I used to use an Ampeg V4 head, with two Vox Beatle cabs, all the needed work was done by a (then) local tech Paul Rivera (another whole story). I was in my 20's and what did I know about good. Traded it for a Marshall 50W head, then to a Vox AC30! The Vox turned into my favorite amp of all time. Now as years have gone by (no roadies anymore) I can no longer carry the weight of preferred amps, so I now have a Boss Katana, (no tube changing), snd I am now once again happy, and ready to turn 66!
Ampeg tried to get back in the guitar amp game a few years ago with the GVT range. They were so unpopular that after they were discontinued the price dropped to less than 50% RRP. That's when I bought mine. Great amp with great cleans, nice spring reverb and a killer driven sound when played at 10 through a quad. I have no idea why people didn't buy them.
Maybe unclear marketing? These were decent amps, but closer to what Ampeg's sister company Crate were doing than anything Ampeg put out back in the day. The Baxandall EQ is really the only thing the GVTs had in common with the older series. Even then it wasn't as versatile on any GVT I tried than on my VT-40 (the lack of rocker switches didn't help). Personally, that turned me off. I was looking forward to a modern spin on the VTs, because as heavy as they are to carry and deafening to crank up, I never found something that could replace mine. We can suppose I was not the only one in that situation, and that Ampeg weren't able to bring in new guitarists to the brand to replace those who were disappointed with their new direction.
One of these just arrived at my shop. The note on the service tag read: “Caught fire. Still powers up.” Three out of four power tubes are done, questionable 6AN8a and several of the preamp tubes were marginal. The most interesting issue is why the post bridge rectifier test point is showing about 400 volts dc (75% of the schematic value) and the center tap of the output transformer is reading less than 50 volts dc. The plate connections on the power tube sockets are at about 35 volts dc. Screen voltage looks good, so does grid voltage. Filter caps have been changed sometime in the last 10 years. So have many of the coupling caps. Distortion circuit has been removed. I suspect something in the 100k 2 watt resistor array on the first set of filter caps, but ran out of time today.
Channel 2 really has that early Cars tone to it, think most of Elliot's Solos on the first record. The Cars used the Magnavox (late 70's) version of these amps on their first album (The entire band got outfitted by Magnavox on some kind of early endorsement thing) and I think Ric Ocasek still uses a V4 as one of his main amps.
I just finished working on an Ampeg V-4 head yesterday, and the problems I found with it almost exactly mirrored those on this unit. Open resistor on the standby pilot lamp, cathode resistor on the 2nd half of V5 had drifted silly high (6.5M, supposed to be 47k!) and lots of popping and crackling from the 6AN8. Popping and crackling was from a dirty/loose tube socket and a couple of cracked solder joints. That by far was the easiest problem I tracked down in this amp. I also got quite a bit of a shock where someone had rather sloppily replaced the coupling cap on the plate of the 6CG7 the leads to the reverb tank. An old “brown drop” CDE capacitor (probably a junk box part, it was much older than the amp) had been put in there and was electrically leaky, measured about 90 ohms ESR, so it was passing most of the DC plate voltage onto the reverb circuit leads! My Eico capacitor tester showed it leaking at about 50v DC, so into the trash it went, and swapped for a new Panasonic cap. After that, it is almost dead quiet save the normal amount of barely audible 120Hz hum if I put my ear right next to my shop speaker. I’m sure the customer will be happy to have his amp back up and running!
I had one of those monsters when I was 16 the house I lived in was a 2 story duplex converted to a single dwelling I had the complete upstairs minus one bedroom to myself and we jammed in my living room we used to take turns going to members houses and jamming a week at each place after 2 times lugging that Ampeg up a staircase that turned midway Even the drummer said nahh I'll keep my set here it's safe that way we dont have to move your amp anymore my backs still soar lol. 1st time I picked it up I swore I found Jimmy Hoffa. He is right at the 90 lbs mine came it at It might as well be 150. I imagined it saying No!!! Put me down No!!! I'm not moving and like a kid going limp to make moving it harder But GOD I miss that thing I had a Phantom Strat another thing I lament selling a Big Muff yet another and a Dunlop Crybaby I have one still
Great job finding that open resistor I wish I could read schematics as well as you, Brad! You do a great job of showing where problems are most likely to occur, by tracing through the diagram. Thanks!
Thanks for watching, Lee, and taking time to comment. Reading some schematics is easier than others. Some newer amps are so dense, it's like hieroglyphics, but this old stuff, once you've seen one, you've pretty much seen 'em all. Every now and then you'll run across something in a vintage schematic which has you scratching your head.
Great job Brad. I have a vt-22 version 2. It needs repair, you showed me a lot about how to fix it. Not sure when I'm going to start on it. I bought it brand new in 1977. Maybe I'll have to send it to you. You are a really good amp guy, and play guitar well too.
Love this amp. You are right, they are heavy given the size. I used one of these set to a clean sound and a Roland JC-50 with a ton of pedals for my stereo rig for more than a decade. It sounded fantastic! Unfortunately, I had a tube go bad and it smoked the output transformer. A local repair tech changed it out for a non-OEM transformer, but it never sounded the same and I eventually sold it.
I have owned and serviced my V4 since the 70's. Still love it. You do realize you can easily remove the aluminum plates on the chassis to access the boards.
Hi, Brad, I owned a VT22 but not sure of the year, might have been 1974. The chassis was shock mounted in four corners, (which later broke), the metal tab that stuck out at the top that looked like a retainer for the power cord was actually a push -in lock for the reverb springs. It also came with the optional 12 inch Electrovoice speakers, which made the amp STUPID loud! I bought it new at Johnny Thompson music in Temple City, Ca. They were a huge Ampeg dealer, and at the time the band Steppenwolf was using or endorsing their concert gear from this store. I was just curious if you ever worked on that particular one before.
I played a V-4 head for years - even W/o the speakers and combo cabinet it was a beast - 70 lbs if I remember-nobody wanted to carry it so eventually it became a spare left in the van LOL.
Great guitar playing Brad, your fingerpicking is just fantastic. Any ideas how i could learn fingerpicking like that? i'm not bad with two fingers but using thumb and three fingers, seems like i'm all thumbs attempting that..
