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Messages - mad hatter

#1
AMPEG SS series of amps was introduced at the 1987 NAMM, the first NAMM after St. Louis Music bought Ampeg.  These amps weren't some sideshow or designed to be beginner budget amps.  The SS series of guitar and bass amps were the showcase of their display (in addition to the SVT) and were how St. Louis Music wanted to reintroduce Ampeg to the music market.

I have a 1989 Ampeg catalog and in it they describe the SS series of guitar amps as:
"The Ampeg SS Series amplifiers are to the lead guitarist what the SVT is to the player - Awesome"

That's how strongly the felt about the SS guitar amps.  These things weren't some bullshit joke "beginner" amps like some solid state amps are.  They were designed to be the "SVT" of guitar amps.
I think that the Ss series of guitar amps definitely lives up to that expectation

Ampeg SS-series 1987-1991.
Ampeg VH series 1991-1998.
#2
I just thought of this.  I don't have alot of technical knowledge, so please forgive my ignorance.  It seem to me that the heatsink transfers heat from a surplus of heat to an area of lower heat.  So does this mean if you were playing in a room that was 300 degrees F, the heatsink would have the opposite effect and take the heat from the air and then heat up the defecit of heat (the componets inside) until the amp reached equilibrium with the room?
#3
just for the hell of it.  I was curious how much of an effect it would have and if it would add any noise.  Since it didn't add any noise & isn't hurting anything, I decided to keep it.

Plus, I figured it would come in handy if I ever played at a show at the local all-ages venue.  Their AC is pathetic and it's so hot and humid that the water condenses on the floor.  I figured a fan would come in handy there.  My amp is really important to me; it's not just an "amp".  I want it to last as long as I last.
#4
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Solid State and Surf?
April 29, 2008, 03:14:39 AM
Ampeg SS-150/Ampeg SS-140

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/product/Ampeg/SS-150/10/1

look at the bottommost review (or control+f and look for surf)
#5
I use an Ampeg SS-150 guitar head.  It has a pretty big heatsink on the back and a thermal overload cut off sensor on the inside part of the heatsink by the poweramp transistors.

I put a liquid crystal thermometer on the back and the hottest the heatsink's gotten is around 100-110 degrees F - about 30-40 degrees higher than the ambient temp.  I decided to buy a DC brushless fan from radioshack.  I attached it to a plastic clamp (plastic - so it doesn't mess up the tolex), clamped it on the amp, and aimed it at the heatsink/transformer.

It keeps my amp much cooler, only about 10-15 degrees higher than the ambient temp.

The fan does not add any hum or noise whatsoever to my signal.  You can hear the airflow slighlty if you are not playing anything, but you can't hear it whan you play and a SM57 doesn't pick it up when I mic my cab.
#6
Amplifier Discussion / Re: My new amp(s)
April 29, 2008, 03:01:09 AM
that's a bummer.  I hope the new one works out for you.

I was at a park one day and heard this really heavy guitar sound coming from one of the homes whose backyard fence was also the park boundary fence.  I hopped it and knocked on the shed and talked wit hthe dudes.  The guitarist ahd a B-52 head and either a Digitech multi-effects pedal or a DOD death metal pedal, but it was one of the best loudest fucking sounds I'd heard. 

He ran the amp on clean, so it wasn't the amp's dist. but still, it had amazing headroom and the pedal's distortion sounded really good at a pretty high volume.  My amp sounds killer, but the tone changes a little bit once you crank it.  I don't really like the way it changes, maybe it's the size of my room.  It gets sorta ear-splitting.

So...you decided not to repair it?
#7
Amplifier Discussion / Madison SS amp!!!
April 17, 2008, 12:50:55 AM
http://madisonamps.com/products/guitar/index.htm
http://madisonamps.com/products2008/prophecysheet.htm

I wonder if it will give my ampeg a run for its money.  Their tube amps are one of the few brands I like the sound of.  (that and 5150s).

Any thoughts or hopes?

I am going to try one out as soon as they come out with it.

I am almost drooling at the prospect of running it AND my ampeg @ the same time!!
#8
which model ampeg did misery index and death use?
#9
AMPEG SS-150H (the official name for the head)
   Soilent Green (all albums)
   Eyehategod (all albums but In the Name of Suffering)
   SkinKrawL (all albums)
   Assuck (all albums)
   Depraved (all albums)
   Discordance Axis (need confirmation)

AMPEG SS-140CH
   Spickle (all albums)

AMPEG VH-150H
   Inhumate (SS of VH, I could tell by listening, but need confirmation) (up to 2006)

AMPEG VH-140CH
   Dying Fetus


CRATE GX 130 C
   Cannibal Corpse[Jack Owen] (Vile and Bleeding)

CRATE GT3500H
   Pig Destroyer (not sure which albums)


GALLIEN KRUEGER 250ML
   Iron Maiden – Caught Somewhere in Time

GALLIEN KRUEGER 2000CPL preamplifier
   Iron Maiden – 7th Son of the 7th Son


RANDALL RG100ES
   Goatwhore (not anymore - Sammy uses a Madison or Framus now)
   Crowbar (I always thought Kirk used a Randall, not a crate???)
   Dying Fetus
   Pantera (up to Reinventing the Steel)

RANDALL WARHEAD
   Pantera (Reinventing the Steel)


ROLAND JC-120 Jazz Chorus
   Metallica – Master of Puppets (clean parts)


#10
Hey fellow SS users.

This is how I thought about doing this thread:
I'll start off a preliminary list of the make and model and the users I know of and (and which albums, if the guitarist changed amps).  As you post, I'll take your additions or corrections and go back and edit my post to keep it up to date.

I am leaning more toward heavy music - grind, death metal, doom, black metal, hardcore punk, screamo (the real kind), etc...

I was planning on making a webpage as a SS metal amp resource center (photos, schematics, artists, the works), so this will be a great first step.  It am busy with life so the page isn't going to be a top priority, but slowly it will happen.

Photos of the guitarist and the amp would be a huge plus, too.  I have a few.  So would one or 2 mp3s of each artist.  I plan on puttign these on my site, so people can hear what it sounds like.  Some of the albums are hard to find.
#11
I have a SS-150 and love it.  Nothing comes close.  I don't know if this is kosher on a SS amp forum, but I know a lot of screamo bands (the good ones like Love Lost but Not Forgotten) use Peavey 5150s and sometimes a distortion pedal in conjunction.

It's "Soilent Green" :) Discordance Axis and Inhume used the ampegs, too.

Metalhead, I am greatly impressed with your knowledge of Ampeg users.  Most people don't have a clue about these amps, let alone know who uses them.
#12
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Boutique Solid State Amp?
April 11, 2008, 12:10:28 AM
http://www.redstoneaudio.com/products.html#AcousticImage

Acoustic Image amps are a fav. among jazz musicians and people wanting a pristine clean sound.