Vintage Ampeg V4(B) Vs. Ampeg ReIssue V4B

I say get the original. I have a 1974 v4b, and i dearly love it.....I bought it off ebay, had to do little work to it,,it has a big warm sound...I have only played it through my 8x10,,,,but man what a big warm sound....havent turned it up to distortion yet....would be to loud in my bedroom....I am an ampeg man anyways...I have a 1969 b-25, 2004 svt cl,,,,74 v4b and love them all....I only have experience playing in cover bands, country and classic rock but people always love my tone...but they always tell me to turn down the volume....but dont know why ??? lol.....sorry for the rant...I think u would be very happy with the original v4b....

 

It's a tough call. The two amps are very similar but not the same design.

Vintage amps come with issues that translate into additional costs. How much you pay for the amp and what it cost you to pay someone to bring it up to spec factors into your decision. The transformers in the vintage amp are a little beefier, you can run 6550's if you want in the amp. The standard NOS 7027A tubes are getting scarcer and more expensive. There is a new production 7027 tube available. The 6K11 tube is not in production and price is rising.

The new V4B is highly praised for having a great sound. It runs at a lower high internal (B+) voltage on 6L6GC tubes which are readily available. It doesn't have the issues that come with a vintage amp. Don't get me wrong, I have a 74 V4B and love it. I'm just saying that most people are better off with a new amp.

 

Yeah, i see what u are saying....Tube amps can be expensive, especially if u are like me...I like to tube roll,,,,its probably not necessary....But its all fun,when this is the only hobby u have....(well besides guns)....I would like to play through a new V4b just to see what it sounds like, but down here in Beaumont tx....our local gc doesnt have one......

 

I know I was better off with a new one, that's for sure! Never did a side by side, but used to have a 73 non-master V4B as my only gigging amp all through the 80's, and the new one sounds just like I remember the old one. Plus it's 41 lbs and the chassis is smaller, which gives it bonus points. Either way you go is good, but too much attractive about the new one for me to want to go back.

 

I have a '75 V-4B, and I am currently reviewing the new V-4B. More detailed analysis will come at a later date, of course, but I can say that they are more similar than dissimilar, but you can hear some differences. That being said, two of the same amp with different tubes might also lead to these types of results.

The newer amp is most definitely lighter, though!

 

The only way to do this is properly is to take an up to spec vintage amp and A/B it with a reissue into the same speaker cabinet. The design team at Loud did do this and produced the reissue. They aren't going to be identical.

I didn't A/B the reissue side-by-side with my modified vintage V4B. Both sound very good and perform well. They aren't exactly the same because they are different designs. What I was trying to point out above is that sound is very important but it's difficult for one to compare the nuances of two models of a Cadillac. It comes down to personal taste and other practical considerations. My vintage amp is best for my needs.

The reissue is designed to be quieter. They use DC heaters in the preamp and the circuit is well laid out. The preamp is basically the same as that found in the SVT-CL, so it is familiar to many. It has a balanced preamp out, a useful feature. It is easy to service, reduced tech costs and faster turn around.

 

I've done a side-by-side. We had a "meeting" where we A/B'd the '74 we used as a reference unit with the new reissue before they went into production. If I recall correctly, there was just a hair more 'snarky' in the '74, but overall they were VERY close. Snarky is an industry term. Probably caused by the ancient tubes that were in that thing.

 

Old farts can get snarky when dealing with the younger generation.

 

I talked to a sales rep at one of the big online retailers (I don't want to say which one because the guy was cool enough to be honest with me and I don't want to get him in trouble) and he said that a quarter of the reissues that they sell come back for repair. 25%!!!!! But people who DON'T get a lemon seem to love them.

 

I've had my V4B for a number of months now and it has performed flawlessly. It is by far my favorite amp (and I've tried a lot!). Big, warm, round and open sound. Easy to dial in great tones. I can't compare to the older V4B in terms of tone, but most of the people I've heard from here on TB seem to think they're fairly close. And a better form factor (smaller/lighter) is a huge plus also. The thing is dead quiet, too with no hiss/hum/fan noise to speak of. The new one doesn't have an overdrive channel, but I find the whole amp to be very expressive - through a big cab(s) setup, I can get decent clean tones as well as nice power tube overdrive through digging in harder, dialing up the gain (or controlling this with the volume knob on the bass). That characteristic is what makes this a special amp for me - particularly in a rock/blues/Americana/country setting.

I'm a big fan.

 

The old ones can sound quite good but as everyone else has mentioned can need a goo deal of love. I have owned three vintage units and had to re-flow all the solder joints in all three to chase away an intermittent bug after that and new tubes plus caps they functioned quite well.

If I had the cash I would get a new unit and do a few tweaks to it.
Maybe upgrade some of the caps and put in some better (subjective) tubes.
Lighter is always better.

 

If they had a 25% return rate, they would be discontinued immediately. I think the guy you talked to is FOS.

 

I've tried allegedly better tubes in mine and went back to the stock JJ's because the "better" tubes made it too bright and tight.

 

JJ's are good. I like experimenting with different preamp tubes and rolling them to different locations. It can take a good deal of time finding your own personal secret recipe/combination.

 

I had a 76 V4 .... sold it for a new RI V4B don't regret it at all. .. BUT. .. in my opinion. The old one did sound a touch sweeter... a little crunchier overdrive. ... (power tube drive that is. ..this was a non master- volume model) but. . The lighter weight, smaller size, included DI etc... all fit my needs more.
Both great amps and the new V4B is probably my 2nd fave amp of all time. .. a close runner up to the Fender Super Bassman. ..

 

I've owned both. Both are great sounding, but I give the edge to the reissue. In my opinion it's sweeter, probably due to the 6L6's. Love the reissue being lighter too.