Win a $2k PRS Guitar - Enter Now!

Ampeg V-4B 100-watt Tube Bass Head

100W Tube Bass Amplifier Head, with 3-band Tone Control, Lo/Hi Boost Switches, Balanced Line Out, and 2-/4-/8-ohm Speaker Outputs
19 Write review Item ID: V4B
$1,599.99

Earn $80 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $67/month with 24 month financing*

Free
Shipping
Tech Support

Free Sweetwater
Support

Free 2-year
Warranty
In Stock!

Add to Cart
Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

(800) 222-4700
What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Ampeg V-4B 100-watt Tube Bass Head
In Stock!
$1,599.99
Add to Cart
Add to list
Back to navigation

Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

Ampeg Knows What Bass Players Need

From studio to stage, the Ampeg V-4B tube bass amplifier head has your bass tone covered. You're ready to groove at any gig with 100-watts of power and flexible tone-shaping capabilities. And you'll be able to get huge-sounding bass tones direct to the PA or your recording system thanks to an integrated DI output. The V-4B is the same width as other SVT heads, which means it's a perfect fit for any Classic Series Ampeg speaker cabinet. It's almost effortless to craft hard-hitting bass tone with the Ampeg V-4B tube bass amplifier.

Related Videos: V-4B 100-watt Tube Bass Head

Ampeg V-4B 100W Tube Bass Amplifier Head at a Glance:
  • Powerful tone-shaping onboard
  • Flexible speaker output options
  • Built-in DI output for maximum convenience
Powerful tone-shaping onboard

The Ampeg V-4B sports a 3-band EQ for standard tone shaping, plus ultra-high and ultra-low boost controls for added power and note definition. You've got the control you need to fine-tune your bass guitar's tone for virtually any genre.

Flexible speaker output options

You can create virtually any type of bass rig you like with the V-4B thanks to 2-, 4-, and 8-ohm speaker outputs. The V-4B bass amp is ready to work with whatever speaker cabinets you already use, but it also has the expandability to add on to your rig in the future.

Built-in DI output for maximum convenience

It's hard to beat the simplicity of recording your bass guitar direct, and it's also the best way to supplement your tone on stage (by running direct into the PA). Thankfully, the Ampeg V-4B bass amp has a built-in direct output with ground lift switch, so you don't have to use a separate DI box.

Ampeg V-4B 100W Tube Bass Amplifier Head Features:
  • All-tube bass amplifier head with classic Ampeg style
  • 2-/4-/8-ohm speaker outputs accommodate virtually any speaker configuration
  • Balanced DI output with ground lift makes it easy to record direct or send to PA system
  • 3-band EQ with switchable mid frequency for powerful tone shaping
  • Ultra-low and ultra-high controls add low-end emphasis and high-end definition
Big, bold bass tone is yours with the Ampeg V-4B!

Additional Media

Bass Guitar Amp Buying Guide
V-4B 100-Watt Tube Bass Head User Manual

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
2 Year Total Confidence Coverage
$159.00
FREE!

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • Type: Tube
  • Number of Channels: 1
  • Total Power: 100W
  • EQ: 3-band, Lo/Hi Boost Switches
  • Preamp Tubes: 2 x 12AX7
  • Power Tubes: 4 x 6L6GC
  • Inputs: 2 x 1/4"
  • Outputs: 5 x 1/4" (speakers), 1 x XLR, 1 x 1/4" (slave)
  • Effects Loop: Yes
  • Power Source: Standard IEC AC cable
  • Height: 11"
  • Width: 24"
  • Depth: 11"
  • Weight: 41 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 99-026-0805

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

(800) 222-4700
Contact Your Sales Engineer
Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5

Customer Added Media

This product doesn't have any review media yet!

Write your review

Love This Amp

I have been playing bass through a Bassman 50, of a friend for the last year or so, which had modifications to make it put out around 100w. I love the warmth of the tube sound. I've been using an Ampeg 410HE cabinet along with this Bassman amp. I saw the V-4B and thought this is what I need. I purchased one and received it in less than a week. I used it at a gig last Saturday night along with my 410HE and man was I pleased. I play a MusicMan Stingray 5 and man, this was the sound I've been wanting for. I've been playing bass for 59 years and have used all kinds of amp and speaker configurations, but I think I struck gold with this one.
by Carroll Wade from North Carolina on

Great amp, great price!

It took me a while to find this amp, and I did a lot of research on different amps to finally decide to buy this one and I'm really glad I did. I always wanted an SVT but they are huge, heavy and expensive and I do not need that. This is the amp for me. Clean crisp highs great mids super lows and takes fuzz pedals like a dream. Its really versatile, I can eq it to sound great with a guitar turn the bass down turn the ultra high on add a reverb pedal and a little bit of overdrive and it works great for for both, thank you Sweetwater and Isaac Melson for sending the amp quickly and without any hang ups or damage.
by Bryan from Jacksonville, NC. on
Music background: Hobbyist

Spoiled right out of the gate

First, big shout out to my sales engineer, Toni Bush-Nord, who helped me find this head as well as matching it with a Gallien Krueger NEO IV cab. I'm a guitar player who played bass in a college band because the band already had three guitars and needed a bass. I blew up a PV guitar amp by playing a pawn shop bass through it. I got another bass amp about fifteen years ago along with a Squire J Bass and it was cheap. But, the Squire J Bass was great. I added a Babicz bridge and got a little Ampeg practice amp. After a few months, I realized that I need something bigger and recalled that you need wattage to cut through the mix if you're playing with a drummer and guitar.

