Ampeg 8x10 Heritage or 810E?

JOE EDO · #1 10-19-2010, 01:11 AM

On the edge of going back to an 8x10 with my 1999 SVT-CL. Not sure what the tonal differences are in the Heritage vs. the newer 810e's. Anyone have a chance to do a side by side compare of these two? Looking at the specs it looks like the Heritage is a few pounds lighter, so that has my interest, but not at the expense of tone.

I'm playing rock with 4 and 5 string Spectors and Fenders.

Any help is appriciated.

Thanks,

JE

JimmyM · #2 10-19-2010, 01:32 AM

i have not heard the heritages, but the newer 810e's from vietnam and korea sound pretty badass. however, those who have heard both say the heritages are quite a bit better.

JOE EDO · #3 10-19-2010, 01:56 AM

A bit beter meaning more like the vintage flat backs? More mids/highs/clarity? I had an older 8x10 that was made out of OSB and that sounded a bit poopy. I know you also get most of your rigs/ backline supplied, so what is it that you are hearing in the newer cabs that makes Jimmy smile?

JimmyM · #4 10-19-2010, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOE EDO

A bit beter meaning more like the vintage flat backs? More mids/highs/clarity? I had an older 8x10 that was made out of OSB and that sounded a bit poopy. I know you also get most of your rigs/ backline supplied, so what is it that you are hearing in the newer cabs that makes Jimmy smile?

well the osb cabs i consider a huge black eye to the ampeg legacy. way too dark sounding...pretty much nothing past 3k as opposed to the 5k i get out of my flatback. plus there was a cone supplier change at eminence in 2000 that i think also contributed to it. the loud cabs have corrected both the osb issue by using plywood, and the lack of brightness issue by using eminence speakers made in china. they're not quite as good sounding as the flatbacks, but they are a lot closer to that tonal ideal than the poopy osb cabs. and again, i haven't heard them yet, but the heritage cabs are even closer to the flatback mark judging by the reviews that i've read. it's pretty well agreed that the heritage cabs sound noticeably better than the vietnamese/korean cabs.

plus other than the original ampeg blue grillcloth, it doesn't get any better looking than heritage series grillcloth. if i didn't already have a flatback, i'd get a heritage cab just for the grillcloth alone.

waleross · #5 10-19-2010, 02:42 AM

I have both the 810 Heritage and an 810 bought new last year. I am not the one to run a scientific comparison as to which sounds better but for the extra $ you do get a much nicer looking and better built cab. Worth getting ? Its your call......

JimmyM · #6 10-19-2010, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waleross

I have both the 810 Heritage and an 810 bought new last year. I am not the one to run a scientific comparison as to which sounds better

wow, how could you not? no way in hell i could go without running extensive ab testing on them if i had both.

SUBass · #7 10-19-2010, 07:00 AM

I've been paying closer attention to Ampeg 8x10 threads as I've been fighting with mine for awhile now.

Mine is a 810E SLM, OSB shell with a plywood front, and Eminence drivers dated 1998.

The cab is okay...Just seems tubby, scooped, muddy....Doesn't punch hard. I preferred it over a 2003-4 era 8x10 as it had more upper mid presence to it.

In an effort to clean up the mud I've stuffed the cab with a couple of different materials. First up being polyfill which did a remarkably good job of cleaning up the mid-bass and making the cabinet much more articulate in all but the lowest regions. Trying to take that a step further...I loaded the cab with R30 fiberglass batting, 9" thick by 22-23" long. I don't think it made any difference over the polyfill and neither solution made the cab sound "great" although both made it cleaner and more articulate.

AB'ing the Ampeg 8x10 with a Boogie 6x10 (with the tweeter off) is interesting. The Boogie has lots more midrange clarity and punch and a certain "openness" to the lower register. The Ampeg thuds and booms, yet extends higher.

That said...Neither cab makes me "happy."

tombowlus · #8 10-19-2010, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

i have not heard the heritages, but the newer 810e's from vietnam and korea sound pretty badass. however, those who have heard both say the heritages are quite a bit better.

FWIW, I'm officially calling them "different" and not necessarily "better," though personal preferences being what they are, the Heritage will certainly be "better" for some (and vice versa).

To my ears, the Heritage has a bit more of a lower-mid fullness, and has more perceived depth (though I'm not convinced that it has a lot more "true" low end content than the 810E). The 810E seems to be a bit more punchy in the upper midrange, though the Heritage probably extends just as high, if not a tad higher, than the 810E.

Personally, with some basses and amps I prefer the Heritage, and with others I Prefer the (Vietnam) 810E.

As to the Heritage head, though, it is the best sounding CL I have heard, and it gives my '74 SVT a run for its money.

JimmyM · #9 10-19-2010, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

FWIW, I'm officially calling them "different" and not necessarily "better," though personal preferences being what they are, the Heritage will certainly be "better" for some (and vice versa).

To my ears, the Heritage has a bit more of a lower-mid fullness, and has more perceived depth (though I'm not convinced that it has a lot more "true" low end content than the 810E). The 810E seems to be a bit more punchy in the upper midrange, though the Heritage probably extends just as high, if not a tad higher, than the 810E.