Practice, practice, practice is what helped me. Took me a year playing an hour every night to just get decent. Im not on Brads level in the least. So yeah, practice.
Had a VT-22 I bought in 71 or 72... a bit different than this one... instead of rocker switches on the right they were plastic toggles, which one broke, of course, carrying it around. Still have it but needs to be completely rebuilt at this point. Legendarily heavy, as has been noted, but super clean sound. And yeah, loud. I remember a gig where we got a bit cranked up, and I remember literally FEELIING the wind the speakers put out on the back of my legs... wearing jeans, lol. Like a bomb going off. I wish someone nearby could work on it. More or less furniture at this point, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it.
I had one of these bad boys, but had the factory optional JB Lansing speaker, and those definitely were around 100 pounds with the casters installed. I wish I still had this amp, it was a tone beast and could put a Fender Twin to shame, which was hard to do. I know because I traded my Fender Twin Reverb for it. I ran my VT-22 on top of an Ampeg 4x12 Speaker Cabinet that also had JBL's in it. Needless to say, I had no problems being heard. I also had the VT-40, which was a great for smaller gigs. I wish I had either one of these amps still. They were amazing for the money.
Just wanted to say I was finally able to watch part two of your trouble shoot vid. Very fascinating even though I am not an amp tech. The way you guy's figure out the problems. Also thanks for the stellar guitar demo and for making me more aware of the versatility of the VT-22 V-4 amp. A bad ass amp indeed.
On stage, 1992. The other guitar player in my band had a 1971 VT-22 that the speaker cabinet was cut off round about '75 (still weighed 50 lbs)--that amp literally went up in flames during the gig...we never got hired back to that bar...waaaay before the Great White indecent.
WELL DONE ! Excellent tech, Excellent guitar, Excellent playing, and a good ear,...you rock, btw many people recommend amid boost pedal in front for max perfomance
Wow. Blown away. You win at glowing comment of the day! Seriously though, thanks for watching and for taking time to leave a comment. It's much appreciated.
All of the British high wattage amps and Ampeg V series amps are PERFECT candidates for the easy to install [following safety precaution] PI MASTER VOLUME from Guitar Player Magazine. ISSUE- December, 1982 I installed this master volume on my Sound City 120R and my other guitar player's Ampeg V4 head. EXCELLENT RESULTS! I MEAN EXCellent resultzzzz.
Great job again,it is not a colector so it was fixed the best way possable,you can't beat that ampeg sound,there reverb is the best in the busness.thanks again .
I have one just like it. I have actually gotten bruises on my hand from carrying it. I've been thinking about getting new tubes for it, cause it might very well be the original tubes in it, and at times it has been acting up with buzz and hum. It also gets very warm. But I like the sound very much!
Get a can of contact cleaner and at least spray out your sockets and pots. You can also try the trick of starting with the V1 tube and pulling it out with the amp on and moving down the line, pulling V2, V3, etc. until the buzzing stops. Maybe that will give you clues as to which tube or tubes need replacing, without replacing them all. JJ makes a new production 12DW7 which seems pretty good if you need to replace.
I read in a forum that new production 7027s aren't designed to run at the same plate voltage as the original or NOS ones for these amps. Is that true? A quad of NOS is pretty expensive. Also, what are your thoughts on modding these to run on 5881s or regular 6V6s?
I used to have a V2 distortion model head and on that amp the distortion knob was kinda different from how it sounded on this video. Loved that amp especially the reverb, it's super lush for my taste. By the way, that clamp on the back is for locking the reverb tank from moving as far as i know not for holding the power cord. Great video, thanks for posting it!
Just got one that's been made into a head version. Wondering what kind of speakers use with it. I've got a 212 cab with a Celestion vintage 30 and a Warehouse British Invasion - Veteran 30, so maybe I'll run that setup.
Owned one for several years before I unfortunately had to sell it. Absolute monster, though I didn't enjoy carting it to and from gigs. And nice playing man!
The 0.3V is the ac voltage at the grid of the 12dw7 (V5) the dc voltage of that grid will be approx 185 -190 volts (It is a 12au7 cathode follower), and remember that the voltages on the schematic are quoted for a 20 k ohm /volt multi-meter they are different for a modern fluke dvm. Especially round the 6AN8 or a 7199 (earlier Ampegs) phase splitter.
I love the Ampegs, too. Fenders and Voxes often have too much scrape and resonance in the treble. Though the Ampeg is not dull, it is smoother. These use the 7027A output tubes which are rated for 600VDC on the plates. It was a while before new imported 7027's were available, but none of them are rated above 500VDC, so I think they are just repackaged 6L6GC's. I know at least one person who retrofitted his Ampeg with 6L6's with no problems for 4 years ( I think he rewired the sockets). The plates of your unit are 545VDC, so I wonder. I haven't found any conformation of latter day 7027A suitability and few datasheets for the new versions. I was hoping you might mention this discrepancy and fill me in.
Of course, Randy Rhoads used this model on his first Ozzy tour. They are also the heaviest combo amp I've ever picked up, even more than twin with jbls. Trainwreck founder , Ken Fisher, came from ampeg and commented a properly set up ampeg will hold its own or beat any rock amp.
Just grabbed a 1974 VT22 off local CL for $350. Only 2 JJ 7027s in it right now. All the pre glass looks to be ok. Whoever had it before obviously threw some mix matched speakers in it for the sale, so I'm going to upgrade those with 2 150 watt Texas Heat Eminence Patriots. Caps don't look ratty, but I'm probably going to go ahead and get them replaced for tone and safety purposes. I've heard of people taking a good hit off these by touching both caps. That, and the reverb unit could give you a nasty zap if you don't know what you are doing. Pots are good. Reverb pot is a tad scratchy. SUPER LOUD & SUPER HEAVY!! Just ordered the master volume box unit from Fliptop to get her into break up without endangering local wildlife. Shame you arn't just a little bit closer Guitologist. I'm in NC. I'd love for you to take a look at it. Cheers!
