Ampeg V4-BH Head

My amp is made i late 2002.I choose it because I hate buttons and a sh*itloads of eq slides,less is more.The V4BH is the best amp I ever had,i try'd other brand over the year's but nothing compares to the V4BH,it's 100 watts are loud enogh to be heard.

I'm using it with a Yamaha BB5000(active pup's) and a Yamaha BB414(passive),both with P-J configuration.My style is pop,rock, and countryrock.It have no noice at all.I can get a pallet of sound depending on what settings I choose.I just love the Ampeg growl on high volume,just that sound I have been looking for.

Never failed me yet

I have played for over 20 yrs.If it gets stolen I go worldwide to get another.I love the simplicity,it's a little heavy but I don'mind.

All tube 2x12AX7 peramp, 1x12AX7 + 1x12AU7 driver stage 4x6L6GC in poweramp stage. same features as it's big brother SVT-Classic and
half the weight which is easy on the back.

Sounds great! and enough volume for small to medium size gigs just mic it for lager gigs, the 6l6gc have diffrent flavor then 6550's but still sound fantastic!

One of the power tubes died after 4 years, with the excellent design it only took out the .25A fuse for the cathode left side power tubes.
Installed new matched set 6l6gc replaced the fuses and back in business.

great people easy to do business with.

Ampeg discontinued these, I don???t know why? but like all good amps they are hard too find used, only if your lucky! And yes I would buy another one, if I ever run across one? I love the tone there is nothing like pure tube tone.

This amp was made towards the end of the St. Louis music era, although I am not sure exactly what year my particular example was made. I use this head with two ADA 1X15 cabs loaded with the stock celestions. I should note that these cabs are also something special. They are very punchy for 15's, but do not have tweeters in them. I use this head mostly for rock and blues and I use a 2006 fender american standard jazz bass exclusively. Features are a little basic, but to me most good bass amps have extreamly basic features. The five way mid shift is kinda cool, but I tend to run my amp as flat as possible (my hands are my eq) so I don't use it much. The only thing I might add to this head would be some kind of built in distortion, because even with the gain maxed,the tone is less gritty than say an SVT classic.

As I mentioned, I use a Fender american standard passive jazz bass, and the tone of this head is damn near the be-all, end-all for me. The tone out of this amp is warm, fat, an harmonicly rich in a creamy and wonderful way. This amp is not an SVT head, even though it looks like one. Most bass players are not familure with tube amps. That's not their fault (tube amps really arn't as prominante in the bass camp as they are in guitar town), but I think it leads us to make some uninformed decissions. The 6550 tube found in the SVT head is by nature very harsh and abrassive sounding. This is the tube you usually find in high gain thrash metal heads such as the peavey 5150,triple x, ect. The 6L6 tube on the other hand is the fender tube of choice. It sort of defines that rich creamy harmonic distortion we are all familure with in classic rock and blues (many of your favorite hendrix tunes were recorded through 6L6 loaded balck face dual showman heads, not marshalls). Even though this amp does not have an abudance of distortion, that harmonic quality is preasent at all levels of operation and helps give this amp its overall character. Don't get me wrong, I love the SVT heads (both vintage and new) but I also love the sound of a B15. This head is somewhere in the middle. With my 2X15 stack, I get a tone that is equally suited for rock, blues, and R&B. This amp is more versital than either an SVT or a B15, and would really be at home in any situation that the B15 or the SVT would be suited for.

Now I know all you solid state, class Z 1/37th pound hi-fi guys are going ", but with all that extra harmonic overtones, the fundamental dosen't come accross and no one will hear me through the mud!" Wrong! Those overtones actaully make you more audiable than any prestine hi-fi solid state amp ever could. Professional studio engineers will artifically add overtones and harmonics to your dry bass tone to make sure you stand out in the mix. That is why this 100 watt tube head seem nearly as loud as a 500 watt solid state head. My bands guitarist has a 50 watt fender super reverb that he turns all the way up (because yes it does sound better that way) and I can keep up with him with the gain and master both at 6. Even with our loud drummer. This thing blows an SVT 3 pro out of the water both volume and tone wise.

