VTypeV4

Whilst I've never had the 100w Marshall amp thats mentioned, I do have a Linear componented, Marshall circuited amplifier. That previously ran a pair of EL34 and was very marginal when it came to clean headroom particularly for bass guitar. About 5 years ago I had it modded (a couple of resistors and a re-bias) to run 6550s which vastly improved it for bass. Increased clean head room and less distortion but still with plenty of that compression thing going on. With EL34s it made 52w before the mods and after with 6550s it did 62w on the scope. Not a massive step but it does 'feel' much bigger than the numbers suggest. I do rather suspect the output transformer is now somewhat margnal! With regards to the bass issue, i've never experienced a lack of low end. The speaker it usually drives is good down to about 50hz although I don't really have masses of low end in my sound. Years ago my Trace V4 had a fit and used this old amp with my Trace 4x10 and 1x15 and it was monsterous even against the 10 peice soul outfit I played with at the time. I think what I'm trying to say is that a different valve (ie the big boys 6550 and KT88 types) with the appropriate mods can make an amp much better and suitable for the job with destroying its underlying character. [IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/BeavisClean.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/BeavisChassis.jpg[/IMG]

I'll stick with 5s, I just can't see me going back to four largely on the strength that I find everything so much easier and 'vertical' if you know what I mean..

I did design some band-pass subs for guy over on another audio forum around the 18" 4 ohm Peavey Black Widow SPS (as installed in my existing 118XTs). He has had excellent results with said enclosures but I want to move on from the Black Widow driver. I ran the specs of the 1000w Celestion FTR through my software using the existing enclosure but it's a totally different unit and didn't perform anywhere near as well as the BW. Think I'll do some number crunching with some double-eighteen enclosures in both vented direct-radiating and bandpass designs. I consider horns and scoops to be too bulky for mobile use. Gonna have a look at the Celestion site and see what they make these days..

Vintage Celestion 12 inch Speaker in need of repair. [IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/Cel1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/Cel2.jpg[/IMG] 　 I removed this from a cabinet I'm rebuilding and have decided to move it on rather than spend the tme on it. 　 I'm unsure of which model it is as there's no information on the magnet. It looks like there was once some sort of cover (like a greenback) but this is now missing. I've had a look on the Celestion website and according to their information and its date coding it was built in November 1975. The voice coil looks to be about 1.5 inches dia and the magnet about 5 inches dia so that could mean a rating anywhere from 15 to 50 watts. 　 This speaker is in need of repair as it appears to have a malaligned voice coil causing a bit (quite a bit if i'm honest) of rub against the magnet. I haven't had the meter on the coil but a battery on the cone moved it backwards and forwards suggesting it's still intact. According to the frame stamp, it should be an 8 ohm unit. It probably will require a re-cone however, the careful engineer maybe able to rescue the existing assembly? I haven't the time or patience with it so hopefully it will go to a good home. Free to Collector If it gets shipped, I expect £10 will cover it within UK Cheers, Matt

[quote name='Warwick_Official' timestamp='1352308436' post='1861443'] Beautiful Streamer VTtypeV4! Single coil J's on a Streamer are hard to beat...thanks for sharing! [/quote] I've had lots of basses over the years including Fender, Status, Yamaha, Aria etc but nothing does what these do. I wouldn't change it for all the tea in china. I also had one of the early Rockbass Streamers (03/04 maybe?) which was great but should've had the 5-string. I sold it to my friend as she was intersted in learning bass a number of years back. She still has it to this day and loves it. I'd love to A/B it against a Streamer Stage II as I do think mine is a particularly good one. I've played a number of Warwick basses and do still think mine is the dogs doo-dahs. Even after all these years!

I thought I'd contributed to this thread but hadn't.. So here's my '01 Streamer LX5 which I ordered brand new in the January of that year. [IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/WarwickSun.jpg[/IMG] A truly great bit of kit that does the trick everytime.

I'm not really finalised on any designs yet which is why I'm not really concerned about models and specifics just yet.. WIth regards to weight, I'm not really fussed as I'm expecting big subs to weigh a fair bit anyways. Saving a few kilos with neo magnets isn't that important. I think JBL, EV and PD were all quite expensive (inspite of being generally great products) but the Celestion range seem to be more in the Eminence bracket. As for the x-over, it will be an active item. It'll give give me better control and efficiency especially with a 3 way system when I'm aligning a flat phase response.. And Bill's site is great, I've been on before but it's always interesting. Cheers gents.

[quote name='umph' timestamp='1352151392' post='1859511'] i didn't know v4's came with a dummy load? also pull the output valves, that rat dummy load will get hot quick and you don't wanna be in the way when it goes off! [/quote] Yup, the MK2s did.. Both the head and combo models came with the switch. Very handy! Definately don't want to be in the way when anything goes off! So tubes out wont upset the power supply or anything?

