Ampeg SS-140C Head

I have owned several of these throughout the years, heads and combos. This is the early predecessor to the Crate Stereo Chorus amps that flooded the market in the early 90's. For the time they were made, in the late 80's, they are still a versatile amp. Plenty of sound options as well as headroom to turn down a bit. I especially like the pre-amp outs, that can be used to go straight into the board or to slave other power amps from one pre-amp. Plenty of adjustments for tone, one extreme to other, so it's fairly easy to find a happy medium without wishing any one setting had an 11, even the volume and gain sections cross several musical boundaries.

The sound is simply amazing; blues, metal, punk, country... you name it, I'm yet to find an amp that compliments what I want to do and when, so well.

While the chorus is not as deep and overpowering as most people are used to hearing on CDs or from most cheaper practice amps, it is quite sufficient for a gigging musician. This a professional grade amplifier for a working level musician.

Both channels have an extremely wide range of gain and EQ adjustments available. The rule, "turn them all to 10", DOES NOT APPLY to this amp. It can go from shrill and sizzling to dark and warm, plus lots of stops in between.

This amp has the loudest clean and distortion channels of any amp out there. I've had several tube amps over th years as well, the 140C is the ticket!!

Well, that can be left to question. The process used to solder the components in these amps is referred to as wave soldering. Back then, not a very dependable process as these amps are prone to "cold" solder joints around parts that get hot or move; such as the large ceramic resistors and control pots. The circuitry design, rivals that of fine quality components made by companies like BOSS and korg. Very sturdy cabinets that will take the most severe of beatings, gig after gig. I give them a 9 due to being a certified tech and current owner of 3; 2 combos and a head sitting on a Marshall 1960TV cab. If something goes wrong, I know what it is; period.

SLM is always happy to help out musicians in need of service or reference to those who can help. I only call them for schematics or the occasional part, here and there. Very prompt at answering questions and mailing out documentation, which the last time I checked was still free!

I repair them myself, so I've never had to send anything in; I even buy them broken just to re-sell them. Wouldn't you, if you knew how?

Bottom line, St. Louis Music answers their phone; every time!

I have been playing for 30 years; mostly hard rock, with the occasional drift in genre. I m both a gigging pro and a studio gun for hire; or studio for hire - gotta be versatile.

I currently have 2 Ibanezs, 2 SGs and a Jackson Charvel Model 3DR.
My favorite pickups are the JB and '59 wired out of phase with the bridge in backwards.

I play daily, sometimes for several hours and currently performing with 3 local bands, rehearsing with 5, recording with 1.

These amps have always had a spot in my heart since they came out. I moved away from these because of the solder issues, but after going through a 2 year tube amp phase, and consequently learning the ropes on fixing tube amps; came back to the SS140C/VH140C with a new out look. If it breaks, I'll fix it; was a really that good of a reason to keep using them after all. I'd rather replace a cap or resistor than bias a tube amp any day.

I'm not certain when this amp was made. late 80's or early 90's. it has 2 channels, reverb, and chorus that are all foot switchable. the channel and reverb run off a different foot switch than the chorus. it doesnt matter much though, because the chorus is crap.

the this thing has more outputs than anyone could ever dream of using. it runs in stereo (for the chorus you'll never use) and has 2 speaker cabinet outputs for left, and 2 for right. it also has preamp outs for both left and right, as well as stereo balanced XLR line outputs and a mono unbalanced line out. it has power amp inputs for both the left and right channels


i use a lot of amps during our shows and the preamp outs make our wall of sound an easy reality.

it runs at 140 watts (solid state) with 70 watts running the left side, and 70 running the right

this is where this amp really lacks for me. i hate the sound of the thing. for me, it just has no balls. sometimes at high volumes i can tweak it enough to be tolerable, but overall i really dislike the tone of it

though i play in a metal band, i've never been one for the metal amp tone. the ss-140c can do some really thick high gain like no one's business, but its not for me. the best sound i've found on the distorted channel is with the gain sitting at about 6, but it just doesnt work for me. honestly, it drives me crazy. i also have a punk'n'roll band, and it doesnt really work for me with that either.

the clean channel is alright. i dont love it. i dont hate it. its very tolerable, but by no means great.

