NAD: Ampeg Micro VR

Ordered this one last week along w/ a pair of SVT 210AV cabs & it came in today. I probably should have just waited until the cabs were in (UPS has them arriving at the store tomorrow), but I couldn't resist grabbing it this afternoon. :

So far it's a bunch of fun w/ the SB-1 through the PF115/PF210 stack & it seems to be comparing pretty favorably to my V-4B clean or dirty in the few A/B passes I've done. It'll take some pedal EQ-ing of the mids to get to the closest imitation for me I think, but it feels like I'd be pretty happy w/ the sounds coming out of this setup w/ just the bass & compressor feeding it. I'm super pleased w/ the progressive breakup & character from clean all the way through a pretty darn nice VT style grind w/ the gain around 3 o'clock.

The only perceived weaknesses so far are the lack of (for me) effective high-mid/attack shaping on board (although I wouldn't be surprised if the cabs were exacerbating the issue) & the full bore 24/7, pretty loud fan (not really noticeable at a bit above conversational volumes so far, but might not bode well for it being a great bedroom or bench amp for me).

The amp was kind of an add on to be honest w/ the primary objective being to get a couple of the SVT 210AV cabs to try w/ the V-4B but I'm glad I went for it so far. Even moreso if I can figure out a quieter fan solution for it so it will work in the bedroom or on the bench for me...

Incidentally, I can't believe I hadn't heard about Yamaha buying Ampeg until I saw the sticker on the plastic sleeve reading Yamaha Guitar Group 2018 when I was unboxing this one.

 

Thanks guys!

I probably don't have a genuine "need" for the quiet bedroom amp if I'm very honest w/ myself, the Quilter 101 I snagged used a while back does that job well as long as I don't mind plugging in a board along w/ it (which I almost always do anyway). The Micro VR handling that role would just make me feel better about adding it on to the cab purchase.

Speaking of which :

I've only taken a cursory spin so far but the SVT 210AVs seem to be a pretty great match for the Micro VR tonally & well put together & finished. The stack is missing some of the low lows of the Portaflex or Orange stacks, but it seems like there's still plenty there for everything but dub/reggae tones w/o going to extreme lengths w/ the bass pot.

I thought there might be a vibration issue w/ one of the cabs but testing them out individually eliminated the problem & leads me to believe it's likely the room/150 year old windows/bunches of stuff sitting on plywood shelves rather than the cabs or speakers.

The small foot print of the vertical stack does seem pretty precarious on the medium pile carpet & I can see why many would be averse to stacking a V-4B on top of them side by side (still going to give this a try regardless & see how sketchy it feels). I'm thinking I'll likely need to at least lay down a larger plywood base for the cab feet to rest on.

Can't wait to see how they work w/ the V-4B for me

 

Gotta give thanks to the hundreds of TalkBass users feedback that led me down the exact right path w/ those 210AV cabs paired up w/ the V-4B. They sound frickin' great so far! They seem to go a good bit lower pushed by it than the Micro VR & have a really nice low mid shape. So much easier to move than just about any other cabs I've tried to date as well.

1000% worth it so far

 

If I could come up w/ a way to safely stack 4 of them w/ the V-4B on top I think I might succumb to another pair of them some day for the modular 8x10 setup...

I'm thinking some kinda ply base w/ cups for the feet to lock into to expand the footprint & some kinda detachable flat bracing on the back of the cabs to lock them together side to side? Run them as parallel pairs in series for an 8 ohm load? It would still be alot to schlep but actually manageable for me...

 

I can't find a revision number on mine. I've not encountered any kind of hard clipping w/ it FWIW but it's only been used at home so far & not pushed all that hard.