Ampeg V4 guitarhead

[Maggot]

Re: Ampeg V4 guitarhead

I have a V-4 bass amp from that era, that I sometimes used to play guitar through. I threw out my knee taking it down a flight of stairs and had to go to the emergency room. It was unbelievably loud, but sounded pretty good at merely loud volumes - i.e. the volume that someone in a band with a loud drummer would play at in a medium sized room.

It sounded clean, but had a fair amount of bite - even the clean sounds had a little cruncheroo, but it wasn't really distortion it was just...well you'd have to hear one to understand, but it's not a Fender clean. It had about a zillion times more low end than most Marshalls, and distorted less. It's very good for a particular kind of clean/dirty 70s hard rock sound.

Ampegs can have a tendency to be a pain in the ass due to oddball tubes, oddball designs and weight, but they sound really good a lot of the time if you want a low-priced amp with a lot of character.

 

[lastwinj]

Re: Ampeg V4 guitarhead

also to note. do not put 6L6 in these amps, no matter what anyone tells you. the V-4 has a B+ rail of around 560 to 580, and will smoke a normal 6L6, especially new ones. i have done it, so trust me on this.
coool sounding amps, by the way.

germ

 

[joelap]

Re: Ampeg V4 guitarhead

hmm... what are the controls on the V4 guitar head? I'm thinking about picking one up. There built in gain? If Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age uses one, would this amp alone nail that tone, or does he use a pedal in front of the amp to add gain to the signal? Thanks for the help.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: Ampeg V4 guitarhead

The guitarist in one of the bands I play in owns two of them and they are pretty cool.

7027s are easy to come by.

They can be reworked for 6L6s.

They are very loud.

They can be had for $300 if you look around.