I give this amp a 9 only because it does have some treble hiss when you turn your basses tone knob all the way up. It's not very loud through paper cone speakers, but it is very noticable through aluminum speakers (like the one in my pratice cab) this isn't a big deal for me since I never turn mine up past half, but it is a bummer if your into the Geddy tone.

In an earlier review, someone who obviously reviewing a 70's model stated that new Ampegs were crap because they were made by Crate. You know, Crate gets a bad rep, but their stuff was very well made. People just like to dump on them because they were cheap. Well, what the hell is wrong with a well made American product that is cheap. I worked at a music store that sold crate gear, and we almost never had people bring in deffective stuff. They used good qualitly components and neat efficent designs that will stand the test of time as well or better than some of the old point to point stuff. At least crate era ampegs didn't explode when a rocker switch shorted (the old ones did that). I'd use this amp without a back up, and I think it will hold up as well or better than any other tube amp out their on the market.

This kinda sucks because as great as SLM (the crate/ampeg parent company was) the new owners, LOUD technologies, are beyond pathetic. The first thing they did when they bought the company, was close the St. Louis repair department. If you need anything more than a manual out if these people, your SOL. If your weighing your options as to weither to buy a brand new ampeg or a used one, I'd go with the used. At least the SLM era stuff was American made.

This head is the tone I've always been looking for. If it was lost or stolen, I would not rest untill I got another one. To me, this is everything I could ever want out of a bass amp, and it is by far the best amp I've ever owned. My old trace elliot V-Type head came close, and maybe even sounded a little fatter in the sub frequencies, but it was not as rich or detailed sounding as this head, and it didn't cut through a mix like this head does. I think I will die owning this head, and that says a lot because I had 5 heads and an SVP preamp prior to this one and tried dozens more. If you like a vintage tone that is slightly more versitle and a little more full range, this could be the amp for you. Don't buy it because it's a baby SVT (because its not) or because you think it will sound like the origional (it dosen't), buy it because its something special and unique and their is really nothing else quite like it.

I s'pose about a 2005/6 model Can't remember the serial No.-if that tells, Made by St Loius Music USA. Single channel, No FX loop. Same as SVT front panel-L to R :- Active/passive inputs, Gain, Bass, Mid freq(5 Pos select),Mid, Treb, Master vol. Standby, Power.
100w ALL TUBE POWER 6L6GC x 4, 12AX7 x 2, 12AU7 x 2.
Don't be fooled by the 100w-this thing is at least as loud as the 450w????? SVT3PRO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless U R competing with 2 full blown Marshall stax on full aLL the time-this is PLENTY!!!!
Does 8 or 4 ohms-switchable! IS ONLY 40lbs NOT 70lbs as mentioned earlier in reviews.
Use for Funk/soul/Old skool RnB/rock/jazz/heavy rock.

Use with Stingray 5-sounds SUPERB!!! FENDER Precision, & a Modded Palatino EUB. Sounds GREAT with all. Usually play it into a Bergantino NV610-makes it sound(or almost any amp BTW) FANTASTIC. Also a Aguilar GS112-Great too!!
Can get a great overdrive(all tube power OD too)at high vol. But can also stay clean-depends how U play with the controls.

Only had it for 4 months-seems(as all Ampeg gear I've owned) to be built really well!

Dunno- am in Australia, AFAIK I'd just take it back to my Local-where i got it- & they'd fix it if it was under warranty still(5 yrs I think)

Been playing 30+ yrs-with all tube amps for all but 2 yrs! Had Ampeg B2R, SVT3PRO, BUT HAD TO go back to all tube. Got a Fender 300PRO-see my review- which is AWESOME, but just wanted a V4BH-lighter, & with the AMPEG sound.

