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Ampeg VL Series Discussion Thread


Q182

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hey @Q182 and @blinkstillrules and any other VL-1002 owners...

i'm going back to my vinyl guy to make accurate logo plates with the actual two-tone diagonal split that was revealed to us over the summer on IG as having been on tom's plate:

two-tone.png

is anyone interested in getting one? let me know. i meet to give him the illustrator file next week.

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16 hours ago, daveyjones said:

hey @Q182 and @blinkstillrules and any other VL-1002 owners...

i'm going back to my vinyl guy to make accurate logo plates with the actual two-tone diagonal split that was revealed to us over the summer on IG as having been on tom's plate:

two-tone.png

is anyone interested in getting one? let me know. i meet to give him the illustrator file next week.

Awesome, yes let me know.

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got new tubes ordered for my VL-1002. i can't believe that the ones inside were actually the 1993 originals! they have all these burn marks and crud on them. last month i started getting some volume and tone variance. as if a gremlin sneaks up while i'm playing on 9, moves it down to 8 for half and hour, and then back to 9. so it's probably the tubes.

for those with the same amp, here is the best kit on the market:

https://reverb.com/item/2976274-ampeg-vl-1002-srv-option-jj-retube-tm-kit-with-6550-s

also if you need to replace the three logo plate lamps, this is the bulb model. any well-stocked home improvement store should have them. #1810 Bulb 6.3V AC:

https://www.amazon.com/CEC-Industries-Bulbs-T-3-25-shape/dp/B00JNF9GN0/

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5 hours ago, daveyjones said:

got new tubes ordered for my VL-1002. i can't believe that the ones inside were actually the 1993 originals! they have all these burn marks and crud on them. last month i started getting some volume and tone variance. as if a gremlin sneaks up while i'm playing on 9, moves it down to 8 for half and hour, and then back to 9. so it's probably the tubes.

for those with the same amp, here is the best kit on the market:

https://reverb.com/item/2976274-ampeg-vl-1002-srv-option-jj-retube-tm-kit-with-6550-s

also if you need to replace the three logo plate lamps, this is the bulb model. any well-stocked home improvement store should have them. #1810 Bulb 6.3V AC:

https://www.amazon.com/CEC-Industries-Bulbs-T-3-25-shape/dp/B00JNF9GN0/

I had the original tubes in mine too. When I bought the amp I replaced them with the standard JJ kit off reverb except mine are the EL34s. They sound fantastic. @Q182and I think Tom used EL34s based on the tone but obviously we don't know for sure. I kept the originals though. I replaced those bulbs too though one still doesn't work. I think there's a bad solder for that one.

 

If replacing the tubes doesn't fix that volume issue it's probably a cold solder joint (s) somewhere. I had the same issue and that's what fixed it. My tech ended up resoldering almost the whole amp for $60. 

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6 hours ago, daveyjones said:

[retube kit link]

Did you go with the the 6550 or EL34 kit? My amp also has 34’s which came with it when I bought it and they sound great. Like blinkstillrules says, we think is what Tom had in his but still unconfirmed.

What I like about those retube kits is that they come in several power tube variations if you feel like changing it up from the two standard options. I’ve read in a few spots that KT88’s will work if you can make them physically fit.

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On 1/3/2021 at 7:37 AM, Q182 said:

Did you go with the the 6550 or EL34 kit?

mine came with factory 6550s and i got the JJ kit for those. i prefer them to the EL34s for a broader range of punk and 80s metal. and on channel one they WAIL for a solid angus young AC/DC sound.

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On 1/1/2021 at 5:09 AM, blinkstillrules said:

Awesome, yes let me know.

and @Q182 too... i put in the order for the two tone placards today. they will be "screen accurate" (as they say in the movie prop community) in terms of both design and color. my guy is making four (that's how much laser cut plexi pieces i had left). that leaves three up for grabs. i also bought a box of ten bulbs so i will ship them each with a replacement bulb as a bonus. $45 shipped anywhere in the US.

i'm also having him cut 24 stickers of just the lettering. for your car or whatever. will include some as a bonus.

maybe @Ry-Bread or @boxelder want one? or @mil182 or @luisbootlegs???

i do not plan on ever making more. lost access to the laser cutter for the plex.

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6 minutes ago, daveyjones said:

mine came with factory 6550s and i got the JJ kit for those. i prefer them to the EL34s for a broader range of punk and 80s metal. and on channel one they WAIL for a solid angus young AC/DC sound.

Fantastic! If possible, I'd like to hear some soundfiles of your amp and listen to how it compares to mine with 34's. 

If I've conjectured correctly, I believe the optional tube switch is a callback to when the first JCM800's shipped overseas from England; there was a shortage of EL34's and so they had to put 6550's in the ones that made it to the states.

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@Ry-Bread In 1995, Tom replaced the Ampeg logo plate with this custom 'blink' logo plate on his VL-1002, pre-dating the '-182' addition to the band name. You can see it throughout videos from 1995 until mid-1996. 

In 2017, @daveyjones made a replica first run of these plates. We were under the impression they were a solid blue color (based on what we could see from the sources we had). We found a tweet this summer from someone who claims Tom gave it to him in 1996 and we found out it was actually a two tone job and the 'blink' text portion underlined, so now he's doing a super limited second run with the correct design. 

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10 minutes ago, Ry-Bread said:

@daveyjones I don’t have the amp but may be a cool prop. What’s the story on these/reference pix and dimensions?

over the summer a pic surfaced on instagram i think (or twitter?) from someone who has the original plate. they are trying to get it back to tom. from july 27:

original-logo-plate.jpg

i cannot remember who found the instagram post. maybe @Thibaut182?

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45 minutes ago, daveyjones said:

and @Q182 too... 

Unfortunately Christmas shopping took a huge bite out of my savings and cash is super tight. And honestly, I like my 1002 with the Ampeg logo because it lines up with my favorite era of blink (late 1996). It also corresponds to my favorite version of the sticker strat when TD added the Pennywise and Arnette stickers. 

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Just now, Q182 said:

Unfortunately Christmas shopping took a huge bite out of my savings and cash is super tight. And honestly, I like my 1002 with the Ampeg logo because it lines up with my favorite era of blink (late 1996). It also corresponds to my favorite version of the sticker strat when TD added the Pennywise and Arnette stickers. 

well i'll be hanging on to them until they sell so if you want one down the line you can ping me.

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1 hour ago, Ry-Bread said:

I can get that back to Tom if the person is still trying, or maybe we send him a replica as a gift from the boards. 

i found the original tweet:

and here he is trying to get ahold of tom:

i'm not on twitter but if that seth guy wants to part with that plate i will totally buy it from him.

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