Ampeg V4-B

This early 70's full tubes head is probably the best piece of equipment I ever had.It does'nt had a lot of feature, but it had all those I need, especially the mid selection switch (300hz-1khz-3khz).The others features are ultra high and ultra low selection switches, and the option to choose between two channels.

I play with a early 70's Hagstrom short scale 4-strings, whose their 2 humbuckers let sound a good 1khz too.So the sound has a really good definition and an amazing bottom.This 120W of raw tubes power and this 4 preamp tubes work all together to create the 2nd greatest sound I've ever heard after the terrific SVT.But 120W is really ok for me cause I play in a 220W 2X15" Crate bottom. So, I consider it's the perfect love triangle for me cause it give me sustain, definition and bottom.How ask for more?

I think that its old enough to say that is proof are made,so I would go to any gig whithout any backup.

I buy it just a couple of months after all the tubes were changed, and of course there is no long Ampeg warranty, but there a lot of good technician who will take care of this great sound machine, for a little expensive price!

Made in 1977 by the Magnavox corporation. Basic controls only- gain, plus bass, mid, treble with ultra hi and ultra low plus midrange frequency switch. Used properly, these are actually surprisingly versatile. It uses 7027's for just over 100 watts of power. As it happens, this is almost exactly enough to be heard in rehearsal, but for normal use, it is plenty loud enough, but it will never "knock down a house", in the words of another reviewer.

It sounds exactly like a vintage tube bass amp should, when played through an Ampeg 8x10 (new), which is what I do, and it sounds fantastic. I have tried to run it with a modern 4x10 though, and it has to be said that it sounded like utter shit. If you've heard any "classic" recordings, you'll recognize the sound immediately. Actually, I don't think any other sort of rig makes a Fender P bass sound anything like it is supposed to. It has a distorted edge of attack over a warm tube sound. I love it, but I'm not playing nu metal with it either. It does have a very narrow range of volume where it sounds good; too low and it lacks any sort of urgency, but too high, and it's too distorted to be really very useful. Find the sweet spot at around 50% though, and it's magic-much like an SVT actually.

It had a loose capacitor when I bought it that was sending surges of electricity back into the building power source. This would make the PA buzz when I played live, or sometimes short out the system altogether. One time it sent a surge back through one of our practice PA's mikes that sent our vocalist across the room in a heap. Since I had this problem fixed in an overhaul though, it hasn't recurred, and it sounds much better to boot. There was a rumour floating around that 7027s were no longer available, and that if you wanted to replace the tubes in a V4-B that you had to convert it to take 6K11's or some such thing. This is not true. Sovtek is currently making 7027's that are not exactly the same as the old 7027As that I removed, but sound much cleaner than the old ones anyway. I read somewhere that new Sovtek 7027s are just 6K11's with a 7027 pin layout, but whatever they are, they work and sound great. All in all, considering the age of my Ampeg, despite some initial problems, once repaired, it has been across Canada in the winter and never once gave me a problem.

As one other guy pointed out, Magnavox doesn't own Ampeg anymore. St Louis Music (Crate) now owns the company.

I really like it, but I'll be the first to admit that it's range of talents are actually pretty limited. As a poor man's SVT, it is fantastic. Played in the 50% gain sweet spot, it is almost indistinguishable from a real vintage SVT, is loud enough (just) for rehearsal, and what the hell, it's miked up live anyway, so what do you think you need that extra power for? I wouldn't do session work with it, but it is great for unpretentious, old school driving rock. How much do I love it? Just sitting here reviewing it, I'm finding myself getting misty-eyed. It has bags of character, it looks great on top of my 8x10 cabinet, it sounds fantastic, and since it's been repaired it has never, ever let me down. I would never part with it, and if I lost it, I would be inconsolable. It is shocking how little even vintage ones sell for. They are one of the best deals in music.

I'm guessing this one was made in 98, though from the condition of it you would think it was brand new. Looks like whoever I bought it from never even played it, oh well, their loss. Anyway, this is a 100 watt all tube head made in the vein of the legendary SVT. It has 2 inputs, one normal and one padded, gain, treble, middle, mid frequency, bass, master volume, ultra hi, ultra low, standby and power on the front, effects loop, presence button, pre amp out and power amp in. 100 watts is not much, even when its tube driven. You're not going to level a house like you would with an SVT, but it gets the job done. As long as you can get over the drummer everything is fine, you can always PA it. I'm just disappointed that it doesn't feel like I'm going to do structural damage to buildings when I play like it did with my SVT.

