Following the success of Victory’s V4 all-valve preamp pedal line, designer Martin Kidd decided to pack the same preamp into all-in-one mini amp versions of the Jack, Sheriff, Copper, and Duchess. The V4 The Copper Guitar Amp reviewed here pairs a 4-tube preamp with a solid-state, 180-watt output stage—all in a package small enough to fit into your gig bag’s accessories pouch. Whether used on the floor alongside your pedalboard or at the backline with remote switching, it offers a boatload of flexibility.
Essential Elements
The Copper Guitar Amp is a true, stand-alone tube/solid-state-hybrid amp with surprisingly deep functionality. The unit includes six built-in Two Notes cab sims, which can be routed to the XLR output and balanced line out, or the XLR exclusively. There’s also a headphone output. And any of these outputs can be used without plugging into a traditional guitar speaker cab (the amp is load-protected). The six Chris Buck-created sims can be edited via Two Notes’ Torpedo Remote software, with the unit connected to your computer via USB, or the software can be used to load other Two Notes or third-party sims.
Controls include gain, tone (a voicing control for the upper-mids and highs), master, TB (treble boost) master, reverb (digital), bass, middle, treble, sim preset, and sim level. The treble boost is engaged via the switch on top of the amp, but it can also be activated, along with the reverb, via an optional footswitch. Curiously, the boost is governed via an output-stage control, which, as we’ll see, diminishes the amp’s flexibility a bit.
Extra connectivity includes guitar input, effects send and return (for a loop between preamp and output stage), line out, footswitch, XLR cab sim out, and speaker out (suitable for loads of 4/8/16 ohms at 180/100/50 watts, respectively). Victory also thoughtfully included a 9V DC/500 mA output to power external pedals, and there’s an on/off switch for the internal fan.
The V4 The Copper amp is rugged. It’s built into an aluminum chassis with a metal carry handle on top and vents at either end. The tube complement eschews traditional 12AX7s in the preamp. Rather, it includes three CV4014s (aka EF91s, a 7-pin preamp tube most commonly seen in a popular headphone amplifier) and a one 7-pin EC900 (6HA5).
Police Squad
I paired the V4 The Copper Guitar Amp with an open-back 1x12" cab with a Scumback J75 speaker, as well as a recording interface, studio monitors, and Audio-Technica studio headphones. How did it fare? The short answer is that this little box delivers a dynamic, articulate, authentic tube-amp-playing experience, and a wide range of moods within the Vox tone family.
Many makers chasing Vox-like voicings via alternative amp architecture are let down by flat, muddy, or brittle-sounding results. But this effort from Victory sits comfortably in the “proper tube-amp camp.” Ironically, The V4 Copper amp achieves its most accurate Vox-like performance—at least to my ears—through headphones or studio monitors and the built-in cab sims, which include an element of power-amp modeling. With a traditional guitar cab, the unit still sounds very good, but the amp’s hybrid nature is more easily belied by the absence of an EL84 output stage’s harmonic complexity and the compression you hear when pushing an AC15 or AC30 to the edge of breakup and beyond. For many, the compromise will be a fair trade for portability and convenience.
Undercover With the Vice Squad
The Copper V4 Amp boasts one of the better amp-loaded digital reverbs I’ve heard in a while. It’s got a nice taper from subtle space to lush cathedral-like atmospherics, it’s warm, and the decay is realistic. The EQ section is less obviously powerful. The tone control is effective but subtle (“mood” or “color” might be better names for the function). The treble boost certainly adds more hair and drive to the output. But from my perspective, the treble boost’s adjustment via the TB master control—there is no boost gain control—is counterintuitive, because it means both top boost gain and output level are tied to a single knob that also interacts with the gain control in the first gain stage. There’s also no independent adjustment available for crunch- or lead-gain settings.
Given this configuration, you can’t easily dial in an edge-of-crunch tone from the standard gain control and push it over the edge with the boost without getting pretty hairy and fuzzed out. Adding an independent lead channel of sorts would have provided far more flexibility. But these options would also mean more space and weight, which is at a premium here. In spite of that, the treble boost function is still a real bonus that a lot of amps lack. And there are many good sounds to be found by putting it to use.
The Verdict
The V4 The Copper Guitar Amp is a cleverly designed bundle of Vox-voiced jangle and chime in an impressively compact package. The general tone is lively and dynamic, and onboard Two Notes cab sims increase its usability dramatically. The controllability of the boost/lead function is a little compromised with just one control, but there’s a lot of power and potential to tap into in the V4 The Copper Guitar Amp—especially when you factor in the size and fair price.