This amp has some cool features. It has a great preamp/eq that actually changes how the amp sounds unlike some cheaper amps. Mix that with the low and high switchs and you can dial in almost everything you need. Presence switch is pretty cool and fun to tinker with. 100 watts all tube (but you knew that haha). Despite what people say 100 watts is enough. I have gigged (around 130-150 people) a few times with the head and have not had to push it very hard. Direct out, slave out, all the other usuals. Some pretty cool stuff overall. Its a little on the heavy side though.

I play all types but mostly pop rock stuff. A few of the artists I cover are coheed and cambria, alkaline trio, john mayer, jimi hendrix, the killers, jack johnson, might mighty bosstones etc. I play a fender jazz V, schecter elite 5, and a p-bass with seymour duncans. They all sound great. It is capable of getting every type of rock tone imaginable. I am actually in shock at how many usable rock tones this thing gets. The only sounds it cant reporduce are the hifi ones. Its lows are tight, deep and warm. The highs are glassy, warm, and at high volmues get that perfect amount of vintage fuzz. A good cab is a must with this head. A bad cab makes the head sound avereage. It has great tone but cant work miracles with a poor cab or bass. I dont like giving 10s but it deserves it.

hasent broken down yet. No issues at all, very consistent.

This is the an amazing piece of equipment. I was using a carvin r600 and that does not compare to this head. The warmth the tubes produce is indescribable. I did a side by side comparison between this head and the orange ad200. The orange is an amazing head as well. Great tones but slightly more vintage sounding than I like. Overall, for any bassist that plays any style of rock music this head cannot be beat.

I bought my head this January. It was brand new. I went form an all solid state amp(350 watts rms) to an all tube amp(100 watts rms) and the tube amp is much louder. If you are worried about blowing tubes, forget about it. You're sacrifising tone by not going all tube or at least hybrid tube. I play all styles of rock and it is very versatile for each. I'm a bread and butter player, I don't get too fancy with loops and bi-amping or anything like that so this amp suits me perfectly.

I play a stingray 4 through a aphex punch factory. Tweak the tone just right and there is an amazing ammount of headroom. It can get a very clean jazzy sound to a very dirty scooped tone. Nice tube growl. I have played some crappier basses through this amp and the sound was pretty crappy. Obviously, the better the bass the better the tone. I used to play an epiphone bass and the pickups were pretty muddy. The stingray pickups are very musical and sound amazing with this amp. I had read several reviews before I bought this amp saying that it was not loud enough. I play in a loud rock band and There is still plenty of room for me to turn up. I was not disappointed with this purchase at all. i usually only have the amp at have volume and the bass is full and thumpin.

very reliable so far. I take very good care of my gear, allowing for proper time to warm and cool the tubes, keep it in the road case, handle like a newborn baby.

The ampeg customer support is amazing in my opinion. I bought some cabs from them that were dented and they just sent me new ones, no questions asked. I haven't have to deal with them except for that one cosmetic prob with my cabs.

I have been playing for four years. Owned a few amps but have played a ton. The all-tube amps are the way to go for me. The only thing I wish it had was a speakon speaker output. It's no big deal but I like all my cables to match, I'm weird like that.

This one i bought about 5 months ago, so i suppose its made by crate? Dosnt look or feel like a crate....
Its got THAT sound... Fat, warm, punchy, allways cuts through a mix. Preamp is as good as you could want for recording.
Ive used it on an entire album recorded in one of the top studios in Europe, and everyone was really happy with the signal and sound that it produced.
Its loud enough to keep up with the most enthusiastic drummer, even though its "only" 100watts, most of the time i would have the gain/master at 12oclock its easily loud enough, with a good bit to spare. I never understand why so many people think that they need all this volume. |The sound on stage only has to be loud enough so you can hear it if you have a pa thats in any way decent.

I use it with a 70s Ibanez roadster and a 90s fender jazz.
Sounds great with both... the ibanez is more open sounding though.
Its really quiet.. no noise from tubes!
If you drive it a bit harder it starts to give you that tubey growl if thats what your after.