Good deal boss. Unfortunately I may have lost patience on that. I'm still working on my Leslie speaker... but I take a break from time to time and do some other non-frustrating projects. I've got a few more Ali pedals coming in to build... I was so impressed with the first two..
I had a pair of Ampegs, an AC12 and a master volume-era V4. The V4 I used with a pair of Yamaha PA speakers, and each cabinet was as heavy as the V4. Both were amazing and I was foolish to sell them. I just bought a GV-15 that I'm going to restore. I'll probably swap the 15" speaker for a pair of 12", because I love that sound. Thanks for the video. Do you trace down bad resistors without removing them from the board?
CH 1 Volume up that high should shake and knock the camera over - mine does - it is a 1970 and doesn't have distortion feature. CH2 looks and sounds like I think it should, by the look at the way your eyes reflect the volume ! AWESOME !
This camera has some extreme compression on it. You can really tell it when I stop playing how much the noise floor is raised. This thing was pretty loud through most of the vid.
I"m an amp tech and I'm doing a mod on the V4 by taking the can caps out of service and replacing them with 2 boards which will be populated with the clip in caps and resistors. I would like to know what values of the orange drop caps you used. Did you stay with the Schematic or change them to a new value ?
Thanks so much for putting this up! Great videos and great to see this Ampeg (Distortion Model) VT22 finally getting some love. I have the same amp and would love to know what were the settings you had at the end to get the Marshally sound and how loud did you have to have it up. Thanks again!
Nice fix. I thought that Gemini you had a while back though sounded considerably better. Also, I never really understood the point of casters. Any worthwhile band already has a dolly. That's a heck of a lot easier to use than being bent over trying to roll an amp usually.
I think I'd opt for the removable casters. A dolly can booger up the front edges of the cab after a while, and an errant dolly blade can go through grill cloth if someone isn't careful. If this was mine, I'd install removable casters first thing, the heaviest duty ones I could find. I think I agree on the Gemini I tone being superior. It might have also been Don's tremendous playing having something to do with that. This one would be better if you just needed the sheer volume.
You've just got to keep a blanket or piece of rug on the front of your dolly. My family lived in 14 different house before I was 16 years old, plus I was a meat cutter at Kroger for 15 years, so I'm a big fan of dollies. I still own three.
My dad was the same way. He used to bring to the grocery store with him when I was a kid. (He was a manager at Kroger.) He always made sure I was working with both hands whenever I could and that sort of thing.
That amp would be great for straight-up Bo - Diddley, Link wray, loud Rhythm like Eddie Cochran style. At this end it sounds like a Marshall and Fender twin had a baby...a naughty rebelious child. Wicked Overdrive sound btw.!
What's about the input sensitivity differences between the first version and the second one? I know that the first version has a 3 positions switch, -9dB / -6dB / 0 dB, but I always wondered which the second one has. Is it -9dB or 0dB? Or something else? Nice video anyway! Thanks!
To me, I think the Telecaster is the best sounding electric over all, with PRS second place. I suspect the twin would sound better for the Tele. But not puttin down Ampeg at all, gotta love it!
Great stuff! I was wondering why when you play guitar it sounds like you have a compressor pedal on pretty much every video.Are you using your video camera's mic? It makes it hard to hear how the amp really sounds.
Great video,.......though, wonder if tubes are still made?....I know a good number of years ago I read that the russians were still producing them, but I suppose maybe by now nobody makes them,,,,,and could be the end eventually for alot of tube equipment,......well, of course anything can be modified I am sure to modern standards. You said you were worried about being able to get a replacement tube for the one you were unsure of.
The power tubes are current production. The 6AN8 is a plentiful NOS tube. Used in tons of old TV sets, so they're everywhere. Not rare. The 6CG7, same story, not rare. The 12DW7 are current production as well. JJ makes a good one of those.
I'm saving up my pennies for either an Ampeg VT-22 or the head version V4. I'm a Mick Taylor Stones fan so it's a no brainer lol. I would rather go for an amp that's clean. if I need to overdrive at bedroom practice, I'll add an overdrive pedal to it or a tube screamer. The reverb in these amps seems to line up with the best of them. I'll eat Mac n Cheese for months if I can buy one in great condition lol.
Please please do a video on what the sensitivity switches do, the rocker switches above the main control board. I bought this exact amp but im scared to mess with switches i dont understand an blow a tube wich is expensive. Please do a video on the functions of the sensitivity switches an the ones on the back of the amp too
My version 1 never sounded that good. My 70s era Marshall combo weighed in at 90 pounds at the airport. That was the only time it went to the airport with me lol Btw I watched it being unloaded from the plane and this big dude picked it up then threw on top of a completely full baggage cart in spite of all the fragile stickers that adorned it.
What I've been hearing from music stores, and reading on various threads (and I put myself in this category), today's musicians are now shunning these large, heavy, cumbersome amps for smaller, more efficient amps. Especially older musicians that have grown tired of lugging fender twins, marshall half stacks etc. They sound great, but short of being an Eastern European weightlifter, carrying these beasts to and from gigs is over the top. there are so many smaller wattage amps with great features and tone that don't weigh 75-100 pounds.....
This should be a real opportunity for younger guitarists to have gear that will pin their audience back in their seats. Sure the old guys won't want to lug this around, but for a younger band, they should invest in this kind of quality. The old guy's loss is the young guy's gain. And for a church, like this one belonged to, what better backline can you have than something like this to fill up the rafters with noise every Sunday and not have to move it.
One thing I wonder is why Ampeg seems to have a habit of making amps that are ridiculously heavy. For example, the SVT weighs anywhere from 80 to 90 pounds, and that's just a head! Ampegs sound amazing, but the weight makes me like them a little less.
Great video's , impressive work . But I bet that that 47K needs to be a higher wattage because it has ~180 volts across it It dissipates a has a continous 0.75 watts. I would put a 2 watt metal film in there. 190v/48000=.00039amps ( ~4 volts across the 1K ) ( 00039*186)-`0.75 watts You should have a 2watt 47 K metal film res in there in that cathode follower... or it will probably blow again ( Actually the tube was almost Fully conducting because the cathode voltage was high ( not low) because the grid couldn't be pulled negative to the cathode )
Thanks for the comment. Wouldn't hurt to do that, but the wattage rating is the operating wattage, not a maximum rating, so Rs with a 1W rating are designed to withstand constant dissipation of 1W. I think it'll be cool.
