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V4B Advice

Old Fart

Old Fart

Mar 11, 2011
2,519
4,373
#1
I may look at a V4B tonight that I could get for maybe $400. I love tube amps, but have no experience with the V4B. It looks beat-up. It has the Master Volume mod. 7027 tubes. Looks like some of the pre-tubes might be missing. Not sure why.

Anyhoo......what should I look for? I'd like to know it has been recapped, and I know what orange drops look like, but that part of the amp is probably not visible, right?

What should I look out for?
 
#2
Old Fart said:
I may look at a V4B tonight that I could get for maybe $400. I love tube amps, but have no experience with the V4B. It looks beat-up. It has the Master Volume mod. 7027 tubes. Looks like some of the pre-tubes might be missing. Not sure why.
Click to expand...

Before anything, expect the usual $70+ diagnostic/check up bill from a tech on top of what you pay for the amp. Don't forget you'll want to upgrade to a 3 prong power cable if it hasn't got one too. It's got potentially lethal voltages so you might as well protect yourself! (Yeah, we say this to everyone.) :ninja:

Anyhoo......what should I look for? I'd like to know it has been recapped, and I know what orange drops look like, but that part of the amp is probably not visible, right?
Click to expand...

You'll often see large capacitor cans in the back of old tube amps like the one pictured below. I'm pretty sure the V4B's had them too. They'd hold one or even several individual capacitors each. Some techs leave the cans in even if they do a cap job on an amp for various reasons. Equivalent modern capacitors are generally going to be smaller and can fit inside the chassis or in the old can.

DSCN3683AA.jpg


What should I look out for?
Click to expand...

If the amp is missing any tubes or other components do not power it on or else you'll risk damaging the amp and possible personal injury.

If all the bits are there, power it on and see how quiet it is. If you've got a variac, gradually step up the voltage over a period of time until you hit a full 120 before running the amp through it's paces. That can help reform old filter caps and prevent damage if the amp has been sitting for a long time. If you hear 60 cycle hum, those filter caps aren't doing so hot and it's best to leave it alone until you can take it to a qualified tech. Expect a $120-$200 range repair there.

Anyways, I'm sure there's a lot more to say but that's just some stuff off the top of my head. :p
 
#3
Good advice above.

The V4B is a great amp and the price is good. There are different versions, the later model had the master volume, the earlier one didn't.

There is no way of determining if the amp has been re-caped other than opening it up and knowing what to look for. There are even ways to recap an amp an make it look vintage. All you can do is go by what they tell you.

Test the amp out and listen carefully. Try all the switches and rotate the knobs to see if everything is working. Listen for scratchy pots, hum, hiss, crackling, and popping sounds. If there is a loud 60Hz hum, this is an indication that the power supply caps need to be replaced. If the amp is quiet, chances are the caps are in good shape. Hiss is something else. That could be a bad pre-amp tube. Not a big issue. Crackling as you turn the volume pots could indicate that the pots just need cleaning, or it could mean that some caps are leaking. Usually the former.

If you buy the amp, you should factor in that it will need to be serviced and that there will probably be some components that will need to be changed to put the amp into working order. It might need new tubes. This is normal for any amp, especially a vintage one.

Tubes missing concerns me. If the amp isn't working don't buy it hoping for the best. Sellers sometimes do this when there are major issues that are going to be costly to fix like blown transformers. They give you the impression that the fix is simple when it really isn't. If you want to buy a broken amp, arrange to have it brought to a tech and find out what it is going to cost to get it going before making the purchase.
 
#4
Very good advice. Some of which I knew. All of which I appreciate. I won't take this thing home unless it at least works. Caps and tubes are one thing. Transformers are a whole different ballgame.

Thank you.
 
#7
Thanks, guys. I'm going to look at it this evening.

Besides the humming and buzzing and stuff, is there anything else I should look out for? I mean.....if a transformer were bad, then it wouldn't work at all. Right?

It appears to have new power tubes. JJ's.
 
#8
With a new set of power tubes, bet on the power amp being in good shape. I don't want to harp on the transformers, as was said by Jimmy, problems with them are rare. I only mentioned it earlier as a possibility because you said tubes it looked like some tubes were missing. This made me wonder what was going on or what the seller was trying to pull. But to answer your question, transformer problems are not all or nothing. Sometimes the transformer is blown and doesn't work at all, sometimes they still work but have issues such as intermittent arcing when the amp is cranked.

If the amp sounds fantastic, you're home free.
 
#9
The seller txt'd and said it's not making sound. Or at least....not much sound. Dang. I called him. Sounds like it's making a little sound, but not like it should. I know better than to buy a tube amp fix-it project. Dang. I've never played through an Ampeg tube amp, but I'm a tube man through and through. I really want a V4B. There is a so-called 1967 V4 that was built factory custom with SVT side handles on CL here in Seattle, but he wants $700. I think I should be able to get a V4B in decent shape for $500, if I am patient. Right?
 
#10
Being a skeptic, I figure that the seller must have had a tech look at it and knows what the issues are. Nobody sells a non working amp without trying to have it fixed.

If you are patient, you'll find a good deal on a vintage V4B. Prices vary depending on where you live. I've been seeing them for more than $500 depending on the model but good deals can always be found. The older, non master volume V4B with the silver metal knobs is in big demand.

There is a rumor that Ampeg will be offering a new amp based on the V4B. It could be at the NAMM show in January. If this happens, the price of the vintage V4B is going to be driven up. This happened with the B-15 when they released the Heritage model. The prices are steadily going up.

Not sure about the other one on CL that you mentioned. It looks like it has been customized on the outside. They didn't come like that in 1967. It could have been a combo amp that was installed in a head cabinet. This is quite common.
 
#11
I just bought one in Portland for $300. It is a master volume version and a good deal but seriously. $500 for a working one is pretty common. I just looked on Portland Craigslist and Boom. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] $475 seems like it should be up and running already. Just wait and save your money. they are pretty commonly come up in good working order for reasonable prices. Buying a non working old tube amp for more that $100-$200 seems like a bad idea.
 
#16
At least at one time, the chassis was labelled V4, V4B, and VT-22. All the same amp, the VT-22 was the combo version that I mentioned previously. Many of them were removed from the combo cab and installed in a head cab.

Of course there were model revisions over the years like all Ampeg models.
 

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