Marshall VBA 400 just delivered

[thumperbob 2002]

Hi I have just had a Marshall VBA 400 head delivered to go with my 412 Marshall cab.

I am so happy with this rig. I have been using Trace gear for the last 20 years and was becoming a little unhappy about my tone. I use a Warwick Thumb 5 Thru neck and though the Trace was a little cold sounding.

Just plugging into the Marshall has me smiling from ear to ear. EQ totally flat sounded stupendous- with a little tweaking- mids boosted slightly- this is the best sound I have ever had.
So warm and pleasant but powerful and growly at the same time. Suits my style- mostly fingerstyle funk- the Warwick is not the best slapping sound anyway but its fine for that too. A Jazz would sound great.

You know the sound you would like to have in your head? Well Ive now got it.

I cannot wait to try this in a band setting.

Will send pics of my gear soon.

[Chopthebass]

Have they stopped making those now? They've always looked good value.
You must have big biceps (or you soon will have!)

[Finbar]

Good man This is the setup I use, and if I were to describe it one word, it would be 'brutal' I think. The thing is LOUD. But also heavy to make up for it o_O Congratulations ^_^

[peted]

When I first saw this amp I couldn't believe how good it looked and it does sound great (got to use one at a gig a while back). The price is quite cheap too. Marshall still have the specs on their site:

[url="http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=VBA400"]http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=VBA400[/url]

Only thing that put me off is that the power section is packing EIGHT!!! 6550 valves which I believe will cost about half of the retail price to replace. Ouch.

[ped]

Not necessarily - I got my Mesa 400+ valves from Watford Valves who did me a superb deal on a set of 12 matched tubes for my amp for about £150. Not too shabby considering they will last years and years.

[paul, the]

Congratulations!

I really mean that. I love to hear about tone success.. especially when valves and 412s are concerned.

I'm already practicing yoga for a strong back for when I can afford a man's rig.

[Veils]

I have to say the VBA400 is the most beastly amp I have ever used live. Awesome amps. Good choice!!!

[gypsymoth]

eight 6550's - it can't not sound brutally good.

[Raggy]

Bumpity Bump for an update/review and pics????

[Madad1]

Just picked up a used VBA400 and VBC412. Both in great condition but when I played with it at a gig the sound was awful. Very hollow and distorted. With the gain on 25% there's hardly any volume. Turn it up to 75% and it's worse. Hit the deep button and it sounds worse still, all mushed up with no clarity. So disappointed. Must be something wrong as these amps are supposed to be among the best. I just want a deep warm sound with the occasional crunch. Any ideas fellow owners? Thanks Mark

[3below]

[quote name='Madad1' timestamp='1411944011' post='2564263']
Just picked up a used VBA400 and VBC412. Both in great condition but when I played with it at a gig the sound was awful. Very hollow and distorted. With the gain on 25% there's hardly any volume. Turn it up to 75% and it's worse. Hit the deep button and it sounds worse still, all mushed up with no clarity. So disappointed. Must be something wrong as these amps are supposed to be among the best. I just want a deep warm sound with the occasional crunch. Any ideas fellow owners? Thanks Mark
[/quote]

Probably a duff pre-amp valve. I had a VBA for a while, immense volume and great tone. The weight was the final straw hoewver.

[Madad1]

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1411996607' post='2564640']


Probably a duff pre-amp valve. I had a VBA for a while, immense volume and great tone. The weight was the final straw hoewver.
[/quote]

Thanks Guys. Can you recall what yours was like with the gain control? Was it still loud set at only a 1/4 gain? Having not heard one working properly I have no idea what it's meant to be like. Thanks

[omikin]

I used to use a VBA400 through a Matamp 2x12 and I wanted a nice gentle valve breakup so had the gain on about 8 but that meant the master had to be about 2.5 to avoid structural damage...

[omikin]

Lovely head and I would have one again like a shot if I had someone to carry it for me...

[Madad1]

Bit of an old topic this but tried my VBA with another cab and it sounds fantastic so the problem lies with the cab. I took it all apart tonight and all the wiring and speakers look perfect. Any ideas anyone?
Thanks

[VTypeV4]

Have a closer look at your drivers, make sure their voice coils are good with a multimeter. A typical 8 ohm speaker will read about 6, a 16 ohm unit will read about 12 ohms whereas a 4 will read just less than 4. I have a perfect looking JBL 2226 but it's coil is fried open circuit. Check them mechanically too, rubbing coils usually manifest themselves as 'fuzz pedal' type sounds.
Double check your connector panel too, if you have a ropey socket or connector then it won't matter how much power that big VBA makes if the juice can't get to the drivers..

Hope that helps.

[Dad3353]

You could also check the phase of each speaker..? They should all be wired the same way (by convention, red=positive...). If they look good, you could check the real cone movement, by connecting a 9v PP3 battery directly to the terminals; all the cones should move in the same direction. If there are out-of-phase cones, this could explain the lack of volume, especially in the bass register..?
Just sayin'; hope this helps.

[3below]

If the previous advice does not reveal anything try each speaker on its own - careful with that volume knob and probably better to use a transistor amp rather than the VBA for that test (kinder to the output stage if anything untoward happens).

[chevy-stu]

Just a revisit, but I have a VBA head and had a 412 cab, but all the speakers slowly blew one after the other over year or 2. On inspection the magnets and coils are quite small and I just don't think they were enough for the monstrous output of the amp..
I replaced the drivers with some better bigger coil Eminence drivers about 6 years ago and the cab lived on for a while. I was sold a while back so no idea where it is now...
Still got the head tho

[mrtcat]

[quote name='chevy-stu' timestamp='1436021200' post='2814403']
Just a revisit, but I have a VBA head and had a 412 cab, but all the speakers slowly blew one after the other over year or 2. On inspection the magnets and coils are quite small and I just don't think they were enough for the monstrous output of the amp..
I replaced the drivers with some better bigger coil Eminence drivers about 6 years ago and the cab lived on for a while. I was sold a while back so no idea where it is now...
Still got the head tho
[/quote]

was it a Marshall 4x12? That would explain speaker drivers failing over time. Marshall use the cheapest crappiest versions of Vintage 30s in their guitar cabs (so poor compared to proper vintage 30s) and I'd expect the same theme in their bass cabs.

[chevy-stu]

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1436176743' post='2815529']
was it a Marshall 4x12? That would explain speaker drivers failing over time. Marshall use the cheapest crappiest versions of Vintage 30s in their guitar cabs (so poor compared to proper vintage 30s) and I'd expect the same theme in their bass cabs.
[/quote]

yep, the matching VBA cab. The speaker specs were a bit optimistic to be expected to handle the power... The ones I put in were almost double weight.
I had speakers fail on my old DBS cabs too, had the 410 and 215, and all went over time... i gig a lot, so this was over a period of 100's or 1000's of loud shows.. I did have trade deal, so replacements were 'relatively' cheap.