I bet if you put white tolex and a blue grill cloth, it would look just like a droid from the Original StarWars trilogy. 😬😬😬 I used to have a Gemini II. IT IS SORELY MISSED.
Shit Brads a great freaking picker man!! Ive been at it since i was 15. im now 44 and i can't finger pick at all. can't Shred either so im just a mess. Lol
These are guitar amps. Ampeg has come to be associated almost solely with bass amps, but they made some classic guitar amps. This model was developed and refined with the Rolling Stones on their early 70s tours. I think Ampeg even sent along one of their engineers to make sure the amps ran correctly.
ContraBand Joe they're probably the best place to get them from. They do some amazing testing over there. It's the only place I get 5879's from and the worst microphonic ones are still very usable.
Great Video Brad. If you hooked up with my cyber-buddy "Uncle Doug" - The two of you would have the most sought after amp tech repair shop in the USA :) I'm more of a collector than player. I usually buy my guitar gear in fair to good shape and then make it great - I recently SHOT MYSELF IN THE FOOT with a VOX AC4C1-12. bought it used at a great price - needed tubes so I changed them. I was careless by placing a slightly longer wood screw where a machine screw should have gone and it tore into the board. Amp powers up and tubes light but no sound. Totally dead. I hve four other amps I am selling - don't have time to fool with it so selling it for parts. I just want your fans NOT to make the same mistake I made - BE CAREFUL WHICH SCREWS GO WHERE. iT WAS AN ASSHOLE - STUPID, ROOKIE MISTAKE. Didn't pay attention.
That sounds like shit, This 60 year old man had 1972 Ampegs in the day with Gibson SGS an Les Pauls. Tune it up and use midrange like we did in the the day !
Lol, there is no replacement for the magical Mick Taylor. You can hear him through SVT's in the '70s with The Stones. You can hear him through a VT-40 in 1975 with the Jack Bruce/Mick Taylor Band, and with MT on the Joe Henry album, and on the first Mick Taylor solo album. You can hear him through a VT-22 when he toured with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for their Reunion '82 tour.
I had an older model of these , bit glassy sound , dang loud , make your ears bleed twin is a far better amp all round , sound and dependability putting those larger heavy caps on top of the board you may risk loosening the pc foil tracks with movement on the road
The traces are on top of the board. It's actually safer to solder them on top, IMO, because with the traces on top during installation, you're pushing the pins downward, and if you ever had to change one again, your iron could hold down the trace during extraction. Trying to work inside that little window on the bottom of the chassis is such a PIA, Soldering on top is definitely the way to go on these. I stand by that 100%.
Putting the caps on top is exactly the same stress on the pcb as putting on the bottom. not a problem. (lol .. but like all vintage amp repair men, the next guy that opens the amp will say "Wtf.. who put the caps on the top like that !" and he will probably rip them all out. )
I build servo motor drives for a living.. some parts go in the top, and all mosfets go in the bottom. As long as its a good board with plated through holes it makes no difference. But you could do it to single sided pcb's as long as the pads were large.
Really? When you say no one, do you mean John Scofield and his VT-22? Do you mean George Harrison and his V-4? Do you mean Keith Richards? Mick Taylor? Ronnie Wood? Steve Morse? Jeff Beck? Faces? Foghat? Black Oak Arkansas? Bad Company? Eliot Randall? Ric Ocasek? Et al?
![โอ้เธอช่าง... - บี้เดอะสกา ft. ต๋อง เทวัญ (Prod. by ป๋าเพชร) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zbWhiLFmVL0/mqdefault.jpg)
![1977 Ampeg VT-22 (V-4) Overhaul [Keith Richards - Rolling Stones Amp!]](/img/n.gif)
I used to use an Ampeg V4 head, with two Vox Beatle cabs, all the needed work was done by a (then) local tech Paul Rivera (another whole story). I was in my 20's and what did I know about good. Traded it for a Marshall 50W head, then to a Vox AC30! The Vox turned into my favorite amp of all time. Now as years have gone by (no roadies anymore) I can no longer carry the weight of preferred amps, so I now have a Boss Katana, (no tube changing), snd I am now once again happy, and ready to turn 66!
Ampeg tried to get back in the guitar amp game a few years ago with the GVT range. They were so unpopular that after they were discontinued the price dropped to less than 50% RRP. That's when I bought mine. Great amp with great cleans, nice spring reverb and a killer driven sound when played at 10 through a quad. I have no idea why people didn't buy them.
I use the GVT15 112. Like 6g3 Princeton with a 112. It's always getting compliments on its tone.
Maybe unclear marketing? These were decent amps, but closer to what Ampeg's sister company Crate were doing than anything Ampeg put out back in the day. The Baxandall EQ is really the only thing the GVTs had in common with the older series. Even then it wasn't as versatile on any GVT I tried than on my VT-40 (the lack of rocker switches didn't help).
Personally, that turned me off. I was looking forward to a modern spin on the VTs, because as heavy as they are to carry and deafening to crank up, I never found something that could replace mine.
We can suppose I was not the only one in that situation, and that Ampeg weren't able to bring in new guitarists to the brand to replace those who were disappointed with their new direction.
I'm playing my GVT15 head through a 2x12 with vintage 30's and it just sounds stellar! Beautiful dynamics and such a joy to play!
One of these just arrived at my shop. The note on the service tag read: “Caught fire. Still powers up.”
Three out of four power tubes are done, questionable 6AN8a and several of the preamp tubes were marginal.
The most interesting issue is why the post bridge rectifier test point is showing about 400 volts dc (75% of the schematic value) and the center tap of the output transformer is reading less than 50 volts dc. The plate connections on the power tube sockets are at about 35 volts dc. Screen voltage looks good, so does grid voltage. Filter caps have been changed sometime in the last 10 years. So have many of the coupling caps. Distortion circuit has been removed. I suspect something in the 100k 2 watt resistor array on the first set of filter caps, but ran out of time today.
