Loud Reissues the Ampeg V4-B using Lower Voltage 6L6GC

[jazbo8]

As seems to be generally agreed, it's not so much the plate voltage that causes problems, but the dissipation (and screen currents). I think a lot of the problems with tube failure in Ampeg V series amps is bias related.

I think this is the key, power dissipation kills tubes, not high voltage per se - with proper bias adjustment, even the new tubes should be able to handle above spec plate voltage. Then again, I am not selling amps, perhaps there are good reasons for Loud to go the other way.

[Enzo]

And those Music Man amps with the high B+ also run the screens at about half that voltage.

When they bring out a new V4, it is meant to be something of a similar nature, not a reproduction.

[bob p]

> ...it is meant to be something of a similar nature, not a reproduction.

But you know how it goes Enzo -- when they come out with a "reissue" amp or guitar, people expect something that's the same because the name is the same and it's called a "reissue" or a "reproduction." if there's any discrepancy between the original and the reproduction then the vintage anal homos will stop their feet and create a ruckus. (For the record there's no intolerance on my part; VAH is a widely accepted technical term that was coined at the LPF to describe vintage reproduction zealots.)

Guitar/Amp manufacturers voluntarily climb between a rock and a hard place when their marketing program is based upon "reissues." As soon as they have to make a design compromise somebody is going to be unhappy. If they were smart they'd give the amp a similar but a different name. If they use the exact same name then people expect the exact same product. If they modify the name a bit, that will change peoples' expectations. If they call it a V4-B people will have different expectations than if they called it a V4-Br.

Personally, I'm thinking that with a difference of 100-150V across the tubes, this isn't going to be an amp that I'll have remote interest in owning. The world is already full of amps that run a 6L6 at 450V. Yawn. I don't see anything interesting in yet another amp of this type being put into a new cosmetic package. If Ampeg had made something true to the original, with high voltages that made it sound like what Steve described earlier, then I'd be all over this product. Instead I'm going to pass.

[Enzo]

I think there is a cultish outlook for something like a 5E3, and guys will instantly pounce if the knobs have the wrong number of grooves around the grip. But i was just discussing reissues with a friend over at Elderly Instruments. I just overhauled an old Acoustic 360 preamp head for them. It seems someone is coming out with a reissue 360/361 stack. I wonder. Guys like me remember the 360, we were there for it. The SVT happened and blew the Acoustic out of the water. But it was a cool amp in its day. But guys now in the market for such an amp have no such memory. You are not going to sell a ton of amps if you are looking for 60-70 year old men to buy them.

Just my view, but the V4 is in between. The 5E3 never went away, they are like a Chevrolet. There are old V4s around, but they were never as ubiquitous as those fenders. SO more like an old DeSoto or a Rambler.

I think the market for this new head is not us, it is the younger player. As such, they are not comparing it to the original, they are just looking at it as another new amp. They call it the V4, to the potential buyers they could as easily have called it the M5. Using an old model name lets them do marketing.

[Diablo]

From a marketing perspective, I wouldn't think there would be much interest in a reissue V4. I have an original V4 from 1971, that I've owned since new. Ampeg produced a lot of V4s, and a lot of them survived. They never inflated in value at all, and you can buy 'em all day, any day on Craigslist for $500-800. The plate voltage on mine is around 540V. The V2s and VT40s ran their plate voltage higher. I have gathered a collection of NOS 7027 tubes for my amp, because I don't trust running modern tubes at the high voltage. I would think that the reissue amp won't deliver as much watts as the original, because of the lower voltage.

[Leo_Gnardo]

It seems someone is coming out with a reissue 360/361 stack. I wonder. Guys like me remember the 360, we were there for it. -snip -

They call it the V4, to the potential buyers they could as easily have called it the M5. Using an old model name lets them do marketing.

Heard about the 360/361 reissue. Because Flea is using 3. Price @ $5000 per rig. Selling like . . . flea cakes.

Fixed lots of V4 & V4B. Never was much impressed with the original item, except built very strong w/ good iron. Too much gain maybe? The RI, lets see what happens.

However, the Ampeg V2 although lower in power, had a punch and growl that's hard to beat. Within the last couple years these seem to have come out of hiding around here, and some bass players as well as guitarists love 'em. Sound of the Stones in the 70's. Also VT-40's & B-25's.