As well as an in-house engineer, I'm a partner in a sound reinforcement company and I'm considerng building some new subs to further expand the larger rig. Currently I'm using a pair of Peavey 118XT (1x18") and they sound great but they're somewhat over stressed for the power that they see so I'm considering building either four 1x15", two double 15s or possibly a pair of 2x18. They will be either a vented direct radiating design or a single tuned band-pass construction similar to that of the Ohm BR215/218. Clearly without all the sizes, choosing a model and crunching all the numbers is beyond the discussion of ths thread. I am considering a Celestion as the heart of the cabinet as they have always served me well for both bass guitar and PA applications. My Ashton rig runs Tru-vox 10s and 15s, all the Trace stuff over the years has been loaded with variants on the BG, K and BX range, the old Martin Audio PA rig ran with BX18s in the subs and even my rig at the Rigger runs 400w 15" BX series in the top-packs etc etc.. I have no problem with Eminence as they make an excellent speaker and I have used them also in many applications with no drama. Does anyone have good reason for me not to use Celestion? The specs of the current FTR series seem to compare well with their american counter-parts and prices on eBay also seem fair. In all fairness, I'm somewhat out of touch with the current range of both companies but I would like to use Celestion as long as they're still a good product. I have aslo looked at offerings from JBL, Fane, Precision Devices and ElectroVoice. If I can buy British and its worth it, then I will. I'm looking at a 600w minimum power handling as I have two Crown CE2000 in bridge-mono so I looking towards at least 1200w worth of speakers. I'm sure a little bit of over-powering and an unclipped amp that the drivers will be fine. Eventually the CE's will go and an 3600VZ or 5000VZ will go in thier place. Any love for Celestion with their current line then?

I've used them in a number of rigs over the years and they've always been great.. The facilities they offer are very comprehensive, reasonably simple to use and most importantly they sound great. My only criticism is that the patches can't be locked (meaning people who shouldn't be messing can) unlike some of the other similar units. I did have a display fail once but it was fixed under warranty. Real good bit of kit like most dBx stuff!

It's probably something simple dude, I expect a failed valve has taken something out with it. I would say it unlikely that it's hurt the output transformer.

Cheers man, you're a star and in the mean time, if you need an amp, come get the Ashton! [quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1352134200' post='1859173'] or just use my v4! when its back from the menders i can drop it off whenever you need it mate. save you some pennies. [/quote]

Some interesting suggestions there gents.. Never thought about making one myself but it does seem very simple. I could screw the resistor(s) to a little block of ali with a jack socket on the front. Simples! As for pulling valves, even simpler! I believe the direct out is entirely pre-amp derived, nothing to do with the output stage / transformer.. Food for thought indeed.

I've been looking at one of these recently.. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RAT-HOTROD-SPEAKER-DUMMY-LOAD-HEADPHONE-VALVE-AMP-AMPLIFIER-LINE-OUT-BOX-TUBE-/350634502945?_trksid=p5197.m1992&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D14%26meid%3D3232749446668399860%26pid%3D100015%26prg%3D1006%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D350634502945%26"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RAT-HOTROD-SPEAKER-DUMMY-LOAD-HEADPHONE-VALVE-AMP-AMPLIFIER-LINE-OUT-BOX-TUBE-/350634502945?_trksid=p5197.m1992&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D14%26meid%3D3232749446668399860%26pid%3D100015%26prg%3D1006%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D350634502945%26[/url] I've got a couple of recording jobs coming in and was thinking about taking the Ashton. It will sound great but it would be even better without the bulk of carrying a speaker round with me. When I had the V4, it was awesome as it had a built in dummy load so you could use the pre-amp with worrying about a speaker connection. One of the really features on that amp as Longtimefred will testify to! The Rat product looks pretty tidy with plenty of features should I wish to use them. The 50w rating is acceptable as I'm not bothered about running the amp up to flat out and all that with the Ashton, I simply want to use the existing XLR out without mauling cabs about. Just to be clear its not really an attenuator I'm after but a dummy load.. Does anyone have any opinions or thoughts?

I've used a couple of the Ultragraphs, both the normal old-school dual 15 band EQs and also the newer 1U digital 2496 Ultragraph. The latter is a very comprehensive with many facilities including multi-band fully parametric EQ, normal dual channel 31 band EQ, dynamic EQ, multi featured compression and limters, meters for in and out and a calibrated SPL facility. As for the lawsuit, I understand there was something similar with Drawmer about the original line of Gates and Compressors..

I've always loved valves, they just do 'that thing' that's really hard to put your fnger on.. I've had SS / Hybrid / Valve rigs for bass and can never seem to get away from valves. I worked with Trace 7 (SM / SMC) band kit for years and found it great but when I moved over to 12 band (SMX), I preferred it with the input blend sound over to the valve side. Fast forward to today and via V-Type (4808 and V4 mk2) I'm running my full valve Ashton rig and can't see my changing it any time soon.. I rather fancy trying one of John Chambers 200w EL34 amps, sounds different and very interesting. John's site is really interesting, loads of great stuff on there including a wealth of info on the classic Linear amplifiers I have. For my general day-to-day listening, I found I also prefer those glass bottles. The Leak amplifier is a lovely bit of kit despite of it's moderate power rating. At work, the use of big SS amps is essential as the thought of 7.2kW worth of valve amps would probably generate as much heat comparable to an industrial oven! I find the Crown amplifiers to be reliable and well suited to the job although the idea of a big valve PA would rock.

Much like the others on here, I've never used one of their bass amps but the rack stuff is cool. Whilst not up there with Drawmer, TC, TL Audio etc, the Behringer stuff offers great performance reletave to cost. The only item I didn't like was their desk, I don't remember which model, Euromix or something... I would say bang for buck is the key phrase to use. I'm sure it will work fine, just don't expect it to be up to Trace/Ampeg etc..

Not really budget but I do love my old Leak Stereo 20.. Maybe you could find one in need of restoration on the cheap?