The review of the new ampeg

Well, I got to tearin' myself up about The Ace's amp problems, and I laid out the situation at the other forum I frequent. The members there are almost all gigging professional players with many years of experience. If there's something I'm not sure of, I can get the benefit of advice from some of the best minds out there.

The consensus is that a healthy VT-22 is a wonderful amp that does not misbehave the way The Ace has described his. He should take it to a good tech to get it fixed [u]before[/u] he spends any money on tubes. There may be nothing wrong with the tubes that are in it. The problems could be caused by something else entirely. This amp has had several owners over the last 30 years, and until someone competent 'looks under the hood', there's no way of knowing what kind of mods or bad repairs have been inflicted on it.

Check out my thread at >The Plexi Palace< forum Miscellaneous American Amplifiers section. This BBS is hosted by the Mojave Ampworks. They produce some wonderful boutique-quality amplifiers. And the PP board is a gold mine of knowledge for those who ask respectfully. If you visit, I strongly advise that you be on your best behaviour.

That's a great help. Thank you!

You are very welcome, Ace. I hold that...

"He who gives you just his own opinion serves only himself.

He who faithfully delivers the distillation of many opinions serves you well"

:cool:

Well, I've finally made up my mind. I believe I am going to sell her... Wait! Hear me out.

The Ampeg, although I haven't gotten it repaired yet (I don't want to take it to guitar center with their ridiculously expensive repairman, and the other guy I know hasn't gotten back to me), is simply too large for me. Even if it had the most georgous tone in the world (which it might, if I ever do fix it), it would not be worth it to me, because it's just not feasible to bring it around with me. As a junior in high school, I'm not going to be landing any arena-sized gigs... I don't need that much power, and I cannot bear that much weight all the time. Perhaps if I had gotten the smaller combo this would be different.

As of right now, I've been getting by just fine using my school's solid state Fender Ultra chorus. It has all the power I need (with a large jazz ensemble, I still don't turn it past 2 or 3) and it is easily carried by one person. The distortion is pretty terrible, but there are ways around this. I've been going around to a lot of jazz clubs lately also, and the guitar players have been using small amps there (like less than 50 watts) and they have been fine.

So, although I would love to just have a massive Ampeg capable of destroying houses, it is not worth it to have cost me $500 (plus 100 shipping), when I won't be able to use it anywhere...

Sorry Ampeg... I gave you a shot, maybe when I'm rich and famous and have roadies and stuff I'll come back to you.

But the real question is - how to go about selling it? I've never sold something on ebay before...

If you're honest about its current condition, you're not likely to get much for it. If you're not honest, well, you're being dishonest , right?

As one of the guys on that other forum said, yeah, its heavy - thats what wheels are for. Originally these beasts were sold with dolly carts. As for not needing that much power, I agree. I don't use mine if I want anything but that rich clean sound, because there aren't any places where I can crank it without hurting anyone. Unless I use pedals or a preamp. I haven't exactly been secretive about that.

Try posting in that thread I linked you to, asking for direction to a good tech in your area. Get that monster fixed, experience the ultimate power (go ahead, play The Star Spangled Banner again), and then sell for a good dollar, knowing you'll have stories for your grandchildren.

Will do. Thanks for all the help.