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So my question is...


Can the Ampeg V4 sound like the Sunn 1200 or Model T...

especially can it sound like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZSlRoaAW3Y#t=0m19s

This is the whole sound.... from the particular album In The Absence Of Truth where one of the guitarists used a Sunn 1200s and a Model T http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWjhxnVcmgg

Can this tone be achieved with the Ampeg V4?

Cmn now... i know you want to tell me!

Never used a V4, but they seem to be a lot cleaner than Model T's. The T also has a drive channel. You'd probably have to use a fuzz or distortion to crank it into that T crunch.

Depends on if your talking about the original Sunn heads or the reissue's....

A v4 is a different beast, but IMO better than any of the sunn reissues, and comparing the V4 to an original model T is hard, 2 completely different preamps and 2 vastly different power amps. The V4 has alot cleaner front end then a model T but no where near the power the model T puts out. The V4 vs the 1200s is a lot closer in tone (clean front end w/ ballz, and a decent power amp section). If its any consulation all the guys who used to rave about Model T's now rave about V4's since they have the balls and plenty of volume and 1/4 of the pricetag. Here's my only advice look for a V4B, slightly different head but will most likely be more to your liking.

Yeah i meant the original first gen year 73... oh thanks a lot for great info!

also depends on if your talking Gen1 or Gen2 Model T originals, the reissues should have never even had the name Model T, its completely different than the originals and sounds nothing like them, whether or not the sound is good is up to you on the reissues, IMO i dont like it much.

Now the Gen1 originals are pretty much Superlead clones with 6550s running in ultra linear output with a large plate and screen voltage driving up the output power.
The Gen2s are a little more interesting then changed the tonestack to baxandall with an inductor based cathode mid control added on. this eliminated the cathode follower driving the tonestack and also modified the stage biasing as well. The master was changed to affect pre tone stack and pre phase inverter drive so the sound of the amp changed even from Gen 1 to Gen2.

the 1200s is the guitar version of the 2000s, the 4 x 6550 bass amp that Sunn made which was quite clean. so the preamp clean level is probably close to the v4 but again power levels all around can be a little different

Now the V4 is a totally different beast, with a much different preamp that is quite a bit more complicated than a Model T. It has 2 channels which are summed using anode mixing where each channel is identical. The EQ is a baxandall stack plus a multi tapped toroid inductor feedback based mid range control not unlike say an op amp control with a bandpass/bandreject filter where the mid notch/boost is selectable. The amp is quite clean till u crank it up a lot, for those with the non master volume models its unlikely they would achieve much amp clipping without really making the fucker loud while the master volume models (i have a v4 with a master) can achieve some grit before the amp is really loud. Its an awesome amp for pedals, period

I am unsure if you can achieve the same sound on both amps given the strong differences in circuits but probably with a dedicated pedal setup

I was waiting for you to chime in Nick, BTW celestial if you couldnt tell this dude know's his shit, and the model T and the V4 being 2 of his specialties.

thanks skip i just learned the other day about the phase inverter in the v4 being a floating paraphrase and not a long tail pair. quite important for your amp since im using it in there, good for clean amps