I should add that the output transformer seems reasonably well balanced from center tap to either plate connection.
Channel 2 really has that early Cars tone to it, think most of Elliot's Solos on the first record. The Cars used the Magnavox (late 70's) version of these amps on their first album (The entire band got outfitted by Magnavox on some kind of early endorsement thing) and I think Ric Ocasek still uses a V4 as one of his main amps.
I just finished working on an Ampeg V-4 head yesterday, and the problems I found with it almost exactly mirrored those on this unit.
Open resistor on the standby pilot lamp, cathode resistor on the 2nd half of V5 had drifted silly high (6.5M, supposed to be 47k!) and lots of popping and crackling from the 6AN8. Popping and crackling was from a dirty/loose tube socket and a couple of cracked solder joints. That by far was the easiest problem I tracked down in this amp.
I also got quite a bit of a shock where someone had rather sloppily replaced the coupling cap on the plate of the 6CG7 the leads to the reverb tank. An old “brown drop” CDE capacitor (probably a junk box part, it was much older than the amp) had been put in there and was electrically leaky, measured about 90 ohms ESR, so it was passing most of the DC plate voltage onto the reverb circuit leads! My Eico capacitor tester showed it leaking at about 50v DC, so into the trash it went, and swapped for a new Panasonic cap.
After that, it is almost dead quiet save the normal amount of barely audible 120Hz hum if I put my ear right next to my shop speaker. I’m sure the customer will be happy to have his amp back up and running!
I had one of those monsters when I was 16 the house I lived in was a 2 story duplex converted to a single dwelling I had the complete upstairs minus one bedroom to myself and we jammed in my living room we used to take turns going to members houses and jamming a week at each place after 2 times lugging that Ampeg up a staircase that turned midway Even the drummer said nahh I'll keep my set here it's safe that way we dont have to move your amp anymore my backs still soar lol. 1st time I picked it up I swore I found Jimmy Hoffa. He is right at the 90 lbs mine came it at It might as well be 150. I imagined it saying No!!! Put me down No!!! I'm not moving and like a kid going limp to make moving it harder But GOD I miss that thing I had a Phantom Strat another thing I lament selling a Big Muff yet another and a Dunlop Crybaby I have one still
Wow! The last 10 minutes of this vid shows the strengths of these amps, tone wise, both clean and pushed. Great playing throughout. Thanks!
My Dream amp for decades ! Steve Morse used Ampeg with Dixie Dregs & that sound got stuck in my ears ! Classic , unmatchable quality !!!
Great job finding that open resistor
I wish I could read schematics as well as you, Brad!
You do a great job of showing where problems are most likely to occur, by tracing through the diagram.
Thanks!
Thanks for watching, Lee, and taking time to comment. Reading some schematics is easier than others. Some newer amps are so dense, it's like hieroglyphics, but this old stuff, once you've seen one, you've pretty much seen 'em all. Every now and then you'll run across something in a vintage schematic which has you scratching your head.
Great job Brad. I have a vt-22 version 2. It needs repair, you showed me a lot about how to fix it. Not sure when I'm going to start on it. I bought it brand new in 1977. Maybe I'll have to send it to you. You are a really good amp guy, and play guitar well too.
Love this amp. You are right, they are heavy given the size. I used one of these set to a clean sound and a Roland JC-50 with a ton of pedals for my stereo rig for more than a decade. It sounded fantastic! Unfortunately, I had a tube go bad and it smoked the output transformer. A local repair tech changed it out for a non-OEM transformer, but it never sounded the same and I eventually sold it.
I have owned and serviced my V4 since the 70's. Still love it. You do realize you can easily remove the aluminum plates on the chassis to access the boards.
Yeah, I realized that shortly after making the video.
Hi, Brad, I owned a VT22 but not sure of the year, might have been 1974. The chassis was shock mounted in four corners, (which later broke), the metal tab that stuck out at the top that looked like a retainer for the power cord was actually a push -in lock for the reverb springs. It also came with the optional 12 inch Electrovoice speakers, which made the amp STUPID loud! I bought it new at Johnny Thompson music in Temple City, Ca. They were a huge Ampeg dealer, and at the time the band Steppenwolf was using or endorsing their concert gear from this store. I was just curious if you ever worked on that particular one before.
I played a V-4 head for years - even W/o the speakers and combo cabinet it was a beast - 70 lbs if I remember-nobody wanted to carry it so eventually it became a spare left in the van LOL.
Should've put casters on the head! :D
Great guitar playing Brad, your fingerpicking is just fantastic. Any ideas how i could learn fingerpicking like that? i'm not bad with two fingers but using thumb and three fingers, seems like i'm all thumbs attempting that..
Practice, practice, practice is what helped me. Took me a year playing an hour every night to just get decent. Im not on Brads level in the least. So yeah, practice.
I practice every day.
Keep going. You'll get there.
Had a VT-22 I bought in 71 or 72... a bit different than this one... instead of rocker switches on the right they were plastic toggles, which one broke, of course, carrying it around. Still have it but needs to be completely rebuilt at this point. Legendarily heavy, as has been noted, but super clean sound. And yeah, loud. I remember a gig where we got a bit cranked up, and I remember literally FEELIING the wind the speakers put out on the back of my legs... wearing jeans, lol. Like a bomb going off. I wish someone nearby could work on it. More or less furniture at this point, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it.
Where are you located?
eastern long island, ny
I had one of these bad boys, but had the factory optional JB Lansing speaker, and those definitely were around 100 pounds with the casters installed. I wish I still had this amp, it was a tone beast and could put a Fender Twin to shame, which was hard to do. I know because I traded my Fender Twin Reverb for it. I ran my VT-22 on top of an Ampeg 4x12 Speaker Cabinet that also had JBL's in it. Needless to say, I had no problems being heard. I also had the VT-40, which was a great for smaller gigs. I wish I had either one of these amps still. They were amazing for the money.
Just wanted to say I was finally able to watch part two of your trouble shoot vid. Very fascinating even though I am not an amp tech. The way you guy's figure out the problems. Also thanks for the stellar guitar demo and for making me more aware of the versatility of the VT-22 V-4 amp. A bad ass amp indeed.
