I was watching their SNL performance and it looked like Josh had an Ampeg Reverb Rocket next to two other amps.

quote:

Originally posted by shale:
cool, thanks. i'm picking up the master volume knob and a head sleeve for the chassis (so the vt-22 can be carried around without killing myself) next weekend, so i'll give it a shot then...

I hear you, the VT-40 is a lot lighter and I'm thinking about buying or building a head box to slide my front face head into and get a single or two speaker open back cab. I can't imagine lugging a VT-22 to gigs. My old bassist had a vintage V4-B which is basically a VT-22 head and that was a pain. Add the box and the speakers in one unit,,, ugh!

Yeah I've seen shots of Josh using a reverb rocket with his VT's. In the studio as well. My friend just saw them and said he's using a top mount VT-40 with some sort of external cab on this tour.

I'm still interested in finding out what that octive effect is. I was listening to Songs for the Deaf today and I hear it one there too. It really sounds like a Green Ringer. I say that because it's really clean. Maybe that EH micro-synth he uses? I've never had a chance to mess with one. My friend could not get a good look at his pedals. Bummer...

yeah, to avoid the weight, i've been using a hiwatt head on the vt-22 (chassisless) cab... with great results.

as for the attenuator issue, i don't know. i don't like the idea for some reason...plus it's money i don't have.

the master volume pedal should work fine. i just haven't had time to go get it.

supposing someone couldnt get a hold of this slightly rare gear, could a brand new ampeg SVT-CL or V4BH head still make a good QOTSA sound with proper cabinets to match?

No you can't. What really gets that tone besides the whole circuit is those input sensitivity rockers. When set high and you put an overdrive (preamp) before it starts singing at higher volumes. Great clean distortion.

You can still find front face VT-40's at a half way decent price. And really the top mounts are still at great prices compared to Marshalls and Fenders of the same year. Also look for V2's, VT-22's, V4's (not the V4B as it lacks the input sensitivity rockers). The V2's are the head only version of the VT-40. The V4's are the head only version of the VT-22's.

The VT-40 and the VT-22 are almost the exact circuit. The difference being the VT-40 has a 4x10 at 60 Watts and the VT-22 2x12 at 100 Watts. Both are crazy loud. The VT-22 is insanely loud and very heavy. If you have a roadie and your planning to go on tour with the Stones circa early 70's arena gigs get the VT-22, for the rest of us playing clubs get the VT-40 and you'll still have the sound guy screaming at you to turn it down!

Long is gone of the years you could get a topmount in mint condition for $300 and the front faces for $200 (I got both my top and front for those prices before Songs for the Deaf came out, after that... Ugh, I'm just glad I got em when I did).

I bet Ampeg will reissue them soon. But I would guess they won't sound anything close to the originals. The big cost being the output transformer. Like Marshall and Fender reissues they'll put some overseas crap in there and all the tone will be gone.

I would not put those THD's in your Ampegs!!! I put those Yellow Jackets in a while ago and fried a transformer in my topmount just last week. I just had a recap job done about a year ago and everything was great til I put those things in.

Your VT series runs at a much higher voltage than a standard Fender or Marshall. A hotplate may work for a while but with all those vintage componants something gotz to give. KISS!

wow, very thorough response, thankyou very, very much. ive also heard through the unreliable grapevine of the internet that the fender bassman is a decent replacement amp to get the QOTSA tone, is there anyone who would back this up or shoot it down?

I would not say the Fender Bassman, but the Fender Super Reverb (black face). The Fender Super Reverb is basically a Bassman (tweed) on steroids.

The old nickname of the Ampeg VT-40 is "the poor man's Super Reverb". But actually the better nickname was "the working man's amp".

Before there was the Line 6 POD there was the Ampeg VT-40. You can dial in a Fender Super Reverb tone like nobodies business.

But what made the VT's so cool was that you can set those rockers and adjust the tone controls to dial in almost anything that was out at the time, Marshall tone included. They called them the working man's amp because a lot of club guys and wedding players had them. They could play a bunch of covers and just change up the settings to mimic the tone of the original recording of cover they were playing.

The problem is that tone your looking for in the VT's is a combo of these settings. And buying a couple of amps like a Marshall Plexi, or a blackface Fender Super Reverb will set you back more than buying one VT-40.

well that brings up an interesting question, how well is the homme tone put out by a POD? and what amp would be suggested to put it out?

nah, i don't like that stuff. i prefer to do whatever i can with out them. the volume pedal my friend built works well enough. i still favor my hiwatt by a landslide though!

besides the obvious volume function that pedal whould serve, what else does it do that creates a tone that you like?

hey, if you were asking me, shomantis, i apologize. i just took a look at this thread for the first time in a while.

the volume pedal serves no other function than volume. i prefer is simply because a) it cost me $20 and b) it didn't mess with any of the amp's natural sound.

although i've never used one, i've heard many people complain that attenuators mess with the amp's sound a bit. personally, i'd rather just stay away from them altogether...