Ampeg VH/SS 140C (and jazz chorus alternatives)

tegendemuur

tegendemuur

Well-known member
Looking to buy my first (combo) amp. A solid state with a wide range... From percussive honky-tonk country, to scratchy overdriven blues, to dark, dank stoner / sludge and drone. It should take bass somewhat well (for highly colored synth use, that is). Lots of pedals to get me into the genre territories, but I am a bit lost in what sort of core sound (the amp and cab) I need. A bit of vintage crumminess is appreciated as well. Should not bleed my bank. So, let's say, 750,-?

My searches made me hit the one in the title but there's got to be similar stereo/chorus combos that I could look at?

However, these Ampegs seem to be going for a reasonable price still. And this one has the true stereo design going for it; with its two power amp ins and outs. Mono and stereo effect loop. But, hard to say how deep the lows go. Haven't seen one for sale in Europe though, which might turn out to be a hassle, considering shimpent and powering them. Anyway, further searched lead me to the Fender Princeton Chorus, but the drive channel isn't cutting it. And there's Crate's knockoffs of the 140C. A Randall. A Peavey, ....

All these damn "local pickup". Got no brother in Bella Vista, Arkansas and such...
 
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Nostradoomus said:
That’s a lot to ask for one amp, so that’s why you should get 4 Peavey’s instead.
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Yeah, it's the closest thing to a dissociative identity disorder amp I could find, within the stereo chorus segment, that is.😅 It's not perfect, but pedals should be able to pull a lot of weight. What will some Peaveys bring to the table?

One reviewer had this to say about it: "I play mostly death metal, thrash, black metal, and it suits these styles very, very well. I also like to through out some pychedelic rock, neo-classical, and the occasional blues lick, and it works great for these too (but maybe not as well as some other amps)."
 
Was more of a jab at the price of one VS Peaveys haha. I have owned a VH140C, and if you can snag one for a good price go for it! It does take pedals nicely. The crate gx130c is pretty similar and much cheaper…for now 😂
 
Nostradoomus said:
Was more of a jab at the price of one VS Peaveys haha. I have owned a VH140C, and if you can snag one for a good price go for it! It does take pedals nicely. The crate gx130c is pretty similar and much cheaper…for now 😂
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The value of units that sell (unlike listing prices) seems to be around 500,- so it's doable. And that's what I'm hoping to pay. I mean, the transatlantic shipment is going to be another 250,-. Fingers crossed one will pop up for local pickup in places where I know people... Which is only Denver, actually.
 
@Nostradoomus That Ampeg would set me back over 1200,- and that would actually need a lot of goodwill from people do curb the shipping even this much (taking apart, turning it into two shipments), so maybe inot the best way to start my combo quest. I might as well get a mint head at some point for less imported. Let alone the voltage converting that's needed. Anyway, so I continued looking around and I found this one for 350-400 (might be the same seller on two marketplaces) about a 120km away... These sold for 1400 back in the 90s

2x25W / 2x10 with one para eq per channel (2 if I could find the 2x50W 2x12 V6000 version - thought that one might be overkill. 2x10 might also be better for the low volume low end stuff I want to push through it. Or so I read).

Yamaha, uncool!

But has dual mono in/out with a, b, a+b, which is cool. Could maybe do that two channel series thing ala beta lead, but via a polite Japanese box. The one thing I love about the Ampeg up there is the fact you can hook up something straight into the power amp. This one doesnt have that option. Could you simpy wire a switched jack in there and make it happen? I have these valve pre-amps that love to be put right up there in the chain as well. Otherwise, could the effects-loop being on full wet allow for the same thing... Though I'll miss out on that thing and need to build one of these for myself as well.

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Screenshot 2024-09-24 at 06-54-40 ≥ Yamaha VR4000 gitaarversterker — Versterkers Bas en Gitaar...png

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Didn’t realize how many jazz chorus like amps there were then. The Princeton Chorus I have is pretty underwhelming but was very inexpensive.
 
passtheducky said:
Didn’t realize how many jazz chorus like amps there were then. The Princeton Chorus I have is pretty underwhelming but was very inexpensive.
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Indeed. Plenty of brands had their take on it over time. Marshall Valvestate 8280 Bi-Chorus, Peavey Stereo Chorus 212, Gallien-Krueger 250ML, ... Roland outlasted them all.
 
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