New Ampeg Venture Series

[Old Ozzie Guy]

I'm just a weekend gigger in a couple of bands that sometimes go into a studio. I don't know much about watts and ohms. I just wanna know that it doesn't weigh a ton, sounds good and won't fritz out in the middle of Mustang Sally.

U might change your mind , if when U playing mustang sally with new amp and 2 X 4ohm box's, &"Fritz" becomes the middle 8!!

 

[Skovgaard]

ICEpower
300AS1
700AS1
1200AS1

I'm from Denmark, ICEpower is from Denmark and Caveman Audio is also from Denmark
I have a Bergantino HP 1200 with ICEpower 1200AS1 and with a Caveman BP1 Bass Preamp, you are running really nicely.
Especially with a closed 4 ohm cabinet.
I'm looking forward to hearing how Ampeg gets their preamp to work with the ICE module - probably excellent...

 

[ShortScale24]

Euphonic Audio also made Class D amps that were rated for 2 ohms. My iAmp Micro 300 is rated for 325 watts RMS @ 4 ohms and 325 watts RMS @ 2 ohms.

I have 2 Euphonic Audio Wizzy 10 cabinets that I was using with an iAMP 800. I sold that amp as it was larger in size and wattage than I really wanted figuring I'd pick up an iAMP 500 when I came across one and would use my iAMP Micro 300 in the meantime. John at Euphonic Audio told me that, despite the 2 Ohm rating for the Micro 300, he recommended against it. Have you had any issues running it into 2 Ohms?

 

[bottomzone]

I've only tried it once for a very short time when I had (2) 4 ohm cabs and didn't have any issues but I won't do it again because I don't want to tax the amp.

 

[Rodslinger]

So the VB-410 came in & I ran it through the gauntlet last night. We play blackgaze. Another subgenre of metal/shoegaze if you didn’t know. Drop A tuning with heavy distortion. I play a 35” scale jazz bass with a .160 gauge string on that low A so everything is solid with zero flub or string noise. My current cab is a Genzler Magellan 212T. I absolutely love it. In my 33 years playing bass the Genzler is an absolute killer cab & in my top 3 rock cabs of all time. It took the place of my Ampeg SVT 212AV which is also in my favorite top 3. It just rolls off those lows too early. Now on to the juicy center. the VB-410 is a solid cab & super light weight. So much so I thought it wouldn’t be able to handle what I was gonna throw at it. That low A has decimated other speakers in cabs (I will not name). Using my “now trusty” Yamaha era Ampeg SVT 7Pro. I pushed a full 600 watts into the VB-410 with the high frequency driver in the “off” position. The VB-410 spit out exactly what I put into it. Deep, warm, solid heavy distorted bass. It handled distortion extremely well. It didn’t Flench when I dug into that low A either. The cab didn’t shake or rattle. No speaker flub, weird overtones or anomalies. It acted like it couldn’t bother to care that I was pushing it & so I pushed harder & it spit that right out as if yawning at my attempts. It definitely went down low. There was very little if any detectable roll off of that low A & it filled the room while at the same time giving my guitarist extra room in the midrange. So yes, it’s not as midrange heavy as the Genzler 212T or Ampeg SVT 212AV which have 2X12” speakers. But it is in no way midrange shy like the Ampeg SVT 410HLf. I could still hear every note I played just not as pronounced and “forced through the mix” as a cab with 12” speakers. The notes have a lot of heft behind them. The VB-410 is a beast of a cab that weighs very little, sounds amazing & can obviously handle anything you throw at it. That low 28HZ @-3db they put in the manual holds true in my book. Solid room filling bass that cuts through the mix like a butter knife not a scalpel. Will it replace the Genzler? No. That Magellan 212T is perfect for what I’m doing. At some point I need to get the Ampeg VB-212 & put it up against the Genzler. I really don’t know if I can ever go back to 10” bass speakers to be honest. 12” seem best for me. The Genzler has a throatier growl, cuts through my two midrange eating guitarist better & handles distortion better than the VB-410.

 

[Rootzilla]

I'm really happy that I don't need a new 4x10 right now, as that sounds nice enough that I would probably have to scrape together the €€€€ for that Venture 410... I use the HLF to play reggae so I don't mind mids not being particularly strong, but the weight difference with comparable or likely better low end...