in a nutshell, this amp has no real warmth (its a solid state, so what should i have expected?) and has no oompf on either channel. its the tone of this thing that is going to make me sell it



also, i should say that i use a 74 gibson les paul (20th anniversary edition) and a newer model epiphone sg, both with humbuckers. my main cabinet is a carvin 4x12 with celestions (the exact model escapes me)

i've had no real problems out of this amp. i'm also not careless with it either, though. it works when i turn it on.

sounds great i use it through a very pricey 4x12 though. brutal if your settings are just right (tfakes forever) and oh good luck buying one someplace, they are NEAR implossible to find NATIONWIDE

no problems since 88

I paid 425 for the combo

The 1980s Ampeg SS-140C is hands down one fo the best amps I have ever owned. I bought it used for $550 around 1992, swore I would NEVER sell it, and was forced (and I do mean forced) to sell it around 2002. In fact, I have been looking to buy another one for about a year now.

With the two channels, you could get anything from a nice clean sound to a bluesy soft distortion on the clean channel just by adjusting the gain, and any range of distortion on the "hot" channel. It sounds equally impressive with an acoustic on the clean channel as it does with a Les Paul on the hot channel. After I bought this amp I stopped using most of the effects in my effects rack. It even sounded great going direct to board with an acoustic. The tonal range was impressive. It doesn't have just one "sound", it can just about do it all.

I pretty much sommed it all up in the first paragraph.

Before I bought this amp, I was partial to tube amps. This amp changed my mind about what a solid state amp could do. And there were no tubes to go out.

I never had any need to contact Ampeg.

If anyone has one of these for sale in the Seattle area for a reasonable price, email me.

Bought this amp in 1989 for $150 new, slightly damaged at the Venemans Music May Day sale. I think the retail on it was about $600 or so. Has Clean Channel, Distortion Channel, Reverb, Chorus. It is foot switch controlable. You can make one yourself, there are no microchips required (unlike another GK Amp I had) its just a simple on/off circuit.

One cool thing is that the amp is stereo so if you have a stereo keyboard or effects processor, you could use a stereo plug into it and get 2 separate channels (L,R)out of it.

Can be used for a good rock sound and clean sound. I guess as long as you have an effects box you could get almost any sound out of it. It is very good for a solid state amp.

I used it for about 2 years playing at high school gigs. After that it sat in a basement un-used for about 10 years or so. I decided to hook it back up and it gave me a little bit of trouble. One channel or both channels would not work. They would cut in and out. Read more below.

I called AMPEG's customer service line and explained my problem to them. They immediately put me straight through to a service tech. He told me to try to clean the line in and line out jacks on the back using some contact cleaner. (if you don't know anything about electronics, don't try this at home kids) After that, worked like a charm.

This amp was made probably late mid to late 80's. 2 channels, solid state. The B channel is loud and REALLY clean, the A channel is the heavy gain channel. Not too many features, but a good reverb (all the way up, you get that 50's slap echo effect) and a so-so chorus (I'm not a good judge of this as I'm not a fan of chorus). I play rock/country rock and this bad boy is LOUD, good sound that works great with a few effects. would be awesome for punk or metal too.

I play through various vintage 60 guitars including a Vox Hurricane, a Harmony Silhouette and a Silvertone archtop, in addition to a 50's gibson lap steel. I also play my acoustic through the clean channel and it sounds pretty true. I couldn't resist this when I played through it, so clean and loud for a solid state. You don't get the kind of gain on the B channel that works for a faster rock sound, but the A channel is a little too distorted for my taste (all the way up the distortion is wicked thick, almost sabbath like). However, this amp simply rocks. The sound quality is awesome and it doesn't break up at all, even at high volumes (I have yet to get it over 5 as my bandmates threatened to quit if I did, even my bass player who has a MONSTER cab and a 1200 watt Orange head). In terms of sound, this is the real deal, great for live gigs, good for recording (Guided By Voices plays through it on occasion). Bad for a practice amp, don't buy this to play in your bedroom (unless your bedroom is the Fillmore or Bowery Ballroom).

Phased in and out a bit when I fired it up, but it just needed to warm up a bit after I lugged it around in the car. It's heavy (40+ lbs) and looks really durable.