I don't really have anything or other experiences to compare this amp. But I can't imagine anything sounding better. I've had it for over a year and I like the sound more and more. Having a good cab helps and the speaker is broken in. I also started using a JHS Colour Box V2 to drive the amp. The dynamics are incredible. It growls when I dig into it and purrs when I back off. I can get a round, blooming, natural sound without any effort. I've got a tone that's been "in my head" and I can't imagine any other sound coming form by bass.

I'm sure you can tweak the amp with the EQ and the other buttons and knobs, but I've set it and never need to mess with it. It's okay for a bass player to just have one sound, right?
by Robert Stuart from Florida on
Music background: hack

Sounds Amazing! Loud Enough!

This bass head sounds incredible. It is extremely quiet (in terms of noise) and it is well-voiced. I purchased this head over a year ago and have since used it to record (with excellent results) and for rehearsals for shows with a loud punk rock band. We have not played shows since before the pandemic (and before I got the V-4B), but I have played shows for over 20 years, and based on our rehearsals I know without any doubt that the V-4B has enough power for anything short of an outdoor stadium. One big reason that I bought this head aside from it being a more portable tube bass head was to be able to crank the amp into overdrive at reasonable volumes to get a naturally overdriven tone for my Ric 4003. Incidentally, I have been able to fully crank the amp neither at rehearsals (which are generally loud with two other guitars, vox, and a drummer) nor at home because the thing is just so dang loud even plugged into the -15dB pad.

I will have to wait until a soundcheck at a show with a very large stage to dare push this thing all of the way, so I kind of haven't been able to use it for it's intended purpose as a naturally overdriven bass amp. However, its "regular" tone is just absolutely fantastic and sort of negated my desire for the overdriven tone. Furthermore, I am only playing the head through the matching SVT 112, which is an amazing cab and way, way louder the 112s that have traditionally been on the market over the years.

My previous rig was/is an early-90s Fender Bassman 300 Pro (the design of the SUNN 300T) and matching, ported 8x10 cab--a true beast in every way. I still have the large rig but wanted something more portable that I can overdrive with great tone and use for rehearsals/recordings/most shows. I don't know (yet) whether the Ampeg V-4B and 112 SVT AV rig is capable of being as loud as the old rig, and it doesn't really matter. The fact that it is so loud that I can't overdrive the amp without an attenuator is ironically a good problem to have. Aside from the greatness of having a very portable rig that also happens to be capable of being way louder than one might expect from 100 watts (even 100 tube watts) into a 112 cab, it has the best tone of anything through which I have played--and I have played through many rigs in my years of playing including traditional SVT Classic/810 rigs, an Ampeg SVT 3 Pro/810 I played for years, Eden, GK, the Fender rig I mentioned above, Hartke, Mesa Boogie, Bag End, Orange many others. Each of those amps have great and unique tonal characteristics, but the tone of this V-4B reissue is just outstanding in its clean form (remember , I haven't been able to crank it into overdrive yet). There were three bass amps in my life that made an immediate and lasting impression on me the first time I played them: an Eden Traveller, a Mesa Boogie 400+, and this Ampeg V-4B. I have not had the opportunity to play an original V-4B, so I can't say how this reissue compares to the original (I've read it sounds different), but it unmistakably has the signature Ampeg tone that is common to their bass amps and it is just as warm and harmonically rich as the full-sized SVT heads. I would also say it is just as punchy as I remember my old Ampeg SVT 3 Pro and GK heads being as well.

Something that may be useful to some musicians with this rig is that it sounds amazing for synthesizers. I have run my synth rig (two Moogs and an Elektron Digitone) through the V-4B/112 SVT rig and it sounds unbelievably great. The rig even made my Casio CT-670 sound amazing. Ampeg also used to market its SVT and various bass amps to keyboardists, BTW.

A few other quick things about the V-4B that may be useful. Since is still too loud to crank in most settings without an attenuator, I use my ProCo RAT pedal to get bass overdrive, which sounds awesome and retains low-end. This amp also works well with chorus, phaser, and delay pedals on bass through the amps's effects loop as well as running the pedals into the front of the amp. Finally, I recorded some bass tracks (Ric 4003) from the XLR Balanced Out of the V-4B, through a Soyuz Launcher, and into a Black Lion Audio interface. This was by far the best bass tone I have ever recorded. The Launcher did add a small amount of noise to the signal (which you can hear if the bass is resting), but it is likely inaudible to most listeners and is easily manageable by DAWs and/or a gate. However, the combination of the preamp out of the V-4B through the Launcher is just absolutely fantastic to my ear. I highly recommend this head and the SVT 112 AV cab for an extremely portable yet loud rig with amazing tone.

As always, the Sweetwater staff provided excellent service, advice, and follow-up when I bought this amp and the SVT 112 AV cab (as well as with all of my other Sweetwater purchases).
by Kelly from Houston, TX on
Music background: Semi-pro recording/performing musician for over 20 years.

My favorite bass amp

First, as a bass player I have only owned a Dark Glass 900 and a Genzler Magellan… I do love those amps as well, but for my needs and style of music I currently play (dirty blues-soul rock) I absolutely love this amp… I will miss the convince of the smaller amps; but now I have the tone I hear in my head. Plus it takes pedals very well.
by Matt from Texas on
See also: Bass Amp Heads, Ampeg, Ampeg Bass Guitar Amp Heads
Close Close $2,000 Pick Your PRS Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Enter Now

Success!

Your email, test has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!