , in the earlier versions of this cabinet), also the screws that hold the covers over the speakers are hex screws, not the clutch type screws, they appear to be original, I tested the voice coils with a multi-meter and they appear to be good ( 5.9 ohms ), however the switch isn't passing any signal, and I'm going to bypass it ( thinking of getting a piece of metal and making a new input Speakon & 1/4" jacks ), the grill frame has a slight bow on one side ( it won't stay in place, keeps popping out ), it needs new bottom front bumpers, as they have crumbled away, the rear wheals are still there ( the originals usually get hard and break/crumble, into pieces, I have a pair ( neoprene type ), from the last cab, that I rehabbed ), tolex is in OK condition, gonna be a fun project to work on

 

[TomB]

Never saw the guts of one, thank you. I used one briefly in the ‘70’s. Monstrous projection, a bit hard to hear up close. And yes, it stayed in the club when that gig ended. I’m interested in your choices for upgrade. Also, what you’re going to do with it when you’re finished .

 

[jastacey]

I'm planing on pairing it with one of my Traynor YBA-3's, or my Fender Super Bassman, if the drivers/speakers are OK, if the speakers need to be reconed, then I might want to hunt down a couple of Altec's 421's, haven't really thought, that far ahead ) I'll use it for outdoor gigs, when there is no band PA support, yes it projects ... a whole bunch, kinda too much for an inside gig ( I have cabs for that ), like I said .... just got it yesterday

 

[jastacey]

Here's a view of the inside of the speaker box, with the speaker removed ( this was from a previous V4-B cabinet, that I had, a few years ago, the speakers face each other and the sound goes out through a small rectangular opening, and it is reflected to the back, and out through the front,

 

[jastacey]

Well got the covers re-screwed down ( used GRK cabinet screws, they have a built in washer ), disassembled the jack plate, had a couple of broken wire connectors, I bypassed the switch, it is only a 4 ohm cab now, I'll most likely gonna make new plate for Speakon & 1/4" inputs, tried it out

 

[jastacey]

Found these, inside the cabinet .... hmmmm interesting

 

[EASonBass]

Nice find! Brings back fond memories. Used to rock one with a Marshall superbass and an SVT+810.

Hated by FOH engineers everywhere. Never in the PA and didn’t care when competing with a couple Marshall stacks.

 

[Bob Coldwell]

I had one for a long time. Purchased new with the matching head in 1975 or '76, it had Altec Lansings. I don't remember the impedance switch, although I believe the head had one. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[jastacey]

Here is the jack & nameplate, that was on the older cab, I once had.
It had a single 1/4 inch jack, which, on this photo, I converted to a Speakon, to my knowledge, all V4-B amps have 3 position ohm settings, ( 2 - 4 - 8 ), can't remember exactly, now adays sound engineers really hate these things

 

[beans-on-toast]

I never liked those switches for setting impedance. They tend to fail. A good quality toggle works better.

There are nice steel dishes with gaskets available, some with pre-punched holes for ¼” and speakon connectors. Penn Elcom products are good quality.

Nice cab, they have a long throw.

 

[shadven]

It might be the best sounding cab ever made.
I wish I had a reason to have one. I gig a lot, but it’s just too big to manage in the real gigging world. It’s an IEM world.
Even big stages… an an 8x10” is usually overkill.

 

[Bodeeni]

This was my first big amp. That cab is the size of two 8x10 cabs. Not as heavy though. I gigged with it a lot. Some small club gigs I would stand on it, or have to have it off the tiny stages on the floor. That thing was crazy loud in Auditoriums. I would do gigs with the amp on 1/4 with no front of house and still over power the band. Then the problem was I could not hear myself on stage.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I like the idea of an inlaid dish or plate that flush with the back. You can lie it down on a surface such as a truck or SVU bed without anything being damaged.

I think that the first works better than the raised second. The vinyl can be peeled back (gentle heat helps soften the adhesive), the wood routed, then the vinyl reaffixed down.

 

[chadds]

I acquired another V4-B cabinet, was looking around on FB market place, and saw it, and bought it, seems to be in very good shape, it appears to a late era model, as it has the EV 15L's in it ( I believe orgional speakers were the Altec Lansing 421 , in the earlier versions of this cabinet), also the screws that hold the covers over the speakers are hex screws, not the clutch type screws, they appear to be original, I tested the voice coils with a multi-meter and they appear to be good ( 5.9 ohms ), however the switch isn't passing any signal, and I'm going to bypass it ( thinking of getting a piece of metal and making a new input Speakon & 1/4" jacks ), the grill frame has a slight bow on one side ( it won't stay in place, keeps popping out ), it needs new bottom front bumpers, as they have crumbled away, the rear wheals are still there ( the originals usually get hard and break/crumble, into pieces, I have a pair ( neoprene type ), from the last cab, that I rehabbed ), tolex is in OK condition, gonna be a fun project to work onView attachment 5163801 View attachment 5163802 View attachment 5163803 View attachment 5163804 View attachment 5163805 View attachment 5163806 View attachment 5163807 View attachment 5163808

I had one. I powered it with a Sunn 2000s head. The rubber bumpers fell off daily when it was new. I had owned a 360/361 from new. It had a nice full width wooden board under the front. I had a similar one added to my V4B replacing those rubber feet.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I acquired another V4-B cabinet, was looking around on FB market place, and saw it, and bought it, seems to be in very good shape, it appears to a late era model, as it has the EV 15L's in it ( I believe orgional speakers were the Altec Lansing 421 , in the earlier versions of this cabinet), also the screws that hold the covers over the speakers are hex screws, not the clutch type screws, they appear to be original, I tested the voice coils with a multi-meter and they appear to be good ( 5.9 ohms ), however the switch isn't passing any signal, and I'm going to bypass it ( thinking of getting a piece of metal and making a new input Speakon & 1/4" jacks ), the grill frame has a slight bow on one side ( it won't stay in place, keeps popping out ), it needs new bottom front bumpers, as they have crumbled away, the rear wheals are still there ( the originals usually get hard and break/crumble, into pieces, I have a pair ( neoprene type ), from the last cab, that I rehabbed ), tolex is in OK condition, gonna be a fun project to work onView attachment 5163801 View attachment 5163802 View attachment 5163803 View attachment 5163804 View attachment 5163805 View attachment 5163806 View attachment 5163807 View attachment 5163808

Aahh!! The “Deep Freeze”, the big brother of the “Fridge”. I had one of these for my ROS setup. They are a killer, also good for structural demolition. I hope you have an SVT to power it.

