FS: Ampeg VL-1002 - $150

colonel kurtz

Member
Sep 7, 2006
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ok, before i get into the specifics of the amp, let me explain the situation i'm in with this beast...to make a long story short, i replaced the original power tubes with a matched quad of JJ hi-gain EL34's. after about 2 minutes of playing, the amp died on me - turns out the power transformer toasted. i took the amp to a local tech, who swapped out the transformer, but then told me that the amp was still drawing too much current, and can't figure out what the deal is...although i think he hasn't really tried.

this last december i moved cross-country, and had to leave the amp with the tech in CA. as a result, the buyer will be paying me $150 for the amp, then paying the tech for the parts/labor/shipping. the parts/labor, last time i talked to him, is close to $200, and the shipping is probably about $50-60.

this comes to a total of around $400 for a killer 120W, 2-channel tube head with essentially brand new power tubes(which were $100 themselves). i would pony up the cash to get it back myself, but i'm down-sizing my rig to a 5150 combo since i do more recording than gigging nowadays.

i know that's a lot of storyline for a basic amplifier sale, but i'm trying to be honest and straightforward with whoever might be interested in picking this thing up. as of right now i haven't checked with the tech to make sure he's cool with all this, but i don't see why he wouldn't be, as he stated previously that he'd be willing to ship to to me.

if anyone shows interest, i'll call and get the exact parts/labor charge and shipping fee, and furnish it to any prospective buyer before payment is made. i'll also provide you with the tech's name, address, and phone number, so you can contact him yourself to verify the validity of what's been stated here.

like i mentioned above, the amp works, but is drawing too much current, and as such still needs some servicing. 1 of the interior lights that backlights the logo also needs repair, and 1 of the knobs is missing. beyond that it's in pretty good condition, with no rips or tears in the tolex. 2 of the 5 preamp tubes are also brand new, and the other 3 have less than 10 hours of playing time.

for the specs, it's 2-channels, with the following controls:
channel I:
preamp
lo/mid/hi EQ
reverb
master

channel II:
preamp
gain
lo/mid/hi EQ
5-position midrange switch
reverb
master

there's also a built-in power attenuator, along with a lock on the front that keeps the amp from going into standby. i have the key in my possession, and will ship it immediately to the buyer upon payment.

also, here's a pic of the same model amp...i have 1 pic of mine, but it's not very detailed...i can post if someone would like, but there's not much of a point

Maryland%5Cb131007050425CT2956.jpg
 
If I had the cash I would buy this right now.
This is without doubt my favorite amp of all times, too bad I sold mine. ;X
 
haha holy shit.
that picture is of my VL-1002.

I'm on the interested list, just to have two around, but fuck i'm broke. i played bass last night and didn't make anything because i owed the other band members, but hey, at least i got to eat!
 
it's a small-ass world, i guess...and thanks for being the only son-of-a-bitch on the entire internet to take a pic close enough up to read the knobs, because i haven't seen mine in so long that i forgot what controls it even has on it.

i'm surprised i haven't had any takers on this yet, honestly. i know it's sort of a convoluted situation and all, but i would think that fully-retubed VL-1002 for $400 would spark some sort of interest between the 3 message boards i've posted it on.

i think i might go ahead and pay the $250 or so to the tech and have it shipped to me, then list it for sale from there...more hassle on my part, but it seems more likely that i'll get someone to jump on it.
 
Yeah, I'm suprised there's not more info about these around, I post a little bit at the Lee Jackson forum to help out with what I can, but it's pretty dead!
Everyone that has these amps seems to love them even though there are some reliability issues due to Ampeg's cost-cutting.
As far as I know, Lee Jackson will still mod these to his liking if you want. Not sure how much it costs though.
 
i actually bought the mod DVD he sells on his site and had the tech do them while he had it apart

i guess i should've mentioned that in the original post?
 
it wasn't that much, really...and i guess i wouldn't expect as such on a $10 DVD

it had the thing about taking the molex connector off of the bundle to the heater board, and sautering it straight on to the board, then there was also a resistor you clip out to make the channel switching faster, then he went through how to bias it. i want to say there was one more thing, but it's something tiny and trivial if anything.
 
Oh ok, I know what mods your talking about. I'm sure there's probably some other stuff he does when you send it to him, I dunno.
I actually just did the heater cable mod because I fried my molex connector, haha.

I also just put in some JAN PhillipsECG 6L6WGB tubes and it sounds good. I actually still have the stock tubes that came with it and they sound good too.