# Ampeg VH140C doesn't sound good



## Dehumanize (Jun 20, 2010)

I've been using an Ampeg VH140C in stereo with a 6505, and while it's done great as a supplementary amplifier, it just doesn't seem to get that thick distortion like the bands that have popularized this amp, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, etc. I've been boosting with either an HM-2 or Bodenhamer Bloody Murder, depending on which sound I'm needing, but it's still missing something. I've played around with settings of course, and still nothing. It still sounds decent, but it just doesn't have the thickness I expected. I'm paying through a Mesa Rectifier cabinet loaded with Mesa Vintage 30s, so the cab shouldn't be the problem since these are great for metal and has done fine with other amplifiers.

Anybody have suggestions on how to improve sound with this amp? I'm determined to get the sound I need from it, whether it's a change in settings, different boosting methods, or anything else.

If you have any details on other equipment for bands that are known for using the Ampeg VH140C, then I'm interested in that information too.


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## Scarpie (Jun 20, 2010)

Wow, i have never heard anyone describe the VH's tone the way you have. Have you tried, playing through it without a boost. Is that tone too thin for you as well? I've know Doug (from suffo) and him and Terrance always used a BBE sonic maximizer with this head. And of all the words to describe how heavy that was, well "thin" is just NOT the word. lol


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## Dehumanize (Jun 20, 2010)

Scarpie said:


> Wow, i have never heard anyone describe the VH's tone the way you have. Have you tried, playing through it without a boost. Is that tone too thin for you as well? I've know Doug (from suffo) and him and Terrance always used a BBE sonic maximizer with this head. And of all the words to describe how heavy that was, well "thin" is just NOT the word. lol


I've tried without boosting too. I'm sure the amplifier is capable of what I'm wanting, but I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.


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## Nightcrawler (Jun 20, 2010)

What pickups are you using?


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jun 20, 2010)

EQ and gain settings?


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## Variant (Jun 20, 2010)

> If you have any details on other equipment for bands that are known for using the Ampeg VH140C, then I'm interested in that information too.



Suffo' used the old Korg G1's (I have one) as a boost back in the day, I believe. Not sure which mode. Its really fairly flat OD, like a TS without any mid-bump character and a bit more compression.


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## Scarpie (Jun 21, 2010)

Variant said:


> Suffo' used the old Korg G1's (I have one) as a boost back in the day, I believe. Not sure which mode. Its really fairly flat OD, like a TS without any mid-bump character and a bit more compression.



Hahaha and that is what was used to record Pierced From Within.


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## jllozano (Jun 21, 2010)

It needs about 40% volume to start sounding thick i believe.....try using higher volume, lower gain


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## Thep (Jun 21, 2010)

jllozano said:


> It needs about 40% volume to start sounding thick i believe.....try using higher volume, lower gain



for a solid state amp? Its usually the opposite, but i've never played on a vh140...


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## jllozano (Jun 22, 2010)

yep...these ampegs react this way....not all solid states do.


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## christpuncher66 (Jun 22, 2010)

dude, if youre playing it next to a tube amp, especially a 5150, itll sound thin no matter what. solid states just cant be compared to tube amps in live situations. youll never get the fullness your looking for with that amp. it's probably best used to record with if youre looking for that high gain death metal sound. this is coming from someone who's owned both and has vouched for solid state amps for years.


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## Dehumanize (Jun 23, 2010)

WarriorOfMetal said:


> EQ and gain settings?


It's something around:

Bass - 6
Mids - 4
High - 8



Variant said:


> Suffo' used the old Korg G1's (I have one) as a boost back in the day, I believe. Not sure which mode. Its really fairly flat OD, like a TS without any mid-bump character and a bit more compression.


I'll see if I can get my hands on a G1 just to see how it sounds, but I couldn't imagine it being any better than the Bloody Murder or HM2 I typically use.



jllozano said:


> It needs about 40% volume to start sounding thick i believe.....try using higher volume, lower gain


Thanks, I'll give it a shot.



christpuncher66 said:


> dude, if youre playing it next to a tube amp, especially a 5150, itll sound thin no matter what. solid states just cant be compared to tube amps in live situations. youll never get the fullness your looking for with that amp. it's probably best used to record with if youre looking for that high gain death metal sound. this is coming from someone who's owned both and has vouched for solid state amps for years.


John Gallagher from Dying Fetus always use a VH140C on stage and has great tone, so that's not right. The Ampeg isn't always ran in stereo either, but it can drown the 6505 without a problem. It just doesn't get the tone from Suffocation's _Pierced From Within_.


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## christpuncher66 (Jun 23, 2010)

Dehumanize said:


> John Gallagher from Dying Fetus always use a VH140C on stage and has great tone, so that's not right. The Ampeg isn't always ran in stereo either, but it can drown the 6505 without a problem. It just doesn't get the tone from Suffocation's _Pierced From Within_.




I'm willing to bet Dying Fetus mic up their amps live. How do you manage to get the vh-140 to drown out the 6505?

Suffocation used boosted Marshalls for Pierced. I think they used the Ampeg for Despise the Sun.



here's a video of Dying Fetus using the ampeg. doesnt actually sound that good if you listen carefully. i think you're confusing the ampeg's tone with that of a mesa dual rec or a nice tube amp pushed by EMG's or Od pedals. the only good tones youll get out of it are old school bands like Assuck, Discordance Axis, and Cannibal Corpse from Tomb of the Mutilated (i know they use the crates, but its pretty close) or even Pig Destroyer's Terrifyer album (crate shockwave, i know). go back and listen to those albums, they sound very mid scooped and trebly, and any thickness comes from production and mastering. sorry to burst your bubble, dude.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVJxCLcU6Wc


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## Scarpie (Jun 23, 2010)

christpuncher66 said:


> Suffocation used boosted Marshalls for Pierced. I think Despise the Sun used the Ampeg, but i might be wrong. can anyone confirm?