Congrats for giving it a loving home.

 

[chadds]

Nice find! Brings back fond memories. Used to rock one with a Marshall superbass and an SVT+810.

Hated by FOH engineers everywhere. Never in the PA and didn’t care when competing with a couple Marshall stacks.

This IEM talk oh well! I had the V4B with the Sunn 2000s, flatback SVT with Marshall Major and a Leslie 147. Big fun.
I was a 165lb. bass waif and we still moved this stuff. You want to be severely injured? Tell a group of ladies that you stayed the same weight for 15 years.

 

[jastacey]

Well did a little digging in the web and here's what I found out:

One person said this:
"Ampeg produced the V4B twin 15 folded horn cabinet in 1970 through 1972 and then again around 1995. The 1970 cabinets were loaded with Altec 421 that is a highly efficient 100 watt driver, 3 inch voice coil with a frequency range 50 -- 8K hz. The V4B cabinet paired with the 100 watt V4B head and required efficient drivers. The reissue of the V4B cabinet in 1995 were loaded with custom Eminence model 86-511-08 400 watt drivers and a 2.5 inch voice coil with a frequency range of 45 -- 3K hz. This driver was discontinued and Eminence close replacement is available as model CB158. Where a horn loaded bin limits high frequencies the Altec and custom Eminence provided upper range frequencies and throws further into the audience. The concussion pressure wave forms beyond the cabinet and those who had heard a folded bass cabinet have to be impressed."

Another person said this:
"I have three Ampeg V4B folded horn cabinets with twin 15" drivers. Two are 1970 and one is 1993. The 1970 cabinets were manufactured with Altec 421 (3" coil) drivers and the 1993 was manufactured with a specific Eminence 15 (2.5" coil). Each 15 is within a limited volume and the radiator faces a "choke" slot that compresses the speaker as the source loading into the folded horn. This horn loading increases the efficiency. This produces a high impact bass sound. I think back to Deep Purple that used Martin Audio "split bins" with HiWatt heads. I owned Martin Audio split bins loaded with twin JBL 2225 and that concussion for PA was great. The powerful impact of the horn loaded bass generates a concussive wave very different from baffle loaded bass bins."

Also the Eminence 86-511-08 was used in the SVT-15e cabinet ....it's been said that current close equivalent is the Eminence Legend CB158, which ,I believe is a full range driver.

Also discovered, the early units had a 4 pin cannon plug, and the cabinet came with an adapter cable, that had a cannon plug on one end and a 1/4" plug on the other, these were phased out early on, I believe these were included with the V4-B head, couldn't really find specific info on this

Also discovered that Univox had a 2-15 folded horn cabinet, it was the UFO215, don't know what they loaded it with., seems to be also as rare,

as hens teeth

I also couldn't find out when they started using the EV-15L, I remember reading that when they couldn't get Altec 421/421A they used the EV's, but I believe the EV-15L were made later, than 1972, who knows, maybe when SLM acquired Ampeg, they had units that were unsold, also could of been when MTI owned Ampeg, they cleared out inventory?, with no info on old Ampeg serial numbers, it will be the great mystery

So there ya go, more info on the big V4-B cab

 

[BuglerBass]

Should be a fun cabinet.

Of course in general power handling and tone be important
among many things for musical instrument use.

Far as horn loading.
Can play around with the compliance and cone strength
for a more " ideal " driver for Horn loading.

Typical Qts is ideally very low.
421 has numerous models, in general low Qts around .25
EV 15L also suited for horn loading Qts around .27

Probably hard to find but there was a specific Black Widow
for Horn Loading. 4 ohms 1504DT-4
Nice Qts around .29
Stronger cone than 421 or 15L
Massive magnet to hold sensitivity

Some Eminence speakers could work.
Qts starts creeping up higher to .37 / .4
Not as ideal. But could work.

Be more than happy to have a 15L loaded Horn.
Resonant Frequency of 421 likely lower.
Not much a issue because the horn size defines majority
of the response. 421/15L both have very bright top end.
Maybe not ideal in a normal / reflex / direct radiator
But the bright top end really helps with the Horn.

158 Eminence is rather dark, would likely look at the similar cast
frame Pro 15A to even come close to the bright top end of a 421
or 15L

 

[spankdaplank]

I used one with an SVT head and a fretless Ripper bass throughout the 70's. I was on the road all over the northeast USA. Also carried a B-3 organ and Leslie ,Fender Rhodes piano, some big Acoustic guitar rig, and the list goes on. Back when men were men. FOH support was rare back then and it never let me down no matter the size of the room. It really walked the dog in the ocaisional outdoor gig. If I was still gigging these days I would be using a more typical rig like you see now. That "when men were men" b.s is very much over at the age of 73 and after two serious back surgeries.
Playing funk and R&B, and some disco. Contrary to popular belief, while the cab did go low, its strength was in the chest pounding low mid frequencies. It would eat an 8x10 fridge and Acoustic 360's lunch and spit out the bones.