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#61
12-03-2016, 03:41 PM
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Practically and philosophically speaking your amp was a totally different animal than the Ampegs of just a few years prior, more akin to the post-'68 Bill Hughes-designed SVT and V-Series heads than the mid-60's Gemini/B-15 (both of which remained in the line BTW, the former being extremely rare in post-1967 "a-logo" trim). Good news is that the traditional Ampeg concepts of "big-clean" tone, bulletproof construction, and ultra-conservative power ratings were still alive and well in spite of Everett Hull's forced departure: the transformers packed enough iron to build a battleship, those old 1960's 7027 tubes could pull as much as 140 watts from the VT-22 circuit, the front end was intentionally designed not to overload even with the hottest pickups (remember these were the days before DiMarzio/Seymour Duncan et al.; FYI the bass amps were engineered to absorb the full output of a Gibson EB neck pickup - something no other bass rig on the market could match then, and few can even now), and by the time you started getting into the overdrive zone it didn't matter anyway, since you'd have already incurred permanent hearing damage a few ticks earlier on the volume dial. I've seen a few reviews of the VT-22 over the years (Vintage Guitar had one several months ago) and the general consensus is that not only were they great for getting those circa-1970 Stones tones in an under-300-pound package, but if Everett Hull had allowed his in-house engineers to develop a similar design they could have become as big a player in the American market as Fender; I always preferred Ampegs for surf music and one reviewer I recall suggested that, had Ampeg released the same design in 1963 (perhaps as an all-out Portaflex or Echo Twin package, with the requisite tremolo circuit), they would have found their way into the hands of Dick Dale and the Ventures... FWIW, you just might want to buy the next one you find - seems all the guys with pedalboards and a jones for big tube tone/power are looking for them, and the prices are starting to creep back up...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) 
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#62
12-03-2016, 03:55 PM
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Great run-down of the Ampeg story, and I think you're right about snagging one, from a tone perspective...but as for the weight...I am NOT 19 yo any more!
I do see these come up every now and then (also the V-4 and V-4B heads). I'm also not surprised that I was a bit conservative on the weight...used to cuss a blue streak at that amp...until I turned it on & got it warmed up. Maybe I'll look into it if a V-4 head comes along...  Oh and BTW, in case I forgot to say it...thanks to the OP for the heads-up on the Supro...I'm just getting started with it, but early indications are excellent! I won't even miss the seventeen bucks and change per month it's costing me!
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Larrivee L-10 Custom Larrivee DV-10K Larrivee L-03 Taylor 412K ('96) Yamaha LL16-12 (SOLD) PRS 'Studio' (SOLD) Rickenbacker 660-12 (SOLD) Fender USA Deluxe Strat Fender USA Roadhouse Strat Fender MIM/USA Partscaster Fender MIM Nashville Tele Kelsey Custom Hardtail Strat Fender MIM P-Bass
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#63
12-03-2016, 05:08 PM
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 Since you mentioned it, Max, I really hate to do this to you right now but: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/V4B http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SVT212AV Trust me, you'll thank me later... 
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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#64
12-03-2016, 08:46 PM
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 My older brother was over to the house today to check out my new rig. And although not a guitar guy he did play sax in bands before the British invasion more or less killed off saxophone as a pop rock band staple . And he said it reminded him of the some of early 60's amps guys were using .
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Sonoma 14.4 Last edited by KevWind; 12-03-2016 at 09:35 PM.
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#65
12-03-2016, 11:07 PM
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Yes of course you are! Of course that was a week and a half ago and my memory is in about the same shape as my lower back
.As to the V-4B, I think I'll...er...hold off a bit before I buy anything else (wasn't even shopping when I bought this) in the interests of domestic accord. There are a handful of 70s vintage V-4 guitar heads on Reverb right now, along with V-4B re-issues and 70s versions, right around the $700-800-ish price range. I also recently saw a V4 on Craigslist in the Portland area for about half that price. They're out there if someone is specifically looking for one, and they are beasts! I still think I like the Supro better, though...time will tell 
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Larrivee L-10 Custom Larrivee DV-10K Larrivee L-03 Taylor 412K ('96) Yamaha LL16-12 (SOLD) PRS 'Studio' (SOLD) Rickenbacker 660-12 (SOLD) Fender USA Deluxe Strat Fender USA Roadhouse Strat Fender MIM/USA Partscaster Fender MIM Nashville Tele Kelsey Custom Hardtail Strat Fender MIM P-Bass
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