Ampeg VT-22? Anyone using one for bass?

[ebenezer]

A friend and I just found an old one at his church that doesn't work but I was wondering if you can use it as a bass amp. The only thing I've ever read on it was from guitar players. If you have played on with Bass how does it sound? It looks to be all tube so it's gotta be decent.

[mcknigs]

This is a combo? I think those were made both in combo and head/cab configs(?). I know there's a combo and I have a VT-22 2x12 cab, so I'm assuming that went with a VT-22 cab...

Anyway, my guess is the head would work well with a bass cab and maybe some optional tweaking of the tone circuit. I would think the combo would work less well due to the open back. You could always take the amp out of a combo cab and build a head cab for it, though it would need to be strong, as that's a pretty heavy chassis.

-Scott

[ebenezer]

Yeah this is a 2x12 combo.

[turtlesoup]

those are great sounding as a guitar amp. but very high maintenance. i would avoid sinking too much money into it.

[jay42]

Used to have a V4-B. Great products. My own anecdotal survey indicates that V Series transfomers started dying a few years ago. It could just be a broken wire inside. Heavy as hell with two altecs.

[AL30]

I think the VT-22 is a V4 in a 2x12" package. So yes, that should work just fine for bass. I just saw a band last weekend and the bass player was using a matcing V4 head and cab.

AL

[ebenezer]

Thanks guys. I am going to see how much it will take to fix this thing. So that will ultimately determine things.

[rooster]

I restored one for an old bass player buddy of mine. Works great, too loud for a lot of gigs, but when he's in a big room, it works just fine. A tad on the bright side, but you turn down the treble, turn up the bass, and it's OK.

Good tone, price is right.

rooster.

[mcknigs]

I think the VT-22 is a V4 in a 2x12" package. So yes, that should work just fine for bass. I just saw a band last weekend and the bass player was using a matcing V4 head and cab.

AL

The bass amp was a V4B and the the V4 was for guitar. The difference between them being (IIRC) a slight difference in the tone stack.
That's why I mentioned the "optional tone circuit tweaking. However I think a lot of people would say the V4 will work fine for bass.

-Scott

[AL30]

The bass amp was a V4B and the the V4 was for guitar. The difference between them being (IIRC) a slight difference in the tone stack.


Hi Scott,

Yeah, I know the V4B is the bass amp but I'm pretty sure the bass player was going through just a plain old V4 guitar version. The cab was a 4x12" - I think the V4B cab was a 2x15" (not sure though).


That's why I mentioned the "optional tone circuit tweaking.


Those switches should come in pretty handy.

AL

[jay42]

http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/catalog/MM_ampeg.htm

It's sort of surprising that MM shows different PTs for the V4-B and the VT-22. I had a V4-B and there are some front panel differences with the rocker switches being optimized for bass. Also, there's more pre-amp gain with the V4.

[GrecoVee]

The VT-22 and the V4 have the exact same amp guts, no difference. As a matter of fact, I pulled the gut out of a `74 VT-22 with trashed speakers an put the guts in an empty V4 amp head shell. Fit perfectly! The amp says, VT-22 V4, on the back by the Magnavox label so that kind of conferms that they are the same amp.
They will work for Bass but I love mine for guitar, the reverb is one of the best I've ever heard.
I agree to beware of a dead one or one that has problems, a lot of odd ball tubes go in these things and you can end up sinking a lot of money into them.