[Edroz]

try and find an old Ampeg SS150 or VH140C. much classic death metal was forged with them.

[tonyhell]

Well actually, I used to have a VH140C that I bought at a Music Go Round-type shop and I've regretted selling it, especially since they go for so much right now. There's people on Craig's List trying to sell them for like $600.

I actually emailed the guy that I sold it to, to see if I could come over and play it sometime. Come to find out he's selling all his gear and wants to sell it back to me. So, time to start gathering up stuff to sell!

There's also newer amps put out by Crate that supposedly have a VH140C built in, like the GTX3500H and VTX350H, so I'm interested in those as well.

[WarriorOfMetal]

not the GT, just the VTX

[tonyhell]

Originally Posted by WarriorOfMetal

not the GT, just the VTX

I heard it was the GTX also:

Originally Posted by Scott Hull

I only really recently discovered the wonderment of the old Ampeg solid state guitar heads (ss-150, vh-140c) that bands like Suffocation, Assuck, Eyehategod, Dying Fetus, Death, Misery Index, etc etc have built their sound on and have scoured Ebay picking these things up. Sparky from MI told me he had tracked down some folks at St. Louis Music (the parent company for Crate, Ampeg) who told him they put the same circuitry into a new Crate head. Low and behold, I finally tracked down the only man that should be awarded a nobel prize (of metal) for creating an amp, Thom Kieffer, who told me he put the guts of his VH/SS series ampeg amps into the new Crate GTX3500H head (a 350 watt mother fucker).

[Justin Bailey]

Gonna keep my eye on this thread, been interested in solid state amps lately.

[ZOMB13]

You should of given the Uber Metal a try, it has a built in noise gate so it dosen't whine like a metal zone, to ME it sounds pretty awesome, I use it with a BOSS GE7 Eq pedal to adjust my sound even more, it really is a good pedal, DEFINETLY better than the metal zone.

[DeathShred1]

The Ampeg vh-140c is an awesome head for death metal. I own one and couldnt be much happier with it. I run a sonic maximizer in the effects loop and a noise gate pedal and it fucking slays. I have played all kinds of amps and pre amps and pedals in front of amps and for my taste in death metal distortion it just rules. I wouldnt mind getting a badass tube amp though for death metal just to have something else to play around with. And the Ampeg is really loud as well. I only have my heads volume set at 3 1/2 or 4 at practice and its loud as shit. Our drummer runs triggers through a monster P.A we got and our bass player plays a Ampeg bass head the same ones Alex Webster uses ( Cannibal Corpse) and it keeps up with everything at that volume. Amazing!
Too bad Ampeg doesnt make the VH-140c anymore. I have heard rumours over the last couple of years of Ampeg remaking the head again but that might just be a rumour!

[Edroz]

there's no doubt the VH140C is a classic amp for death metal, but i've always prefered the SS150 over it. it does everything the VH140C does, but does it better IMO

[tonyhell]

I haven't written it off completely. I may pick one up one of these days if I see a cheap one on Craig's List. And I don't need a noise gate because I've got an NS-2 and I've got a Decimator G-string pedal coming... as far as I know, I'm the first person to order one.

[DeathShred1]

You know a friend of mine has alot of Ampeg heads. He has like 4 of them from the SS and VH series. I never knew Ampeg made a VH 130c head.
I thought that was weird. It says VH-130 on one of his heads. I will have to ask him about it. I think he told me one time before its the same as the VH-140c but without chorus!