I like the look of the designs, especially the V7 and V12. The V3 is a little cramped as you'd expect. They are simple, understated and with a touch of the 'classic 70s' about it - which I like. Traditional rocker 'ultra' switches and nice chrome toggles for the other stuff. There are wonderful Class D offerings from some other manufacturers but I like the reassuring 'Remember how bass amps used to look? I'm still one of them' vibe I get from these. I'm still not totally convinced that an amp with no preamp tubes can be better than one with preamp tubes all other things being equal but this seems to be the way now. I've also owned a few amps with tubes that I didn't think were all that so maybe it's no big deal. So far I like what I see and think Ampeg have done a great job here.
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New Ampeg Venture Series
- Thread starter Jtown690
- Start date
These are the kind of numbers that impress me most.
I'm a meat and potatoes thumpy p-bass with old strings kind of player. The actual tone of new vs old amps doesn't matter much to me.
However, telling me you can knock 30+ percent off the weight of my gear is very appealing.
This was the biggest surprise to me as well...the ohm situation is whack...
As much of a tube snob as I am, I have really come to appreciate the light stuff.
Glad to see Yampeg go this way. The only thing I could gripe about is not including the cab sim di. But, I get it. Nice to see all the 8ohm cabs. Good job.
I was of this opinion after playing a few and owning two with tubes in the front end. I found they offered nothing or if they affected the amp, it wasn't what I associated with a tube sound. Until I got my Mesa WD 800 head, very tubie, imho. Yes it has a tube in the preamp section but most importantly, what was done around the class d power amp section to give it a power tube reaction and feel was genus.
But if tubes are not needed for a sound, you're good.
I think all formats have something to offer to somebody.
Agreed.
My P with flats is 75-90% of the sound itself. At that point, the amp is almost secondary.
I have V4B too. I am thinking maybe a couple 1x15" Venture cabs?
I'm a tubey player (V4B, SVT, B-15). I bought the WD-800 and didn't like it. Too modern, not very tubey. I sold it within 3 months. I'm back to my V4B.I was of this opinion after playing a few and owning two with tubes in the front end. I found they offered nothing or if they affected the amp, it wasn't what I associated with a tube sound. Until I got my Mesa WD 800 head, very tubie, imho. Yes it has a tube in the preamp section but most importantly, what was done around the class d power amp section to give it a power tube reaction and feel was genus.
But if tubes are not needed for a sound, you're good.
I think all formats have something to offer to somebody.
I bought one of the new RB210s, when they came out. People I trusted said good things about them.
I think it's hard to argue against the idea that Yamaha brought something to the table (besides cash
), when they bought out Ampeg.
I think the RB shows a marked improvement in the "Ampeg name". Obviously, I don't think they're anything like my old SVT, but that's a discussion for a different thread.
In this case, my one issue with the new Ampegs is their "grit" feature. I just plain don't like it. Of course, that's a matter of why there's eight horses in a race.
All-in-all, I am going to wait until I can investigate this a bit further (and perhaps find some way to get myself to the local GC), but I think this line is worth a "look-see".
I think it's hard to argue against the idea that Yamaha brought something to the table (besides cash
), when they bought out Ampeg.I think the RB shows a marked improvement in the "Ampeg name". Obviously, I don't think they're anything like my old SVT, but that's a discussion for a different thread.
In this case, my one issue with the new Ampegs is their "grit" feature. I just plain don't like it. Of course, that's a matter of why there's eight horses in a race.
All-in-all, I am going to wait until I can investigate this a bit further (and perhaps find some way to get myself to the local GC), but I think this line is worth a "look-see".
That's cool!
I still think all formats have something to offer to somebody. Yet not everything is for everybody.
You had your WD for 3 months?
I found it took me longer than that to come to the conclusion I did. It took me diving further into the HPF, damping, passive mids, gain vs master, and the 8-4/2 ohm switch to get to the sounds I was looking for out of the amp.
True, it's not the very loose, sloppy (I mean that in a good way
) tube sound some like. But it works for me, like your V4B does for you.I did sell a B-15 for it, crazy huh?
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I’ve never owned Ampeg gear but the Venture series sure seems to be stepping up to match the performance of the competition while preserving the core sound. I just found a used BF 212 cab that weighs 40lbs and it’s amazing. The weight/performance balance of modern cabs is soooo good. In a few years there will be lots of Venture series amps and cabs on the used market and I will be tempted to get a V12.
I'm curious about these cabs, looking forward to seeing them without grills - to see the ports of each one. Or, maybe I missed those details/specs somewhere... All in all, seems very promising & hopefully not sketchy QC issues like a lot of the PF heads had.
Best I can figure out, it's that it's a 1200w amp that can't use an 810E. Or, if you have a bunch of 4ohm cabs already (for your SVT) the V12 is off the table due to its power output.
I think the V7 will be the goldilocks of these three amps, unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available yet. The V12 seems like it'll unnecessarily tie my hands by limiting my cab options.
On a side note, the new cab comparison system doesn't have the 212AV. I wonder if that's an oversight or a sign that it's on the chopping block?
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I'm interested but honestly a bit torqued off that the 212 cab is only rated at 500 watts. WTH. I don't want to pair that with the also cool looking 700 watt head - I don't trust myself to not blow it up.....
It does seem like the cabs are really mismatched against the heads. Like they were designed in different rooms and the two teams didn't talk to each other.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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I really like how they put feet on both sides of the cabs. That way they accommodate their larger amplifiers as well. If you've ever tried to put a v4b on a portaflex cab, you'd appreciate this like I do.
