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Bassman135 and Ampeg V4 dilemma..

G

Guja

Feb 26, 2007
57
0
#1
Hi all,
I got a chance to purchase one of these two heads. It will be driving one or two 1x15 Jbl e140 cabinets, and will be used for rehearsals with drummer and gui**rd, and for gigs as a stage monitor, mic or di into PA.
I am not looking for heavy distortion or fuzz, just a little dirt, breakup and compression in my tone to 'spoil' my flatwounds.
Note that Bassman 135 is 33% cheaper than V4 (and budget is tight), they are both in excellent condition, with almost new power tubes.
A lot has been said that Bassman135 is hard to break up, but especially when used with one fifteen on rehearsals, it certainly will. How does it sound when pushed hard? Compared to Ampeg..
In other words, is Ampeg worth the price difference?
thx..
 
#3
Yes, the Ampeg is worth the difference. I have owned and gigged a Fender 135 into two JBL E140 cabs (many years ago) and while I liked its tone at lower levels it always seemed to run out of headroom too easily when pushed, which seemed quite often - the guitarist at the time was cranking a Fender twin and I always felt the bassman did not quite cut it (this was in the seventies and the PA did not take bass). The Ampeg should go louder cleaner and IMO is a far superior bass amp.
 
#4
ya, the bassman is a good amp, and it especially rocks for guitar, and if you had an ampeg already i would say get one because they're a lot of fun, but the v4 and v4b are much more suited to playing bass. the ampeg's breakup is a lot tighter and easier to control imho.
 
#5
..looks like I'll be spending more money than I should... It's actually a Vt22 model with distorsion knob, cut from combo. Guess that only leaves money for one 1x15.. Will it hold it's own for close small stage monitoring and medium-volume rehearsals with only one fifteen, without too much breakyp and compression?
 
#7
dang dude, that's a complicating issue. these e140 loaded cabs...who made them? one of them will be fine with a 100w head for what you need, but two of them would sound magnificent. if they're in good cabs, i would consider taking the fender in order to get the cabs. or skip a couple unimportant bills and just get all of it ;) but i think a v4 would be easier to snag down the road than two matched cabs with e140's.

so yeah, that complicates things.
 
#8
80l cab tuned to 40hz, 4 string bass only, plywood...
Local woodworker will build them, and a friend of mine is selling two E140 with one original recone kit.. I will strech a little to buy vt22 and two drivers, and will build boxes later..
 
#10
Guja said:
Hi all,
I got a chance to purchase one of these two heads. It will be driving one or two 1x15 Jbl e140 cabinets, and will be used for rehearsals with drummer and gui**rd, and for gigs as a stage monitor, mic or di into PA.
I am not looking for heavy distortion or fuzz, just a little dirt, breakup and compression in my tone to 'spoil' my flatwounds.
Note that Bassman 135 is 33% cheaper than V4 (and budget is tight), they are both in excellent condition, with almost new power tubes.
A lot has been said that Bassman135 is hard to break up, but especially when used with one fifteen on rehearsals, it certainly will. How does it sound when pushed hard? Compared to Ampeg..
In other words, is Ampeg worth the price difference?
thx..
Click to expand...

I owned a V4B for years - i used it with a cerwin vega cab w/ a 15" JBL - I loved it. the only better sound was with 2 15" JBL's
 
#11
I'd get the Ampeg if you have any thoughts of running with one cabinet.

It'll do a better job with one cabinet thanks to the impedance switch. The Bassman is designed for a 4 Ohm load only. At best, it is good for 70 Watts with one 8 Ohm cabinet.
 
#12
I run a FAD FOUR through a FAD 115. It's also a 100 watt amp that according to promotion "would be somewhere between ampeg and fender bassman tone".

Don't know about your eq-settings, band mixes and general volume requirements, but this thing can keep up in both of my bands during rehearsals and small gigs. However, it does start to break up when the roof goes off. In my post-punk band (three guitar players), this is great... In my fusion trio, not so great... That's why I'll be getting a second 115.

Buy what you like best... you can always buy a second cab later on?
 
#13
As an owner (and lover) of the 135 I'd have to say the V4 is the better bass amp. Through a pair of high SPL 15's like that, it can sound pretty dang loud. Loud enough to have some useable cleanish volume at least in smaller places.
 
#15
The Bassman 135's distortion is abrupt and when it happens you'll know. "Fart" is the commonly used word to describe it. Up to that point, the 135 is pretty clean and has a real nice growl. The V4 breaks up more evenly and its dirt is more usable. The V4 seems is also "louder" because of this and quite frankly, is better in a loud band setting because of this.

My guitar player plays through a V4 and I had a blackface Bassman 135 for a couple years and both are great heads. I prefer the tone of the Bassman, but that's not to say the V4 doesn't sound good either. They're just different. I had to replace my 135 w/ an SVT because it wasn't loud enough for my band.
 

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