Personally, with some basses and amps I prefer the Heritage, and with others I Prefer the (Vietnam) 810E.

As to the Heritage head, though, it is the best sounding CL I have heard, and it gives my '74 SVT a run for its money.

no kidding? that's pretty impressive that it can hang with a 74.

JOE EDO · #10 10-20-2010, 04:54 AM

Thank you gentleman! Looks like a heritage cab for me with the possibility of upgrading my 1999 SVT-CL with a Heritage CL. I as also curious to know the pre-amp, driver, and phase inverter tubes that are in the Heritage CL (I know they are using JJ's, are they the gold pin ECC83/ECC82's?) Possibly up grade what I have in my CL to cop some heritage tone ..at a minimium.

Now I just need to find the best pricing. The journey continues.....

Vinny D · #11 10-20-2010, 06:23 AM

Having not been an Ampeg fan for a while I am slowly getting the urge to buy a Heritage series 810 & CL.

It doesn't help that a friend of mine is a dealer and just happens to have them in stock

On appearance alone the Heritage series wins easily, the classic coloring is just that....classic.
The construction quality seems excellent and after plugging in and trying it out there was no doubt that I have to get one.

Can't say which one I would like better tone wise without getting spend some time with both but, when you see them stacked up side you just can't keep your eyes off of the Heritage series.

JOE EDO · #12 10-20-2010, 11:42 AM

Just pulled the trigger! Thank you David at Bass Central! Great Deal!!!!

StuartV · #13 10-20-2010, 12:10 PM

If I see an 810 for sale, say on CL, what's the best way to determine if it's an OSB version versus an older or newer plywood model?

jvdb · #14 10-20-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

no kidding? that's pretty impressive that it can hang with a 74.

I guess so... Tom you're making me a bit nervous ;-) Any chance you can do an a AB comparison?

blastjv · #15 10-20-2010, 12:38 PM

Regarding upgrading to JJ preamp tubes, for what it's worth, after some guidance from Eddie at Eurotubes (who was EXTREMELY helpful and thorough) I went with these for my SVT-VR:

(2) Matched and Balanced ECC82
(2) Standard ECC82
(1) Matched and Balanced ECC83S
(3) High Gain ECC83S

We'll see what that does when they get here...

-JV

tombowlus · #16 10-20-2010, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jvdb

I guess so... Tom you're making me a bit nervous ;-) Any chance you can do an a AB comparison?

I'm hoping to, at some point. But I'll say this, the '74 has more "air" and more of that "sonic 3D texture" - but not much more. The Heritage CL seems to have a lot more "life" than other CL's I have heard, but it is still very solid. I haven't spent a ton of time with different SVT-CL's (and have never owned one), but when I have tried them in the past, they didn't seem to have as much of the pleasing harmonics I was hearing out of vintage SVT's. This Heritage, though, seems to have a lot of that going on.

And I must admit, I do like the fact that when I turn on the Heritage CL, it doesn't sound like a big turbo-prop is getting ready to take off...

jvdb · #17 10-20-2010, 03:32 PM

Alright! Thanks! I'll wait for that!

A big turbo prop? My 70's SVT's are dead quiet. The only sound you hear is a little fan noise, but that sounds calming to my ears. I miss that on my V4 ;-)

You might wanna have that checked out.

StuartV · #18 10-20-2010, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StuartV

If I see an 810 for sale, say on CL, what's the best way to determine if it's an OSB version versus an older or newer plywood model?

Needless (should be) to say, I'm talking about in a case where the tolex is all good and you can't actually see the wood underneath.

Buster Brown · #19 10-20-2010, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinny D

Having not been an Ampeg fan for a while I am slowly getting the urge to buy a Heritage series 810 & CL.

It doesn't help that a friend of mine is a dealer and just happens to have them in stock

On appearance alone the Heritage series wins easily, the classic coloring is just that....classic.
The construction quality seems excellent and after plugging in and trying it out there was no doubt that I have to get one.

Can't say which one I would like better tone wise without getting spend some time with both but, when you see them stacked up side you just can't keep your eyes off of the Heritage series.

You know, as a guy who PROUDLY owns the Heritage series, The HSVT is Exactly as you describe. The build quality is second to none. They are beautiful, as well; Although equating "beauty" with a box with speakers is extremely subjective.

The HSVT (to me) seems a little more "high fi" than the average 8X10 (but just a little). The BIG difference, to me, is in the Heritage CL. Hands down, the best head that Ampeg has built in years and years. Period. And, to be fair, with the price tag being what it is - it had better be.

I'm glad to see Ampeg going in the direction they are going and with the new products being rolled out soon - all is good!

joeydavidson · #20 10-20-2010, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StuartV

Needless (should be) to say, I'm talking about in a case where the tolex is all good and you can't actually see the wood underneath.

A surefire way would be too unscrew one of the handles which will let you see a cross-section of the wood, I did this with my old Ampeg cab.

I'm sure the serial number could give you the year of manufacture also?