I found a 1975 Ampeg VT-22 2x12 combo today at a local music store. Has what are supposedly the original 12" speakers with the giant square magnets (don't see a brand listed anywhere on them) Was listed at $550, but the guy gave it to me for $350 because it supposedly has some issues. I played through it for 20 minutes or so and it sounded amazing. The issue, according to the salesperson, was that it wasn't putting out as much volume as it should be under normal circumstances. I've read plenty on this model on various sites and it does seem that at levels above 3, it should be insanely loud. I had it up to about 5 and it was loud, but not deafening.

I'm taking it to a tech this weekend for a once-over anyway, just to ensure no immediate problems arise in the near future. But....what would you say, by what I've said? Could the volume issue simply be due to the power tubes needing to be changed? I'm hoping that is the case. I'm no amp tech by any means, and any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I think Greg Sage played/plays a VT-22. I love the Wipers guitar tone. I say go for it if its not a ton to repair it. 350 isnt very much for a good sounding amp...

It did actually have kind of a Wipers feel to it when it started to overdrive. I played a Stratocaster through it at the store and it was very nice. I know Keith Richards used these amps in the 1970's as well.

It's a great sounding amp. I'm hoping it'll serve as a good bass amp too, for smaller venues. The tubes in it currently are Sovtek 7027's, not Magnavox, so they're not original.


(Not mine in the photo, but you get the idea)

Awesome amp, and a steal for $350.00.

This is pretty much the combo version of a V4.

Along with maybe replacing the power tubes, I'd have him check if the caps have been replaced.

could easily be a problem with one or more of the tubes. preamp tubes are prime candidates, too, as there's a fine chance nobody ever replaced them, especially the less-standard ones like the 12DW7 and extra especially the 6K11. Stupid 6K11! They shoulda used two 12AX7's. I digress.

Great amp. Great price. Probably just needs a new tube or five.

I used one of these from 1980-83. If you can swing it, get some sort of power attenuator to use with it. I had an old Altair attenuator and when these amps are cranked, they have a really nice overdrive. I didn't use any pedals back then at all.

The amp never seemed to suffer until I drunkenly hit the IN/OUT switch to OUT at full volume barre-chord during a performance. I blew it up good. Previous to that though, two years of hard playing with no tube replacement, noise, problems at all. You gots a steal.

That's a good amp at a good price. Those unlabled blackframe speakers with square magnets the amp is loaded with are old style Eminances. They were also used in a lot of Sound City and Orange gear that was imported into the US in the early to mid 70's.

As far as the low volume, is concerned, it could be dead tubes. --You may want to convert it over to 6L6's as the 7027 is essentially a 6L6 with a different pinout. You'll save a bit of cash that way.

Another thing that you may want to do at some point is to have the amp recapped, as you may likely have the original 32+ year old filter caps in the amp --That will run you about another $300 though

D'Piucchstre wrote:

You may want to convert it over to 6L6's

Don't do this. The 7027's are a great sounding tube and will last a looong time in this circuit.

D'Piucchstre wrote:That's a good amp at a good price. Those unlabled blackframe speakers with square magnets the amp is loaded with are old style Eminances. They were also used in a lot of Sound City and Orange gear that was imported into the US in the early to mid 70's.

As far as the low volume, is concerned, it could be dead tubes. --You may want to convert it over to 6L6's as the 7027 is essentially a 6L6 with a different pinout. You'll save a bit of cash that way.

Another thing that you may want to do at some point is to have the amp recapped, as you may likely have the original 32+ year old filter caps in the amp --That will run you about another $300 though

do you mean that the 7027A is like the 6L6-GC?

http://www.vacuumtubes.com/6l6.html



because the 6L6 is not equal to a 7027A. The 6L6-GC is though.



those speakers may be CTS.

Thanks for the advice guys. It's going to the amp tech tomorrow for a full checkup. I played it tonight at our practice space. By the way, this is a master volume model. It was definitely nowhere NEAR as loud as it should be. I had the master up to about 6 and the preamp volume on about 4. I tried each input too, and made sure that the rocker switch for each channel was set to 0db, not -6db or -9db (or was it -3db and -6db? Doesn't matter I guess). Granted, the overdrive I was getting was SWEET....especially with the neck pickup on my Les Paul. It sounded a lot like Josh Homme's tone on QOTSA records. But it sounded more like a 30 watt amp than a 100 watt. The clean headroom I've seen described in reviews of this amp was nonexistent. It also seemed to lack punch. Like, the tone overall was just lacking in the low end with anything but the neck pickup alone, with the bass knob cranked.

Since I got it for such a great price, I have no problem throwing down a couple hundred to get it back in proper running order if that's what it takes. Going to need some casters too, a.s.a.p. It weighs about a hundred fucking pounds, and only has that single handle on the top.