06-12-2021, 12:45 PM
Hi everyone !
I've had this Ampeg V2 head for several months and I don't really know what to think about it...
Actually it is my first vintage amp. I purchased it because I'm the biggest Joe Perry worshipper, and I read a lot of articles explaining that He was one of those guitarists who secretly used Ampegs instead of the famous Marshalls in the studio. (and in his case the V2). And every review I read about this amp talked about how versatile and clean this amp was, people even called it : the "Marshall killer".
So I was lucky enough to find one for sale in Europe (if they are rare in the US imagine how mystic they are in Europe) ! And even better, for a great price ! My hype grew faster and faster as I was reading on forums about the marvelous midrange controls, the definition, the clarity of this amp, how it had some of the best cleans, best reverb etc. And I had to hear it to believe it. Therefore, I started searching for sound examples and demos on internet, but it seems that good quality videos of this amp are forbidden. And if the videos are good, the guys demonstrating are always putting a massive distortion in front of the amp and making it sound like a bees nest shot with a bazooka. The distortion was always over the top and it was not really what I was looking to achieve sonically with this amp.
I began to doubt that this amp could really touch a Marshall, but when listening to the Stones' Get Yer Ya-Ya's out or Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic, it was clear that this amp sounded beautiful. SO I bought this mf.
The guy who sold it to me told me that it had been serviced, but I don't know if We have the same definition of "serviced". The reverb didn't work, the power cable didn't fit into modern sockets, and the amp made cracking noises. Believe me ... I was afraid to turn this thing on! And I was right : I brought the amp to a renowned repairshop and the guy electrocuted himself with the head ! Then He repaired sockets, changed caps, repaired the reverb.
BUT even after paying 200 euros more, the work wasn't finished yet ! The amp was still clipping really soon. The repairman told me that one valve was maybe faulty, the mighty 6k11 !
The issue as you may know it, is that these tubes are only located in the US. It's impossible to find them over here.
The issue that my amp has, is that as soon as you go over 9:00 on the volume, the amp is already in crunch territory. And this is a little disappointing. Cause under, it's simply too clean, there's no headroom and no dynamics. And as soon as you approach 10:00 on the volume, the amp is in Djent territory, and even with bass on zero, the amp is way too bassy, there's in no definition, no clarity. There is no harmonics, it just sounds muddy and way too dirty. It simply sounds bad to my ears! If this was the only problem, it would be acceptable, but the amp also produce an irritating scratchy sound in the mids.
So my question is : is this normal ? Is this how this amp behave normally ? Is the 6k11 really faulty after all ? Cause I know that some people who play stoner are really seeking for this big sound from this amp. So I wondered if I really needed to purchase new tubes from Fliptops ? I would be disappointed to import these new tubes only to discover that they won't change anything.
I did a really short tone test video here https://youtu.be/CErtnqAj9kM to demonstrate the tone of the amp with these settings : Vol : 9:30 - Treble : 02:00 - Middle : 03:15 - Bass : 0. The speakers aren't the greatest (Celestion 70/80). But it doesn't sound that much different with an IR loaded with better speakers.
I hope that somebody will be able to help me and to offer me advice about what I should do with these tubes !
Thanks guys !
I've had this Ampeg V2 head for several months and I don't really know what to think about it...
Actually it is my first vintage amp. I purchased it because I'm the biggest Joe Perry worshipper, and I read a lot of articles explaining that He was one of those guitarists who secretly used Ampegs instead of the famous Marshalls in the studio. (and in his case the V2). And every review I read about this amp talked about how versatile and clean this amp was, people even called it : the "Marshall killer".
So I was lucky enough to find one for sale in Europe (if they are rare in the US imagine how mystic they are in Europe) ! And even better, for a great price ! My hype grew faster and faster as I was reading on forums about the marvelous midrange controls, the definition, the clarity of this amp, how it had some of the best cleans, best reverb etc. And I had to hear it to believe it. Therefore, I started searching for sound examples and demos on internet, but it seems that good quality videos of this amp are forbidden. And if the videos are good, the guys demonstrating are always putting a massive distortion in front of the amp and making it sound like a bees nest shot with a bazooka. The distortion was always over the top and it was not really what I was looking to achieve sonically with this amp.
I began to doubt that this amp could really touch a Marshall, but when listening to the Stones' Get Yer Ya-Ya's out or Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic, it was clear that this amp sounded beautiful. SO I bought this mf.
The guy who sold it to me told me that it had been serviced, but I don't know if We have the same definition of "serviced". The reverb didn't work, the power cable didn't fit into modern sockets, and the amp made cracking noises. Believe me ... I was afraid to turn this thing on! And I was right : I brought the amp to a renowned repairshop and the guy electrocuted himself with the head ! Then He repaired sockets, changed caps, repaired the reverb.
BUT even after paying 200 euros more, the work wasn't finished yet ! The amp was still clipping really soon. The repairman told me that one valve was maybe faulty, the mighty 6k11 !
The issue as you may know it, is that these tubes are only located in the US. It's impossible to find them over here.
The issue that my amp has, is that as soon as you go over 9:00 on the volume, the amp is already in crunch territory. And this is a little disappointing. Cause under, it's simply too clean, there's no headroom and no dynamics. And as soon as you approach 10:00 on the volume, the amp is in Djent territory, and even with bass on zero, the amp is way too bassy, there's in no definition, no clarity. There is no harmonics, it just sounds muddy and way too dirty. It simply sounds bad to my ears! If this was the only problem, it would be acceptable, but the amp also produce an irritating scratchy sound in the mids.
So my question is : is this normal ? Is this how this amp behave normally ? Is the 6k11 really faulty after all ? Cause I know that some people who play stoner are really seeking for this big sound from this amp. So I wondered if I really needed to purchase new tubes from Fliptops ? I would be disappointed to import these new tubes only to discover that they won't change anything.
I did a really short tone test video here https://youtu.be/CErtnqAj9kM to demonstrate the tone of the amp with these settings : Vol : 9:30 - Treble : 02:00 - Middle : 03:15 - Bass : 0. The speakers aren't the greatest (Celestion 70/80). But it doesn't sound that much different with an IR loaded with better speakers.
I hope that somebody will be able to help me and to offer me advice about what I should do with these tubes !
Thanks guys !