ilovefuzz.com

Opinions?

I got one on loan at the moment to see if I want to buy it. Has anyone gathered experience with one, anything I should look for specifically? (other than the question if I like how it sounds, of course.)

What is the price?
I think it may be the shit for them stoner sounds. But i never played one personally. They tend to go too pricey for my taste over here in good ol' europe...

I can't speak for the combo but the amp section is the same as an Ampeg V4 which I have two of and absolutely love.

It's fairly loud and clean until you get it up past noon then it breaks up a little but gets more of a cranked amp sound than it does high gain.
I have yet to find a pedal that it couldn't handle or didn't play well with so that's a huge plus and you can use it for bass as well.
I'm not sure the speaker type in the combo but Greenbacks and others sound awesome so try it with an extension cab if you can.

Schnikes has experience with these too so if you have any questions just ask.

I absolutely LOVE the V-series amps, particularly the early '70's non-master models with the all aluminum knobs. Totally agree with MEC, loud and clean, perfect pedal platform amp that handle both bass and guitar exceptionally. They def break up when you get 'em cooking but nothing high gain, think '70's era Stones or something similar. At a certain point, mine just gets beefier sounding as you turn it up and then it really slays with fuzz/dirt/OD. The EQ is powerful too, baxandall with mid shift, just a huge array of tones when you get accustomed to dialing it in.

I've used a V4 for a few years but I'm finally selling it to Mark from BAT. I picked up Spaceflunky's old V2 instead, been after one forever! It's been converted to run on KT88s and I completely refurbished it inside and out. Looks brand new and sounds insanely good. The reverb kills as well. It's def my #1 amp. I won't let the V2 go. Ever.

My only gripe with the V4 was weight and size, just a MONSTER of an amp to lug around. I imagine the combo would be a true nightmare if you had to move it a bunch, gotta be ungodly heavy. The V2 feels incredibly light relatively speaking, probably around 50lbs as opposed to 65-70lbs for the V4 head. Dimensions are slightly smaller as well. And not as insanely loud. Regardless of advertised wattage ratings, I'd say the V4 is really putting out somewhere around 120+W. Another issue is tubes. The current production 7072a isn't anything special and NOS are crazy expensive so it's best to have the bias section converted to run something different. I love the KT88s in the V2, not sure what the consensus is on the V4 power section options.

As far as price, the V2 and V4 aren't terrible, usually between $500-$600 from what I've seen but sometimes higher if the amp is clean and recently serviced. Consider service/maintenance costs though. A 40+ year old amp is gonna at least need a check up, possible power section conversion, maybe a cap job, etc, etc. Budget for that or use it to negotiate a fair price.

Hard to go wrong with an Ampeg V4 or V2 in my opinion.

univalve wrote:What is the price?
I think it may be the shit for them stoner sounds. But i never played one personally. They tend to go too pricey for my taste over here in good ol' europe...

It's the shit for a lot of different sounds but it can def bring the low end if you're after stoner sounds and it will do anything you want using pedals. I use mine for both guitar and my Bass VI, perfect double duty amp. You just have to gather the appropriate cabs/speakers and you're in business.

What's the average cost for a V4 in Europe? I imagine price is nuts if you can't find one there for a good deal cuz shipping from anywhere Int'l would be outrageous on those heavy sonsofbitches.

I got my VT-22 for an incredible price. Louder and heavier than god. Takes pedals pretty much as well as I could hope for. The only drawback is the weight. The damn thing weighs about 100 pounds and has that hilarious single handle on top. Luke would have trouble Force Lifting that thing.

pelliott wrote:Louder and heavier than god. Takes pedals pretty much as well as I could hope for. The only drawback is the weight. The damn thing weighs about 100 pounds and has that hilarious single handle on top. Luke would have trouble Force Lifting that thing.

+1 - i''ve recorded with it in the studio a few times and feel the same way. sounds great, too fucking heavy! great for the studio but for live use i would find a v2 and cab.

I have no experience with the VT-22, but I have a VT-40 and absolutely love it. The Vt-40 is a 4x10 combo version of the V2, so weight is the only real drawback. I changed the speakers in mine a while back which probably added about ten pounds to it, took it from this is kind of a pain to lug around territory right into holy shit carrying this thing seriously sucks territory.

As others have said, gorgeous cleans, great reverb, and takes pedals like a champ.

Like Schnikes, mine is currently undergoing a full refurbishment and a swap to KT-88s, and I'm getting really impatient to get it back.

I loved my V-4 sound-wise. If you dig midrange control, that's the amp for you. Mine just ran hot, and was tempermental. Also heavy as fuck. But they're great for every instrument. Though, bit quiet for me. Just a bit.

theavondon wrote: bit quiet for me. Just a bit.

loved my V2 LOVED having the eq options. you could make that one fuzz sound juuuuust right.

everything dimed was amaballz too.

I'm picking up an early '70s V4 this Saturday, and I'm super excited about it!
How's it sound when playing through both channels at once?

ShaunNecro wrote:I'm picking up an early '70s V4 this Saturday, and I'm super excited about it!
How's it sound when playing through both channels at once?

Sounds killer. I use a signal splitter sometimes with my clean signal to input 1 and my dirt/fuzz/OD/etc to input 2 and it's huge! Dialed in correctly, the clean signal lends extra bass, punch, and clarity. Took me forever to run it like that cuz everything sounds so good straight into a single channel as well.

The V4 and V2 cleans are just so good! I prefer them to any Fender cleans, no question. The amazing controlled low end and powerful EQ make all the difference imo. And how well it behaves with pedals. You'll hear it for yourself real soon.

get it and put buy a replacement headshell from fliptops so you can use it either as a v4 head or combo vt-22

vegedge wrote:get it and put buy a replacement headshell from fliptops so you can use it either as a v4 head or combo vt-22

I was gonna suggest this too as Fliptops makes a very nice replica headshell. Downside is cost, probably $350 shipped to Europe.