I'm using it with a Danelectro Rumor bass that I bastardized. I ripped the chourus unit, volume, tone and pickguard out of it, replaced the pickup with a 62 Fender and covered all the holes with duct tape. I use stainless steel strings and like to play with a bit of overdrive. This amp sounds amazing. Since it is only 100 watts I can crank it up and get natural tube overdrive. Very full and fat sounding, just like an SVT. Now I'm sure all you vintage elitists will want to stab me in the face with scissors for saying this, but I actually enjoy this amp more than the 70's SVT I owned a while ago. The addition of a gain control is very appreciated by me as I can control the amount of overdrive I am getting. The EQ section sounds a lot better than what the had on the old models. The new classic series Ampegs are more under control sounding, and more refined (in a good way) than their vintage counterparts. Anyways, I play every different shade of punk rock and my sound is my own. Sorta sounds like Idlewild or At the Drive-In's bass sound on In/Casino/Out. Honestly...how could you ask for a better sound than what this head puts out?

Well it shut down on me once, probably because I was running everything full up to see what it would sound like. I probably overheated it, oh well, I'll toss a fan behind it. Other than that, as long as you don't break the tubes it will last forever.

I've been playing for about 3 years. I've owned everything that I've wanted to try out and I'm finally settling into my gear. I will, without a doubt, play only V4-Bs, SVTs and Ashdowns (similar sound) from here on out. I love the fact that this head sounds just like an SVT for a fraction of the cost and weight. I'm not too pleased with the amount of volume...I could use another 50-100 watts but I can deal. If it were stolen I would buy another one.

100watts, Hi and lo inputs, volume, treble, mid w/ 5 frequency select, bass, master volume, effects loop, balanced output, and presence, ultra lo and ultra hi switches. The treble, mid and bass boost as well as cut. Not as versatile as most pro bass amps, but enough features and power for small gigs.

I play a beatles style bass with humbuckers through a matching svt-410hlf cab (4-10's with horn). This thing is very thick, with a solid bottom end. Cranking up the bass control gives you a kind of bass that you can feel before you can hear it. I think the frequency it controls is 80hz or something close to that, really low. I can also get this thing to overdrive a bit with the gain cranked and the bass and mid turned up into the boost range, around +10 or +12 (around 3oclock on the dial). The mid frequency selection keeps my bass from sounding muddy. I generally cut mids around 800hz. Some bassists may prefer to use a graphic eq, but this is enough for me, I like it simple. Meaty is what comes to my mind when I think of this amp. I don't play funk or slap or anything, just rock and metal. I'm sure with the 410hlf's horn you could get a good slap and pop sound.

Lately I've been using it as a guitar amp also, through a 4-12 cab. I keep the tone controls at or below noon on the dial. If you turn them farther, you start boosting signals and it sounds like crap. I also leave the ultra lo, ultra hi and presence OFF. You can't get any distortion out of it unless you use pedals, but it sounds very good once you figure the eq out (it's not like the normal Fender, Marshall, Vox, etc. tone stack style eq).

I bought this used at Music Go Round. They retubed it with cheap tubes and it blew them within an hour. Get good tubes to put in this puppy!! After a retube with Sovtek 6l6's it has worked great and hasn't failed me at gigs or practice for over a year.

I've contacted SLM for a schematic and service centers and parts and all that and they have been helpful. It takes a really long time to get a schematic, though.

Mine is a 1994 model. 2 transistors inside - both to buffer the effects loop, contrary to the review that says the SLM model is full of solid state components. The rest is all tube like the original. As far as I can tell it is true to the original, which doesn't really matter to me much. This thing proves itself time and time again at gigs and practice and at home when I play guitar through it. I haven't seen another, but if I found one, I would buy it.

My amp was made in 1074 the year I purchased it new. It has two inputs, Bass,Mid and High tone controls. Front panel standby switch, power swithc and running lights. I play all styles of music from rock to reggae. I have used this amp for years (Since 1974) without major issues. SOme dirty in the switches (the Low Bass toggle) is really the only complaint.

When I first purchaaed the amp I was looking for a good reliable and powerfull amp. In 1974 this fit the bill. I originally used a Kustom 2-16 bottom and JBL2220B's. Small and Lowd at the time. Gret fro top 40 and Savoy Brown licks. I have also used the amp in Country,50s, Disco and Big band applications. Not a problem. The preamp section worked just fine for everything I threw at it. I have howecer dound that in today's context the preamp section is inadaquate. So I purchse a BBE 386 preamp and use that instead of the onboard. The amp now has the same warm powerfull sound I like without overdriving the 12ax7, 12au7's. CLean, compreseed and fat. I now use the same amp in my studio and at rehearsals with great results. I have since replaced my Ampeg V4B live setup with a Yorkville Bassmaster 400 combo and extention bottom. Not so much because of the sound i was getting, but the weight of the Ampeg system. ( I was using a 1975 Ampeg B40 bottom (4-10's) and a Sunn 1-15 RH underneath until 1998. To heavy....