Knowing them personally i can attest to this being very accurate. The korgs were used to boost the marshalls on Pierced.


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## Joseph Goodman (Jun 26, 2010)

What did they use on "Effigy of the Forgotten"?


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## CrushingAnvil (Jun 27, 2010)

Joseph Goodman said:


> What did they use on "Effigy of the Forgotten"?



Probably the same, although a lot can happen in four years.


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## Joseph Goodman (Jun 28, 2010)

Where the original Valvestates even around at the time of "Effigy"?


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## Banana Wedgie (Jun 28, 2010)

Joseph Goodman said:


> Where the original Valvestates even around at the time of "Effigy"?



I think it came out around when the 30th anniversaries came out, and if I'm right, definitely not.


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## Dehumanize (Jul 5, 2010)

I'm getting great results from the Ampeg VH140C just by itself with Boss GE-7 Graphic Equalizer in the effects loop and a Boss HM-2 out in front for a boost with distortion at zero. It's really getting close to that Sunlight/Swedish style like Dismember and Carnage. I'm still messing around to see what this amplifier can do though. Please, share settings and other pieces in your Ampeg solid state rigs.


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## Meldville (Jul 5, 2010)

Dehumanize said:


> It's something around:
> 
> Bass - 6
> Mids - 4
> High - 8




Boost your mids. Scooped mids != thick tone. Start by putting everything at 6 and going from there.


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## widdlywhaa (Jul 5, 2010)

The above post is sound advice. The mid knob sits pretty comfortably at around 6 or 7. I find the more you drop the mids (below around 5) on this amp the more hollow and thin it sounds.

My settings are
Treb - 6
Mid - 7
Bass - 7


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## Dehumanize (Jul 6, 2010)

I'll try that tomorrow when I can crank the amp.


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## Tukaar (Jul 6, 2010)

Not quite the same, but my doom metal band actually used the VH140C on our first demo, and I thought it was pretty massive. We didn't do any post eq'ing or anything. What you hear is what came out of the Peavey Windsor cab and went into an SM57. Here's the URL with the demo on it. Gain was at about 6, bass at 7, mids at 8, trebs at 4.
Thorr-Axe (on iTunes) on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads


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## xjasonhowellx81 (Jul 7, 2010)

it might sound crazy, but to my knowledge there are two versions of the vh140c, well three if you want to include the ss-140c. a friend of mine in a band from cali called Lose None plays a VH140c. The year and model he has looks like a JCM 800/900.. its that style of head. I've owned my VH140c for probably 6 years now, and I love it and always have. the style of the head i have looks similar to a Fender roc-pro 1000. Now im not saying that the different styles mean anything when it comes to the tone but when i was on tour and played a show with Andrew of lose none and listened to his VH.. i was blown away at the difference of the tones. we both played in A*, both played through Mesa 4x12's with v30s and both had EMG 81/85 in our guitars. My tone was very thick, raw, and dark while his was still very dark and raw but it was like he had a blanket over his cab.

i dont recall his settings but i run my stuff like this (using the amp settings, not clock format.)
Gain-10
Low-6.5-7
Mids-6.7-7
High-8
Master-5

theres absolutely no reason why you should be having problems with this head. I run it unboosted and into a Mesa like i said and it sounds reaalll good.

like it was stated above, you cant really compare a solid state to a tube and expect it to sound similar and as far as dying fetus and suffo. live set ups and how everything sounds. remember, you they were more than likely mic'd. you dont have to turn the head up so high when being mic'd.


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## Dehumanize (Jul 9, 2010)

The model I own looks like a Marshall. Although I wasn't pleased with the tone at first, I've been tweaking it constantly and it's really grown on me. I haven't touched the 5150 in almost a week. It's doing great for the HM2/Swedish style, but it's still missing just a touch of beef when used with the Bloody Murder, but I'm going to play around with some other boosts soon.


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## cyril v (Jul 9, 2010)

This is the settings I used the other day from what I remember..

Ampeg SS-150
Gain: 5.5
Low: 6
Mid: 7
High: 4.5
Vol: 50%

Cab: Marshall 1960a 4x12
Guitar: ESP LTD SC607 w/blackout neck in the bridge position.

The distortion I got from that was thick as hell... I still need to a/b the Ampeg with the Crate one of these days. 

I like the fucked up angry/raw tone from it just like that, but I'm going to experiment with an OD pedal, compressor and EQ pedals sometime this week to see if there are any noteworthy improvements.


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## Dehumanize (Jul 10, 2010)

I haven't thought about a compressor, but maybe that's something I should look into.

I'm currently running this:

Guitar > Boss HM-2 > ISP Decimator > Amp High Input > FX Out > Boss GE-7 Equalizer > FX In/Power Amp

I'm probably going to add a Boss DD-3 Delay in the loop after the EQ for some lead coloration. I'm pleased with the results in this setup, but it could still be better.


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## tedmich (Apr 30, 2022)

to resurrect a dead thread...

I just read an interview with designer James Brown and he reports his AmpTweaker Tight Metal pedal nails this tone, said he developed it with Mark Kloeppel from Misery Index, and it matches both the preferred EQ curves of the Ampeg and a 5150 as EVH played it (ie backed off gain, volume UP). For Doom Metal tones he made a version called Fat Metal (!)


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## CanserDYI (Apr 30, 2022)

Bruh. The last time this was posted in I was graduating from High School 12 years ago. Mega necrobump lol


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