I gig it without backup, but im planning on getting some portable backup soon (ie. Markbass)
Its going to be very reliable if you look after it/flite case it/ service it, but tubes do have a limited life, so i imagine that theyll give up at the wrong time... thats why im gettin some back up.

hasnt broken yet.

Ive been playing for about 12 years, and had Tracd Elliot stuff before the ampeg. very noisy unreliable and nasty.
The ampeg has been worth every penny.
I love the smell the tubes make when they warm up. If it was lost or stolen id have to get another. The mark bass stuff is great too, plus its totally portable, but the ampeg just sounds that little bit better.

Well, pretty simple. Two inputs, 3-band EQ and Ultra high/low. But who needs more? It works perfectly for me.

Well, it may not be able to compete with the "real" SVT-CL, but I think it sounds more or less amazing. Real tube sound! And even thought it only has 100watts I think its very loud, I use a Ampeg cabinet with 4*10 and 1*15 and it sounds amazing. The guitarplayer in my band uses an old Orange 120or (120watt) with a 4*12 cabinet and I have no trouble keepin' up with him!

Only owned it for a couple of weeks, but I don't think that this is some cheap construction that will break down at any time. Like someone else said, it's build like a tank!

Never dealt with em'.

Is I said: It sounds amazing! I have been playing on other amps for some years, but I think that this is the ONE. I probably will have this for many years. Great sounding, easy to use, and loud enough for me.

this is a 1976 version. no polarity switch.

Im not big into those new amps with the 75 Eq slides and knobs, thats all hype and B.S. in my opinion.
This amp is simple and thats what counts when it comes to controls.

two input jacks, vol. 1+2 for those jacks, Treble, mid, bass controls.
stand by and power switch to the right
three white switches up top for ultra-hi, mid cut, and ultra-lo.

7027a power tubes. i may switch to 6l6's or 6550's for more convience when it needs to be serviced. i heard the sovtek 7027's arent really 7027s so hell with that.

Mine came with a professionally installed cooling fan, so the tubes wont fry easily. Very nice job, and not loud either.



i paid 390$ (U.S.) for this fully serviced amp.

this amp has the tone ive always wanted. after owning a crap ass G-K 400rb (read other review and see how i gave it a 2 in this department), i was in dying need of a warm tube amp. well, i found one, for CHEAP.

Incredibly warm sound, like an SVT, just not loud enough to make your ears bleed. although mine seems to have alot of head room, i was able to turn it up to 6 on volume without it distorting!

you can get the nicest warmest bass sound with this, which is what i like(think 90 day men). you can also get any other sound you want.

ok, i havent owned this amp for long, but with the way it was built, im guessing you could drop this thing and it'll still be there to rock out later.

Ive heard many stories about these falling down stairs, out of cars on the highway, etc and they still work!!! you may need new tubes though, so i wouldnt chuck it out a window any time.

built like a tank , it does weigh 70-80lbs!!!

Ampeg can die now!!!

all they are now is Crate. which is one of the WORST amp companies of all time. no one likes Crate, so why buy a new ampeg thats owned by, and essentially is, a CRATE amp!!!! like another reviewer said, theyre covered with transistors, like ticks on a dog. you dont want ticks, do you?

Ampegs now arent ampegs, so dont buy that new V4B classic theyre trying to sell you. its a load and a con-job.

I also heard if you ask any old questions about their vintage amps, theyll pretty much shove you off, which ofcourse means CRATE doesnt know anything about the real Ampegs of the past.

This is the BEST amp ive ever had.

i play a rickenbacker 4001 from '76 sounds great. my 72 jazz also sounds great, and my Travis bean tb-2000 #517 out of 1023 sounds like it can make your house fall down with this amp.

im sure ill have to re-service it alot, because....well..Im sure ill have this amp for the rest of my life!!

old ampegs, its worth the saving up for.