 

[Rodslinger]

I'm really happy that I don't need a new 4x10 right now, as that sounds nice enough that I would probably have to scrape together the €€€€ for that Venture 410... I use the HLF to play reggae so I don't mind mids not being particularly strong, but the weight difference with comparable or likely better low end...

The weight difference was astonishing. I mean it’s even 14 pounds lighter than my Genzler. And the mids are strong. Not 12” speaker strong but definitely way more in your face than the SVTHLF

 

[Rootzilla]

The weight difference was astonishing. I mean it’s even 14 pounds lighter than my Genzler. And the mids are strong. Not 12” speaker strong but definitely way more in your face than the SVTHLF

Yeah, my EBS Neo 410 is very nicely portable @ 25 kg / 55 lbs and the Venture 410 shaves another 6 kg / 13 lbs off of that.

The SVTHLF is confidence-and-disc-hernia-inspiring boat anchor at 40-50 kg / 85-110 lbs (not sure which of the specified weights is correct for mine, probably on the heavier side since it's an older one).

 

[JimiLL]

My wheels are starting to spin hard on a 410. I’ve been looking for the right combination to go with my old svp/ab power amp

 

[Yahboy]

So the VB-410 came in & I ran it through the gauntlet last night. We play blackgaze. Another subgenre of metal/shoegaze if you didn’t know. Drop A tuning with heavy distortion. I play a 35” scale jazz bass with a .160 gauge string on that low A so everything is solid with zero flub or string noise. My current cab is a Genzler Magellan 212T. I absolutely love it. In my 33 years playing bass the Genzler is an absolute killer cab & in my top 3 rock cabs of all time. It took the place of my Ampeg SVT 212AV which is also in my favorite top 3. It just rolls off those lows too early. Now on to the juicy center. the VB-410 is a solid cab & super light weight. So much so I thought it wouldn’t be able to handle what I was gonna throw at it. That low A has decimated other speakers in cabs (I will not name). Using my “now trusty” Yamaha era Ampeg SVT 7Pro. I pushed a full 600 watts into the VB-410 with the high frequency driver in the “off” position. The VB-410 spit out exactly what I put into it. Deep, warm, solid heavy distorted bass. It handled distortion extremely well. It didn’t Flench when I dug into that low A either. The cab didn’t shake or rattle. No speaker flub, weird overtones or anomalies. It acted like it couldn’t bother to care that I was pushing it & so I pushed harder & it spit that right out as if yawning at my attempts. It definitely went down low. There was very little if any detectable roll off of that low A & it filled the room while at the same time giving my guitarist extra room in the midrange. So yes, it’s not as midrange heavy as the Genzler 212T or Ampeg SVT 212AV which have 2X12” speakers. But it is in no way midrange shy like the Ampeg SVT 410HLf. I could still hear every note I played just not as pronounced and “forced through the mix” as a cab with 12” speakers. The notes have a lot of heft behind them. The VB-410 is a beast of a cab that weighs very little, sounds amazing & can obviously handle anything you throw at it. That low 28HZ @-3db they put in the manual holds true in my book. Solid room filling bass that cuts through the mix like a butter knife not a scalpel. Will it replace the Genzler? No. That Magellan 212T is perfect for what I’m doing. At some point I need to get the Ampeg VB-212 & put it up against the Genzler. I really don’t know if I can ever go back to 10” bass speakers to be honest. 12” seem best for me. The Genzler has a throatier growl, cuts through my two midrange eating guitarist better & handles distortion better than the VB-410.

Nice share !! Seem the VB cab are high quality made from Malaysia.

 

[Rodslinger]

Agreed…2 ohm capability would be nice. Dino mentioned the Venture series as a system in the video; my guess is since all the cabinets are 8 ohm, they’re aiming for a modular Ampeg ecosystem and not so much playing well with others.

I’m coming from a 410 and trying a 212 for the first time with the Venture. Why would it not be a good match with the head though? If the head’s power is going to be more or less halved with an 8 ohm cabinet, wouldn’t a single 212 be okay in this scenario? Or wouldn’t two of the 212s pair well with the V12?

I can definitely see the problem with multiple 4 ohms though.