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This amp is awesome, if it were stolen (which I can't imagine unless the thief was a bodybuilder or professional wrestler) I would totally buy it again. I play it through a Ampeg/Celestion 2X12 cab with various effects (MXR distortion plus, Vox Wah, DOD Flanger and a fuzz factory) and it totally rocks. It's a nice combo of a clean fender solid state, a marshall JC head(with more bottom end) and a Mac Truck engine. If you can find old ampeg heads or combos (this one, the VT-22 and especially the reissued Reverborockets) pick one up, you can't lose.

Two switchable channels, effects loop, reverb, four band eq on one channel, three band on the other.

I play a mid-80s Strat and a late 90s Tele through a 4x10 Ampeg cabinet. Since one channel is bad, I only play through the 'clean' channel which with the gain turned up all the way gives pretty good distortion. I play in a punk band and this amp gives all the noise I need. It's damn loud also.

I payed $100 for it and it performed perfectly for a year before it started to cut out. $70 later it worked perfectly for another year when it then started to make some bizarre noises. I haven't got it fixed yet. It seems pretty durable though. I've never worried about dropping it. I'm guessing it would take a lot to break the thing.

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I love how this amp sounds. I'd buy another one in a second.

140 watts mono/70 watts stereo. Two channel sold state head w/reverb and stereo chorus. Built in effects loop and channel switch jack. I play metal/hardcore along the lines of Cave In,Deadguy,Meshuggah,Converge etc.. The Chorus on this head sucks real hard so I NEVER use it. The Clean channel is tolerable but breaks up too soon. This is a metal amp, get a Fender Twin if you are looking for that "glass" clean sound. This head is amazingly loud for a solid state head(louder that any Valvestate/tube pre-amp stuff I've heard). Good metal distortion, but not too flexible tone wise. You pretty much get one sound, but it's a good one.

I play a Les Paul Studio Lite with a Dimarzio Tone zone in the bridge. The lead channel is prone to feedback so I run a Boss Noise Supressor with this to get the most tone possible. I also run a Boss Digital Delay after the noise supressor on the floor. Depending on the situation I also run a Boss Bass EQ through the EFX loop. The only huge soud problem this head suffers is lack of bottom end. The clean and lead channels are not very bassy. The match cab(V412)fixes this right up, but the Marshall and Crate 4x12's I have now aren't very bottom heavy. Once again, good distortion.

This is an absolute stud. I have NEVER had ANY problems with this amp!!I have a Laney 150 head for a backup, but I've never had to use it. If you dont want to mess with tubes but want a good loud amp, seek one of these out. I see them in shops and on Ebay alot.

I bought this used from another guitarist so i have no basis to rate this category.

I've been 10 years and I've owned alot of gear, but for reliablity this is the keeper. I have an Epiphone gold Top Les Paul with P-90's, and a strat copy that all sound great through this beeeotch. If this was stolen, I'd sit down and cry. I swear! I have a Marshall JMP combo that sits at home, because this sounds so much better live(plus I know it's not going to shit out on me mid song). It Could use a better clean channel but you have to give to get.

This amp is very versatile. Good hard rock amp. There are two channels There is a 3-band EQ and a gain for each channel. The clean channel has a bright switch. There is seperate reverb for each channel. This is a very good stereo (70w per channel) solid state amp. You can find many features on this amp. Even has stereo chorus, it has depth for each channel, but a master rate control.

I can get a neer Silverchair distortion with it. I think that it will handle just about any hard rock sound. It isn't really noisy, I use humbuckers. The amp has a lot of features. Can do a lot with the sound. The clean channel gets good dirty clean sound when the gain is turned up. For higher volume levels you have to back off of the gain. I use a les paul and a charvette s-style. crunchy as hell

This amp is very reliable..If you drop it, it won't break, it will just break the thing that it landed on. It is really heavy. It has never broken down. solid state(very reliable)

I would definately buy this amp again. I could play on this thing for days. would suggest anyone to buy this amp. Last time I checked you can get one of these amp heads at www.elderly.com/vintage/130U.htm for $225 used in EC condition. You may want to get this amp. VERY AWESOME