Thanks for watching. You're right, super versatile amp, tone-wise.
Fabulous playing style! Ampeg is unbeatable!
They went toe-to-toe with fender in the 60s and 70s, best clean tone I ever heard was a first-gen reverberocket
My first amp at 15 yrs old was this amp vt22 no distortion knob. My uncle had a v4 1972 with a 2 cabinet. best amp I ever heard in my life.
On stage, 1992. The other guitar player in my band had a 1971 VT-22 that the speaker cabinet was cut off round about '75 (still weighed 50 lbs)--that amp literally went up in flames during the gig...we never got hired back to that bar...waaaay before the Great White indecent.
Classic! Rocking til the amps catch fire is a dream of mine. You've lived it.
I was worried about my '69 Super Bassman getting lapped by flames--that's more rare..but it certainly was a sight for an 18 year old kid....lol
Wow that midrange!! So versatile amazing
WELL DONE ! Excellent tech, Excellent guitar, Excellent playing, and a good ear,...you rock, btw many people recommend amid boost pedal in front for max perfomance
Wow. Blown away. You win at glowing comment of the day! Seriously though, thanks for watching and for taking time to leave a comment. It's much appreciated.
All of the British high wattage amps and Ampeg V series amps are PERFECT candidates for the easy to install [following safety precaution] PI MASTER VOLUME from Guitar Player Magazine. ISSUE- December, 1982
I installed this master volume on my Sound City 120R and my other guitar player's Ampeg V4 head. EXCELLENT RESULTS! I MEAN EXCellent resultzzzz.
Great job again,it is not a colector so it was fixed the best way possable,you can't beat that ampeg sound,there reverb is the best in the busness.thanks again .
Agreed on the reverb. Thanks for commenting!
G'day, Brad! Well, absolutely fabulous sound! The 1977 Ampeg VT-22 (V-4) "Version 2" Service & DEMO... Well done! Thank you very much! Cheers! :-)
I have one just like it. I have actually gotten bruises on my hand from carrying it.
I've been thinking about getting new tubes for it, cause it might very well be the original tubes in it, and at times it has been acting up with buzz and hum. It also gets very warm.
But I like the sound very much!
Get a can of contact cleaner and at least spray out your sockets and pots. You can also try the trick of starting with the V1 tube and pulling it out with the amp on and moving down the line, pulling V2, V3, etc. until the buzzing stops. Maybe that will give you clues as to which tube or tubes need replacing, without replacing them all. JJ makes a new production 12DW7 which seems pretty good if you need to replace.
Thanks!
The 6K11 tube is a weirdo and completely out of production. Only refurb or NOS available
I read in a forum that new production 7027s aren't designed to run at the same plate voltage as the original or NOS ones for these amps. Is that true? A quad of NOS is pretty expensive. Also, what are your thoughts on modding these to run on 5881s or regular 6V6s?
I used to have a V2 distortion model head and on that amp the distortion knob was kinda different from how it sounded on this video. Loved that amp especially the reverb, it's super lush for my taste. By the way, that clamp on the back is for locking the reverb tank from moving as far as i know not for holding the power cord. Great video, thanks for posting it!
I didn't investigate that enough, I guess. Makes sense. Serves a dual purpose, at any rate.
Just got one that's been made into a head version. Wondering what kind of speakers use with it. I've got a 212 cab with a Celestion vintage 30 and a Warehouse British Invasion - Veteran 30, so maybe I'll run that setup.
Owned one for several years before I unfortunately had to sell it. Absolute monster, though I didn't enjoy carting it to and from gigs. And nice playing man!
Excellent riffs - great style!
The 0.3V is the ac voltage at the grid of the 12dw7 (V5) the dc voltage of that grid will be approx 185 -190 volts (It is a 12au7 cathode follower), and remember that the voltages on the schematic are quoted for a 20 k ohm /volt multi-meter they are different for a modern fluke dvm. Especially round the 6AN8 or a 7199 (earlier Ampegs) phase splitter.
I love the Ampegs, too. Fenders and Voxes often have too much scrape and resonance in the treble. Though the Ampeg is not dull, it is smoother.
These use the 7027A output tubes which are rated for 600VDC on the plates. It was a while before new imported 7027's were available, but none of them are rated above 500VDC, so I think they are just repackaged 6L6GC's. I know at least one person who retrofitted his Ampeg with 6L6's with no problems for 4 years ( I think he rewired the sockets). The plates of your unit are 545VDC, so I wonder. I haven't found any conformation of latter day 7027A suitability and few datasheets for the new versions. I was hoping you might mention this discrepancy and fill me in.
Of course, Randy Rhoads used this model on his first Ozzy tour. They are also the heaviest combo amp I've ever picked up, even more than twin with jbls. Trainwreck founder , Ken Fisher, came from ampeg and commented a properly set up ampeg will hold its own or beat any rock amp.
Sounds stellar!! Nice playing as well.
Thanks, Erich.
Just grabbed a 1974 VT22 off local CL for $350. Only 2 JJ 7027s in it right now. All the pre glass looks to be ok. Whoever had it before obviously threw some mix matched speakers in it for the sale, so I'm going to upgrade those with 2 150 watt Texas Heat Eminence Patriots. Caps don't look ratty, but I'm probably going to go ahead and get them replaced for tone and safety purposes. I've heard of people taking a good hit off these by touching both caps. That, and the reverb unit could give you a nasty zap if you don't know what you are doing. Pots are good. Reverb pot is a tad scratchy. SUPER LOUD & SUPER HEAVY!! Just ordered the master volume box unit from Fliptop to get her into break up without endangering local wildlife. Shame you arn't just a little bit closer Guitologist. I'm in NC. I'd love for you to take a look at it. Cheers!
Shipping on that would be brutal! Congrats!
Good deal boss. Unfortunately I may have lost patience on that. I'm still working on my Leslie speaker... but I take a break from time to time and do some other non-frustrating projects. I've got a few more Ali pedals coming in to build... I was so impressed with the first two..