I’ve done one-4x12” cab, two-2x12” cabs, one-2x12” cabs & two-1x12” cabs. If you go with one 2x12” make sure it’s enough watts to get on top of the rest of your band. If not you’ll need that 2nd cab. I love the modular mode of having 2 but with the Genzler 212T I have I’m pushing almost a 1K watts into it at 4ohms & have no issues putting my guitarist in their place.

 

[Kayvan S]

I’ve done one-4x12” cab, two-2x12” cabs, one-2x12” cabs & two-1x12” cabs. If you go with one 2x12” make sure it’s enough watts to get on top of the rest of your band. If not you’ll need that 2nd cab. I love the modular mode of having 2 but with the Genzler 212T I have I’m pushing almost a 1K watts into it at 4ohms & have no issues putting my guitarist in their place.

If I decide to keep the Venture gear, I’d probably eventually get a second 212 for those moments. I’m going through FOH almost all of the time, except those occasional moments where there isn’t a PA. My 410 is an Eden D410XLT and is essentially a big monitor but even then I still usually have my signal coming into the wedge in front of me. Without someone good running sound, I usually can’t hear much of anything. From what I read, that Eden is around 98lbs…hard to justify lugging that around when I can’t hear anything anyways. The VB410 is 42lbs which is excellent though.

The V12 and the VB212 I ordered came in yesterday, but I haven’t had much of a chance to mess with them yet. Although I had also ordered a V4B back in April that’s been backordered forever - that also came in, so now I can compare the SVT with the V4B and the V12. Not going to keep everything of course.

 

[Rodslinger]

If I decide to keep the Venture gear, I’d probably eventually get a second 212 for those moments. I’m going through FOH almost all of the time, except those occasional moments where there isn’t a PA. My 410 is an Eden D410XLT and is essentially a big monitor but even then I still usually have my signal coming into the wedge in front of me. Without someone good running sound, I usually can’t hear much of anything. From what I read, that Eden is around 98lbs…hard to justify lugging that around when I can’t hear anything anyways. The VB410 is 42lbs which is excellent though.

The V12 and the VB212 I ordered came in yesterday, but I haven’t had much of a chance to mess with them yet. Although I had also ordered a V4B back in April that’s been backordered forever - that also came in, so now I can compare the SVT with the V4B and the V12. Not going to keep everything of course.

I just sold both of my all tube Ampeg V4BH cabs which are basically the same thing. Honestly I miss the tone but not the weight & maintenance. I needed both to put my guitarist in their place though. 100 watts each for each guitarist lol.

 

[Kayvan S]

I just sold both of my all tube Ampeg V4BH cabs which are basically the same thing. Honestly I miss the tone but not the weight & maintenance. I needed both to put my guitarist in their place though. 100 watts each for each guitarist lol.

LOL. So after giving the VB410 a run through, do you still lean more towards the 212 route? Mostly from a sound perspective? Nice gear you have/had though!

 

[Rodslinger]

LOL. So after giving the VB410 a run through, do you still lean more towards the 212 route? Mostly from a sound perspective? Nice gear you have/had though!

Yes, I definitely like the 2x12" configurations more than any of the 4x10" cabs I've tried in the last few years.

 

[buckangus]

I'm very glad to see these posts by similar players. So, based on some of the responses, you can run the SGT-DI directly into the input of a power amp? I have a crown power amp and looking to get another preamp, especially if this will work... thanks again ...

 

[Kayvan S]

I'm very glad to see these posts by similar players. So, based on some of the responses, you can run the SGT-DI directly into the input of a power amp? I have a crown power amp and looking to get another preamp, especially if this will work... thanks again ...

Regarding the SGT-DI, there’s a video here where the Ampeg guys are going over the connectivity:


At one point there’s specific mention of using the Preamp Out port to go to a power amp. I was considering using the SGI-DI in the same way as a backup or maybe for going ampless one day.

 

[Rich67]

Finally had a chance to unpack, plug in and play. Sounds great to me! Certainly fills the room/house through a 4x10.

 

[JimiLL]

Finally had a chance to unpack, plug in and play. Sounds great to me! Certainly fills the room/house through a 4x10.
View attachment 5207018 View attachment 5207019

General consensus on the cab?

 

[Rich67]

General consensus on the cab?

No complaints from me. It's not a Venture cab. It's just a "plain old" Heritage Classic 4x10. At some point I want to run the head into two 1x15's.