Its very basic: gain knob(i like turning it up to get that tube growl i love), bass, med (this one has 5 set ups, so thats totally up to ur taste) trebble, and master volume. Also has ultra low/high boosts (the ultra low is awesome cuz its makes ur low end deeper and and always clear), and finally has a bright switch on the back to add a little top end to ur sound, some cabs nedd it more than others, but it sounds great neways.

I use a Cort, artisan 6 string bass with bartolini pickups(active), the bass is neck-through so i get great tone. What can i say...ilive in Costa Rica and we dont have shit of ampeg here to try, so i read about this head and hoped it was gonna do what it said it did!!...well it did more!!, my first worry was that it was only 100 watts, i have to compete with 2 guitarists, one of them uses a 5150 Peavy all tube 150 watt head, through a 4x12" marshall cab, the other guitarist uses a 100 watt, marshall head also all tube, through a 4x12" cab, both of them use a line 6 guitar pod, both have ESP guitars, with EMG pickups...we play a weird mix between in flames, tool, metallica, a perfect circle...so i cant especify ur gender, all i can tell u ppl is that i nedded a lot of power!!, i wanted the SVT classic, but it was way too expensive, so the next option was the V-4BH, wich is basically the same thing just 200 watts less in power, i thought about the SVT-3 PRO, but i wanted complete tube sound... so i just risked it on the V-4BH. I match it wiht a SVT-410hlf cab, wich will give u the perfect low end. I got my stack, to in to the practice room, pluged in..ohh shit!! man this thing, is amayzing, i feel the bass before i hear it!!, the low frecuency makes the floor vibrate literally, and it never, i mean never gets muddy, as for the volume, i mean unless u have a listening problem ur ok cuz i had the master on 4 and i was already over the drummer and guitarists, and get this: after the practice was over i realized the twetter was not on!!, so i turned it on and it sounded even better...man if u play bass buy ampeg and thats it. Iuse to play wiht a 160 watt transistor combo, so now i have seen that is true about waht they say about the transistor and tube watts, tube watts for sure are much more louder than transistor watts, plus, MOSFET wont give u the growl u would get with power amp tubes. I cant imagine how an SVT classic would sound, it should remodel a house!!. basically this head is: loud enough(i mean if ur gonna play in a stadium, u need to mic the head, for the people in the field, but o stage be sure ur gonna be heard wiht this head), it gets very deep (really deep, u actually feel the sound no bullshit!!), its not muddy(and if u have a really shitty bass, just push the brigth switch on the back of the head and thats it!), and i find it useful for lots of styls of music, for rock is the best, also it gives u a grat slap sound wiht the right equalization, for tapping is amayzing, for jazz, well i told u it gets really deep clear sounds, neways just buy the head, u-ll love it, but if u have the money go for the classic, and on the way back buy some ear protection, for u, ur band mates, and all the ppl in at least a 1/8 of a mile radius of the head!!!.

I' ve had it for like a week, but it seems very well built, very solid. If i go on tour, i would just remove the power tubes, and place them in a softer place just in case the head is gonna move a lot on the road (streets in Costa Rica have a lot of holes!!). And well it hasent given me ne trouble in the time i've had it.

Have not dealt wiht them, althoug

it would be nice if ampeg made its cabs with 8-4 ohm impeadances!! this head works at leats on 4 ohms, and my cab is 4 ohm, now if the head was also 2 ohm , i could add another cab and have my perfect sound come out of 8 ten speakers instead of 4!!, but if i add another svt 410 hlf ,the voltage goes down to 2 ohms, and the head wont go there. So either all heads get down to 2ohms, or the cabs can be switched from 2 ohms up to 8 ohms.
But neways, its no big deal whith and svt classic u would be able to go down to 2 ohms... just expand this capability to all ur prooducts ppll!! neways, the head sounds amayzing, and i will be an ampeg user from now on. Great head ampeg.