Since 1974 ans no tube changes until Jan 2002. I changes all tubes in the box. I replaced the 7027A's with Sovteck 7027's. The jury is still out on these power tubes. The old ones still work but were getting weak.
Actually in 1976 I dropped it down a flight of stairs and it still ran great after reseating some of the tubes. Cool!...

Didn't ed it.....

I own several differnet setups. I am a Lefty and have played my 74 Gibson Ripper, 62 Fender Jass Reissue, 1979 P Bass, 2000 Jazz,Yamaha TRB5 (nice bass for the price)My And custom build P-Bass through it with excellent results.
I also play guitar anf the head makes a really great powerful guitar amp. My Strat and Guild S-60 customized run throught this really gives a good feel to your chops. Just close your eye's and go...

This amp was made around 1971 and has the 7027A tubes in it. It has 2 inputs & 2 volume controls, 3 frequency knobs(high, mid, low), and three switches (Ultra Low/Normal, Ultra High/Normal, and a 3 way Mid-Range Switch). On the back, the amp has an extra outlet, one speaker output, one extension speaker output, and a line out.
The amp is rated around 100 watts & it's plenty of power for most situations. The amp itself weighs about 65-70lbs.

I used a Rickenbacker bass through it & you could get many different sounds out of the controls on the amp. With the Ultra-Bass switch you could get a very deep, blues type sound, even with a Rickenbacker. With the Mid-Range switch & knob, you could dial in Rush or a Yes high
end sound. Very warm & very real.
One thing I learned is that you need a good cabinet/speakers to fully enjoy this amp. I played for years using a beat up 2 x 15" cabinet & it sounded like s**t. Once I got a good speakers, I loved it.

Since the amp is about 30 years old, reliability is in question. Carry
extra fuses & an extra set of output tubes(if you can afford them). You should do ok if you follow those rules.

The company doesn't exist in the present form any longer. I owned the amp in the dark days (early to mid 1990's) where you couldn't find any
7027A output tubes for this amp. Ebay or the web weren't around so there wasn't a source for the tubes. During that time I tried the 6550's as a direct plug in for the amp. They work ok, but I like the 7027A's better.
Make sure that you have a good amp tech in the area if you buy one. Get the amp serviced & you WILL be happy.

I've been playing bass since 1989 & I own a Cascade Kustom 100 w/1 15"
bottom & a Ampeg B-15N bass amp. The Ampeg V-4B sounds better than either of those amps. It's warmer than the Kustom & it's much, much louder than the B-15.
The amp was stolen out of my car. I shouldn't have left it in there.

This amp was made in 1973, by Magnavox Ampeg. I play bass, rock, and classical. The amp has 2 channels, and using both channels at once with a y-cord allows you to use both preamp 12ax7's, getting more punch and volume out of the amp. It has all the features it needs. I like that you can plug in 6550 power tubes without modifying it. It boosts power even more and all that has to be changed are the tube retainers. I use this amp at gigs, rehearsals, etc. It sounds just like my vintage SVT, only lighter and not as powerful. I also have a V4-B I made into a 1x15" combo amp, with a cast-frame Eminence speaker. It blows away any B-15 Ampeg ever made, including the new B-15R that is suppose to be so great ($2000...yea right.. I built my "V4-B15" combo for $350).

I use a Music man Stingray, I have a 1979 and also a 1998 Model. They sound great with the V4-B. The amp is super reliable, and always sounds great.

Never any problems. These are the best medium-sized amps around for bass, and people are starting to re-discover this. Plentiful and inexpensive. They are so heavy because, like the SVT, they have large transformers. This makes tube substitution a breeze. These amps are very overbuilt. Remember the lightweight GK amps? Do you really? Most bassists have forgotten them, because they were lightweight, unreliable, and basically junk. Heaviness is a drag I agree, but hey, the V4-B's are still running great after 20+ years, many with the original tubes. GK....can you say "Radio Shack?" I sure can!

SLM is NOT the real Ampeg. They are CRATE amps, ok. Lets just get that straight right now. There is no customer support for the real Ampeg amps. But they are straight-forward amps that any good tube-amp technician both appreciates and understands. The new "tube" amps SLM makes are full of transistors! Don't believe me? Look at the inside of one! Transistors everywhere, like ticks on a dog. Go home, SLM, and stop riding Ampeg's coattails.

I have played for years, and I build my own amps, and other equipment. I restore old Ampeg ams as well. Want a bass amp? Get a V4-B or an SVT from the 70's, and let that be it. You will not spend much, and you will have an amp that your grandchildren can inherit. "GK?...Weren't they a division of Radio Shack? Or was that Peavey....."