V4 The Copper Hybrid Guitar Amplifier Pedal
- Fully fledged hybrid guitar amp in a pedalboard-friendly format
- Features a tube-powered V4 preamp section with a Class D power section
- 180W at 4 ohms, 90W at 8 ohms, and 45W at 16 ohms
- Delivers the sparkle, chime, and grit of a full-sized The Copper amp
- Footswitchable treble boost adds high-end shimmer
- Bass, middle, and treble controls shape your sound to perfection
- Digital reverb adds varying levels of ambiance to taste
- Victory V4 The Kraken Review - Premier Guitar ›
- Victory V40 Deluxe Review - Premier Guitar ›
- Tube Amp Buying Basics - Premier Guitar ›
- Victory Amps VS100 Super Sheriff Review - Premier Guitar ›
Gibson originally launched the EB-6 model with the intention of serving consumers looking for a “tic-tac” bass sound.
The Gibson EB-6 was announced in 1959 and came into the world in 1960, not with a dual-horn body but with that of an elegant ES-335. They looked stately, with a thin, semi-hollow body, f-holes, and a sunburst finish. Our pick for this Vintage Vault column is one such first-year model, in about as original condition as you’re able to find today. “Why?” you may be asking. Well, read on....
When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye. The real competition were the Danelectro 6-string basses that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly being used on lots of hit records by the likes of Elvis, Patsy Cline, and other household names. Danos like the UB-2 (introduced in ’56), the Longhorn 4623 (’58), and the Shorthorn 3612 (’58) were the earliest attempts any company made at a 6-string bass in this style: not quite a standard electric bass, not quite a guitar, nor, for that matter, quite like a baritone guitar.
The only change this vintage EB-6 features is a replacement set of Kluson tuners.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
Gibson, Fender, and others during this era would in fact call these basses “baritone guitars,” to add to our confusion today. But these vintage “baritones” were all tuned one octave below a standard guitar, with scale lengths around 30", while most modern baritones are tuned B-to-B or A-to-A and have scale lengths between 26" and 30".)
At the time, those Danelectros were instrumental to what was called the “tic-tac” bass sound of Nashville records produced by Chet Atkins, or the “click-bass” tones made out west by producer Lee Hazlewood. Gibson wanted something for this market, and the EB-6 was born.
“When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye.”
The 30.5" scale 1960 EB-6 has a single humbucking pickup, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a small, push-button “Tone Selector Switch” that engages a treble circuit for an instant tic-tac sound. (Without engaging that switch, you get a bass-heavy tone so deep that cowboy chords will sound like a muddy mess.)
The EB-6, for better or for worse, did not unseat the Danelectros, and a November 1959 price list from Gibson hints at why: The EB-6 retailed for $340, compared to Dano price tags that ranged from $85 to $150. Only a few dozen EB-6 basses were shipped in 1960, and only 67 total are known to have been built before Gibson changed the shape to the SG style in 1962.
Most players who come across an EB-6 today think it was a response to the Fender Bass VI, but the former actually beat the latter to the market by a full year.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
It’s sad that so few were built. Sure, it was a high-end model made to achieve the novelty tic-tac sound of cheaper instruments, but in its full-voiced glory, the EB-6 has a huge potential of tones. It would sound great in our contemporary guitar era where more players are exploring baritone ranges, and where so many people got back into the Bass VI after seeing the Beatles play one in the 2021 documentary, Get Back.
It’s sadder, still, how many original-era EB-6s have been parted out in the decades since. Remember earlier when I wrote that our Vintage Vaultpick was about as original as you could find? That’s because the model’s single humbucker is a PAF, its Kluson tuners are double-line, and its knobs are identical to those on Les Paul ’Bursts. So as people repaired broken ’Bursts, converted other LPs to ’Bursts, or otherwise sought to give other Gibsons a “Golden Era” sound and look ... they often stripped these forgotten EB-6 basses for parts.
This original EB-6 is up for sale now from Reverb seller Emerald City Guitars for a $16,950 asking price at the time of writing. The only thing that isn’t original about it is a replacement set of Kluson tuners, not because its originals were stolen but just to help preserve them. (They will be included in the case.)
With so few surviving 335-style EB-6 basses, Reverb doesn’t have a ton of sales data to compare prices to. Ten years ago, a lucky buyer found a nearly original 1960 EB-6 for about $7,000. But Emerald City’s $16,950 asking price is closer to more recent examples and asking prices.
Sources: Prices on Gibson Instruments, November 1, 1959, Tony Bacon’s “Danelectro’s UB-2 and the Early Days of 6-String Basses” Reverb News article, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, Tom Wheeler’s American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Reverb listings and Price Guide sales data.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