Feel free to post a link here to what you're working on. I'll put it on my watch list. Thanks!
I had a pair of Ampegs, an AC12 and a master volume-era V4. The V4 I used with a pair of Yamaha PA speakers, and each cabinet was as heavy as the V4. Both were amazing and I was foolish to sell them. I just bought a GV-15 that I'm going to restore. I'll probably swap the 15" speaker for a pair of 12", because I love that sound.
Thanks for the video. Do you trace down bad resistors without removing them from the board?
Great amp. I sold my VT 22 some 25 years ago. Listening here I regret it.
CH 1 Volume up that high should shake and knock the camera over - mine does - it is a 1970 and doesn't have distortion feature.
CH2 looks and sounds like I think it should, by the look at the way your eyes reflect the volume ! AWESOME !
oh and wear ear protection from your local gun shop !
This camera has some extreme compression on it. You can really tell it when I stop playing how much the noise floor is raised. This thing was pretty loud through most of the vid.
I DID notice the compression - still awesome .
That is a beautiful sounding amp & guitar, played by someone who knows how to play his guitar.
I"m an amp tech and I'm doing a mod on the V4 by taking the can caps out of service and replacing them with 2 boards which will be populated with the clip in caps and resistors. I would like to know what values of the orange drop caps you used. Did you stay with the Schematic or change them to a new value ?
That is the later version, the earlier had the 3 rocker switches. Most bad ass amp ever made.
Great demo, again thanks.
Thanks for watching.
Smart man, using a 'Tron on that tele!
Wow! Great playing bro!
Nice job! I dig that tone and playing you started at 20:59
Thanks man. I appreciate that.
Thanks so much for putting this up! Great videos and great to see this Ampeg (Distortion Model) VT22 finally getting some love. I have the same amp and would love to know what were the settings you had at the end to get the Marshally sound and how loud did you have to have it up. Thanks again!
thanks again,I use a V-4 and as I said use KT88's on the output, 2 4-12 cabs
Nice fix. I thought that Gemini you had a while back though sounded considerably better. Also, I never really understood the point of casters. Any worthwhile band already has a dolly. That's a heck of a lot easier to use than being bent over trying to roll an amp usually.
I think I'd opt for the removable casters. A dolly can booger up the front edges of the cab after a while, and an errant dolly blade can go through grill cloth if someone isn't careful. If this was mine, I'd install removable casters first thing, the heaviest duty ones I could find.
I think I agree on the Gemini I tone being superior. It might have also been Don's tremendous playing having something to do with that. This one would be better if you just needed the sheer volume.
You've just got to keep a blanket or piece of rug on the front of your dolly. My family lived in 14 different house before I was 16 years old, plus I was a meat cutter at Kroger for 15 years, so I'm a big fan of dollies. I still own three.
As a young man, my Papaw always tried to teach me to work smarter, not harder. Dollies are a key component in that.
My dad was the same way. He used to bring to the grocery store with him when I was a kid. (He was a manager at Kroger.) He always made sure I was working with both hands whenever I could and that sort of thing.
I have an ampeg Gemini gv22 do you know if you could plug a bass guitar and not blow the amp up?
That amp would be great for straight-up Bo - Diddley, Link wray, loud Rhythm like Eddie Cochran style. At this end it sounds like a Marshall and Fender twin had a baby...a naughty rebelious child. Wicked Overdrive sound btw.!
What's about the input sensitivity differences between the first version and the second one? I know that the first version has a 3 positions switch, -9dB / -6dB / 0 dB, but I always wondered which the second one has. Is it -9dB or 0dB? Or something else?
Nice video anyway!
Thanks!
Lmfao about that amp weight shootout. After haulin’ a VT-22 around I KNEW it was heavier than a twin!! Ampegs til death do us part!
Damn it. I want one
To me, I think the Telecaster is the best sounding electric over all, with PRS second place. I suspect the twin would sound better for the Tele. But not puttin down Ampeg at all, gotta love it!
I think a Tele is a good overall tool for voicing amps and doing demos. It's something everyone knows and it has a clear voice.
Great stuff! I was wondering why when you play guitar it sounds like you have a compressor pedal on pretty much every video.Are you using your video camera's mic? It makes it hard to hear how the amp really sounds.
Great video,.......though, wonder if tubes are still made?....I know a good number of years ago I read that the russians were still producing them, but I suppose maybe by now nobody makes them,,,,,and could be the end eventually for alot of tube equipment,......well, of course anything can be modified I am sure to modern standards. You said you were worried about being able to get a replacement tube for the one you were unsure of.
The power tubes are current production. The 6AN8 is a plentiful NOS tube. Used in tons of old TV sets, so they're everywhere. Not rare. The 6CG7, same story, not rare. The 12DW7 are current production as well. JJ makes a good one of those.
Did Aerosmith use these Ampeg type amps on their early recordings?
Not a single Wipers riff.
I'm saving up my pennies for either an Ampeg VT-22 or the head version V4. I'm a Mick Taylor Stones fan so it's a no brainer lol. I would rather go for an amp that's clean. if I need
to overdrive at bedroom practice, I'll add an overdrive pedal to it or a tube screamer. The reverb in these amps seems to line up with the best of them. I'll eat Mac n Cheese for months
if I can buy one in great condition lol.
I had the same amp put a old dod overdrive in front sounds killer
Please please do a video on what the sensitivity switches do, the rocker switches above the main control board. I bought this exact amp but im scared to mess with switches i dont understand an blow a tube wich is expensive. Please do a video on the functions of the sensitivity switches an the ones on the back of the amp too
Good one on this amp Brad.
Thanks Carl. Good to hear from you, as always.
Do you think this is a good sounding lead amp? Thank you for sharing your expertise!
yep. i think it sounds excellent all around. I hope the demo showed that.
How hard would it be to take the amp out and still use after a clean up?
My version 1 never sounded that good. My 70s era Marshall combo weighed in at 90 pounds at the airport. That was the only time it went to the airport with me lol Btw I watched it being unloaded from the plane and this big dude picked it up then threw on top of a completely full baggage cart in spite of all the fragile stickers that adorned it.
Nice amp!
What I've been hearing from music stores, and reading on various threads (and I put myself in this category), today's musicians are now shunning these large, heavy, cumbersome amps for smaller, more efficient amps. Especially older musicians that have grown tired of lugging fender twins, marshall half stacks etc. They sound great, but short of being an Eastern European weightlifter, carrying these beasts to and from gigs is over the top. there are so many smaller wattage amps with great features and tone that don't weigh 75-100 pounds.....
This should be a real opportunity for younger guitarists to have gear that will pin their audience back in their seats. Sure the old guys won't want to lug this around, but for a younger band, they should invest in this kind of quality. The old guy's loss is the young guy's gain. And for a church, like this one belonged to, what better backline can you have than something like this to fill up the rafters with noise every Sunday and not have to move it.
killer amp
One thing I wonder is why Ampeg seems to have a habit of making amps that are ridiculously heavy. For example, the SVT weighs anywhere from 80 to 90 pounds, and that's just a head! Ampegs sound amazing, but the weight makes me like them a little less.
I was amazed it was only 6 lbs. heavier than a Twin Reverb with Eminence speakers.
Is there compression on that amp or is that your pedal board?
Camera
Which is better ? Version one or version 2 in your opinion ?
Version 1. The Distortion feature is all but useless and the Master Volume in Version 1 is nice to have. Overall tone is similar though.
Great video's , impressive work . But I bet that that 47K needs to be a higher wattage because it has ~180 volts across it It dissipates a has a continous 0.75 watts. I would put a 2 watt metal film in there. 190v/48000=.00039amps ( ~4 volts across the 1K ) ( 00039*186)-`0.75 watts
You should have a 2watt 47 K metal film res in there in that cathode follower... or it will probably blow again
( Actually the tube was almost Fully conducting because the cathode voltage was high ( not low) because the grid couldn't be pulled negative to the cathode )
Thanks for the comment. Wouldn't hurt to do that, but the wattage rating is the operating wattage, not a maximum rating, so Rs with a 1W rating are designed to withstand constant dissipation of 1W. I think it'll be cool.
Hmmmm I have a Sound City 120 mk4 with the exact same symptoms..
I bet if you put white tolex and a blue grill cloth, it would look just like a droid from the Original StarWars trilogy. 😬😬😬
I used to have a Gemini II. IT IS SORELY MISSED.
Shit Brads a great freaking picker man!! Ive been at it since i was 15. im now 44 and i can't finger pick at all. can't Shred either so im just a mess. Lol
so were these actually made for guitar? or bass originally?
These are guitar amps. Ampeg has come to be associated almost solely with bass amps, but they made some classic guitar amps. This model was developed and refined with the Rolling Stones on their early 70s tours. I think Ampeg even sent along one of their engineers to make sure the amps ran correctly.
haaa facts! cool! thanks for the reply. love your channell!
Tube depot is listing 6AN8A tubes for $15.95 each
ContraBand Joe they're probably the best place to get them from. They do some amazing testing over there. It's the only place I get 5879's from and the worst microphonic ones are still very usable.
I got one
exile on mainstreet amp 😃
hi nice job brad! as a side note just watched joe bonamasa's guitar and amp collection video wow check it out quite a guy!
Great Video Brad. If you hooked up with my cyber-buddy "Uncle Doug" - The two of you would have the most sought after amp tech repair shop in the USA :) I'm more of a collector than player. I usually buy my guitar gear in fair to good shape and then make it great - I recently SHOT MYSELF IN THE FOOT with a VOX AC4C1-12. bought it used at a great price - needed tubes so I changed them. I was careless by placing a slightly longer wood screw where a machine screw should have gone and it tore into the board. Amp powers up and tubes light but no sound. Totally dead. I hve four other amps I am selling - don't have time to fool with it so selling it for parts. I just want your fans NOT to make the same mistake I made - BE CAREFUL WHICH SCREWS GO WHERE. iT WAS AN ASSHOLE - STUPID, ROOKIE MISTAKE. Didn't pay attention.
I sane power
That sounds like shit, This 60 year old man had 1972 Ampegs in the day with Gibson SGS an Les Pauls. Tune it up and use midrange like we did in the the day !
Thank for this great demo of a great sounding amp. And..you should have replaced MIck Taylor in 1975 ;)
Lol, there is no replacement for the magical Mick Taylor. You can hear him through SVT's in the '70s with The Stones. You can hear him through a VT-40 in 1975 with the Jack Bruce/Mick Taylor Band, and with MT on the Joe Henry album, and on the first Mick Taylor solo album. You can hear him through a VT-22 when he toured with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for their Reunion '82 tour.
85 pounds, but most are in the casters
I had an older model of these , bit glassy sound , dang loud , make your ears bleed
twin is a far better amp all round , sound and dependability
putting those larger heavy caps on top of the board you may risk loosening the pc foil tracks with movement on the road
Literally rattles the foundation.
The traces are on top of the board. It's actually safer to solder them on top, IMO, because with the traces on top during installation, you're pushing the pins downward, and if you ever had to change one again, your iron could hold down the trace during extraction. Trying to work inside that little window on the bottom of the chassis is such a PIA, Soldering on top is definitely the way to go on these. I stand by that 100%.
Putting the caps on top is exactly the same stress on the pcb as putting on the bottom. not a problem.
(lol .. but like all vintage amp repair men, the next guy that opens the amp will say "Wtf.. who put the caps on the top like that !" and he will probably rip them all out. )
...and he will be a fool. Much easier to solder from the top of the board and hold the part there as well. But you're probably right. :)
I build servo motor drives for a living.. some parts go in the top, and all mosfets go in the bottom. As long as its a good board with plated through holes it makes no difference. But you could do it to single sided pcb's as long as the pads were large.
never cared for the sound of them Ampegs
Really? When you say no one, do you mean John Scofield and his VT-22? Do you mean George Harrison and his V-4? Do you mean Keith Richards? Mick Taylor? Ronnie Wood? Steve Morse? Jeff Beck? Faces? Foghat? Black Oak Arkansas? Bad Company? Eliot Randall? Ric Ocasek? Et al?
What pickups are in the telecaster?